MEDIA REACTION DROC; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 001217 SIPDIS DEPT FOR INR/R/MR AND AF/PDPA DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION DROC; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "U. N.'s indifference to DRC conflict disturbing" the government-controlled daily "The Herald" dedicated its June 13 editorial to accusing the United Nations of dragging its feet in solving the political discord in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Excerpts: ¶2. "Reports coming out of the DRC. . .make depressing reading and make the sincerity of the United Nations in solving conflicts in Africa questionable. The U. ¶N. is mandated to stop conflicts and maintain peace and security, yet Congolese nationals in the Ituri province of the vast country have been killing each other while the U. N. stands by. . .It was not until fairly recently that the U. N. decided to move in. So far, its involvement has . . .been lukewarm. . .Reports say that the U. N. has deployed 700 peacekeepers in the war-torn country, a figure which, given the size of the DRC and the complexity of the situation, we feel is negligible. While these few and ill-equipped `monitors' are sauntering about in the DRC, the fighting is raging on. . .Africa has never meant much for the U. S. or other influential members of the U. N. Security Council, hence the apparent slow manner in which the ¶U. N. has been moving over the DRC issue. . .We feel that the U. N. has the capacity - but lacks the will - to mobilize a big enough force to stop the carnage in the DRC. . . ." SULLIVAN