5 Sep 2012

UN / DRC

Congolese church officials today (5 September) appealed to the international community to stop the atrocities wreaked on the east of their country by the M23 rebel group and other militias, which they accused Rwanda of backing for economic gain.

Posted at: September 5, 2012 5:58 pm

Duration: 01:37

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: UN / DRC
TRT: 1.37
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 5 SEPTEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

FILE – 2011, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

5 SEPTEMBER 2012, NEW YORK

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Dieudonné Mbaya Tshiakany, Moderator of the National Church of Christ in Congo:
"They use all sorts of instruments, even weapons to rape these women. How can we continue to pray, how can we continue to preach peace in an environment such as this? And that is why we have issued this petition, that is why we have come to submit to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, why we have come to address the Security Council of the United Nations in order to ask for strong action."
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dieudonné Mbaya Tshiakany, Moderator of the National Church of Christ in Congo:
"Rwanda is not only behind M23 movement, but Rwanda is named to be behind all these different rebel or militia groups in DRC. Why that? You can see that Rwanda has become producer of coltan, of diamond and so on. This is on internet and in all the sources. And none of these minerals are not in Rwanda. So it is an economic game behind the rebels and all these movements, to get, you know, this wealth from DRC."
7. Med shot, journalists
8. Wide shot, end of press conference

STORYLINE:

At a press conference at United Nations headquarters sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Moderator of the National Church of Christ in Congo, Bishop Dieudonné Mbaya Tshiakany described some of the horrors suffered by civilians in eastern DRC. He said massacres were taking place and families were being harmed by "sadistic" practices such as forcing boys to rape their own sisters in front of their parents.

More than one million women had been brutally raped, he said and asked "how can we continue to pray, how can we continue to preach peace in an environment such as this?"

Mbaya said a recent report by UN experts had established that the M23 was being armed by Rwanda, and introduced a petition he said would be submitted to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council. The petition calls for the UN to condemn the "invasion" by Rwanda; for individuals who have been identified as perpetrators of rape, massacres and looting of minerals to be brought to justice; and for Rwanda to be punished for what he said was a breach of the UN Charter.

In response to a question on Rwanda's involvement, the bishop said Rwanda was not only behind the M23 movement, but "behind all these different rebel or militia groups in DRC", and said this was an "economic game" to gain access to coltan, diamonds and other minerals in which DRC is rich.

The eastern DRC – particularly its provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu – has been plagued by violence over the past few months. One of the key actors is a group of renegade soldiers known as the 23 March Movement (M23).