Good news is hard to come by in Congo, so no one should be surprised to see Congolese citizens dancing in the streets these days, overjoyed by their government’s rare battlefield victory over the reviled M23 rebellion. For the last year and a half, the M23 has destabilized wide swathes of eastern Congo, committing horrific atrocities in the areas it controlled. A huge opportunity exists now to build on the momentum of the M23’s demise by pivoting to inclusive regional and internal processes aimed at addressing the core drivers of violence that have condemned Congo to being the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II.
A surrendered M23 rebel, center, is transported from the frontline by Congolese soldiers near the village of Kibati, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sept. 25, 2013. (Pete Muller/The New York Times, via Redux)
Only a year ago, the M23 took control of the largest town in eastern Congo and had the clear upper hand in the conflict. What changed since then? Three variables were decisive, and lessons can be derived from all three for what remains to be done for lasting peace to have a chance............
Editor's Note: Guest contributor Mac McKinney is human rights activist, deeply concerned about the horrific outrages to human dignity taking place not only in Africa, but in such places as Syria and North Korea. He has been long-involved in the maritime world, as a Navy Diver, shipyard employee and marine designer, but enjoys writing and photo-journalism, and travelled to Haiti to write a series of articles on the situation there.
I really didn’t know much about Congo until I met a journalist who had been there and told me about the ongoing conflicts in Congo. Soon after, I began delving into Congo’s history, studying from the Kingdom of Kongo to King Leopold II, who created the modern Congolese state with the chicotte and the Force Publique, building its foundations on human exploitation.
Reflecting on Congo’s violent past and present, I knew that it was wrong for people to suffer this much, and that I needed to take action. It is time to end the violence there and lay the foundation for a better future. Fortunately, the world is starting to wake up to this imperative, which was demonstrated in the signing of the “Framework” Agreement by 11 African nations in Addis Ababa in February 2013, creating a regional blueprint to end the bloodshed and bring stability to the region.
Eight months following the signing of the Framework, The United Nations International Day of Peace, Hampton Roads organization will host “Peace for the DR Congo” at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virginia on September 21.
In conjunction with the One Love Festival also taking place on September 21, this year’s Hampton Roads U.N. Peace Day celebration is focusing on peace in eastern Congo as a way of doing our part to raise awareness about the ongoing conflict. Each year a theme for the day is established, and Congo was chosen this year as a result of personal reflection and education about the crisis.
The event will serve as an educational and cultural forum to discuss current events in the Congo as well as opportunities to take direct action.
Speakers and Performers include:
Reverend Carey Chirico of the Virginia Episcopalian Diocese ministry to the Congo, Women-to-Women
Bismarck Myrick, Ambassador-in-Residence and lecturer at Old Dominion University, and former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia and the Kingdom of Lesotho
Faith Liwanga, founder of the NGO MICAH-elle Foundation, which raises money to help empower women in the Congo.
Kathy Klein, a visual artist who raises money for Congolese women through the Art for Hope Project
Jane Lockhart, a former missionary of the Eastern Virginia Presbytery
The Taiko Drummers of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Global Buddhist Network in Virginia Beach
Our eighth annual Sept 21st UN Peace Day for Hampton Roads takes place this year at Virginia-Wesleyan College in Norfolk. We have combined forces with the One Love Festival who are also holding their annual event on Sept 21. UN Peace Day itself will run from 2:30 to 5:00 PM in Boyd Hall on the campus, with plenty of parking. Our theme this year is Peace for the DR Congo, which is the most devastated and blood-stained country in Africa, with, by most experts' counts, over 5 million war-related deaths and countless crimes, especially rape, in the last 15 years. Recently, however, there has been movement internationally and nationally to bring an end to the carnage. We want to help energize this movement. We will be providing a forum to discuss current events in the Congo as well as how to engender real peace and progress. Our speakers, participants and supporters include missionaries and Congolese spokespersons. This will be an educational and cultural event about the DR Congo, and, with your help, an inspirational event.
Speakers thus far include Rev. Carey Chirico of the Virginia Episcopalian Diocese ministry, Women-to-Women (http://www.thediocese.net/Ministries/MissionTeams/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo/) established between the women of the Diocese of Virginia and the Mothers’ Union of the Diocese of Bukavu in South Kivu province. Also speaking will be one of two speakers from Friends of the Congo, either Maurice Carney, their executive director or their spokesperson, Kambale Musavuli.
From
Old Dominion University we have the well-known lecturer in political
science and history, Ambassador (Ret.) Bismarck Myrick, U.S. Ambassador
to the Kingdom of Lesotho (1995-1998) and U.S. Ambassador to the
Republic of Liberia (1999-2002), as well as head of the U.S. Diplomatic
Missions as Consul General to Durban, South Africa (1990-1993) and
Consul General to Cape Town, South Africa (1993-1995). He is also a
retired U.S. Army Officer and a member of the U.S. Army Hall of Fame.
Also speaking are a Congolese woman residing in Northern Virginia, Faith Liwanga, who has set up her own NGO, MICAH-elle Foundation (http://micahellefoundation.org/), as well as the Mwamini Thambwe Mwamba Diggs, authoress of the “Untold Story of the Women and Children of the Democratic of Congo." Our sixth speaker is visual artist Kathy Klein, who recently visited Bukavu with Carey Chirico. She raises money for the women of the Congo in war-torn areas through her Art for Hope Project. Her website is http://kathykleinstudio.com/ .
To keep our event international as well, the Taiko Drummers of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Global Buddhist Network in Virginia Beach will be performing again this year at UN Peace Day. They were a big hit last year and create huge amounts of positive, joyful energy with their drumming. Also performing will be world music instrumentalist Charles Clarke. Other performers will be announced later.
Kambale Musavuli, National Spokesperson for Friends of the Congo, joins us to discuss what impact the UN-enforced peace through an intervention brigade can have on stabilizing the political situation in the Congo. (Photo: AP Images).
"UN intervention in the Congo: Will enforcing peace bring political stability?" by WBEZ's Worldview is licensed under a Creative Commons License...........
The petition was delivered to the White House in January. | Donovan Slack/POLITICO By ROBIN WRIGHT and JD STIER | 3/26/13 4:42 AM EDT
On March 18, one of the world’s worst warlords, Bosco Ntaganda, turned himself in to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda. Ntaganda, also known as “The Terminator,” is the leader of several brutal armed groups and army units, including the M23, that have terrorized eastern Congo for over a decade. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As we write this, Ntaganda is being transferred to The Hague, and a hesitant celebration has spread throughout a region home to the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II.
Further good news came on March 18 when the United Nations announced the appointment of Mary Robinson as the secretary-general’s special envoy to the region, delivering the highest level of diplomatic gravitas to broker a peace deal between the government of Congo, the M23 rebel group and regional governments. These events present a historic opportunity to secure lasting peace for the people of eastern Congo, and an urgent opportunity for the U.S. government to take action...........
The petition was delivered to the White House in January. | Donovan Slack/POLITICO 
