End Rwanda’s Support of General Laurent Nkunda in DR Congo

Letter writing campaign to U.S. Congress to put pressure on Rwandan President Paul Kagame to stop aiding the dissident general Laurent Nkunda! If Nkunda’s funding from Rwanda is cut off then his army will desert him and his grip on the gorilla sector of Virunga National Park will, we hope, lessen. PLEASE write to your Congressional reps and urge them to put pressure on Rwanda to stop funding Nkunda. Robin Andreae wrote a sample letter for us to use. Please feel free to add your own comments or write your own letter. You can contact all of your Congressional reps at Congress.org or on their individual Web sites available at House.gov and Senate.gov.

Congress.org allows you to contact all your representatives, including the president, at one time and has a handy meter that gauges the effectiveness of your letter by number of words. The letter below meets their criteria for length. You may also send a letter by snail mail or fax.

The Democratic Republic of Congo endures what the United Nations calls the deadliest conflict since World War II. We need to help stem the flow of blood and violence. I request that we strongly urge President Kagame and the Rwandan government to act immediately to stop any and all support of the rebel leader and war criminal Laurent Nkunda, to cut off the recruitment from its territory of individuals, including children, as fighters for Laurent Nkunda’s forces, and to comply with the UN arms embargo by ensuring that no military equipment crosses its frontier into the DRC. His whereabouts have been well known, yet nothing has been done to capture him.

Nkunda occupies part of Virunga National Park and park rangers can no longer safely patrol the park for snares, poachers, and illegal charcoal makers. Funds have been raised for his war from the illegal charcoal trade that destroys vast acres of the park’s lush forests and prime wildlife habitat. If we do not act soon, the population of rare mountain gorillas may soon vanish, charcoal looters and poachers will irreparably destroy a world treasure, Virunga National Park, and the Congolese people will bear the scars of war and famine for generations to come.

Thousands of Congolese citizens have fled from the fighting. Many of the refugees suffer from exposure, malnutrition and diseases like malaria are common. Please urge President Kagame to end any relations between his government and the rebel Laurent Nkunda. We must act now. Share on Facebook