August 21. The hippo was killed by the FDLR. With The proceeds from
the sale of the hippo meat, the FDLR bought 2 PKM machine guns)
***
There's no other way around this observation:
The DRC government is asleep at the switch.
It now allows the status quo to fester unchecked, hoping against all
hope that its Hail Mary pass to regional and international bodies
would somwhow deal a deadly blow to the multi-faceted insurgencies in
the North Kivu Province.
Already on August 17, the M23 announced the composition of its
10-member government (not counting the 11 vice-ministers)--though DRC
Media Minister called the announcement a "non-event."
(In my view, two members of this renegade government should be of
special interest to the DRC justice system, in the event that these
M23 highway bandits are brought to justice one day: Justin Gashema,
their mock minister of Finances, Budget and Natural Resources; and his
2 deputies, Castro Mbera and Ephrem Bwishe.)
What unfolds as an intolerable daily event for Gomatracians (as Goma
residents are called), however, is the skyrocketting prices of basic
commodities.
As strange as this might sound, the cogwheels of commerce were hardly
stopped by the current war in North Kivu.
In fact, there's a thriving trade and even a two-way movement of
people between M-23-occupied areas and the city of Goma--and beyond.
The M-23 are relying for now on hefty taxes on merchandise and road
tolls on trucks heading to Goma.
On their part, the FDLR are killing near-extinct species of animals at
the Virunga National Park and selling them wholesale to traders, who
then go to sell them on retail in Goma.
Charly Kasereka is a Gomatracian journalism student who has an
informative blog in French called Actu du Kivu (Page Address:
actudukivu.blogspot.com).
Charly Kasereka is bold enough to travel to areas held by the M23.
In a recent France 24 report (via Radio Okapi) describing the
chokehold of the insurgent economy on the provincial capital of Goma,
Charly Kasereka was quoted as saying (my translation from the French):
"You don't find anything worthwhile these days in Goma markets and
everything has become very expensive: corn, beans, milk, all basic
commodities.
"Before [the insurgency], a 100kg-sack of manioc cost between $25 and
$30. Today, the same quantity costs between $45 and $50.
"And 1kg of beans, for example, that cost $0.5 before now fetches almost $1.
"Prices for basic commodities have almost doubled!
"In a city where residents are already very poor, people are suffering.
"Many people are unemployed and the minimum income and wage of a
person living off of small trade or working in a shop is only between
$20 and $30 per month.
"Food therefore now costs the earth.
"A few days ago, I met truck drivers who were complaining of their
[worsening] work conditions.
"One of them, who's been shuttling merchandise between Goma and Lubero
[at 215 kms of Goma] for ten years, told me that before [the current
war] it took him 8 hours to reach Goma.
"Today, it takes him 14 hours.
"Ever since they seized Rutshuru in early July, the M23 rebels have
multiplied barriers and carry out long inspections of trucks.
"On his last trip, they [M23] levied a tax of $350 on his manioc cargo.
"Before the arrival of rebels, he used to pay at the most $50 in cargo taxes.
"Trucks that transport wooden and timber planks for construction face
even heftier taxes [according to Radio Okapi, each truck with a cargo
of wooden planks is taxed $1,000].
"There are other roads to Goma.
"But two of them are as dangerous [as the Beni-Goma road section],
because they go through areas where a new armed group is wreaking
violence.
"And at any rate, taking these other routes forces trucks to take
enormous detours.
"It's still possible to go to Rwanda [Goma is near the Rwanda-Congo border].
"But there, you mostly find household appliances, clothing items, but
no foodstuffs.
"Rwandans themselves come shopping [for foodstuffs in Goma].
"The Beni-Goma road is therefore absolutely essential."
(SOURCE: observers.france24.com/fr/content/20120816-taxee-rebelles-m23-nourriture-devient-hors-prix-goma-republique-democratique-congo-rdc-camions-route-nationale)
***
While the M23 are holding Congolese truck drivers to ransom and slowly
choking, their FDLR compadres are cowardly killing specimens of
near-extinct fauna in the Virunga National Park.
Virunga National Park Chief Warden, Dr. Emmanuel de Mérode, gives a
chilling account of the ongoing massacre perpetrated by the FDLR at
the Park in his post of August 21 titled "Caught in the Act."
Dr. de Mérode's post reads (I reformat the post for readability as I
am using a mobile phone):
"As we were driving back from the airfield this afternoon, we overtook
a truck.
"Just as we drove past, a waft of that sadly familiar smell of
bushmeat swept through the window.
"A quick call to Sekibibi, who was on duty at Rumangabo just up the
road, and within seconds he was running down the hill with a section
of rangers.
" Just in time to intercept the truck.
"I left them to it, they knew exactly what to do.
"The truck was searched through, and sure enough, a lady with hippo
meat (we've blurred her face for legal reasons).
"She was from Ishasha on her way to sell the meat at the Goma market,
and the hippo was from Nyakakoma, killed by the FDLR militias.
"Each piece of meat sells for an incredible 30 dollars.
"The whole operation lasted less than an hour.
"Unfortunately, with all the armed militias in the eastern sector of
the park we're going to have to launch many such operations to stop
the killings.
"The trade is incredibly damaging.
"Not only is it destroying the park, it's destroying the fish stocks
on the lake (hippos are the main reason the lake is so productive) and
as a result, destroying people's livelihoods.
"It's also putting money into the hands of the FDLR, and they're using
that money to buy weapons that they use to kill our rangers (we
received a report yesterday that they've bought two PKM machine guns
in Ishasha with the money from the sale of bushmeat).
(SOURCE: gorillacd.org/2012/08/21/caught-in-the-act/)
***
PHOTO CREDITS: gorillacd.org
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