Congo Apologizes To Pygmies

The Republic of Congo has formally apologized for housing a group of visiting Pygmy musicians at a zoo.

The musicians were visiting the city of Brazzaville to perform at the Festival of Pan-African Music.

Authorities said they wanted to give the Pygmies, used to living in thick, remote forests, familiar surroundings.

Because the Pygmies had never seen a city, organizers put them in a tent on the zoo grounds.

However, the Pygmies attracted visitors who came to stare and take pictures, according to the Congolese Observatory for Human Rights. Other visiting musicians were lodged in hotels, and the Pygmies were later moved to a high school dormitory.