News About Congo

The Economic Plague Stalks Congo and Africa

Congo seems to getting better.  It probably has just least leveled off and ready to start the long climb up.  But, will the economic crisis be another plague for the Congo and sub-saharan Africa?

US in Africa, Fanning the Flames or Putting out the Fire?

On the great continent of Africa, conflicts are raging in many nations while humanitarian crises like food security, poverty and disease accelerate. The U.S. professes a firm commitment to democracy in Africa but tends to look the other way on human rights issues depending on military, economic and political alliances. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will need to address complex issues in Africa including the conflicts in Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe.

The free market approach to Africa has not been successful and is made worse by the global economic crisis and rise in food costs. 87% of sub-Saharan Africans are making less than $2/day. Debt relief and reforming U.S. trade with Africa to be “fair” instead of “free” could go a long way to help stabilize African nations. U.S. aid is sorely needed to help relieve hunger and end violence in Africa, but the U.S. must consider the human rights abuses of the governments receiving U.S. assistance and allegiance to be credible in Africans’ eyes.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): The Second Congo War, also called Africa’s World War, has killed 2.7 million people since 2004, although it officially ended in June of 2003. The conflict is the world’s deadliest since World War II with an estimated 5.4 million people killed as of the end of 2008. The status of women is the DRC is volatile at best, with rape used as a weapon of war and many women enslaved by soldiers.

The US Ambassador to Congo breaks his silence

I had never heard or read a reported public statement by the US Ambassador to Congo.  I read just about every news droplet about the Congo.  Normally once a year, I visit US Consular but I had paid little attention who was the ambassador.  

Ambassador William J. Garvelink was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on October 22, 2007.

US praises operation against Hutu rebels in DR Congo

Washington's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday praised the joint Congolese-Rwandan offensive against Rwandan Hutu rebels in the east of the country.

"The joint DRC-Rwanda military operations in the east of Congo are showing real successes," William John Garvelink told reporters.

The Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) had lost ground and would not pose the same threat that they had in the past, he added.

Neighbours DR Congo and Rwanda have put past differences behind them to launch the military operation against the FDLR, some of whose members have been implicated in the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda.

The FDLR, estimated at around 6,500 men, crossed over into the east of DR Congo after the Tutsi forces chased them out of Rwanda in 1994.

Garvelink also praised another joint operation against the Ugandan rebel force the Lord's Resistance Army -- this time by Congolese, Ugandan and south Sudanese forces -- in northeast Congo, which borders Uganda and Sudan.

The three countries launched that operation on December 14, but they have so far failed to capture the movement's leader, Joseph Kony.

Nice Promises but No Additional Troops

The UN needs to stand behind its pledge of additional forces for eastern and northeastern Congo.

Human Rights Watch Calls for End to Civilian Massacres in Congo

Senior Human Rights Watch Researcher Anneke Van Woudenberg visited northeastern Congo in January. She urges the Security Council, which is to discuss the DRC Tuesday, to follow through on its pledge of additional forces.

"The United Nations still only has less than 300 peacekeepers in this massive and vast region of northern Congo. So one of the problems clearly is that there are simply not enough blue helmets, not enough peacekeepers to be able to deal with the issues of protection of civilians," she said. "It Is nice for the Security Council to have made nice declarations and to make nice promises, but those are meaningless until additional troops arrive on the ground."

You Want Both, Your Cell Phone "and" an End to the Atrocities in Congo

What happens when our desire (and need) for cell phones lead to the death and suffering for millions of Congolese people?  That's the problem!  Everyone wants their cake and eat it, too.  That's our human nature. 

What's the solution?  Because Congo has the resources and money to take care of its people.

Metals for mobiles funding DR Congo conflict

Metals used in mobile phones are financing atrocities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a London-based lobby group alleged Monday.

In an appeal coinciding with the start of the world's biggest mobile phone conference, Global Witness called on mobile manufacturers to "audit their supply chains in order to exclude minerals financing the armed conflict."

"There is a direct causal link between the metals trade in eastern DRC and atrocities perpetrated by armed groups against Congolese civilians," said the non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Reasearch by Global Witness and UN experts had suggested that "all of the main armed groups involved in the current fighting in eastern DRC finance themselves through the trade in high-value minerals.

"These minerals are processed into metals such as tin and tantalum, which are used in the manufacture of mobile phones," it said.

The mineral-rich eastern DRC region has been plagued by a series of conflicts since the 1990s. The exploitation of its resources by warring factions has regularly been denounced by the UN and NGOs.

The appeal came as the Mobile World Congress opened in Barcelona, bringing together some 60,000 industry insiders from 1,200 companies.

"The surging global demand for mobile phones has been helping to bankroll armed groups in eastern Congo's conflict," said Global Witness's Annie Dunnebacke.

"Mobile phone manufacturers need to undertake checks all the way up their supply chains to make sure they are not buying from mines controlled by militias and military units," she added.

A New Era of Cooperation against the LRA

A joint operation by the Congolese, Ugandan, and Sudanese forces against the LRA.  That's cooperation.  That's a miracle!

LRA fighters trapped: Congo spokesman

The remnants of the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army are trapped by opposing forces in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and will have to surrender, a Congolese government spokesman said Saturday.

"We think that Joseph Kony is with them," he said, referring to the head of the LRA, the target of a joint operation by Congolese, Ugandan and south Sudanese forces launched in December.

"The hard core of the Lord's Resistance Army is in a swampy forest in the Garamba national park," spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP, putting their numbers at about 250.

"They have no way out of these swamps except to surrender," he said.

Mende said the rest of the LRA had surrendered or disbanded, adding that the aim of the joint operation against the rebels had almost been achieved.

He said that Congolese President Joseph Kabila and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni would meet on the border between their two countries before the end of February to assess the situation.

Congo passes out a "Get Out of Jail" card

The former war crimes suspect, Ntaganda, gets a waiver of justice from the Congolese government.  I would have preferred that he went to trial first.  If he was found guilty, then he could have been considered for the waiver of justice. 

Peace before justice, Congo minister tells ICC

The Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday justified a refusal to hand over a former rebel chief for trial by a world court on the grounds that domestic peace was best served by his remaining free.

The country's justice minister, Emmanuel-Janvier Luzolo, told a press conference that "in the judicial practice of any state, there are moments when the demands of peace override the traditional needs of justice."

The International Criminal Court, based The Hague, wants to try Bosco Ntaganda for alleged war crimes in the country's northeastern Ituri region, particularly enlisting child soldiers in 2002-2003.

But Ntaganda, the head of general staff of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), on January 16 went over to Kinshasa's side in a conflict that has wracked the eastern region for years.

Economic Crisis Causes an Increased Dollar Value in Congo

The economic crisis is caused the Congolese franc to lose almost half of its value from 500 to 800 francs per dollar.  Also, the crisis has been blame for causing violence in the Katanga Province.

The Katanga Province is located just souteast of the Kasai Province (Occidental and Oriental).

Joblessness Rises as Global Crisis Hits Mining

The global economic crisis has hit the central African state hard. Especially the Katanga in the south eastern part of the sprawling country, a region that predominantly relies on the mining of copper and cobalt, has taken a big blow.

Since September 2008, the global demand for natural resources dropped and prices of commodities like copper and cobalt plummeted to all-time lows.

Meanwhile, the Congolese franc has lost almost half of its value. "Between October 2008 and early January 2009, the exchange rate dropped from 500 to almost 800 Francs for a dollar," according to Marijke Splinter, a Dutch expatriate who resides in Lubumbashi.

"This has a tremendous impact on people's lives, as many Congolese do not earn more than 100 dollars a month," she adds. "Food prices, charcoal and cooking oil have increased in price too. I also see more and more beggars and children on the streets, compared to a few months ago."

"I could not go back to my village"

Northeastern Congo has replaced eastern Congo as the center of violence.

The LRA is connected to southern Sudan and Uganda.  This is another battle of out-of-country rebels being fought in Congo. 

Tormented by the LRA in the north-east

Marguerite Animbwe Fuo fled her village of Manzakala in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighters beat her two children to death.

"I could not go back to my village because I saw my two children being killed with machetes and sticks," she said. "Everything was destroyed or looted."

Animbwe, 49, was among the internally displaced persons (IDPs) at Doruma in Orientale Province when John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, visited.

Here's the only difference between Eastern Congo and Darfur

John Holmes says the difference is humanitarian donations.  Also, Roger Howard gets at the root difference: Arabs vs Black African and oil.

Humanitarian situation in E DR Congo compared to Darfur

A senior UN official has compared the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) to Sudan's Darfur region in terms of humanitarian situation.

The comparison was made by John Holmes, secretary general in charge of UN humanitarian urgent services, after a visit to a refugee camp in North Kivu province.

The only difference between the two regions is "that here there are humanitarian donations," Holmes said on Monday after inspecting the Kibati camp situated 16 km from Goma, the provincial capital.

The official even sees humanitarian aid more needed in North Kivu than in Darfur, considering the complex situation in both DR Congo and Rwanda, which had accused each other of supporting rebels in long-standing conflicts before joining hands only recently.

Where anti-Arab prejudice and oil make the difference

The key difference between the two situations lies in the racial and ethnic composition of the perceived victims and perpetrators. In

Congo

, black Africans are killing other black Africans in a way that is difficult for outsiders to identify with. The turmoil there can in that sense be regarded as a narrowly African affair.

In

Darfur

the fighting is portrayed as a war between black Africans, rightly or wrongly regarded as the victims, and "Arabs", widely regarded as the perpetrators of the killings. In practice these neat racial categories are highly indistinct, but it is through such a prism that the conflict is generally viewed.

V-Day Spotlights Women and Girls living in the Congo

Events are scheduled at major unversities and colleges in Indiana during February.  Also, events are scheduled in Indianapolis on February 15 and 16.

V-Day: voices against violence

Each year, V-Day, founded by Eve Ensler, brings the spotlight to a specific group of women in one part of the world that is experiencing mass violence or oppression, and brings global attention to its struggles. In many parts of the world, there is no one to advocate women’s rights, and violence against women is common, according to the organization. V-Day seeks to give voices to women who may not have one, San Diego State producer of V-Day 2009 Jenn Bjorklund said.

This year, V-Day chose to spotlight women and girls living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to Bjorklund, this year’s theme, “Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power to Women and Girls of the DRC,” was inspired by the violence against women that resulted from the Congo’s ongoing civil war. Women in this region are used as weapons of war through violence and rape.