Contact:
                      Joseph E. Mwantuali, Ph.D.
                      1st Vice President, RNS
                      Tel. (315) 449-1911  or (315) 723-9852
                      Fax:  (315) 449-18-60
                      E-mail:  jmwantua@hamilton.edu
 
 

There is no legitimate government in Congo-Kinshasa. Kabila with his obsolete communist-like dictatorship imposed upon this country by force in 1997 is buying time to finish the job of putting in place a Mobutu like regime. Kabila’s models are not a secret for anyone: Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, etc.
All his strategies are geared to fooling the Congolese people, and justifying his hitlerian methods as war time strategy. But we are not fools. We have been under Mobutu’s dictatorship for over a quarter of a century, and we know a rotten regime when we see one.

Let us summarize these strategies that Dr. Kalala, in his June 23rd press release, so appropriately called “machiavellian”.  Mr. Kabila has been making a mockery of the UN since the beginning of his dictatorship. When he was accused of massacring defenseless Hutu women and children in the eastern forests, he lied that these killing never took place. But when the UN went in to see for themselves, Kabila wouldn’t let them enter the region and chased them out of “his” country. But when he was in trouble with Museveni, President of Uganda, and Kagame, President of Rwanda, the very people who put him in power, Kabila did not hesitate to call the UN in for help, admitting finally that the massacres had taken place, but that Museveni and Kagame had made him do it. Now that time has given him some grip on power again, he is chasing the UN delegation once more. The UN delegation, according to Kabila, should only be deployed in the regions occupied by the rebels, and not where himself and his allies (Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Sudan, North Korea, etc.) are operating. Of course, as usual, he has a lot to hide. He wants to make sure that he continue to quietly silence other political opponents by any means possible, to imprison, torture, starve, kill the people, and loot the country as long as possible. Everyone remembers how he closed the door on Reverend Jesse Jackson’s face in 1998. And recently, he closed down the office of Sir Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana; an OAU and UN mandated Facilitator for the inter-Congolese political negotiations.

Kabila needs to realize that we know. We have not forgotten that he is the one who first brought in the Rwandan and Ugandan armies that are now occupying the southern part of our country. We know all the looting, killing, and raping that are happening all over the country. Yes, in the part of the country occupied by Kabila as well. I should know better. I have been a victim myself. In September 1998, Kabila’s soldiers entered my sister’s house in Moanda and killed my nephew, Didi, 20, at point blank. The boy died before he even completely woke up to understand why he was being murdered. They prevented my family to even hold a mourning. The boy was buried like a dog. And last year, Kabila flew his soldiers to my village, Ntandembelo, in the Bandundu region, because another politician from that village, exiled in Belgium after being tortured by Kabila, had openly criticized his regime. Many houses in Ntandembelo were demolished, women were raped, and the chief beaten.

Fellow Congolese People, let us get rid of this new dictator. Only then will we be able to unite and chase the foreigners out of our country.

As for foreigners, we call on them to think beyond the short-term benefice they are getting because of our people’s lack of freedom, and because of Kabila’s corruption. We call on them to think about the long-term consequences of the humiliation and wounds they are inflicting on this gigantic country. Soon or later, order will be established in Congo, and each one of them will be held accountable of their actions. We remind them that none of them was invited by the people of Congo, or by any legitimate President of this country.

If the UN is serious about solving this matter, it is time to act firmly. Impose economic sanctions, and arms embargo on both Kabila’s side and Uganda and Rwanda side. How would history judge this neglect of people dying daily, not because they are fighting each other, but because foreign armies are fighting over our natural resources, far away from their own countries, with UN dragging its feet? The General Secretary of UN could still one day say, “we are sorry,” right?

To anyone who would like to help out there, please contact the office of Rally for a New Society and make a donation. Any help is welcome. We need money to work efficiently on behalf of the people of Congo. We need money to buy medication and provide the people with some humanitarian assistance. We need clothing (old and/or new) for people inside the country. Congolese people are wallowing in a dire misery.
If you are an American, please, call your Senator to demand action about this urgent disaster. If you are a Congolese, contact us right away. It is time to abolish political divisions, and unite to establish democracy, and, more urgently, to save lives.

 
Contact Rally For A New Society’s offices:
Phone: 202-463-9373
Fax: 202-463-9374