Campaign demanding departure of UN mission in Congo launched

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Civil society in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday launched a campaign demanding the departure of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The petition dubbed “Bye Bye MONUSCO” was announced by youth associations and pressure groups in the province of North Kivu, seeking to gather 100,000 signatures in the next two days.

The campaign was launched due to the perceived inability of the UN force to restore peace in the volatile eastern parts of DR Congo.

“This petition has two objectives, among other things, to demand the departure of the United Nations Organization Mission for the Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO) and to demand the lifting of the state of siege,” Josue Wallay, one of the activists, told reporters in the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

“The Synergy of Citizen Movements appeals to the entire population to welcome the petitioners with kindness, patriotism and sign the petition without constraint because it is an action and citizen gesture that will seriously contribute to the departure of MONUSCO,” he said.

According to the activists, the UN mission and the state of siege declared last year have failed in ending the repeated killings of civilians in North Kivu and Ituri.

Under "siege" senior civilian officials in the state were replaced with army officers in a bid to curb the growing insecurity.

The fresh campaign comes after last month’s violent demonstrations against the UN force in several towns in North Kivu, with angry protesters demanding the departure of the UN mission. The demonstrations left at least 36 people dead and nearly 170 injured.

Wallay said the demonstrations will be relaunched next month if the petition is not successful.

The Congolese government has announced plans to reassess the withdrawal plan for the UN force, which last month also admitted that its troops killed two people in a town in Beni territory on the border with Uganda.

Under a phased withdrawal plan approved by the UN Security Council, the mission forces are expected to leave the country by 2024.

The security situation in eastern DR Congo has been volatile for years, with a myriad of foreign and local rebel groups active in the region.

Fighting between the Congolese army and non-state armed groups in North Kivu has displaced more than 160,000 people since April, according to the UN.