Expression OF Frustrations of congolese population.

AN OPENED LETTER OF THE CILVIL SOCIETY TO THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPOBLIC OF CONGO.

SUBJECT : Expression OF Frustrations of congolese population.

Excellency the Special Envoy,
By this letter, we the civil society organizations from the North and the South of Kivu, express our frustration as well as that of our people against this new unjust and unnecessary war imposed on our people and on our nation by Rwanda. We would first of all like to congratulate la MONUSCO (the United Nations stabilisation Misssion in the Democratic Republic of Congo) for having had the courage to denounce, for the first time Rwanda's direct involvement in the present war, despite the external pressure that has been put on it. Today, the report of the United Nation panel has confirmed that the alleged M23 rebellion is still a criminal initiative of Rwanda. There is need to draw all the consequences of such deeds as layed down by international law. The current war is thus once again the result of Rwanda’s conspiracy to invade the DRC in violation of public international Law and the Charter of the United Nations and Peoples’ rights. However, our frustration and that of our people lies on how the UN mission has been behaving in the past years whenever such crises arise. United Nations stabilisation Misssion in the Democratic Republic of Congo hesitates to use its powers that are listed in Chapter VII. For over 14 years now, there have been unjustifiable and unacceptable imbalances between the number of the UN troops in DRC and their inability to protect civilians, who are still scattered by rebels. They flee into all directions and become exposed to rain and the cold Mountainous Kivu. The situation of these thousands of displaced persons should have touched every conscience and arouse a clear and strong commitment on the part of MONUSCO. Your Excellency, you will recall that the recurrent practice of Rwanda, to invade the Eastern of the Democratic Republic of Congo directly or by proxy is not the first. Every time it happens, the United Nations Mission behaves in the same way, just having merely symbolic operations which have no real impact on events on the ground. In March 2003, the MONUC was specially commissioned in Ituri "to monitor the situation on the ground, provide support and increased assistance to humanitarian efforts, to facilitate the formation of a Pacification Commission of Ituri and to, give assistance in the realisation of its activities "(Resolution # 1468). On the 9th of May 2003, the MONUC headquarters in Bunia was being targeted.... UN staff and humanitarian organizations were evacuated. The Security Council called for an emergency deployment
of a multinational interim European force, for "the protection of IDPs who were found in camps in Bunia. There was equally need to ensure the safety of the civilian population, UN personnel and humanitarian organizations in the City if the situation requires help "(1484)”. The first mission of the European Union, code-named Artemis, was put in place with 1,800 men set aside for a mission that was operational between 12th June and September 1st, 2003. This mission made a difference. In anticipation of regaining control of Ituri by MONUC, the Security Council increased the number of men to 10 800 in July and authorized them "to use all necessary means, to fulfil its mandate in the Ituri district and, if possible, in the North and South Kivu "(Resolution 1493). Despite this invitation, the scenario was repeated in May to June 2004 when the dissident General Laurent Nkunda of the CNDP and Colonel Mutebutsi, occupied the city of Bukavu for over a week and subjected the population to the worst abuses and the peacekeepers remained in their barracks. The Security Council again adopted Resolution 1565 on the 1st of October 2004; a resolution which redefined and strengthened the mandate and mission of MONUC. The number of soldiers was again increased significantly to over 16 700 men. This notwithstanding, in October 2008, the CNDP besieged the city of Goma, protected by MONUC. The UN mission was laid bare. Today, the situation is the same. Resolution 2053 requests that you (the UN) should take the protection of civilians as your priority, to use creative measures in arresting the war criminals; mainly those present in the M23, to have reserve forces who can move to conflict areas and to support the work of the FARDC. The resolution also states that the justification for the presence of MONUSCO will depend on improving the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The current war is for us the last test. Rwanda has just done it again; It mocks and humiliates the international community. Rwandans go as far as killing even some of the UN soldiers but unfortunately they go unpunished.
We, the civil society organizations can no longer understand and it is unacceptable to believe that with 17,000 blue helmets, the United Nation soldiers are unable to stop a few thousand soldiers from Rwanda. We cannot understand how despite the availability of special units with Nepalese, Pakistani helicopter gunships, tanks ... the UN do not bring in enough support to FARDC in resolving the crisis. Your Excellency, this letter is to say that our people are fed up. If the situation continues, we will be obliged to mobilise to take our destiny in our hands. We ask you to take your responsibilities before it becomes too late. Please, stop the invasion of our territory by Rwandan troops, because the patience of our people has reached its limits. We still put our trust in the United Nations. We trust in MONUSCO
despite all the odds and we know she can do much more than she is doing today. We expect her quick and consistent action.
For the Civil Society Organisation