The Congo?
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CDM
May 18 2003
With the recent announcement of the startling statistic that some three million have perished in the civil war in the Congo, comes much confusion as to how it got that bad.
How is that so little is known about the conflict and that it has been largely ignored by the Western world? As Canadians we should be ashamed of our own governments handling or is that lack of handling of the affair.
Let us explore a quick overview of the situation. The civil war began in 1998 after Laurent Kabila seized control of the nation from Mobutu Sese Seko, which was then known as Zaire. Kabila then tried to oust the Rwandan military officers who had helped him come to power. Since then the region has been in chaos. The war, has involved six governments, three major rebel movements, and a host of smaller armed opposition groups.
Mobuto of course was helped into power by America and Belgium. For as bad as Mobuto was – America over thirty years pumped in some $300 million in arms and another $100 million for military training. Since the end of the cold war America has given more than $125 million to the other factions involved in the fighting.
With help from fellow African nations – Rwanda and Uganda – anti-Kabila Congolese joined the Congolese Democratic Movement (RDC) who tried to oust Kabila.
As time passed this group further splintered into different factions only increasing the killing and confusion. Human rights abuses are a staple of all those involved in the fighting with the civilian population enduring the brunt of it. These human rights abuses include torture, summary executions and widespread rape.
The nation has been carved up into four distinct regions of conflict with Kabila controlling on around half of the nation. In support of Kabila are Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Chad. Also giving support are Sudan and Libya.
By March of 2000 some 14 African nations were involved in the war. Fueling this madness are the non-renewable resources such as gold, diamonds and ivory. Much of this flowing into the coffers of the West. As of late the major contributor to the continued suffering is coltan.
Coltan- otherwise known as Columbite-Tantalite is a major ingredient in the manufacturing of cell phones. Coltan fetches up to $400 a kilogram! Manufactures and users of cell phones knowingly or unknowingly fuel the continued madness. People from all nations need to put pressure on these companies to move away from using this material from the Congo.
So what can be done to help end this senseless war? What about Canada?
As the leading middle power Canada needs to be much more vocal on the war in the Congo. Even today our government under the Federal Liberal party have said little. Making it more of a head shaker is the fact that the opposition parties have leveled no pressure on our government to speak up at the UN or elsewhere.
The UN does have a small force in the country but it is far too small to achieve an end to the war. Its main mandate is to protect UN workers and aid. With no real intent or pressure at the UN general assembly it looks like this force will not be increased in size or strength. So what else can be done?
The diplomatic efforts must continue to ensure that a UN monitoring force is expeditiously deployed and has sufficient troops, financing, and international backing. Canada and our southern neighbour needs not only to support national dialogue in the DRC but also dialogue in the neighboring states involved in the conflict.
The western powers – namely the United States must restrict the flow of weapons and military training to central African countries, provide unconditional debt forgiveness, and increase its development assistance. As of last year the United States government has been funding and giving arms to BOTH sides in the conflict!!
Corporate raiders that have been raping the countryside for decades must also be reigned in as they only help fuel the ongoing crisis. For example – Banro Resources of Canada Inc after having its contracts tossed aside by President Kabila stated, “Your President is a crook and this country is going to suffer a lot in a very short time. You Congolese must know that this country and all its minerals are not yours but ours.” Prophetic words indeed for shortly after fighting broke out between Tutsi troops from Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in the east of the country.
As for our own government – looking towards Jean Chretien is a waste of time for he and his cabinet have done very little. So our next default Prime Minister Paul Martin weighs in with “The United Nations has asked the developed countries to assume the responsibility for the military capability of basically preventing that genocide, and nobody has yet stepped forward. I think that Canada should have the capacity to take on those kinds of projects. I mean, you have got troops from the African countries who are prepared to go in there. But no country is capable of taking the overall command. I think that is a responsibility the developed world should have. I think it is one that Canada has the capacity to do it. But we haven’t given our military the assets.” This from the same guy who said we should take a long hard look at missile defense!
It is hard for Canada to contribute to the cause with 2,800 military personnel deployed overseas, with yet another 1,800 set to leave for Afghanistan in August. Our national funding levels do not permit much maneuver room in such events. So that leads us to the UN and the other major players.
Currently at the Security Council – France is offering up a little less than 1000 troops but is seeking another nation to lead the effort for many regional players distrust the French government for its past dealings in the region. Britain is a name that is being bandied about for it would subdue objections from Rwanda and Uganda. As of today there is not much coming from Britain being that they are just returning home from their adventures in Iraq.
As for the African countries not involved – most are way to poor to get involved. Their armed forces are weak and poorly lead and moral is low. You don’t want to send in troops like that or we will see a repeat of what happened when neighbouring countries moved into Sierra Leone – they just made a bad situation worse.
So here we are no further to ending the crisis and with little agreement or urgency on behalf of the G8 nations – it looks more and more like this conflict is doomed to rage on until the people of the G8 nations speak up loud and clear and demand our governments, and corporations do more to end the conflict. So contact your representatives and let them know that you care and want to see an end to the killings.
Roy Whyte is the Director of WhiteBark Innovations
and edits Canadian Health News
@ May 18, 2003