01-05-2019, 11:27 PM
*** 6-Jan-19 World View -- Trump announces that US troops will be sent to DR Congo
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Trump announces that US troops will be sent to DR Congo
****
![[Image: g190105b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g190105b.jpg)
American soldiers in a a combined training exercise with Senegalese troops in Thies, Senegal, on July 25, 2016 (AFP)
President Trump announced that US troops will be sent to Gabon, in
anticipation of "violent" demonstrations in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) if and when the results of the December 30 presidential
election are announced.
The announcement came in a Friday evening letter to House speaker
Nancy Pelosi:
<QUOTE>"Dear Madam Speaker:
United States Armed Forces personnel have deployed to Libreville,
Gabon, to be in position to support the security of United States
citizens, personnel, and diplomatic facilities in Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of the Congo. This deployment of
approximately 80 personnel is in response to the possibility that
violent demonstrations may occur in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo in reaction to the December 30, 2018, elections there. The
first of these personnel arrived in Gabon on January 2, 2019, with
appropriate combat equipment and supported by military aircraft.
Additional forces may deploy to Gabon, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, or the Republic of the Congo, if necessary for these
purposes. These deployed personnel will remain in the region
until the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo becomes such that their presence is no longer needed.
This action was taken consistent with my responsibility to protect
United States citizens both at home and abroad, and in furtherance
of United States national security and foreign policy interests,
pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct United States
foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.
I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the
Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution
(Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in
these actions.<END QUOTE>
The letter indicates that the U.S. is concerned with the safety of
American officials and facilities in Congo, not with the DRC electoral
situation itself. A State Department travel warning was issued in
mid-December, urging Americans to "reconsider travel" to DRC "due to
crime and civil unrest."
Gabon is a small country on the northwest border of DRC. Libreville
is the capital city. White House and CBS News and CNN
****
**** DR Congo delays releasing election results again
****
The president of CENI, the election commission of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), indefinitely postponed the release of the
preliminary results of the December 30 presidential election, saying
that it was not yet clear when the results would be ready for release.
The election was originally supposed to take place in December 2016.
Joseph Kabila, the incumbent president, is not permitted to run
again, according to the constitution, and so he has postponed
the election several times. The last postponement was from
December 23, 2018, to December 30, when the election finally took
place.
In the week prior to the election, Kabila's election commission said
that the election will still be held, 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. What these three cities
have in common is that they are strongholds for anti-Kabila
opposition. On election day, the local government of Beni held its
own elections, just to prove that voting was not "dangerous."
Preliminary results were to be released today (Sunday, January 6),
until the CENI announcement on Saturday, delaying the release.
There are widespread suspicions that Kabila is trying to find a way to
rig the vote count so that the winner will be his 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.
Kabila has shut down the internet all week, supposedly to prevent the
incitement of riots. Kabila has made it illegal for any organization
to announce election results before CENI does. It's believed that
these laws were specifically targeted to the Catholic Church, which
had sent more than 40,000 observers to poling stations across the
country.
On Thursday, the National Episcopal Conference Of Congo (CENCO)
released a lengthy statement about its conclusions. It listed several
irregularities in the voting procedures, and then reached a startling
conclusion: From its own data, CENCO knows who won the election, but
won't announce the name, in keeping with the law against announcing
election results.
CENCO called on the election commission to do the following:
<QUOTE>"In order to respect the will of the People and to
dispel any suspicion, CENCO proposes the following scheme for the
integrity of the results which will have to be published:
1 Only take into account the results from manual counting that
were published and posted in front of the polling and counting
stations;
2 Ensure that the consistency check at the Local Results
Compilation Centers (CLCR) is carried out in the presence of
observers and witnesses.
3 Publish the results polling station by polling
station."<END QUOTE>
CENCO did not name the purported election winner, but reports indicate
that it was the main opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu.
The capital city Kinshasa is very tense right now. There were almost
full-scale riots in December 2016, but the Catholic Church intervened
and quieted the situation. If CENI continues to delay announcing the
election results, or if it announces that Shadary is the winner,
there may be widespread riots again.
The situation is so serious that it's believed that this is the reason
that President Trump announced the deployment of troops to Gabon,
available to protect the safety of American officials and facilities
in DRC. Reuters and Guardian (London) and CENCO (DRC Catholic Church)
****
**** Ebola outbreak spreads more slowly than feared in DR Congo
****
The Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC is still growing, but not as quickly
as had been feared. The outbreak total is 613 cases, including 565
confirmed and 54 suspected cases. Health officials are still
investigating 54 suspected infections.
According to Tedros Adhanom, the Director-General of the World Health
Organization (WHO), the DRC Ebola outbreak would have been much worse
without the use of Merck's experimental Ebola vaccine, known as
VSV-EBOV. He based his assessment on the fact that infections haven't
grown exponentially. Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDRAP)
Related Articles:
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Libreville, Gabon, Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi,
CENI election commission, Joseph Kabila,
Beni, Butembo, Yumbi, Ebola,
Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, Martin Fayulu,
National Episcopal Conference Of Congo, CENCO,
Tedros Adhanom, World Health Organization, WHO,
Merck, VSV-EBOV
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
- Trump announces that US troops will be sent to DR Congo
- DR Congo delays releasing election results again
- Ebola outbreak spreads more slowly than feared in DR Congo
****
**** Trump announces that US troops will be sent to DR Congo
****
American soldiers in a a combined training exercise with Senegalese troops in Thies, Senegal, on July 25, 2016 (AFP)
President Trump announced that US troops will be sent to Gabon, in
anticipation of "violent" demonstrations in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) if and when the results of the December 30 presidential
election are announced.
The announcement came in a Friday evening letter to House speaker
Nancy Pelosi:
<QUOTE>"Dear Madam Speaker:
United States Armed Forces personnel have deployed to Libreville,
Gabon, to be in position to support the security of United States
citizens, personnel, and diplomatic facilities in Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of the Congo. This deployment of
approximately 80 personnel is in response to the possibility that
violent demonstrations may occur in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo in reaction to the December 30, 2018, elections there. The
first of these personnel arrived in Gabon on January 2, 2019, with
appropriate combat equipment and supported by military aircraft.
Additional forces may deploy to Gabon, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, or the Republic of the Congo, if necessary for these
purposes. These deployed personnel will remain in the region
until the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo becomes such that their presence is no longer needed.
This action was taken consistent with my responsibility to protect
United States citizens both at home and abroad, and in furtherance
of United States national security and foreign policy interests,
pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct United States
foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.
I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the
Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution
(Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in
these actions.<END QUOTE>
The letter indicates that the U.S. is concerned with the safety of
American officials and facilities in Congo, not with the DRC electoral
situation itself. A State Department travel warning was issued in
mid-December, urging Americans to "reconsider travel" to DRC "due to
crime and civil unrest."
Gabon is a small country on the northwest border of DRC. Libreville
is the capital city. White House and CBS News and CNN
****
**** DR Congo delays releasing election results again
****
The president of CENI, the election commission of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), indefinitely postponed the release of the
preliminary results of the December 30 presidential election, saying
that it was not yet clear when the results would be ready for release.
The election was originally supposed to take place in December 2016.
Joseph Kabila, the incumbent president, is not permitted to run
again, according to the constitution, and so he has postponed
the election several times. The last postponement was from
December 23, 2018, to December 30, when the election finally took
place.
In the week prior to the election, Kabila's election commission said
that the election will still be held, 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. What these three cities
have in common is that they are strongholds for anti-Kabila
opposition. On election day, the local government of Beni held its
own elections, just to prove that voting was not "dangerous."
Preliminary results were to be released today (Sunday, January 6),
until the CENI announcement on Saturday, delaying the release.
There are widespread suspicions that Kabila is trying to find a way to
rig the vote count so that the winner will be his 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.
Kabila has shut down the internet all week, supposedly to prevent the
incitement of riots. Kabila has made it illegal for any organization
to announce election results before CENI does. It's believed that
these laws were specifically targeted to the Catholic Church, which
had sent more than 40,000 observers to poling stations across the
country.
On Thursday, the National Episcopal Conference Of Congo (CENCO)
released a lengthy statement about its conclusions. It listed several
irregularities in the voting procedures, and then reached a startling
conclusion: From its own data, CENCO knows who won the election, but
won't announce the name, in keeping with the law against announcing
election results.
CENCO called on the election commission to do the following:
<QUOTE>"In order to respect the will of the People and to
dispel any suspicion, CENCO proposes the following scheme for the
integrity of the results which will have to be published:
1 Only take into account the results from manual counting that
were published and posted in front of the polling and counting
stations;
2 Ensure that the consistency check at the Local Results
Compilation Centers (CLCR) is carried out in the presence of
observers and witnesses.
3 Publish the results polling station by polling
station."<END QUOTE>
CENCO did not name the purported election winner, but reports indicate
that it was the main opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu.
The capital city Kinshasa is very tense right now. There were almost
full-scale riots in December 2016, but the Catholic Church intervened
and quieted the situation. If CENI continues to delay announcing the
election results, or if it announces that Shadary is the winner,
there may be widespread riots again.
The situation is so serious that it's believed that this is the reason
that President Trump announced the deployment of troops to Gabon,
available to protect the safety of American officials and facilities
in DRC. Reuters and Guardian (London) and CENCO (DRC Catholic Church)
****
**** Ebola outbreak spreads more slowly than feared in DR Congo
****
The Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC is still growing, but not as quickly
as had been feared. The outbreak total is 613 cases, including 565
confirmed and 54 suspected cases. Health officials are still
investigating 54 suspected infections.
According to Tedros Adhanom, the Director-General of the World Health
Organization (WHO), the DRC Ebola outbreak would have been much worse
without the use of Merck's experimental Ebola vaccine, known as
VSV-EBOV. He based his assessment on the fact that infections haven't
grown exponentially. Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDRAP)
Related Articles:
- DR Congo in election chaos, as Ebola continues to spread (29-Dec-2018)
- DR Congo's Kabila manipulates election to stay in power as Ebola spreads (20-Dec-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, Libreville, Gabon, Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi,
CENI election commission, Joseph Kabila,
Beni, Butembo, Yumbi, Ebola,
Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, Martin Fayulu,
National Episcopal Conference Of Congo, CENCO,
Tedros Adhanom, World Health Organization, WHO,
Merck, VSV-EBOV
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
