[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a
lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
on Sunday urged Democratic Republic of the Congo
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka
Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
President Joseph Kabila to respect a constitutional law which forbids him from seeking a new term in 2016 elections.
"I believe that it is clear to him (Kabila) that the United States of America feels very strongly, as do other people, that the constitutional process need to respected," Kerry said on a visit to the country.
He announced that the United States would provide funding of $30 million (almost 22 million euros) "to support transparent and credible elections as well as recovery... programs in eastern Congo".
Kerry is on his first major tour of Africa, which is focusing on some of the continent's most brutal conflicts.
A U.S. official said Saturday that Washington was ready to help fund the demobilization of some 12,000 rebels active in dozens of militias in the DRC's mineral-rich, restive east, a plan that is estimated to cost about $100 million.
The DRC government has gained more control in the conflict-hit eastern areas since a national army offensive, backed by a special U.N. brigade, forced the powerful M23 rebel group to lay down its arms in November.