

RDC: Concerne: Appel au peuple de Walikale a ne pas faire foi ou cede aux chantages des organisations dites “de la societe civile de Walikale” sur la question des artisanaux dans le site minier de Bisie (11.11.2016)







Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Journalist in Danger (JED), its partner organization in Democratic Republic of Congo, condemn the jamming of the country’s two most popular radio stations during the past weekend, at a time of extreme political and social tension. The jamming of Radio France Internationale (a French station) and Radio Okapi (a station operated by the United Nations mission in the DRC) began on Friday without any warning or explanation.
When asked about the jamming, information minister Lambert Mendé accused Radio France Internationale of acting as “echo chamber and press attaché” of the organizers of an opposition meeting. When pressed about Radio Okapi, he referred the questioner to the foreign ministry on the grounds that it is a UN station.
“The jamming of the signals of the two radio stations with the most listeners in the DRC is extremely worrying, while government minister Lambert Mendé’s statements show that the authorities do not deny responsibility,” said Clea Kahn-Sriber, the head of RSF’s Africa desk.
“In the currently fragile political context, this type of censorship could have a profound impact on public order as well as violating the Congolese public’s rights. We ask the country’s authorities to restore the signals of these two radio stations without delay and to stop violating freedom of information.”
The jamming began on the eve of a meeting that had been scheduled by the main opposition parties in Kinshasa although the Kinshasa provincial government has banned all demonstrations ever since those held on 19 and 20 September, which the police dispersed with a great deal of violence.
The police prevented Saturday’s demonstration by moving into the area where it was to have been held and occupying it for the entire day, and by using teargas to disperse groups as they began to gather in other parts of the city.
Ever since the electoral process stalled and mutated into a trial of strength between government and opposition, media outlets that serve as opposition mouthpieces or interview opposition politicians have been exposed to the possibility of closure or reprisals of other kinds.
At least ten media outlets have been closed arbitrarily in the past 24 months. After being closed for a year, two – Vital Kamhere’s Canal Futur Télévision (CFTV) and Jean-Pierre Bemba’s Canal Kin Télévision (CKTV) – reopened in August as a result of political dialogue boycotted by the opposition coalition known as the Rassemblement.
The DRC is ranked 152nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom Index.


An improvised explosive device explosion in Kyeshero, in Goma, North Kivu, resulted in the death of one Congolese girl and the injury of two Congolese civilians as well as 32 peacekeepers, including five who were seriously wounded.
NEW YORK, United States of America, November 9, 2016 – The Secretary-General condemns today’s attack against peacekeepers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
An improvised explosive device explosion in Kyeshero, in Goma, North Kivu, resulted in the death of one Congolese girl and the injury of two Congolese civilians as well as 32 peacekeepers, including five who were seriously wounded.
The Secretary-General extends his sincere condolences to the family of the civilian killed and the Congolese people and wishes a speedy and full recovery to the injured peacekeepers and civilians. He calls for swift action to bring the perpetrators of this attack to justice.









07/11/2016: An increasing number of South Sudanese will continue to face difficulty in meeting daily food needs in the coming months despite harvests, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has warned.
The end of the lean season and start of harvests in South Sudan are traditionally associated with a reduction in food insecurity due to more food stocks and lower food prices in the markets, bringing much needed relief. According to recent FAO assessments, the number of severely food insecure people at this time is 3.7 million people – 31 percent of the country’s estimated population and an increase of an overall 1 million people compared to the same period last year.
Though harvests have provided some reprieve, FAO experts warn that the benefits will be short lived as local stocks will deplete rapidly. Following seasonal patterns food insecurity levels in 2017 is destined to rapidly deteriorate to massive proportions. The risk of famine is increasingly real, especially for South Sudan’s most vulnerable communities.
“The renewed violence has had severe repercussions on agricultural production and stability needs to be restored to enable farmers to return to their fields. We are seeing an unprecedented number of food insecure people at harvest time and many more people at risk of starvation in the months to come as stocks run out. There is a need to act now to prevent a catastrophe,” warns Serge Tissot, FAO Representative.
The Equatoria region which is responsible for over half of the country’s net cereal production has been severely impacted by the recent violence. In active conflict areas, an estimated 50 percent of all harvests have been lost and even more farmers were unable to plant for the second season due to insecurity. The displacement of people from those areas is also due to have profound effects on agricultural production, FAO experts warn.
Moreover, of grave concern is the most fragile areas Northern Bahr el Ghazal where the structural drivers of food insecurity – including the protracted economic crisis, market failure and the loss or depletion of livelihood assets – have continued to escalate. FAO’s harvest assessments findings show that farmers in this area have produced less than last year, with some areas being hard-hit by flooding and dry spells, raising their vulnerability. The report highlights Aweil East where sorghum production almost halved, dropping from 0.9 to 0.5 tonnes.
Since the outbreak of fighting in South Sudan’s capital Juba and other parts of the country, cereal prices have increased by more than 500 percent compared to the same period last year. Trade has been crippled by rampant insecurity along the main trade routes and traders’ inability to access hard currency for imports forcing them to close-down their businesses.
“With the market collapsing and many families having little to no safety nets to cope, we must empower them with the means to produce their own food. With this we want to structurally strengthen their livelihoods and boost their resilience,” explains Tissot, FAO Representative.
During the forthcoming dry season campaign, FAO aims to target 1.2 million people with distributions of vegetable and fishing kits and provision of trainings to farmers on modern farming techniques to increase yields. At the same time, FAO is preparing to meet the country’s greatest needs for the main planting season; this includes the provision of much needed agricultural inputs so that the most vulnerable can produce their own food. For this to happen, the food agency requires US $ 28 million by the end of the year.
