VIOLENT CLASHES BETWEEN POLICE AND POLITICAL- RELIGIOUS

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000025 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PINS PTER PREL CG SUBJECT: VIOLENT CLASHES BETWEEN POLICE AND POLITICAL- RELIGIOUS SECT ¶1. (U) Summary: Clashes between police and members of the political-religious sect Bundia dia Kongo (BDK) on January 5 in Bas-Congo Province left at least six people dead and dozens more injured. The violence is the latest manifestation of tension between the BDK and the Congolese government. The BDK, a mysterious and secretive sect which mixes mysticism, political activism, and Bakongo nationalism, has as its stated goal the establishment of a "Bakongo Kingdom" encompassing Bas-Congo Province as well as parts of Angola, the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville, and Gabon. The ongoing tension presents still another challenge to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and its goal of achieving peace and unity in a country where the threat of ethnic separatism remains a reality. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On January 5, Congolese police clashed with supporters of the BDK in Vanga, Bas-Congo Province. The BDK had apparently kidnapped a policeman in an attempt to force the release of BDK militants held by security forces. When the police attempted to rescue their colleague, five BDK supporters were crushed under a police vehicle when they refused to get out of the way, and one agent of Congo's national intelligence agency (Agence Nationale de Renseignement) was also killed. Other violent incidents in recent years involving the BDK and its supporters include clashes in January-February 2007 following the BDK's protests against alleged corruption during gubernatorial elections which resulted in more than 100 deaths, violent protests in the port city of Matadi in 2006 over alleged favoritism in hiring shown to persons originating outside of Bas-Congo at the expense of natives, and clashes in July 2002 following the BDK's refusal to cancel an unauthorized ceremony to celebrate the "40th anniversary of the Central Kongo Province Foundation" which killed approximately forty people. ¶3. (U) Comment: While the BDK is small in numbers, with an estimated 200 hard-core members, it wields significant influence in Bas-Congo province due to the large number of BDK sympathizers and supporters among the Bakongo people, the largest ethnic group in Bas-Congo Province, and the fact that its spiritual leader, Ne Mwanda Nsemi, is an elected member of the National Assembly. If the level of violence escalates, it could present a serious challenge to the central government, which is currently preoccupied with armed insurgencies in North Kivu. The BDK's ethnocentric and separatist agenda is worrisome given the Congo's fragile national unity and history of attempted secession along ethnic lines. End Comment. Garvelink