Congo In Republic River
Congo (Kinshasa) (06/05)
The area known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. by Bantus from present-day Nigeria. Discovered in 1482 by Portuguese navigator Diego Cao and later explored by English journalist Henry Morton Stanley, the area was officially colonized in 1885 as a personal possession of Belgian King Leopold II as the Congo Free State. In 1907, administration shifted to the Belgian Government, which renamed the country the Belgian Congo. Following a series of riots and unrest, the Belgian Congo was granted its independence on June 30, 1960. Parliamentary elections in 1960 produced Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president of the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... [Read More]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bureau of Public Affairs Electronic Information and Publications Office [Read More]
Congo-Brazzaville
COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: The Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) is a developing nation in central Africa. The official language is French. The largest cities are the capital, Brazzaville, on the Congo River, and Point Noire on the coast. Civil conflict in 1997 and again in 1998-99 damaged parts of the capital and large areas in the south of the country. The last rebel group still engaged in armed struggle signed a cease-fire accord with the government in March 2003. Facilities for tourism are very limited. Read the Department of State Background Notes on Congo (Brazzaville) at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2825.htm for additional information. ... [Read More]
Congo, Republic of
A local FM radio station rebroadcast Radio France International, VOA, and the BBC. Radio and television broadcasts from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were received in Brazzaville. The private independent radio station, Radio Liberte, continued to broadcast as well as the new privately owned radio station DR-Radio. Local rebroadcasts of the Gabon-based Africa Number One also continued during the year. A Christian missionary group in Pointe Noire broadcast during daylight hours; it voluntarily provided its material to the Government prior to broadcast. Government broadcast media primarily focused their attention on the activities of government officials, but also provided news on other activities by international and local NGOs. During the year, the broadcasts included airing of alternative political views of some opposition members in talk show format, but overall opposition political parties did not have access to the governme ... [Read More]
Congo (Brazzaville) (04/05)
The area came under French sovereignty in the 1880s. Pierre Savorgnon de Brazza, a French empire builder, competed with agents of Belgian King Leopold's International Congo Association (later Zaire) for control of the Congo River basin. Between 1882 and 1891, treaties were secured with all the main local rulers on the river's right bank, placing their lands under French protection. In 1908, France organized French Equatorial Africa (AEF), comprising its colonies of Middle Congo (modern Congo), Gabon, Chad, and Oubangui-Chari (modern Central African Republic). Brazzaville was selected as the federal capital. ... [Read More]
Congo-Kinshasa
ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: A passport, visa and evidence of yellow fever vaccination are required for entry. Some travelers arriving in Congo-Kinshasa without proper proof of yellow fever vaccination have been temporarily detained, had their passports confiscated, or been required to pay a fine. Visas should be obtained from an Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) prior to arrival. In years past, travelers entering with visas and/or entry/exit stamps from Rwanda, Uganda or Burundi have sometimes experienced difficulties at ports of entry. Additional information about visas may be obtained from the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , 1726 M Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036, tel. (202) 234-7690, or Congo-Kinshasa's Permanent Mission to the U.N, 866 United ... [Read More]
Africa
Bureau of Public Affairs Electronic Information and Publications Office [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
The owner's initials should also be on all containers. Liftvans are commonly used. Insure automobiles against all possible damage. Route all air shipments to Kinshasa. Customs, Duties, and Passage Customs and DutiesLast Updated: 6/13/2005 3:33 PM All Embassy staff members have free-entry privileges for their HHE, automobiles, and reasonable amounts of goods and liquors if they are shipped with staff members’ effects and received within 6 months of arrival. Free-entry privileges on a regular basis are accorded only to the Ambassador and family. PassageLast ... [Read More]
Crossing the Kwilu River
[Read More]
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Government forces continued to control less than half of the country during the year. Several rebel groups, the Congolese Rally for Democracy based in Goma (RCD/Goma), the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), and the Congolese Rally for Democracy based in Bunia (RCD/ML) controlled the remaining territory, with the active military support of the Rwandan and Ugandan Governments. The RCD/Goma remained dominated by members of the Tutsi ethnic minority and continued to be supported by the Government of Rwanda; in 2000 Adolphe Onosumba, a Kasaian, was named RCD President. The RCD/ML, nominally led by Ernest Wamba dia Wamba until late in the year, commanded fewer troops and, like the largely non-Tutsi MLC, was supported by the Government of Uganda. Although the MLC and the RCD/ML united for much of the year as the Forces for the Liberation of the Congo (FLC) under the leadership of MLC President Jean-Pierre Bemba, in June the FLC split back into the separate MLC and RCD/ML groups; ... [Read More]
|