**Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — Displaced family at the Tchomia Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp, Ituri
DR Congo: Civilian Cost of Military Operation is Unacceptable
Enhanced Protection Urgently Needed Due to Disastrous Toll on Civilian Populations
(Goma, October 13, 2009) – The Congolese government’s military operation in eastern Congo, Kimia II, backed by United Nations peacekeepers and aimed at neutralizing the threat from a Rwandan Hutu militia group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), has resulted in an unacceptable cost for the civilian population, said 84 humanitarian and human rights groups in the Congo Advocacy Coalition today.
The coalition urged diplomats and UN officials, who are due to meet in Washington, DC, this week to discuss the situation in eastern Congo and the wider region, to take immediate steps to increase protection for civilians.
“The human rights and humanitarian consequences of the current military operation are simply disastrous,” said Marcel Stoessel of Oxfam. “UN peacekeepers, who have a mandate to protect civilians, urgently need to work with government forces to make sure civilians get the protection they need, or discontinue their support.”
**Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — Children crossing the Congo River on the way to school, Mbandaka, Equateur
Lettre ouverte à Monsieur Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, Ministre des Affaires étrangères
Par Leny Ilondo
Monsieur le ministre,
Dans votre plaidoyer du 19 août 2009, invitant la diaspora congolaise à investir en République démocratique du Congo, leur mère-patrie, vous notez avec pertinence les efforts appréciables de ceux, tel Mutombo Dikembe, qui n’ont pas oublié leurs origines. Ils n’ont pas oublié non plus que ce pays leur avait offert les fondations de leurs développements, leurs progressions sociales et ultimement leurs réussites à l’étranger. Il s’agit, sans équivoques, de l’éducation ou la formation de base dont ils avaient bénéficié dans les écoles publiques de la RD Congo.
Dans ce plaidoyer, Monsieur le ministre, vous relevez le mimétisme dans le comportement de ces investisseurs dans les secteurs tels l’hôtellerie, l’habillement, le transport en commun et pas suffisamment ou pas encore dans d’autres. Parmi lesquels vous soulignez l’importance du tourisme, l’agroalimentaire et plus spécifiquement la formation en affirmant que cette dernière offre une panoplie de choix.
****Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — Kimbanguist Children in Equateur
By Edward B. Rackley
Unlike in Latin America, where liberation theology was once an influential force, Christians in Africa rarely confront political oppression. On the surface, African Christian institutions claim not to meddle in affairs of the State. These days, ‘conversion of the heathens’ is passé, as Christianity is now a widespread and entrenched belief system. Churches of all denominations offer manifold development initiatives in education, health and agriculture. In many countries where the State has limited reach into rural areas, churches represent the sole link to the outside world for isolated communities.
But it’s only half the story to say that African Christian institutions are above political interests and the establishment of a modern State. Throughout colonial occupation, the Church completed the political and economic triangle that comprised the massive social engineering project of colonialism. Here was a hearts and minds program that worked—colonial control encapsulated Maslow’s entire hierarchy of needs. From material conditions, social space and into the spiritual realm, colonialism repackaged the indigenous African experience and replaced each dimension with a foreign substitute. Little has changed since independence: neither the school curricula nor the political dispensations (despite elections, ‘Big Men’ reign in a colonial style). Formerly vibrant traditional belief systems are now subaltern and syncretistic, fusing in curious ways with imported Christian ideas.
Lettre Ouverte à Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy, Président de la République Française
Monsieur le Président,
Les Kinois, les Congolais et SOS KINSHASA se posent la question sur l’opportunité de votre transit de quelques heures à Kinshasa, capitale de la République Démocratique du Congo ; le deuxième plus grand pays francophone par sa superficie et le premier par sa population. Votre passage éclair sur cette terre congolaise n’est même pas une visite travail, mais une simple visite de courtoisie.
En effet, votre petit tour de quatre bonnes heures est manifestement un manque de considération pour nos gouvernants et surtout pour notre peuple. Oui, Monsieur le Président, la RDC a consacré dans sa Constitution, le français comme langue officielle. Avec une population de plus de soixante millions d’habitants et un taux de croissance démographique annuel moyen de 2,9%, son système éducatif se fonde sur le français pour la dispensation du savoir. Il représente un potentiel énorme pour pérenniser la langue de Voltaire. C’est bien ce pays, par ses dimensions, que vous avez négligé pour un transit de quelques petites heures.
On March 6, Ghana celebrates the 52nd anniversary of its independence from British rule. For a country of over 100 linguistic and ethnic groups, half a century of political sovereignty and national unity is remarkable. Most impressive, however, is the country’s transformation over this time period. For as Ghana goes, so does much of Africa.
Ever the pioneer, Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain freedom from a colonial power in 1957 under Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah’s visionary leadership. Ghana thus emerged as the rising star of the independence movement. Nkrumah became a torchbearer of Pan-Africanism and the non-aligned countries, raising hope for millions of subjugated Africans–from Senegal to Congo to Kenya to South Africa.
"We face neither East nor West," Nkrumah once said. "We face forward." In essence, he captured Africans’ dream of self-determination. Within five years of Ghana’s independence, most sub-Saharan colonies would become independent countries. Nevertheless, the promise dissipated quickly when the military overthrew Nkrumah in 1966 and Ghana embarked on the muddy and bloody path of coups d’état and a long line of dictatorships.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete at the 2008 Sullivan Summit in Arusha ****Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele
We Africanists expect a great deal from the Democrats and are often disappointed. We expect nothing of the Republicans and are pleasantly surprised.”
—Andrew Young, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
At a time when there is constant talk of America’s bad image around the world, former President Bush can take comfort in his legacy in Africa. Approval ratings for the United States, according to the Pew Foundation’s poll data, exceed 80 percent in many African countries. Gallup polls in 139 countries found that the 62 percent approval rating of U.S. leadership in sub-Saharan Africa is 30 percent higher than in other parts of the world.
Foreign policy analysts and historians will debate the merits of Bush’s foreign policy for the next several years; they will decide how much damage his administration has inflicted on America’s standing abroad and how much time and money will be required to restore it. The Africans themselves, however, will have a different debate. They found an unlikely but invaluable partner in Bush, who did much to rebuild Africa’s faith in the United States.
Think of Congo and war comes to mind. A war fought in places with unfamiliar names–Goma, Kiwanja, Kanyabayonga, Sake and Rutshuru.
This war may take place beyond American shores and rarely appear on local news, but we cannot carry on our daily lives without the territory in which it is fought. The hills of North and South Kivu are abundant with strategic minerals such as coltan, cassiterite and wolframite that are essential to electronics and high technology. Whether we are chatting on a mobile phone, typing on a laptop computer or watching our children play videogames, the Congo conflict follows us everywhere.
Four times the size of France, and as big as the United States east of the Mississippi river, Congo is an important player in Africa and of long-term interest to the United States. As the heart of the continent, Congo borders nine countries. A secure, peaceful and prosperous Congo would positively affect the rest of the continent. With its vast resources and large population, Congo has a regional calling along with South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt.
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