President Okito Tongomo, Gloria Mayele, Scott, Excellence Pengo, Women Leader Esthera Onya, Charlise, Marcus, Robert and Tresor
31 January 2018
ARTICLE ON GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER
President Okito Tongomo, leader of the Congolese opposition and president of the Congo Support Group, said he would continue protesting. “The situation on Congo is catastrophic and we are calling for regime change and respect for the constitution,” he said.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/15/congolese-government-in-rent-arrears-for-london-embassy
The anti-Congolese government protesters daubed graffiti on the the London embassy calling for the removal of Joseph Kabila, the country’s president.
The squatters, who call themselves the Embassy of the Republic of Conscience, moved into the property in late December. Describing themselves as “environmentally conscious artists”, they have displayed art installations parodying Donald Trump and his stance on climate change and have papered the walls with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.
The part of the building the squatters are now occupying was previously a shop. There are colourful displays in the shop window on climate change and sustainable living.
Daniel, one of the squatters, said: “We wanted a space near Oxford Circus to highlight issues of sustainability. We set up a pop-up embassy of the Republic of Conscience next to the Congolese embassy. As soon as we moved in we witnessed Congolese protesters outside the embassy protesting about human rights abuses. We have had a lot of support from local shopkeepers and will continue to spread our message about environmental sustainability.”
Congo Support Group apprends avec une profonde émotion la mort du président Etienne TSHISEKEDI WA MULUMBA le père de la démocratie au Congo. Le Congo Support Group s’incline devant la mémoire du patriote exceptionnel qui, après avoir assumé les destinées tragiques de laRDC, a su se dépasser de nouveau dans la rencontre des grands destins et concevoir, dans une vision noble et généreuse, ce que devait être désormais l’avenir du Peuple Congolais. Ainsi une grande page de l’Histoire est écrite. Puisse-t-elle toujours nous enseigner que la liberté et la dignité du peuple sont le meilleur garant de la paix et le progrèssocial .L’exemple du président etienne TSHISEKEDI WA MULUMBA sera toujours présent, et l’Histoire se souviendra de ce que la RDC d’abord, et l’humanité tout entière, lui doivent. Nous allons continuer ton noble combat. Toutes nos condoléances à sa famille biologique; à l’UDPS;au rassemblement et au peuple Congolais
Mr OKITO TONGOMO,
président de Congo Support Group
Congolese Support Group, main DR Congolese organisation around the globe, thanks the International Development Association, for their strong contribution in building over 2,400 kilometers of priority roads that are saving lives, and developping isolated congolese cities, after over 20 years of isolation.
By President Okito Tongomo
Congolese Support Group
London 06/05/2017
After 20 Years of Isolation, Congolese Cities and Urban Centers Experience a Revival
May 4, 2017
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Much of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s vast territory is poorly connected. For many such as Christine Monga, a businesswoman in Buta, communication between Kinshasa, the capital, and other provincial cities is challenging with access to rural areas near impossible.
To address this situation, the International Development Association (IDA) is financing the Pro-Routes Project that has already rehabilitated over 2,400 kilometers of priority roads.
KINSHASA, May 4, 2017- Alongside other businesswomen, Christine Monga is selling a range of secondhand clothes such as dresses, skirts, shirts, pants, and jackets along the avenue leading to the central market in Buta, in the new province of Bas-Uélé, located 324 kilometers from Kisangani. She is positioned in front of a charming house under construction, with pre-painted tile-shaped sheet metal, which captures the attention of passersby. This house is Christine’s pride and joy. Construction was made possible by the reopening of the 400-kilometer stretch of road between Kisangani and Buta, which had been impassable for more than two decades.
These rehabilitation works have made a world of difference for Christine. Long gone are the days when she had to travel some 800 kilometers by motorbike to get supplies in Butembo, when she was launching her secondhand clothing business with a number of female friends back in 1997, establishing the Women Against Poverty Association.
“It wasn’t easy because we were far from everything. We used to travel by motorbike between Buta and Kisangani because of the poor road conditions, and this trip could even take as long as two weeks. It was difficult and many members of the association are still suffering from the after-effects or disabilities caused by accidents. Now, with the reopening of the road, we can make the same trip in three or four days and travel to Kisangani during the daytime.” A time saver that is also reflected in the earnings shared among Christine and her friends.
Launched in August 2009, these rehabilitation works were carried out under the Pro-Routes Project(high-priority roads reopening and maintenance project), which has already rehabilitated over 2,400 kilometers of priority roads in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and is expected to rehabilitate 3,400 kilometers by February 2018.
A vast, isolated territory
However, the Bas-Uélé province was not the only one with dilapidated roads. In fact, of the ten provincial capitals in the country, only two (Matadi and Mbandaka) were relinked by road to Kinshasa, the national capital. Two cities (Kisangani and Bandundu) were accessible by river only, while six (Kananga, Mbuji-Mayi, Lubumbashi, Kindu, Goma, and Bukavu) could only be reached by air.
The aim of this project, which is being financed by IDA, the British cooperation agency, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the national road maintenance fund, is to re-establish lasting access, in a manner that is sustainable for the environment and the neighboring communities, to the main road links that can pave the way for socioeconomic recovery and the domestic and regional integration of the country.
In view of the DRC’s enormous size (2.3 million square kilometers) and the volume of financial resources needed to achieve this objective, the project adopted a gradual approach, using a low-cost, stage construction method supported by major and ongoing maintenance. This facilitated the simultaneous reopening of as many kilometers of roads as possible, thereby opening up access to as many communities as possible.
From $70 to $35 per bag of cement: An already visible impact on the economy
Ever since vehicular traffic between Kisangani and Buta was restored, the region has sprung to life after two decades of isolation. Transport facilities, access to basic commodities, the decline in market prices, and opportunities for trade with the Tshopo, Ituri, and Nord-Kivu provinces are contributing to the socioeconomic recovery in all areas. “Now we can travel from Kisangani to Buta in under six hours. That is quite significant when you think that in 2008, only motorbikes and bicycles transporting heavy loads in very difficult conditions were traveling on the road that had become a track. All that has changed,” asserts Théophile Ntela Lungumba, Coordinator of the Infrastructure Unit, the executing agency for the Pro-Routes Project.
Christine decided to make the most of her increased profits and the lower cement price, which had fallen from $70 per 50-kilogram bag to $35, to build a house. “I wanted to build a house like the ones I saw in Beni and Butembo,” she told me, “because now I have the resources. A younger brother who is an architect drew up the plan and there you have it. All the materials except the bricks come from Butembo,” she continued, adding “I owe my house to this road.”
Christine’s case is not an isolated one. Many people are taking advantage of the new situation created by the reopening of the road to develop their small businesses in Buta or invest in more ambitious projects such as the hotel industry, pharmacies, clothing stores, trade in grains, fishing or hunting products, hardware stores, and motorcycle sales, which are thriving all over the place. “This project is a great investment because it is helping improve people’s lives,” concludes Alexandre Dossou, World Bank Task Team Leader.
After breaching the country constitution, that resulted to the use of forces by killing civilians, illegally arresting oppositions leaders, using corruption to disuade a weak opposition parties, by the above posted man, calling himself Mr Joseph Kabila, the world top criminal and tyranny leader of our team, we are calliung for his immediate arrest, lobbying for a criminal is participating in the killing of the entire world.
By President Okito
Future legitimate President of DR Congo.
Congo Hires Israeli Firm to Lobby Trump Administration
by: Thomas Wilson, May 3, 2017, 2:54 PM GMT+1
MER Systems hiring U.S.-based lobbyists to advise Congo
Lobbyists include member of Trump’s election-campaign team
Congolese President Joseph Kabila speaks in Kinshasa on July 28, 2006.
Photographer: Naashon Zalk/Bloomberg
The Democratic Republic of Congo hired an Israeli security firm to lobby the U.S. government after criticism of President Joseph Kabila’s failure to hold elections and hand over power. Congo agreed to pay MER Security and Communication Systems Ltd. $5.58 million between Dec. 8, 2016 and Dec. 31, 2017 for policy advice and support in lobbying senior government officials and members of Congress, according to documents published on the U.S. Department of Justice’s www.fara.gov website April 28. MER, based in Tel Aviv and whose main business activities are the manufacture, supply and installation of telecommunications and electricity systems, said in the filings it will employ subcontractors to work with the Congolese government.
MER will hire U.S.-based lobbyists, while advising the Congolese government on U.S. concerns relating to African security issues and on the appointment, travel and engagements of a Congolese special envoy to the U.S., according to the filings signed by Omer Laviv, the company’s chief executive officer. Laviv didn’t respond to a message left on his voicemail when Bloomberg sought comment.
Relations between the U.S. and Congo have deteriorated in the past two years amid election delays and security crackdowns on opposition protests in the central African country. Kabila was required by the constitution to step down after elections last year, but the votes were delayed and Kabila held on to power under a contentious December political pact between the ruling party and some members of the opposition.
Targeted Sanctions
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Sign Up: Former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration imposed targeted sanctions on four Congolese security officials and one government minister last year for their involvement in the repression of political demonstrations. So far, President Donald Trump’s government hasn’t followed suit, although Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has criticized Kabila’s administration, describing Congo to the Council on Foreign Relations in March as a “corrupt” government that “preys on its citizens.”
MER already received $4.5 million of the payment from Congo between December and April to hire U.S. subcontractors, including Adnan Jalil, to lobby on behalf of the government, according to the filings. Jalil was a Congressional liaison for Trump’s election campaign, Politico reported in February. Two calls to Jalil’s company, Aselus Strategies LLC, in Washington weren’t answered when Bloomberg sought comment.
Published by:
John Ohombe Urge Mr Kabila, immidieate arrest
Calling for Justice for DR Congolese Civilians
02/03/2017 Article
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DR Congo security forces committed rights violations against protestors in December 2016 – UN probe
1 March 2017 – Defence and security forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) used excessive, disproportionate and at times lethal force to prevent and contain demonstrations in December 2016, in violation of international human rights law and standards, a UN report has found.
“Measures should also be taken, at all levels, to ensure that the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms by the population will not lead to loss of lives and other serious rights violations,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said today in a news release on the report.
The report is based on the findings of the investigation conducted by the human rights team comprising staff of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and of the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
According to the report, at least 40 people, including five women and two children, were killed between 15 and 31 December 2016 across several cities of the DRC, among them the capital Kinshasa, as well as Lubumbashi, Boma and Matadi. The victims include 28 individuals who were killed by soldiers of the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC), six by agents of the Police Nationale Congolaise (PNC) and six during joint PNC and FARDC operations.
The report also revealed that all but two of the victims were killed by live ammunition. During the same period, at least 147 people were injured by State agents, including 14 women and 18 children, and at least 917 individuals, including 30 women and 95 children, were arrested by defence and security forces.
“Such serious incidents are worrisome, particularly in the current context,” said Maman Sambo Sidikou, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the DRC, citing the need to create an environment conducive to the holding of peaceful elections.
The lack of accountability for past human rights violations, including those committed during the demonstrations in Kinshasa on 19 and 20 September 2016, may have encouraged a sense of impunity, and defence and security forces to commit further violations in December 2016.
“Once again we see serious human rights violations being committed blatantly and with complete impunity by the security forces, who employed excessive use of force against unarmed demonstrators, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and standards,” said the UN human rights chief, Mr. Zeid.
He urged the Government to bring those responsible for such violations to justice and urgently adopt the law on freedom of peaceful protests and the law on human rights defenders.
Gutent
Mr Kabila is killing civilian again during protest. A young man was shot dead Wednesday when security forces opened fire at a crowd protesting the government’s alleged failure to protect civilians after a gruesome massacre in eastern DR Congo.
17/08/2016
or Simple Text
Man shot dead at protest over DR Congo massacre
Beni, DR Congo | AFP | Wednesday 8/17/2016 – 13:13 GMT
A young man was shot dead Wednesday when security forces opened fire at a crowd protesting the government’s alleged failure to protect civilians after a gruesome massacre in eastern DR Congo. Police and troops fired tear gas and warning shots to break up an angry protest in the town of Beni where 51 civilians were hacked to death last weekend in the latest in a string of attacks blamed on rebels.
“This person was killed by a bullet to the back,” hospital doctor Jeremie Muhindo told AFP, adding that five people had been injured in the clashes, including three by gunfire. The head of Beni’s civil society movement Gilbert Kambale confirmed the young man was killed by a police officer while a witness who would not be named said he had been shot at point blank range by a policeman.
Security forces stepped in after hundreds gathered in the town’s main street on the last day of a three-day mourning period called by civil society groups over the gruesome murder of dozens of people on Saturday night.
The killings in and around Beni have been blamed by the government and the UN mission in the country on the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a partly Islamist armed group of Ugandan origin. The group has been present in Democratic Republic of Congo for more than two decades and is accused of a litany of human rights abuses. The ADF, opposed to Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, is thought to be deeply embroiled in criminal networks funded by kidnappings, smuggling and logging. A report published in March by the Congo Research Group at New York University, which looked into the massacres around Beni, claimed that soldiers from the regular army had also participated in the killings.
str/mbb/ccr/gw
Ida Sawyer
Senior Researcher, Democratic Republic of Congo
Follow @ida_sawyer
Ida Sawyer is a researcher and advocate in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has been based in Congo since January 2008, first in Goma and since 2011 in the capital Kinshasa
DR Congo refuses to renew HRW researcher’s visa
AFP | 10 August, 2016 12:22
The Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday refused to renew the visa of a senior Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher, who was to leave the troubled African country shortly.
Kinshasa did not give a reason for the decision to effectively expel Ida Sawyer, who has worked for the US rights group in DR Congo since 2008.
The government’s immigration service “did not want to renew the visa… That is all,” government spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP.
“Some governments never give justifications” when they refuse visas. “We will not justify ourselves. It’s the principle of reciprocity between states,” he added.
Sawyer, who has been based in DR Congo since January 2008 — first in Goma, capital of the eastern North Kivu province, then in Kinshasa since 2011 — was due to leave Kinshasa later Tuesday.
She has carried out research across the country as well as in parts of neighbouring countries occupied by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. Her work has served as the basis for numerous HRW reports, the group said on its website.
Ken Roth, the executive director of HRW — which regularly condemns human rights violations in DR Congo — slammed the move as “a brazen attempt to muzzle reporting on the government’s brutal repression of those supporting presidential term limits”.
Political tensions have risen as President Joseph Kabila nears the end of his term in office on December 20. The constitution bars him from standing for re-election.
Kabila has been in office since 2001. Opposition leaders suspect he is manoeuvring to cling to power, possibly by delaying presidential polls which appear unlikely to take place as anticipated at the end of the year.
Published by: Betty Bopete Congolese Support Group Vice Secretary
03 Jun 2016
CONGOLESE SUPPORT GROUP IS CALLING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT TO INVESTIGATE THE KILLING IN DR CONGO AND ARREST ALL PERPETUATORS IMMEDIATELY, THOSE INCLUDED Mr KABILA THE COUNTRY PRESIDENT
More recently over 1000 children, included pregnant women were massacred by Mr Kabila’s regime and some unknown forces in BENI in an urban city of East province of DR Congo; strategies used included intimidation, attempt to breach the country constitution allowing Mr Kabila to stay in power internally, serious verbal abuse to foreigner representation in the country, those include our British and American Ambassadors, abduction of civilian, public shooting, illegal arrest, and total absence of the law.
As result of on-going serious issues, we are staging a public demonstration starting from DR Congolese Embassy in UK, were we will drop flowers in memory of those killed by the regime, and we will marched from Great Portland street, Oxford Circus to Downing Street your office urging you as our Prime Minister to use UK and your position of influence to save and protect life in the DR Congo.
We are ready to provide a team of experienced British Congolese lawyers, doctors, teachers, nurses and journalists who are trained in the UK and attended leaderships training funded by UK Citizens. We are ready to give support, effort, skills and commitment, as result our suggestions can be served for long term stabilities in the grand lake region.
We organised public demonstration, calling for JUSTICE. Mr Kabila must be arrested
Published by: Congolese Support Group National President
Okito Tongomo
Calling for Mr Kabila to Resign with Immediate effect
CONGOLESE SUPPORT GROUP IS CALLING FOR Mr KABILA TO RESIGN WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT….
More recently Mr Kabila claimed that our country was very poor, as result there was no fund to organise presidential election, and vote registration, while his twin sister name appear on the Panama Papers, Ms Kabila owns half of Keratsu Holding, a company with a 9.6% indirect stake in Vodacom Congo, according to incorporation documents dated December 2011 and obtained by Bloomberg from the companies registry of the South Pacific state of Niue.
Two people with knowledge of Vodacom Congo confirmed her shareholding, declining to be identified because her involvement is not public knowledge.
Ms Kabila’s indirect stake in the country’s largest mobile-phone operator provides a clue of the network of economic interests that opposition politicians say the presidential family has accumulated since her father seized power in 1997.
President Joseph Kabila, who succeeded their father after his assassination in 2001, is barred by the constitution from running for a third term. Opposition leaders say he is delaying elections scheduled for November to hold on to power. “Members of Kabila’s family have accumulated huge wealth including stakes in companies in offshore tax havens,” opposition leader and MP Martin Fayulu says.
“We need an urgent inquiry and we need to demand the repatriation of these monies to Congo.”
Ms Kabila was not available at her office in Kinshasa, the Congo’s capital, when Bloomberg sought comment during business hours.
By: President Okito
Published by: Chirelle Kalaki Youth Leader
Investigation
Congolese Support Group and diaspora of the DR Congo urge an independent investigation into the late night burial of over 425 bodies in a mass grave in the DRC capital, Kinshasa. The bodies are believed to be of Congolese citizens who went missing during the anti-government protests of January 2015.
In addition, we are calling for an investigation into the brutal expulsion of Mr. Scott Campbell, Head of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in Congo, who was expelled after the release of a UN report which accused the Congolese police of abusing civilians during a crackdown on gangs in Kinshasa.
Published by: Chirelle Kalaki Youth Leader
Published by: Congolese Support Group National President
Okito Tongomo
Congolese Support Group is calling the Prime Minister David Cameron, to help and work with us: Justice for victims of late night mass grave burial in DR Congo
We are seeking your support for this petition which asks Prime Minister David Cameron to work with the Congolese Support Group and diaspora of the DRCongo to urge an independent investigation into the late night burial of over 425 bodies in a mass grave in the DRC capital, Kinshasa. The bodies are believed to be of Congolese citizens who went missing during the anti-government protests of January 2015.
In addition, we are calling for an investigation into the brutal expulsion of Mr. Scott Campbell, Head of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in Congo, who was expelled after the release of a UN report which accused the Congolese police of abusing civilians during a crackdown on gangs in Kinshasa.
Published by: Betty Bopete Congolese Support Group Vice Secretary
CSG contre la sauvagerie du régime de Kabila
La démocratie qui menée par le régime de Kabila est une démocratie sanglante. L’insistance de Kabila et des collaborateurs à se maintenir au pouvoir au-delà des termes fixés par la Constitution ravive la contestation de la population. Kabila veut perpétuer sa présidence au-delà des deux mandats que lui accorde le texte fondamental de la République. Normalement, il devrait quitter son palais en 2016. C’est du moins ce que pensent et revendiquent les membres de Congo Support Group de l’Angleterre.
Published by : Betty B, Vice Secretary CSG
G
Published by: Betty Bopete Congolese Support Group Vice Secretary
Le régime de Kabila : une déception totale
La RDC de Kabila inquiète finalement tout le monde. De plus en plus isolé, le tyran du pays affiche aujourd’hui une insolence et une indifférence sans pareille.
Autour de lui, des collaborateurs barbares et insouciants du bien être de la population Congolaise. Depuis plus de 15 ans au pouvoir, Kabila n’a rien fait pour le développement du pays.
Il n’a fait que terroriser la population. Il veut contrôler tous les mouvements de la population et ceux qui cherchent à faire valoir leur droit sont mis soit en prison, soit enlevés ou pire encore disparus.
Published : By Betty B , Vice Secretary CSG
Published by:
Marischka Nkashama, Public Relation Commission, C.S.G
30th June 2015
As every year, on the 30th June 2015, in the D.R.Congo as well as in the entire Congolese diaspora in the world, the Congolese had an appointment with their history.
In London, under the initiative of the Congo Support Group (C.S.G), of the opposition and civil society, several hundreds of Congolese have protested against the blunders of the regime of Joseph Kabila, clearly characterized by the massive violations of human rights. It results in the light of the foregoing that, the diaspora of U.K., through the C.G.S expressed themselves to:
* request the respect of the constitution (particularly with regard to the respect of the electoral deadlines as well as the elaboration of an electoral timetable consensual that may lead to an alternation passifique in 2016)
* demand the release of politicians, journalists, as well as other prisoners of opinion,
* denounce widespread corruption as well as the summary excactions carried out by the regime in place,
* request an international inquiry on the atrocious crime of the common grave of Maluku where 451 bodies were buried during the night.
In fact, this protest of the Congolese diaspora in U.K started from the Embassy of the D.R.Congo to the British Parliament where a memorandum was handed to the English Prime Minister; in which, we attracted the attention of the latter on the D.R.Congo crisis and his express involvement.
Maman Angel Dembo, active member of Congolese Support Group, over 65 years old lady who was victim of rape, and torture in DR Congo by Mr Kabila’s regime is determined for change in DR Congo
Congo need change of regime, according to Maman Angel and Mr Kabila must be arrested.
Published by:
Marischka Nkashama, Public Relation Commission, C.S.G
Published by: Guardian News Paper in UK
Congo Olympic and Paralympic team members seek asylum in UK
President Okito Tongomo, chair of the Congolese Support Group in the UK – which opposes the Kabila government – said: “This is a tragic situation and these members of the Congolese team need protection here in the UK. There is a long history of human rights abuses in Congo but things are getting worse.”
Please click on the link below for more details
CSG Political Movement is seeking protection for DR Congolese Olympic and Paralympic team
Published by: Congolese Support Group National President
Okito Tongomo
FIRST DR CONGOLESE FORUM IN UNITED KINGDOM HELD AT: King’s College London, Strand London WC2R 2LS United Kingdom
Introduction This report is based on the workshops which took place at the DR CONGO FORUM, held at King?s College on 25 July 2009. The Forum as the first debate used ?Open Space Technology? to give everyone who took parts the opportunity to decide the agenda. The organising group were representatives from South London Citizens as the lead and sponsor, Congo Support Group the organiser with assistance from all DR Congolese organisations in United Kingdom (Political Party, PACURU, CCUK, CRC, ICR, International CSP, cofipro, APARECO, DIASPORA, CCU, UDPS, MLC, FONUS, ANC, UDECO, RNS, Congo Pax, Mapinga, Media, Journalists, UK African Development Support Group, ALL CONGOLESE NO PROFIT ORGANISATION, Intellectuals, Young Clubs, Undugu, Kivu yetu, Students, Pupils and other). The group felt that open space would enable the most inclusive discussions on the theme we chose for the conference. The delegates were free to speak and write in the language they are capable, we produced Forum recommendation forms in 3 languages (English, French and Lingala), any other DR Congolese languages were acceptable
By: President Okito
FIRST DR CONGOLESE FORUM IN UNITED KINGDOM HELD AT: King’s College London, Strand London WC2R 2LS United Kingdom
