1 November 2012
The Non-Governmental Organisations RAID, ACIDH and FIDH have supported the efforts of the residents of Kawama, a village on the outskirts of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to seek compensation for their homes, which were demolished in an operation undertaken in 2009 by the Congolese police and the Compagnie Minière du Sud Katanga (South Katanga Mining Company – CMSK).
At the time of the incident CMSK was a joint venture between Entreprise Générale Malta Forrest (EGMF) and Gécamines (the Congolese state-owned mining company). EGMF, a subsidiary of George Forrest International, had a majority shareholding in CMSK. For over two years, all attempts by representatives of the affected community to reach a settlement with the company and to obtain compensation from CMSK and the Congolese authorities were unsuccessful.
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