March to:

Peace Gardens (Manchester Town Hall): Final gathering

Organised by: Congolese in Manchester / All welcome

Since the 27th October 2008, tens of Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in Congo and they are now desperately looking for food, shelter, security and medical care etc. Since January of this year over 250,000 Congolese have become internally displaced by the *'War that Never Stopped'.

Laurent Nkunda Batware leader of the rebel faction, which is marching on Goma, was indicted for war crimes in September 2005 and is under investigation by the International Criminal Court. He is sympathetic to Congolese Tutsis and the Tutsi-dominated government of neighbouring Rwanda.

Both the Congolese Government and rebel forces are equally guilty of massive human rights abuses in the present conflict.

DR Congos' never ending crisis is because of the illegal exploitation and exportation of Congo rich resources (coltan, gold, diamond, oil etc) by international corporations backed by European governments.

Demonstration Supported by: DC-UK, APARECO, Bundu Dia Congo, Congo Support Project, Green Party, Manchester Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers, RAPAR. WAST, RESPECT, Manchester Trade Council, NCADC.

Inquiries/further information:
Innocent Empi
075 0743 8424 / 079 6061 7309

*Rwandan Genocide 1994-1995 was the direct cause of:

The First Congo War (November 1996 to May 1997) ended when Zairean President Mobutu Sésé Seko was overthrown by rebel forces backed by foreign powers such as Uganda and Rwanda. Rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila declared himself president and changed the name of the nation back to Democratic Republic of the Congo. The war set the foundation for, and was quickly followed by, the Second Congo War, which began on August 2, 1998.

The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly called Zaire), and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power (though hostilities/atrocities have continued to this day Monday 3rd November 2008 and no sign of peace in the future).

The largest war in modern African history, it directly involved eight African nations, as well as about 25 armed groups. By 2008 the war and its aftermath had killed 5.4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation, making the Second Congo War the deadliest conflict worldwide since World War II. Millions more were displaced from their homes or sought asylum in neighboring countries.

End of Bulletin:

Source for this Message:
Congolese in Manchester