SIGNES OF MAJOR SOCIAL UNREST IN SOUTH-KIVU: A CALL FOR PREVENTIVE ACTIONS(February 11, 2000)

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HERITIERS DE LA JUSTICE is a human rights group that works with more than one hundred grassroots communities throughout South-Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It provides those groups with "First Aid" techniques for the protection of their rights and conflict resolution.

Since the launch of its Internet Site (http://www.heritiers.org), 14 months ego, HERITIERS DE LA JUSTICE has been documenting and reporting on all the cases of massacres, killings and all sort of atrocities that are taking place in South-Kivu. A number of lists and releases can still be consulted on the Internet site indicated above.

In the last 45 days, HERITIERS DE LA JUSTICE have been ringing a bell and calling for a quick and appropriate preventive actions to be taken in the eastern part of Congo DR in general, and in South Kivu in particular, in order to avoid far more disastrous situations.

HERITIERS DE LA JUSTICE has just completed a series of meetings, discussions and reflection with the grassroots communities that it works with. From these meetings, HERITIERS DE LA JSUTICE has reached the conclusion that there is cloud of a huge social unrest building up amongst the rural communities, which represent 70% of the population of South-Kivu. These populations, which got nothing out of the Mobutu regime, appear to have had enough of the misery, atrocities and all sorts of inhuman conditions under which they are forced to live. They also appear to have convinced themselves that there is nobody out there who really cares about them. On their way to public markets, churches, workplaces, these rural communities talk continuously of how the situation in which they live has become unacceptable.

In addition to this mood that is growing in rural communities of South-Kivu, in the main town of South-Kivu (Bukavu), there are also indication that the social sky is getting darker. It also may be possible that there are some people who may be pulling the strings. The Catholic Archbishop has just been declared persona nona grata for allegedly fuelling ethnic hatred. Similar tracts continue also to be found in streets almost every week.

Having considered and analysed all these factors, HERITIERS DE LA JUSTICE, is seriously worried of what might happen if the building up dark cloud breaks into a generalised movement of 'ville mortes', experienced in Bukavu last week.

Facts unveil that the RCD (the rebel movement in charge of South-Kivu) is not prepared to let anything similar to happen again. The Movement reckons that what happened last week in Bukavu undermined their authority, which has to be restored at all means. All the necessary measures appear to be taking place. In some villages, numbers of troops are being increased and the moves of all local leaders are being carefully monitored.

HERITIERS DE LA JUSTICE is considering the situation in South-Kivu as extremely volatile and is calling for preventive actions that could ease the tensions in South-Kivu and restore confidence between the different communities.

HERITIERS DE LA JUSTICE
Service of protestant churches for peace and human rights
http://www.heritiers.org
heritiers@yahoo.com