Friday, May 28, 2010

UN approves partial DRC withdrawal

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

(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.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A Chat with Congo Cash


(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.

Monday, May 17, 2010

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




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."

Sunday, May 16, 2010

MONUC to Pull Out of DR Congo

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

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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Congolese Persian Relations

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.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The Youth of the DR Congo Fight Back

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)

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

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