The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) says South Africa is also complicit in the imperialism that the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are suffering under.
GIWUSA Provincial Secretary Abeedah Adams and scores of protestors, led by the Congolese Civil Society South Africa, marched to Parliament.
They marched against injustice, genocide, resource extraction and ecological devastation in the DRC.
Adams explains, “South Africa is equally complicit. We have mines in the Congo. South Africa has mines and business interests in the Congo. So for us, it’s not just to say we’re done with American imperialism. We are also rejecting our own South African imperialism and pledging our solidarity with the people of the Congo. This is a fight against imperialism. This is a fight against capitalism. So, we are not saying this here because we are in solidarity with the people of Congo. We are also pledging our solidarity with everybody who is fighting against imperialism and capitalism.”
One of the speakers at the march to Parliament led by the Congolese Civil Society South Africa, Hanna Mutanda Kaniki, says any eradication of people for capital gains is genocide.
Kaniki formed part of the scores of activists who voiced their concern over the injustice, genocide, resource extraction and ecological devastation in the DRC.
“Any eradication of people for capital gains is genocide. You must understand that this is a genocide. It is silent because we are black people. It is silent because we are African people. It is not acknowledged because we are the country with the resources. We are the country that birthed humanity. We are the country that sustains the rest of the world but to this we say you must acknowledge it is a genocide. If you do believe it is genocide, then what are you doing here today?”
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chairperson of the Congolese Civil Society of South Africa Joe Salankang says there are what he calls a coalition of countries that want to take control of the minerals of the DRC.
“Congo is a very rich country, we know. And Congo has the most important mineral that saw the development of industry today, copper, cobalt and others. So, there is a coalition of countries who are making a plan to take control of those mineral not for the interest of Congolese people. So, they organise themselves. The transnational from their own countries and they are fueling violence for 30 years inside of Congo. So, to get access to the inside Congo, and the other side of Congo, they are using our neighbours countries using the role of puppet government. Using the role of puppet leaders in Africa. Kagame from Rwanda, Museveni from Uganda talking too much.”
