The Congo & M23

[cratehorus]

Since the late 19th century, Congo has been a major hub for the extraction of natural resources that earned tremendous profits for the world capitalist economy. From the Belgian rubber plantations of the colonial period to the unregulated looting of coveted minerals in the 21th century, this region has monumental attraction for transnational corporations and international financial institutions.

It is estimated that the DRC contains $24 trillion in mineral deposits that are yet to be extracted. The world’s largest reserves of cobalt and large quantities of diamonds, gold and copper are located insideCongo,particularly in the east and the south.

During the occupation of the eastern region by the RCD rebels in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed group was paid $1 million per month to provide coltan to mining firms. As of 2011, at least 25 international mining firms were involved in the exploitation of the resources in the DRC.

These firms are based in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, the United States and other countries. Two leading firms from the U.S. — Century Aluminum and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold — are well aware of the source and conditions under which these resources are extracted.

http://www.workers.org/2012/11/30/mining...congo-war/

[Something completely different]

Workers World.......................

Now if this isn`t a text of biased rubish!

Everyone who reads proper news will of course know that the recources play a role in this conflict.

But it originaly started in Ruanda and has ever since spread all across southern Africa whereever Tsutsi and Hutu can kill each other.

This conflict is mainly a ethnical one - not some anti capitalist bullshit conspiracy!

[festive1]

The conflict in DRC isn't Hutus and Tutsis killing each other. I'm sure there are Hutus and Tutsis in eastern DRC, but they are small minorities.
As with many (if not all) conflicts, it's about power. Groups want control over the country, the government, the resources, etc. So they fight. These groups are often divided on ethnical lines, but not always, war makes for some strange bedfellows. DRC is the richest country in Africa, if not the world, in terms of natural resources. The conflict isn't caused by Western businesses trying to tap into the resources, but it is fueled by them. That's how these armies get money.
I believe the figure is around 6 million people have died because of the war and many more have been displaced. In my book, when that many people die and lose their homes (not to mention all the rapes that have taken place in DRC), maybe it deserves some attention. DRC is an especially complicated conflict, with roots going back to the Belgian colonial system. It didn't start overnight and it will take some serious international action to put it to rest. But because it's so complicated, it's hard to figure out where to start defusing the situation. Throw in groups that want vengeance, and you get a very long, drawn out conflict.

[Dee Dee Ramone]

President Museveni of Uganda gained power in the mid 80's with the help of an army of children. He has been 're-elected' ever since. He is also the one that allowed Joseph Kone's Army of the Lord (baptism freaks) to continue his actrocities. Why o why are our leaders still reasoning with this piece of shit? African democracy my ass.

[festive1]

Africa's got some problems... quite a lot in fact. Bad leaders who won't let go of power is just one of them.

[Something completely different]

I feel I have to correct myself due the festive correcting me.
As far as I know. After the Rewandan genocide of 1998 the Hutu militias fled into Kongo.
At the outbreak of the second Kongolese war, Uganda and Rewanda joined in, to hunt down the remaining Hutu militias within Kongo.
The second Kongolese war was a conflict between various ideologies and ethnical groups fighting for power in Kingshasa.


My point do is.

There is no, absolutly not a single "imperialist" mindset or objective behind the war in the Kongo.

Kongo when it was a Belgium colony under King Leopold, was abused and exploited like hardly any other African nation during the colonial struggle in Africa in the 19th century. As everyone who read "The Heart of Darkness" will know.

But that era of imperialism is over. It ended officialy when in 1999 Portugal handed over the port city of Macau to the Peoples Republic of China.

There is not a single sovereign nation on this planet today which keeps a colony - suppresses the peoples will to self determination within that colony - exploits that colony - and sees itself on a civilisting nation - as is the defintition of imperialism.
The effects of the colonial era of empires still resonates in todays world. But there is no such thing as empires and certainly no such thing as imerialism anymore.

Whenever someone writes a political essey one can clearly identify it being a dishonest and biased piece of rethoric when the word "imperialism" is used to discribe todays circumstances within a capitalist sociaty.

And as far as I know, the only western company (!not country!) which has been clearly pointed out to use civil war coltan from the Kongo is finish based Nokia.

If you want a article on the subject of coltan production which results in fueling civil war, which is not a biased naiv left wing extremist rant, read this:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/worl...91097.html

or watch this film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQhlLuBwOtE

[festive1]

And so many atrocities have occurred at the hands of all sides of the conflict. It's very difficult to make heads or tails of who the good guys or bad guys are. Everybody flees to DRC, because there isn't a strong central government, there are pockets held by rebel groups, and there's a lot of dense jungle which makes for good hiding. That film looks interesting, I'll have to check out where I can see it.
I only wished to correct your statement that the war in DRC is an extension of the Rwandan genocide. I didn't think you thought that was the only reason for the fighting, but your post kind of sounded that way, but I don't think that was intentional A lost in translation moment.

[Minimalist]

There is no, absolutly not a single "imperialist" mindset or objective behind the war in the Kongo.

Which does not mean that greedy corporate bastards will not seek to manipulate any situation for their own advantage.

Events can have more than one cause.

[Angrboda]

From what I understand (surprisingly little), a good deal of the cause of the problems stem from the way it was formed. The modern state contains disparate ethinicities and peoples that likely would have formed independent nation states had they been allowed to develop without the Belgian influence. Now, today, you have this conglomerate of a state composed of multiple peoples in a backward condition, civil war and internal problems are inevitable. But practically speaking, there's no way to unring that bell. Chalk it up to another part of the world shattered and destroyed by colonialism.