Crisis in Congo-- Do not wait to repeat our mistakes from Rwanda!

[David Leflar]

Dear friends,
The people of Congo need our help.
In recent weeks over 200,000 people have been driven from their homes,
and murder and rape are rife. The United Nations peacekeeping mission
to Congo has not intervened to protect civilians. As this email is
sent, families are running for their lives, stuck between the brutal
violence of both the rebels and the Congolese army, without food or
shelter - their only refuges are crowded camps which now face
epidemics of disease. This is a human tragedy of unimaginable
proportions. But, in spite of this urgent situation, European foreign
ministers meeting earlier this week said it's too early to act.

Europe can deploy a well-equipped protection force to be on the ground
in two weeks - no one else can get such a capable presence in that
fast. If Europe sent a neutral force to the region and helped put real
pressure on Congo and neighbouring countries with UN and African
officials, this humanitarian crisis could be addressed and a lasting
peace made possible. This tough crisis will not be solved militarily
but civilians desperately need protection now, and proper European
engagement could help tackle the root causes.

The lesson of Rwanda was to step in before it's too late -- but
Europe's politicians seem to have forgotten that. The people of
eastern Congo need us desperately now. Send a message to your leader
and forward this email to friends and family, we'll also place our
message in newspapers around Europe. The situation is deteriorating by
the day. The more messages that the European leaders receive this
week, the more they will feel that their citizens and people around
the world expect them to respond and protect the Congolese people.
Follow this link to send your message now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/european_action_on_congo/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
The recent clashes between General Nkunda's militias and the Congolese
army are the latest in a place where the population have been attacked
and terrorised for years by armed groups, killing over five million
people. It's been termed 'Africa's world war', with Rwanda, Uganda,
Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia all getting involved.
Allegations abound of Angolan and Zimbabwean troops fighting alongside
the Congolese army -- Congolese army soldiers committing atrocities
and working with militias including the Rwandan Hutu Forces, some of
whose leaders were responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide -- and
the Rwandan army supporting General Nkunda to muscle the Congolese
government to fulfill its commitment to demobilise these same Hutu
militias. So it is no surprise that African-only diplomacy is
faltering.<b>The fighting is nourished by a lethal war economy based
on the extraction of minerals such as coltan, cobalt, diamonds and
gold, to which we're all connected through the worldwide market.
The United Nations mission (MONUC) is in Congo to keep the peace
between this web of armed groups, but recently it has made clear
statements that it cannot protect civilians. We have heard reliably
that MONUC are desperate for a rapid EU bridging force to do what they
can't and start restoring international legitimacy, which has been
lost through overstretch and perceptions of taking sides -- UN troops
have fought alongside the Congolese army and are even accused of
sheltering pro-government militias.
To have a credible and effective force the United Nations mission will
soon have to be reformed and redeployed. In the longer term, the
international community needs to be a strong and honest broker to
ensure implementation of peace agreements and confront the underlying
issues feeding this war. If Europe sends a short-term, neutral force
to the region now to protect civilians, it can start to change the
terms of this brutal game -- providing a basis both to defend the
defenceless and to apply political leverage to all sides. Click below
to send a message asking your own country's leader to support action
now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/european_action_on_congo/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
We cannot let the best chance to stop the terror in Congo slip by as
European leaders turn their backs. Congo needs concerted engagement
now - militarily to buffer the armed groups and provide humanitarian
corridors and politically to provide the ongoing and vigorous
accompaniment of peace-building. The UK and France are providing
millions in aid to Congo and Rwanda to ensure reconstruction and
development, but without a more forceful and permanent push, there
will be no peace to keep.
Let's flood European leaders with requests for firm action. Sign the
petition and please send it to your friends and family:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/european_action_on_congo/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
With hope,
Paul, Alice, Pascal, Ricken, Ben, Paula, Brett, Graziela, Iain and
Milena - the Avaaz.org team

PS: For a report on Avaaz's campaigning so far, see:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2
PSS: Here are links to sources for this alert:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5126970.ece
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=18960
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/10/congo-kiwanja-un-goma-angola-laurent-nkunda-war-crimes-fighting
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/congos-tragedy-the-war-the-world-has-forgotten-14023616.html
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=18996
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2008/081107_Mulet.doc.htm