12-28-2018, 11:22 PM
*** 29-Dec-18 World View -- DR Congo in election chaos, as Ebola continues to spread
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** DR Congo in election chaos, as Ebola continues to spread
****
![[Image: g181228b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g181228b.jpg)
WHO Ebola health workers in Democratic Republic of Congo (WHO)
There was supposed to be a presidential election in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday, December 23, but it got postponed.
The current president, Joseph Kabila, was supposed to step down in
December 2016, but he refused to step down and postponed the
presidential election for a year. Then, in December 2017, he refused
again to step down, and postponed the presidential election for a
year, until December 23 of last week.
Kabila himself will not be running, since the constitution limits him
to the two terms he's already served. Instead, he has a hand-picked
successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. Many people believe that if
Shadary wins, then he will just be a puppet with Kabila as the
puppetmaster.
So Joseph Kabila's election commission (CENI) postponed the December
23 election for a week, until December 30. The reason given is that
there weren't enough voting machines.
This week, there are new tactics. Kabila's election commission said
that the election will still be held on Sunday, but will be delayed
until March in three cities -- Beni, Butembo and Yumbi. The reasons
given for Beni and Butembo are that there are Ebola outbreaks in those
cities, and that voting would be "dangerous." However, voting has not
been delayed in other cities with Ebola outbreaks.
The reason given for Yumbi is that there's violence in Yumbi. Of
course there's violence in many DRC cities.
But what's special about these three cities -- Beni, Butembo and Yumbi
-- is that all three cities are strongholds for anti-Kabila
opposition. Voting will continue as usual in other cities where there
is Ebola or violence. So there are 1.2 million votes in these three
cities, and there are 40 million registered voters in all of DRC. So
Kabila has disenfranchise over a million opposition supporters.
On Friday, Kabila's election commission had some further news. About
20% of the polling stations in the capital city Kinshasa will not be
open because of lack of voting machines. There's no word on whether
those polling stations will all be in opposition strongholds of
Kinshasa. However, the election commission says that voters will be
directed to other polling stations in the city.
Kabila cannot afford to simply step down, thanks to rampant, massive
corruption. Kabila and his family own, either partially or wholly,
more than 80 companies and businesses
in the country and abroad. He and his children own more
than 71,000 hectares (175,444 acres) of farmland. His family owns
diamond mines, a part of the country's largest mobile phone network,
companies that mine mineral deposits, gold and limestone, a luxury
hotel, stakes in an airline, a share of the country's banks, and a
fast-food franchise. With tentacles reaching into so many businesses,
it's not surprising that Kabila is willing to use any method --
massacres, atrocities, jailings, torture -- to stay in power. If he
were out of power, he and his family and friends might well be jailed
or executed.
DRC's foreign ministry has unexpectedly announced the expulsion of
European Union ambassador Bart Ouvry, saying he has 48 hours to leave
in retaliation for the EU's decision to renew sanctions against DRC
officials, including Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who is Kabila's
hand-picked successor. As Minister of the Interior and Security,
Shadary was first sanctioned in 2017 for arrests and violent
suppression of Kabila's political opposition. AP and
Al Jazeera and Reuters and Africa News
****
**** DRC anti-government protesters attack Ebola clinic in Beni
****
Protesters angry with the postponement of Sunday's presidential
election in Beni attacked an Ebola clinic in that city on Thursday.
During the attack, shots were fired, some tents were burnt down and
tables and chairs were stolen. About 21 people fled the clinic though
most returned after that attack ended.
This attack is emblematic of the problems that the World Health
Organization (WHO) and its partners are having in the North Kivu and
Ituri provinces of DRC, where the current outbreak of Ebola continues
to spread.
As of December 26, a total of 591 Ebola cases, including 543 confirmed
and 48 probable cases, have been reported in the two neighboring
provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. Of these cases, 54 were healthcare
workers, of which 18 died. Overall, 357 cases have died (case fatality
ratio 60%).
WHO health officials might have already ended the Ebola outbreak, but
they are being prevented from doing their work by the civil war in
progress, and now by the demonstrators protesting the cancellation of
elections in Beni and Butembo.
In particular, the teams in Beni are unable to carry out critical
field work, including vaccinations, contact tracing, and following up
on alerts of potential new cases.
WHO is concerned that if there is a period of prolonged insecurity,
then there will be increased transmission of Ebola. Fortunately, many
people in the local communities, including the local health
authorities, are helping the WHO workers. World Health Organization and BBC and World Health Organization and Reuters
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC,
Joseph Kabila, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary,
Ebola, World Health Organization, WHO, North Kivu, Ituru,
Beni, Butembo, Yumbi, Kinshasa
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- DR Congo in election chaos, as Ebola continues to spread
- DRC anti-government protesters attack Ebola clinic in Beni
****
**** DR Congo in election chaos, as Ebola continues to spread
****
WHO Ebola health workers in Democratic Republic of Congo (WHO)
There was supposed to be a presidential election in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday, December 23, but it got postponed.
The current president, Joseph Kabila, was supposed to step down in
December 2016, but he refused to step down and postponed the
presidential election for a year. Then, in December 2017, he refused
again to step down, and postponed the presidential election for a
year, until December 23 of last week.
Kabila himself will not be running, since the constitution limits him
to the two terms he's already served. Instead, he has a hand-picked
successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. Many people believe that if
Shadary wins, then he will just be a puppet with Kabila as the
puppetmaster.
So Joseph Kabila's election commission (CENI) postponed the December
23 election for a week, until December 30. The reason given is that
there weren't enough voting machines.
This week, there are new tactics. Kabila's election commission said
that the election will still be held on Sunday, but will be delayed
until March in three cities -- Beni, Butembo and Yumbi. The reasons
given for Beni and Butembo are that there are Ebola outbreaks in those
cities, and that voting would be "dangerous." However, voting has not
been delayed in other cities with Ebola outbreaks.
The reason given for Yumbi is that there's violence in Yumbi. Of
course there's violence in many DRC cities.
But what's special about these three cities -- Beni, Butembo and Yumbi
-- is that all three cities are strongholds for anti-Kabila
opposition. Voting will continue as usual in other cities where there
is Ebola or violence. So there are 1.2 million votes in these three
cities, and there are 40 million registered voters in all of DRC. So
Kabila has disenfranchise over a million opposition supporters.
On Friday, Kabila's election commission had some further news. About
20% of the polling stations in the capital city Kinshasa will not be
open because of lack of voting machines. There's no word on whether
those polling stations will all be in opposition strongholds of
Kinshasa. However, the election commission says that voters will be
directed to other polling stations in the city.
Kabila cannot afford to simply step down, thanks to rampant, massive
corruption. Kabila and his family own, either partially or wholly,
more than 80 companies and businesses
in the country and abroad. He and his children own more
than 71,000 hectares (175,444 acres) of farmland. His family owns
diamond mines, a part of the country's largest mobile phone network,
companies that mine mineral deposits, gold and limestone, a luxury
hotel, stakes in an airline, a share of the country's banks, and a
fast-food franchise. With tentacles reaching into so many businesses,
it's not surprising that Kabila is willing to use any method --
massacres, atrocities, jailings, torture -- to stay in power. If he
were out of power, he and his family and friends might well be jailed
or executed.
DRC's foreign ministry has unexpectedly announced the expulsion of
European Union ambassador Bart Ouvry, saying he has 48 hours to leave
in retaliation for the EU's decision to renew sanctions against DRC
officials, including Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who is Kabila's
hand-picked successor. As Minister of the Interior and Security,
Shadary was first sanctioned in 2017 for arrests and violent
suppression of Kabila's political opposition. AP and
Al Jazeera and Reuters and Africa News
****
**** DRC anti-government protesters attack Ebola clinic in Beni
****
Protesters angry with the postponement of Sunday's presidential
election in Beni attacked an Ebola clinic in that city on Thursday.
During the attack, shots were fired, some tents were burnt down and
tables and chairs were stolen. About 21 people fled the clinic though
most returned after that attack ended.
This attack is emblematic of the problems that the World Health
Organization (WHO) and its partners are having in the North Kivu and
Ituri provinces of DRC, where the current outbreak of Ebola continues
to spread.
As of December 26, a total of 591 Ebola cases, including 543 confirmed
and 48 probable cases, have been reported in the two neighboring
provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. Of these cases, 54 were healthcare
workers, of which 18 died. Overall, 357 cases have died (case fatality
ratio 60%).
WHO health officials might have already ended the Ebola outbreak, but
they are being prevented from doing their work by the civil war in
progress, and now by the demonstrators protesting the cancellation of
elections in Beni and Butembo.
In particular, the teams in Beni are unable to carry out critical
field work, including vaccinations, contact tracing, and following up
on alerts of potential new cases.
WHO is concerned that if there is a period of prolonged insecurity,
then there will be increased transmission of Ebola. Fortunately, many
people in the local communities, including the local health
authorities, are helping the WHO workers. World Health Organization and BBC and World Health Organization and Reuters
Related Articles
- DR Congo's Kabila manipulates election to stay in power as Ebola spreads (20-Dec-2018)
- Ebola in DR Congo spreads southward to large cities (11-Dec-2018)
- World Health Organization fears 'perfect storm' could spread Ebola rapidly in DR Congo (26-Sep-2018)
- Congo's Kabila and Burundi's Nkurunziza use violence and corruption to stay in power (25-Apr-2018)
- DR Congo boycotts its own international humanitarian conference for DR Congo (14-Apr-2018)
- DR Congo's Joseph Kabila brings the art of power and corruption to new heights (24-Jul-2017)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC,
Joseph Kabila, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary,
Ebola, World Health Organization, WHO, North Kivu, Ituru,
Beni, Butembo, Yumbi, Kinshasa
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
