January 4th is a seminal day in Congo’s history, which serves as a national holiday. On January 4, 1959, ordinary Congolese stood in defiance of Belgian colonialism demanding independence. Congolese in Kinshasa unleashed a spontaneous uprising out of frustration with the repressive Belgian colonial regime. In his critically acclaimed work "Congo: From Leopold to Kabila," Dr Georges Nzongola Ntalaja said the march on January 4, 1959 "sounded the death knell of Belgian Colonialism in the Congo." The unifying chant of the marchers was "Indépendance Immediate" or "Independence Now" in English. The uprising represented the radicalization of the struggle for independence. It frightened not only the Belgian authorities but also the Congolese elites know as évolués.

Nine days later on January 13, 1959 both the King of Belgium and the Belgium government announced that in due time Belgium would grant Congo full independence. In the conscience of the nation, the day represents the historic point of departure for the independence of the Congo from Belgian colonialism.

The courageous stance by that generation of Congolese served as a key catalyst for Congo’s independence in 1960. Since the 1960s Congolese have celebrated and commemorated that generation’s actions and named the day “la journée des martyrs de l’indépendance,” or in English, independence Martyrs Day. Without a doubt, Congolese of that era made enormous sacrifices for freedom and independence.

Congolese continue to make tremendous sacrifice for total independence and liberation from tyranny. The youth have been at the forefront of this fight. During the past few years, Congolese youth have paid the dearest price in confronting the tyrannical regime of president Joseph Kabila. Throughout 2018, Congolese youth rose up to demand democracy and justice in the Congo. Unfortunately, several of them paid the ultimate price for demanding change under the repressive regime of Joseph Kabila. Figures such as Rossy Mukendi, Therese Kapangala, Luc Nkulula and many others are martyrs of the pro-democracy movement in the Congo.

Courageous Congolese continue to make enormous sacrifices for a better future for the sons and daughters of the Congo. As Congo enters 2019, Congolese youth and the broader Congolese society are still pursuing peace and democracy. They are demanding that the Congolese government and the broader African and International community respect the will of the Congolese people following the December 30, 2018 elections. Click here to get the latest updates on the post-election demands of the Congolese people.

Join the global movement in support of a peaceful and just Congo by visiting Telema.org!

The Congolese people, who are growing suspicious of the maneuvers of the Independent National Electoral Commission CENI in acronym, were awaiting the results of the elections of December 30, 2018 when the Congolese government shut down the internet across the country. For the majority of the population, this move confirms the bad intentions of the government in complicity with the CENI. On the same day, while the DRC government was cutting the country’s internet services, the Secretary General and spokesperson of CENCO (Catholic  Bishops Conference), Fr Donatien Nshole, intervened  to make a partial presentation of the electoral process throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Nshole announced that they received 17,023 reports on voting operations, meaning informations of 78, 22% voting centers throughout the Republic.

Through its reports the CENCO declares that the general climate of the voting process was relatively calm.  In several polling stations the CENI respected the closure of polling station procedure. The CENI relaunched voting operations where the vote was interrupted. Polling stations, it says, worked relatively well.

The voting operations were interrupted due to:

- Malfunction of the voting machine. Therefore some voters could not vote;
- In some polling stations there was no  ballots counting;
- Observers and witnesses have been excluded from certain counting centers.

The General-Secretariat of CENCO says that it remains in constant contact with the CENI and all stakeholders in order to find solutions to the mentioned incidents.

In the room « Marie reine de la paix », the abbot went on to presenting the counting report. He quoted 3,496 reports which attest that:

- the Presidents of the polling stations opened the ballot box in front of the witnesses and the observers;

- 1,181 reports show that the counting process started between 5 pm and 6 pm, while 2,990 reports indicate that the counting started at 7 pm;

- 3,626 reports show that the number of ballot papers in the ballot box was equal to the electronic count;

- 1.959 reports indicate that the report on the sorting process, the results sheet of the voting machine and the results sheet of the manual count were signed by all the members of the counting center, the witnesses who were present and the 5 designated voters ;

- 2,574 reports indicate that the minutes of the polling operations, the report on the sorting process, the results sheet of the voting machine and the manual counting sheet were given to the witnesses who were present;

- 2,839 reports attest that the polling results sheet was displayed at the end of the count, but 342 attest that the voting results sheet has not yet been displayed.

I THINK THAT THERE IS A SENTENCE MISSING HERE TO INTRODUCE THIS QUOTE BOTH IN FRENCH AND IN ENGLISH !  (Suggestion : Addressing the nation, the government, the political parties and those who attended his press conference ,the Secretary General of CENCO, Donation Nshole, went on by saying:)

"The General Secretariat of CENCO asks the Congolese people to remain calm while waiting for the results to ensure the credibility of the results.

The General Secretariat of CENCO asks the CENI to pursue any action ensuring the process transparency, the display of the manual counting results at the polling stations, the identification of the Local Compilation Centers of the CLCR Results, and to provide observers access to these centers.
The General Secretariat of CENCO congratulates the government for ensuring the smooth functioning of the Internet.  I am sorry to learn just before entering the room that the internet was cut. Unfortunately the message was already signed, thank you!

During the Mass of the first day of the year, the Catholic Church of the Democratic Republic of Congo preached about the birth of Jesus Christ, referring to the book of Luke chapter 2, verse 18 to 24.  The homily delivered at the end of the Mass referred to the current situation with regard to the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo and underscored the need for vigilance.

The position of the Catholic Church puts the regime of Kinshasa in a very difficult and uncomfortable situation. On one hand CENCO holds the credible results of the elections and on the other hand it calls to civil mobilization through the idea of vigilance. We all know that the Catholic church, through its Lay Committee ( CLC- Lay Coordination Committee), is the biggest and the strongest mobilizing force in DRC. They are the ones, following three marches of protest in 2017 and 2018, who managed to obtain of the regime in Kinshasa to organize the elections of December 30, 2018.

The Catholic Church has the regime of Kinshasa over a barrel!

Jean-Marie Kalonji
Coordinator
Quatrieme Voie

Within a span of four days, the Kabila regime's security forces killed two students and injured many others at the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN). The Congolese police fired live bullets on students who were protesting because the start of school was delayed due to a strike. The students were demanding the immediate resumption of classes.


Since January 2015, following the Telema uprisings, UNIKIN has been under occupation by Congo's security forces and infiltrated by the Kabila regime's intelligence services. The latest clash occurred as a result of a strike by university professors which began on October 8th. Frustrated about not being able to begin classes for the new school year, UNIKIN students demanded a resolution of the strike by protesting. In response to the students call for a return to classes, the police violently clamped down on the protests, resulting in the death of  Hyacinthe Kimbafu who was studying computer science and Rodrigue Eliwo a student studying biology.

The UNIKIN students have continued to protest both the strike and now the killing of their fellow students. One of the Lumumba Scholars, outraged by the killings says "It is unconscionable to see the youth killed for demanding their rights. What kind of country are we living in where demanding our rights brings with it a death sentence?"

A number of the presidential candidates (elections are scheduled for December 23rd) and political figures have condemned the police killing of the two UNIKIN students. The Congolese Association for Access to Justice (CAAJ) has called on the Congolese government to remove the police force from the campus and bring charges against the officers responsible for killing Hyacinthe and Rodrigue. Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes said "The government must immediately launch a thorough and impartial investigation into these student deaths and bring to justice those found to be responsible."

Congo's security forces must be held to account for the killing of Rodrigue and Hyancinthe. Click here to let Steve Mbikayi, Minister of Higher Education and Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, Minister of Human Rights know that the use of lethal force against students on campuses is a crime and the police responsible for the killings must be brought to justice.

Congratulations to Dr. Mukwege for Winning the Nobel Peace Prize!

Friends of the Congo congratulates Dr. Denis Mukwege on being awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. He was joint winner of the Prize with Nadia Murad an Iraqi human rights activist and survivor of sexual violence by the Islamic State.

True to his vocation, Dr. Mukwege learned of the news in the midst of performing a surgery. He dedicated the Nobel Prize to "women of all countries in the world, harmed by conflict and facing violence every day." He also had a special message for survivors, noting that "I would like to tell you that through this prize, the world is listening to you and refusing to remain indifferent. The world refuses to sit idly in the face of your suffering." 

Congolese women at the Panzi Hospital were overjoyed by the news and gave Dr. Mukwege a spontaneous and exuberant celebration.

Holding true to his principles of speaking truth to power, Dr. Mukwege reiterated his call for a new leadership in the Congo. He stated in an interview with the Guardian: "I've always said that it's an illegal and illegitimate government. They must hand over to a caretaker government, which can organise free, fair, credible elections, and this transition must also put in place the foundations to build a solid democracy." He elaborates, "I think we'll have elections on 23 December, but I think we'll elect the same people, and the same actors will produce the same system that perpetuates the violence. The December elections do not seem credible or transparent - it's a parody of an election." Read more here!

To the chagrin of the Congolese government, Dr. Mukwege is not only dedicated to caring for women who have been victims of sexual violence but he is also an indefatigable moral voice for peace, justice and dignity in the Congo.

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Friends of the Congo supports the social justice pursuits of the people of the Rif region of Morocco and elsewhere in the country. This region of Morocco is steeped in anti-colonial resistance and social justice actions in the face of tyranny.

The Moroccan political regime's attacks against peace loving and justice seeking activists in Morocco's northern Rif region is disconcerting, especially considering the region's deep anti-colonial history. As a solidarity organization that works with Congolese youth who are under incessant attacks by the Congolese security forces, Friends of the Congo has a keen understanding of what it is like to be pursued by state security forces that fire live bullets at demonstrators, carry out mass arrests and crush social justice advocates.

Friends of the Congo is wholly familiar with baseless charges against social justice activists throughout the African continent under the guise of threatening state security, offending a head of state or disturbing public order. It is outrageous for the Moroccan government to sentence 53 social justice advocates to 300 years of jail time. The courageous Hirak movement is reminiscent of the #Telema youth movement that challenged the Congolese government in 2015.

We stand in solidarity with our Moroccan brothers and sisters fighting for social and economic justice. We extend our sincere concern to the family and loved ones of the Rif detainees who have been wrongly and excessively sentenced. We call on the Makhze (The Moroccan political regime) to immediately release Nasser Zefzafi and all the other detainees.

Finally, we appeal to social justice seekers throughout Africa and the globe to join us in standing in solidarity with the people of Morocco fighting for justice and human dignity.

Synopsis
Réunis en conclave à Atlanta, USA, un groupe d’intellectuels congolais s’est penché sur la crise
que traverse la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) depuis plus de deux décennies. Au
bout de deux jours d’intenses débats, ils se sont convenus sur beaucoup de points dont voici les
principaux :

Constats

• La crise en République Démocratique du Congo est une crise à plusieurs facettes: politique, économique, sociale, culturelle, leadership, sécuritaire et éducationnelle ;
• Le pays est occupé par des pays étrangers, spécialement le Rwanda et l’Ouganda ;
• Les occupants sont assistés par des forces extérieures de l’Occident et d’ailleurs, y compris de certains pays africains qui bénéficient énormément de la crise ;
• Les soi-disant dirigeants sont illégitimes et illégaux car ils gouvernent sans mandat ;
• Bref, dans sa configuration actuelle, la RDC est un pays pris en otage et dont l’existence est sérieusement en danger.

Propositions
Face à ces constats, les participants à ce conclave ont proposé quelques actions à prendre:

• Demander aux pays du monde de ne plus reconnaitre le régime en place;
• Résister, lutter contre l’occupation en solidarité avec les compatriotes qui résistent et luttent pour la même cause, où qu’ils soient;
• Soutenir et défendre la transition immédiate de l’occupation à un collège de transition qui sera chargé d’organiser des élections, d’assurer la continuité dans le fonctionnement de l’Etat;
• La transition devra se faire sans la participation du régime d’occupation ;
• Transformer les forces armées, les services de renseignement et la police nationale;
• Transformer le système de l’éducation d’aval en amont;
• Bâtir un Etat de droit dans lequel le peuple sera souverain.

Cliquez ici pour télécharger le document entier!

The Lay Coordinating Committee issued a call for a third march on Sunday, February 25th. The march was organized in the same fashion as the previous two marches on December 31, 2017 and January 21, 2018, whereby attendees went to mass and demonstrated after church. The committee's demands remained consistent - For Kabila to declare that he would not run for a third term and that he would adhere to key elements of the December 31, 2016 Saint Sylvestre Agreement, which called for actions such as the expansion of political space, release of political prisoners, cessation of arbitrarily arrests and the return of exiled leaders.

Prior to Sunday's march, there was a great deal of international attention and moral pressure exerted on the Kabila regime. Members of the US Congress and foreign affairs offices of the U.S., U.K. and E.U. issued statements calling on the Kabila regime to avoid using lethal force on demonstrates and allowing them to march freely and peacefully.

Keenly aware of the increased attention generated by its repression of peaceful marchers, the regime adjusted its tactics in form but not in substance. On Saturday, February 24th, the night prior to the march, the youth wing of Joseph Kabila's political party, the Peoples Party for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD) attempted to occupy one of the main churches in the Lingwala neighborhood of Kinshasa, the capital of the DR Congo. The PPRD youth claimed they were coming into the churches to arrest the priests and pass them over to the police. Youth from the Lingwala neighborhood led by Quatrieme Voie members mobilized to protect the members of the church from the Kabila regime's goons in red berets.

Unfortunately, the day of the March was another bloody affair. Police officers literally staked out churches commando-style as if they were in pursuit of well armed enemy combatants (see below photo).

“A policeman takes cover in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, February 25, 2018. Reuters/ Goran Tomasevic”

According to the Lay Coordinating Committee, dozens were injured and arrested and at least three people were killed by Kabila's security forces. Most notably, youth activist Rossy Mukendi of activist group "Collectif 2016" succumbed to the bullet of a Congolese police officer. his death has touched the activist community deeply (see below photo).


In spite of the brutal repression from the Kabila regime, the resolve of the Committee is as strong as ever. In a communique issued the day of the march, the committee warned the Kabila regime that there will be no let up on the regime as long as the people is denied their dignity and liberty.

Let us not let up either. Click here to sign the petition demanding justice for the victims of the Kabila regime.

The Lay Coordinating Committee called for its third non-violent march on Sunday, February 25th. According to the Committee, the two previous marches on December 31, 2017 and January 21, 2018 mobilized over 3 million people but they were violently repressed by the Kabila regime.

The central demand of the Committee is the implementation of the December 2017 agreement (Saint Sylvestre Accord in French). The Committee says that the Kabila regime's response to their demand has been bloody violence.

The Committee no longer believes in the good will of the Kabila regime. The government has rejected every window of opportunity offered  to it. The Kabila regime has demonstrated clearly that it wants to hold on to power undemocratically.


In calling for the people to stand up against the Kabila regime, the committee issued a warning to those who would:

• stand against democracy
• twist the words of the committee to justify violence and barbarism 
• oppose an independent investigation into the crimes and oppose a process to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators and those who issued the orders to repress the people
• seek to snuff out the aspirations of the Congolese people who are seeking a democratic alternative

The Lay Coordinating Committee called on the United Nations, European Union and the African Union to go beyond mere declarations in the face of the Kabila regime blocking the elections and carrying out violence against the Congolese people.

During the previous two marches, the government shut down the Internet in an effort to block images of security forces violence against the people from reaching the global media. Those of us outside the Congo, can help by amplifying the voices of those on the ground and spreading their message to the larger global community.

Click here to sign the petition to demand justice for the marchers in the Congo.

The University of Kinshasa has been experiencing a very intense tensions today. This morning, the students arrived at the university with the objective of protesting against the payment rate set by the University. In fact the officials are paid at a rate of $58 and yet the University sets a rate of $100 but based on what?* They forget that these officials are our parents and it is thanks to them that we pay our academic fees. This is why the students wanted to protest against this.

Unfortunately, as we are in a state where freedom of expression is violated, the university has become a war zone with uniformed men everywhere, launching tear gas and firing bullets into the students' homes.

What are the consequences? several wounded, property losses and even arrests. We deplore such behavior on the part of the university and the state in an academic environment. Leaders must know that we are in our rights to protest.
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*The crux of the problem is that the rate hikes only apply to students who pay in Congolese francs, which is mostly everyone. Those students who pay in American dollars do not have to pay the higher $100 fee, they only pay $58 for their school fees.  This is a concrete example of how poor economic performance and the volatility of the Congolese franc have had a direct impact on students. Other sectors such as teachers, nurses, doctors, etc have all experienced similar challenges due to the weakness of the franc against the US dollar.

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Version Française

Bullets & Teargas canister collected by UNIKIN students

l’Université de Kinshasa vit depuis cet avant midi une tension tres intense. Ce matin, les étudiants sont arrivés à l’université avec objectif de protester contre le taux de payement fixé par l’Université. En effect les fonctionnaires sont payé avec un taux de 92000 franc congolais et pourtant l’Université fixe un taux de 160.000 franc congolais, sur base de quoi? Ils oublient que ces fonctionnaires sont nos parents et c’est grace à eux que nous payons nos frais académiques. C’est pourquoi les étudiants ont voulus protester contre cela. Malheureusement comme nous sommes dans un État où la liberté d’expression est bafouée, l’Université s’est transformée en une guerre avec les hommes en uniforme partout jetant des gaz lacrymogènes, des coups de balles jusqu’à la résidence des étudiants.

Conséquences: plusieurs blessés, plusieurs pertes des biens et même les arrestations. Nous déplorons un tel comportement dans les sites universitaires, les dirigeants doivent savoir que nous sommes dans nos droits.

Etudiant à l'UNIKIN

Click here to get the latest updates and support youth action in the Congo

Testimony: Jean-Marie Kalonji in below photo
Location: Notre Dame
Commune: Lingwala. Kinshasa

Riot police officers fired tear gas during a protest in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday. Credit Kenny Katombe/Reuters

Church started at 6:30 am and the sermon was over around 8:20 am. The priests and the people started to march for about 100 meters (30 min), then the population was attacked by surprise from behind and in the front with jeeps and guns.

Given the people were close to the priest the police tried to find a way to separate the people from the priests. The people were kneeling and praying, than getting up and continuing while singing.

The people sat and laid down on the floor on three occasions when attacked by the security forces:
1. First, when the marchers were surrounded the priests instructed the people to sit on the floor. The priests started arguing with the police to let the people march.
2. Second time when the marchers saw that the police managed to separate one of the priests from the group, everyone sat on the floor again while other priests negotiated with the police.
3. On the third occasion, same thing people were kneeling, sitting and standing in one place.

Kabila's security forces started pulling the priests away from the people in an attempt to separate them and drive them back to the church. The marchers quickly recognized the strategy to take the priests back to the church so that the people would be isolated from religious leaders. The people insisted on following the priests back to the church. The police began preventing the people from walking back to church, and came in the middle of the crowd to pull away the priests. The police started pushing people with their guns to try to disperse crowds. Once they managed to separate the people from the priests, they started firing tear gas in the group of people and within a matter of seconds at least 20 tear gas canisters were released. People started running in different directions and others laid on the ground and took cover.

MONUSCO sent one Jeep that was filming and and the press was documenting the repression. The police are currently shooting in the air and going on avenues trying to disperse people from gathering and marching.

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Click here to demand justice for the Congolese people!