The Catholic Bishop of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) has just closed his 60th ordinary plenary assembly, after the celebration of the 3rd National Eucharistic Congress held from June 4 to 11 in Lubumbashi in the province of Haut-Katanga. At the end of this meeting, the Catholic prelates called for an urgent resolution of the security crisis prevailing in eastern DRC.
While the Congolese government has launched several diplomatic, political and military initiatives to resolve this problem, CENCO seems to believe that they are not sufficient, given the persistence of insecurity and the multiplication of armed groups.
For this Catholic organization, the resurgence of the M23 supported by Rwanda and the appearance and extension of the Mobondo militia, sowing terror even in the capital, are alarming signs of the situation.
At the end of its Ordinary Session last May, the members of the Provincial Episcopal Assembly of Kinshasa affirmed that behind these conflicts are hidden “bloody invisible hands” from Kinshasa. According to the Catholic prelates, these conflicts feed on occult interests of an economic and political nature to confiscate the lands from the peoples who have always occupied them in peaceful coexistence.
CENCO remains concerned about the “pure instrumentalization” of these conflicts by certain politicians for electoral reasons and the search for local legitimacy. She also regretted that their recommendations had not been taken into account, such as the reduction of the standard of living of the institutions to give more means to the armed forces, the strengthening of national cohesion or the reconsideration of the state of siege. .
In other news from the country, an international summit was organized in France to find solutions to climate change. The DRC was cited for its commitments to the environment.
In short, the security situation in the east of the country is far from being resolved and the Congolese authorities will have to redouble their efforts to resolve this crucial problem. For their part, the Catholic Bishops continue to call for more concrete actions on the ground to bring peace and stability to this region of the country.