On the Lower Congo (Luozi and Nseke Banza) massacres in D R Congo

We, Daughters and Sons from the Kongo assembled in the Kodya dia Moyo Study Group, are hereby denouncing the events which took place in Lower Congo, more precisely, in Luozi and Nseke Banza.

1. For the record we would like to restate:

That the Kongo people are dedicated to peace, justice and truth;

That the ongoing massacres in Lower Congo were triggered by a legitimacy crisis which, in turn, stems from:
1. An election result achieved by corruption and intimidation;
2. A way of exercising power, by the provincial executive, under the control and partisan interests of the AMP and the Central Government through the Interior Ministry instead of the people of Kongo through its provincial Assembly;

That, subsequent to the unraveling of Kongo culture, the marginalization and pauperization of its people, since the 2nd Republic, the Bundu dia Kongo has set itself up as a body for the rehabilitation of the language, the cultural values and the conscience of the Kongo. Hence its current impact on the Kongo people;

That the rapid intervention police force is made up of former army soldiers who were once members of the Katangese gendarmes, and of the so-called Dragons and commando units from Mobutu’s days and trained as soldiers;

That the results of previous investigations have never been published and the appended recommendations never carried out;

II. We condemn:

The disrespectful treatment shown to our dead by throwing their bodies into the river;
The resorting to heavy military weapons by the police force;
The use of disproportionate repressive measures to resolve political problems;

III. We demand:

That heavy military weaponry be no longer used by the police;
That the governor act as an elected official and not as someone appointed by the Minister of the Interior;
An international investigation of the massacres by a credible organization;
The organization of a Provincial Round Table as had been recommended by the National Assembly;
That the current governor respond publicly, in the Provincial Assembly of the Lower Congo, to questions regarding the events mentioned above;
An explanation as to what happened to the 300 Interahamwe who were rejected in Bandundu, and then were sent to Lower Congo;
That the media use with utmost caution any image or language which might trigger and/or encourage the spreading of xenophobic sentiments throughout the country;

IV. We Call;

On all people from Kongo to remain calm and vigilant;
On elders to perform social catharsis by organizing a reconciliation process;
On solidarity towards those who have been affected by the massacres. We hereby call on local NGOs to act as intermediaries in this process.

We offer our deepest condolences to those families who have been affected

For the Kodya dia Moyo

Prof. Ernest Wamba dia Wamba