The Struggle for the Congo goes Online as well

Over the last few months the Situation within the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been one of the dominating factors on both the International News pages and the Editorial Pages. Currently there are Militias, Peacekeepers and African Troops that are active in the Lawless East, and information itself is controlled from Kinshasa as well.

The two main sources of information from the Country have no direct ties to the current Congolese Leadership. The United Nations Mission in the Congo better known under the French Acronym MONUC compiles a Daily News Digest of current UN Operations and highlights the current Military Operations in the Kivu Provinces. There is also a link to pertinent Documents from the UN Security Council and other UN Agencies as well.

There is a source of Information as well that has not had the publicity of MONUC. The Main Tutsi Group the CNDP (The National Congress for the Defense of the People) has its own News Portal as well. This is a Bi-lingual site (French and English) which puts a decidedly pro-CNDP Spin on the News that it presents. However despite the Arrest of its Leader General Nkunda several weeks ago the site also documents how it feels that the ongoing struggle in the Kivu Provinces is seen through their eyes. This is their attempt to promote their agenda to the world despite what they perceive as Bias against them.

We cannot leave out those who are concerned with all of the troubles that permeate the Congo. Some of the other problems that the World does not hear about are the Exploitation of the Abundant Natural Resources in the Country, The Problems of having Independent Media outlets that are allowed to function, The Sexual Exploitation of Women and the all around Corruption that seems to hinder any Progress in the Country despite the two rounds of highly lauded Elections over the last few years.

There are two groups that quickly Jump to Prominence. They are Friends of the Congo and Congo Global Action. In recent weeks while the Cycle of Violence ramped up to High Speed Again in the Kivu Provinces these groups organized support amongst their allies in Washington. There has been a concerted effort to have the new US Administration support any and all Peace Efforts in the Congo. A Similar Group known as Congo Forum also exists in Brussels and accomplishes the same tasks.

Another Reason why these groups are valuable is the Treasure of Information that they will Provide from activist groups, Governments, and others that are concerned with the myriad of Problems that plague Africa's largest Country. The Internet has allowed for Additional Fronts in this struggle to open up as well. Now when there are new reports of strife or even new atrocities they don't come from Kinshasa or Kigali but now can come from New York ,Washington or even Addis Ababa.

A New Front for the Struggle in the Congo has opened up. This could determine how several Governments will respond to Future Crisis Situations as well. In the future the responses will not just be limited to the Congo as well.

The Editor Publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet. It can be found at morganrights.tripod.com