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DRC: Goma demonstrations, a call for liberation
Demonstrators in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The
security crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been
in the spotlight of global news, with most media attention put on North Kivu
Province where more than 200 militias operate, causing wave after wave of
violence and insecurity.
This
has prompted residents of Goma to protest against the increase in criminal acts
including armed robberies and kidnappings, which disrupt their daily lives. For
decades, Kinshasa has turned a deaf ear to this security crisis, while
continously arming militias that massacre innocent civilians.
Wazalendo militia ultimately became a danger
to the population, extorting citizens, committing robberies and murders, and
engaging in illegal trade in minerals.
High
tension was observed on August 12 and 13 in the northern part of the city of
Goma, the capital of North Kivu, particularly in the village of Rukoko, in
Nyiragongo territory.
Footage
went viral on media platforms showing Congolese police clashing with angry
protesters. Angry Congolese protested against growing insecurity in the city.
According to witnesses, the demonstrations began peacefully before degenerating
into violent clashes. Police were deployed in large numbers to contain the
crowd, using tear gas to disperse the protesters. The protesters responded by
throwing stones and erecting barricades.
Angry
youths were protesting against the murder of two people by armed men in
Congolese military uniform on the night of August 11 to 12, in Kihisi, a
village in Nyiragongo territory, north of Goma.
According
to reports, armed men in Congolese military attire were on patrol when they
burst into a place of mourning at a station called “Tout-jeune”. They opened
fire and shot at people who were watching the mourning, killing two and
injuring five, two of them seriously.
That
was less than a month after a similar scenario was observed in Turunga, a
village located on the northern outskirts of the city of Goma, in the territory
of Nyiragongo, where a whole family was wiped out by Wazalendo militia.
The
violent demonstrations were triggered by the shooting carried out during the
night of July 16 to 17, when a father, his wife and children were killed and 10
other people severely injured.
In
mid-April, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the Metropolitan Archbishop of
Kinshasa, warned that the situation in and around Goma was worsening day by
day.
“What
we fear most is the risk of general insecurity, especially in Goma”. There are
several armed groups, such as the Wazalendo, "and it is the population who
pays the consequences, with the risk of general insecurity," warned
Cardinal Ambongo.
The
recent killings of civilians attributed to the Wazalendo have spread terror
among the local population. Faced with this alarming situation, the military
governor has taken timid measures allegedly “to restore order and separate
genuine Wazalendo members from imposters”.
According to an official statement, the real Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland, known as Wazalendo, are called to join the Congolese armed forces on the front lines while “individuals posing as Wazalendo will be hunted down and, if necessary, handed over to military justice to answer for their actions”.
However,
the measures are more likely to end in vain since Kinshasa collectively
supported and armed a myriad of militia groups. So, the government is incapable
of separating them.
Kinshasa
never wanted to disarm and fight negative militia groups operating in eastern
DRC. Instead, it has tirelessly harbored and supported them. Will the Congolese
government listen to the citizens? Will the protesters achieve anything?
History has shown that Congolese authorities do not listen to protesters.
