Opinion ID: 3013014
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Democratic Republic of Congo.

Text: According to the evidence that was introduced, the DRC (formerly “Zaire”), has a history of flagrant human rights abuses being perpetrated by both government and rebel forces. The country is currently embroiled in a vicious civil war. Six other African countries have aligned themselves with one of the two sides in that war. The anti-government faction in that war is composed of two factions: the Rassemblement Congolais Pour La Democratie (Congolese Rally for Democracy or “RCD”), and the Mouvement Pour Liberation du Congo (Movement for the Liberation of Congo or “MLC”). These fighters are supported by Tutsi factions from Burundi and Rwanda and by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces. The anti-government forces control the eastern part of the DRC, including South Kivu which is Zubeda’s home region. Government forces, known as Forces Armees Congolaises (Congolese Armed Forces or “FAC”), are supported by the governments of Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and by Hutu militants from Rwanda known as the “interahamwe.” Armed groups that support the government known as “mayi-mayi,” or “mai mai,” also often fight in rebel held areas. Reports of Amnesty International portray the DRC as a brutal and life-threatening environment with a predatory government capable of wielding genocidal force while teetering on the brink of collapse. A Report states: [A]t least 300,000 civilians have fled to neighboring countries, while more than one million people have been internally displaced in conditions that have caused numerous deaths from disease, starvation and exposure. This is a snapshot of a catalogue of human rights abuses and suffering that the people of the DRC have been subjected to since August 1998 by forces whose foreign and Congolese political and military leaders claim to be fighting for security or sovereignty. 6 In reality, many of the leaders are involved in a fight for political and economic control of the DRC. Amnesty International has concluded that these leaders are perpetrating, ordering or condoning atrocities on a large and systematic scale, and deliberately violating people’s individual and collective right to security and sovereignty.