18 07 12 Statement about the events of 9th of July 2012 in Goma, DR Congo

The violence which took place in Goma on Monday 9th of
July sadly recalls the ethnic conflicts that marked the Kivus in the
1990s. A group of motorcycle taxi drivers, commonly known as “motards”
(bikers) controlled the main roads of Goma, chanting hostile slogans
against Rwanda and hunting down persons suspected to be Rwandan
nationals. Individuals were pulled aside based on their physical
appearance and taken to the border between DRC and Rwanda, escorted by
the national police. Others were manhandled before being forced to cross
the border. The small cross-border traders coming from Gisenyi to trade
in Goma, as well as students from Goma are some of the victims of these
acts. Despite protestors’ claim that they demand that the DRC
Government accounts for the return to war in North Kivu and that they
protest against Rwanda supporting the rebel group M23, we condemn
these acts of violence and ethnic stigmatisation which not only affect
the physical integrity of victims, but also threaten social cohesion in a
region where the manipulation of identity issues is a threat to peace
and stability.

 

Hence, the signatories
of this statement call on local, national and regional civil and
military authorities to act responsibly and to give priority to peaceful
means in resolving disputes. We call on the people of Goma in
particular and the people of the Kivus in general to remain calm and to
respect human rights in order to guarantee peace in the Kivus. We ask
them to use reason and non-violent methods of asserting their rights. We
also encourage Congolese and Rwandan civil society organisations as
well as the international community, MONUSCO in particular, to support
initiatives aimed at finding a peaceful and lasting solution to this
crisis which threatens the peace in the Great Lakes region.

 

Goma, 18 July 2012

 

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