Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – In response to the continual attacks on the civilian population being performed by Ugandan and Rwandan rebels, the Bishops of Kivu, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have made an appeal to the government in Kinshasa and the international community, asking that the regular army be reinforced so as to guarantee security. The Bishops also criticized the way in which the joint military operations against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) of Uganda and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have been carried out. The former, which is active in the eastern province, has been the target of a joint military operation involving armed forces from Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan; the latter, active in North and South Kivu, were attacked by Rwandan and Congolese armed forces (see Fides 14/5/2009, 28/5/2009, 3/6/2009, and 8/6/2009). These two operations, however, have not been successful in destroying the two guerrilla movements that have, in fact, intensified their activity in retaliation, against the Congolese civilians.
The Bishops also criticized the fact that the military groups working in Eastern Congo are essentially formed by members of rebel groups that have signed peace agreements, however the doubt remains as to the legitimacy of their adhesion to the idea of a single Congo.
In fact, according to the Congolese press, these same armed groups (who oppose the FDLR) have not only remained in tact, but have continued recruiting more young men. Therefore, the government – with the help of the international community – should reinforce the national army, providing the resources it needs to protect the local people from the various armed groups working in the eastern part of the nation.
Peace, however, seems like a far-off dream still and Congo continues to suffer the effects of foreign wars that have crossed into their territory. While Kivu prepares two new operations, named “Rudia” and “Kimia II,” the declaration of the Ugandan government claiming that the LRA is now Congo's problem seems to herald the beginning of more military activity in the Eastern Province. It is an action that has obtained the political-diplomatic support of France and the United States. A highly-qualified Frenchman has declared that his government has no plans to continue financing peace dialogue in Juba (in South Sudan) between the government of Kampala and the leaders of the LRA (dialogue that seems to have come to no avail after unkept promises) and that Paris is ready to support another military attack on the Ugandan guerrillas. The US Senate is now debating a draft bill that would ask President Obama to support a new military operation against the LRA, which will supposedly take place on Congolese soil.
The local press affirms that, in this manner, Congo's sovereignty is being trampled upon once again, with the excuse of trying to capture the guerrillas who are not Congolese. “These occupations of parts of Congolese territory by Angolan (in the West, where there is a dispute over the borders between Luanda and Kinshasa) and Ugandan troops in recent months, are not mere coincidence. They form part of a Machiavellian scheme to systematically weaken the DRC, with the purpose of imposing certain foreign sovereignties,” an article from the newspaper “Le Potencial” said. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 10/6/2009)
