Since early August, the Democratic Republic of Congo is being subjected to foreign aggression in combination with a reactionary uprising within the country. This state has been bitterly hated by US imperialism and the entire international imperialism ever since its AFDL government led by Laurent Kabila on 17 May 1997 achieved complete liberation of the country, formerly called Zaire, after seven months of armed struggle against the Mobutu reactionaries and their backers.

What is taking place in the DR Congo is an international plot, orchestrated above all by the US imperialists, who are utilizing the Rwandan and Ugandan governments as proxies and also are exploiting ethnic contradictions which have existed in the Congo since the time of old-line colonialism.

The government of Democratic Congo must be supported against this aggression!

It's necessary to combat that most massive misiformation campaign engaged in by the main international mass media which is an important part of this plot against the people of Congo.

WHERE TO GET INFORMATION ON THE NET ON THE SITUATION IN CONGO ETC

Accurate or fairly accurate information about the present situation in this struggle and its background can be found on the Net at the sites:

http://rdcongo.org/frames/acp/BQ.htm

(In French; the official news agency of the RD Congo, Agence Congolaise de Presse, ACP)

www.congonline.com

(In French; brings articles from various newspapers and agencies including the ACP, the bigger newspapers in Belgium and other European countries and for instance also the weekly Solidaire of the Party of Labour of Belgium [PTB], see below)

http://www.ptb.be/

(In French; some articles also in English; the site of the abovementioned PTB, Belgium - a party whose character in my judgement is somewhat doubtful but which has appeared, during the entire former liberation struggle in the Congo since late 1996, to bring accurate information on this struggle and to have taken a basically correct stand on it; its chairman Ludo Martens, for instance [namesake but no relative of mine], since 30+ years back has taken a particular interest in the liberation efforts of the Congolese people, written several books on it and visited the DR Congo several times after 17.05.1997)

Some English-language Net sites which may perhaps be useful to some extent but which, firstly, obviously conceal various quite important bits of information and, secondly, should never be relied on for accuracy on anything, are:

http://cnn.com/WORLD/index.html

http://www.nando.net/nt/world/ and also www.navy.mil

where under "Status", the US Navy indicates (or purportedly indicates) where its aircraft carriers, amphibious assualt ships and other major surface vessels are at the time point in question.

WHAT IS THE SITUATION AT PRESENT?

The RD Congo is a politically and strategically important country in Central Africa, with a surface area of some 2.3 million sq km (5 times the size of Sweden, or one-fourth of that of the USA) and close to 50 million inhabitants.

Although it has large mineral and agricultural natural resources - exporting copper, coffee, diamonds, cobalt and crude oil - the country after more than 30 years of extreme exploitation and mismanagement by the imperialists' client regime under Mobutu is quite poor, with a GDP per capita of only some $400 in 1995.

Reconstruction in the liberated country had barely begun and was hampered by various obstacles, having to do with by massive pressure on it by the imperialists, even before the present very serious aggression started.

According to the latest reports, the invaders and their internal helpers are controlling large parts of the country in the east, the Great Lakes area, which borders on i.a. Uganda and Rwanda.

They themselves stated on 14.08 that they were controlling one-third of the whole country and ware planning to march on Kinshasa, the capital, which lies on the river Congo in the west.

It also has been confirmed that the port Matadi, situated on the river Congo's estuary, on that small coastal strip which is the country's only outlet to the Atlantic, is being held by the invaders, as well as the hydropower dam at Inga, from which Kinshasa and important mining industries derive most of its electricity.

The situation thus for the AFDL government is quite serious at the present moment. All the more reason is there to support it internationally! The facts show that this government does merit the support of the peoples of the world too.

Counter-offensives both in the east and in the west are being planned by the government. President Kabila stated several days ago that the present struggle would be long and hard. He called for a people's war against the invaders. In Kinshasa and in other parts of the country, thousands are rallying to the government's support.

Yesterday evening, there was a demonstration in Brussels, Belgium, with some 100 participants, in support of the just struggle of the RD Congo.

THE FACTS OF FOREIGN INVASION ARE CLEAR

The governments of Rwanda and Uganda both have constantly denied being involved. But many sources have stated that there is clear proof of aggresion on Rwanda's part. When Bunia in the north-east was conquered from the government, this was with the support of tanks, which rather clearly must have come from Uganda.

At the airport near Kampala in that country, large transport aircraft loaded with arms have been reported taking off constanly in recent days. It's also such aerial transport that has made the invaders' conquests in the west possible.

From the US Pentagon was reported that two US warships had set out for the Congo coast with 1550 Marines on board on 12.08 and would arrive some 9-10 days later. These probably are amphibious assault ships of the Wasp, Tarawa or Iwo Jima class, carrying Harrier "jump jets" in addition to troops and helicopters. The purpose of sending them was stated to be "to help evacuation of US citizens" - practically all of whom however have been evacuated from the RD Congo just recently.

The Nando Times (see Net site above) reported today that:

"In Kinshasa, thousands of students and government employees marched along the city's main street [yesterday, 15.08] pledging support for Kabila and accusing Rwanda of waging war on Congo.

Many protesters also accused France and the United States of trying to destabilize Congo".

As reported by the ACP, the National Union of Teachers in Higher Education in the RD Congo (UNAPES) in a statement on 12.08 denounced the deportation and holocaust against Congolese by the Rwandan/Ugandan soldiery in the eastern Kivu province and accused US imperialism and also Belgian and French imperialism, stating that the latter knew of the plot in advance.

Implication and prior knowledge on the part of the French government was also pointed at by the French weekly Le Canard Enchainé. This was denied by the French foreign minister Michel.

The Belgian foreign minister however, Derycke, expressed his "surprise" at a recent statement by this French counterpart of his which openly pointed at Kabila as an adversary. On his own part, he had to send out his press speaker to make a half-denial of a statement of his on a "possibility that the Kivu province might be made a buffer zone, saying under the sovereignty of the Congo but in fact governed by Kigali"(!) - i.e., by Rwanda.

THE GOVERNMENT OPPOSES ETHNIC STRIFE

During the time of the Mobutu regime, racism was propagandized in the then Zaire against Tutsis, who, originating in Rwanda, have long had refugee status in the Congo and who were also given "citizenship" as a group by the Mobutu regime. This remains a serious problem today. There have been reports, difficult to say how truthful or untruthful, of unjust persecutions and even killings of Tutsi in various parts of the DR Congo after the aggression began.

The government has always opposed conflicts on ethnic grounds, After the Rwandan troops, which had one year earlier supported the liberation struggle, had now been ordered to leave the DR Congo because of attempts by the Rwandan government to utilize them for running the country from the outside, the Minister of Justice, Mwenze Kongolo, on 29.07 declared in a televised speech:

"After the announcement of the departure of the co-operating foreign military forces, we have experienced a campaign of misinformation which threatens to create a situation of general insecurity for foreigners. The governments notes that certain bad-intentioned persons are engaging in fomenting tribal conflicts, inciting people to hatred based on discrimination along ethinc, geographical or racial lines. This situation unfortunately places some groups of countrymen and of foreigners in danger; it is a question, on the one hand, of Congolese Banyamulenge and, on the other, of Rwandans, Ugandans and Burundians.

The covernment solemnly states its firm determination to provide security for all inhabitants of the Congo, citizens and foreign nationals alike. Congolese Banyamulenge as well as Burundians, Ugandans, Rwandans and other foreign nationals are free to go about their daily business. Respect for their rights will be completely guaranteed by the state."

ANALYSIS OF EVENTS IN CONGO BY LUDO MARTENS OF THE PTB, BELGIUM

In four articles brought by Congonline (se above) on 11.08, the chairman of the PTB, Ludo Martens, has commented on what is taking place in the DR Congo and its background. His analysis seems to be confirmed by various reports and by the assessments made by AFDL leaders in the Congo.

The articles were entitled (in translation): "Aggression against the Congo", "The Americans Want Kabila's Hide", "From Lumumba to Kabila - the Rebirth of a Nation" and "A Strange Alliance between Kigali, Washington and Part of the Mobutuists". These titles by themselves show the gist of that assessment.

BRINGING SOME POSTINGS WITH BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Together with the present posting, I shall send X others, which reproduce some postings by me from late 1996 and from 1997, on the Congo. They contain some translations by me of articles which had appeared in the PTB weekly Solidaire and also some notes and articles which I on my part wrote at that time. The titles of these postings are:

"Background to the aggression against DR Congo (1)" etc.

I'm planning to post further background material later. 

Rolf Martens