Interviews – en

Vital Kamerhe, president of the National Assembly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, speaks to SPIEGEL about the war in Congo and the guilt shared by companies in the industrialized world.

For the past two months there has been fierce fighting in eastern Congo between rebel forces of the National Congress for Peoples Defence, (CNDP) headed by Gen. Laurent Nkunda and Congolese government forces, FARDC; elements of the Democratic Liberation forces for Rwanda (FDLR) and PRECCO. Thousands have been displaced as the rebels advance on the regional capital, Goma. Paul Harrera spoke to Gen. Nkunda in Kichanga. Excerpts:-

Following is an interview on October 31, 2008, by Pambazuka News editor-in-chief Firoze Manji with Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, founder and director of our sister organization, the Ota Benga Center for Human Dignity in Kinshasa, DRC. The interview will appear in a forthcoming issue of Pambazuka News, but we are posting it early because of the critical events now taking place in the DRC.

By Rwembeho Stephen
Kigali

In Ngoma District, once known as Gisaka, lives a grand old man. Gisaka was a powerful, independent state in southeastern Rwanda, which maintained its independence until the mid-nineteenth century.

The old man, Uwihanganye Daudi, was born 117 years ago in the village of Akaziba, Ngoma, where he stays up to today. In 1941 Daudi was picked up when he was 30, and forced to go and fight alongside the Germans in the Second World War.

Tim Butcher’s book, ‘Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart’, part-travelogue, part-history of the Congo, topped bestseller lists early this year. The premise of the book was that Butcher would follow in the footsteps of Stanley, the first man to map the length of the Congo River, and in doing so tell the story of the country. We had the chance to speak to Butcher recently about his experiences.

MONUC Force Commander General Babacar Gaye gave an interview to Radio Okapi – the United Nations Radio in the DRC – on Monday 8 September 2008, in which he explained MONUC’s military support to the peace process in eastern DRC, and in particular its support for the restoration of peace following clashes in Nyanzale in North Kivu province last weekend.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, August 15 (UNHCR) – From Afghanistan to Lebanon, East Timor and Iraq, Ross Mountain has led UN operations in numerous hotspots and humanitarian emergencies. The New Zealander recently spoke to UNHCR's External Relations Officer in Kinshasa, Francesca Fontanini, about the challenges of his current role as the UN Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Written by William Lambers
Published August 12, 2008
Part of Ending World Hunger

Nsekuye Bizimana throws light on a revolutionary ancestral sexual practice

Experts confirm that 70% of women do not achieve orgasm from vaginal penetration alone. To help them achieve sexual satisfaction, Nsekuye Bizimana has decided to bring an african ancestral practice, known as “kunyaza”, to light. In “Le secret de l’amour à l’africaine » [the secret of african lovemaking] he reveals this ancestral sexual practice from the Central and Eastern African regions.

General Bikram Singh has completed his mandate as MONUC Eastern Division commander, having overseen the Nairobi Communiqué of November 2007 and the Goma peace agreements of January 2008. In an interview with MONUC’s website, General Singh explained the challenges he faced, outlined MONUC’s military strategy in support of the peace process in eastern DRC, and gave an evaluation of the peace process to date.