Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The students of Bukavu (the capital of South Kivu, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo) have organized peaceful demonstrations protesting the war on the border between northern and southern Kivu, where peace has been absent for some years now. At the end of August, hostilities remounted between Congo’s Armed Forces and the rebels of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) of Laurent Nkunda (see Fides 12/9/2008).
The university and high school age students filled the streets of the city and later met with the governor of the province, along with his staff. Also present in the encounter was the Brigade General of South Kivu’s Army and the leader of the MONUC (United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The demonstrators shouted all kinds of criticism against the “Blue Helmets,” especially with the accusation that the UN soldiers are not capable of protecting the people. “We organized this demonstration because we are not satisfied with what is happening in Goma and between the two provinces of North and South Kivu. The lives of our brothers, mothers, and sisters are in danger,” one of the students said.
According to the UN Office in Kinshasa, all the armed forces present in the area, the regular army, the guerrillas of Nkunda, and other militia groups all loot the health facilities “on a systematic basis.” Over 100,000 people have had to abandon their own homes as a result of the conflict.
Congo’s President Joseph Kabila and the civil and military representatives of the UN went to Goma (the capital of Kivu) to continue talks with the rebels and end the conflict. A spokesman of Nkunda said that the leaders of the guerrilla group wish to negotiate directly with Kabila in a neutral country, as they do not consider Goma a secure location. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 18/9/2008)
