Comments on: DRC Roundup: Elections, Mining Corruption, Peacekeepers & More

By: Lisa Okun

Lisa Okun — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 15:41:05 +0000

Dear Friend,

We would like to invite you to our special coverage of Election in Democratic Republic of Congo

Human Rights Watch has been documenting human rights abuses in Democratic Republic of Congo for number of years. Information can be found at http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=congo

We came across your blog while searching online for blogs covering Congo. We are sending this invitation to a small group of bloggers who we thought might want to use our content to highlight human rights issues concerning people in Congo. Please let us know if you would like us to send updates about our work on a regular basis. We would be glad to add your name to our list. We hope that you will excuse us for sending one unsolicited email.

Thanking you in advance,
Lisa Okun (afr_ik2@hrw.org)
Human Rights Watch, Africa Division

Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.

By: TheMalau (Ali)

TheMalau (Ali) — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 21:53:07 +0000

I appreciate that you included the Salon in your round-up. I will try to be more consistent in writing articles on the elctions these upcoming days.

By: Jennifer Brea

Jennifer Brea — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 12:30:39 +0000

Thank you both for your comments. Philippe, I apologize for the authorship mistake - I must not have seen the byline on the bottom of the post, so thank you for making me aware of that. Black River Eagle, correction also noted and my apologies to Kim Gjerstad. With respect to your comment, I think you're right - there are marked differences between how the mainstream media and how many bloggers see the upcoming elections, which is why I'm glad Global Voices engages in this kind of translation work. For more on this topic, see an interesting analysis of a recent Le Monde article by Congolese blogger Anthony Katombe (Partial translation is available here under "DR of Congo").

By: Philippe Liondjo

Philippe Liondjo — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 12:08:28 +0000

Dear Jennifer,
I am deeply disapointed to read that the text I wrote and published on my blog (Prince du Fleuve)and titled “Mensonges d’Etat” (Lies of State) has been attributed to my very ggod friend Anthony Katombe. Should you kindly correct this.

Many thanks, Philippe “The Prince” Lomboto Liondjo.

By: Black River Eagle

Black River Eagle — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 12:06:27 +0000

It is really great to see this roundup at Global Voices on the important issues facing the people of the DR Congo and those of us from around the world who care about what is happening there.

It should be noted that while many Congolese citizens remain pessimistic about the follow-on effects of the upcoming national elections, MONUC officials, CIAT officials, UN officials, and the handful of governments that are involved with the elections and development and security issues in the DRC are expressing a markedly upbeat view about the progress achieved over the past 3 years.

Note that Kim Gjerstad is a 1.97 meter tall lanky Canadian male and not a woman. There is a great photo of him standing next to an indigenous Congolese tribesman about half his height (see Kim’s blog June 5th).

Thanks so much for the translations of post excerpts from French language blogs to English, it is very much appreciated. Trés bon!