Opinion: Ben Affleck’s message to Congress about securing peace and prosperity in Congo

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Last month’s capture of Callixte Mbarushimana -- the executive secretary of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR -- represented positive news for Congo, where rebel soldiers from Rwanda brutally rape and mutilate women. [Read our editorial here.] But the effort to stop the violence continues. In an op-ed in Tuesday’s Washington Post, Ben Affleck -– yes, the director/actor, who also happened to found Eastern Congo Initiative -- urges the incoming Congress to focus on a peace-and-prosperity plan for Congo. ‘This isn’t just altruism,’ he explains. ‘The United States has security, economic and diplomatic interests in a peaceful and stable Congo.’ Here, he details four easy-to-implement recommendations. Congress: Are you listening?

-- Alexandra Le Tellier

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