Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Thousands of people are in flight (40,000 according to UN sources) from North Kivu (in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), moving towards Rwanda and Uganda, while rebel leader Laurent Nkunda declares a unilateral ceasefire. The capital of Goma is still in the hands of the government, although Nkunda's guerrillas are at its gates.
Thousands of refugees have headed to the city, forced to abandon refugee camps, as the government's soldiers, according to UN sources, are plundering the area, rising up against civilians. In Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, tensions are mounting, as many of the refugees fleeing North Kivu begin to enter the area. Local Church sources told Fides that on October 29, anniversary of the death of Archbishop Christophe Munzihirwa of Bukavu, who was assassinated in 1996, “thousands of people took to the streets in protest of the war and in an attempt to balkanize Congo, and support the Amani Program,” the program called for by the Goma Accord of January 2008, which was signed by Nkunda and that calls for a restauration of peace through dialogue among all the parties involved in the conflict.
The international community seems to be powerless: the 17, 000 Blue Helmets of the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC), have been ineffective in their effort to detain yet another Congo drama. It is a situation that has been denounced by His Eminence Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who in a declaration sent to Agenzia Fides affirms that “the world cannot continue looking on without reacting to the death of innocent victims of acts of violence and barbarity, and with indifference towards the tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the war, who are exposed to the weather, sickness, and hunger.” “The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace asks all parties in the conflict to renounce confrontation and arms, and choose a path of dialogue and negotiation, that they make an act in favor of humanity by placing the common good over and above their own interests or those of their party. The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace also asks the international community to intervene with all its strength in resolving the conflict in question, especially in seeing to the fulfillment of the various peace accords that have been signed by the parties concerned. In addition, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace indicates the importance of reaching a solution in this crisis which it considers, due to the concern for peace and security of all nations and for the people of the Great Lakes Region, because there can be no integral peace if it is not based upon dialogue and reconciliation, which are necessary conditions for stability and solid development.”
The European Union is considering sending a military mission to protect civilians and the United States is calling for negotiation talks to place an end to hostilities. In the meantime, the government in Kinshasa seems to be considering asking for help from Angola, whose troops intervened in Congo in the war from 1998-2003. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 31/10/2008)
