Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The Democratic Republic of Congo recalls the massacre of February 16, 1992 that took place in Kinshasa, capital of what was then Zaire. That day, 18 years ago, the Catholic and the Protestant Churches had organized a peaceful demonstration to demand the reopening of the Sovereign National Conference (CNS), the discussion forum that was to pave the way for democracy in the country, until then ruled by the dictator Mobutu.
The event was organized so that participants would converge from their parishes to that of St. Joseph, the starting point for the peaceful protest march. But, those who were in the western part of the city found their way blocked by men of the Special Presidential Division (the personal guards of Mobutu), the civil guard, and students from the training center of the airborne troops, as well as by unidentified armed men. The same thing happened to the protesters that came in from eastern Kinshasa.
The protesters did not lose courage and challenged the armored cars and machine guns, continuing in their walk and chanting religious songs and prayers. Despite the warning shots, and the first attempts to disperse the crowd, protesters continued to advance toward the soldiers, heavily armed, in an effort to reach the meeting point near the church of St. Joseph. The repression was violent: the soldiers fired on the people point blank and pursued the faithful who sought refuge within the place of worship. Only the decisive intervention of the parish priest stopped soldiers from trying to carry off the bodies of people killed inside the church, in an apparent attempt to conceal the evidence of the crime.
18 years later, the country (now called Democratic Republic of the Congo) pays homage to the victims of repression (whose number remains unknown), who died demanding democracy. The events of February 16, 1992 proved the existence of a Congolese civil society seeking to participate in managing the country. The DRC held its first truly democratic presidential elections in 2006, but still has a long way to go in reaching a mature democracy. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 17/2/2010)
