Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - To resolve the crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, root problems must be settled “in every dimension: humanitarian, land ownership, historical, economic, political, ethnic and juridical” the Catholic Bishops of Democratic Congo say in a memorandum made public on the occasion of the start of a Conference to promote peace in north and south Kivu. A copy of the memorandum was sent to Fides.
The Conference started on 6 January in Goma, the main city in Kivu. Participants include delegates of various local armed groups, such as the National Congress for the Defence of the People, the movement led by rebel general Laurent Nkunda which inflicted a major defeat on the Congolese army last month (see Fides 17/12/2007).
The Bishops offer guidelines for the Conference. They start by urging the participants to reject “the ideology of balkanisation with the creation of 'dwarf states'. The territorial integrity, national unity of the Democratic Republic of Congo cannot be negotiated”. The Bishops state the “Constitution of the DRC settled the problem of nationality” and that “war as a means to resolve difficulties among the people is useless and must be absolutely condemned. War demonstrates total scorn for human life and cannot be justified”.
The Bishops call for respect for the will of the people “who through elections with the support of the international community, voted for democratic institutions. It would be unacceptable for the Goma Conference to question these institutions or become a place for power grabbing in the margins of constitutional mechanisms. This would install violence as a stable means to retain power a sort of institutionalisation of political violence”.
“The Goma Conference - the Bishops say- must be a space for dialogue among the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo”.
Despite a peace agreement signed in 2003, the east of the RDC especially north and south Kivu is still in a situation of serious instability due to the presence of many armed militia groups which have not integrated into the national army. Among the factors will cause instability, the Bishop mention the question of land, the role of certain politicians “ready to sell their country for money”, exploitation of resources by certain multinational companies “whose agents sell weapons in exchange for natural resources and encourage leaders of armed groups to continue this aberration”.
In the search for a solution the Bishops call on the participants at the Conference to consider what are the real roots of the violence: who arms militia? What are the parties claims?
The Bishops end the memorandum reaffirming the Church's commitment to her mission of reconciliation and community rebuilding. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 8/1/2007 righe 35 parole 468)
