Democratic Republic of Congo

The peace agreement will be implemented despite disruptive acts and atrocious crimes in East Congo

by Joseph M. Kyalangilwa, President of the Civil Society of South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo *

Congolese who really love their country can nothing but welcome all the settlements of the inter-Congolese agreement, which emerged from more than 19 months of hard struggle at the inter-Congolese peace discussions. These are the results of a long process whose stations were Gaberone (Botswana), Addis Abbeba (Ethiopia), Sun City (South Africa) and finally Pretoria and again Sun City.

The agreements are now going to be implemented. Their main instrument is the new Congolese transitional constitution of 4th April 2003, which was put into force by the current head of state and head of government, Joseph Kabila, who, true to his promises after his inauguration on 26th January 2001, set in motion the realization of the peace treaties. On 7th April President Kabila was sworn in on the constitution as transitional president before the highest court of justice. With his actions the Congolese head of state started off the process of peace settlements and democratization in our country and all Congolese, who rightfully call themselves Congolese and are committed to a real peace in Congo, are pleased and encouraged by the obvious determination of their president to give the Congolese peoples – after the period of transition – the opportunity, in democratic and transparent elections, to decide which women and men they want to entrust with the offices of the newly created Third Republic. In contrast to what non-Congolese press agencies say, although they should know better, these will be the third and not the second free elections in the history of Congolese independence

Free elections to be held soon

From 20th April 2003 onward, all the other transitional institutions in Kinshasa will take up their work, in particular the government of the broad national unity, in which representatives of all participants of the inter-Congolese peace dialogue have a seat: the government, the opposition (civil society, Mayi-Mayi and rebel movements), the national assembly and the senate.

Soon further institutions will also take up their work, which are to support the democratization process, in particular the Independent Electoral Committee, the National Monitoring Commission for the Compliance with Human Rights, the High Media Council, the Commission ‘Truth and Reconciliation’, the Ethical Commission for the Fight Against Corruption and many more. The tasks and function of these institutions needs to discussed in a later article for interested readers. I would like to point out here, however, that all these commissions are presided over by representatives of the Congolese civil society.

Adversaries of the democratization and peace process

Jealous of the immense natural wealth, which is available in abundance both above and beneath eastern Congo soil, the poor neighbours of Congo, the small countries Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, have created every possible scenario in order to prevent the return of peace to Congo. This has happened despite and in flagrant violation of all promises and agreements. Both Uganda and Rwanda signed the peace treaty of Luanda on 10th July 1999. Both countries signed an agreement, together with Joseph Kabila, the Congolese president at the time, on 30th July and 6th September 2002, in which the two countries committ themselves to withdrawing their troops from the northern and eastern territories of the Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of December 2002, troops which they had deployed there in violation of international law. Paul Kagamé, the strong man of the present police regime in Kigali (Rwanda), solemnly declared on 13th September 2002 before the General Assembly of the UN and in the presence of his political protector and whisperer, George W. Bush, that within a week the last Rwandese soldier would leave the territiory of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Today the Ugandan, Rwandese and Burundi troops are still in Congo, and the international community is fully aware of this. What is the true role of the UN soldiers who are assigned with an observation mission in Congo (MONUC)? Are they there to count the dead until their time is up and then supposed to shrug their shoulders when confirming the alarming reports of the organizations of the Congolese civil society, which are dispatched regularly throughout the world? Three weeks ago ago Rwandese troops and Burundi troops in the Kivu were reinforced. With what intention? We know it. In order to be able to continue unhindered the illegal exploitation and the systematic plundering of natural resources in Congo, the profits of which are regularly sold off by highranking persons in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to American, British, German, Canadian and other go-betweens. These troops behave as if they were stationed in an occupied country and trample with impunity on all the human rights of the suffering population. While the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has gone about implementing the peace settlements, troops of these three aggressor countries executed on 3rd April this year 966 people in a summary law suit in the city of Drodo near Bunia (district Ituri in the eastern province, in the border area with Sudan and Uganda) and buried them in mass graves. The traces of blood are still wet and MONUC eagerly questions witnesses. The victims are obviously members of the ethnic group of the Hema, who were killed by Ugandan troops and whose corpses were thrown into 20 mass graves. Now Rwandese troops are marching towards positions of the Ugandans in the proximity of Bunia. These two countries have already fought each other twice on Congolese soil, in Kisangani, mainly over the control of diamond mines. The next battle will be over the control of the gold mines in Kilo Moto and of large oil fields, which were recently discovered around Lake Albert and which lie on Congolese territory, near the border with Uganda. And for similar reasons soldiers of the RCD Goma (rebel formation) fought against ‘false’ Mayi-Mayi rebels, among them the ‘Mundundu-40’ group (obviously supported by Paul Kagamé), on 6 April 2003 from about 2.30 until 11 p.m. in the city of Bukavu. On 8th April 2003, the outcome of these battles was 26 dead, among them 13 civilians (among them a Protestant minister), 4 members of the RCD Goma and 9 of the Mundundu-40-militia. In addition, there were 54 injured persons. On Monday, 7th April 2003 peace obviously prevailed in Bukavu. However, business and offices remained closed. In the meantime, rumours say that the aggressors of Mudundu-40 were pursued on the road to Mwenga near the village of Mugogo in the Walungu territory. We add that not only the victims had to suffer but members of the RCD Goma, who are supported by and under the command of Rwandese officers, plundered and destroyed the Catholic municipality of Ciriri.

* * *

P.K. Eastern Congo is not being allowed to find peace, otherwise someone would put a stop to the dirty job of the looters of neighbouring countries and their backers in the west! And all of this is taking place before the UN monitoring troop’s very eyes, whose job it is to secure the precarious peace. In the face of its own weakness it is impotent and is more concerned at being able to protect itself! Added to this, there is the international community which stoically takes note of the different cries for help from the region, and then carefully files them away in their correct place on the shelf together with other evidence of human depravity. And all this has been taking place at a time when ‘the protecting power of the west’ was bombing other people into the Stone Age because their government, former CIA agents, no longer did what the only remaining superopower wanted them to. We have Indeed come far in this world! 

* 1982-1987 Member of the regional council in Kivu