Congolese Students Are Taking on Big Oil

[cbabe]

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/congolese-students-against-oil

Congolese Students Are Taking on Big Oil

A new campaign is mobilizing communities across the Democratic Republic of Congo to stop the fossil fuel industry’s expansion with creative nonviolent action.

ALEXANDRIA SHANER
PASCAL MIRINDI
July 22, 2023
Student activists are traveling thousands of miles across the Democratic Republic of Congo to mobilize communities against the expansion of Big Oil.

Pétrole Non Merci, or Petrol No Thanks, is a national campaign to oppose the proposed sale of 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks, most of which overlap protected areas. Anglo-French oil company Perenco recently bid to buy the new blocks and would export the oil using the EACOP pipeline.

The campaign has a two-pronged strategy. First, they are mobilizing communities where the new oil blocks are located to build local power and hold officials accountable. Second, they are linking up with communities like Moanda, which have already been exploited and abused by Perenco for decades.

The traveling activists are building a self-organizing network to take nonviolent action throughout the DRC, with coordinated popular uprisings.

I spoke with Pascal Mirindi, a student at the University of Goma who is involved with Extinction Rebellion and LUCHA, a Congolese citizens’ movement, about the campaign and their recent creative actions.

…more…

[2naSalit]

1. Somehow...

They'll have to deal with the wagner types. They continent it pretty seriously infested.

[chowder66]

2. K&R