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DR CONGO / SURVEILLANCE CENTER
STORY: DR CONGO / SURVEILLANCE CENTER
TRT: 1.42
SOURCE: MONUC
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 APRIL 2009, RUTSHURU, NORTH KIVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
1. Wide shot, people in Rutshuru market
2. Med shot, UN soldier in market
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Ranbir, Commanding Officer, Kiwanja COB:
“The primary task being the protection of the population, you a vast area, you have a number of villages, you have got limited troops. With these troops and resources, you cannot be at every place. So you have to integrate every person, every village in your system of collecting information.”
4. Med shot, soldier talking to the population
5. Wide shot, people listening
6. Pan left, from motorbikes to police car
7. Wide shot, people in town
8. Close up, man speaking on cell-phone
9. Med shot, man with soldiers speaking on cell-phone
10. Med shot, two soldiers with radio equipment
11. Close up, writing notes
12. Med shot, soldier explaining to man and lady
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Ranbir, Commanding Officer, Kiwanja Cob:
“So when I go back to the villages they really appreciate and they welcome you always, so that is the practical reason I see that people have been given some degree of security. We’re working hard and I’m sure that with our further efforts we will improve this area further.”
14. Zoom out, soldiers marching
15. Traveling shot, soldiers
16. Med shot, soldiers with phones
17. Med shot, soldiers climbing onto UN truck
18. Wide shot, truck drives off
The Kiwanja and Rutshuru areas of North Kivu were the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo late last year, including a massacre of civilians by rebel militia.
Colonel Ranbir is in charge of securing the area.
Short of troops and with a large area to cover, he devised a proactive network of cell phone and radio communications to stay in touch with citizens of the towns and outlying villages.
SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Ranbir, Commanding Officer, Kiwanja Cob:
“The primary task being the protection of the population, you a vast area, you have a number of villages, you have got limited troops. With these troops and resources, you cannot be at every place. So you have to integrate every person and every village in your system of collecting information.”
The surveillance centers are manned 24/7 by officers and translators. This allows Ranbir to rapidly deploy his mobile patrols effectively to respond to outbreaks of violence.
The goal is to have the ability to gather real time information while remaining in touch with the population and providing a sense of confidence that there is a system in place which is always on the look-out.
SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Ranbir, Commanding Officer, Kiwanja COB:
“So when I go back to the villages they really appreciate and they welcome you always, so that is the practical reason I see that people have been given some degree of security. We’re working hard and I’m sure that with our further efforts we will improve this area further.”
According to UN agencies, violence against civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been resurging recently amid a series of offensives against a Rwandan militia group.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last week noted that growing reports of atrocities – by both Government troops and rebel groups – committed against civilians continue to drive people from their homes.
Civilians live in constant fear of threats by armed men who pillage, rape, burn houses and confiscate supplies and food, with robberies and forced labor becoming increasingly common in the region, the agency said.
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