CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Congo
RDC
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CIVIL WAR
Since 1997, Kisangani has hit the headlines, unfortunately for tragic reasons
In March 1997, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, with his Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) appeared on the scene and against all expectations, threw out Mobutu and his henchmen. In August 1998, it was the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD)’s turn to drive Kabila from Kisangani. In 1999, Professor Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, the sacked chairman of the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma (RCD-Goma), a faction of the RCD, fell back on Kisangani. His withdrawal to that city was interspersed in 1999 and 2000, by a series of confrontations between Uganda and Rwanda, whose forces were fighting each other in Kisangani, with Congolese soldiers supporting one or the other side. And this in spite of the presence of the military observers sent by the United Nations Security Council. In 2001, the city seems to draw breath a little with the arrival of UN troops.
In May 2002, the police and the RCD soldiers mutinied. This was followed by arbitrary arrests, large-scale massacres, and extrajudicial and summary executions. The victims’ bodies were thrown in the Tshopo River or were buried in common graves at Bangboka Airport.
But on the 12th and 18th August 2002, came sensational news: The discovery of human remains close to the camp of the UN Moroccan contingent, who were encamped in the former residence of the governors of Eastern province, alongside the River Congo. The UN soldiers had made this macabre discovery when they were digging foundations for their camp’s perimeter wall.
At first sight, it was impossible to determine who had been buried there. It was simply noted that some of the remains belonged to rather thin people...
Theories
So, who were the unfortunate victims? There’s any number of possible explanations, but four appear more probable than others.
- First theory — The remains could belong to Rwandans, or people thought to be Rwandans who had been killed at the beginning of August 1998, when Laurent-Désiré Kabila’s government ordered the governor to stand firm against any aggression from Rwanda and its Congolese allies. At that time, the governor lived in the residence beside the river. So, it’s possible that the bodies of some people who had been killed, were buried behind this residence, away from the public eye.
- Second theory — The remains could be Rwandan soldiers who had been buried there by the Rwandans themselves, during the various confrontations between 1999 and 2002. Rwandans have the habit of quickly removing the bodies of their comrades-in-arms from the battlefield, so as not to discourage the survivors, or to give to the enemy the impression of being invincible. The Rwandans would thus have discretely buried their comrades’ bodies.
- Third theory — These remains belonged to many people who had been «removed from the scene» by Kabila’s soldiers, and then duly reported missing.
- Fourth assumption — They belonged to people kidnapped by Rwandan soldiers (August 1998 onwards). At that time there was even mention of some cases of cannibalism.
How many common graves?
One thing is clear — only forensic experts will be able to determine when these people were killed, and who they were.
But the discovery of the human remains has once again re-opened the debate about all the common graves existing in Kisangani — behind the general hospital — at the end of the Simisimi Airport runway — and those found at Bangboka Airport. It should be recalled that the RCD soldiers laid mines in the surroundings of Bangboka Airport, following the 14-15 May 2002 massacres.
If the forensic experts could extend their search to all the common graves found throughout Kisangani, then light would be shed on what really happened. (And for the same reason, why not extend the search even further — to the ditches where women were buried alive in Makobola, South-Kivu; to where bodies were found in Mudzipela and at the residence of the governor of Bunia, in Ituri?)
All this talk about common graves is a stark reminder that we’re dealing with dead people — with people who’ve met a violent end at the hands of their fellow men. All this violence seems to have been part and parcel of what the Congolese were up to during the various rebellions: Kabila’s AFDL; Bizima Karaha’s and Ondekane’s RCD; Bemba’s MLC (Movement for the Liberation of Congo); Wamba’s and Mbusa’s RCD/K-ML (Congolese Rally for Democracy-Kisangani faction-Liberation Movement); and Roger Lumbala’s RCD-National. Even the Mulelist rebellion hadn’t attained such a degree of violence!
Let’s face it. Our people have taken a backwards step of several centuries. At least our ancestors only fought with knives and went to war to safeguard their local communities. Today, those responsible for such violence are senior politicians — people whom the entire Nation should be able to count on — and look what’s happening!
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PeaceLink 2002 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement