Rolf Martens a écrit : > NEWS ON CONGO 035: Counterattack hits aggressors > [Posted: 06.08.00] > > NOTE: On websites with information on the DR Congo and for > some contact addresses, see endnote last in this posting. > > According to recent news reports, the Democratic Republic of > Congo is now counterattacking, on several fronts, the aggressor > forces which, as muppets of the main imperialist states in the > world, are still occupying one-half of the country. The wailing > tone of the reactionary media suggests that some successes have > in fact been achieved in this counter-offensive. This is good > news, for the vast majority of people elsewhere too! > > Also, the Congolese government has declared, on 03.08, that the > Lusaka ceasefire accord of July 1999 is now invalid. This is > perfectly justified. The aggressors have constantly broken that > accord with renewed armed action. They flagrantly have failed to > comply with its main provision, that they withdraw their troops > from the DR Congo. And the UN, for instance, in practice has > done nothing to make them comply with this. > > The Congolese people's just war of liberation no doubt will > be a long and very difficult one. The aggression against that > country, which has refused to accept neo-colonialist plunder > and in which a really democratic state is being built up, al- > ready has cost the lives of some 1.7 million people and has > brought untold suffering in the country. For this, the govern- > ments of the "rich" countries are directly responsible. Very > much do the Congolese people at present need the support of the > peoples in all countries! > > Below are reproduced, in full or in part, some of the recent > media reports on the DR Congo. Those originally in French are > in my translation. Within brackets [ ] are some explanations > of words in "Imperialistese" and some other comments. Reports, > or excerpts reproduced: > > 1) Reuters/CNN, Goma, 02.08: 'Rwanda says Congo government > launching attacks' > 2) Posting to congokin_opinions mailing list (see endnote), > 05.08: 'DR Congo says Lusaka cease-fire agreement invalid, > UN "useless"' > 3) AFP, Bangui, 03.08: 'Vaste offensive de l'armée congolaise > le long du fleuve Oubangui (témoins)' [translated] > 4) AFP, Kigali, and AP, Kigali, 05.08 [Some reports on the war] > 5) USA, 04.08 [On recent IMF loan to muppet aggressor Rwanda] > 6) Posting to mailing list congokin_opinions by JmY 05.08 > [Brief comment on loan to Rwanda] > > - RM > > 1) From Reuters/CNN, 02.08.00: > > > > > Rwanda says Congo government launching attacks [in liberation > struggle] > > August 2, 2000 > Web posted at: 8:27 AM EDT (1227 GMT) > > GOMA, Congo (Reuters) [It's also a provocation that these > people are reporting, as they do, from Goma, in *occupied Congo- > lese territory*, on what one of the *aggressor states* says.] > > -- The Congolese government and its allies have launched a new > wave of attacks against rebels [aggressor muppets] and their > Rwandan backers [invaders] all along their vast frontline, > Rwandan officials said on Wednesday. > > The news comes on the second anniversary of the start of the > civil war in [! flagrant aggression against] the Democratic Re- > public of the Congo and underlines that a peace accord signed > last year has all but collapsed. > > "Definitely there has been an increase in attacks all over the > place," Rwandan presidential envoy Patrick Mazimhaka told > Reuters by telephone from the Rwandan capital Kigali. > > "There is fighting, there are infiltrations, there is shelling. > It's an organized offensive. The whole front has been reacti- > vated." > > The rebels [invaders' muppets], who control the northern and > eastern regions of the huge country, are backed by Rwanda and > Uganda, while the government army is supported by troops from > Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia. > > Mazimhaka said fighting along the southern front -- mostly con- > trolled by Rwandan forces and quiet for many months -- was con- > centrated along a sector stretching north from the government- > held diamond trading center of Mbuji-Mayi in Kasai province. > > He said there had been at least 20 attacks in Kasai on rebel > [" "] and Rwandan positions since June and Rwandan troops were > returning fire. > > Mazimhaka said clashes had also increased behind the frontlines > in the eastern province of North Kivu, where Rwanda says hordes > [a term some use for people whom they fear] of pro-government > militiamen are being supplied by Congolese President Laurent > Kabila. > > The civil war [aggression] began in the eastern city of Goma on > August 2, 1998. A peace accord was signed by all the main war- > ring parties in the Zambian capital Lusaka last year but has > failed to stop the fighting. > > 2) To congokin_opinions mailing list from Alidor Muya <alidor. > [EMAIL PROTECTED]> on 05.08.00: > > DR Congo says Lusaka cease-fire agreement invalid, UN "useless" > > AP reported that the government of DR Congo pronounced the Lusa- > ka cease-fire agreement, signed in July 1999, invalid, asserting > on August 3 that it had failed to end two years of warfare, in- > vasion and occupation. > > Deputy Interior Minister Celestin Mulumba Katshi said the go- > vernment had been forced into the deal, quoted telling a news > conference, "Congo no longer exists as a sovereign and free > state." Katshi argued that the UN has become "useless" because > of its "inertia," complaining the UN had not prevented what he > called the slaughter of Congolese civilians by foreign armies. > > Asked what should replace the peace deal, Katshi said, "All that > is required is for the aggressors to go home." > > In the mean time, Edith Lederer reported from the UN for AP that > the UN Security Council is blaming the DR Congo government for > the failures in achieving peace. Congo's Human Rights Minister > Leonard She Okitundu addressed a closed-door Security Council > meeting on August 3 and urged the council to send the invasion > and occupation forces home. > > Council members, including American, seem prone to ignore the > invasion and occupation and instead focus on the Congo's failure > to follow-through on its promises to hold an inter-Congolese po- > litical dialogue, as called for in the cease-fire agreement, and > of inhibiting the deployment of UN peacekeepers. In response, > Okitundu said in an interview that he told the council it should > separate the issue of external aggression against Congo from the > country's internal problems, and not make democratization a pre- > requisite for the withdrawal of foreign forces. > > [In fact, it was the precisely the starting democratisation of > the DR Congo, and its policy of opposing colonialism, after > the successful war of liberation against the Mobutu regime, that > caused the US and other imperialists to stage-manage this foul > aggression in the first place - precisely contrary to their > public hypocrisy.] > > Your dot com for Africa agrees on this point with Mr. Okitundu. > [And so do I.] We would also reiterate that the UN has failed to > fulfill the requirements levied on it by this same cease-fire > agreement. It has failed to deploy a peacekeeping and peace en- > forcement force, but instead is using the Rwandan and Ugandan > invasion and occupation of the Congo as a means to hold a gun at > the Kabila government's head and force it to democratize. In > effect, the UN Security Council has legitimized the invasion and > occupation. [Precisely.] > > While we all want to see the Congo blossom into a free-market > democracy, we would prefer leaving that job to the Congolese > people themselves, and not employ invasion and occupation as the > means to get that task done. > > 3) From AFP, 03.08.00: > > Large offensive by the Congolese army along the river Ubangi > (eywitness reports) > > [The Ubangi is a tributary to the river Congo and separates the > DRC Équateur province in the north-west from the Republic of > Congo - "Congo-Brazzaville" - and the Central African Republic.] > > Bangui, 3 August (AFP) > > The troops of the government of the Democratic Republic of > Congo have started an offensive along the river Ubangi in the > Équateur province against the armed Congolese rebellion [still > continuing foreign invasion], eyewitnesses told the AFP on > Thursday. With this offensive, the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC) > have retaken all the territory between Buburu, opposite the > city of Impfondo (in Congo-Brazzaville) and Imesse, a place > close to Libenge, which is situated opposite Mongoumba (80 km > south of Bangui), they have stated. > > These eyewitnesses, who travelled on a Central-African ship > transporting fuel to Kinshasa, stated on their arrival in > Bangui that the Congolese troops were using small craft and > outboarder boats equippped with mortars and heavy machine guns, > supported by tanks and aircraft. > > They also said that the FAC in the beginning of this week had > bombarded (or shelled) Batanga, close to the city of Libange, > before reinforcing their positions around that city. Faced with > this "armada" of loyalist [Congolese] forces, the rebels [ag- > gressor muppets] of Jean-Pierre Bemba's Mouvement de libération > du Congo (MLC) have retreated to some kilometers from Libenge, > which they had been controlling, the ship's passengers added. > > Last Tuesday, as may be recalled, a Central-African officer who > wished to remain anonymous stated to the AFP that the MLC were > reinforcing their positions at Libenge with elements from Ge- > mena and from Basangusu (in Équateur province). Since the re- > sumption of fighting in this region at the end of July, some > 6,000 Congolese have crossed the Ubangi in order to take refuge > at Zinga and Mongumba, in Central Africa, according to the High > Commissoriat for Refugees (HCR) in Bangui. > acp/fj/cls > > 5) From AFP respectively AP, 05.08.00: > > Kigali, 5 August (AFP) > > An offensive by Kinshasa threatens once more the Lusaka accord > > A resurgence of fighting between forces of the government > [Congolese forces] and rebels [aggressor and muppet troops] in > the Équateur province (in the north-east of the DR Congo), said > to be caused by an offensive by Kinshasa, threatens again the > implementation of the ceasefire accord reached hardly a year > ago at Lusaka. > ..... > Kinshasa has recently admitted [! "reconnu"!] it has retaken > the city of Imesse (700 km north of Kinshasa) from the forces > of the MCL, and advanced [? - unclear] to 900 north of Kinshasa, > in violation of the Lusaka accord which stipulates a freezing > of positions [it stipluated, above all, a withdrawal of all > foreign "non-invited" troops, which as all know has not taken > place at all]. > > ...[Mentions the Congolese counter-offensive along the Ubangi, > see 3) above]... > > The leader of the MLC [aggressor muppets] Bemba denies having > lost these positions. He states to the AFP that 45 soldiers of > the FAC were killed in combats involving aircraft, infantry and > artillery from Thursday to Friday in the Libenge region. > > On 26 July, the DRC government itself denounced "many cases of > violations of the cease-fire accord" of Lusaka by Ugandan > troops in the Équateur province. The Minister of Defence said > there were Ugandan troop movements in the direction of Libange > in order "not only to stay there but also to attack the FAC". > ....... > > Kigali, 5 August (AP) > > Heavy fighting in the north of Congo-Kinshasa > > Heavy fighting was raging Saturday in the north of Congo-Kin- > shasa, with the rebels [invader muppets] saying they had killed > 45 government [Congolese] troops and stopped the attempt by > forces of Laurent-Désiré Kabila [Congolese forces] to retake > areas conquered by the rebellion [the aggressors]. Le Movement > de liberation [" "] du Congo (supported by Uganda) declared > that it had stabilised the front line south of Libenge, some > 900 km north-east of Kinshasa, where the forces of Kabila [the > DRC] has been bombarding the rebel [muppet] positions along the > river Ubangi since Tuesday, with heavy weapons, from the river > and from the air. > > According to spokesman Olivier Kamitatu, the Zimbawean soldiers > based at Mbandaka, a harbour on the river Congo, have supported > the pro-Kabila coalition [the one in defence of the RD Congo], > bombarding the rebels [aggressor muppets] with Russian-made > Sukhoi-25s and Antonovs. > > These informations could not be confirmed by independent sour- > ces; Kinshasa on its part accues the rebellion [aggressors] of > having started an offensive. > > Weeks of fighting have caused tens of thouseands of people to > take refuge in Congo-Brazzaville and in the Central African Re- > public, according to the HCR. The war has been resumed in ear- > nest in Congo-Kinshasa and the Lusaka accord signed in August > 1999, never respected, was denounced by President Kabila this > week. > > 6) From Washington File, 04.08 [forwarded to congokin_opinions] > > News from Washington > > Rwanda is stable and has solid growth > ....... > > On 31 July ...[an assessment of Rwanda's situation by the IMF] > ...... > This assessment being concluded, some $12.5 million can now > be released [as additional loan to] Rwanda.... > ....... > > 7) To mailing list congokin_opinions from Jacques Mangalaboyi > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [Comment on the above loan], > 05.08: > > This sum approximately corresponds to the cost of 10,000 sol- > diers during one year. > > JmY > > [Loans and other assistance the DR Congo, on the contrary, pre- > cisely are being blocked, by the US etc governments, who in > this and other ways have made their support for the ongoing > aggression against that country quite clear. In the end, they > will fail anyway.] > > ______________________________________________________________ > > "NEWS ON CONGO" postings bring statements by the Congo National > Association in Sweden and the DR Congo Committee in Sweden and > also reproduce information and analysis from other sources. > > [This endnote is being updated continually, in order to show > readers where at the time they can best get information. Last > update of this note: 09.07.2000.] > > Some websites with information in English and/or in French on > the DR Congo: > > Official site of the DR Congo: <www.drcongo.org> > (Has been impossible to reach lately; it may be down) > > Site of the DR Congo's Permanent Mission at the UN: > <http://www.undp.org/missions/drcongo> > (With much information, i.a. continually updated news in French > and English) > > Great Lakes Press: <http://pages.infinit.net/glp/index.htm> > > Congolese League for Peace (abbr. LICOPA): > <www.multimania.com/licopa/> > > Congo 2000: <www.congo2000.com> > > Two Belgium-based sites support the struggle of the DR Congo: > <www.lai-aib.org/index_fr.htm> and <www.ptb.be/Solidaire.htm>. > > Two other Belgium-based sites: ATMA <www.atma.net> and Congon- > line <www.congonline.com> (the last only for subscribers). > > An English-language website managed by Richard Alcorn, USA, with > i.a. much material from August 1998 on from us supporters of the > DR Congo in Sweden: <www.crocker.com/~acacia/congo.html> > > Africanews: <www.africanews.org/central/congo-kinshasa/> > > NCN: <http:www.marekinc.com> > (Managed by Ed Marek, formerly of the US Air Force. Often ap- > parently well-informed and, of late, containing considerable > criticism of the official US position on the aggression. Its > informations should be treated with great caution anyway, ex- > perience shows.) > > "Rebel" aggressor puppets, a site based in South Africa: > <www.congo.co.za> > > Two discussions sites of interest: > > <www.egroups.com/list/congokin_opinions> > (Belgium-based. E-group discussions are in French and English. > For participation, contact <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <congokin_ > [EMAIL PROTECTED]>.) and > > <www.egroups.com/list/cdf> > > Some contact addresses: > > Congo National Association > Box 5343 SE - 102 45 > Stockholm > Sweden > > Tel: +46 - 8 - 471 96 26 (chairman) > +46 - 8 - 84 57 18 (facility) > Fax: +46 - 8 - 751 26 06 > > DR Congo Committee (Chairman: Bony Ndjov-a-Shamalo) > Box 17513 > SE - 200 10 Malmoe > Sweden > > Tel: +46 - 40 - 12 48 32 > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list
