Tag Archives: Congo

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Britain sending refused Congo asylum seekers back to threat of torture

Asylum seekers tell of imprisonment in DRC and violent persecution when they return.
Diane Taylor in the Guardian newspaper: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/27/drc-congo-deport-torture, Wednesday 27 May 2009.

No Borders opposes the Britain state’s policy of removing asylum seekers to DR Congo which they are now doing again with charter flights such as the one last Thursday carrying 24 people to Kinshasa. As usual, the UK Border Agency trots out it’s usual story about “ensuring that removals are carried out in the most sensitive way possible, treating those being removed with courtesy and dignity”. Yeah, right: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/british-guards-assault-and-racially-abuse-deportees-396034.html

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Hypocrisy over war in DR Congo

In a recent article in the Independent newspaper, the seriousness of conflicts in and around DR Congo could not be plainer.

But, as pointed out in this article by Get Loud: War Child Canada, the press often fail to point out the roots of the warfare due to colonial and corporate grabbing of land and resources that has been going on for centuries. Also it’s a fact that the world’s Top 5 arms producers are the members of the UN Security Council: US, Russia, France, UK & Germany. It’s these Top 5 and China that have ensured Africa is awash with weapons and continue to sell arms. For example throughout the Cold War (1950-1989), the US delivered over $1.5 billion worth of weaponry to Africa. Many of the top US arms clients ? Liberia, Somalia, the Sudan, and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DRC) ? have turned out to be the worst in terms of violence.

It’s therefore more than sickening to see the leading politicians of Britain and France saying something must be done to help, which usually involves more guns and soldiers but no real change to poverty, and especially anything that would affect business as usual for corporations. At the same time our governments are making it harder for refugees to escape to Europe by their borders and identity policies and attitude to non-EU born people in general. No Borders Nottingham has and will continue to support Congolese asylum seekers who wish to stay in Britain whatever the government says about the safety or otherwise of DR Congo. It’s also sickening to know that while Heckler & Koch, continue to distribute arms from their offices & depot right here in Lenton, their MP5 sub-machine gun and P7 semi-automatic pistol are being used in DR Congo. Also their older G3 assault rifle is the weapon of choice of the Janjaweed in Darfur/Sudan and were also used in the 2008 post-election massacres in Kenya. H&K is the world?s second-largest manufacturer of handguns, assault rifles, submachine guns, machine guns and grenade launchers.
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Stop deportations to the Congo – join demonstration in Nottingham on March 28th

Stop deportations to the Congo - join demonstration in Nottingham on March 28th

The Country Guidance Tribunal set for 28th March has been moved to Thursday April 12th. There wil be a demo on Wednesday as planned and a further, hopefully even bigger demonstraion on April 12th. Watch this space for details.

Read more for leaflet and more details.

* Asylum seekers in Nottingham need your help in putting pressure on the government to admit that its deportation policy is wrong.
XL Airlines are the company deporting people to Congo.
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Remembering Masivi Olido

Remembering Masivi OlidoNottingham No Borders is sad and angry ? very angry – to have to report the death of Masivi Olido. We are proud to have demonstrated side by side with him for the rights of asylum seekers and to raise awareness in Nottingham of the situation faced by Congolese people that the British state is trying to deport. Too many people are dying in this system, through neglect and worse. In Masivi’s case, very few of us even knew he was ill. We knew him as a fighter. There are questions to be answered here, but in the short term the Congolese community is looking to dignify his memory and help his family a little, so we hope people visiting our site will give a little money and circulate this appeal. Look out for his picture in our random gallery and remember him with us.

URGENT FINANCIAL APPEAL TOWARDS THE FUNERAL COSTS OF MASIVI OLIDO WHO DIED SUDDENLY ON SATURDAY 9TH AUGUST 2008

Let’s dignify MASIVI OLIDO and do good deed as he did for many people. MASIVI OLIDO, a 36 year old young man with a big heart full of compassion died suddenly on Saturday 9th August. Masivi was an active member of the Nottingham Congolese Community, and a member of MPR, who came to the UK and claimed asylum when the Mobutu regime was replaced by Kabila and Rwandan rebel forces in wars that have made the DR Congo one of the most dangerous places on earth. The Home Office sent him to Nottingham in 2001 where he lived until his last hour.

At the moment we need to make sure we have enough funds to bury him in a dignified way. He will be buried according to his cultural tradition. He must look smart as he always used to be.

We need to raise enough funds for this to happen. The funeral costs are estimated to be more than £2,500 We also need to make a one-off donation to his two children, his wife and his elderly mother.

Please click on ‘read more’ to find out more and how to donate to the appeal.
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Release Marie-Therese Nlandu

Please below the link of an online petition for the release of Marie-Therese Nlandu, a Human Rights Lawyer detained from November 21, 2006 in the notorious prison of Makala in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Special Services who are under the direct control of President Kabila. Ask your friends, relatives, colleagues to do so. In advance, thank you for your support in this sad story.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/marie-therese

If you would like to find out more, you can visit the campaign website on:

www.freemarietherese.com or www.liberezmarietherese.com
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Demonstration in Nottingham against Congo ‘safety’ ruling

Following an earlier protest on March 28th, a midday demonstration took place in Nottingham city centre because of a “directions hearing” for the Country Guidance tribunal on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) taking place today, that could result in denial of asylum cases and deportations of Congolese refugees living locally and across Britain. DR Congo is not safe and the British state must not be allowed to get away with sending people back who have come here to escape persecution.

Around 60 people demonstrated in Nottingham’s market square over the lunchtime period, some singing in protest. 500 information leaflets were handed out and the response from passers-by was positive. The protest then made its way to The Bridewell courts area next to the canal. More details to follow soon, regarding the result of the hearing.

New National Photos

Nottingham – additional report with photographs: DRC Deportations Demo (April 12) & Demonstrations against Congo deportations – a report on both demos on the Nottingham and Notts Refugee Forum home page.

Reports from other April 12th demos … Birmingham: Over 250 DR Congolese on Anti-Deportation demo in Birmingham & Solihull Protest Against Deportations to DRC & Police Mar Peaceful Protest Against DRC Deportations in Solihull – includes photos. London: Protest against deportations to DRC – includes video.
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Demo on day of ‘Directions Hearing’ for Country Guidance Tribunal DR Congo 12-Apr-07

On Thursday 12th April 2007, there will be a “directions hearing” for the Country Guidance tribunal on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This will be a meeting between the judge, the barristers bringing the case and the home office to ensure all parties have been served with the information they need. After this the date for the full hearing will be established.
We need to be out in force on 12th April, and on any subsequent tribunal dates, to show our solidarity with Congolese asylum seekers and to protest against further deportations to DRC.
NOTTINGHAM DEMO is at 12.00 noon in The Market Square. All welcome. Read more for contacts and other demos on April 12th…

Also, listen to an Interview regarding Congo Deportations, with Innocent Empi who is the Manchester Representative of the Congo Support Project.
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Congolese demonstrate in Nottingham and Leicester

Today in seven UK cities including Nottingham and Leicester, the Congolese community and their supporters held demonstrations to focus attention on government plans to categorise the ‘Democratic’ Republic of Congo as a ‘safe’ country to return people who have been fleeing the violence to the UK in search of security. In Nottingham people rallied and marched, highlighting that the Congolese who have already been deported face a very uncertain fate.

Between 60 and 80 people, including other asylum seekers (showing wonderful and much appreciated solidarity) & supporters from the host community, joined our vibrant Congolese community. We were-well received by people in the Market Square, who took the leaflet and asked for more information, and many signed our petition. We also learned more about the hundreds of people killed in Congo in recent weeks. Several Congolese did excellent interviews with the BBC locally too, and the coverage they gave on the local news tonight was postive and accurate (See the video! – Leicester then Nottingham then Congo [attachment=4]) . We then marched to the Bridewell Magistrates Court and sang and even danced for sanctuary (See the photos from Nottingham demo!- click to see full size images). More photos expected on Notts indymedia.
Congolese demonstrate in Nottingham and LeicesterCongolese demonstrate in Nottingham and Leicester
Congolese demonstrate in Nottingham and LeicesterCongolese demonstrate in Nottingham and LeicesterCongolese demonstrate in Nottingham and Leicester
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UN warns of thousands of victims of DR Congo fighting

From Goma, DR Congo, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP)
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=15669

UN officials warned here Tuesday that fighting between rebels and army troops in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo had displaced up to 500,000 people and left many in an “appalling” situation. The warning came as heavy fighting between forces loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda and the army continued in the Nord-Kivu region Tuesday, the day after the rebels launched an “active offensive” against army troops. A spokesman for the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the provincial capital Goma told AFP Tuesday that it had recorded 371,000 people as internally displaced in the region since December 2006.
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Video of interviews outside DR Congo ‘country guidance tribunal’ Sept 21

No deportations to DRCongo.
From Indymedia UK
DRC IS NOT SAFE | 25.09.2007 16:07 | Anti-racism | Migration
These are links to interviews done by Friction TV at the demonstration on 21 September outside the Country Guidance Tribunal into DRC.
[Video interview 1] [Video interview 2] [Video interview 3] [Video interview 4]
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