Malu Kayi

Post Election Kabila Interview

2011-12-21T01:16:00.000-08:00

Murder in Kinshasa

2011-11-10T10:17:00.001-08:00

The Rural Women Solar Engineers of Africa

2011-11-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hazardous Trucking in DRC

2011-10-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Dag Hammarskjold: Was his death a crash or a conspiracy?

2011-09-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

BBC News Magazine
17 September 2011 Last updated at 11:05 ET
Dag Hammarskjold: Was his death a crash or a conspiracy?
By Stephanie Hegarty BBC World Service

Exactly 50 years ago, UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold died in a plane crash on a mission to prevent civil war in newly independent Congo. Suspicions that the plane was shot down, never fully laid to rest, are now again on the rise.

After his death, Mr Hammarskjold was described by US President John F Kennedy as the "greatest statesman of our century". He was a man with a vision of the UN as a "dynamic instrument" organising the world community, a protector of small nations, independent of the major powers, acting only in the interests of peace.

The only person to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize after his death, he established the first armed UN peacekeeping mission following the crisis in Suez.

Just after midnight on 18 September 1961, he was heading to negotiate a ceasefire in a mineral-rich breakaway region of Congo, where another of his peacekeeping missions was getting bogged down in the complex politics of decolonisation and Cold War rivalry.

But his DC6 aircraft crashed in darkness shortly before landing, in a forest near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia - now Zambia.

Knut Hammarskjold, his nephew, visited the crash site days later.

"It was just scattered all over the place, the pieces of the aircraft," he says. "I did not see any bodies, they had been removed earlier, I think."

He remembers the reaction at home in Sweden, where his uncle was a national hero.

"Everybody was so shocked. I can say the whole of Sweden was affected by this. All the shops had his picture in the window, and he had a state funeral which was very unusual for a foreign office person."
Iron will

Eight years earlier, when the members of the Security Council appointed the unassuming Swede secretary general, they could not have predicted the zeal he would bring to the job.

"He was a very spiritual, intellectual, cultured man, and that was all part of his mystical approach to life," says Dame Margaret Anstee, the first female under-secretary at the UN, who was starting out on a 40-year career at the organisation. "He had a certain reserve, and a certain unique kind of dignity."

But he soon gained a reputation for independence and daring, and instead of staying in his New York office, a hands-on approach became his trademark. He personally negotiated the release of 15 American airmen who had been imprisoned in China at a time when the People's Republic was not represented at the UN.

"He had the skills of mediation and persuasion, combined with this almost iron single-minded will of where he wanted to go," says Margaret Anstee.

"But of course by that very token it brought him into conflict with people who wanted to use the UN for their own ends."

In Congo, one issue was who should control the southern province of Katanga, rich in copper, uranium and tin. Belgium, the ex-colonial power, backed a secessionist movement led by Moise Tshombe, as did the UK and US who had mining interests in the region.

But Mr Hammarskjold from the start backed Congo's elected central authorities - the Soviet-backed government of prime minister Patrice Lumumba, and later, after Mr Lumumba was deposed and murdered, Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula.

Mr Hammarskjold wanted to pursue a negotiated solution between Mr Tshombe and the central government, a goal that became even more urgent after UN peacekeepers found themselves outgunned during an aggressive operation to drive foreign mercenaries from Katanga.

Mr Tshombe was waiting to talk to him in Ndola on the night he died.
Airbrushed photos

The crash of his aircraft has never been fully explained. Two investigations held in the British-run Central African Federation, which included Northern Rhodesia, were followed by an official UN inquiry, which concluded that foul play could not be ruled out. So people have never stopped coming forward with new explanations, and asking new questions.

Some 30 years after the crash, in 1992, two men who had served as UN representatives in Katanga just before and just after Hammarskjold's death - Conor Cruise O'Brien and George Ivan Smith - wrote a letter to the Guardian claiming to have evidence that the plane was shot down accidentally, by mercenaries. In their view, a warning shot intended to divert the plane to alternative talks with industrialists in Katanga, in fact hit the plane and caused it to crash.

In 1998 South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, led by Desmond Tutu, published eight letters that suggested CIA, MI5 and South African intelligence were involved in sabotage of the aircraft. British officials responded that these were likely to be Soviet forgeries.

In 2005, the head of UN military information in Congo in 1961, Bjorn Egge, told the Aftenposten newspaper he had noticed a round hole in Hammarskjold's forehead when he saw the body in the mortuary. It could have been a bullet hole, he said, and it had been mysteriously airbrushed out of official photographs.

Over the past four years, Swedish aid worker Goran Bjorkdahl has carried out extensive research and British academic Susan Williams published a book on Thursday - Who Killed Hammarskjold? Both conclude that it is likely the plane was brought down.

Mr Bjorkdahl began his study after inheriting from his father, who had worked in Zambia in the 1970s, a piece of the plane fuselage containing unexplained small holes. He tracked down 12 witnesses, in whose accounts of the night three points appeared repeatedly:

The DC6 circled in the air two or three times before it crashed
A smaller plane flew above it
A bright light flashed in the sky above the large plane before it went down

Six witnesses also recall seeing uniformed personnel near the crash site that morning, even though official reports claim it was not located until after 15:00 that day.

The official inquiries held at the time also contain witness testimony referring to a second plane in the sky.

One of the key questions Ms Williams asks in her book is why this and other inconvenient observations were discounted, or in some cases doctored during the official Rhodesian investigations. She says it is clear to her that there was a cover-up.

She places particular emphasis on three of her discoveries:

The photographs of Hammarskjold after his death are either taken in such a way as to conceal the area around his right eye, or, where the eye is visible, they show evidence of having been touched up, possibly to hide a wound
The sole survivor of the crash, Harold Julien, said there was an explosion before the plane fell from the sky - his evidence was discounted in the original inquiry on the grounds that he was ill and sedated, but Ms Williams has found a doctor's statement insisting that he was lucid at the time (he died of his injuries within days)
A US intelligence officer at a listening station in Cyprus says he heard a cockpit recording from Ndola, in which a pilot talks of closing in on the DC6 - guns are heard firing, and then the words "I've hit it"

"There is no smoking gun, but there is a mass of evidence that points in the direction that the plane was shot down by a second plane," she told the BBC. "That is a far more convincing and supported explanation than any other."

There were a range of people, including white Rhodesians and the Belgian and British mining companies in Katanga, "with a sense of being at war with the UN and with African nationalism", she says - and with a motive for preventing Mr Hammarskjold and Mr Tshombe reaching a negotiated settlement.
Model diplomat

Mr Hammarskjold's main adviser at the time, Brian Urquhart, says it is "so wrong" to think that "at night without ground control you could shoot down a plane or even locate it". But Ms Williams says experts have told her that the DC6, on its way in to land at Ndola airport on a moonlit night, was a "sitting duck".

Ms Williams argues that the time has come for a new inquiry, and Mr Hammarskjold's nephew Knut is reported to have called for one himself, after hearing of Ms Williams' new evidence.

Fifty years later, his uncle is still a model for people working at the UN, says Knut Hammarskjold.

"Many, I've been told, still have his photo on their desks, and [former Secretary General] Kofi Annan says he always asks when there is a problem: 'What will Dag have done in this situation?'"

Dame Margaret Anstee says he had the courage to stand up for his principles and to the strong member states, which his successors have lacked.

"There was a tacit agreement never to have such a single-minded secretary general again," she says. "I think we can say they haven't."

Additional reporting by Stephen Mulvey

Susan Williams' book, Who Killed Hammarskjold?, is published by Hurst and Company.

BBC World Service's Witness programme on Monday reports on Dag Hammarskjold's life and death, featuring contributions from Knut Hammarskjold and Dame Margaret Anstee

BBC

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Blood In the Moblie-Trailer

2011-08-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 21 at 4pm

Tickets and event info:
www.sausalitofilmfestival.com/films/blood.html
http://www.sausalitofilmfestival.com/films2011.html
Sausalito Film Festival Office: 415 887-9506

Crisis In The Congo: Uncovering The Truth

2011-07-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

http://congojustice.org/

We Have Updated Our Website!

2011-07-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Come and see the new website! I am blogging live from the 2011 Annual Conference, it promises to be a good one.

Visit us here: www.lejabulela.org

Crisis In The Congo: Uncovering the Truth

2011-06-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

ALMOST THERE

2011-06-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

The Kalala Muzeu Health Center is up and 2 babies have been born already! This is a cause for a celebration, but there is still more work to be done. We need to have an equipment upgrade, interior design, power, and water all finalized to make this center live up to its potential.

visit www.lejabulela.org to learn how to help

Kogniak Kadima-LEJA BULELA

2011-06-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

In Memory of Floribert Chebeya

2011-06-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

The lifeless body of Floribert Chebeya Bahizire was found in the back seat of his car on June 2 in a neighborhood not far from his home in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When he was last heard from, Floribert was on his way to meet the Inspector General of Police, John Numbi, known for his corruption and power; but otherwise the circumstances of Floribert's death are both unclear and suspicious. His loyal chauffeur, Fidele Bazan Edadi, is still missing.

Floribert was undoubtedly Congo's most prominent, committed, courageous human rights activist. From his early years when he won the Reebok Human Rights awards in 1992 for fighting the Mobutu dictatorship, through the national conference process, the civil war, the Laurent Kabila regime, the Congolese elections, and the current deteriorating dispensation – Floribert persevered, finally paying the ultimate price for his vision of a free and democratic Congo. He should be remembered as one of Congo's greatest freedom fighters, a leader of Africa's democratic movement, and an international human rights giant. His murder is an enormous outrage.

I first met Floribert about 20 years ago when he was visiting the U.S.; shortly thereafter, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) made its first grant to the organization he led, La Voix des Sans Voix, in 1991 for U.S.$31,289, "to support the VSV's efforts to increase the understanding of and commitment to human rights and democracy in Zaire through a civic education program that includes a monthly bulletin, audiovisual materials, and public meetings." It was the first grant NED made in Zaire, and there can be no question that Floribert paved the way and set the standard for all that followed.

Floribert was both gentle and fierce. His small stature, soft voice, thick glasses and warm smile belied the toughness and determination that landed him in and out of detention on multiple occasions, and that elevated him to be the widely acknowledged leader of Congo's human rights movement in several networks such as Droits de l'Homme Maintentant, and mentor to scores of human rights NGOs across the country. When the pressure and threats became too great, Floribert would send his wife and children across the river to Brazzaville, but he stayed behind in Kinshasa to continue his work. His family had to move from time to time for security reasons, but the occasions when I was honored to have dinner at his home were filled with the love and warmth of his devoted wife and children. When he spoke before mass audiences his eloquence and passion were captivating, but unlike so many other tribunes of the people, his integrity was incorruptible, he never lost his connection with the Congolese people whose voice he had become. I sat with him once as he interviewed an alleged recent victim of human rights abuse. He was delicate, yet probing, and rather than rushing to judgment, determined that her case was doubtful; promising to follow up with her later. He and the staff of VSV investigated and sought redress for hundreds of such cases.

Floribert was a realist. He understood politics, but never sacrificed principles. He was as unafraid to criticize American policies as those of his own government. When most other Congolese, including some human rights advocates, were denouncing the Tutsis and Banyamulenge after the Rwandan invasion, Floribert defended the rights of innocent civilians who were targets of human rights abuse no matter what their ethnicity. He had enormous energy. Leading a committed team, Voix de Sans Voix has issued hundreds of press statements over the years, meticulously documenting human rights abuses and denouncing them. VSV has likewise held hundreds of workshops, training conferences, civic education events, and campaigns. Floribert undoubtedly inspired hundreds of activists throughout the country who still cite VSV for getting them off the ground, showing them how to do human rights work, and counseling them on strategy. He distributed his Reebok Human Rights Award among other civil society organizations rather than keeping it for himself or even his own organization. His impact on the human rights movement and the understanding and appreciation for democracy in Congo was profound.

Whether or not the gunman or the person who gave the orders is ever identified, we know who killed Floribert Chebeya. The Congolese political system has become increasingly repressive, human rights organizations are continually threatened, journalists have been murdered, the political opposition emasculated, and the rule of law flouted. In the east the vicious killings, looting, and mass rapes committed by the Congolese army continue unabated. The UN peacekeepers are being pressed to leave, and the prospects for any democratic elections in the future are fading. The Congolese people have lost one of their most ardent defenders. Floribert will be remembered among the pantheon of African martyrs and freedom fighters such as Patrice Lumumba, Steve Biko, and Tom Mboya. But those who committed this crime will not go unpunished. Floribert's death will not be in vain. This time, the torturers have gone too far, and the local and international furor over their act is already shaking the regime; Numbi has been suspended pending an investigation. And Floribert's many friends will not allow his vision of a free and democratic Congo to die. He would have demanded no less.

Dave Peterson is director of the National Endowment for Democracy's African Program. This article was originally published on 11 May 2011 on Save The Congo's website, and has been reprinted with the permission of the author.

Dr. Mukwege Wins International Honor

2011-05-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Brussels, 24 May 2011 – Esteemed Congolese gynecologist, Dr. Denis Mukwege, has been awarded the 2010/2011 King Baudouin International Development Prize for his commitment to helping thousands of women victims of rape and war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr. Mukwege founded Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, which offers free, comprehensive care for women victims. The specialized treatment offered at Panzi Hospital integrates psychological and physical treatment with social support to help cope with the stigma many victims face after they are assaulted. In the past 10 years, Dr. Mukwege and his team have treated more than 30,000 victims of sexual violence.

The prevalence of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo is widely recognized as one of the highest in the world. In the war-torn region, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of women have been raped or severely maimed. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war by rebel forces, strategically perpetrated to institute a reign of fear in order to seize control of mineral-rich areas.

Beyond his work at Panzi Hospital, Dr. Mukwege has also gained recognition for advocating tirelessly on behalf of the victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At risk to his own life, he has appealed to policymakers for increased protection for the women of the region and championed an integrated health care system that meets the unique challenges of violence and chaos in the Congo.

Dr. Peter Piot, Chairman of the King Baudouin Foundation and Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “Dr. Mukwege is one of Africa’s great humanitarians whose work is a source of hope and inspiration for people across the African continent. Through his work as a doctor and advocate, Dr. Mukwege is shining a spotlight on one of the most pervasive and pernicious human rights abuses in the world – violence against women. His dedication and commitment to this issue are a perfect fit with the values of the Prize.”

Dr. Mukwege (in photo) received the Prize at the Royal Palace in Brussels, at a ceremony attended by King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium and other esteemed guests such as Margot Wallstrom, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

“It is a privilege and an honor for me to be receiving the King Baudouin International Development Prize. Most importantly, I am grateful for the opportunity to reiterate the critical need for all of us to take action for women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We cannot risk being silent on this grave injustice – destroying women means destroying life,” said Dr. Mukwege.

The King Baudouin International Development Prize was established in 1978 to recognize and support pioneers who have made outstanding contributions to addressing key challenges and advancing social progress in the developing world.

The Prize winner receives 150,000 euros (approximately US$210,000) and the opportunity to meet leaders of key international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union. Past recipients of the Prize include such distinguished humanitarians and advocates as Ousmane Sy and Paulo Freire, both now recognized around the world for their innovative contributions to critical development challenges.

DR Congo Names Squad

2011-05-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Orange 2012 Afcon qualifier :DR Congo release rooster for Mauritius game
The DR Congo have published a list of 22 players to begin camping ahead of their crucial Orange 2012 Afcon qualifier against Mauritius.

Head coach,Robert Nouzaret made no change to the selection that thrashed Mauritius last March three nil as the same 22 players have been called up.However,the three players expelled from the squad for improper conduct during training were not called up.They are Larrys Mabiala (Nice), Cédric Mongongu (Monaco) et Dieumerci Mbokani (Wolfsburg). Nouzaret replaced them with 20 year old midfielder Andréa Mutombo Mbuyi who plies his trade in Belgium.The players are mostly from DR Congo’s leading club, TP Mazembe,recently expelled from the Orange CAF Champions League.

The 22 players called up

Goalkeepers: Robert Kidiaba (TP Mazembe), Parfait Mandanda (Altay, Turkey), Leya Matampi Vumi (DC Motema Pembe).

Defenders : Eric Nkulukuta (TP Mazembe), Rodrigue Dikaba (Beauvais, France), Joel Kimuaki (TP Mazembe), Pamphile Mihayo (TP Mazembe), Landry Mulemo (Bucaspor, Turkey), Simbi Ebunga (AS V.Club), Tshinyama Tsholola (Lokeren, Belgium), Christian Kinkela (AC Ajaccio, France).

Midfielders : Ilongo Ngassanya (DC Motema Pembe), Albert Milambo Mutamba (Beauvais, France), Youssouf Mulumbu (West Bromwich Albion, England), Hugues Bedi Mbenza (TP Mazembe), Matumona Zola (Mons, Belgium), Cédric Makiadi (Fribourg, Germany), Patou Kabangu (TP Mazembe), Andréa Mutombo Mbuyi (Saint-Trond, Belgium).

Striker: Yves Diba Ilunga (Najran, Saudi Arabia), Ilombe Mboyo Pelé (La Gantoise, Belgium), Alain Kaluyituka (TP Mazembe).

Congo-Kinshasa: Kiss of Life for Pygmies

2011-04-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

(source: allAfrica.com)
Bolenge — "Most of the houses in our villages are still made with small branches that we have collected, while our timber and our medicinal plants are taken by people who are enriching themselves elsewhere," said Ampiobo Amuri, a traditional pygmy chief.

"It's been several weeks now since I stopped listening to the requests of these people who come and bring us drink, give us used clothes, sometimes even salt, in exchange for our products," he said.

"I want our children to study," said Antoinette Ambulampo. "The animals and the trees have been taken ... When we arrive to work in the forests where someone has cut down the trees, we are hot. We work a lot for the people who come and court us."

IPS met Amuri and Ambulampo in the village of Bolenge, in the Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Marginalised minority

There are roughly 200,000 pygmies living in the forests of the Republic of congo, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo - with smaller numbers as far east as Rwanda and Burundi, according to ethnologists Serge Bahuchet and Guy Philipart de Foy.

Across the Congo Basin, indigenous peoples are a marginalised minority. They often provide the workforce in the fields for others, exploited and sometimes paid in kind or with worthless scrip.

At the second International Forum of Indigenous Peoples, which took place from Mar. 16-18 at Ifondo in the Republic of Congo, Henri Ndjombo, that country's minister of forestry and sustainable development, acknowledged the suffering of indigenous peoples.

"We are going to have to come up with appropriate responses to indigenous peoples' problems for their survival, because they are up against a number of obstacles, notably, access to resources, which must be increasingly monitored. This is necessary in order for the development of alternative activities that allow this population to live better," he states.

There have been some successes in securing the rights of indigenous people in conjunction with conservation of the forest they traditionally depend on for a livelihood.

The international non-profit organisation The Forest Trust (TFT), based in Geneva, is part of a wider group whose work for the rights of pygmies Amuri views in a positive light. The TFT has announced the certification of sustainable environmental and humanitarian practices of an additional 571,000 hectares of forest managed by the Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB), a logging company operating in the Congo basin.

TFT says this brings the total area of tropical forest under sustainable management in the Congo Basin to more than 5.3 million hectares.

The certification of the Loundoungou and Toukoulaka concessions, according to TFT, means that all of the forest regions under CIB's management have been certified by the independent standard-setting body, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a milestone in the protection of both the fragile environment of the forest and the livelihoods of local communities, especially semi-nomadic pygmies.

Certification alone not enough

But the lack of demand for sustainable wood and wood products (which command higher prices than other timber) could mean that the positive response of the industry to pressure from European and U.S. activists amounts to nothing, says TFT's executive director Scott Poynton.

"The consumers aren't there and the NGOs aren't pushing the sale of this certified wood. And without economic returns, the companies can't maintain these practices," he adds.

Robert Hunink of the CIB confirms that opportunities in the market are still lacking. "Nevertheless, the staff and management of the CIB are in support of the FSC process," he says. "The buyers will start to reward companies that have responded positively to the certification of their forestry operations."
Jerome Bokele, the first pygmy to be elected to the provincial legislature of Equateur Province, in the north-west of the DRC, said: "The certification of 571.000 hectares by the FSC is a good thing. But it's only an announcement. Thousands of logs are thrown into the Congo river - and often come from lawless exploitation of the tropical forests. More than 70 percent of the indigenous people in Africa are trapped in dire poverty..."

Odon Munsadi, an environmentalist in the DRC points out: "Environmental practices in this case involve the rational use of forests for their future existence. Bad practices lead to global warming and grassy plains."

"Certification can be a breath of oxygen for the indigenous people if there is rigorous monitoring and if they develop and come to the fore. If not, the theory will prevail," he warns.

Great Public Health News in the DR Congo

2011-04-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

DR CONGO INTRODUCES NEW VACCINE

AGAINST ONE OF ITS LEADING CAUSES OF CHILD DEATH

Pneumococcal vaccine reaching one of Africa’s largest countries

KINSHASA, 4 April 2011 – In an effort to drastically improve the chances of children reaching their fifth birthday, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today stepped up its immunization programme by including vaccines to combat pneumonia. Initially the expanded programme will be in two of the 11 provinces. Pneumonia is one of the biggest killers of children worldwide and is responsible for a quarter of all child deaths under five in DRC.

DRC First Lady Olive Lembe Kabila and Minister of Health Victor Makwenge Kaput joined parents and health workers in Kinshasa to witness the first child being immunized as part of the official introduction of pneumococcal vaccine into the national routine immunization programme.

On the same day in Paris, GAVI founding partner Bill Gates launched a European-wide awareness campaign to highlight the extraordinary life-saving opportunity that vaccines represent for donor countries.

Globally, pneumococcal disease, the most common and serious form of respiratory infections, kills over a million of people every year – including more than half a million children before their fifth birthday. It is the leading cause of pneumonia, which is the major cause of death among children aged below 5 years, contributing to 18 percent of under five deaths in developing countries.

“Today’s launch is an enormous moment for my country, where too many children die of this terrible disease,” said Mr Kaput. “Pneumonia causes suffering and death. Therefore we celebrate a wonderful day today. The global introduction of pneumococcal vaccination is a milestone in global health and will help us reduce child mortality.”

“The introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine and the systematic immunization of the children could save the life of 1 in 5 children dying from respiratory infectious diseases”, said Dr Léodégal Bazira, acting WHO Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

With the second highest child mortality rates in world DRC faces major health challenges. A study conducted in 2004 by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) revealed that pneumonia killed at least 132,000 children under five in the country, making it the second biggest cause of death amongst under five children in the country after malaria. Only 42% of children suspected to have pneumonia are taken to an appropriate healthcare provider.

“With electricity, roads, and refrigerators in short supply, delivering vaccines to remote health centers in DRC is an enormous challenge,” said Pierrette Vu Thi, UNICEF Representative in DR Congo. “Together with its partners UNICEF is committed to ensure that all children in this country have the same access to this life-saving vaccine”.

As the world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF has been supporting vaccination efforts in DRC with supply, technical and financial support since 1963.

In the past five months, Nicaragua, Guyana, Yemen, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Mali introduced the pneumococcal vaccines thanks to the support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) which brings together governments, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other key players in global health.

GAVI has committed to support the introduction of pneumococcal vaccines in 19 developing countries by 2012 and, if it gets sufficient funding from its donors, plans to roll them out to more than 40 countries by 2015.

“Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health investments a government can make and we are counting on our donors to continue their strong backing for our life-saving mission,” said Helen Evans, GAVI interim CEO.

GAVI needs an additional US$ 3.7 billion over the next five years to continue its support for immunization in the world’s poorest countries and introduce new and underused vaccines including the pneumococcal vaccine and the rotavirus vaccine which tackles diarrhoea – the second biggest killer of children under five.

The roll-out of the pneumococcal vaccines in countries such as DRC has been made possible through an innovative finance mechanism pioneered by GAVI called the Advance Market Commitment (AMC).

With US$ 1.5 billion from Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Russian Federation, Norway, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a commitment of US$ 1.3 billion from GAVI, the AMC allowed the acceleration of production capacity by the two manufacturers who currently produce the vaccines. This has contributed to ensuring that this new generation of pneumococcal vaccines are affordable in developing countries, as they are now available at a fraction of the price chaired in developed countries.

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of GAVI Alliance.

UN Airplane Crash in the Capital

2011-04-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Taken from AlJazeera (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/2011450474968861.html)

Thirty-two people have been killed and one person survived when a United Nations plane crashed in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN spokesperson has said.

"We can confirm only one survivor out of the 33 people on board the ... plane," Farhan Haq said.

The plane crashed on Monday while attempting to land at the airport serving the capital city.

It was one of the worst disasters ever involving UN transport. Twenty UN workers were listed as on board the flight.

The plane was carrying UN officials and peacekeepers travelling from the northeastern city of Kisangani to Kinshasa's N'Djili airport, according to a statement from the UN mission known as MONUSCO.

The world body earlier said both Congolese and foreign nationals were on board the plane.

The operator of the plane, Georgian flag carrier Airzena Georgian Airways, said the crew was Georgian.

There were strong winds blowing at the time of the crash.

A UN source in Kinshasa, who asked not to be named, told the Reuters news agency: "The plane landed heavily, broke into two and caught fire."

A Reuters correspondent at the airport said the plane was completely destroyed and the wreckage was lying at the end of the runway.

The UN has a fleet of more than a dozen planes in the country with which the mission transports its personnel, journalists and staff of international and local non-governmental organisations.

Congolese Mining Reform

2011-03-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

Congo-Kinshasa: New Rules for Miners

Kinshasa — Various stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of Congo's mining sector have signed a code of conduct designed to reduce fraud and increase transparency in an industry that has played a key role in the armed violence that has ravaged the east of the country for years, but there is still concern about illegal mining and the military's role.

The adoption of the code coincides with the lifting of a mining ban slapped on the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema by President Joseph Kabila in a purported effort to rid the industry of the "mafia-like networks" that run much of it. It also comes before stringent legislation against the importation of conflict minerals due to be introduced by the US in April.

About 1.7 million people are displaced in DRC, mostly because of conflicts involving domestic and foreign armed groups in the east, a region rich in minerals such as gold, coltan, lithium, cassiterite and wolframite. Armed groups, including the DRC national army (FARDC), are heavily implicated in the industry.

"Shortly after President Kabila's [ban], we started taking measures aimed at ending the massive fraud that is rampant in eastern Congo's mining trade. We have deployed agents to trace minerals from digging areas to export locations and to label and certify them, so we can allow the mining trade to resume," Minister of Mines Martin Kabwelulu said at the end of a four-day seminar on the new code of conduct.

The seminar brought together national and regional government officials, representatives of artisanal miners, mineral buyers and traders, as well as civil society groups, all of whom signed up to the code.

Key measures include:

- All artisanal miners and mineral traders must obtain permits from provincial governments;

- Miners must sell only to authorized buyers. Such buyers must operate premises of solid construction;

- Selling within sites of exploitation is prohibited;

- Miners can work only in authorized areas;

- Minerals must be traded for domestic or foreign currency and must not be bartered;

- Traders must disclose their accounts to provincial mining officials and provide full contact details of their customers;

- A prohibition on the employment of children in mines; and

- Civil society groups will sensitize local populations about the new measures.

"Many trading posts closed after President Kabila banned the minerals trade in eastern DR Congo, so we have been waiting for this moment. We reached a point where our lives became harsh and we no longer had any other source of income," Bagalwa Basimine, a representative of a group of minerals merchants in South-Kivu province, told IRIN on the sidelines of the seminar.

DRC officials say the nature of the industry as was deprived the country of millions that could have been spent on development projects: whereas the provincial governments in North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema earn on average US$100,000 a year, minerals smuggled to Rwanda and Burundi, they claim, earn those countries between $5 million and $10 million a year in tax revenue, according to South Kivu Governor Marcellin Cisambo.

"With these new regulations, people involved in mining will have to work with local authorities," said Paluku Kahongya, governor of North-Kivu Province. He added that anyone found to have links with armed groups would be excluded from the mining sector.

"If in a given area there is no health centre, they will have to work together to sponsor one; if there is no water supply, they have to fund one; if there is no school, they will sponsor the construction of schools since children living in areas where they dig for minerals have the right to attend school," he said. Both governors and traders are to invest in social development projects under the new rules.

Policing the military

Many are sceptical that the new regulations will successfully control armed groups and stop illegal mining. While the regulations have provided a list of requirements for different actors involved, they exclude a number of important groups mentioned in a report on illegal mining and armed groups submitted to the UN Security Council in November 2010 [ http://www.scribd.com/doc/44370265/Final-Report-of-the-Group-of-Experts-on-the-DRC-Nov-26-201 ].

"The code represents everyone who is supposed to be in the mining sector," Gregory Mthembu-Salter, a consultant for the report, told IRIN. "The people left out are people who are in the mining sector and shouldn't be. Obviously that's the armed groups and the FARDC. The Group of Experts has identified criminal networks in the FARDC and their illegal involvement in mining as one of the major threats to security in the affected provinces."

According to the report, this involvement extends to illegal taxation at mining sites, protection racketeering and coercive control and looting of mining areas.

The involvement of the army in mining, particularly those integrated into the military from rebel groups, has been a source of concern for some time. In September 2010, Kabila said he would move several battalions from the Kivu provinces, where soldiers are involved in mining, to other parts of the country.

Kabwelulu said additional measures had been put in place to prevent soldiers from mining. "The role of the army and other security services is to protect the country and pacify it in a post-war state. The army, police and security services have already been notified of the new regulations. Any soldier caught trading minerals is breaking the law and this means he should be punished."

But Annie Dunnebacke of Global Witness claims little has been done by the government to dislodge the military from the mines and that elements in the military tightened their grip on the mineral trade while the ban was in place. "Members of the national army make tens of millions of dollars per year through extortion at mine sites and along mineral transportation routes. Competition over control of the region's mineral wealth has become an incentive for all warring parties to keep on fighting," she told IRIN. Witnesses and human rights groups said government soldiers were sending young men into mines to dig up minerals for them shortly after the ban was introduced.

Mthembu-Salter said the situation could be improved if more stringent measures were put in place for soldiers caught mining. "The FARDC could commit to providing security at mine sites, but not being involved in any mining activities. Now an indication of seriousness in this regard might be for the military justice system to make some headway in their prosecutions of soldiers who have been caught doing this."

Aqua Paradox

2011-03-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Congo-Kinshasa: In Water-Rich Nation, 50 Million People Lack Clean Water to Drink - UN
(http://allafrica.com/stories/201103230168.html)

An estimated 51 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - or three quarters of the population - have no access to safe drinking water, even though the country holds over half of Africa's water reserves, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a new study released today.

The country's troubled legacy of conflict, environmental degradation, rapid urbanization and under-investment in water infrastructure has seriously affected the availability of drinking water, UNEP said in the study, unveiled to coincide with World Water Day.

UNEP was among several participants at an event in the capital, Kinshasa, staged by the National Water and Sanitation Committee, which brought together government representatives, development partners, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers to discuss steps to address the DRC's water challenges.

Speaking at the forum, UNEP's DRC Programme Manager, Hassan Partow, said the study confirmed that despite recent progress, including water sector reforms, the scale of the challenge means that the country will not be able to meet its water targets under the UN-set Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which calls for reducing by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015.

The DRC would have to supply an additional 20.3 million people with safe drinking water by 2015 even to meets its national development goals, which are significantly below the MDGs water target, according to UNEP.

"Since peace was brokered in 2003, the Government has gradually managed to reverse the negative trend in water coverage that has plagued the DRC since its period of conflict and turmoil", said Mr. Partow. "This represents an important achievement which should be applauded."

"However, the stark reality is that the DRC has one of the fastest urbanization growth rates in the world and this is not being matched with adequate water and sanitation service delivery," he added.

Based on extensive fieldwork and stakeholder consultations across the country, the UNEP study found that inadequate water and sanitation delivery in the DRC's rapidly expanding urban centres is due to insufficient, aging and overloaded networks, combined with the degradation of critical water sources and watersheds, such as the Lukunga and N'Djili catchments, which provide millions of people with drinking water in Kinshasa.

According to the study, entitled "Water Issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo - Challenges and Opportunities," in addition to major infrastructure improvements, an investment of approximately $70 million over a five-year period is required to help strengthen the water sector.

UNEP recommends innovative strategies such as community-managed water supply systems in urban fringe areas and low-cost technical solutions, including communal tap areas and rainwater harvesting.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), meanwhile, drew attention to an estimated 37 million rural residents in DRC who risk contracting disease because they have no alternative but to draw untreated water directly from rivers or lakes that are likely to be contaminated.

"A child living in a Congolese village is four times more likely to drink contaminated water than someone in town. Yet, all children have equal right to survival and development of which drinking water is a vital component," said Pierrette Vu Thi, the UNICEF representative in DRC in a statement to mark the World Water Day.

More than 2 million Congolese children under the age of five, or one in five in that age group, are regularly sick with diarrhoea, according to figures from the country's department of health cited by UNICEF.

"The fact that we are unable to provide each family clean drinking water is an affront," said Ms. Vu Thi. "Too many children die because we do not respect our responsibility, and their deaths are ignored," she added

False Flag or Seeds of Revolution?

2011-03-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

27 February 2011 Last updated at 10:36 ET

From BBC Africa (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12591259)

DR Congo: Six killed in 'coup bid' against Kabila

Six people have been killed in an attack on a residence of the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

An "unidentified group of armed men" attacked the residence of President Joseph Kabila in the capital, Kinshasa, a government spokesman said, describing the raid as an attempted coup.

Mr Kabila's guards killed six of the men, the spokesman said.

Joseph Kabila took power in 2001 after his father, President Laurent Kabila, was assassinated.

He was later elected in his own right.
Plagued by violence

In 1998, DR Congo was plunged into a war in which more than five million people died - the deadliest conflict since World War II.

The conflict formally came to an end through a peace deal in 2003, but the east of the country is still plagued by army and militia violence.

"We have witnessed a coup attempt," said Information Minister Lambert Mende, according to Reuters news agency.

"A group of heavily armed people attacked the presidential palace. They were stopped at the first roadblock."

President Kabila was not in the building at the time of the attack at 1330 local time (1230GMT), Mr Mende said.

In addition to the six men killed, several others were detained, he added.

On 15 January, parliament backed a proposal by Mr Kabila to reduce presidential elections from two rounds to one.

The change means the winner can claim victory with less than 50% of the vote.

Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in November 2011.

Congolese Colonel Jailed for Mass Rape

2011-02-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

DR Congo Colonel Kibibi Mutware Jailed for Mass Rape
taken from BBC NEWS

A military court in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo investigating a case of mass rape has sentenced Lt Col Kibibi Mutware to 20 years in jail.

He was found guilty of crimes against humanity for sending his troops to rape, beat up and loot from the population of Fizi on New Year's Day.

Forty-nine women came to testify in the court in in Baraka.

The BBC's Thomas Hubert says it is the first conviction of a commanding officer for rape in eastern DR Congo.

Humanitarian agencies regularly cite government troops as the largest single group of perpetrators of widespread sexual violence in the Kivu region, says our reporter, who is in the town of Baraka, not far from Fizi.
Anger

Sitting in a mobile open air court in Baraka, the military judges also sentenced three officers serving under Lt Col Mutware to 20 years and five soldiers to between 10 and 15 years.

Our reporter says some of the estimated 2,000 people who attended the verdict proceedings, reacted angrily to the sentences.
A victim of the mass rape in Fizi on New Year's day, who testified in court, and her child This woman is one of the 49 rape victims who gave evidence

Crowds surrounded the vehicles which took away the soldiers and began shouting.

"The people are not happy with this judgement; the people were expecting the death sentence," one man in the crowd told the BBC.

Lt Col Mutware is one of many former rebels who joined the army as part of peace agreements in 2009.

The judges said the state should pay compensation to the more than 60 women were raped on 1 January in Fizi.

Our reporter says it is unusual for such large numbers of victims in eastern DR Congo to be willing to testify against their rapists.

Ahead of the verdict, many of them gathered at the rape victims' centre in Fizi.

"I was fleeing the violence but unfortunately I met four soldiers," a 29-year-old mother of five told the BBC about the events on New Year's day.

"They began to tear the pants I was wearing. They took my child from my arms and left him on the ground. Then they had sex with me."

In August 2010, rebel forces were accused of raping hundreds of women, girls, men and boys around the town of Luvungi.
Map

The UN recorded some 11,000 rapes in 2010 - the true figure is believed to be much higher.

Our reporter says since January there have been other reports of sexual violence in an area where the Rwandan FDLR rebels are still active, 40km (about 25 miles) from Fizi.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres says it is planning to deploy a mobile clinic to the area on Monday after receiving credible reports of 30 new rapes last week.

It says it has treated more than 70 victims of rapes in two similar incidents in the area between 19 January and 4 February.

They Want Our Country...FOR FREE!

2011-02-07T11:55:00.001-08:00

Moise Katumbi: Football team owner determined to rebuild Congo

2011-02-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

Moise Katumbi: Football team owner determined to rebuild Congo
From Tom Hayes, CNN

"I can't live without my soccer team," says Katumbi. If he had to choose between the governorship and being chairman of the team, "I think I'll go to my team," he says.

A self-made businessman, Katumbi worked his way up from selling fish as a teenager from the back of his brother's truck to becoming one of the DRC's most successful entrepreneurs.

His business acumen led to calls for him in 2007 to enter politics. That's something Katumbi says initially he was reluctant to do.

"After a lot of talking on the end they convinced me to try," he said. "I promised the president, if I'm not doing well I'm going to resign because I don't know politics."

Four years later, his success in regulating Katanga's previously chaotic natural mineral extraction, coupled with his efforts to accelerate the area's rebuilding process, have made him an increasingly important figure in a country still facing massive problems after years of conflict.

Determined to make a difference as a governor, Katumbi has launched a school improvement program to make sure all of the province's children have access to a decent education.

He estimates that presently only 30% of Katanga's children go to school. His goal is to take that figure as close to 100% as possible by 2015.

"Education is even more important than mining," Katumbi says. "If you don't have minerals at least the children will be educated. They are going to run this country properly because the future is these children."

But it's not just the education infrastructure that Katumbi wants to improve -- the governor's priorities include an ambitious road building program.

"There were no roads before -- you had to choose which roads to go on with journalists," he says. "Today you can go on any road. We have more than 1,000 kilometers of tar road. In Katanga you need 12,000 kilometers."

Despite the progress in Katanga, Katumbi says much still needs to be done to improve living conditions in an area with vast untapped deposits of raw materials.

He describes Congo as a "geological scandal," pointing out not only the country's abundance of minerals, but also its good quality of soil and availability of water.

"The people have seen a lot of change, which really is a small change for me," he says. What he's done in the province "maybe is 7% of my expectation, not even 10%."

He says he doesn't plan to be in power much longer but he hopes his successor can continue and even outdo the work he has started.

If Katumbi does step down, he'll have more time to indulge his other great passion -- football.

He says the potential for social change that football brings is one of the elements that have inspired his devotion to the sport.

"Soccer is something very good for the kids to do...to stay out of doing bad things," Katumbi says. "I like doing social programs for the people, that's why I'm in soccer. Soccer is social. I don't like anyone to suffer."

Remembering Lumumba

2011-01-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

NY Times: An Assassination’s Long Shadow

January 16, 2011
By ADAM HOCHSCHILD

TODAY, millions of people on another continent are observing the 50th anniversary of an event few Americans remember, the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. A slight, goateed man with black, half-framed glasses, the 35-year-old Lumumba was the first democratically chosen leader of the vast country, nearly as large as the United States east of the Mississippi, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This treasure house of natural resources had been a colony of Belgium, which for decades had made no plans for independence. But after clashes with Congolese nationalists, the Belgians hastily arranged the first national election in 1960, and in June of that year King Baudouin arrived to formally give the territory its freedom.

“It is now up to you, gentlemen,” he arrogantly told Congolese dignitaries, “to show that you are worthy of our confidence.”

The Belgians, and their European and American fellow investors, expected to continue collecting profits from Congo’s factories, plantations and lucrative mines, which produced diamonds, gold, uranium, copper and more. But they had not planned on Lumumba.

A dramatic, angry speech he gave in reply to Baudouin brought Congolese legislators to their feet cheering, left the king startled and frowning and caught the world’s attention. Lumumba spoke forcefully of the violence and humiliations of colonialism, from the ruthless theft of African land to the way that French-speaking colonists talked to Africans as adults do to children, using the familiar “tu” instead of the formal “vous.” Political independence was not enough, he said; Africans had to also benefit from the great wealth in their soil.

With no experience of self-rule and an empty treasury, his huge country was soon in turmoil. After failing to get aid from the United States, Lumumba declared he would turn to the Soviet Union. Thousands of Belgian officials who lingered on did their best to sabotage things: their code word for Lumumba in military radio transmissions was “Satan.” Shortly after he took office as prime minister, the C.I.A., with White House approval, ordered his assassination and dispatched an undercover agent with poison.

The would-be poisoners could not get close enough to Lumumba to do the job, so instead the United States and Belgium covertly funneled cash and aid to rival politicians who seized power and arrested the prime minister. Fearful of revolt by Lumumba’s supporters if he died in their hands, the new Congolese leaders ordered him flown to the copper-rich Katanga region in the country’s south, whose secession Belgium had just helped orchestrate. There, on Jan. 17, 1961, after being beaten and tortured, he was shot. It was a chilling moment that set off street demonstrations in many countries.

As a college student traveling through Africa on summer break, I was in Léopoldville (today’s Kinshasa), Congo’s capital, for a few days some six months after Lumumba’s murder. There was an air of tension and gloom in the city, jeeps full of soldiers were on patrol, and the streets quickly emptied at night. Above all, I remember the triumphant, macho satisfaction with which two young American Embassy officials — much later identified as C.I.A. men — talked with me over drinks about the death of someone they regarded not as an elected leader but as an upstart enemy of the United States.

Some weeks before his death, Lumumba had briefly escaped from house arrest and, with a small group of supporters, tried to flee to the eastern Congo, where a counter-government of his sympathizers had formed. The travelers had to traverse the Sankuru River, after which friendly territory began. Lumumba and several companions crossed the river in a dugout canoe to commandeer a ferry to go back and fetch the rest of the group, including his wife and son.

But by the time they returned to the other bank, government troops pursuing them had arrived. According to one survivor, Lumumba’s famous eloquence almost persuaded the soldiers to let them go. Events like this are often burnished in retrospect, but however the encounter happened, Lumumba seems to have risked his life to try to rescue the others, and the episode has found its way into film and fiction.

His legend has only become deeper because there is painful newsreel footage of him in captivity, soon after this moment, bound tightly with rope and trying to retain his dignity while being roughed up by his guards.

Patrice Lumumba had only a few short months in office and we have no way of knowing what would have happened had he lived. Would he have stuck to his ideals or, like too many African independence leaders, abandoned them for the temptations of wealth and power? In any event, leading his nation to the full economic autonomy he dreamed of would have been an almost impossible task. The Western governments and corporations arrayed against him were too powerful, and the resources in his control too weak: at independence his new country had fewer than three dozen university graduates among a black population of more than 15 million, and only three of some 5,000 senior positions in the civil service were filled by Congolese.

A half-century later, we should surely look back on the death of Lumumba with shame, for we helped install the men who deposed and killed him. In the scholarly journal Intelligence and National Security, Stephen R. Weissman, a former staff director of the House Subcommittee on Africa, recently pointed out that Lumumba’s violent end foreshadowed today’s American practice of “extraordinary rendition.” The Congolese politicians who planned Lumumba’s murder checked all their major moves with their Belgian and American backers, and the local C.I.A. station chief made no objection when they told him they were going to turn Lumumba over — render him, in today’s parlance — to the breakaway government of Katanga, which, everyone knew, could be counted on to kill him.

Still more fateful was what was to come. Four years later, one of Lumumba’s captors, an army officer named Joseph Mobutu, again with enthusiastic American support, staged a coup and began a disastrous, 32-year dictatorship. Just as geopolitics and a thirst for oil have today brought us unsavory allies like Saudi Arabia, so the cold war and a similar lust for natural resources did then. Mobutu was showered with more than $1 billion in American aid and enthusiastically welcomed to the White House by a succession of presidents; George H. W. Bush called him “one of our most valued friends.”

This valued friend bled his country dry, amassed a fortune estimated at $4 billion, jetted the world by rented Concorde and bought himself an array of grand villas in Europe and multiple palaces and a yacht at home. He let public services shrivel to nothing and roads and railways be swallowed by the rain forest. By 1997, when he was overthrown and died, his country was in a state of wreckage from which it has not yet recovered.

Since that time the fatal combination of enormous natural riches and the dysfunctional government Mobutu left has ignited a long, multisided war that has killed huge numbers of Congolese or forced them from their homes. Many factors cause a war, of course, especially one as bewilderingly complex as this one. But when visiting eastern Congo some months ago, I could not help but think that one thread leading to the human suffering I saw begins with the assassination of Lumumba.

We will never know the full death toll of the current conflict, but many believe it to be in the millions. Some of that blood is on our hands. Both ordering the murders of apparent enemies and then embracing their enemies as “valued friends” come with profound, long-term consequences — a lesson worth pondering on this anniversary.

***Adam Hochschild is the author of “King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa” and the forthcoming “To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918.”

TP Mazembe triumph

2010-12-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

TP Mazembe stun Internacional for historic win

Tue Dec 14, 2:25 pm ET

ABU DHABI (AFP) – African champions Tout Puissant Mazembe pulled off the biggest shock in the 10-year history of the Club World Cup by beating Internacional 2-0 in the semi-finals here on Tuesday.

The side from the Democratic Republic of Congo prevailed through fine second-half strikes by Mulota Kabangu and Dioko Kaluyituka to become the first team from outside Europe and South America to reach the tournament's final.

Having already seen off Mexicans Pachuca in the quarter-finals, they will now face either European champions Inter Milan or Asian Champions League holders Seongnam Ilhwa of South Korea in Sunday's decider. "We believed in ourselves, we were confident and you could see that when we started attacking, especially at the start of the second half," said TP Mazembe coach Lamine N'Diaye.

"We were lucky too, and don't forget that our goalkeeper was excellent -- he was like a magician! But to win 2-0, it?s a day of happiness for us. "It's very good for this team and for the Congolese people, and every African should be proud of this team."

South American champions Internacional, from the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, were bidding to become the first team to win the competition twice, having already tasted success in 2006.

They were, however, routinely frustrated by TP Mazembe goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba, whose brilliance played a decisive role in one of the most famous results in his club's history. "We had lots of great opportunities but unfortunately their goalkeeper was excellent," said Internacional coach Celso Roth.

"It was time for Africa to reach the final and unfortunately it has been at our expense. There's no dishonour in that -- African football is improving all the time and I don't see anything shameful in losing to an African team."

Inter's technical qualities were apparent from kick-off and their inventive approach play saw them procure a number of early opportunities. Rafael Sobis twice shot off target before being denied by a brilliant save from Kidiaba, who plunged to his left to deny the former Real Betis forward as he took aim from 10 yards. Inter defender Indio went close with a header that flashed across the face of goal, while precise crosses from right-back Nei set up first Tinga and then Matias, neither of whom were able to find the target.

The second half was eight minutes old when Kabangu made the breakthrough, skilfully taming the ball inside the Inter box and then steering a half-volley inside the right-hand post with his right instep.

Sobis spurned two chances to equalise for Inter, drawing a smart reaction save from Kidiaba with a swerving strike and then heading over from Andres D'Alessandro's left-wing centre.

Roth made two changes in a bid to force a way back into the contest and saw substitute Giuliano bring another splendid stop from Kidiaba with a left-foot effort in the 69th minute.

As the Brazilians pressed forward, TP Mazembe hit them with a sucker punch in the 85th minute.

Kaluyituka picked up the ball wide on the left and bamboozled Pablo Guinazu with a series of step-overs before cracking a low drive into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the box.

The ECONOMIST presents

2010-12-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

Former DR Congo leader faces trial

2010-11-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Jean-Pierre Bemba pleads not guilty to charges of murder and rape as his war crimes trial begins at The Hague.

Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has gone on trial for rape and murder allegedly committed by his troops in the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR).

The 48 year old pleaded not guilty as the trial began at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Monday afternoon.

Bemba is charged with three counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity for the alleged atrocities by about 1,500 fighters of his Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) between October 2002 and March 2003.

He is the most senior political leader to be detained so far by the ICC.

"It is the first time in the history of international justice that a military commander is on trial on the basis of indirect criminal responsibility for rapes committed by his fighters," an official in the prosecutor's office told the AFP news agency.

The case, which is expected to continue for months, should serve as an "example" for others who lead fighters in war, he said.

'Unfair trial'

Jonah Hull, Al Jazeera's correspondent in The Hague, said the defence team told a pre-trial news conference that the court was likely to see "the most unfair trial in the history of international justice".

"[The defence] said that Bemba in essence had no command of his forces once they crossed the border into the Central African Republic and that ultimate responsibility lies with Ange-Felix Patasse, the then-president of the CAR, who invited Bemba's forces in to put down a coup in the first place."

But Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the ICC, told the news conference that "the evidence shows that the troops were always under the authority and command and control of Jean-Pierre Bemba".

"The MLC is the army of and owned by Jean-Pierre Bemba," he said.

"Bemba created it, to make money and to make power ... and that is the point for us: you will not make money or power by committing atrocities. You will be jailed."

So far, 759 victims have been authorised to participate in the trial, with a further 500 applicants for the court to consider, a registrar said.

"It's the first time in the history of international justice that such a large group of people has been authorised to participate," Paolina Massidda of the ICC's office of public counsel for victims was quoted by AFP as saying.

Prosecutors say that about 400 rapes were recorded in Bangui, the capital of the CAR.

These were carried out during five months of fighting as the MLC helped Patasse resist a coup led by Francois Bozize, the current CAR president.

But Aime Kilolo, Bemba's defence lawyer, said that the MLC "fought in the uniform of the Central African Republic and under its flag, it was the Central African authorities who were in charge of command and discipline".

Bemba fled DR Congo in 2007, after coming second to Joseph Kabila in a presidential election and subsequently refusing to disband his armed group. The decision led to clashes that left hundreds dead.

The former vice-president was arrested in Brussels in May 2008 on an ICC warrant. The court was asked to take the case by Bozize.

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

Canada mining firm sued over role in DR Congo conflict

2010-11-16T09:02:00.000-08:00

from BBC World News:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11725651?print=true

Relatives of victims and survivors of a massacre in the Democratic Republic of Congo have filed a class action suit against the Canadian company Anvil Mining.

More than 70 civilians were allegedly killed by Congolese troops when they recaptured the town of Kilwa in 2004.

Anvil Mining is accused of providing logistical support to the military.

The company says it has not yet reviewed the allegations in detail, but it intends to defend itself.

The suit was brought in a Montreal court by the Canadian Association Against Impunity (CAAI) - a group which brings together survivors and relatives of victims and British, Canadian and Congolese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which are supporting them.
Fighting for justice

Emmanuel Umpula Nkumba, from the Congolese advocacy group ACIDH, said: "We must continue to fight against impunity. The victims' families have never lost hope of seeing justice being done."

Matt Eisenbrandt is the legal co-ordinator of the Canadian Centre for International Justice, part of the association.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Patricia Feeney, Executive Director, RAID

It is important to set a benchmark for multinational companies operating in developing countries, particularly countries in conflict zones”

End Quote Patricia Feeney Raid's executive director

He told the BBC's Network Africa the case was being brought in Montreal because Anvil Mining is a Canadian corporation.

"There were attempts at holding people and the corporation responsible in Congo which met with a lot of problems and justice wasn't achieved there," he said. "So the victims have had to turn to Canada to seek justice."

Three Anvil employees were charged with complicity in war crimes in DR Congo but they were acquitted in June 2007, after a military trial which the United Nations said failed to meet international standards of fairness.

The company, which was Australian-owned at the time of the incident, has not denied that it supplied trucks and other logistical support to help Congolese troops get to Kilwa, where they recaptured the town from a rebel group in October 2004.

It argued that the firm had no option but to agree to the government's requisition request.

The CAAI, in its lawsuit, also alleges that Anvil's vehicles transported civilians "who were allegedly taken outside the town and executed by the military".

A UN report suggests that during the military operation, at least 73 civilians were killed.
Benchmark for conduct

The British group Raid (Rights and Accountability in Development) has amassed the testimony of many eyewitnesses and survivors.

Raid Executive Director Patricia Feeney, who is also president of the CAAI, said the allegations contained in the lawsuit were the most serious against a multinational company that Raid had come across in the last 10 years of working in southern and central Africa.

She said it was a case that would not go away until the circumstances of the killings had been examined.

"It is important to set a benchmark for multinational companies operating in developing countries, particularly countries in conflict zones," she told the BBC.

"They have an obligation to observe the same standards of conduct and respect for international rights as they would in their own jurisdiction."

In response to the suit, Anvil Mining said that over the years there had been numerous investigations and court proceedings but "no findings adverse to Anvil or any of its employees have arisen in respect of the Kilwa incident".

Unacceptable Conditions on DR Congo Border

2010-11-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

UN: Mass rapes on Angola-DRC border
Unicef says 650 women and girls locked up, tortured and sexually abused by security forces during mass expulsions.

source: Al Jazeera

More than 650 women and girls have been raped during mass expulsions from Angola to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past two months, according to a body of the United Nations.

Many of the victims said they were locked up and tortured for several weeks while they were raped repeatedly by security forces.

The report by the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) said 6,621 people arrived in Congo's western Kasai province, in two waves during October. It is not clear on which side of the border the rapes took place.

"The conditions of expulsion are still terrible. In many cases, sexual violence is reported and even cases of torture," the report said, citing 657 instances of sexual violence based on evidence collated by welcome committees on both sides of the border.

Separately, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing humanitarian workers, said the true figure was close to 100.

"We are not in a position to confirm in which country they (the rapes) happened, but we do call on the authorities of the two countries to investigate these accusations to find out whether the rapes took place and where," Maurizio Giuliano, a spokesman of OCHA, said.

'No complaints'

Lambert Mende, the DRC information minister, said authorities had not received any reports of rape.

"We're not informed. We don't know, these figures are not confirmed," he said. "There are expulsions, perhaps there are rapes but we have received no complaints and we don't want to launch a dossier."

The report comes in the wake of an international outcry triggered by the rape of at least 303 civilians in eastern Congo between July 30 and August 3 by rebels in the town of Luvungi.

Angola and Congo often indulge in tit-for-tat expulsions and the figure touched 211,000 in 2009.

Angola helped the Congolese government fight off Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed rebels during fighting between 1998 and 2003, which drew in several neighbouring countries.

However, deteriorating relations between the two countries followed disputes over border demarcation, offshore oil ownership and closer Congolese relations with Rwanda and Uganda, its neighbours to the east.
Source:
Agencies

Congo general 'profits from blood gold'

2010-11-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

By Thomas Fessy BBC News, North Kivu

A senior officer in the Democratic Republic of Congo has used the military to illegally profit from a gold mine, sources have told the BBC.

The BBC has evidence that Gen Gabriel Amisi Kumba installed a mining firm at the Omate mine in return for a 25% cut.

Following a mining ban in September, production is continuing at the mine under direct military control.

The general refused to answer questions about his role and the firm involved, Geminaco, denies there was a deal.

The lure of profits from mines in eastern DR Congo has turned the area into a battlefield.

Rebels target civilians in the surrounding villages near the border with Rwanda and Uganda and there have been reports of kidnapping, massacres and mass rapes, fuelled by the profits from minerals.

The military was sent in to suppress the rebels and ensure security for the local people.
Raw gold

During the last 12 months, Geminaco approached Gen Amisi, the second in command of the army, asking him to help it take over Omate.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

The gold goes to the brigade commander in charge of units which are supposed to hunt down rebels”

End Quote Soldier at Omate

Rene Mwinyi, head of Geminaco, told the BBC the company had the rights to mine the area.

In February, the general wrote to the regional army commander in North Kivu, telling him to evict a rival company, Socagrimines, in favour of Geminaco.

The BBC has a copy of the letter, which says: "I order you to proceed to the eviction of the administration in place and all military involved in mining activities and to reinstate Geminaco in its initial positions."

But the head of the government's mining division in North Kivu, Emmanuel Ndimubanzi, said the general should have had no role in the dispute between the two companies.

He added that neither Socagrimines nor Geminaco had the right to mine at Omate.

A well-placed source in the industry told the BBC the general benefited from the arrangement.
Map of DR Congo, showing North Kivu

"The head of Geminaco in Congo, Rene Mwinyi, is a friend of General Amisi, or 'Tango Fort' as they call him," he said.

"They struck a deal to exploit Omate gold mine, which would give Amisi 25% of the monthly production of the raw gold."

A soldier, who spent over two months at the mine, also told the BBC: "At Omate there is the company Geminaco which exploits the minerals… and there are also soldiers who were sent by our chief of staff, General Tango Fort, who are also mining."

"The gold goes to the brigade commander in charge of units which are supposed to hunt down rebels…it also goes to Kinshasa. This is very serious: Instead of benefiting the state, this money goes to unknown pockets."

Mr Mwinyi said no such deal was done with Gen Amisi.

However, the 25% arrangement was confirmed by a provincial government source. Like many of the people who spoke to me, he would not go on the record because of fear of reprisals.

A source at Socagrimines said the company had tried and failed to do a deal with Gen Amisi itself. He said it was impossible to mine in the area without military support.
'Soldiers desert posts'

In September, Congolese President Joseph Kabila ordered a ban on mineral production in the east of the country, to root out what he called "mafia groups" who control the trade.
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Thomas Fessy visits the first Congolese mineral trading centre

It is part of efforts by the UN and government to make the industry more transparent - initiatives include new trading guidelines and the setting up of mineral exchange centres.

Geminaco has since been evicted from Omate, and its manager at the mine was arrested in October.

A source told the BBC that the manager was arrested because Gen Amisi was not getting his promised cut of the profits. The manager himself denied there was any deal between the company and the general.

He said Geminaco's ejection from the mine was related to the ban - which contradicts Mr Mwinyi's statement that the firm has an exemption from it.

Despite the ban, mining has continued at Omate - now under direct control of the military.

A gold digger confirmed that he was working at the Omate mine very recently. Armed soldiers control the mine and often beat the diggers, he said.

I was unable to visit the mine myself because of the heavy deployment of soldiers. However, a friend visited on foot and confirmed that production is continuing.

When the BBC contacted Gen Amisi, he refused to answer questions about Omate, saying he was not entitled to talk to the media.

He referred us to the army's spokesman who said we had no authority to investigate the general's interests.

DR Congo remains one of the world's poorest countries, despite its rich resources of minerals like gold, cassiterite and coltan.

The east of the country was ravaged by many years of war involving Congolese, Ugandan and Rwandan forces.

An estimated five million people died and the area has suffered continuing conflict involving armed groups who have committed numerous atrocities.

Just this summer, more than 300 civilians were raped in this area by a coalition of rebel groups.

An internal memo from the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo suggested that the villages attacked were vulnerable because there were no Congolese soldiers to protect them.

The soldiers deployed there had left their posts to go to mining areas nearby, including Omate.

DR Congo to Copy China?

2010-11-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

Shanghai World Expo, another success for China: DR Congo operator

KINSHASA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- "The Shanghai World Expo was another great milestone in China after the 2008 Beijing Olympics," Faustin Kiala, an economic operator in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Kiala, who is also the president of the Bana Mbanza Mpangu farmers' association, said that after the successful organization of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the Chinese people have demonstrated to the international community that they have taken their destiny in their own hands and that they are committed to a development process which today makes their country one of the greatest economic, political, cultural and scientific nation on the planet.

"I think that a country like DR Congo should copy the Chinese development model so that she can also become an economic powerhouse in Africa.

"In the agricultural sector, for example, we have a lot to learn from China. In DR Congo, we have very fertile soils and water sources that can help us to carry out extensive farming. China has shown her capability to feed the over one billion people and export more food to other parts of the world. This is a an agricultural powerhouse that we should emulate," he explained.

The president of Bana Mbanza Mpangu association pointed out the need for DR Congo to develop close relations with China, especially in the agricultural, cultural and tourism sectors.

"For us at the associational level, we are using the Chinese model to manage our organization and develop our structures. We are still searching for Chinese partners who can help us to develop our agro-pastoral zone," he said.

Kiala said the Shanghai World Expo opened China to the world, and more specifically to DR Congo.

"This was an opening up by the people of China to the world. The success of the Expo was the fruit of seriousness, selflessness, hard work and patriotism exhibited by the Chinese people," Kiala added.

He regretted over the failure by DR Congo to strongly participate in the Shanghai World Expo.

"It's so sad that DR Congo did not send enough economic operators to this 'give and take' exhibition. China is an indispensable partner and an example to be emulated by all developing countries," he affirmed.

Kiala said he would like to see China and DR Congo coming up with Sino-Congolese agricultural exhibition, so that there can be exchange of experience and skills between farmers and researchers from the two countries.

"Just as China wants to open up to the world, DR Congo must open up to China," he told Xinhua.

The Bana Mbanza Mpangu association is an agricultural organization bringing together Congolese intellectuals from various domains. This organization has set up a number of agricultural and educational projects in Kinshasa and Bas Congo provinces, where it possesses huge tracts of agricultural land.

source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-11/02/c_13587360_2.htm

Congolese Women Organize against rape

2010-10-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

Thousands of women have marched against sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the miseries of war have been compounded by mass rapes.

About 1,700 women who had attended a week-long forum on peace and development in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, joined in the march on Sunday, which was led by Olive Lembe Kabila, the wife of the president, Joseph Kabila.

The atmosphere of the march was colourful and peaceful, and many demonstrators carried banners with slogans such as "No to sexual terrorism".

"Coming here is important because violence towards women is used systematically as a weapon of war," Miriam Nobre, an organiser of the march with the World March of Women, said.

The UN estimates that 15,000 women were raped in eastern DR Congo last year. Numerous Congolese and overseas rebel groups are active in the region, while government forces are also accused of mistreating civilians.

'Regaining dignity'

"We have fought this for years, and now it seems that the international community is genuinely interested in our problems," Nene Rukunghu, a doctor at a hospital in Bukavu where rape victims are treated, said.

"We must fight against impunity, so that the perpetrators of violence are punished, to allow women can regain their dignity. Despite what they endure, Congolese women are strong and able to stand up again," she said.

According to the UN Population Fund, there were 17,507 sexual violence attacks throughout Congo in 2009 - including more than 9,000 in North and South Kivu, which have been at the centre of the conflict in the east.

The scale of rapes and sexual violence has not diminished much this year, according to the fund, known as UNFPA, which collects data in Congo.

It said there were 7,685 attacks in Congo between January and June, including more than 4,500 in the two Kivu provinces.

Abubakar Dungus, a UNFPA spokesman, said 5,427 of the sexual attacks this year - about 70 per cent - were perpetrated "by men in uniform''. It was unclear if he was referring to soldiers or rebels.

Source: Al Jazeera Africa (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/10/20101017181314911798.html)

FDLR Leader ARRESTED!

2010-10-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

French authorities have arrested the alleged leader of a Rwandan group accused of mass rapes and killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Callixte Mbarushimana was arrested in Paris after a sealed warrant was issued for his arrest, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor said on Monday.

Mbarushimana is suspected to be the leader of a group called the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda - known widely by its French acronym FDLR - which is accused of having carried out hundreds of rapes in the DRC province of Kivu.

The FDLR is made up of mainly Rwandan Hutu fighters or Interahamwe, who are blamed for the 1994 genocide and have been sheltering in neighbouring DRC.

The ICC, based in The Hague, says Mbarushimana is wanted for 11 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including killings, rape, persecution based on gender and extensive destruction of property committed by the FDLR during most of 2009.

source: Al Jazeera (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/10/2010101115553520111.html)

ARREST MADE!

2010-10-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Arrest in DR Congo over mass rape
UN arrests a commander of a tribal militia for alleged raids on villages where 500 people were raped.

A DR Congo rebel commander has been arrested on suspicion of leading raids on villages in the country's east where 500 people were raped in late July and early August, the UN has said.

UN headquarters in New York circulated an announcement by the UN peacekeeping force in Congo of the arrest of commander of a tribal Mai-Mai militia, known as Lieutenant Colonel Mayele, for alleged mass rapes.

The UN said Mayele was arrested on Tuesday in a military operation carried out by the UN Mission for the Stabilisation of the DR Congo (Monusco) and the Congolese military.

A mean for intimidation

Rape has been increasingly used by various groups of fighters in eastern Congo to intimidate, punish and control the population, especially in the mining areas.

According to the UN announcement, the mass rapes and human rights violations are said to have been committed by about 200 Congolese Mai-Mai rebels, fighters from the Rwanda-led Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda or FDLR, and elements loyal to former Congolese army Colonel Emmanuel Nsengiyumva who was also a rebel in the former Tutsi-led People's National Congress or CNDP.

The UN force said a preliminary report from UN human rights officials identified 303 civilian victims, 235 women, 13 men, 52 girls and 3 boys.

Margot Wallstrom, who is responsible for UN efforts to combat sexual violence in conflict, told to Al Jazeera that Mayele's arrest "should send out a signal that sexual violence will not go unpunished."

"This is the first strong signal that says we are determined to end impunity, this is an important step forward. and the first of I hope an arrest for the ones responsible for the rape.

"This sends a strong signal in the military chain of command and to the rebel group that we keep you under our watch, and we will do everything we can to apprehend the perpetrator," she said.

Monusco said Mayele had been handed over to military judicial authorities who have opened a judicial inquiry.

Monusco said it will continue to pursue those responsible for the mass rapes so they can be brought to justice.

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

What is the cause of mass rape?

2010-10-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

UN Reports Mass Raping in Eastern Congo by Terrorists

2010-09-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Congo-Kinshasa: Preliminary UN Report Confirms Over 300 Rapes By Rebels in Eastern DR Congo

24 September 2010

A United Nations human rights team today confirmed that at least 303 civilians were raped over a period of four days in late July and early August in the volatile far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning that the total number of victims may be even higher.

"The scale and viciousness of these mass rapes defy belief," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

"Even in the eastern part of DRC where rape has been a perennial and massive problem for the past 15 years, this incident stands out because of the extraordinarily cold-blooded and systematic way in which it appears to have been planned and executed."

The known victims include 235 women, 52 girls, 13 men, and 3 boys, some of whom were raped multiple times, according to the 15-page preliminary report, prepared by the UN Joint Human Rights Office comprising the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Human Rights Division of the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

In addition, at least 923 houses and 42 shops were looted and 116 people were abducted in order to carry out forced labour, according to a news release on the report.

The attacks, which took place mostly after dark in the Walikale region, were carried out between 30 July and 2 August by a "coalition" of around 200 members of three armed groups - the Maï Maï Cheka, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), and elements close to Colonel Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, an army deserter who has also in the past been involved with the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) group.

OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva that the attackers, armed with AK47s, grenades and machetes, initially pretended that they had come to provide security for the population, before launching attacks in small groups.

They subsequently cut off the main routes into the area and had taken control of a key hill, which was the only place where telephone communications were possible in the area, thereby preventing the population from raising the alarm, he added.

Mr. Colville also stressed that the total number of victims might well be higher, as attacks were still taking place in the area while the investigating team was in the villages. The attacks prevented the team from completing its investigation in six of the 13 affected villages.

In addition to the mass rapes in the Walikale region covered in the report, the FDLR also attacked 19 villages north-east of Shabunda during the first three weeks of August, allegedly committing a further 214 cases of rape. The UN Joint Human Rights Office has, however, not yet been able to confirm these cases and the exact circumstances surrounding them, due to serious insecurity in the area.

He added that both local leaders and victims believe the prime motive for the attacks were to punish and subjugate the local population whom the attackers viewed as "traitors."

The report points to serious shortcomings in the preparedness and response of the local detachments of the Congolese army and the police stationed in the area. It also notes that their failure to prevent or stop the attacks was compounded by subsequent failings on the part of MONUSCO forces, which the report says did not received any specific training in the protection of civilians.

A number of recommendations are made to both to the Congolese authorities and to MONUSCO to improve their systems to prevent such situations from arising. The report also urges humanitarian agencies to provide the Congolese authorities with much needed medical assistance and psychological care for all the victims, and the international community in general to support the efforts of the Congolese authorities to arrest those commanding the armed groups and bring them to justice.

Ms. Pillay offered the Congolese authorities her support to carry out investigations and bring the alleged perpetrators of these crimes to justice.

"I fully recognize the enormous difficulties this involves, but we have to do better. Impunity for rape in the past, and now, will simply breed more rape in the future. The cycle of impunity for sexual violence in this part of the DRC must be broken."

Source: allAfrica.com (http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201009240819.html)

DR Congo Plans to Attack FDLR

2010-09-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

Kigali — SENIOR officials of the Congolese army (FARDC) are in the DRC's volatile eastern region to assess the situation and come up with fresh strategies to battle against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia.

This was revealed by Maj. Vianney Kazalama, the Congolese army (FARDC) spokesperson in DRC's North Kivu Province.

"The chief of the army (FARDC Chief of Staff, Lt. General Didier Etumba), is currently in Walikale together with other senior army officers, to plan how to wipe out these rebels," he said.

The revelation comes shortly after Congolese President, Joseph Kabila, also toured the region and suspended mining activities in an attempt to clean up the sector and weed out rebel groups who are using the region's mineral wealth to fuel conflict.

The FDLR comprises remnants of masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda. They fled the country in 1994 after masterminding the killing of over one million people. For the past 16 years, the rebels have been entrenched in the DRC's vast eastern region where they have continued to cause a humanitarian catastrophe - killing, raping and plundering.

In a series of attacks in July and August, the FDLR, in conjunction with their Congolese Mai-Mai militia allies, gang-raped 500 women and some children in Walikale.

"Ever since the last attacks and the rapes, there have been no more serious incidents," said Maj. Kazalama.

The Congolese army is reportedly increasing its deployments there in what seems to be another bid to purge the FDLR.

Following the recent Walikale atrocities, a top UN official - Atul Khare, the United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping, admitted that UN peacekeepers had failed the rape victims. Khare then also recommended that the UN Security Council imposes targeted sanctions against the FDLR.

source:http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201009201192.html

Kabila Suspends 'Conflict Mines'

2010-09-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has ordered a suspension on mining in three provinces during a visit to the eastern Walikale region, where the United Nation says more than 240 women were raped within a month.

Joseph Kabila said authorities want to weed out "a kind of mafia involved in minerals exploitation" that he accused of fueling conflicts.

D'Assise Masika, the mining minister of North Kivu province, which is affected by the ban, said on Friday that the president wants to clean up the sector and create better living conditions for people there.

An official presidential statement would be published in the near future, Masika said.

Rebel groups accused of committing atrocities against local populations in the three provinces - North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema - also control the lucrative mining activities in the region.

The provinces are rich in cassiterite and coltan, the minerals used to make phones, computers, games consoles and other electronics. They also have some gold reserves.

Among the armed groups running illegal mining operations are the Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) - considered one of the main sources of instability in the region.

Officers of the DR Congo army and members of other rebel groups have also been accused of exploiting the mines.

Continuing conflict

Atul Khare, the UN under-secretary general for peacekeeping operations there, blamed the FDLR and its allies, the local Mai Mai militia, earlier in the week for a series of mass rapes between July 30 and August 3.

He also acknowledged that the UN had failed to halt "the unacceptable brutalisation of villages in the area".

Since war broke out in 1998, the DR Congo had been embroiled in a conflict that has left more than five million people dead - the highest war-related death toll since WWII.

In December 2008, the UN security council passed a resolution calling for a travel ban and asset freeze to be imposed on all individuals and entities supporting illegal armed groups in DR Congo through the illicit trade of natural resources. Another resolution was passed in December 2009.

While in May 2010, the UN adopted a resolution on the security situation in the DR Congo, in which it emphasised "that that the linkage between the illicit exploitation and trade of natural resources and the proliferation and trafficking of arms is among the major factors fuelling and exacerbating conflicts in the Great Lakes region".

A US financial reform bill passed in July 2010 also requires companies that engage in the trade and use of minerals like coltan to declare in an annual report if they are sourcing their supply chain from the DR Congo, or an adjoining country.

Source:
Al Jazeera (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/09/201091155928846989.html)

The Latest from allAfrica.com on DR Congo

2010-09-08T23:38:00.000-07:00

Congo-Kinshasa: UN Mission in DR Congo Prolongs Special Patrols to Deter Attacks Against Civilians

8 September 2010

The United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday said it was extending by another week an operation designed to enhance the protection of civilians in the eastern areas of the country where members of illegal armed groups raped some 240 people recently.

The UN mission, known as MONUSCO, last week launched the operation known as Shop Window, intended as a show of force and to boost protection of residents of the villages of Pinga, Kibua and Walikale in North Kivu province, where the mass rapes took place. The operation has been extended until 15 September.

The operation, carried out by some 750 peacekeepers with the support of attack and observation helicopters, is also aimed at providing security cover to efforts by the national authorities to apprehend those suspected of committing the rapes in villages along a 21-kilometre stretch of road in North Kivu between 30 July and 2 August.

Eight of nine new operational bases have already been set up under the new measure. As of Monday, 165 patrols and 21 helicopter reconnaissance flights had been conducted. The operation is also intended to be a tool to gather information on armed groups in the area and to meet local officials and community leaders.

source: http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201009090010.html

Deaths in DR Congo boat accidents - Africa - Al Jazeera English

2010-09-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Deaths in DR Congo boat accidents - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Hundreds of people are believed to have died in two separate river-boat accidents on the Democratic Republic of Congo's vast rivers over the weekend.

In the first incident in the Central African nation, around 70 people were reported to have drowned when a boat capsized on the Rupi River early on Saturday morning. Ebale Engumba, a local official in Equatuer province where the accident occurred, said the boat hit a rock while travelling in darkness without a light.

"We are going to arrest people involved who are in charge of regulating the boat's movement who failed to stop that boat from traveling at night,'' she said.

On Saturday evening, another boat, overloaded with passengers, caught fire and capsized in Kasai Occidental province, leaving around 200 people feared dead.

Local officials said that passenger manifest had been burned in the fire, leaving them unable to confirm how many people were on board, but witnesses said that the boat was overfilled with passengers.

Looting fishermen

One survivor, a woman named Romaine Mishondo, said the boat was already packed with "hundreds'' of passengers when it stopped some 10 minutes before the fire to pick up more people.

She said she did not know exactly how many people were aboard, but said the boat was so crowded it reminded her of "a whole market in the village full of people.''

She said that local fishermen quickly arrived on the scene, but began looting the boat rather than helping those in the water.

"Fishermen attacked the boat and started beating passengers with paddles as they were (trying) to loot goods,'' she said.

Mwamba Mwati Nguma Leonard, the boat's owner, said the fire had started while the boat was refuelling. "At the moment I am crying after learning my boat caught fire,'' Leonard said. "I was just told on phone that it was while seamen were putting fuel into the tank that an explosion occurred after the oil touched the vessel's battery.''

He said he has not been able to contact his employees who were at the scene of the accident, about 800km from the capital Kinshasa.

Francois Madila, an official from the navigation department in the province, said police had arrested two crew members and were investigating the incident.

Accidents common

River boats are a common mode of transport in DR Congo, which has less that 480km of paved road. The boats are often in poor repair and overloaded for trips, and many passengers are unable to swim, making fatal accidents a common occurance.

In July, officials said at least 80 people died when a boat ferrying about 200 passengers to DR Congo's capital capsized after hitting a rock.

In May, dozens of people died when an overloaded canoe capsized on a river in eastern DR Congo. And last November, at least 90 people were killed after a logging boat sank on a lake.

The timber-carrying vessel was not supposed to be carrying passengers.
Source:
Associated Press

One Rape Per Hour

2010-09-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Congo-Kinshasa: Outrage Grows Over Failure to Protect Civilians

6 September 2010

Geneva — Human rights groups are demanding an investigation into the U.N.'s failure to prevent a raid from occurring where nearly 200 women were systematically gang raped by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) late last month.

"These scandalous, outrageous atrocities should serve as a wakeup call for the international community," Marcel Stoessel, Oxfam International's country director in the DRC, told IPS in a phone interview.

Amnesty International echoed Oxfam's sentiments, calling for a critical investigation of the U.N.'s inaction.

"The DRC government and the United Nations must urgently review the failures to protect civilians to prevent such horrors from being inflicted again," Amnesty International said in a statement.

According to IPS, Amnesty also urged the immediate gathering and preservation of evidence in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Legally, the responsibility to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the mass rapes lies with the weak and often ineffective Congolese government, which has been under mounting pressure to capture and try the individuals responsible.

A spokesperson for the U.N. said that a team has been deployed to investigate the incident, and is expected to finish its work by the beginning of September. The Congolese government, however, is not involved.

Another official of a human rights group admitted that the rebels were not likely to be apprehended, much less prosecuted. He cited a leaked U.N. report, revealed by Le Monde on Wednesday, which accuses the government of Rwanda of war crimes, including possibly genocide, in the DRC as reflecting the history of violence in the region since 1993.

Rape is systematically used as a tool of war, with about one case of rape reported every hour - the perpetrators of which are usually armed men from rebel groups or the regular Congolese army, according to Amnesty.

Given the DRC's instability, in 1999 the U.N. sent a peacekeeping force to the country, now called MONUSCO, which is charged with the protection of civilians. This week, it was revealed that MONUSCO failed to act despite knowledge of the rebels' presence in the villages, and failed to respond timely after eventually receiving information of the mass rapes.

Source: allAfrica.com (http://allafrica.com/stories/201009060441.html)

Reccomended Reading

2010-08-27T21:53:00.001-07:00

Africa's World War: Congo, The Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe

written by Gerard Prunier

Rwanda's Involvement in Genocide

2010-08-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

From Al Jazeera Africa:http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/08/201082717746660515.html

UN links Rwanda to DRC massacre
The prosecutor said the 'pattern' in the DR Congo slaughter resembled that of the Rwandan genocide

A war-crimes prosecutor has said Hutus who fled Rwanda to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after the 1994 genocide were butchered in a "pattern" similar to the Rwandan massacre.

Luc Cote, the head of a new UN investigation, said that Rwandan Tutsi troops and their rebel allies targeted, chased, hacked, shot and burned Hutus in the DRC, from 1996 to 1997, after the outbreak of a cross-border Central African war.

"For me it was amazing," he told news agencies on Friday. "I saw a pattern in the Congo that I'd seen in Rwanda."

Cote was referring to the 1994 genocide where Hutu extremists butchered an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

'Systematically done'

He investigated the genocide and ran the legal office of the UN International Criminal Tribunal in Rwanda from 1995 until 1999.

"It was the same thing. There are dozens and dozens of incidents, where you have the same pattern. It was systematically done," he said.

Cote's comments came in advance of the official release next month of a 600-page UN report co-authored by him on atrocities committed in the central African nation.

It is a nightmarish inventory of murder, rape and looting that took place in the DRC from 1993 until 2003 as it was torn apart by more than half a dozen plundering armies.

The report's most damaging element says that Rwandan Tutsi commanders and their rebel allies may have committed genocide.

"The systematic and widespread attacks described in this report ... reveal a number of damning elements that, if they were proven before a competent court, could be classified as crimes of genocide," stated the probe.

Rwanda dismissed the report as malicious and ridiculous, accusing the UN of seeking to bury its own failings.

'Unacceptable'

"It is immoral and unacceptable that the UN, an organisation that failed outright to prevent genocide in Rwanda ... now accuses the army that stopped the genocide of committing atrocities in the Congo," Ben Rutsinga, the Rwandan government spokesman, said.

France's Le Monde newspaper said Rwanda had threatened to withdraw peacekeepers from Sudan's Darfur region over the charges.

The UN has said the leaked report was only a draft version and experts say diplomats are debating whether to include the genocide accusation in the final copy of the document.

Cote's probe, a draft of which was obtained by the AFP news agency, is silent on the death toll though it found evidence suggesting tens of thousands of Hutus had been killed.

UN and other aid agencies said in the 1990s that 200,000 Hutus were unaccounted for.

The possibility of genocide forms only a part of the UN report.

Rwanda Linked to Hutu Massacres

2010-08-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

From allAfrica.com:http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201008270477.html

Radio France Internationale (Paris)
Congo-Kinshasa: UN Report to Show Rwanda Massacred Hutus in DR Congo, Says Le Monde

27 August 2010

The French media reported on Friday that a UN report will detail mass killing of Hutu refugees by Rwandan forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1990s.

Friday's Le Monde newspaper has seen what it describes as "an almost definitive version" of a 600-page UN report. The document investigates human rights abuses in eastern DRC, between 1993 and 2003.

Over a million Hutus fled to the DRC in the wake of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, which ended when President Paul Kagame's RPF forces took control of the country.

Le Monde says the report identifies "systematic attacks" against these Hutu refugees by the Rwandan army - and the Congolese rebel group the AFDL - in the years 1996 to 1998.

The report suggests that there could be a basis for a charge of genocide.

Although other armies are also cited in the investigation, the paper claims that Kigali has spent weeks attempting to quash it. Le Monde says that Kagame threatened last month to pull Rwandan troops out of UN peacekeeping missions over the allegations.

The paper also quotes a letter from Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, written earlier this month to the UN. Her letter suggests similar consequences if the report is "published" or "leaked to the press".

But Le Monde says Ban Ki Moon is uneasy with any use of the term "genocide" in the final version of the report, due out next month - and that he has warned its authors to verify the legal basis of any accusations they make.

Rwanda meanwhile described the allegations against its army as "outrageous".

Mass Rape in the DR Congo

2010-08-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

Taken from AlJazeera Africa: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/08/201082402724259229.html

Reports of mass rape by DRC rebels
The UN says at least 5,400 women in the DRC are believed to have been raped in 2009 alone [EPA]

Almost 200 women have been raped by rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), during a four-day seizure of a town, aid groups have said.

A US aid worker and a Congolese doctor told the Associated Press on Monday that the attacks occurred within miles of a UN peacekeepers' base

Will Cragin of the International Medical Corps (IMC) said that aid and UN workers knew fighters from Rwandan rebel FDLR group and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels had occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages the day after the attack began on July 30.

Three weeks later, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo issued no statement about the attacks and said on Monday that it was still investigating.

Cragin also told the Associated Press that his organisation was only able to get into the town, which he said is about 16km from a UN military camp, after rebels withdrew on their own on August 4.

Systematic rape

"There was no fighting and no deaths, Cragin said, just "lots of pillaging and the systematic raping of women".

Luvungi is a farming centre on the main road between Goma, the eastern
provincial capital, and the major mining town of Walikale.
MONUC was based in the DRC since 1999 to help the government gain control of the east [AFP]

Four young boys were also raped, according to Kasimbo Charles Kacha, the district medical chief.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the peacekeeping mission has a military operating base in Kibua, about 30km east of the village, but villagers were prevented from reaching the nearest communication point as FDLR fighters blocked the road.

Civil society leader Charles Masudi Kisa said there were only about 25 peacekeepers and that they did what they could against some 200 to 400 rebels who occupied the town of about 2,200 people and five nearby villages.

"When the peacekeepers approached a village, the rebels would run into the forest, but then the Blue Helmets had to move on to another area, and the rebels would just return," Masudi said.

"During the attack [the rebels] looted [the] population's houses and raped several women in Luvungi and surrounding areas," Stefania Trassari, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said
on Monday.

"International Medical Corps (IMC) reported that FDLR systematically raped the population during its four-day stay in Luvungi and surrounding areas. A total of 179 cases of sexual violence were reported," Trassari said, adding all of the cases
were of rape against women.

Harrowing accounts

The IMC said it was treating the victims.

"Nearly all reported rapes were described as having been perpetrated by two-to-six armed men, often taking place in front of the women's children and husbands," it said in a statement.

The United Nations has withdrawn 1,700 peacekeepers in recent months in response to demands from DRC government to end the mission next year, but still supports operations against several armed groups in the country's east.

Roger Meece, the new head of the UN mission called MONUSCO - which replaced predecessor MONUC - said last week that the rebels were still a huge threat to the population and the UN would keep trying to wipe them out.

Margot Wallstrom, the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, said in April the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the country would make the struggle against endemic rape "a lot more difficult".

Accurate figures for sexual violence are hard to come by as many rapes are unreported but according to the UN, at least 5,400 women reported being raped in neighbouring South Kivu province in the first nine months of 2009 alone.

MONUC had been in the former Belgian colony since 1999 to help the government of the DRC as it struggles to re-establish state control over the vast central African nation.

A war from 1998-2003 and the ensuing humanitarian disaster have killed an estimated 5.4 million people in the country.

From the New York Times

2010-08-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Democratic Republic of Congo: Rebels Have Seized Hundreds, Report Says
By REUTERS

The Lord’s Resistance Army rebels have abducted 697 people in Central Africa in the past 18 months, killing many of them, according to an investigation by a human rights group released Thursday. The Ugandan rebel group “has killed at least 255 adults and children, often by crushing their skulls with clubs,” said Human Rights Watch, whose researchers spent a month gathering evidence on attacks in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Nearly one-third of those abducted have been children, many of whom are being forced to serve as soldiers or are being used for sex by the group’s fighters,” the statement added.

Proletariat Education: The Protestor's Perspective

2010-08-10T01:38:00.000-07:00

Africans march in Brussels against 50 years of neocolonial rule in Congo

By Luwezi Kinshasa, Secretary General of the ASI
Published Aug 3, 2010

BRUSSELS — On June 30, 2010, Congolese nationals based in France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, along with African individuals from Jamaica, Ivory Coast and Martinique, descended on Brussels, the Belgian capital, to demonstrate against the celebration of 50 years of Congo flag independence, the celebration of which was marked by the presence of the current Belgian king, Albert IV, in Kinshasa, Congo.

This demonstration was called by Richard Lumumba, a nephew of the former prime minister Patrice Lumumba, in association with Congolese activists based in Belgium such as Henry Muke and Congolese organizations based in Belgium. The African Socialist International’s (ASI) influence on Richard Lumumba can be seen in the t-shirts he printed for this march that say “ASI, Européen Front de la Révolution Africaine” (ASI, European Front of the African Revolution).

The announcement that King Albert IV of Belgium would participate in the ceremony of the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Congo’s independence in Kinshasa created a fierce debate amongst the Africans from Congo inside and outside the country. This debate is part of the general discussion taking place around the “Cinquantenaire of African independence” or “50 years of African independence” in Africa and around the world.

The rally started modestly with about 100 people gathering around 1:00pm. The crowd swelled gradually over the next hour. By the time we were marching, two hours later, we were at least 1,000 strong. Our numbers made the police nervous. Some people, sensing the power of our numbers, wanted to have a show down with the police.

The ASI was represented by members of APSP-England. We brought four ASI banners to this event: two in French and two others in English. They read: “Belgian colonialism in Congo a crime against humanity,” “Complete the Congolese revolution of the sixties,” “Genocide in Congo, made in U.S. and EU” and the ASI lead banner that said,

"The solution for the Congo must be an African solution

"'If we do not formulate plans for unity and active steps to form political union, we will soon be fighting and warring amongst ourselves with the imperialists and colonialists standing behind the screen and pulling vicious wires to make us cut each other's throats for the sake of their diabolical purposes in Africa'

"Kwame Nkrumah 1961"

We chanted slogans such as “Reparations Now,” “Belgian wealth — Stolen wealth from Congo,” “Africa is not poor, Africa is looted, Congo is not poor, Congo is looted,” “UN out of Congo,” “Lumumba liberator! Leopold II genocidaire!,” ”Kabila must go now!”

Should we celebrate the 50 years of African independence?

At the June 30 march in Brussels, the overwhelming response was that there was nothing to celebrate. How could Kabila dare to invite the king of our historical oppressors on the day that is supposed to be a celebration of our liberation?

Our people in Congo are so poor that spending millions of dollars to celebrate something that is not real did not make sense. Congo is a country under occupation, ruins still in place from the slave trade and colonialism, and the most recent 15 years of proxy wars led by the neocolonial mercenary governments and militaries of Uganda and Rwanda, and financed primarily by the U.S., Britain and other European countries.

Independence has benefited the African petty bourgeoisie. This is what the flag independence was for, to allow them to access political power, which was concentrated in the colonial state apparatus. The colonial state apparatus is a tool to maintain the colonial economic status quo and to repress the people, who are strangled by the colonial economy that continued after the declaration of the flag independence.

Six million people have died in the genocide without end in Congo, in the looting and present proxy wars with no end in sight. The result is a never ending humanitarian disaster throughout the Congo, not just in regions affected by the proxy wars of occupation. To speak of a genuine independence, the people must be in power, Africa must be united and strong on the international scene.

Lessons to be learned from the march; Uhuru Movement slogans part of the march

The first thing that was clear is that it was easy to expose imperialism in white face with slogans, like “Belgian colonialism in Congo is a crime against humanity,” “Leopold II genocidaire, Lumumba liberator,” “Africa is not poor, it is looted, Congo is not poor, it is looted,” “We Demand Reparations now,” etc.

Many of the radical petty bourgeois can unite with the above slogans, but the immediate task of African revolutionaries is to raise the political education of the African working class everywhere, particularly in imperialist centers where an active and dynamic African working class can decisively contribute to the political and ideological defeat of western imperialist governments.

Listening to slogans like “Kabila Rwandan!” or to songs that say we do not know his daddy or his mummy does not elevate the political level of the workers. It promotes sectarianism and reactionary tribalism and support of imperialist defined borders which are designed for the continued exploitation of the resources of beloved Africa.

ASI slogans contribute to the political development of the African working class in Brussels

The slogan “Kabila must go!” does not take into account that for over 30 years we said, “Mobutu must go!” Mobuto did go, but things are worse than before. The issue is that we need slogans that inform the people that the most important immediate task of the African working class everywhere is the end of the neocolonial state. This must be done in alliance with poor peasants and petty bourgeois progressive forces in the society.

It is the State that must be consciously borne out of a struggle against the colonial state of the parasitic class of the African petty bourgeoisie bureaucrats and compradors. We needed slogans that mobilize the class of workers not just against the current president, as is often the case, but against the entire comprador and bureaucrat African petty bourgeoisie and against imperialism.

Many people who came to the march in Brussels did so because they were against the King’s visit to Congo, or against Kabila’s regime, or against the vassal status of Congo’s neocolonial State in relation to Uganda and Rwanda’s neocolonial States. Others may have come because of the ongoing genocide of six million people in the Congo.

Nostalgic supporters of Mobutu came to the march with flags bigger than anything available. They came with their backward slogans and empty chants, which can only delay the development of the revolutionary spirit of the workers and keep them at the tail of the movement led by the petty bourgeois forces.

The attempt to expose Mobutu failed, as most of the people identified Kabila as the main problem. They forgot about Mobutu, whose betrayal laid the ground for the current situation in the Congo. Many believe Kabila is the problem. We must intensify political education that persuades people that if we are tired of dealing with collaborators such Mobutu, Tshombe, Kabila and others, we must be strategic; we must get rid of neocolonialism.

Some forces who came to the march wanted to hold up the Flemish flag! Flemish nationalism is white nationalism as much as Belgian nationalism is white nationalism. The conflict between the Flemish and Walloons about who should run Belgium has nothing to do with white solidarity with oppressed people in Congo. They are in dispute over who should get the lion’s share of the resources coming from Congo and the rest of Africa.

Spontaneity and the struggle against opportunism

There were elements in the march that were inclined to fight the police! I heard some saying that there were only five police in front of us.

I don’t know how they could only see five cops! What about those inside all the police vans and vehicles around the march? What about the undercover police? What about their means of communication for getting more police backup in no time?

What preparations have these protesters done? What are their goals in this march? What are their long term political goals? None!

There were a lot of women with children, and elderly women too, who had no idea about the forces trying to engage the police. We had to engage these anti-police forces to dissuade them from initiating a fight that would allow the police to assault the march. They are an example of people who would sacrifice the goals of the march for their own selfish interests. Spontaneity is the mother of opportunism.

At some point in the march, spontaneous decisions were made. We started up the road that was part of the planned itinerary. But later, the march split when some elements insisted on going to (and were already heading to) the Congolese embassy.

At the end of the demonstration, there was no clear established agenda. It had not been determined who should speak or should not speak. Everyone who could grab one of the megaphones available went to speak, in disregard of the real march organizers.

Who’s visions were to be central? To what end was this demonstration organized?

Participation of a thousand people requires a well structured organization with a clearly established philosophical and organizational discipline accepted by the masses. The organizers must develop slogans and chants to heighten the African working class consciousness and reveal to the people the ultimate tasks of the African workers.

The masses had their own songs, which did not educate the people about the vassal status of Kabila to Kagame. Most of the time those songs were expressions denouncing and exposing Kabila, which showed that the revolutionaries are lagging behind.

We have not studied these songs with the intent to rework them and give them back to the people with a more revolutionary content that articulates the interests of the workers and poor peasants and other progressive forces, at the expense of the African petty bourgeoisie and white imperialism.

The philosophy of African Internationalism draws a line of demarcation that will separate the black workers from the black exploiters, the black collaborators of white imperialism from the pro-independence forces. The radicalization of the Congolese mass movement would be measured by the introduction and development of African Internationalism.

It is not enough to repeat the symbolism, rhetoric and programs of the sixties. I am convinced that African Internationalism offers the only path to the theoretical and strategic development required to complete the Congolese Revolution, which also means to complete the thought and work of Lumumba.

This is true for all the leaders of the unfinished black revolutions of the sixties. They all find their fusion and completion in African Internationalism.

The urgent work that needs to be done today is the work that aims to build the revolutionary party of the workers in alliance with poor peasants right here in Belgium, and in Congo too.

This work includes massive propaganda work that mobilizes the workers. This work must reveal the selfish interest of the workers in opposition to those of the African petty bourgeoisie.

The most important aspect of this work is the struggle to fight against opportunism within our own movement, the pro-independence movement and the anti-colonial movement. This is the task Mulele, Lumumba and others did not complete -- the work to defeat opportunism, the cancer that sells out the long term and fundamental interests of the revolution for short term gains.

Today’s work is the development of an international strategy to win freedom in Congo. We went to Belgium in order to win people to that strategy, which is to build the ASI in Europe, a party of the African workers in Europe, of which Belgium would be a section. I am already a part of it in England where I am based.

The ASI is the organization that needs to be built right there in Belgium as part of rebuilding our movement with the clear intent to complete the Congolese Revolution in Congo.

The Party of the ASI in Belgium would be the guardian and custodian of the interests of the whole African Revolution around the world. It would represent Congo, as well as Haiti, Trinidad, Gabon and the whole African revolution in Belgium.

The latter will not go to sleep easily, because it would be made to account for possession on its soil of the wealth stolen from Congo, and the whole African world.

(See the pictures on www.uhurunews.com)

From our People about our People

2010-08-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Town Hall with Young African Leaders

2010-08-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Rwandan Rebels take Indian Pilot

2010-07-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

Rwandan rebels seize Indian pilot
7/25/2010 3:37:52 AM
Story from Al Jazzeera

Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) say that rebels from neighbouring Rwanda have taken an Indian pilot hostage.

The rebels attacked the pilot's aircraft in a tin mining zone in DRC's North Kivu province, army and mining officials said on Saturday.

Baigwa Dieudonne Amuli, a Congolese army official, said Rwandan Hutu FDLR rebels were to blame for the abduction.

"The FDLR attacked a plane with the assistance of Mai Mai Sheka [militia]. We are pursuing the rebels in the bush. They took money and the co-pilot of the plane," Amuli said, adding that $60,000 in cash had been stolen.

The Goma Express, an airline company whose aircraft was attacked, said a Russian pilot escaped and flew the plane back to Goma, the provincial capital 150km away, with a wounded Congolese national on board.

Pedro Kadogi, the director of Goma Express, confirmed the incident and said the plane had been looted before it returned to Goma. He said food supplies, rather than money, had been on the plane.

"Everybody fled the scene into the bush and the co-pilot has been taken hostage," he said.

"After two hours the Russian pilot panicked and refused to wait and flew the plane back to Goma."

About 15 planes a day land at the airstrip to export tonnes of cassiterite from the Bisie mine in the deep jungle.

Congo's Quest

2010-06-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

Congo's Quest for Liberation Continues
By Bahati Ntama Jacques and Beth Tuckey, June 30, 2010

Congo has long been the focus of resource exploitation. The first era of colonization in Africa, beginning in the mid-1880s, was most pronounced in this central African country. Belgium's King Leopold brutalized the population in his quest for rubber and riches, leaving a legacy of natural resource exploitation by white Europeans in the heart of Africa.

Today, at the 50th anniversary of Congo's independence, the country continues to be a source of wealth for the world, yet the Congolese people live in poverty. Like many African nations, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is suffering under this new era of neocolonialism, where natural resources belong not to those who live on the land but to those with power and access to global markets.

The pursuit of true independence and liberation in Congo will continue until foreign nations cease their policies of exploitation.

History of Violence

When Patrice Lumumba began agitating for independence in early 1960, there was great hope that Congolese people would benefit from the resources of their land, lifting the country out of poverty and into an era of prosperity. Instead, after nearly three months in office as Congo's first elected prime minister, Lumumba was deposed in a coup and four months later killed in a plot orchestrated by the Belgian government with the complicity of the United States. Mobutu Sese Seko, a staunch opponent of communism, took power in a CIA-backed coup and became one of Africa's most brutal dictators. He drove Congo — which he named Zaire — into ruin.

In 1996, Rwanda and Uganda invaded Congo and forced Mobutu to flee, while a new leader, Laurent Kabila, rose to power. Since then, eastern Congo has been mired in conflict, overrun by rebel groups and government militias, each of which seeks control of Congo's vast wealth. It's estimated that between 1998 and 2007, 5.4 million people died in DRC as a direct or indirect result of conflict. Meanwhile, the world has come to depend on minerals such as tungsten, tin, and coltan, used in electronics and sophisticated weaponry, which come primarily from the Congo. Western love for the Congo has always been for its resources, never its people, which explains the lack of any genuine interest in helping to build Congo's state capacity.

Lack of transparency or regulation in the mining industry in Congo makes it nearly impossible to prevent the sale of conflict minerals in electronic products. And although many companies have expressed interest in disclosing their supply chain information, tracing which minerals come from the conflict zone in eastern Congo remains a significant challenge.

In the 110th session of Congress, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced the Conflict Minerals Trade Act "to improve transparency and reduce trade in conflict minerals," and Sen. Samuel Brownback (R-KS) introduced the companion Senate legislation "to require annual disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission of activities involving columbite-tantalite, cassiterite, and wolframite from the Democratic Republic of Congo." Also in May, Brownback was able to attach a related amendment into the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, which passed the Senate and is being reconciled with the House version of financial reform. While an admirable start considering the inadequate U.S. government attention paid to Congo, such legislation is only a small part of a more holistic policy shift needed to address the economic colonization of DRC.

America: Part of the Problem?

The United States can do much more to promote true security and prosperity in Congo. However, time and time again the United States has been part of the problem. In 2008, the United States was among a group of nations that negotiated the premature and hasty integration of former rebel forces of the Rwanda-backed rebel group, the National Council for the Defense of the People (CNDP) into the Congolese national army. These Rwandan troops, as part of the national army, today represent a serious threat to sustainable peace in eastern Congo.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-Rwanda relationship continues to be very problematic as far as peace and stability in Congo is concerned. From 2000 to 2009, the United States provided $1.034 billion to Rwanda when its government was occupying large territories in Congo and plundering Congolese resources. While Washington argues that it never intended to aid the Rwandan invasion in the Congo, U.S. financial support possibly helped the Rwandan government secure money within its budget to wage the deadly war.

As a senator, Barack Obama introduced legislation, ultimately signed into law in 2006 by President George W. Bush, that requires the U.S. Secretary of State to "withhold assistance made available under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961…other than humanitarian, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism assistance, for a foreign country if the Secretary determines that the government of the foreign country is taking actions to destabilize the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

But it wasn't the United States, ironically, that took action. Sweden and the Netherlands, after looking at the evidence of Rwandan involvement in the conflict in the Congo made available by a UN panel of experts' report in 2008, threatened to withhold their financial support to Rwanda. This action, which drew international attention to the issue, held the Rwandan government accountable by requesting an immediate withdrawal of its troops from the Congo. Instead of following suit, the United States participated in the misleading and failed integration of former CNDP forces into the Congolese army. So far, the Obama administration shows no sign of implementing the legislation that Sen. Obama worked so hard to promote. The key to the U.S. relationship with Rwanda is rooted in access to Congo's resources.

Congo as Heart

All governments must enact strict laws against the import of products that fuel conflict, use child labor, or otherwise support human rights violations in Africa. Companies should also be forced to pay fines and reparations to communities they have damaged in the creation of their goods.

But at the same time, and equally as important, governments must work to engage Africa in the global economy in a way that encourages human security. Although coltan and tungsten fuel deadly conflict in eastern Congo, they also provide local people with jobs and some means of income. The Congolese government, with the support of the international community, should ensure that those local people reap the true benefits of their labor, which requires strict attention to worker's rights. In this way, Congo and the outside world can partner to advance resource sovereignty and local ownership.

Congo is the heart of Africa. Yet, after 50 years of political independence, it still does not beat on its own. Nor does it sustain the health of other African counties. Lumumba once famously said, "free and liberated people from every corner of the world will always be found at the side of the Congolese." The liberation of Congo — which is a key part of the liberation of all of Africa — requires that people in countries that profit from Congo's wealth stand in solidarity with those who rightfully own it. That means, most importantly, taking action as citizens and pushing governments to create more responsible policies toward central Africa regarding the use of its natural resources.

Lumumba's Independence Day Speech 1960

2010-06-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

LE DISCOURS DE LUMUMBA LE 30 JUIN 1960:

LA JOURNÉE DU 30 JUIN DISCOURS DE PATRICE LUMUMBA, PREMIER MINISTRE

Congolais et Congolaises, Combattants de l’indépendance aujourd’hui victorieux, Je vous
salue au nom du gouvernement congolais, A vous tous, mes amis, qui avez lutté sans
relâche à nos côtés, je vous demande de faire de ce 30 juin 1960 une date illustre que
vous garderez ineffaçablement gravée dans vos cœurs, une date dont vous enseignerez avec
fierté la signification à vos enfants, pour que ceux-ci à leur tour fassent connaître à
leurs fils et à leurs petits-fils l’histoire glorieuse de notre lutte pour la liberté.
Car cette indépendance du Congo, si elle est proclamée aujourd’hui dans l’entente avec la
Belgique, pays ami avec qui nous traitons d’égal à égal, nul Congolais digne de ce nom ne
pourra jamais oublier cependant que c’est par la lutte qu’elle a été conquise
(applaudissements), une lutte de tous les jours, une lutte ardente et idéaliste, une
lutte dans laquelle nous n’avons ménagé ni nos forces, ni nos privations, ni nos
souffrances, ni notre sang. Cette lutte, qui fut de larmes, de feu et de sang, nous en
sommes fiers jusqu’au plus profond de nous-mêmes, car ce fut une lutte noble et juste,
une lutte indispensable pour mettre fin à l’humiliant esclavage qui nous était imposé par
la force.

Ce que fut notre sort en 80 ans de régime colonialiste, nos blessures sont trop fraîches
et trop douloureuses encore pour que nous puissions les chasser de notre mémoire. Nous
avons connu le travail harassant, exigé en échange de salaires qui ne nous permettaient
ni de manger à notre faim, ni de nous vêtir ou nous loger décemment, ni d’élever nos
enfants comme des êtres chers. Nous avons connu les ironies, les insultes, les coups que
nous devions subir matin, midi et soir, parce que nous étions des nègres. Qui oubliera
qu’à un noir on disait "tu", non certes comme à un ami, mais parce que le
"vous" honorable était réservé aux seuls blancs? Nous avons connu que nos
terres furent spoliées au nom de textes prétendument légaux qui ne faisaient que
reconnaître le droit du plus fort.

Nous avons connu que la loi n’était jamais la même selon qu’il s’agissait d’un blanc ou
d’un noir: accommodante pour les uns, cruelle et inhumaine pour les autres. Nous avons
connu les souffrances atroces des relégués pour opinions politiques ou croyances
religieuses; exilés dans leur propre patrie, leur sort était vraiment pire que la mort
elle-même. Nous avons connu qu’il y avait dans les villes des maisons magnifiques pour
les blancs et des paillotes croulantes pour les noirs, qu’un noir n’était admis ni dans
les cinémas, ni dans les restaurants, ni dans les magasins dit européens; qu’un noir
voyageait à même la coque des péniches, aux pieds du blanc dans sa cabine de luxe.

Qui oubliera enfin les fusillades où périrent tant de nos frères, les cachots où furent
brutalement jetés ceux qui ne voulaient plus se soumettre au régime d’une justice
d’oppression et d’exploitation (applaudissements) (1).

Tout cela, mes frères, nous en avons profondément souffert. Mais tout cela aussi, nous
que le vote de vos représentants élus a agréés pour diriger notre cher pays, nous qui
avons souffert dans notre corps et dans notre cœur de l’oppression colonialiste, nous
vous le disons tout haut, tout cela est désormais fini. La République du Congo a été
proclamée et notre pays est maintenant entre les mains de ses propres enfants. Ensemble,
mes frères, mes sœurs, nous allons commencer une nouvelle lutte, une lutte sublime qui va
mener notre pays à la paix, à la prospérité et à la grandeur. Nous allons établir
ensemble la justice sociale et assurer que chacun reçoive la juste rémunération de son
travail (applaudissements).

Nous allons montrer au monde ce que peut faire l’homme noir quand il travaille dans la
liberté et nous allons faire du Congo le centre de rayonnement de l’Afrique tout entière.
Nous allons veiller à ce que les terres de notre patrie profitent véritablement à ses
enfants. Nous allons revoir toutes les lois d’autrefois et en faire de nouvelles qui
seront justes et nobles. Nous allons mettre fin à l’oppression de la pensée libre et
faire en sorte que tous les citoyens jouissent pleinement des libertés fondamentales
prévues dans la déclaration des Droits de l’Homme (applaudissements). Nous allons
supprimer efficacement toute discrimination quelle qu’elle soit et donner à chacun la
juste place que lui vaudra sa dignité humaine, son travail et son dévouement au pays.
Nous allons faire régner non pas la paix des fusils et des baïonnettes, mais la paix des
cœurs et des bonnes volontés (applaudissements).

Et pour tout cela, chers compatriotes, soyez sûrs que nous pourrons compter non seulement
sur nos forces énormes et nos richesses immenses, mais sur l’assistance de nombreux pays
étrangers dont nous accepterons la collaboration chaque fois qu’elle sera loyale et ne
cherchera pas à nous imposer une politique quelle qu’elle soit (applaudissements). Dans
ce domaine, la Belgique qui, comprenant enfin le sens de l’histoire, n’a pas essayé de
s’opposer à notre indépendance, est prête à nous accorder son aide et son amitié, et un
traité vient d’être signé dans ce sens entre nos deux pays égaux et indépendants. Cette
coopération, j’en suis sûr, sera profitable aux deux pays.

De notre côté, tout en restant vigilants, nous saurons respecter les engagements
librement consentis. Ainsi, tant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur, le Congo nouveau, notre
chère République que mon gouvernement va créer, sera un pays riche, libre et prospère.
Mais pour que nous arrivions sans retard à ce but, vous tous, législateurs et citoyens
congolais, je vous demande de m’aider de toutes vos forces. Je vous demande à tous
d’oublier les querelles tribales qui nous épuisent et risquent de nous faire mépriser à
l’étranger. Je demande à la minorité parlementaire d’aider mon gouvernement par une
opposition constructive et de rester strictement dans les voies légales et démocratiques.
Je vous demande à tous de ne reculer devant aucun sacrifice pour assurer la réussite de
notre grandiose entreprise. Je vous demande enfin de respecter inconditionnellement la
vie et les biens de vos concitoyens et des étrangers établis dans notre pays. Si la
conduite de ces étrangers laisse à désirer, notre justice sera prompte à les expulser du
territoire de la République; si par contre leur conduite est bonne, il faut les laisser
en paix, car eux aussi travaillent à la prospérité de notre pays. L’indépendance du Congo
marque un pas décisif vers la libération de tout le continent africain
(applaudissements).

Voilà, Sire, Excellences, Mesdames, Messieurs, mes chers compatriotes, mes frères de
race, mes frères de lutte, ce que j’ai voulu vous dire au nom du gouvernement en ce jour
magnifique de notre indépendance complète et souveraine (applaudissements). Notre
gouvernement fort, national, populaire, sera le salut de ce pays. J’invite tous les
citoyens congolais, hommes, femmes et enfants, à se mettre résolument au travail en vue
de créer une économie nationale prospère qui consacrera notre indépendance économique.

Hommage aux combattants de la liberté nationale ! Vice l’indépendance de l’Unité
africaine! Vive le Congo indépendant et souverain! (Applaudissements prolongés).

As the UN leaves Issues Arise

2010-06-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

A state-within-a-state controlled by former Congolse-Tutsi rebels, is emerging in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo once controlled by the Hutu perpetrators of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, raising the chances of renewed violence in the Great Lakes region.
The mini state now run by former rebels of Congolese-Tutsi known as the CNDP collect taxes, appoint local officials and man border posts. A flag now wavers from atop a hill signifying self-government.

According to reports, the CNDP have allowed at least 60,000 people across the border from Rwanda in recent months leading residents in the region to describe the situation as an invasion by Rwanda.

"The situation is explosive in Masisi [one of the districts under the new flag]. I am not really optimistic that this can be resolved without conflict,” Vice president of the provincial assembly based in Goma, Jean Baumbiliya Kisoloni said.

The provincial coordinator of the National Commission for Refugees, Laingulia Njewa, told news reporters that many of the newcomers might be not refugees but rather economic migrants, abandoning their tiny, overpopulated state in search of, literally, greener pastures. United Nations officials, legislators and traditional chiefs are already forming pacification committees to try and resolve the rising tensions.

Refugees International (RI) revealed that people from Rwanda are "attempting to pass themselves off as Congolese refugee returnees and arriving to areas under the protection of the CNDP, adding to the frictions that are rising." In a manifesto published after his 2009 capture, former CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda said that without colonization, today’s Congo would not exist and his Congolese home district would be part of Rwanda.

The RI report also found that large farms are being established in the area through heavy taxation and threats of violence to drive out land owners. It also said there were reports of armed herders in Masisi serving as a militia.

After the 1994 genocide, Hutu extremists fled to east Congo and took control of Masisi, the land now in dispute. The over 54,000 Congolese Tutsis in Masisi at the time fled to Rwanda because Masisi was to be declared a "Hutuland."

The Congolese government had failed to facilitate the return of the Congolese Tutsis who were forced to flee Masisi into Rwanda. According to experts, this failure led to the formation of a Congolese Tutsi rebellion known as the CNDP, who wanted their parents to return to Masisi from Rwanda. The rebellion led by General Laurent Nkunda eventually reclaimed Masisi. The CNDP tripled the size of Masisi to include lucrative mines and tens of thousands of acres of land.

"What’s going on here now [in Masisi] is boiling under the surface, a calm before the storm, and when it explodes ...," Camilla Olson of Refugees International was quoted by AFP.

Congolese Tutsi rebel leader, Gen. Nkunda was arrested in 2009 and a peace agreement was signed between Rwanda and Congo. But The CNDP says it will not dismantle its "parallel administration" until the Congolese government fulfills its part of the peace accord by organizing the return of the refugees and giving Congolese Tutsis positions in the government.

The U.N. refugee agency has taken names of thousands of new arrivals from Rwanda but is unable to match them to names of refugees registered in Rwandan camps, and has vowed to repatriate the 54,000 Congolese Tutsi refugees registered with the U.N. in Rwanda. Karl Steinacker of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has been unable to explain the origins of some "undocumented" people crossing from Rwanda.

Contribution from Scott Morgan and Afrik.com

DR Congo Suspends Police Chief

2010-06-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

story from Al Jazeera Africa (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/06/201066151023866458.html)

The police chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been suspended, following the death of a human rights' activist.

Officials said on Sunday that the decision to suspend General John Numbi was taken to allow a deeper investigation into the incident.

The body of Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, head of Voice of the Voiceless, was found in his car on Wednesday in a suburb of the capital, Kinshasa.

"[Inspector-General] John Numbi was suspended so that the attorney-general can focus on his enquiries smoothly and make sure nothing gets in the way of the investigations," Daniel Lubo, an adviser at the interior ministry, told the Reuters news agency.

The rights group, one of the largest in the DRC, said Chebeya had been due to meet the police chief the night before his death.

The group also said he appeared to have been strangled. The driver of the car has not been found since contact was lost with Chebeya on Tuesday evening.

Several police officers, including Daniel Mukalay, head of the police special service, were arrested on Saturday in connection to the death.

More than 50 human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have demanded an independent enquiry into the killing in an open letter to Joseph Kabila, the Congolese president.

Erwin van der Borght from Amnesty International said Chebeya had been arrested and threatened in the past.

"Threats and intimidation [are] unfortunately part of the working environment in which [rights activists in the DRC] have to operate," he told Al Jazeera.

"We certainly believe the Congolese authorities contribute to that hostile environment, either by the security forces' attitude towards human rights activists by regularly arresting them and intimidating them, but also by the statements made by government officials towards the work of human rights organisations."

UN approves partial DRC withdrawal

2010-05-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

From Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/05/201052814481192583.html

The United Nations Security Council has approved a partial withdrawal of its peacekeeping force from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The council's vote on Friday would remove 2,000 troops from the country by June 30, "where the security situation permits."

The partial withdrawal, which will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the DRC's independence from Belgium, is far smaller than the DRC government requested.

Congolese officials call the deployment a violation of their sovereignty. Joseph Kabila, the DRC's president, has asked for a complete withdrawal of the roughly 17,000 peacekeepers ahead of presidential elections in August 2011.

Further troop withdrawals will be considered according to "the situation on the ground," the UN said.

The UN has also changed the name of the peacekeeping force, rebranding it as a "stabilisation mission," a move intended to appease the government.

UN peacekeepers first arrived in the Congo in 1999, at the end of a four-year civil war.

They were often ill-equipped, and have been accused of corruption, but many observers credit the force with preventing even worse bloodshed in the country, which has faced an ongoing problem with rebel forces throughout the last decade.

Congo's national army is widely considered corrupt and ineffective.

UN changes name of mission in Congo before draw-down in 2011

2010-05-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

(Associated Press via Scott Morgan)

New York - The UN Security Council decided Friday to extend the mandate of its world largest peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo until 2011 as it prepares to pull out of the African nation.

The UN Mission in Congo will in July become known as the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) to mark the new phase under which the Kinshasa government will take over security responsibility in the vast territory.

The peacekeeping force will comprise a maximum of 19,800 military personnel and close to 2,000 police and military observers, whose mandate in Congo will expire June 30, 2011.

The first draw down of 2,000 UN military personnel will take place at the end of June.

The council said in a resolution that the withdrawal of MONUSCO will be conditioned to the development on the ground in Congo's northern and eastern provinces, in particular in the Kivus where a military operation was underway.

Other conditions include Kinshasa's effectiveness in providing security to its people and on the consolidation of its control over the territory, which require the deployment of civil administration, police and imposition of rule of law.

Relief organizations and some UN officials have warned that the humanitarian situation in conflict areas in Congo may worsen without the presence of UN peacekeepers. Oxfam International warned that the UN draw down could be bad news for Congolese.

'Congo needs each peacekeeper that it has, every pair of boots counts,' said Marcel Stoessel, head of Oxfam in Congo. 'While we'd like to see them be more proactive and effective in their daily operations, peacekeepers continue to have an important deterrent effect, particularly in eastern Congo.'

Oxfam said some 162,000 Congolese have become displaced because of the fighting this year alone while the continues to report of murder and mass rape.

A Chat with Congo Cash

2010-05-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

(story taken from Lakers.com Mike Trudell with the interview)

Didier Ilunga-Mbenga (that’s “D.J. Mbenga” to you) is quite an interesting fellow.

The Lakers’ 7-foot backup center grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then known as Zaire) before moving to Belgium and ultimately across the Atlantic to play in the NBA, is a black belt in judo, speaks seven languages, has a foundation focusing on education in Congo, teaches Congolese dances to Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher and is constantly looking to stay ahead of world fashion.

In other words, on a team full of colorful personalities, Mbenga is rainbow.

MT: You heard all about Kobe Bryant before you even came to the United States; you have a fun back-and-forth banter with him, but I wonder if you ever stop and think about playing with one of the best players of all time?
Mbenga: I always say, when we talk about Michael Jordan we always set him apart. But people gotta realize now, it’s not just Michael Jordan. It’s Kobe too. I told him, “I’m going to give you the best gift you’ve ever had … I’m building a basketball court in Congo with your name on it. People they love you there. You helped me to get a ring, I’m going to give you something back. I’m going to give you a basketball court with your name – that’s something nobody else can have. Even Michael Jordan never had that.

MT: That’s pretty awesome.
Mbenga: I told him, “You’re going to give people hope. There are kids that are stealing, killing, (doing drugs) … instead I want them to play basketball at the Kobe … Bryant … Court.” It’s going to be in Kinshasa*. They are going to start working on it in a couple of weeks. Everything’s already been set up through my foundation.
*Kinshasa is the capital and largest city in Congo.
Editor’s Note 1: Mbenga does not want his name associated with the project publicly in Congo due to political reasons with his family dating back to his childhood. But his goal remains to fill Kinshasa with playgrounds and schools for kids to play at and learn, regardless of if his name is front and center. Not bad, huh?

MT: You’ve told me before that fufu is the best African dish. Can you describe what exactly it is?
Mbenga: Oh, fufu, that’s the best. That’s the best. Fufu is for the men. Everybody eats fufu in Africa, but it’s for men. When you eat fufu, your day is set up.

MT: Wait, so men eat it more than women?
Mbenga: I mean, everyone eats it, but men love it. It’s like mashed potatoes a little, but not really. Mashed potatoes are too soft. Fufu is more filling, stronger. And you have to eat it with your hands for you to feel it, feel the texture.

MT: What’s your favorite language to speak out of the seven in which you’re fluent?
Mbenga: I love to speak Lingala because it’s the most fun. When I was growing up, we weren’t allowed to speak it in the house because my mom didn’t like it.

MT: Why didn’t she like it?
Mbenga: It’s more disrespectful. Lingala used to be spoken by the army; it was like a code. But then everyone started speaking it in Congo. So parents would want their kids to speak properly, and Lingala was not proper. My parents spoke French and Tshiluba (Editor’s Note 4: Tshiluba is a national language of the Democratic Republic of Congo with Bantu origins).

MT: With whom do you get to speak Lingala? Your countryman Dikembe Mutombo?
Mbenga: Yes, Dikembe. Also my little brother, my older brother, and others. When I played against Dikembe, we would speak Lingala, but we would also speak in Tshiluba because we’re from the same city (Kinshasa).

MT: Anyone who sees you walk in and out of arenas for games knows that you like to showcase your own personal fashion sense.
Mbenga: I’ll tell you this: I like to dress good. I love to be fashionable, and I like to dress with the times. If it’s cold, I’m going to dress for that. If it’s hot, same. Growing up in Europe (had an influence), and Congolese are known to be clean.

MT: “Clean” in this case meaning, “sharp,” or “neat,” right?
Mbenga: Right. If you ask any Africans, they’re tell you that Congolese are clean. You see, they don’t really make clothes in Congo, but we like to go to Europe, buy clothes and bring them back. We like to be clean.

MT: Who’s the cleanest Laker?
Mbenga: On the team, Kobe is clean. Fisher is clean. Lamar is clean sometimes. Who else? All the guys are trying to do their best, but they don’t all know. That’s not their fault. They’re clean but in their own way, they just don’t know how to be with the times. One day they will understand and will be more clean.

MT: So, Sasha (Vujacic) has his own sort of Eastern European style … is that clean?
Mbenga: Yeah he’s clean. But he just has his own way.

MT: He’s not up to your level though?
Mbenga: No, no, my skill level is high. It’s high. I know. I have contact with people that are telling me before things come out. People in Europe that have clothing lines (and such). But I won’t say guys are better or worse than other guys, just different. Some wear Gucci, nice stuff, but they don’t know. You can wear this (Editor’s Note 5: Mbenga grabs the Netherlands soccer warm up jacket I’m wearing at practice) and it looks good on you because you know how to match it, how to walk with it, how to coordinate with the rest of what you have on. So it’s part of your persona. But some guys will wear things that just look bad, and that’s not having a persona. Know what I’m saying?

MT: You know I do.

MT: I think you’d be an ideal cast member for the MTV’s “Real World.” You could regulate or stop all in house fights, use your sensitive side to calm the girls down when they got catty and emotional, make sure no one messed with the group when everyone goes out and offer perhaps the best confessionals in RW history.
Mbenga: I’ll tell you something. I have a contract sitting in my house, any time I want to sign it, to do a reality show with a major TV network. An African coming over here, having success, winning a championship and how an African copes with the culture here. But I can’t do a reality show. That’s not my persona. I’m a leader. I’m not a leader on the (Lakers), but I’m a leader where I come from. People are looking at me. People hear what I say, they know what I do. I can’t do some stuff that’s stupid like that. That’s all we have over there. We have messed up everything (in Congo). We’ve messed up politically, we’ve messed up our education, our economy … so I can’t come with something like that. People are looking to me for inspiration and so I will live up to that.

MT: I’m really glad you brought that up, because we’ve been spending a lot of time talking about superfluous, random or funny things, but I know about how many serious things you have going on. First, you have your own foundation and are involved with some awesome charity work in the Congo, particularly related to education. Second, you don’t really watch anything for entertainment on TV, focusing instead largely on news programs. And so on, like you just mentioned.
Mbenga: Somebody was asking me why I have a publicist. Actually he was trying to make fun of me. But he didn’t realize, yeah we all play basketball, but he doesn’t know what I do outside of basketball, doesn’t know where I come from, my background, what kind of family I have. I might be here to play basketball, but if I decide tomorrow not to play, I will have a great life.

MT: And your publicist really doesn’t do anything with basketball, it’s more about your other interests?
Mbenga: No, not for basketball, I don’t need that. I need (my publicist) to do some things that make sense for me. Basketball is my job, and that’s what I love to do. But on the side of basketball, it’s completely different. Charitable work, education in Congo, my home business I have, family stuff. Just a whole lot.

U.S. and DRC in partnership to train model Congolese battalion

2010-05-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

By Nicole Dalrymple, U.S. Africa Command

(story from http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/02/18/34756-us-and-drc-in-partnership-to-train-model-congolese-battalion/, United States Army)

KISANGANI, Democratic Republic of Congo - U.S. and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) representatives gathered February 17, 2010, at a military base outside of Kisangani in north-central DRC to mark the establishment of a light infantry battalion intended to be a model unit for the future of the Congolese military. Representatives of the United Nations and the international community also attended.

The train-and-equip mission, part of a long-term, multi-lateral U.S.-DRC partnership to promote security sector reform in the country, will assist the DRC government in its ongoing efforts to transform the Armed Forces of the DRC (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo, widely known as FARDC).

The training is intended to increase the ability of the Congolese army to conduct effective internal security operations as part of the FARDC's rapid reaction plan, help preserve the territorial integrity of the DRC, and develop an army that is accountable to the Congolese people. This initiative also represents one aspect of a long-term, multiagency, international approach to promote a sustainable peace through the creation of a model unit in the FARDC.

Brigadier General Jean-Claude Kifwa, commander of FARDC's 9th Region, spoke at the ceremony, saying he thought it was a sign of progress that a quick reaction force was being established in his region.

"I'd like to thank the authorities of my country for choosing Kisangani to be the center of quick reaction forces," Kifwa said. "I think this is progress in the reform of our new army." He said that the battalion's main mission would be to protect the territorial borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Congolese people and their goods.

During the ceremony, Ambassador William Garvelink, U.S. Ambassador to the DRC, emphasized the commitment of both governments, saying, "The United States of America and the Democratic Republic of Congo are committed to a partnership to train and professionalize a FARDC battalion that will respect and protect the Congolese people. As with all our military training, our objective is straightforward. We seek, with the support and assistance of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to develop a professional force that respects civilian authority and that provides security to all citizens of this country."

Members of the newly formed light infantry battalion will undergo a 6-8 month training program at the Base Camp in Kisangani. The training will cover small unit tactics, food preparation, maintenance, medical care and first aid, logistics support, HIV/AIDS prevention and communications. Human rights considerations and the respect for human rights in military operations will be incorporated in each aspect of the training.

"The commanders, staff officers and noncommissioned officers who will lead this battalion began their training last year in Kinshasa," Garvelink explained. He added that the battalion's soldiers were all carefully selected by the FARDC to "ensure the highest caliber of trainees possible."

U.S. Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM), via its Special Operations Command component, is providing on-the-ground oversight of the training program, which will be taught by U.S. military personnel and Department of State-hired contractors.

Senior leadership from U.S. Africa Command traveled to Kisangani from the command's headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. In attendance were Ambassador Anthony Holmes, deputy to the commander for civil-military activities; Major General Richard Sherlock, director of the command's Strategy, Plans and Programs Directorate; and the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, Brigadier General Christopher Haas.

Guests at the ceremony included representatives from the United Nations Observer Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), the European Communications Security and Evaluation Agency (EUSEC), and civil society leaders, including members of the religious communities, human rights groups, University of Kisangani authorities, and local and national press.

A news conference followed the ceremony allowing members of the press and civil society leaders to ask questions of representatives from the U.S. and DRC governments.

Several members of the press and civil society asked whether U.S. Africa Command was building a base in the DRC.

"Africa command is not looking to move a headquarters to the continent of Africa," said Sherlock of the U.S. AFRICOM Strategy, Plans and Programs Directorate. "Our efforts with our partners in the FARDC are designed to grow capacity within the FARDC to grow a professional battalion that is responsible to a civilian government and to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our efforts are not about Africa Command. Our efforts are in support of our partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo."

The light infantry battalion training is taking place at a camp that belongs to the DRC, and the decision to establish the battalion outside of Kisangani was made by the Congolese government, as explained by Brigadier General Kifwa.

When asked about any possible hidden policy agenda of the United States in the Congo, Ambassador Garvelink answered, "The interest of the United States in the Congo is to see a democratic, representative government that takes care of its people and is at peace with its neighbors. That's what our objective is."

"We are training an initial battalion," Garvelink added, "and hopefully that's a platform from which additional training of Congolese troops can be done by very well trained Congolese troops. So we hope that the training will continue and expand under the direction and leadership of the Congolese military itself."

MONUC to Pull Out of DR Congo

2010-05-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Withdrawal of UN could set DRC on fire
May 16, 2010

By Franz Wild and Michael J Kavanagh

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Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s insistence that UN peacekeepers end a decadelong mission may hamper the operations of firms, including AngloGold Ashanti and Mwana Africa, and deter further investment in the mining industry.

A UN security council delegation was expected in the country on Friday to set out security objectives it says must be met before 20 500 troops are pulled out by the end of next year. The UN officials are expected to leave by today and the council will meet in New York before the end of the month to discuss a phased withdrawal from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Mwana, based in London, is among companies that say the withdrawal of the force, known as Monuc, may create a security vacuum in the east of the country, leaving its operations vulnerable to armed groups.

AngloGold, which in 2008 evacuated staff over security fears, and Toronto-based Banro operate there.

"If there is no good security this could jeopardise the mining projects," said DRC country manager for Mwana, Jean-Prosper Ngandu. "There is a risk. This is scary for investors."

Kabila says the UN is impinging on DRC's sovereignty and the country will be ready to take care of its own security needs when elections are held next year, according to Guillaume Lacaille, an analyst at International Crisis Group.

"Even though there are problems, we can resolve the problems to ensure the security of our economic partners," said Communications Minister Lambert Mende. "We don't need Monuc. We'll be able to resolve the problems ourselves."

The majority of Monuc's forces are based in the DRC's eastern borderlands, which are rich in gold, tin and coltan, an ore containing tantalite that is used in the manufacture of cellphones. Various rebel groups roam the region, which stretches about 1 000km along the border with Rwanda, Uganda and Sudan, frequently attacking civilians and mines.

"The security situation isn't totally guaranteed," said Guy- Robert Lukama, AngloGold's representative in the DRC. "However, we invested long term, so we calculated that Monuc will leave at some point."

Monuc's exit

The DRC is Africa's biggest tin producer, holds a third of the world's cobalt reserves and 4 percent of all copper, according to the US Geological Survey.

The Mines Ministry projects that gold production may increase sixteenfold to 3.6 tons by 2012, when AngloGold and Banro mines begin operations.

Randgold Resources also plans to invest about $480 million (R3.6 billion) in the DRC.

Mining exports from the DRC last year were estimated at $3.1bn, making up four-fifths of total exports, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Since Monuc's arrival in 1999, Kabila has been able to consolidate his power across most of the country, in step with an economic recovery.

Growth is forecast at 5.4 percent this year, compared with a 10.4 percent contraction in 1999, and the country's inflation is projected to slow to an annual 15 percent this year, from 280 percent in 1999.

The UN mission arrived in the middle of a conflict that would eventually kill about 5 million people, mostly from disease and starvation.

The peacekeepers helped end the war in 2003 and secured the country's first multiparty-vote in four decades in 2006. Still, since the end of the war, Monuc has been criticised by groups, including Human Rights Watch and Oxfam, for not doing enough to protect civilians in the country.

The UN will pull out 2 000 of its troops by the end of next month, secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said last month, adding that a full withdrawal might follow next August.

The DRC wants to boost the revenue it earns from mining to help fund its $5bn annual budget. Those plans may be stymied by Monuc's withdrawal, according to Philippe de Pontet, an analyst at New York-based Eurasia Group.

"Investors are concerned about a precipitous Monuc withdrawal and the possibility of new security vacuums arising in the east," he said.

Monuc's presence has not been enough to end all conflict. In the eastern Kivu provinces, Rwandan rebels control swathes of territory and mines, and attack civilians.

Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army killed 1 100 people in the northeastern Orientale province last year.

Last month, insurgents briefly took control of the airport in Mbandaka, the capital of the northern Equateur province. "The situation remains extremely fragile, so we have to do it right rather than do it quickly," Gerard Araud, France's ambassador to the UN, who is leading the security council delegation to the DRC, said of the withdrawal timetable. - Bloomberg

Congo Symposium

2010-05-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

Congo Symposium
(click above link for details)
SYMPOSIUM ON
NATURAL RESOURCE WARS IN D. R. CONGO
AND THEIR IMPACT ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

(May 21-22, 2010 @ Sheraton Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana; USA)

SPONSORED BY GLOBAL MINISTRIES OF
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST) & UNITED CHURCH
OF CHRIST, INDIANAPOLIS
THE CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON THE CONGO, URBANA
IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE CHURCH FEDERATION OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS

Congolese Persian Relations

2010-05-13T17:59:00.000-07:00

FM: Iran Ready to Expand All-Out Ties with Congo

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a meeting with his Congolese counterpart Alexis Tambwe Mwamba in Tehran announced the country's preparedness to develop bilateral relations with Congo in all fields.

During the meeting on Wednesday, Mottaki said that the two countries' presidents are determined to establish excellent, deep and strategic ties, adding, "Iran is ready for expansion of comprehensive ties with Congo."

The Iranian top diplomat emphasized need for identification of each other's countries' potentials for bilateral cooperation in economic, project implementation, and joint investments.

"The establishment of the joint economic commission, cooperation in mines field, agricultural activities, excavation of oil and gas, manufacturing passenger cars and home appliances, setting up irrigation systems, dam construction and erecting cement factories are among the important fields for strengthening bilateral ties," he added.

Referring to the need for increasing bilateral transactions, arranging for business exhibitions, facilitating for consular and trade bonuses as promotional measures for boosting investments, he said, "Double taxation should be lifted, preferential tariffs must be applied and the traffic and residence of the merchants and businessmen should be facilitated in order to reach that end."

Mottaki also said that a UN-brokered nuclear fuel swap proposal can serve to build confidence in the Iranian nuclear issue.

"The fuel swap is a constructive solution and an opportunity for various parties involved in supplying fuel for Tehran's research reactor to build confidence," Mottaki said in a joint press conference with his Congolese counterpart on Wednesday.

A UN-brokered proposal envisaged Iran sending most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing and eventual conversion into fuel rods for the Tehran research reactor, which produces radiomedicine essential for cancer patients.

Mottaki said that the idea has been fully analyzed since it was first floated by Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He added that the Vienna group consisting of France, Russia, the US, the IAEA and Iran are the main parties seeking to clinch the deal, and said the UN Security Council, the P5+1, China and Japan could help with their encouragement.

The top official expressed the hope that an agreement could be reached during the upcoming meeting of Iran, Brazil, and Turkey in Tehran. He said that Iran was waiting to hear the new proposals prepared by Ankara and Brasilia.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazilian President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva are slated to visit Iran to take part in nuclear talks.

As two non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, Brazil and Turkey have been looking to find solutions to the nuclear standoff and help reach a fuel swap deal.

The Youth of the DR Congo Fight Back

2010-05-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

Congo: Civilians capture rebel leader in northwest Equateur province where 200,000 displaced

KINSHASA, Congo

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Civilians who were being recruited to a new rebel movement in Congo's northwest captured the group's leader Wednesday and he now will stand trial for war crimes, the government information minister said.

The rebel leader known as Odjani is accused of leading an attack on the capital of Equateur province last month and other fighting in the region that has forced 200,000 people from their homes. Odjani, who claims to have mystical powers that protect his fighters from bullets, opened a new front in what was a relatively peaceful corner of this enormous Central African nation long brutalized by violent rebel groups.

Information Minister Lambert Mende said Odjani was captured by youths he was trying to recruit in the village of Dongo. The youths handed Odjani to police officers, Mende said, and the rebel leader is now being transported to the capital where he will stand trial before a military tribunal.

Last month, Odjani's fighters briefly defeated a small force of U.N. peacekeepers and overcame scores of Congolese army troops to capture the airport of Equateur's capital, Mbandaka, for a day. A Ghanaian peacekeeper and a South African pilot were killed, the U.N. said. The government said nine insurgents, four soldiers and two police were killed. A human rights group said many civilians drowned as they overcrowded canoes in attempts to flee across the river to the neighboring Republic of Congo.

"We hope that this latest development, if confirmed, will bring improved stability," said Maurizio Giuliano, a spokesman for the U.N.'s humanitarian affairs office.

An estimated 100 people have been killed in more than six months of fighting in the region, which is Congo's poorest. An unknown number of civilians also drowned when they tried to escape last month's attack on Equateur's capital, Mbandaka.

It is the latest unrest to roil Congo, whose people suffered through back-to-back civil wars from 1996-2002 that devastated the mineral-rich nation and dragged in the armies of half a dozen African countries.

The new group, which calls itself Nzobo Yalobo in the Lingala language, and in French calls itself the Movement for Independent Liberation and Its Allies, has fed off grievances about Equateur province being the country's poorest and being marginalized since its most famous son, former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, was ousted in 1997 by a rebellion that splintered the country among various warlords. Also marginalized are people associated with another native of the province, former warlord and Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was arrested last year to face charges of war crime and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Former soldiers and fighters loyal to Mobutu and Bemba reportedly have joined Odjani's rebellion.

On the Rumba River (trailer)

2010-05-05T08:08:00.001-07:00

On the Rumba River [trailer] from Elia on Vimeo.

King Leopold's Ghost (trailer)

2010-05-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

King Leopold's Ghost from Direct Cinema Limited on Vimeo.

The Atrocities Continue...

2010-04-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

Rapes 'surge' in DR Congo
Report says that many rapes occur inside homes in the presence of family members

The number of sexual assaults in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased dramatically, according to a study by the UK-based aid group, Oxfam International.

Researchers from Harvard University in the US examined more than 4,000 cases of sexual assault from 2004 to 2008 and discovered that the number of rapes carried out by civilians had increased seventeen-fold.

The study, based at the Panzi hospital in the eastern city of Bukavu, which specialises in treating victims of rape, revealed that more than half of the victims were "raped by gangs of armed men and more than half of the aggressions took place inside homes".

Fifty-six per cent of the attacks were perpetrated by armed men inside family homes, nearly 16 per cent in fields and nearly 15 per cent in the forest, the report said, citing statements by the 4,311 women questioned.

Carried out for Oxfam by The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, the report spoke of "the stigmatisation that the women are victims of in their families after having been raped and the difficulties they encounter in accessing medical care".

"Fewer than one per cent of the rape victims went to Panzi hospital with their husbands and nine per cent of them were abandoned by their partner," Oxfam said.

Violence escalated in the DRC after many Rwandan Hutus fled to the country following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Since then, the country has been embroiled in widespread conflicts between its army and Rwandan and Congolese militias.

'Wake-up call'

Around 20,000 UN peacekeepers have been deployed in the nation since 1999 to help stabilise it, but thousands are raped each year as sporadic fighting between the various armed groups continues.

Joseph Kabila, the DRC president, has asked the UN to withdraw its peacekeeping mission by 2011, but some UN officials have said they are reluctant to do so.

Krista Riddley, who directs humanitarian policies for Oxfam, said: "This is a wake-up call at a time when plans are being discussed for UN peacekeepers to leave the country.

"The situation is not secure if a woman can't even sleep safely in her own bed at night.'"

The Oxfam report reveals that many of sexual assault cases were carried out by armed men in the presence of the victim's families, including their children.

Susan Bartels, the chief researcher of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, said: "Sexual violence has become more normal in civilian life.

"The scale of rape over Congo's years of war has made this crime seem more acceptable."

Al Jazeera English - Africa - UN staff die in DR Congo clashes

2010-04-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Al Jazeera English - Africa - UN staff die in DR Congo clashes

Leja Bulela Annual Conference Flyer: Miami 2010

2010-04-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

This year's conference will be held in Miami, FL at July 2-5, 2010:
Courtyard Miami Downtown
200 SE Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33131 USA

We hope to see you there!
(click flyer picture for more detail)

Support the Kalala Muzeu Health Clinic in Democratic Republic of Congo

2010-03-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

http://lejabulelafundraising.eventbrite.com/
(Click the link above)
Support Dr Kabongo in his quest to raise a minimum of $2,500 for the Kalala Muzeu Health Clinic.

Dr Kabongo will run in two 50 miles long races in April and May 2010. We are looking for people of
goodwill to sponsor each mile of the race with a donation of $25 or more. Dr Kabongo and Big Red (his high performance, high octane bike) have been training hard in order to start and finish the race, let's encourage them by sponsoring each mile of the race. Your $25 donation will go toward the completion of the Kalala Muzeu Health Clinic. We thank you in advance for donating and spreading the word.

RACE 1: Tour De Cure will take place in San Diego, CA on Saturday, April 17th, 2010

RACE 2: San Diego Century will take place in San Diego, CA on Saturday May 22nd, 2010

Your support will be greatly appreciated.

The Kalala Muzeu Health Clinic is a primary health care clinic located in the central part of Democratic Republic of Congo built by Leja Bulela,Inc a 501 c (3) non-profit organization founded by Congolese immigrants in the United States of America.

The mission of the Kalala Muzeu Health Clinic is to provide high quality primary health care to the people of Cibombo Cimuanyi and surrounding areas.

Join us on our Facebook Page look for: "Support The Kalala Muzeu Health Clinic in Democratic Republic Of Congo"

Your donation is handled safely via eventbrite.com and paypal. We do not receive and
will not store any of your personal financial information.

"VIOLENCE IN THE CONGO: WESTERN EXPLOITATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES"

2010-03-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja is an expert on governance, conflict and African politics. Born in Congo-Kinshasa, he is the author of:

The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People’s History. Zed Books, 2002.
The Crisis in Zaire: Myths and Realities. Trenton: Africa World Press, Inc. 1986.
The International Dimensions of the Congo Crisis. UNDP, 2005.

DATE: Friday, 3/19/10
VENUE: California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)
1453 Mission Street, San Francisco
TIME: 6:30 pm

A specialist in African politics, development policy and administration, and political theory, Dr. Nzongola is currently professor of African Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) and professor emeritus of African studies at Howard University in Washington, DC. He holds a B.A. degree in philosophy (Davidson College, Davidson, NC, 1967); an M.A. in diplomacy and international commerce (University of Kentucky, Lexington, 1968); and a Ph.D. in political science (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1975).

In the past, Professor Nzongola held academic appointments at the University of Kisangani in Congo-Kinshasa, 1970-71; the University of Lubumbashi (1971-75), also in the Congo, where he was associate dean in the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1972-73; Clark-Atlanta University, 1975-77; and the University of Maiduguri in Nigeria, 1977-78.

Professor Nzongola has served as an international civil servant for seven years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): as a senior adviser for governance to the Federal Government of Nigeria from March 2000 to May 2002; as Director of the Oslo Governance Centre, from August 2002 to July 2005; and as Facilitator for the Africa Governance Institute (AGI), an independent pan-African think tank on governance, from August 2005 to July 2007. He has done consulting work for the United Nations Secretariat, UNDP, UNESCO, the United Nations University, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the World Bank, the United States Department of State, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the Social Science Research Council of the United States and other organizations. In 1999, he served as an expert in conflict mediation and legal drafting to the negotiations between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in Lomé, Togo.

In the area of public service, Professor Nzongola served as a delegate to the Sovereign National Conference of Congo-Kinshasa, in which he chaired the subcommittee on political files of the Committee on Political Affairs; as Diplomatic Adviser to the Conference’s elected Prime Minister Etienne Tshisekedi in 1992-93; and as Deputy President of the National Electoral Commission in 1996. He also served, as a representative of the Tshisekedi government, in the United Nations Mission to Observe the Referendum in Eritrea (UNOVER) in 1993.

Past President of the African Studies Association of the United States (ASA) and of the African Association of Political Science (AAPS), Professor Nzongola is the author of several books and numerous articles on African politics, development, and conflict issues.

Congo-Kinshasa: DRC Army Accuses Advocacy Groups of 'Cooking Up Reports'

2010-03-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Congo-Kinshasa: DRC Army Accuses Advocacy Groups of 'Cooking Up Reports'

James Karuhanga13 March 2010
Kigali — The Congolese army (FARDC) has accused advocacy groups of intentionally being fed with false and dangerous information by FDLR rebel elements, to 'cook up treacherous reports' and continue instilling chaos in the country's 'now recuperating east.'

The accusations came after an advocacy group; Global Witness, issued a press release on Thursday, saying that former CNDP rebels--now integrated into FARDC ranks, have asserted "mafia-style" control over lucrative mining sites in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Major Vianney Kazalama, the FARDC spokesperson in the east, maintained yesterday that CNDP no longer has troops in Congo.

CNDP is the National Council for the Defence of the People, a rebel movement that was last year integrated into the national army after a truce with the DRC government.

"We have also seen the report, but you must understand that a person who says that doesn't wish Congo any peace at all," Kazalama said.

"I met with those women (Global Witness researchers) here in Goma and I know for sure that they got most of what they published from FDLR people."

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Rwandan militia group whose members include perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

When contacted yesterday, Global Witness campaigners Annie Dunnebacke, one of the authors of the report, denied Kazalama's claims.

"On this [particular] research trip, we actually did not meet any FDLR people, we got information from a very wide variety of people like NGOs - we didn't speak to the FDLR," Dunnebacke said.

Major Kazalama strongly contested everything in Global Witness' release noting that the group and others have often published false reports purposely to "set off conflict in the country."

He stressed that some sections of westerners are hedged on seeing continued conflict in the region, a situation he maintains, they hugely benefit from.

"When there is trouble here, they keep earning from it in various ways, and they really don't want to see an end to this conflict. But we have now resolved to end it, have peace and develop our country."

The leader of the separatist PARECO movement, 'General' Kakule Sikuli, alias La Fontaine, surrendered to the Congolese armed forces early this month and it is believed his surrender will have a positive effect on regional stability.

Lambert Mende, the DRC Minister of Information has said that his country is forming a competent national army to take over from MONUC when they leave the country next year.

With an estimated annual budget of more than $1 billion, MONUC is the largest and most expensive UN peacekeeping operation in any country.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have recently opposed the proposed withdrawal of UN troops from DRC saying massacres, rapes and looting continue unabated.

Copyright © 2010 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica - All the Time

Ishango Bone

2010-03-08T12:06:00.000-08:00

The Ishango bone is the oldest known object containing logical carvings. It was discovered in the Congo, and has been dated to be 22000 years old.

From Harvard's Math Department Oliver Knill's Teaching Math with a Historical Perspective

Natural Numbers. Counting can be realized by sticks, bones, knots on a string or pebbles. The tally stick concept is still used today...An other famous paleolithic tally stick is the Ishango bone, the fibula of a baboon. It could be 20,000-30,000 years old.

Congo-Kinshasa: First Set of UN Troops Could Leave by June, Says Peacekeeping Chief

2010-03-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

6 March 2010

The first group of United Nations troops could leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the end of June, as requested by the Government, the world body's top peacekeeping official said on Friday following a visit to the country.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy was in the DRC this week as part of a technical assessment mission, during which he also met with President Joseph Kabila and other officials to discuss the future of the UN mission, known as MONUC.

Following a closed-door briefing to the Security Council on his trip, which also included a visit to Chad, Mr. Le Roy told reporters that the Congolese Government has requested that the first drawdown of MONUC take place around June 2010 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the country's independence.

"There was clear agreement on the critical tasks to be implemented before MONUC would eventually leave the DRC. But the first troops might be able to leave - those from the west -around 30 June 2010," Mr. Le Roy stated.

The 10-year-old MONUC, whose mandate is up for renewal in May, is tasked with protecting civilians in DRC, where over 1.25 million people have been uprooted or re-displaced by violence in the eastern part of the country and the volatile security situation has hampered aid agencies' efforts to provide assistance.

The mission also supports operations by the national armed forces, primarily logistical support limited to Congolese operations that are underway, including such things as fuel, transport and evacuations of wounded personnel.

It is currently supporting Operation Amani Leo, which technically began on 1 January but has moved into an operational phase recently, against the mainly Rwandan Hutu rebel group FDLR in eastern DRC.

There are also operations taking place in the east by Congolese forces against the rebel Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

"In the east, it would take much more time before we can think of withdrawing military forces from there," said Mr. Le Roy.

On Chad, the UN peacekeeping chief said he proposed to the Council that authorize a two-month technical rollover of the mandate of the UN mission in Chad and the Central African Republic, known as MINURCAT, whose mandate expires on 15 March.

The Government of Chad had called for the withdrawal of the military component of MINURCAT, which was set up in 2007 after tensions increased along the border with Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

Mr. Le Roy said the two-month extension, which was agreed with the Chadian Government, would "give some time to try to find agreement with the Chadian authorities on the future of MINURCAT in Chad," adding that many Council members stressed the importance of keeping the mission on the ground.

Congo-Kinshasa: UN Trains Ex-Fighters in Policing

2010-03-03T23:39:00.000-08:00

2 March 2010

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is training hundreds of police officers, including former members of armed groups, in human rights and public security in the country's volatile far east.

During the training programme in Munigi, near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, 500 police personnel, with 50 women among them, will also undergo training in road traffic management and the maintenance and restoration of public order.

The five-week scheme falls under the security component of the Government's stabilization and recovery programme, known as STAREC, and seeks to restore State authority through police reform to consolidate peace and boost civilian protection.

Hundreds of thousands of people in North Kivu have been uprooted from their homes by violence in recent years.

"People continue to suffer from the insecurity they [experience] on a daily basis," Aminata Mossi of the UN mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, said at the opening ceremony of the programme over the weekend.

The project is the result of close collaboration among MONUC, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is funding the $1.8 million training programme, which intends to reach more than 4,000 police officers overall.

Congo-Kinshasa: Will Poultry Project Live Up to Expectations?

2010-03-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

Emmanuel Chaco

3 March 2010

Kinshasa — For some seven million Congolese living in Kinshasa the only meat and poultry they could buy to eat since the 1980s was frozen imports from Western countries, distributed locally by a few local businessmen.

That was, until a few months ago, when government stepped in to develop the country's livestock farming industry. "The government cannot accept that (the) Congolese live on a meager diet composed mainly of frozen chicken and frozen fish imported under questionable conditions while the country has a tremendous food production potential," says Norbert Bashengezi Katintima, minister of agriculture, fisheries and livestock.

In December 2009 with financial support from the African Development Bank (ADB), the government launched a large poultry project in N'Sele, a rural town in the western outskirts of Kinshasa, the country's capital. The project, which is entirely government-run, received funding to the tune of eight million dollars.

In an interview with IPS Juvenal Bahun, livestock advisor to minister Katintima, said that "the ministry has adopted a roadmap laying the groundwork for a serious country-wide fight against the food crisis and food insecurity." For now, he added, the ADB-funded pig and poultry farming pilot project will only cover Kinshasa, Katanga (South Eastern Congo) and West Kasai (in the South West).

"This project also aims to improve food quality for the Congolese and support small farmers with technical and practical advice in agricultural production," he said.

The challenge for the ministry of agriculture, fisheries and livestock will be to "get 15 percent of the national budget funded by poultry farming profits"; one of the goals within government's strategic policy document released in November 2009.

Freddy Nkongolo, project coordinator on the N'Sele site - about 4,000 hectares - told IPS that the project is off to a promising start. "After three months of work, we've reached a weekly output of four batches of 12,000 chickens sold throughout the city of Kinshasa," he said. "I think there is hope that within two years, poultry farming can actually contribute to funding the national budget. But I can't estimate to what proportion."

As a result, the project initially planned to last six months has been extended for an additional eight months by government due to its positive outcomes, according to Nkongolo.

"There's been an obvious improvement of food quality. Approximately 1,800 chickens are sold every day across eight sites scattered around Kinshasa. This provides work to about 60 formerly unemployed people, (who are) paid on average 100 dollars per month," said Nkongolo.

"Besides the quality aspect, the project also creates jobs for at least 120 people including more than 60 mothers," said Mukosa Theodosius, a mother of three who works for the project as a sales representative in Matete county. Previously unemployed, she now earns the equivalent of about 90 dollars in Congolese francs.

Germaine Kitungwa, a chicken seller, says "she does good business with N'Sele chickens." Indeed, while "an imported 160 gram frozen chicken is more or less five dollars, an N'Sele chicken of same weight costs only 3,000 Congolese francs, or about 3.5 dollars. Most mothers now prefer to buy those chicken to save money but also because it its fresher."

According to Nkongolo, the low price of N'Sele chicken is a reflection of ADB policy to provide poor people access to food. The price is fixed by agreement between the ADB and the ministry and aims to stop imports of frozen meat, discourage importers and help them redirect their food industry investments with a focus on quality.

However, Nkongolo explained, prices could be adjusted within a few months but it will be in keeping with ADB policy to which government gave its consent. Thus, even if increased, the price will not be higher than that of frozen chickens, he says.

"The government's vision is good. But the project's sustainability is in question given the high level of government instability in the DRC since 1990. Whenever a minister is replaced, the new one does away with their predecessor's programs," Lokwa Eugene told IPS. Eugene lives near the N'Sele poultry farm.

Julie Mambueni, an economist resident of Kingasani, a county of Kinshasa, is equally skeptical. "The project is very good, but the country does not have a reliable management system," she said. "The National Bank is dysfunctional and doesn't grant credit. The ADB will remain the only source of financing, which is not obvious. The credit unions have become unviable, especially in Kinshasa. This is why the project will fail."

For Stephanie Kapuko originally of North Kivu province in eastern DRC, and a temporary resident of Kingasani, "a 4,000 hectare concession is far from enough to implement an ambitious national plan. And the DRC is not just Kinshasa. The government should put in a little more effort to implement pilot projects in each of the 11 provinces of the country."

"The country hasn't had a coherent agricultural policy since the 1980s. This created a gap which businessmen took advantage of, sometimes even abused, by importing all kinds of foods including frozen chicken, turkey rumps, chicken wings, pig tails... all the by-products Westerners refuse to eat at home," Jean Kalunga said indignantly. Kalunga is a lawyer and advocate for economic and social rights within Congolese civil society.

The activist told IPS that "it was time for the government to realise that the DRC had already become a dumping ground for businessmen exporting these commodities, supported in this by Western countries that allow this shameful commerce."

Copyright © 2010 Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica - All the Time

Al Jazeera English - Africa - Hungry and displaced in the DRC

2010-02-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

Al Jazeera English - Africa - Hungry and displaced in the DRC
(click the above link to see the story)

Congo-Kinshasa: Girls Less Likely Than Boys to Be Freed from Ranks of Child Soldiers - UN

2010-02-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

UN News Service (New York)
Congo-Kinshasa: Girls Less Likely Than Boys to Be Freed from Ranks of Child Soldiers - UN

12 February 2010

Despite efforts to end the use of child soldiers in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), youngsters are still being recruited within the ranks of both the rebels and the national army, with girls at particular risk of becoming sex slaves and less likely to be released, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

"Used as combatants, labour and sex slaves, victims of months-long violence and rape, girls are all too rarely freed by the armed forces and groups," UNICEF said in a news release in Goma, eastern DRC, marking the International Day against the use of Child Soldiers, noting that only 20 per cent of freed children under the agency's care were girls.

While welcoming Government efforts, including the adoption of a law punishing recruiters of child soldiers with 20 years in prison, UNICEF noted that children were still being recruited or forced into the national army and armed groups.

In a message marking the Day, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, UNICEF Eminent Advocate for Children, noted that nearly 250,000 child soldiers are serving in various conflicts around the world. "Oblivious to danger in the face of death, easily impressionable and vulnerable, children are the expendable pawns in a deadly game orchestrated by adults," she said.

Since 2004 more than 36,000 children in the DRC have been rescued from armed forces and groups, mostly in the east. In 2000, nearly 6,000 youngsters were freed, but only 1,222 of these were girls.

"The place for children, whether boys or girls, is within the family, never within an armed group," UNICEF Country Representative Pierette Vu Thi said. "All children, and especially young girls, associated with armed forces and groups are traumatized by their experience and need very special care. It is vital that they return to a child's life as quickly as possible."

Earlier this week the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that the number of women raped in eastern DRC topped 8,000 last year. Although the mainly Rwandan ethnic Hutu rebel militia, known as the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR), which has been operating in the DRC since 1994 Rwandan genocide, are thought to be responsible for most rapes, members of the national army are also guilty of sexual abuse, it added.

Copyright © 2010 UN News Service. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

UN Failing in the DR Congo

2010-02-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Bosco Ntaganda, the Congo rebel leader whose forces are accused of atrocities while fighting under the banner of the national army in an arrangement backed by UN peacekeepers. Photograph: Lionel Healing/AFP/Getty Images

Congo conflict: 'The Terminator' lives in luxury while peacekeepers look on

The UN mission in Congo is the world's largest peacekeeping operation, costing $1.35bn a year. But instead of putting an end to an epidemic of rape and murder, the force is accused of actively supporting those it was meant to bring to justice

At first glance there is nothing disturbing about the man playing tennis on the red clay courts of the Hotel Karibu. Other guests in the grounds of the hotel walk serenely across its manicured lawns, dine in thatched-roofed rondavels, or sip drinks while admiring Lake Kivu.

But the casual sportsman in this oasis of luxury amid the poverty of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a man the United Nations would prefer did not exist at all.

Bosco Ntaganda is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague for allegedly conscripting and sending into battle children under the age of 15. He is also accused of commanding troops responsible for the massacres of civilians, earning him the nickname, The Terminator.

Yet Ntaganda, believed to be 36, not only remains at liberty but serves as a general in an army that has the full backing of the UN's peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as Monuc. He is the personification of what critics say is a "pact with the devil". While the eyes of the world are distracted by wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere, many believe the thickly forested hills of eastern Congo are witnessing another shameful chapter in UN peacekeeping that ranks alongside the impotent displays in Srebrenica and Rwanda.

Loss of trust

"I can't trust Monuc any more," said a nurse who was last month robbed at gunpoint as she tried to reach injured civilians. "We asked them for help but they said it was not their job. We asked for a convoy to accompany us to the village but they did nothing to protect us."

The nurse, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, is employed in Goma by the Heal Africa hospital which treats many victims of the violence and was visited by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, last year. But not even a hospital is immune to the lawless excesses of the Monuc-backed Congolese army.

"Two men in uniforms came from a maize field and stopped our car," said the nurse. "One of them came with a gun and pointed it at us. They asked where we were going and we said we're nurses going to Nyanbanira. They told us to give them $1,000; if not, they would burn the car.

"We told them this is an emergency car and we're going to look for injured villagers, but they wouldn't accept it. They opened the door and took the driver. They took all the money, food, documents and tools. They could have killed us. It's only God's miracle that we are still alive."

She said that the incident happened near Monuc base. "But when we called them to say we've been looted, they said, 'This is not our job.' It's not the first time they've failed to help us. I don't see what they're doing in eastern Congo."

With a force of 18,500 blue helmet-wearing troops in Congo, the UN has assembled the biggest peacekeeping operation in the world at a cost of $1.35bn (£865m) a year. Monuc has been providing rations, transport, fuel and firepower to the army of the Congolese government (FARDC) in its operations against an exile Rwandan Hutu militia group, the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), some of whose leaders took part in the 1994 genocide in Congo's neighbour.

But the Congolese army stands accused of atrocities against the people it is meant to be protecting. In a series of damning reports, Human Rights Watch has documented hundreds of killings and thousands of rapes. Some of the deaths have been particularly vicious: civilians decapitated, chopped by machete, beaten with clubs, shot as they fled or burned alive in their homes. Most of the victims were women, children and elderly people.

Several NGOs such as Oxfam have joined Human Rights Watch's condemnation of Monuc for supporting an army with blood on its hands.

A leaked report from the UN-mandated Group of Experts found that the military operations had "exacerbated the humanitarian crisis". Writing in the Guardian last year, Eve Ensler, the author and founder of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls, claimed that "UN peacekeepers [Monuc] are not passively standing by and watching the massacres, but are actually supporting the perpetrators."

There are political reasons why the Congolese army is falling so dramatically short of military discipline. It had been fighting, and losing, against the renegade general Laurent Nkunda, a Tutsi warlord thought to be sponsored by Rwanda. But a year ago Congo and Rwanda struck a secret deal that led to his arrest.

Nkunda's militia group, the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), was abruptly legitimised and absorbed by the Congolese army.

Together they would turn their guns on the FDLR. It was a necessary compromise, says the UN, because it might finally give the government enough strength to bring order to this vast and chaotic country.

"The realignment of the CNDP was probably the most significant development here for 15 years," said Matthew Brubacher, a Monuc political affairs officer. "Last year, before the agreement, the CNDP almost took over Goma. If you can't beat them, you might as well have them. You can't defeat them militarily so what's the choice? Would the NGOs prefer an autonomous military group to continue to be stronger than the army?"

Difficult merger

But the merger has been far from smooth, with many former CNDP members refusing to give up their old ways.

Lyn Lusi, Heal Africa's British-born programme manager, said: "In the peace process they took all the bandits and the militia and the killers from every single group and put them into a uniform, and said, 'You are now the official army.' So what do you expect?

"I know that the professional soldiers in the FARDC are disgusted by this. They are now being lumped together with bandits and killers. There are good professional soldiers in the FARDC and they are longing for opportunity and help to clean up their army."

She added that the UN mission did not fully understand the reality on the ground. "I think Monuc were not aware of what everybody in Congo was aware of," said Lusi. "They make desktop solutions. They're sitting in their offices all around the world saying let's do this, let's support the national army. But anybody who knew the national army well would have said that's not enough."

The tensions have been exacerbated by jealousy over ranks, lack of training and a failure to pay many former CNDP soldiers, who subsequently returned to looting. Monuc claims it is working to resolve these problems.

In the village of Kanyabayonga, a lieutenant-colonel in the Indian army which, with more than 4,000 troops in Congo, makes up the biggest UN peacekeeping contingent in the country, said: "There was an issue about the integrated people not receiving salaries. One battalion rebelled, started firing one night and burned three houses. Our commander stayed overnight to speak to the soldiers and the matter was resolved."

The colonel, who wished to remain anonymous, added: "The FARDC realised they had to pay soldiers. So the generals are reacting to these issues. Things are changing on the ground but the training will take time."

But for another village, Luofu, 90 miles north of Goma, that discipline can not come soon enough. Last year around 1,000 houses were burned down by FDLR rebels, leaving people with only the hybrid Congolese army to turn to. Gilberd Bouyenge, a Catholic priest, said that now the villager's predicament was little better.

"There is no other army so we must trust them. Some of them rape, but not all of them," he said.

Monuc has tried to monitor the army's behaviour more closely, though its peacekeepers are spread thinly in an area the size of California.

In Luofu, Kyalwahi Daniel, who was forced to stand outside his home while inside his wife was raped by rebels, said the peacekeepers' presence was making a difference. "Since Monuc is here, the army soldiers are afraid of intimidating civilians," he said. "They know people will go to Monuc and it will send a bad report to their commander."

Displaced people

There are tentative signs that the worst may be over. Peacekeepers on the ground claim they have seen violence decline during the past six months, and that the Congolese government and military command are finally treating sexual violence seriously by catching and punishing offenders.

UN figures show that the number of internally displaced people in North Kivu province declined from 1.1 million last July to 709,000 by the end of December. Official repatriations of Rwandans trebled last year as more FDLR rebels surrender.

The group's strength is estimated at around 4,000 and the FDLR is said to still be in control of many mining areas, benefiting from Congo's mineral wealth.

Congo's president, Joseph Kabila, has declared that the war is "90% over"‚ and has called for Monuc to leave in time for the 50th anniversary of the country's independence from Belgium in June. That seems wildly optimistic. Monuc has just begun a revised mission that, mindful of past criticisms, will only support the Congolese army on operations it helps plan.

Alan Doss, the British-born head of Monuc, acknowledged that the Congolese army was guilty of human rights abuses.

"Yes, elements of the Congolese army, in particular some of the newly integrated elements, have been involved in atrocities," said Doss. "We ourselves have reported on that and made our concerns known to the Congolese armed forces and above, and we've withdrawn support from the unit where these claims were made."

Asked if Monuc had been too hasty to throw its weight behind the army, he said: "Who knows, maybe when you look back a few years from now, you'll say yes, there were mistakes made, we were aware this was being rushed.

"But it's given the context where we found ourselves. We need to remember the [UN] security council had been pressing the government to deal with the CNDP rebellion and also deal with the FDLR."

Doss added: "Any operation is going to have, unfortunately, an impact on the civilian population. The issue is what are we trying to do here.

"Of course we don't find any satisfaction whatsoever in people being killed and women being raped, but this part of the country will never be at peace unless we deal decisively with armed groups and yes, of course, instil discipline in the FARDC."

Yet still Ntaganda, wanted for war crimes, is active in an army that is supported by a UN peacekeeping force. "We've made it clear that we will not have anything to do with him and we haven't," said Doss. "Ideally all the people who were involved in human rights violations will be handed over but remember where this country is coming from. You can't deal with everything immediately. We have to be realistic here. The integration process is still a work in progress."

Some would characterise this as pragmatism in a country wracked by war for generations, while others regard it as a very dirty compromise.

Kabila, however, does not try to finesse the situation in his country. The Congolese president has admitted, bluntly: "Why do we choose to work with Mr Bosco, a person sought by the ICC? Because we want peace now. In Congo, peace must come before justice."

Don't Forget the DR Congo

2010-02-01T21:43:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/opinion/31kristof.html

January 31, 2010

Op-Ed Columnist
Orphaned, Raped and Ignored

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

KALEHE, Congo

Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric civil war being waged here is the most lethal conflict since World War II and has claimed at least 30 times as many lives as the Haiti earthquake.

Yet no humanitarian crisis generates so little attention per million corpses, or such a pathetic international response.

That’s why I’m here in the lovely, lush and threatening hills west of Lake Kivu, where militias rape, mutilate and kill civilians with a savagery that is almost incomprehensible. I’m talking to a 9-year-old girl, Chance Tombola, an orphan whose eyes are luminous with fear.

For Chance, the war arrived one evening last May when armed soldiers from an extremist Hutu militia — remnants of those who committed the Rwandan genocide — burst into her home. They killed her parents in front of her. Chance ran away, but the soldiers seized her two sisters, ages 6 and 12, and carried them away into the forest, presumably to be turned into “wives” of soldiers. No one has seen Chance’s sisters since.

Chance moved in with her aunt and uncle and their two teenage daughters. Two months later, the same militia invaded the aunt’s house and held everyone at gunpoint. Chance says she recognized some of the soldiers as the same ones who had killed her parents.

This time, no one could escape. The soldiers first shot her uncle, and then, as the terrified family members sobbed, they pulled out a large knife.

“They sliced his belly so that the intestines fell out,” said his widow, Jeanne Birengenyi, 34, Chance’s aunt. “Then they cut his heart out and showed it to me.” The soldiers continued to mutilate the body, while others began to rape Jeanne.

“One takes a leg, one takes the other leg,” Jeanne said dully. “Others grab the arms while one just starts raping. They don’t care if children are watching.”

Chance added softly: “There were six who raped her. One raped me, too.”

The soldiers left Jeanne and Chance, tightly tied up, and marched off into the forest with Jeanne’s two daughters as prisoners. One daughter is 14, the other 16, and they have not been heard from since.

“They kill, they rape, burn houses and take people’s belongings,” Jeanne said. “When they come with their guns, it’s as if they have a project to eliminate the local population.”

A peer-reviewed study found that 5.4 million people had already died in this war as of April 2007, and hundreds of thousands more have died as the situation has deteriorated since then. A catastrophically planned military offensive last year, backed by the governments of Congo and Rwanda as well as the United Nations force here, made some headway against Hutu militias but also led to increased predation on civilians from all sides.

Human Rights Watch estimates that for every Hutu fighter sent back to Rwanda last year, at least seven women were raped and 900 people forced to flee for their lives. “From a human rights perspective, the operation has been catastrophic,” concluded Philip Alston, a senior United Nations investigator.

This is a pointless war — now a dozen years old — driven by warlords, greed for minerals, ethnic tensions and complete impunity. While there is plenty of fault to go around, Rwanda has long played a particularly troubling role in many ways, including support for one of the militias. Rwanda’s government is dazzlingly successful at home, but next door in Congo, it appears complicit in war crimes.

Jeanne and Chance contracted sexually transmitted diseases. Like other survivors in areas that are accessible, they receive help from the International Rescue Committee, but Chance still suffers pain when she urinates.

Counselors say that most raped women are rejected by their husbands, and raped girls like Chance have difficulty marrying. In an area west of Lake Kivu where attacks are continuing, I met Saleh Bulondo, a newly homeless young man who was educated and spoke a little English. I asked him if he would still marry his girlfriend if she were raped.

“Never,” he said. “I will abandon her.”

A girl here normally fetches a bride price (a reverse dowry, paid by the husband’s family) when she marries. A village chief told me that a typical price would be 20 goats — but if the girl has been raped, two goats. At most.

Thus it takes astonishing courage for Jeanne and Chance to tell their stories (including in a video posted with the on-line version of this column). I’ll be reporting more from eastern Congo in the coming days, hoping that the fortitude of survivors like them can inspire world leaders to step forward to stop this slaughter. It’s time to show the same compassion toward Congo that we have toward Haiti.

Congo-Kinshasa: First Defense Witness In Court Tomorrow

2010-01-27T07:20:00.001-08:00

Lubanga Trial Website (The Hague)
Congo-Kinshasa: First Defense Witness In Court Tomorrow

Wairagala Wakabi

26 January 2010

The first witness to appear for the Thomas Lubanga defense is expected to give evidence tomorrow (Wednesday). The witness will presented after lead counsel Catherine Mabille has explained how the case will unfold and highlighted certain themes of the accused's case.

But Mabille has today said that they were experiencing some problems related to their first witness, which they wanted the court to resolve.

"I wanted to say we were not able to resolve the issue associated with our discussion with our witness number two linked with problems of translation," Mabille told court. "So we are going to be meeting this evening in order to discuss this with him. He will be testifying tomorrow. I want to draw the chamber's attention to that matter."

The defense counsel continued: "We also came up against the same concern with reference to the second witness due to testify who were going to request his consent so that he meets with the Office of The Prosecutor and this was not possible either. I believe the problem is associated with the availability or non-availability of translators."

Judge Adrian Fulford said it was critical that all concerned departments liaise to address the difficulties the defense was facing. "Time is now extremely precious given that we are having to share two courtrooms between three trials and the chamber will be very reluctant indeed to lose time for administrative problems… applications to adjourn under the present arrangements will be treated very sceptically."

The International Criminal Court (ICC) charges that Lubanga enlisted and conscripted children under the age of 15 years and used them "to participate actively" in armed conflict. The alleged crimes were committed between September 2002 and August 2003 in Ituri province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Meanwhile earlier today judges barred the prosecution from questioning a witness about some events which the witness had referred to earlier in the day. The prosecution's Manoj Sachdeva had sought to ask the witness about his statement that on December 23, 2003 armed groups had gone to the town of Mahagi in eastern Congo in order to recruit volunteers.

Lubanga's lawyer Jean-Marie Biju-Duval protested, reasoning that the trial would be caught up in an interminable spiral if the prosecution were allowed to examine the witness on the events of December 23, 2002. It was not clear what the events were, as the witness had explained them in closed session. This witness is one of two participating victims who had concluded giving their evidence but were on Monday called back to the witness box for more questioning at the bidding of the defense team.

"I believe that the prosecution evidence has been concluded and I don't believe that it will be appropriate that through this questioning the prosecution should try to tender new evidence today," Biju-Duval said.

Judge Fulford said the chamber was of the view that allowing the prosecution to question the witness on the events of December 2002 would be to introduce a wholly new and hitherto un-investigated element into the case. That element had emerged because of the way in which the witness answered at least one of the questions Biju-Duval put to him, he said.

"There has to be finality in relation to the evidence given by witnesses and in our view to allow this area now to be opened up in what should be the closing moments of this witness's testimony would be undesirable and against the interests of justice," Judge Fulford concluded.

Copyright © 2010 Lubanga Trial Website. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica - All the Time

Atrocities Haunt DRC Child Soldiers

2010-01-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

Poor DR Congo offers aid to Haiti

2010-01-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

from BBC NEWS

The Democratic Republic of Congo has announced it is sending $2.5m (£1.5m) in emergency aid to Haiti, to help it cope with last week's earthquake.

Some Congolese have criticised the offer. After years of conflict, which is still raging in the east, millions of people live in poverty.

The country depends on foreign aid and civil servants frequently go unpaid.

But Information Minister Lambert Mende told the BBC that DR Congo would contribute within its means.

"Congo isn't bankrupt, our own problems shouldn't prevent us from helping a brother country," he said.

But political scientist Ntanda Nkere from the University of Kinshasa told the BBC:

"It's a contradiction to see a country which is facing serious financial problems giving away $2.5m but at the same time, it's a purely diplomatic reaction, the Congolese government wants to appear like any other government."

On Sunday, Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade said he was offering free land to any Haitians who wanted to "return" to Africa.

Most of Haiti's population are descended from slaves.

"The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that wants to return to their origin," said Mr Wade's spokesman, Mamadou Bemba Ndiaye.

Responding to the Senegalese offer, Mr Mende said the government would certainly not reject any Haitians if they wanted to move to DR Congo.

The earthquake killed tens of thousands in Haiti, with many bodies still stuck in the remains of buildings.

Aid is slowly arriving but aid workers are struggling to distribute it to all those who need it.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8466275.stm

Published: 2010/01/18 17:39:27 GMT

© BBC MMX

Kabila wants MONUC out of DRC

2010-01-14T01:48:00.000-08:00

Civilians suffer in DRC conflict

2010-01-14T01:43:00.001-08:00

Letter dated 23 November 2009 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the DRC

2009-12-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

Summary

Final report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The present report concludes that military operations against the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) have failed to dismantle the organization’s political and military structures on the ground in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The increasing rate of FDLR combatant defections and FDLR temporary removal from many of its bases are only a partial success, considering that the armed group has regrouped in a number of locations in the Kivus, and continues to recruit new fighters. The report shows that FDLR continues to benefit from residual but significant support from top commanders of the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC), particularly officers in the 10th military region (South Kivu), and has sealed strategic alliances with other armed groups in both North and South Kivu. External support networks, both regional and international, have been used by FDLR in the field to counteract the effects of “Kimia II” (FARDC-led military operations against FDLR), for instance networks in Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania. The Group has also documented that FDLR has a far-reaching international diaspora network involved in the day-to-day running of the movement, the coordination of military and arms trafficking activities and the management of financial activities. This report presents two case studies on the involvement of individuals linked to faith-based organizations.

The Group investigated FDLR’s ongoing exploitation of natural resources in the Kivus, notably gold and cassiterite reserves, which the Group calculates continues to deliver millions of dollars in direct financing into the FDLR coffers. The present report illustrates how FDLR gold networks are tightly intertwined with trading networks operating within Uganda and Burundi as well as in the United Arab Emirates. The Group also documents that a number of mineral exporting companies, some of which were named in a previous report of the Group in 2008 (S/2008/773), continue to trade with FDLR. This report shows that end buyers for this cassiterite include the Malaysia Smelting Corporation, and the Thailand Smelting and Refining Company, which is held by Amalgamated Metals Corporation, based in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The report analyses the integration of non-State armed groups into FARDC through the rapid integration process in January 2009, as well as prior to and during the FARDC/Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) joint operations “Umoja Wetu” and “Kimia II”. In this context, the officer class of the Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP), in particular General Bosco Ntaganda, has continued to retain heavy weapons acquired during its period of rebellion in spite of its official integration into FARDC and still controls revenue-generating activities and parallel local administrations. The Group also presents documentary evidence showing that General Ntaganda continues to act as the deputy operational commander of Kimia II.

CNDP military officers deployed as part of FARDC Kimia II operations have profited from their deployment in mineral-rich areas, notably at the Bisie mine in Walikale, North Kivu, and in the territory of Kalehe, in South Kivu. In both these areas, the FARDC commanding officers on the ground are former CNDP officers.

The Group includes evidence in the report showing direct involvement of CNDP military officials in the supply of minerals to a number of exporting houses in North and South Kivu, some of which also supply the international companies mentioned above.

The Group has monitored compliance with paragraph 5 of resolution 1807 (2008), by which the Security Council decided that all States are to notify the sanctions committee in advance regarding the shipment of arms and related material for the Democratic Republic of the Congo or any provision of assistance, advice or training related to military activities, especially given the Group’s findings on the continued diversion of FARDC military equipment to non-governmental armed groups, notably FDLR. The Group has conclusively documented irregular deliveries of arms to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Sudan, as well as deliveries of trucks and aircraft that have been used by FARDC. The present report also documents the failure of a number of States to notify the sanctions committee of training they provided to FARDC.

The Group also reports on violations of human rights committed in contravention of subparagraphs 4 (d), (e) and (f) of resolution 1857 (2008) and concludes that FARDC and non-governmental armed groups continue to perpetrate human rights abuses, in the context of Kimia II operations in contravention of international humanitarian law. FARDC and FDLR have been involved in significant killings of civilians and other abuses from March to October 2009, causing additional waves of displacement of several hundred thousand civilians. The findings of the report underline the need for the urgent establishment of a vetting mechanism and the strengthening of accountability and the justice system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A list of FARDC commanders currently deployed in the Kimia II operation with an established record of human rights abuses is annexed to the present report (annex 124).
The Federal Police of Germany arrested Mr. Ignace Murwanashyaka and Mr. Straton Musoni, the president and vice-president of FDLR respectively, on 17 November 2009, following the submission of the present report on 9 November 2009 by the Group of Experts to the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004). Mr. Murwanashyaka and Mr. Musoni were arrested on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as on the basis of other charges related to the forming and membership of a foreign terrorist organization.

Al Jazeera Follow-Up on UN DR Congo Debacle

2009-12-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

UN mission 'failing' in DR Congo
About 1,2000 FDLR fighters have surrendered since an army offensive was launched in March [AFP]

The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo has failed to disarm Rwandan Hutu fighters, UN experts say.

According to a 93-page report for the UN Security Council, leaked on Wednesday, this has exacerbated conflict in the north of the country.

The report said that despite the mission in North and South Kivu provinces the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) was continuing to recruit and arm fighters.

"This report concludes that military operations against the FDLR have failed to dismantle the organisation's political and military structures on the ground in eastern DRC," it said.

The 25,000-strong UN force has been supporting a Congolese military offensive, launched in March as part of a deal to improve ties with neighbouring Rwanda, its enemy during a 1998-2003 war.

The five-member panel of experts sent to DRC to compile the report found that the Congolese offensive had had a devastating effect on the local population.

"Scores of villages have been raided and pillaged, thousands of houses have been burnt and several hundred thousand people have been displaced in order to escape from the violence generated by these military operations," the report said.

Mineral trading

Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich, the spokesman for the UN force, said that the peacekeepers were "quite happy" with the results of the military operation, but acknowledged that "the humanitarian situation does not look as good".

"We were able to neutralise between 35 and 50 per cent of the FDLR combatants and as well we can say that the they are pushed out of the majority of their economic sites," he told Al Jazeera from Kinshasa.

However, the report concluded that although more than 1,200 of the FDLR's estimated 6,000-to-8,000 fighters have surrendered since the offensive began, it had been able replenish its ranks from both Congolese and Rwandan Hutus.

The group also continues to benefit from the riches generated by the areas vast mineral resources.

Companies continue to purchase minerals from jungle mines controlled and operated by FDLR supporters, while middlemen smuggle millions of dollars in gold to Dubai every year.

Official Congolese records show only a few kilos of gold are exported legally every year, but the country's own senate estimates that in reality 40 tonnes a year, worth about $1.24bn - leaves the country.

"The [UN] group calculates that the FDLR could earn at least several hundred thousand dollars and up to a few million dollars a year from this trade," the report said.

The FDLR was formed in refugee camps in eastern DRC housing mainly ethnic Hutus who had fled during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

But support networks in Africa, Europe and North America, now finance and command the fighters.

The experts tracked 240 calls between Ignance Murwanashyaka, an FDLR leader based in Germany, and DR Congo fighters, who in turn were in touch with contacts in 25 countries in Europe and America.

Unstable region

Guy Momat, a Congolese journalist and founder of Stop the Congo War UK, said there had been some improvements in North and South Kivu provinces since last year.

"In November 2008 the situation was worse than now: the town of Goma was close to falling to the forces of Laurent Nkunda and you can imagine what could have been the consequences, but now people have regained their place," he said.

About 25,000 UN peacekeepers have been deployed to eastern DR Congo [EPA]
"For the last 12 years that part of the Congo was not stable, so as an observer I think it will take time to bring a proper peace."

In return for Congo's pledges to tackle the Hutu rebels, some of whom helped orchestrate Rwanda's 1994 genocide, Rwanda arrested Nkunda, whose National Congress for the Defence of the People [CNDP] forces were then integrated into the army.

The most aggressive operations against the FDLR have been spearheaded by predominantly Tutsi former CNDP units, some of which are apparently under the command of General Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

"General Bosco Ntaganda was enforced by both Kinshasa and Kigali as the de facto military head of the CNDP, with specific instructions to manage and control former CNDP elements integrated in the [army]," the report said.

Under Ntaganda's leadership, integrated CNDP units are accused by the group of experts of widespread abuses including killings, rape, torture, forced labour, looting and extortion.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Al Jazeera Reports

2009-12-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

Many dead in DR Congo boat accident

Travel is often limited to aircraft and boats that ply Congo's huge network of rivers [EPA]

At least 73 people have been killed after a boat sank on a lake in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, it has emerged.

DR Congo's branch of the Red Cross said on Saturday that a logging boat that was not authorized to take passengers sank during bad weather on Wednesday.

"We are at 272 survivors and 73 dead. These are bodies that we have found along the shores of the lake," Dominic Lutula, president of the Congolese Red Cross told the Reuters news agency.

"There are still some people missing. But we don't know how many because there was no ship's manifest," he said.

Bodies had been found on the shores of Lake Mai Ndombe.

'People missing'

The boat had been transporting logs on Lake Mai Ndombe in Bandundu province, the United Nations-sponsored Radio Okapi said.

Radio Okapi said the boat, owned by a logging company called Sodefor, sank at around 8:00pm (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

Despite its vast mineral wealth, roads are almost non-existent outside Congo's main towns.

Travel is often limited to aircraft and the boats that ply its huge network of rivers.

Accidents are frequent due to overloading, lack of maintenance, and lax enforcement of safety standards.

At least 14 people died in September after their boat sank on an isolated stretch of the Lualaba river in the southern province of Katanga.

Courtesy of

The UN Continues it Irresponsibility

2009-12-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

UN News Service (New York)
Congo-Kinshasa: Security Council Renews Arms Embargo And Sanctions

30 November 2009

The Security Council today extended and expanded the arms embargo and related sanctions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which have been in place since 2003, for another year.

Council members voted unanimously to adopt a resolution continuing the regime of sanctions, which consists of an arms embargo against all armed groups that are not part of either the Government's integrated army (known as the FARDC) or police units, through 30 November next year.

The 15-member panel also extended the mandate of the Group of Experts dealing with the DRC for the same period, and expanded its remit to include the creation of recommendations on due diligence guidelines for the buying and processing of lucrative mineral products in the troubled African country.

The Group of Experts has been asked to focus its activities on North and South Kivu, Ituri and Orientale provinces in the east of the country, which remains plagued by fighting and unrest since the end of the DRC's brutal civil war earlier this decade.

The mandate of the Council subcommittee dealing with the DRC has also been expanded to take account of changing notification requirements for UN Member States complying with the embargo and sanctions.

EXPOSED! The UN Security Council is a farce

2009-12-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

Africa Confidential (London)
Congo-Kinshasa: Diplomatic Double-Standards and an International Resource Grab are Stoking One of the Worst Wars in the World

25 November 2009

The United Nations Security Council's tenuous authority in Africa has been further threatened by an explosive new report from a UN Group of Experts* showing wide-ranging violations of the arms embargo on Congo-Kinshasa by both Western and African states.

The expert panel reports that killer militias in Eastern Congo have been receiving military orders from leaders based in Germany and France and getting finance from two Spanish-based charities linked to the Roman Catholic church in clear breach of the UN sanctions regime. The report also accuses the governments of Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Congo-Kinshasa of allowing serious breaches of sanctions and the illegal export of mineral wealth.

After heated discussions at UN headquarters in New York on 20 November, several Council members want to dilute the report's recommendations – if not bury them, Africa Confidential has learned. The Council is due to meet again on 25 November to discuss the report, but China has been pushing for a substantive delay on any actions while the report is translated into another five languages.

This latest crisis for the UN's operations in Congo-Kinshasa follows growing concerns about relations between the Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du Congo (Monuc) and the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC) after the latter was found to have been involved in mass killings and rapes of civilians in Eastern Congo. The new report reinforces concerns voiced by some UN officials about the management of Monuc, the UN's most expensive peacekeeping operations costing over US$1 billion a year, under Alan Doss, the British diplomat who is currently UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative in Congo. Continuing criticism of the ineffectiveness of Monuc and its high cost are undermining diplomatic support for the mission.

Analysing internal Monuc reports and its information from its own sources the Expert Group concludes that military operations by the FARDC, first in conjunction first with the the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) and then with Monuc, against the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) militia have had much less impact than the Kinshasa government and the UN have claimed.

It adds that the joint FARDC-RDF operation in North Kivu earlier this year, known as Umoja Wetu, was weakened by the embezzlement of several million US dollars of funds by senior FARDC and RDF commanders. Umoja Wetu was followed in March 2009 by Kimia II, an FARDC operation backed by Monuc, which the FARDC says has contained and greatly weakened the FDLR. Yet the Group's report states that since forming a tactical alliance with a predominantly Hunde militia in North Kivu as well as with its splinter faction RUD-URUNANA, the FDLR has been able to return in strength to the Masisi, Lubero and Walikale regions of the province. The report concludes that the FARDC's military operations have not succeeded in neutralising the FDLR, despite the intense humanitarian crisis they have provoked.

The previous UN panel report on Congo-Kinshasa, released last December, reported at length on secret collaboration between the FARDC and FDLR. This was followed in January, however, by a groundbreaking deal between Congo-Kinshasa's President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, which was widely assumed to mean, not least by the Security Council, that FARDC support for the FDLR would cease. Yet this latest report shows that the senior commanders of the FARDC's 10th military region, which roughly comprises South Kivu, continue to provide logistical support to the FDLR.

The commanders of the FARDC 10th military region, who the report claims are responsible for the provision of this logistical support, are General Pacifique Masunzu, a Banyamulenge (South Kivu Banyamulenge Tutsi) who broke with the Rwandan-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) back in 2003 and who clearly remains implacably opposed to the Rwandan government, and his deputy Colonel Baudouin Nakabaka, a former Mai-Mai fighter with close links to the FDLR.

Another interesting link to the FDLR and to a related and equally brutal Rwandan militia in eastern DRC called RUD-URUNANA, reveals the report, is Mbusa Nyamwisi, Congo-Kinshasa's Minister of Decentralisation. Mbusa Nyamwisi, who was previously Foreign Minister, has been linked by the report to Kasereka Maghulu, otherwise known as Kavatsi, who has apparently been helping RUD-URUNANA obtain food supplies, arms, ammunition and cash in return for minerals and timber.

One of the report's strongest findings is the extent of the FDLR's support network in Europe, and particularly in Germany and France. It shows that German-based Ignace Murwanashyaka is not only the FDLR President but also its supreme military commander, and that Straton Musoni, its German-based Vice-President, is also President of the militia's high command. The Deputy President of this high command is apparently Callixte Mbarushimana, the FDLR's France-based Executive Secretary. All three men have previously been sanctioned by the UN, which is supposed to mean that they are banned from international travel and that their bank accounts are frozen. But Etablissement Muyeye, one of the biggest mineral trading houses in Bukavu, organised the transfer of funds through Western Union to Murwanashyaka's associates in Germany on behalf of FDLR, the report shows.

The arrest of Murwanashyaka and Musoni by the German authorities last week on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity raises questions about timing. The German government had not previously acted against Murwanashyaka and Musoni despite evidence of their continued leadership role in the FDLR and appeals from the Rwandan government to take action. Some UN sources suggest Germany acted because it had heard about the UN report with details about the FDLR networks in Europe.

Germany's arrest of the two FDLR men puts pressure on France, which has not arrested Calixte Mbarushimana, and is criticised in the report for being reluctant to share information about the FDLR with the panel. The experts identified 21 telephone numbers in France that have been in contact with FDLR military satellite phones between September 2008 and August 2009. They asked the French government to collaborate and identify these numbers but the French authorities are yet to respond. Similarly, the French authorities have failed to respond to questions about FDLR leadership resident in France.

The networks are wider: the UN experts also identified money transfers from Belgium to the FDLR. They also complain about the lack of cooperation from Britain and the United States on enquires into phone numbers in contact with FDLR military satellite phones.

Also under scrutiny are those Roman Catholic networks which have provided continuing support to Hutu extremists before, during and after the genocide of 1994 in Rwanda. The panel names two Spanish charities linked with the Roman Catholic church, the Fundació S'Olivar and Inshuti, which are funded by the government of the Islas Baleares Province and have been providing financial support to the FDLR, which groups around youth recruited in refugee camps and young Congolese Hutus, the last quarter of the former militiamen and Forces Armées Rwandaiseselements. Fundació S'Olivar is run by Juan Carrero, a prominent figure in Spain who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. Inshuti used to be run by Joan Casoliva. Both men are cited in the report as being FDLR sympathisers and for being involved in pushing forward the prosecution of RPF officials in the Spanish courts. The authors of the report also gathered testimonies claiming that a Belgian brother of a charity called Constant Goetschalckxhas given money to the FDLR.

Another important revelation by the Group is that the FDLR and RUD-URUNANA have since early this year been recruiting hundreds of combatants from Rwandan refugee camps in Uganda, in particular from the camps of Nyakivale and Cyaka, under the noses of the Ugandan military which is supposed to have been preventing this. A key organiser is said to be the FDLR's 'Colonel' Wenceslas Nizeyimana, who is accused of facilitating a visit in 2006 by FDLR President Ignace Murwanyashyaka to Uganda in violation of a UN travel ban.

These findings embarrass Uganda, which is a temporary member of the UN Security Council, as do revelations in the report about Uganda's deep involvement in a thriving trade in gold mined from eastern Congolese sites controlled and taxed by the FDLR. The report says that Rajendra Vaya and J.V. Lodhia (also known as Chuni), who headed two Ugandan gold trading companies called UCI and Machanga which were previously sanctioned by the UN Security Council for buying gold from mines taxed by an assortment of Ituri militia, are the most active and are trading with the protection and connivance of the Ugandan authorities.

The report criticised the Ugandan government for supplying the Group with only 'incomplete and partial' customs declarations for the country's gold exports, and claims to have documentation showing that far more is going out then the official figures reveal. Almost all the Congolese gold being exported via Uganda, it seems, goes to Dubai, which has so far declined to respond to any of the Group's requests for further information.

The report also says that the FDLR is receiving 'significant deliveries' of weapons and ammunition from Tanzania via Lake Tanganyika and strongly suggests the Tanzanian government knows all about it. The Tanzanian government's motivation, moots the panel, is to retain influence over illegal trade with Congo, including fuel smuggling from Tanzania to Congo and minerals smuggling in the other direction. The panel has email correspondence from Bande Ndagundi, a Congolese arms trafficker active in Tanzania and Burundi, talking about his high level contacts with Tanzanian officials. The panel shows Ndagundi has been in regular phone contact with the Tanzanian Ambassador to Burundi, who the panel's sources allege facilitates Ndagundi's activities.

The Group's report claims the Burundian government is allowing the FDLR to use its territory as a rear base and to recruit from there, and further finds that it may be facilitating a supply of arms to the militia from international dealers. It has long been known that Burundi was the main conduit for gold mined in South Kivu, since the country exports gold without producing it. Most, if not all, South Kivu's gold mines are controlled by one armed group or another, with the FDLR controlling a number of the best deposits.

Several FDLR ex-combatants interviewed by the experts stated that several hundred of fighters were recruited in Rwanda and infiltrated through Burundi into Congo-Kinshasa. There is little doubt that Burundi will dislike this report, in particular the mention that according to several testimonies and backed by phone records,'the FDLR maintain a relationship with Gen. Adolphe Nshimirimana, Burundi's head of intelligence'. Moreover, the experts found suspicious the attempted purchase in Malaysia by Burundian officials of 40,000 Steyer AUG assault rifles, which exceeded the needs of the Burundian police.

Several foreign mining houses continue to trade with the FDLR. End buyers for this cassiterite include the Malaysia Smelting Corporation and the Thailand Smelting and Refining Company (Thaisarco), held by the British-registered Amalgamated Metals Corporation. Furthermore, the fact that Thaisarco is supplied by African Ventures Ltd, a Samoan-registered company with a Hong Kong address, which is being used as a front company for the Swiss businessman Chris Huber, is also embarrassing; Huber was involved in the conflict coltan business during the 1998-2003 war in Eastern Congo and today he is also sourcing material from companies with close ties to FARDC officers from the former Congrés National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP, the ex-Congolese Tutsi guerilla force headed by Gen. Laurent Nkunda), who are in control of mines in the Walikale and Kalehe territories as well as companies buying from FDLR zones.

The report published a document showing how gold from these mines makes it into Burundi, focusing in particular on the role played by Bujumbura-based Mutoka Ruganyira. Ruganyira, it seems, is a good friend of Gen. Adolphe Nshimirimana, the director general of the Burundian intelligence services, and a business associate of Antwerp-based gold dealer Alain Goetz.Goetz, says the report, is linked not only to Ruganyira but also to a North Kivu-based company improbably called Glory Minerals, which also sources its gold from FDLR-controlled mines. Goetz has, however, denied the story, telling the panel he had not purchased gold from the DRC 'for several years'.

Among the Group's less surprising revelations are that North Korea and Sudan have violated UN Security Council resolution 1807 which imposes all states to notify the Sanctions Committee in advance regarding the shipment of arms for Congo.

China also supplied ammunition and equipment. The An Xin Jiang A vessel docked at Matadi in May 2009. China informed the Committee about the delivery but did not provide details about the cargo. China has been leading the charges against the expert report in the UN Security Council. South Africa, Angola and the USA, which train FARDC units, failed to notify the UN Sanctions Committee in advance on this provision of military assistance, advice or training. US authorities also failed to provide information on the bank account of a CNDP activist in Gisenyi.

Russia will face questions about the purchase of cassiterite by the Novosibirsk Integrated Tin Works company from ex-CNDP Congolese army officers and an attempted sale of military equipment including helicopter parts to the Congolese government in August 2009 by a Russian national named Dmitry Popov.

Of all governments in the region, Rwanda's seems to have earned the least criticism in this report – although it will also be embarrassed by revelations that Gen. Laurent Nkunda, the founder and former leader of the predominantly Congolese Tutsi CNDP who is supposed to be under detention in Rwanda, has been allowed to remain in contact with former associates and to exert a degree of control over the CNDP. The link with Chris Huber is also embarrassing. Huber used to ship minerals out of Rwanda during 1998-2003 via the state run Rwanda Metals, a company owned by the Rwandan Patriotic Forces (RPF).

The report says that the man who toppled Nkunda from the CNDP leadership, Jean Bosco Ntaganda, is the deputy commander of Kimia II despite being wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. The new US envoy to the Great Lakes region, Howard Wolpe, recently called on the Congolese government to hand Ntaganda over to the ICC, but Information Minister Lambert Mende retorted that the government was 'not yet ready' to do so. Ntaganda appears, meanwhile, to be building a military/business empire for himself in the Kivus, collecting taxes from mines now controlled by the FARDC's ex-CNDP units, illegal checkpoints, charcoal markets, the timber trade and border controls, and also centralising under his control a growing number of the CNDP's disparate arms caches.

The Group's report recommended that the UN Security Council request member states, like Germany, to prosecute violations of the sanctions regime by their nationals and leaders of armed groups residing in their territories, but we hear the recommendation is set to be rejected by the Council.

The Council also reacted with hostility to the panel's recommendation that it adopt a coordinated strategy for the full implementation of its previous anti-FDLR resolutions, and that it direct member states to share evidence they may have against the FDLR with each other and with the panel, apparently on the recommendation of France.

It will become clear on 25 November, when the Security Council is due to vote on a new resolution, how the Council has reacted to other recommendations from the panel. It recommends that member states clarify the due diligence obligation of companies under their jurisdiction operating in Congo's mineral trading sector, and that an eastern Congo cassiterite monitoring mechanism recently proposed by the International Tin Research Institute (ITRI) be widened to allow for the establishment of an independent monitoring team. The team should have a mandate to conduct spot checks on mineral shipments, acting on the basis of a 'clear definition' of what constitutes an illegal trading activity.

Given the hostility to the report from several members of the Security Council, the Group's future will depend heavily on the energy with which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon defends the panel, which he appointed and whose mandate he agreed. Yet the Group's report is so hard-hitting and wide-ranging in its targets that it is likely to provoke the same closing of ranks and quiet panic on the Security Council as previous reports on the illegal exploitation of minerals in Congo-Kinshasa

Criticisms of the USA's and China's military assistance to the Congo as 'inadequate', and of Russia's trying to secure new arms deals is likely to elicit hostility from three of the five permanent members. Yet the Council will not want to be seen to be blocking actions against governments and individuals breaking UN sanctions on support for the militias wreaking havoc in Eastern Congo. The Group of Experts appointed by Ban Ki-moon has delivered on its mandate by producing a report that is unusually well-researched, detailed and precise in its allegations.The Council will be risking its already waning credibility in eastern Congo if it rejects the report and the recommendations that flow from it.

*The UN Group of Experts consists of Raymond Debelle (Belgium), Kokouma Diallo (Guinea), Christian Dietrich (United States), Claudio Gramizzi (Italy) and Dinesh Mahtani (Britain).

Minerals Trading at High Rate

2009-12-01T21:47:00.000-08:00

HONG KONG, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Gold surged to an all-time high above $1,200 an ounce on Wednesday, hitting a record for a second straight day, and Asian stocks advanced as investors chased riskier assets offering higher returns.

Spot gold rose 1 percent to $1,208.70 amid a broad rally in commodities on expectations of rising global demand, fueled by upbeat U.S. home sales and analysts' forecasts that China's economy could grow by 10 percent or more this quarter.

Copper touched its highest level in 15 months.

Gold was also supported by weakness in the U.S. dollar, which was again on the defensive while the euro and high-yielding currencies extended gains as investor risk appetite showed little sign of waning as it usually does heading into the year end.

The dollar was flat against a basket of major currencies, while the yen came off earlier lows amid disappointment that emergency steps announced the Bank of Japan on Tuesday, primarily short-term funding for banks, did not go further to tackle deflation or help alleviate upward pressure on the yen.

The yen was trading at 86.91 to the dollar, up from Tuesday's low of 87.54. It has gained more than 4 percent this year, raising worries that exports are growing less competitive, threatening to tip Japan back into recession.

Some analysts had expected the BOJ to signal a return to a narrow form of quantative easing seen in 2001-06, when it slashed interest rates to zero and flooded markets with cash in a bid to spur growth.

"The BOJ squandered any possible 'announcement effect' that would have bolstered the attempts to weaken the yen," said Glenn Maguire, chief economist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong. "The entire episode seems to have the notion of 'rushed' all over it."

OpEd: Conflict Minerals

2009-12-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

Conflict Minerals: A Cover For US Allies and Western Mining Interests?

By Kambale Musavuli and Bodia Macharia (Friends of the Congo)

As global awareness grows around the Congo and the silence is finally
being broken on the current and historic exploitation of Black people
in the heart of Africa, a myriad of Western based prescriptions are
being proffered. Most of these prescriptions are devoid of social,
political, economic and historical context and are marked by
remarkable omissions. The conflict mineral approach or efforts
emanating from the United States and Europe are no exception to this
symptomatic approach which serves more to perpetuate the root causes
of Congos challenges than to resolve them.

The conflict mineral approach has an obsessive focus on the FDLR and
other rebel groups while scant attention is paid to Uganda (which has
an International Court of Justice ruling against it for looting and
crimes against humanity in the Congo) and Rwanda (whose role in the
perpetuation of the conflict and looting of Congo is well documented
by UN reports and international arrest warrants for its top
officials). Rwanda is the main transit point for illicit minerals
coming from the Congo irrespective of the rebel group (FDLR, CNDP or
others) transporting the minerals. According to Dow Jones, Rwanda's
mining sector output grew 20% in 2008 from the year earlier due to
increased export volumes of tungsten, cassiterite and coltan, the
country's three leading minerals with which Rwanda is not well
endowed. In fact, should Rwanda continue to pilfer Congos minerals,
its annual mineral export revenues are expected to reach $200 million
by 2010. Former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Herman Cohen says it best when he notes having controlled the Kivu
provinces for 12 years, Rwanda will not relinquish access to resources
that constitute a significant percentage of its gross national
product. As long as the West continues to give the Kagame regime
carte blanche, the conflict and instability will endure.

According to Global Witnesss 2009 report, Faced With A Gun What Can
you Do, Congolese government statistics and reports by the Group of
Experts and NGOs, Rwanda is one of the main conduits for illicit
minerals leaving the Congo. It is amazing that the conflict mineral
approach shout loudly about making sure that the trade in minerals
does not benefit armed groups but the biggest armed beneficiary of
Congos minerals is the Rwandan regime headed by Paul Kagame.
Nonetheless, the conflict mineral approach is remarkably silent about
Rwandas complicity in the fueling of the conflict in the Congo and
the fleecing of Congos riches.

Advocates of the conflict mineral approach would be far more credible
if they had ever called for any kind of pressure whatsoever on mining
companies that are directly involved in either fueling the conflict or
exploiting the Congolese people. The United Nations, The Congolese
Parliament, Carter Center, Southern Africa Resource Watch and several
other NGOs have documented corporations that have pilfered Congos
wealth and contributed to the perpetuation of the conflict. Some of
these companies include but are not limited to: Traxys, OM Group,
Blattner Elwyn Group, Freeport McMoran, Eagle Wings/Trinitech, Lundin,
Kemet, Banro, AngloGold Ashanti, Anvil Mining, and First Quantum.

The conflict mineral approach, like the Blood Diamond campaign from
which it draws its inspiration, is silent on the question of resource
sovereignty which has been a central question in the geo-strategic
battle for Congos mineral wealth. It was over this question of
resource sovereignty that the West assassinated Congos first
democratically elected Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba and stifled the
democratic aspirations of the Congolese people for over three decades
by installing and backing the dictator Joseph Mobutu. In addition, the
United States also backed the 1996 and 1998 invasions of Congo by
Rwanda and Uganda instead of supporting the non-violent, pro-democracy
forces inside the Congo. Unfortunately and to the chagrin of the
Congolese people, some of the strongest advocates of the conflict
mineral approach are former Clinton administration officials who
supported the invasions of Congo by Rwanda and Uganda. This may in
part explains the militaristic underbelly of the conflict mineral
approach, which has as its so-called second step a comprehensive
counterinsurgency.

The focus on the east of Congo falls in line with the long-held
obsession by some advocates in Washington who incessantly push for the
balkanization of the Congo. Their focus on Eastern Congo is
inadequate and does not fully take into account the nature and scope
of the dynamics in the entire country. Political decisions in
Kinshasa, the capital in the West, have a direct impact on the events
that unfold in the East of Congo and are central to any durable
solutions.

The central claim of the conflict mineral approach is to bring an end
to the conflict; however, the conflict can plausibly be brought to an
end much quicker through diplomatic and political means. The so-called
blood mineral route is not the quickest way to end the conflict. We
have already seen how quickly world pressure can work with the
sidelining of rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and the demobilization
and/or rearranging of his CNDP rebel group in January 2009, as a
result of global pressure placed on the CNDPs sponsor Paul Kagame of
Rwanda. More pressure needs to be placed on leaders such as Kagame and
Museveni who have been at the root of the conflict since 1996. The
FDLR can readily be pressured as well, especially with most of their
political leadership residing in the West, however this should be done
within a political framework, which brings all the players to the
table as opposed to the current militaristic, dichotomous, good-guy
bad-guy approach where the West sees Kagame and Museveni as the
good-guys and everyone else as bad. The picture is far grayer than
Black and White.

A robust political approach by the global community would entail the
following prescriptions:

1. Join Sweden and Netherlands in pressuring Rwanda to be a partner
for peace and a stabilizing presence in the region. The United States
and Great Britain in particular should apply more pressure on their
allies Rwanda and Uganda to the point of withholding aid if necessary.

2. Hold to account companies and individuals through sanctions
trafficking in minerals whether with rebel groups or neighboring
countries, particularly Rwanda and Uganda. Canada has chimed in as
well but has been deadly silent on the exploitative practices of its
mining companies in the Congo. Canada must do more to hold its mining
companies accountable as is called for in Bill C-300.

3. Encourage world leaders to be more engaged diplomatically and place
a higher priority on what is the deadliest conflict in the World since
World War Two.

4. Reject the militarization of the Great Lakes region represented by
AFRICOM, which has already resulted in the suffering of civilian
population; the strengthening of authoritarian figures such as
Ugandas Museveni (in power since 1986) and Rwandas Kagame (won the
2003 elections with 95 percent of the vote); and the restriction of
political space in their countries.

5. Demand of the Obama administration to be engaged differently from
its current military-laden approach and to take the lead in pursuing
an aggressive diplomatic path with an emphasis on pursuing a regional
political framework that can lead to lasting peace and stability.

To learn more about the current crisis in the Congo, visit
www.friendsofthecongo.org and join the global movement in support of
the people of the Congo at www.congoweek.org

Kambale Musavuli is spokesperson and student coordinator for Friends
of the Congo. He can be reached at kambale@friendsofthecongo.org

Bodia Macharia is the President of Friends of the Congo/ Canada. She
can be reached at bodia@friendsofthecongo.org

60 Minutes CBS: CONGO GOLD

2009-11-30T08:33:00.001-08:00

Watch CBS News Videos Online

2009-11-26T12:39:00.000-08:00

November 25, 2009

Join Enough's John Prendergast and 60 Minutes

This coming Sunday, November 29, CBS’ 60 Minutes - the most successful broadcast in television history - will turn its attention to the scourge of conflict minerals in Congo. Earlier this year, Enough’s co-founder, John Prendergast, accompanied the 60 Minutes team to eastern Congo to investigate the impact that the minerals trade, and particularly gold, has on the conflict. Check your local listings for the proper channel and time.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml

Amalgamated Metals Corporation

2009-11-18T08:09:00.000-08:00

Global Witness names British firms dealing with Congo rebels
By Tom Parry on Jul 21, 09 07:58 AM in Congo

THE chain that links violent militia in the Congo to the pin-striped suits of the City of London is revealed in a new report today.

FDLR troops march in Democratic Republic of Congo.jpg

Campaign group Global Witness has identified two British firms as buying minerals that are funding armed groups and fuelling the bloody ongoing conflict that has already killed millions.

One is Amalgamated Metals Corporation (AMC), the parent company of THAISARCO, the world's fifth-largest tin-producing company.

THAISARCO's main supplier is Panju, based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which sells tin ore, coltan and gold from mines controlled by the main rebel group the FDLR, made up of extremists behind the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Among the main shareholders of AMC are Victor Herman Sher, Geoffrey Charles Leacroft Rowan and Giles Robbins, all of whom have appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List.

The other British firm identified by Global Witness is Afrimex, a small trading company located in Middlesex.

Campaigners claim Afrimex was found to be in breach of Office for Economic Development guidelines for buying from suppliers who made payments to rebels, but has continued trading with them.

For Global Witness, the report, called 'Faced with a gun, what can you do?', is further evidence that the British government has to clamp down on companies who deal with those involved in the DRC conflict.

It says mine ownership is carved up between the national Congolese army and the FDLR Hutu militia, who share the spoils of the trade.

Director Patrick Alley said: "The British government is the largest bilateral aid donor to the DRC and a key diplomatic player. Its failure to hold British companies to account is undermining its own efforts and allowing one of the main drivers of the conflict to continue unchecked.

"We have asked the government countless times to pay more attention to the role of minerals in fuelling the conflict, and yet it seems that they are more concerned with protecting their companies' economic interests."

Despite a recent UN-backed offensive, the FDLR has been accused of escalating its use of rape, forced labour and torture to subdue the already terrified people of the Eastern Congo jungle.

It controls access to valuable minerals like casserite and coltan, which are used to make mobile phones and computers.

Commenting on the recent increase in violence against civilians blamed on the FDLR, Marcel Stoessel, head of Oxfam in the DRC, said: "The offensive against the FDLR was supposed to bring peace to eastern Congo, but our survey shows people are living in constant fear of violent attack.

"This suffering is not inevitable. It is happening because world leaders have decided that collateral damage is an acceptable price to pay for removing the FDLR. But as the people we met can testify, that price is far too high."

DR CONGO: Urban Water Supply Needs Attention - IPS ipsnews.net

2009-11-17T08:04:00.001-08:00

DR CONGO: Urban Water Supply Needs Attention - IPS ipsnews.net

Posted using ShareThis

DR CONGO:
Urban Water Supply Needs Attention

Emmanuel Chaco

KINSHASA, Nov 17 (IPS) - Kinshasa's population needs an estimated 700,000 cubic metres of water per day. The Régie de distribution des eaux (REGIDESO) produces only 425,000 cubic metres - vast neighbourhoods like Kitokimosi and Mpasa receive almost none of this water.
The situation in other parts of the country is similar if not worse.

"In total, only 22 percent of Congolese have access to drinking water, while the average in sub-Saharan Africa is around 60 percent," says Frank Bousquet, from the World Bank's Urban Potable Water Supply Project (known by its French acronym, PEMU).

"The lack of drinking water poses a significant threat to public health and it is the poor who pay the heaviest price for this inefficient service. They pay seven times more for a litre of water than they would if water services operated properly."

Jean-Pierre Kajangu, from the health economics programme at the School of Public Health at the University of Kinshasa says the situation is serious. "It's not just the health of residents of Kitokimosi and Mpasa, but the whole population of Kinshasa is at risk," he said.

"The water from wells and rivers gives rise to many health problems for us as women," says Sophie Nkeyi, who sells fish in the Kitokimosi market, "because we use it to bathe, to cook, to wash our clothes which we cannot even iron for lack of electricity."

She and her ten-year-old daughter are forced to visit the doctor regularly. "The doctor prescribes antibiotics and de-worming medicine against infections and intestinal parasites which we are exposed to by the water in rivers and pools" she told IPS.

Lydia Panzu says that, because of the physical strain of fetching water, she has suffered back problems for the past three years. "Back problems, neck problems, because I go back and forth two or three times a day, down into the valley to the river and back, each time with around 20 litres of water on my head,"the 16-year-old told IPS.

Short of resources

REGIDESO's technical and finance departments say the utility's poor performance is linked to its aging infrastructure.

"A key example is the Lukunga waterworks, with a capacity of 48,000 cubic metres a day, and which serves a million residents in two districts of Kinshasa. It was built in 1939 by the colonial powers and has not been substantially refurbished to this day," says David Ekwanza, director of exploitation at REGIDESO.

The lack of maintenance is a direct consequence of a shortage of financial resources. "And this lack of finances is principally due to the fact that government departments - who are the largest consumers - do not pay their monthly water bills," says Polycarpe Kabangu, head of finance at REGIDESO.

"These departments include government offices, the official residences of certain highly-placed politicians, public enterprises... who owe around 3.5 million dollars each month, representing 40 percent of the businesses' accounts, causing enormous financial difficulties, and making it impossible to rebuild the infrastructure and supply water across the city of Kinshasa as well as delaying payment of salaries to staff."

PEMU proposes to sustainably increase access to water in urban areas, in improve the water company's technical and financial effectiveness.

The project will focus on three things: "the restoration of financial viability; the creation of conditions for dynamic management which will transform this public enterprise into a social entity designed to increase managerial autonomy; as well as the renewal and upgrading of facilities in the three centres most likely to generate the revenue needed to restore balance and help support secondary centres."

Louise Yemba is tired of hearing promises about bringing water to Mpasa. "I think we need a project better than the others launched by the World Bank in DRC and whose effects have been limited to the Bank publicity."

The human rights activist from Mpasa doubts the project will be executed. "Or it will be badly carried out because of the poor quality of governance in the country and the paralysis of Congolese civil society - which must become aware of the role it has to play in putting pressure on the World Bank and the government to support all Congolese who don't have access to water," Yemba says.

Patrice Musoko, the coordinator of the Congolese Association of Consumers of Food Products, agrees that citizen action is the key.

"Civil society must put effective pressure on the government to reduce these arrears and pay their bills and allow REGIDESO to maintain its infrastructure and supply the neighbourhoods which are not yet served in Kinshasa. Civil society must also follow up to be sure that the money paid is effectively used to these ends."

But in a country still struggling with the effects of a series of armed conflicts and the breakdown of effective government, it will not be an easy task.

Tantalum Memorial from London 2008

2009-11-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

Tantalum Memorial” 2008
a new artwork by Harwood, Wright, Yokokoji

“Tantalum Memorial” is a series of telephony-based memorials by the artists group Harwood, Wright, Yokokoji, to the people who have died as a result of the “coltan wars” in the Congo. The installation is constructed out of electromagnetic Strowger switches – the basis of the first automatic telephone exchange invented in 1888. The title of the work refers to the metal tantalum, an essential component of mobile phones

The movements and sounds of the switches are triggered by the phone calls of London's Congolese community as they participate in “Telephone Trottoire” – a concurrent project also built by the artists in collaboration with the Congolese radio program “Nostalgie Ya Mboka”. The precisely poised movements and sounds of the switches create a sculptural presence for this otherwise intangible network of circulating conversations. In “Tantalum Memorial”, Harwood, Wright, and Yokoji weave together the ambiguities of globalisation, transnational migration and our addiction to constant communication.

The “Coltan Wars”

Since August 1998 there have been 3.9 million deaths and over 361,000 refugees created by the so-called “coltan wars” in the Congo region. Coltan ore is mined for the metal tantalum - an essential component of mobile phones and other communication devices that is now coveted by dozens of international mining companies and warring local militias. Although the conflict has continued up to the present day it remains almost entirely unknown outside of Africa.

Almon Strowger

Almon Brown Strowger was born in Penfield near Rochester, New York. An undertaker by profession, he believed that the wife of a rival undertaker who worked at his local telephone exchange was routing customers through to her husband. His automatic telephone exchange made it possible to call someone directly instead of going through a human operator. The invention, patented on the 10th March 1891, is thought responsible for the conceptualization of modern telephone networks. His switches were in service until the 1990s when they were replaced by digital technologies made from tantalum.

“Telephone Trottoire”

“Telephone Trottoire” is a “social telephony” network aimed at the Congolese community in London, approximately 90% of whom are refugees or asylum seekers. In the Congo, where free speech has been censored for over forty years, people spread information while standing on street corners – by “radio trottoire” or “pavement radio”. Produced by the artists in collaboration with the Congolese radio programme “Nostalgie Ya Mboka”, “Telephone Trottoire” calls people up and invites them to pass around stories or topical news items over their phones.

“Tantalum Memorial – Reconstruction” was the first version in this series, commissioned for the Zero1 Biennial “Superlight” show at the San Jose Museum of Art, May 10th - August 31st, 2008. “Tantalum Memorial – Residue” was the second in the series, this time utilizing a 1938 telephone exchange rescued from the old Alumix factory in Bolzano, Italy. This was also the site of Manifesta 7 - the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, 19th July to 2nd November, 2008.

”Phone Wars” was made in collaboration with the Science Museum in London. This version triggered their old rack of strowger switches using the phone calls from a telephony project created with students from the John Roan School in Greenwich. By working with Congolese asylum seekers the young people recorded messages exploring the question of “where does your mobile phone come from?”

In February 2009 “Tantalum Memorial – Reconstruction” was shown at the UKS Gallery, Oslo as part of "Trapped in Amber". In Summer 2009, the installation will travel to Chalkwell Hall in Southend-on-Sea, Essex where it will launch the new centre for international arts organization Metal.

In 2009 “Tantalum Memorial” won the transmediale.09 award in Berlin.

“Tantalum Memorial – Reconstruction” is A FUSE Commissioned Residency for the 2nd Biennial 01SJ Global Festival of Art on the Edge, ZERO1, CADRE Laboratory and the Lucas Artists Program, Montalvo Arts Center.
“Tantalum Memorial – Residue” was commissioned by Manifesta7 (courtesy Manifesta7).

UN Reduces Support to DR Congo Army

2009-11-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

Police 'killed' in north DR Congo

2009-10-31T12:59:00.000-07:00

From Al Jazeera
UPDATED ON:
Friday, October 30, 2009
17:25 Mecca time, 14:25 GMT

Armed villagers have killed at least 47 policemen who were trying to intervene in ethnic clashes in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo, reports say.

A number of civilians were also killed in the violence which erupted in the village of Dongo in Equateur province early on Thursday, the UN-sponsored Radio Okapi said, citing local officials.

Residents from neighbouring villages representing two different ethnic groups have been clashing in recent months over fishing rights.

Government authorities in the capital, Kinshasa, said that they were aware of the clashes, but were unable to confirm the number of policemen or civilians killed.

"They've been fighting over fishing ponds. We know that there were clashes. There was fighting with machetes and with hunting rifles, but at present we don't know how many dead there are," Lambert Mende, DR Congo's information minister, said.

"The policemen were sent to re-establish order. I don't know why they would have been attacked," Mende said.

The violence is not linked to fighting in the DR Congo's east, in which Rwandan Hutu groups, who fled Rwanda after helping orchestrate the genocide in the 1990s, are accused of atrocities.

Joseph Kabila, the DR Congo's president, said his forces are succeeding against Rwandan militias there.

'Gaining ground'

Speaking to reporters on Friday during a visit to South Africa, Kabila said the operation against the Rwandan Hutus would continue until he "controls the whole territory".

Kabila said the situation was starting to stabilise, nine months after the offensive began, and that civilians in the province of North Kivu have begun to return to their villages.

Hundreds of thousands had been displaced as a result of the fighting.

Kabila also said troops were "gaining ground" against Ugandan fighters in the country's vast, troubled north.

Ugandan and DRC forces began a co-ordinated operation against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) who spread into DR Congo territory in late 2008.

The LRA, engaged in one of Africa's longest-running conflicts against the Ugandan government, has also extended its reach into Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR).

University of California Berkeley DR Congo Lecture

2009-10-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Speaker: Filip Reyntjens, Professor & Chair, African Law and Politics, Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp
Sponsors: African Studies, Center for, Dutch Studies, Human Rights Center

Profesor Reyntjens will address the causes, outcomes, and extraordinary human toll of the successive wars in the Great Lakes Region of Africa since the early 1990s.

As part of this lecture, Professor Reyntjens will discuss his recent book which examines a decade-long period of instability, violence and state decay in Central Africa from 1996, when the war started, to 2006, when elections formally ended the political transition in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A unique combination of circumstances explain the unravelling of the conflicts: the collapsed Zairian/Congolese state; the continuation of the Rwandan civil war across borders; the shifting alliances in the region; the politics of identity in Rwanda, Burundi and eastern DRC; the ineptitude of the international community; and the emergence of privatized and criminalized public spaces and economies, linked to the global economy, but largely disconnected from the state – on whose territory the ‘entrepreneurs of insecurity’ function. As a complement to the existing literature, this book seeks to provide an in-depth analysis of concurrent developments in Zaire/DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda in African and international contexts. By adopting a non-chronological approach, it attempts to show the dynamics of the interrelationships between these realms and offers a toolkit for understanding the past and future of Central Africa.

Open to audience: All Audiences

Event Contact: 510-642-8338

Atrocities haunt DRC child soldiers

2009-10-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

10/24/2009 10:17:49 AM

Militia brigades abducting children and forcing them to become soldiers, porters and sex slaves is a huge problem in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the last few months, fighting between the DRC army and Rwandan Hutu rebels and other militias has intensified.

Aid agencies describe the situation as catastrophic, warning that recruitment is on the rise.

The children go through a terrifying ordeal as they are trained to kill almost as soon as they are recruited.

One tactic favoured by the militia is to force the child to murder a member of his own family

There are doubts whether such children will ever recover from their experience at the hands of the rebels - even if they escape, it takes time and a lot of rehabilitation before they are ready to go back to their families.

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports from Goma in DRC.

BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTION FOR DR CONGO

2009-10-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

The Berkeley City Council Breaks The Silence and calls on members of Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, The United Nations and President Barack Obama to do more to bring an end to the conflict in the Congo.

Encourage your local political leaders to pass resolutions in support of the people of the Congo and call on world figures to do their part in bringing an end to the greatest scar on the human conscience of our time.

Join the global movement and build a worldwide consensus to end the conflict and suffering in the Congo.

Support the inaugural Congo in Harlem Film Festival, which culminates on Saturday, October 24, 2009.

Remember to get your Congo Week T-shirts.

Participate in a Congo Week activity in your locale.

THE RESOLUTION:
SUPPORTING CONGO WEEK FOR THE BAY AREA FRIENDS OF THE CONGO
WHEREAS, adoption of Congo Week October 18-24, 2009 for the BAY Area Friends of the Congo (BAFOTC); and
WHEREAS, Congo week calls for peace, justice and national reconciliation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and
WHEREAS, offers condolences for the lost lives and moral support for the survivors; and
WHEREAS, calls for the protection of the environment and endangered species in the Congo; and
WHEREAS, calls for an end to conflict and for the support by world leaders and people of good will across the globe in this effort; and
WHEREAS, call for the wrongful exploitation of the Congolese peoples’ resources, recognizing that these resources should not be a curse but rather a blessing, and that the Congolese people are the rightful beneficiaries of their great natural wealth; and
WHEREAS, encourages the community to observe this week by connecting with friends, fellow employees, and relatives as well as religious, school, and civic groups, to encourage in projects benefiting the people of the Congo; and
WHEREAS, supports community efforts in bringing this conflict to an end through education, policy and advocacy.
NOW THERFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Berkeley that it directs the City Clerk to send the attached letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Senator Barbara Boxer, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and President Barack Obama, with a copy to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE:
Dear Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Since 1996 nearly six million children, women, and men have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to conflict and hundreds of thousands more have been victims of unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity. Today, Congolese deaths continue at the rate of 45,000 each month.
These crimes against humanity threaten the peace, security and well-being of the Congo and its people, and those responsible for such crimes have largely gone unpunished.
The United Nations has named the Congo as the deadliest conflict in the world since World War Two.
For these reasons, the Berkeley City Council communicates its grave concern for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We urge that:
a) There be no use of the US military in the Congo. b) The US make a priority of supporting local Congolese institutions with a proven
record of delivering services to the people. c) The US government hold US corporations accountable for their actions in the
Congo. d) The US play a key role in facilitating a political-economic framework for ending
the conflicts in the Congo and the African Great Lakes region and relieving the
tremendous suffering of the region’s women, children and men. e) The US hold its allies Rwanda and Uganda accountable for their actions in the
Congo.
Berkeley City Council Berkeley, California
Cc: President Barack Obama Congresswoman Barbara Lee United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon