Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "After the November 2009 report of the Group of United Nations experts on the situation in North and South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the great powers of the earth can no longer pretend to ignore what happens there," said a statement sent to Fides, from the Network "Peace for Congo," sponsored by the Xaverian missionaries operating in the Kivu regions. "The long and painful series of massacres, rapes, burning of villages, kidnappings, theft, and looting, humiliation of any kind ... of which the civilian population of Kivu is a victim and has been denounced by Congolese civil society for a long time, is now known by all, along with the failure of military operations undertaken to restore peace," continued the statement.
The missionaries reject the claims that it is an ethnic conflict and state that "the crisis revolves around the illegal exploitation of mineral resources of Congo (cassiterite, coltan, gold, wolfram, oil and natural gas) involving Western multinationals and mining companies based in Europe, Canada, United States and Asia."
To resolve the conflict, the Network "Peace for Congo" offers a series of actions that the international community should take:
1. The United States and Britain should exert strong pressure on Rwanda and Uganda through their threat to suspend aid if deemed necessary.
2. Impose sanctions on countries bordering the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda in particular, that are directly or indirectly, unlawfully exploiting the mineral resources of the DRC and on companies or individuals involved in illegal trade of minerals by rebel groups.
3. Trace minerals and other natural resources from the DRC, as advocated by the European Parliament.
4. Reject, without any prevarication, the militarization of the Great Lakes Region through AFRICOM (the U.S. command for Africa) which has already caused so much suffering to civilian populations.
5. Prevent the strengthening of authoritarian regimes and fight against the restriction of political space in all countries of the Region of the Great Lakes by those who hold power.
The missionaries also sent U.S. President Barack Obama an open letter on the situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, asking the U.S. to "review their policy in these critical 2 decades in the Great Lakes," renounce the militarization of the region, adopt legislation for the traceability of raw materials exported, and support the human potential of the region, "opening a dialogue with the forces of civil society and supporting the local leaders who are today divested of their authority." (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 7/1/2010)
