DRC GOVERNMENT FUNDS AMERICAN LOBBYISTS WITH $5.6 MILLION PAYOUT
Dr. Denis Mukwege Advocates for Expansion and Protection of Humanitarian Work
(New York, NY) The following is a statement from Panzi Foundation USA:
As reported by The Hill, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is paying millions of dollars to lobbyists in Washington, DC.
Amid election strife, calls for an international investigation into the murders of UN Experts in the troubled Kasai provinces, President Kabila’s government continues to shrink humanitarian and democratic spaces as reports of extrajudicial killings and mass graves, crumbling or nonexistent infrastructure, massive inflation, extreme poverty and malnutrition, an epidemic of rape, an acting with total disregard for the Constitution continue to make headlines.
In Washington, DC and New York this week, our Founder, Dr. Denis Mukwege participated in a series of high level meetings with US Government and United Nations policymakers and diplomats about humanitarian issues faced in Congo. Our colleagues at Panzi Hospital and Panzi Foundation DRC have helped to treat more than 50,000 survivors of sexual violence since 1999. Many thousands of other patients were treated for complex obstetric or gynecological injuries. A general reference hospital, Panzi serves more than 400,000 Congolese in South Kivu province across every medical discipline. Security concerns are paramount for front line defenders.
Dr. Denis Mukwege stated: “President Kabila claims there is no money for elections. Instead, he paid $5.6 million to lobbyists that want to persuade American lawmakers and the American people of his virtue.
“With $5.6 MILLION, we could fund 25 health centers and heal hundreds of thousands of Congolese.”
Panzi Foundation USA stands in solidarity with Dr. Denis Mukwege. We mourn our colleague and friend, Dr. Gildo Byamungu, who was assassinated in April 2017. We stand with our selfless, courageous colleagues. We stand with the countless citizens and civil society groups who are dedicated to nonviolence and the expansion of the democratic and humanitarian spaces in Congo.
For additional information on the Lobbyists, please utilize the Justice Department’s website for Registered Foreign Agents: www.FARA.gov, and use the ‘Quick Search’ function. Alston Bird LLP, the firm for Senator Bob Dole is under s retainer agreement through Mer Security. Mer’s registration number is 6423. Southfive Strategies‘ registration number is 6426. The Livingston Group, founded by former Congressman Bob Livingston, is registered under 6344. Alpha/Aseleus Strategies, where Trump Transtion member Adnan Jalil is a principal, is registered under 6431. More than $4,500,000 has already been paid since December 2016 according to disclosures filed with FARA.