Thursday, January 29, 2009

SAVE THE CONGO - NEW MEDIA RELEASE

SAVE THE CONGO – NEW MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 29 January 2009

Conflict Risk Alert: DR Congo
London, 29 January 2009: Save the Congo calls upon PM Gordon Brown to use his leverage on the Rwanda leadership, the Congolese government and regional powers to end the join military operation of Rwanda and Congo which threatens to plunge Eastern Congo further into what is already an unmatched human suffering in recent history without assurance that it will solve the region’s conflict.

President Joseph Kabila of DRC and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda have embarked on a join military operation to flush FDLR-rebels out eastern Congo. The operation has already impacted negatively on the ability of MONUC [UN mission in DRC] peacekeepers, as well as various UN agencies and aid agencies, to protect and assist the civilian population in some areas.

Rwanda has invaded Eastern Congo twice in recent years under the pretext of disarming the FDLR; and on both occasions, investigations and reports by aid agencies and the UN appointed Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, uncovered and unveiled primary evidences implicating President Kagame’s close friends and military elites in series of systematic plundering of Congo’s natural resources; summary executions of as well as orchestrated campaign of sexual violence against civilians, whom they believe were aiding the government, and force displacements which have led to the human tragedy engulfing the Congo.

In addition, Save the Congo fears a repeat of the 1996-1997 scenes as MONUC is not involved. In 1996-1997, when AFDL [alliance of Rwandan, Ugandan armies and anti-Mobutu groups under the leadership of Laurent Desire Kabila] marched into Congo, then Zaire, to oust Joseph Mobutu from a 32 years reign of power, the Hutu populations, some of whom were responsible for the 1994 genocide and some simple innocent civilians, living in refugee camps in Eastern Congo were systematically and indiscriminately slaughtered. An estimated 3 Million are said to have been killed.

Furthermore, Save the Cong warns of a political stunt by the Rwandan authority: between 1998-2001 Rwanda invaded Eastern Congo under the same pretext [disarming and flushing FDLR out of Eastern Congo] – throughout that period, Rwandan soldiers and its offshoot RCD-Goma did not go after or clashed with FDLR but, on the contrary, Rwanda and RCD-Goma occupied rich mining areas in Eastern Congo, collaborated with FDLR-rebels and coltan, cassiteririte, gold and diamonds exploited by the FDLR were being sold in Rwanda.

“More bloods will not cleanse bad blood” said Vava Tampa, a Congolese born and undergraduate student at Queen Mary College, University of London.
"The FDLR are in Masisi but the Rwandans have instead gone to Rutshuru. We don't really know what they are doing there because our access has been blocked” - said Jean-Paul Dietrich, MONUC military spokesman

“The world must not stand idly when armies bearing trade marks of war crimes embark on military assaults, that has no insurance of removing the cloud of war that has shadowed the region for sixteen years, in communities already gripped with humanitarian catastrophes that wouldn't exist in peaceful time to apprehend a group of individuals indistinguishable from ordinary Congolese civilian population” added Vava Tampa.

“Wounds still fresh… nightmares of the Rwandan military activities in the Congo in recent years still haunting the civilian population… and forcing such people -the local population, to share the same paths with Rwandan soldiers at the wake of the recent Rwandan backed war by CNDP which left over 500 000 killed; over 250 000 uprooted and scenes of war crimes across the Kivus between August 28 to December 12, is, in essence, pouring their wounds with gall and vinegar – said Vava Tampa, a Congolese born and undergraduate student at Queen Mary College, University of London.

“Given the Rwandan and Ugandan armies’ last clash over mining areas in Kisangani in 2002; fear, resentment, acute ethnic tensions and availability of tools of destructions in the Kivus; and MONUC’ inability to decisively deter those fuelling and perpetuating inhumane actions in ethnic line; the on-going join military operations, at its current form, risk to plunge the region into inter-state genocidal destruction; and unless PM Gordon Brown, who has a very significant influence upon the Rwandan and Congolese leadership, takes on a pro-active role to end the joint military operation, Eastern Congo could, once again, be transformed into huge battlefields.” – added Vava Tampa.

For further information, please contact:

Vava Tampa: +44 (0) 7960 705 829 (day or night)vava.tampa@savethecongo.co.ukwww.savethecongo.co.uk

Vava Tampa is a Congolese born and undergraduate student at Queen Mary College, University of London; and Director of Save the Congo –a UK based Congolese youth led advocacy organisation campaigning for and promoting the restoration of peace, security, justice and human dignity in the Congo.

Note to the editors:

The DRC is a home to vast expanses of pristine rain forest, rare animal species and a treasure trove of rare precious minerals – it houses all elements found on the periodic table. Its abundant reserves of Copper, Cobalt, Coltan -an essential component of mobile phones, laptops and game counsels, Cassiterite (tin ore), Diamonds, Hydraulic Cement, Iron, Gas, Gold, Lead, Lithium, Manganese, Nickel, Oil, Silver, Timber, Tungsten, Uranium and zinc have the potential to serve as the engine of growth in its reconstruction and eradication of poverty in the Central African region and beyond.

Yet its one of the poorest and chaotic nations, ruined by wars, sexual atrocities and humanitarian catastrophes. One can take all lives lost in Bosnia, Rwanda 1994, Darfur, the 2005 tsunami in Asia, and then add a 9-11 every single day for 356 days and then go through Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Put all of those together, multiply by 2 and you still don’t reach the number of lives that has been lost in the Congo since 1998.

NGOs estimate that over 6 millions have so far been killed; around 40% of all adult women have been made widows; around 2 million internally displaced; 100 000s of women and young girls brutally gang raped; and million more remain trapped between warring parties.

The UK is the largest unilateral aid donor to the Congolese government –providing more aid than France, Belgium and US combined; and the second largest aid donor to the Rwandan government.

The first report of the UN appointed Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was published on 12 April 2001

The Final report of the UN appointed Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was published on 12 December 2008 (S/2008/773)

The National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP)
CNDP is an armed group almost exclusively composed of ethnic Tutsis. It was established by Laurent Nkunda –a former officer of RCD-Goma which in 2003 signed the Sun City peace-deal and joined the transitional government with Laurent Nkunda as a Colonel but soon promoted to General.

However, in 2004, with the support and assistance of close allies of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Laurent Nkunda with some (former) RCD-Goma officers and militia retreated to the highlands of Masisi Plain, Eastern Congo, under the pretence of defending the interests of the Tutsi minority in eastern Congo and formed a band coalition, CNDP, of ethnic Tutsis from Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

On January 22, the Rwandan authority announced that they had arrested Laurent Nkunda; four days later, on the 26th, the Rwandan army spokesperson Maj. Jill Rutaremara, when questioned by the press, said “Laurent Nkunda was in Rwanda but “not in jail.” And he would not elaborate other than saying Nkunda was “safe”

Democratic Force for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)
FDLR is a coalition almost entirely composed of ethnic Hutus. It was formed in 2000 “after the merger of ALIR –the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda and a loose Hutu Congolese armed group

ALIR was overwhelmingly composed of Rwandan Hutus responsible for the genocide in Rwanda but fled to the Congo as Paul Kagame’s RPF advance toward Kigali in 1994. During the 1998-2003 war, FRDL sided with the Kinshasa government trying to end Rwandan and Ugandan led scramble of rich natural resources in Eastern Congo.

In March 2005, the FDLR announced it was abandoning its armed struggle against the Rwandan government and returning to Rwanda to form a political party but the move was not welcome nor aided by the Rwandan government and soon collapse. And have since resumed their military activities.

The Save the Congo Team


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Congo' Potentials (Cause Root of Conflicts)

“The Congo is so rich in mineral wealth, you can’t just ignore it. You don’t want to be the last guy at this party”

-Gerhard Kemp
Rand Merchant Bank, Johannesburg
(Quoted from Global Witness Report: “Digging in Corruption” -Fraud, Abuse and Exploitation in Katanga’s copper and Cobalt mines. July
2006)
The DRC is a home to vast expanses of pristine rain forest, rare animal species and a treasure trove of rare precious minerals – it houses all elements found on the periodic table. Its abundant reserves of Copper, Cobalt, Coltan -an essential component of mobile phones, laptops and game counsels, Cassiterite (tin ore), Diamonds, Hydraulic Cement, Iron, Gas, Gold, Lead, Lithium, Manganese, Nickel, Oil, Silver, Timber, Tungsten, Uranium and zinc have the potential to serve as the engine of growth in its reconstruction and eradication of poverty in the Central African region and beyond.
The following are some mineral indices by province:
  • Eastern Province (Orientale): Gold, diamond, clays, copper, iron, kaolin, niobium, ochre, phosphates, saline, bituminous schists and talc.
  • North Kivu: Clays, tin stone, basnaesite, emerald, coal, granite, monazite, niobium, gold, wolfram, tantalum and calcareous.
  • South Kivu: Gold, tin stone, amblygonite, silver, basnaesite, emerald, bismuth, diamond, diatomite, monazite, niobium, wolfram, zinc, tantalum and calcareous.
  • Katanga: Copper, cobalt, uranium, niobium, gold, platinum, lithium, talc, tantalum, wolfram, zinc, clays, bismuth, cadmium, tin stone, coal, iron, granite, emerald, sapphire, diamond, silver and calcareous.
  • Maniema: Gold, tin stone, amblygonite, lithium, clays, copper, diamond, iron, kaolin, manganese, niobium, lead, talc, tantalum and wolfram.
  • Equator: Diamond, gold, iron, calcareous, kaolin, clays, copper, granite, niobium and ochre.
  • Eastern Kasai: Diamond, clays, gold, chrome, nickel, cobalt, copper, iron, kaolin and talc.
  • Western Kasai: Diamond, clays, gold, chrome, nickel, cobalt, platinum, copper, iron, kaolin, lead and saline.
  • Bandundu: Diamond, kaolin, petroleum and clays.
  • Kinshasa: Clays, silica and kaolin.
  • Bas-Congo: Bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, vanadium, asphaltic sands, gold, diamond, manganese, marble, granite, rock salt, iron, clays, gypsum, pyrite, talc, silica, kaolin, baritone and calcareous.

Congo Waters:

  • The Congo River, the second longest river in Africa after the Nile and the second largest flow in the world after Amazon, is another source of potential for Africa: it has one-sixth of the world's hydroelectric potential; and can power the whole continent!
  • With more than 700 fish species, 500 of which are endemic, the Congo River (Basin) ranks second in the World in fish diversity, after the Amazon.o Lake Tanganika, the third largest fresh water lake in the world by volume and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Serbia,

Land & rainforest:

  • The Congo has vast agricultural potential; if unleashed, this potential could significantly reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition, which affect more than 70% of the African population.
  • Congo’s fertile fields and tropical forests cover an area bigger than United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium and Germany combinedo Congo’ fertile fields can feed the whole of central and part of southern Africa
  • Congo’ rainforest is the second largest on Earth; only the Amazon is larger, remain almost intact and unexploited and houses a wealth of biodiversity found no where else on the planet; and plays a vital role in regulating climate, both locally and globally

Congo Holocaust

Why Congo Matters?

Congo represents the promise of Africa as much as its misery. She matters because:
  • Over 6 Million have been killed since 1998, bloods still running like water yet the troubles rarely make daily headlines and the country is often low on major aid donors’ list of place to help
  • The use of children, some as young as 9, as soldiers, porters, domestic servant and sexual slaves by armed groups are all too common
  • 1,250 Congolese die every day because of war-related causes - the vast majority succumbing to diseases and malnutrition that wouldn't exist in peaceful times
  • In-spite of peace-deals, elections and 17 000 strong UN force, mass execution, war crimes, child-abduction, arbitrary arrests, orchestrated campaigns of gang-rapes, sexual mutilation and mass human rights violations are all too common
  • Around 3 Million are internally displaced; some of which have been displaced since 1998 and re-displaced over and over
  • Women and young girls have been systematically target and gang raped on blood chilling scale unmatched in recent history
  • Eastern Congo has been transformed into what can only be termed as concentration camps – nothing but gang rapes, ethnic motivated persecutions, summary executions, famines and mass human rights violations

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Press Release: President Sarkozy's three principles to end the scramble of Congo’s natural resources by its neighbours!!!

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 21st January 2009
President Sarkozy's three principles to end the scramble of Congo’s natural resources by its neighbours!!!

(21 January 2009) – Save the Congo deplores President Sarkozy’s recent call of a joint mining enterprise in the North Kivu, Eastern Congo, which would allow the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) and Rwanda to exploit the rich mineral resources for mutual benefit.

Recent UN investigations and reports have uncovered evidence directly implicating President Kagame’s close circle in financing Laurent Nkundabatware’s armed militia and stockpiling Congo’s Cassiterite (tin ore) Gold, Coffee, Diamond, Colten (an essential component of mobile phones, laptops and game counsels) and Wolframite (from which tungsen is derived)

"President Sarkozy's plan would exacerbate the present human tragedy, compounding its ills, and rewarding those who perpetrate such awful crimes against humanity... and against women and children" said the Director of Widows for Peace through Democracy, Margaret Owen.

In its first report published in 2001, the UN appointed Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have delivered groundbreaking reports unravelling large volumes of primary evidence implicating President Kagame’s close circle in the systematic plundering of Congo’s natural resources; and in its final, published on 12 December 2008, the Panel have yet again unraveled primary evidence directly implicating Rwanda’s military elites in supplying Laurent Nkundabatware with men, foods and medical assistance whilst waging a war which left around 500 000 killed; over 250 000 displaced between August 28 to December 12; and scenes of war crimes across North Kivu.

“As other parties, the Rwandan Army, in recent years, have made war crimes, deployment of sexual atrocities against women and young girls, systematic looting of Congo’s natural resources and mass human rights violations against the region’s population a hobby” said Save the Congo Director Vava Tampa.

“President Sarkozy’s plan of a joint mining enterprise by the very same individual partially responsible for human tragedy engulfing the Congo risk breeding more hatred and fear, deepen ethnic disharmony that has paved the way for the human tragedy that has gripped the Congo; and kept the Great Lake region and beyond hanging under the cloud of war for the past sixteen years” he added.

“President Sarkozy’s zeal to help restore the much needed peace in the Congo is very welcome, but we urge him not to place peace before justice. And to follow the leads exposed by the UN appointed Panel of Experts and take all appropriate judicial and other measures against individuals and cooperation fuelling the conflicts or harbouring those fuelling the conflict” said Vava Tampa, Director of Save the Congo.

For further information, please contact:

Vava Tampa +44 (0) 7960 705 829 (day or night)
vava.tampa@savethecongo.co.uk
http://www.savethecongo.co.uk/

Margaret Owen +44 (0) 7770 945 916 (day or night)
director.wpd@googlemail.com

Note to the editors:

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to vast expanses of pristine rain forest, rare animal species and a large potential for wealth in the form of an abundance of highly valuable minerals and natural resources. Yet is it one of the poorest and chaotic nations, ruined by war, sexual atrocities and humanitarian crisis that is estimated to have claimed over 6 millions of lives since 1998; left around 40% of all adult women widows; around 2 million internally displaced; 100 000s of women and young girls brutally gang raped; and million more remain trapped between warring parties.

The first report of the UN appointed Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was published on 12 April 2001

The Final report of the UN appointed Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was published on 12 December 2008 (S/2008/773)

On Friday French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave the broad outlines of a project to bring peace to the Nord-Kivu region in the east of the DRC, French daily Le Monde reported on Sunday.

The first element in the proposed peace initiative would involve a joint mining enterprise for the Nord-Kivu region which would allow the DRC and Rwanda to exploit the rich mineral resources for mutual benefit.
The other points involve land distribution in the Nord-Kivu province and also political representation for the Tutsi minority in the area.

For further information, please visit:

http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/articles/109/article_2672.asp

http://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2009/01/17/la-france-prepare-une-initiative-de-paix-pour-l-est-de-la-republique-democratique-du-congo_1143111_0.html