Agenzia Fides

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - Large participation in the "March of hope", which was held yesterday, August 1 in 47 Congolese dioceses (see Fides 01/08/2012), as part of efforts to oppose the so-called "balkanization" of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), whose territorial integrity is threatened by a new armed rebellion in North Kivu (see Fides 25/07/2012). In the capital, Kinshasa, the march started from different parishes around 6.30 a.m., after the morning Mass, converging toward the 14 deaneries of the Archdiocese. Each parish delegation bore a banner with the same message: "No to the balkanization of the DRC, no to the plundering of our resources." Participants entrusted the Country, and especially its eastern part, to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
According to the newspaper "Le Potentiel" there were 200,000 protesters, while according to the police authorities in Kinshasa there were just over 100,000. The march took place without any accidents, thanks to the presence of the police forces.
According to RadioOkapi, on July 31 in Kisangani (Eastern Province of the town) representatives of different faiths and civil society launched an "appeal" to the conversion of Rwanda and its leaders to "rediscover in the DRC, the Congolese, a brother and a sister, to love and not to be attacked. " Rwanda is accused of supporting the actions of the M23, the guerrilla movement that threw North Kivu into chaos and despair. A fact now recognized by major international partners in Kigali, such as the U.S.A. and Britain that have stopped sending military and other forms of aid to the regime of Kagame. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 02/08/2012)