Six-Day War: A series of activities announced to demand justice

Kisangani, June 2^nd, 2025 (CPA) . – A series of activities was announced on Monday to demand justice, at a press conference held on the occasion of the 25ᵉ anniversary of the six-day war between the Ugandan and Rwandan armies in Kisangani (Tshopo), in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. ‘We are commemorating the 25^th anniversary of the six-day war in Kisangani in order to rebuild the collective memory and re-launch national and international advocacy for justice for the victims. And we have planned several activities for the occasion’, said Jedidia Mabela, Executive Director of the NGO “Actions for Justice, Development and Human Rights (AJDDH)”. ‘As part of this re-launching of advocacy for justice for the victims of the Six-Day War, a series of activities is planned for early June 2025’, he added. He announced that a commemorative service, accompanied by the reading of a memorandum, is scheduled for Thursday, June 5^th, 2025 at the Saint Jean Paul 2 Catholic parish. He also announced that on Saturday, June 7^th, a forum for artistic expression will bring together slammers, poets, bloggers, cartoonists and dancers, giving the floor to victims and survivors to share their stories. The Executive Director of the NGO AJDDH then announced that a conference-debate would be held on Monday, June 9^th on the issues surrounding the Six-Day War and the justice and reparation processes underway. At the same time, he announced that the ‘6 million voices for Justice in Congo’ campaign, organized by a group of national and international organizations including AJDDH, Congo Peace Network, Ukumbusho and Amnesty International, would be stepped up. ‘This commemoration aims to have several major impacts’, he stressed. ‘Firstly, it aims to re-launch both national and international advocacy for the prosecution of all those responsible for the six-day war in Kisangani. It also aims to revive the collective memory of this historic tragedy, while drawing ethical and moral lessons for future generations’, added Jedidia Mabela. Through the debates and testimonies, he continued, a critical assessment of the justice and reparation mechanisms already in place will be drawn up, with the aim of opening up new prospects for effective justice. He also noted that this event would serve as a springboard for extending the reach of the ‘6 million voices for Justice in Congo’ campaign, in order to mobilize a greater number of citizens and allies around the world. According to the Executive Director of the NGO AJDDH, although Uganda has been condemned by the International Court of Justice, Rwanda, which was directly involved in the conflict, has never been called to account. This persistent impunity, accentuated by the silence of the international community, he deplored, is helping to maintain a recurring cycle of violence in the east of the DRC. The session ended with a question-and-answer session with journalists and correspondents from national and international media in Kisangani on the contours and expectations of this communication.