DRC
Interview on the DRC crisis with Ernest Wamba dia Wamba
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 02:01 |Terna Gyuse, Africa Regional Editor for Inter-Press Service interviewed Ernest Wamba dia Wamba by email on November 17, 2008.
Gyuse: Ethnicity is often put forward as the key factor in the conflict in this region. You have a different view: what is the conflict really about?
Wamba dia Wamba: Strictly speaking, ethnicity or tribalism is a particular mode of functioning of a State--the colonial one that organized, conquered, or colonized people administratively by dividing them into tribes. read more »
Biso na Biso, une radio pygmée pour préserver les forêts
Sun, 11/09/2008 - 20:58 |Reposted from Afrik.com, November 1, 2008.
Le média doit participer à une gestion durable des massifs forestiers du Nord Congo
L’organisation Tropical Forest Trust et la Congolaise Industrielle du Bois - la première compagnie forestière au Congo, pays où vient de s’achever le 6e Forum mondial du développement - sont à l’origine du projet de radio pygmée Biso na Biso. Le média communautaire devrait émettre à partir de janvier dans la concession forestière de Pokola, dans le Nord Congo. L’une de ses missions sera d’intégrer les Pygmées dans les efforts de gestion durable des forêts. Précisions de Norbert Gami, coordinateur du programme. read more »
From Kimpa Vita to Lumumba to the women of Panzi : the fear of emancipatory history in the DRC
Tue, 11/04/2008 - 05:10 |As events unfold in DRC, the usual questions are being asked: who is responsible for the current war within the war, which never really ended in 2003, and its ensuing humanitarian crisis? In the pages of one of the most respected dailies of Kinshasa (Le Potentiel), well-known philosophers have offered conflicting ways of looking at, and analyzing, the conflict. read more »
Interview with Ernest Wamba dia Wamba on the Crisis in the DRC
Mon, 11/03/2008 - 01:59 |Following is an interview on October 31, 2008, by Pambazuka News editor-in-chief Firoze Manji with Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, founder and director of our sister organization, the Ota Benga Center for Human Dignity in Kinshasa, DRC. The interview will appear in a forthcoming issue of Pambazuka News, but we are posting it early because of the critical events now taking place in the DRC. read more »
How We Fuel Africa's Bloodiest War
Sat, 11/01/2008 - 06:05 | 
Reposted from The Independent/UK October 30, 2008.
What is rarely mentioned is the great global heist of Congo's resources
The deadliest war since Adolf Hitler marched across Europe is starting again -- and you are almost certainly carrying a blood-soaked chunk of the slaughter in your pocket. read more »
The Food Crisis Is Not Just About Food
Sat, 11/01/2008 - 05:42 |A paper presented at the 5th International Conference of La Via Campesina, Maputo, October 16-23, 2008.
Preamble: Looking for some principles and avoiding the syndrome of discovery
In order to live one needs to eat and in order to live one needs more than just food. In a world ruled by worshippers of the Market, it has come to be accepted that principles of justice, solidarity shall take second rank to everything else. Indeed that is why one hears more and more often of the distinction between justice and social justice as if calling for the former will not automatically cover those most affected by the growing disappearance of justice and equality. read more »
U.N. poised for broader intervention in Congo
Mon, 10/20/2008 - 18:37 |The problem of the DRC remains almost the same: externally influenced decisions always call for more and more external interventionism. As far as I know, there has not been a real sum-up of UN peace missions in the DRC since the 1960s. The presence of MONUC [United Nations Mission in the Congo] prevents the leadership from taking the necessary measures to build a real army and a real policy for defending the country. Especially when one sees that certain members of MONUC have been accused of involvement in looting resources, one should be very careful in bringing more UN troops. read more »
Mass Stigma Scars Congo's Rape Survivors
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 17:15 |
An unidentified rape survivor photographed at a Congolese clinic.
The sexual violence rate is extremely high in war-ravaged Congo.
(Photo: Cedric Gerbehaye / AP)
With regard to what is going on in Eastern DRCongo, it seems that most people, both inside and outside of the country, have come to accept the most horrendous crimes as part of normality. It is difficult not to ask the following question: if these rapes were occurring in G8 countries, wouldn't there be emergency measure to put an end to it? Questions must be addressed to the leadership in the DRC, the African Union leadership: why is everyone waiting for someone else to do something? read more »
Prospects for Sustained Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Fri, 09/26/2008 - 17:40 |Professor Wamba dia Wamba is a leader of the Rassemblement Congolais la democratie (RCD-Kisangani), and is based in Kinshasa, the capital town of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is a recipient of the prestigious Prince Claus Award for Culture and Development in recognition of his “scholarly contribution to the development of African philosophy and for sparking off the philosophical debate on social and political themes in Africa.” He has written innumerable articles in various scientific and non-scientific journals on the politics in Africa. He has taught at Harvard University and at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, to name but a few. He is a member of the Honorary Board of the Ota Benga Alliance. We are pleased to present this thoughtful analysis from July of 2003, recently posted on Transcend Africa Network, September 15, 2008.
INTRODUCTION:
1. Since the creation of the Congo, at the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) as a result of the resolution of the conflict opposing imperial Africa conquering powers, the struggle for or against the Congo has always been international, roughly opposing two camps: the pro-Congolese people camp and the Congolese people ignoring/marginalizing/repressing camp. The identity of the various actors in each camp is very complex and situational. In the 1960’s, President Kwame Nkrumah, in his Challenge of the Congo (1967), gave an interesting indication of some of the then actors. read more »
Newsletter #5a & 5b
Tue, 09/02/2008 - 03:18 |Following are two newsletters. The first, in English, continues the discussion of sexual violence against women and children in the DRC. The second, in French, concerns the recent passage of legislation which makes it illegal to accuse children of witchcraft (sorcery). We are extremely sorry that we do not have translations available for both articles. We hope to remedy this situation soon.--OBA Executive Board read more »
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