Current Events in the Democratic Republic of Congo

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/world/africa/04congo.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=the%20democratic%20republic%20of%20congo&st=cse&scp=1

This article is from the New York Times, written by Jeffrey Gettlemen. The title is Frenzy of Rape in Congo Reveals U.N. Weakness. Gettlemen discusses the raid which took place on October 3 by rebel forces. They came into a village and raped at least 200 women. There were dozens of UN peace keepers stationed up the rode, but failed to respond. The peace keepers said the responsibility to respond was left to the Congolese Army. The questions this article brought up for me were: If the UN has invested so much money in the Congo, why are they struggling so much to keep peace? With over 1,500 peace keepers in the Congo, why can they not protect the citizens? It is very disturbing to me that with so much outside influence from the UN, the Congo is still very unsafe and the citizens are in terror. I do not know how the UN should continue or pursue a course of action in order to take the Congo in the right direction.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11469140

This article is from the BBC, there was no author. The article is title DR Congo: Joseph Kabila critic's 'suicide' doubted. The article addresses the man that threw a stone a President Joseph Kabila's convoy had committed suicide in prison. It was said that he was arrested and then taken to prison. In the prison, he killed himself by using a pillow case. Jacob Baluish of the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights told the AFP news agency suspects fowl play! How could he have committed suicide by a pillowcase when we all know there was no pillowcase!? This article brought up the questions: Why are the Congolese officials trying to cover up this instance? Why are they trying to make it seem like the man committed suicide? Did they kill him just because he threw the rock or was there more involved? This is makes me think, if a man is killed for simply throwing a rock in the Congo, what other simple things are people being punished for?