
One is hard pressed to find media accounts of what the Congolese people want or how they believe that the United States could best play a constructive role in ending the suffering in the Congo. Considering that the United States has played a significant historical role in the stifling of the democratic aspirations of the Congolese people and the backing of the 1996 and 1998 invasions of the Congo by its allies, Rwanda and Uganda, which unleashed what the United Nations say is the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II, it is important to hear directly from the Congolese people regarding U.S. engagement in the Congo.

I recently received a phone call from an investigator for the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, and I shared my uncertainty about the ethics of collaborating with an “International Criminal Court” that was only indicting Black Africans.

The evening before Human Rights Watch expert on Rwanda Alison Des Forges’ critical quote on the secret deal worked out between Rwanda’s murderous U.S.-backed President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Joseph Kabila appeared in the Washington Post, Des Forges died in a the fiery crash of Continental Flight 3407.

Some of us remember the first elected prime minister of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba, as he brought to the world the vision of a prosperous Congo where this beautiful land will benefit the Congolese people and not world corporations. A modern day holocaust is occurring in this picturesque land of abundance.