|
A Call to Conscience
|
|
|
"We are not alone. Africa, Asia,
and free and
liberated people from every corner of the world will
always be found at the side of the Congolese."
Patrice Emery Lumumba
The Facts:
1. Funding of the Elections - The Congo
elections are being financed mainly by Western
nations and institutions such as the United States,
England, Germany,
Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Italy, the
European Union and a few others. Japan is the
only major non-western nation who has
contributed.
2. Reservoir of Strategic Minerals -
Congo has large reserves of gold, diamond, copper,
zinc, silver, magnesium, germanium, uranium, coltan,
timber, petroleum and many other resources.
The minerals found in the Congo are
important to myriad industries: technology,
computer, cellular, electronics, aerospace,
military, automobile, medical, fiberglass, home
appliances, energy, diamond, gold and others.
3. Source of Energy and Potential Breadbasket
- The Congo river can produce enough hydro power to
provide electricity for the entire African
continent. Also, the Congo has enough arable land to
serve as a breadbasket for all of Central Africa.
4. Congolese Continue to Die at an Alarming
Rate - while planning continues for the upcoming
elections, 1,000 Congolese die per day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
May 1, 2006- The Independent Electoral
Commission (CEI in French) has set the date of the
presidential and parliamentary elections in the
Congo for July 30, 2006. The election had been
initially scheduled for June 18, 2006 but had to be
pushed back due to logistical delays.
The election campaign will officially begin at
midnight June 29, 2006 and end at midnight July 28,
2006. The schedule for the second round of the
presidential vote and the provincial elections will
be announced after the publication of the official
list of candidates for the provincial races. There
will only be one round for the parliamentary
elections. The CEI also announced the final list of
parliamentary candidates which totaled 9,632.
Meeting the July 30th date will still be a
challenge. South Africa is responsible for the
production, printing, packaging and dissemination of
the ballot papers. South Africa will also deliver
the ballot papers to 14 different locations inside
the country and the United Nations Mission in the
Congo (MONUC in French) will distribute the voting
materials to 152 locations in all territories and
cities in the Congo.
Holding true to the expectations of many observers,
the CEI set the date as close to June 30, 2006 as
possible (The end of the transitional government).
Many fear violence and unrest should the transition
process go beyond the June 30th date. It is clear
that the CEI was sensitive to this matter when they
set the beginning of the campaign period for June 30th.
Related Issues:
The International Crisis Group recently published a
report on the prospects for a peaceful election
process in the Congo. The report is entitled “Congo
Elections: Making or Breaking the Peace.” Click
here to read report!
The President of the Independent Electoral
Commission (CEI) Reverend Apollinaire Malumalu will
participate in a forum hosted by the Great Lakes
Policy forum in Washington, DC on Thursday, May 4,
2006. If you have any questions or feedback about
the forum, please contact Marco Konings or Graham
Couturier at Search for Common Ground: 202-265-4300.
Kindly RSVP by e-mail to glpf@sfcg.org or
fax: 202-232-6718. Click
here for more information!
===============
Please remember to visit our our site for the latest
Upcoming Events and job announcements:
Click
here to view upcoming events on the Congo!
Click
here to view job opportunities!
Friends of the Congo
Voice:
202-584-6512
The Friends of the Congo (FOTC) is a collaborative
effort of people of African ancestry and others of
goodwill who believe that the vast potential of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo can be realized
with strong support from the International
community.
Become a Friend of the Congo and change the future
of Africa and the African world.
|
