Congo Catholics seek Canada's help to end brutal war

BY DEBORAH GYAPONG
CANADIAN CATHOLIC NEWS

OTTAWA — A delegation of Congolese Catholic Church leaders appealed to Canada to help stop the war ravaging the country.

“The situation is dire,” said Bishop Fridolin Ambongo to a luncheon information session on Parliament Hill attended by MPs from all parties.

The session was organized by delegations from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and Development and Peace.

Ambongo said the Catholic bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo could not simply make statements about the devastation; they had to travel to countries that are sensitive to Congo’s plight.

Since the 1990s, warring militias have killed six million and displaced more than two million, devastating the civilian population through a campaign of organized rape.

“We are suffering and need your support,” he said.

Humanitarian catastrophe

Sister Marie-Bernard Alima Mbala, secretary general of the Congo’s Episcopal Justice and Peace Commission, described the crisis as the biggest humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War.

Mbala called the militia’s systematic rape of women and children as a form of genocide, since the men carrying out the rapes often have HIV/AIDS.

“We believe it is an extermination strategy,” she said.

She recently visited a displaced persons camp during the torrential rains of the rainy season and saw women giving birth and children unable to find shelter.

Peacemaking force

Bishop Fulgence Muteba asked for Canada’s help in the creation of a UN-approved international peacemaking force that would bring an end to violence that is ravaging the country. He said Belgium and Holland and other countries are prepared to participate.

He also asked Canada to provide logistical help and training for Congolese police forces.

Muteba said conflict was occurring around the illegal exploitation of natural resources such as coltan and tin. The mineral wealth obtained through small artisan miners is being smuggled through Rwanda and finds its way into laptops and cell phones.

The bishop called for a pact so that companies wishing to develop Congo’s wealth could do so peacefully in a way that is fair to the Congolese.

The delegation also asked for humanitarian support and an end to the impunity enjoyed by war criminals from the Rwandan genocide who control militias devastating the DRC.

Canadian responsibility

Gatineau Archbishop Roger Ébacher, who travelled to Congo with Development and Peace, recalled how hopeful the country seemed a few years ago as it prepared for democratic elections.

“I’m convinced Canada has a responsibility,” he said. “Canadian companies are present in the Congo. We have a social responsibility in that respect.”

MPs from all four parties were present at the news conference and information session. The delegation of Congolese and Canadian bishops and Development and Peace staff also met with Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.

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