Democratic Republic of Congo

Resumption of Inter-Congolese Dialogue in Sun City

by Joseph M. Kyalangilwa, President of the Civil Society of South Kivu Province

Determined to live again in peace and in a democracy, both of which they experienced during the transition towards independence of their huge country on 30 June 1960 under the leadership of the first prime minister Patrice Emery Lumumba, the Congolese people sent their sons and daughters as their representatives to the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in Sun City, which began on 25 February this year.

It is a well-known fact that the Democratic Republic of Congo, this grand country in the heart of Africa, which from 1885 – 1908 was the Belgian King Leopold II’s private property and from 1908 – 1960 was a Belgian colony, possesses vast amounts of natural resources that are not only prized by other African countries, but above all, by the big powers that include the US, Germany and Britain. And to gain access to these Congolese riches, these very same big powers, who claim that peace and democracy are foremost in their minds, and that they themselves are models of democracy, resorted to the most despicable methods that did not even stop short of wholesale massacre. These big powers force the leaders and governments of their choosing upon such countries, to the detriment of the indigenous population.

Today the Congo, this African colossus, is ailing because the international community so desires because it facilitates the illegal access by the industries of the big powers to the raw materials of Congo. The Congolese people see practically nothing of all the profits. Everything began with the murder of the great charismatic and nationalist leader Patrice Emery Lumumba. In a speech on 30 June 1960 he said that ‘from now on the Congolese people, who are the rightful owners, will primarily profit from the immense mining, forestry and agricultural riches of the Congo’. By doing so he signed his own death warrant. Both the CIA and Belgium disapproved. They determined and organised Lumumba’s assassination, a cowardly act, which was carried out on 17 January 1961 in Katanga. Additional victims were his two companions Mpolo and Okito.

Lumumba assassinated

Thus they were shamelessly killed by people who make out that they respect Human Rights. They deliberately but wrongly accused the first Congolese president of being a Communist and of wanting to spread Communism in a chiefly Christian country (80%).

It was not until 41 years later (November 2001), that Lumumba’s assassins admitted their responsibility for the crime. Masses of apologies aimed at the Congolese people and the family of the prominent victim persistently adorn the front pages of newspapers and other Western publications. It is the large interest groups of the imperialistic powers who remain responsible for the gross poverty that the Con-golese have suffered since their country became independent. In violation of the UN Charter and OAU (Organisation of African Unity) Congo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity have never been respected.

After Lumumba’s assassination the Con-golese concerned about the democracy and development of their country undertook all they could to bring about a constitutional state. In order to do so, a constitution was accepted in a referendum and proclaimed on 1 August 1964.

Mobuto a mere figurehead

To the approval of the people federalism was laid down in this constitution, but it had hardly been enacted when it came under fire from the very same cliques that had been responsible for Lumumba’s assassination. They managed to force a dictatorial regime upon the Congo under the leadership of Mobutu, their puppet, who ruled for 32 long years to the detriment of Congolese interests, but much to the satisfaction of Western powers. Mobutu was not so much used and instrumentalised against his own country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, as against the rulers in Angola, under the pretext of fighting against the spread of Communism in Africa, as well as against Sudan, to ostensibly block the path of Arab-Muslim terrorism. After the end of the Cold War Mobutu was no longer needed to hold the reins of power over Congo’s resources. His former bosses did all they could to put an end to Marshal Mobutu’s rule. Three tiny, poverty-stricken neighbouring countries, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi suddenly received from the big powers all the logistic means, including mobilisation of their media, to topple the strong man from Kinshasa. This operation began in East Congo in October 1996 and ended with the victory of the new strong man in the person of president Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who proclaimed himself President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire under Mobutu) on 17 May 1997.

Kabila, the new strong man

The military powers of the three above mentioned countries helped Kabila to become the most powerful man in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congolese, starting with the people of South Kivu, made no secret of their unease at the presence of troops from neighbouring dictatorships and the obvious envy shown by foreign countries of Congo’s natural resources. It was not until some time later that President Kabila understood this interest that was being taken in his country. In July 1998 he decided, despite everything, to send the troops from Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi back to their own countries. They made some sort of retreat, often only when pressured, but they organised themselves with even more support by the big powers, above all the USA, and on 2 August 1999 they invaded Congo. Today they still occupy the east and north provinces.

A hidden genocide

This act of aggression was not recognised by the international community for what it was until July 2000, i.e. two years later, even though large numbers of Congolese were massacred. Reliable statistics dating from October 2001 confirm that 3,740,000 deaths have resulted from this aggression: this is a genocide that has not been allowed to be made known to the world.

Although the Civil Society of the Democratic Republic of Congo has persistently provided Western media with reliable information, there has been absolutely no response since September 1996. Are these media not then partners in this despicable crime, against whose perpetrators the International Court of Justice ought to issue severe sanctions? The ‘Groupe d’associations de promotion et de défense de droits de l’Homme’ has formulated this request on behalf of the Civil Society of the Democratic Republic of Congo by first of all demanding the establishment of a monitoring body for human rights and the setting up of an International Criminal Court that is to sit in judgement over the crimes that have been committed in their country since 1996.

Lusaka agreement – the basis for national dialogue

To camouflage the fact that the Congo is being invaded, the armies of the neighbouring countries have created the group of so-called ‘rebels’ who, aided by collaborators and Uganda and Rwanda, are fighting against the legal govern-ment in Kinshasa. Since the warring parties were unable to resolve the armed conflict with Kinshasa, they signed a cease-fire, the ‘Lusaka agreement’ in July/August 1999. This agree-ment that was signed under the patronage of the international community (the UN, OAU, and EU) supports the idea that Congolese problems need to be resolved in the course of a national dialogue by Congolese and Congolese alone. This solution must be one that is acceptable to all parties. This inter-Congolese dialogue, which began in Sun City (South Africa) on 25 February 2002, has brought together the government representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the representatives of the ‘rebels’, of the Civil Society, the ‘living forces’, and finally the political parties, the non-armed opposition. Altogether there are 369 representatives of the 55 million Congolese people. These representatives are faced with the task of finding solutions to the problems that have caused the ‘Giant of Africa’s’ sickness within the space of 45 days. (cf. Agenda of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue)

It is clear that this meeting in Sun City is of huge historical significance. If the Congolese, despite their ethnic and cultural diversity (450 ethnic groups and tribal languages) manage to form a unity, they will always be able to find solutions to their problems. The Congolese love and respect each other, they have no hate of other ethnic groups, they do not commit massacres and carry out genocide. In total contrast to what many Western media wrongly claim, no indigenous ethnic group has ever raised arms against another ethnic group in the Congo. The Congo is known for its hospitality. We have always taken in our neighbours when they were faced with recurring ethnic conflicts or when they had problems with one another. For this reason the peace-loving Congolese demand that the imperialist big powers leave the Congolese people in peace and desist from any kind of interference in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s internal affairs. Our country has enough qualified leaders of its own to govern this ‘Giant of Africa’ democratically, which is being deliberately kept in a state of ill health.