The United Nations published a report by its expert panel that supports what the Congolese people have known and been saying for the longest. Now that the world has acknowledged the nature of the 12 year conflict in the Congo, we may finally start to see policy prescriptions that reflect the truth and include what the Congolese have argued for some time now.
The U.N. panel of experts was lead by Jason Stearns and consisted of Dinesh Mahtani, a British finance expert; Mouctar Kokouma Diallo, a Guinea customs experts; Peter Danssaert, a weapons trafficking expert; and Sergio Finardi, a military logistics expert for a nonprofit group in Italy and the U.S. that monitors arms deals.
Some of the highlights from the report include the following:
1. Extensive evidence of high-level communication between the government of Rwanda and the Tutsi rebel group known as the Congress for the Defense of the People.
2. Rwandan soldiers helped bring recruits, some of them children, to Congo’s border to fight in General Nkunda’s rebellion.
3. Congo's military is collaborating with the FDLR
4. Rwanda has facilitated the supply of military equipment and has sent officers and units
5. Laurent Nkunda's CNDP has used Rwanda as a rear base for fundraising meetings and bank accounts
Click here to download (PDF) the entire UN report.
New York Times Getting Closer to the Truth on the Resource War in the Congo
Although the New York Times did not reveal the whole truth in Jeffrey Gettleman’s piece, Rwanda Stirs Deadly Brew of Trouble in the Congo, it no doubt laid the foundation for a more honest dialogue about the resource war in the Congo, which has resulted in dying and suffering of holocaust proportions.
It is only a matter of time before the New York Times and other mainstream media get to the root of the matter that both French and Spanish Courts have already broached regarding Paul Kagame and Rwanda’s destructive actions in the Central African region. Even the International Court of Justice has weighed in on Rwanda’s partner in Crime in the Congo; Uganda and its leader Yoweri Museveni, another staunch British and U.S. ally. In 2005, the court ruled that the Congo is entitled to $10 billion in reparations from Uganda because of the human rights abuses it committed in the Congo and the looting of Congo’s resources. There is very little doubt that the court would have issued a similar ruling against Rwanda, especially considering that Rwanda is even more implicated in the Congo but the court lacked jurisdiction in the case brought to it by the Congo against Rwanda.
The New York Times and other media should consider asking people such as Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Rick Warren, Bill Gates, Howard Schultz, Andrew Young, Cindy McCain and others why they have been silent about the atrocities in the Congo, when they are known to have the ear of Rwanda's leader Paul Kagame.
All of these individuals have an historic opportunity to use their notoriety, access and standing in the world to play a key role in ending what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon calls one of the worst tragedies of our time or what former UN Official Jan Egeland calls "the killing fields of our generation." Can they really continue to remain silent about the Congo and travel the world as paragons of morality and human decency when they have the ear of someone who unleashed what the United Nations says is the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II?
Considering how vital Congo is to modern society and the world’s fight against climate change - Congo is a part of the second largest rainforest in the world - Congo's issues are not just Congolese or African issues but are world issues and they demand frank and honest engagement and responses from world leaders.
The best way the West ( view Congolese leaders' and society's role and responsibility here) can contribute to bringing an end to the conflict is not an intervention force but rather real intervention diplomacy. Western nations can take their cue from The Economist when it notes “Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is best placed to rein in General Nkunda’s men, and must be pressed to do so, with the threat of aid withheld if he does not. In the long run, he must also make political space in Rwanda for the Hutu rebel forces who maraud through eastern Congo and give General Nkunda a pretext for his depredations.”
The former Fort Leavenworth, Kansas military student, Paul Kagame is not destabilizing the Congo on his own. He certainly has the backing of the United States and British tax payers as Timothy Reid laid out while at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University when he published "Killing Them Softly: Has Foreign Aid to Rwanda and Uganda Contributed to the Humanitarian Tragedy in the DRC" in the Africa Policy Journal, Spring 2006, Vol. 1.
Maybe, just maybe, finally, we can have frank and honest talks about the Congo, put an end to the tremendous suffering and set my country on a path to peace and stability. We are hopeful that the Obama administration, if it will not listen to what Friends of Congo have been articulating for the longest, will at least in this case listen to the New York Times or the Economist and craft policies based on a sound assessment of the situation.
I have articulated our policy prescriptions in an article published by thedailyvoice.com entitled “Congo in Crisis: What President Obama Can Do To Right Past Wrongs In US Policy.”
Kambale Musavuli
Spokesperson and Student Coordinator
Friends of the Congo
Let the new administration know that Congo should be a top foreign policy priority.
Join the global campaign to Break the Silence on the situation in the Congo.
Rapper and Spoken Word Artist Omekongo's "Welcome to the Congo"
Powerpoint Primer on the History of the Congo (PPT)
Dan Rather All Mines Report on I-Tunes
FAIR on media coverage of Congo
Letter From a Congolese Journalist
Dear friends,
-I have been receiving hundreds of mails and phone calls asking me about the Congolese Crisis and what I think about the whole situation…
-Some of you asked me if my relations back in Congo were safe?
-I thank you all for your concerns…
1) You may notice that am rather silent about the ongoing Congo “war and crisis”
-My silence simply means that am sad, furious and tired of talking about this endless and useless Congolese crisis which keep killing us every day…
-Yes, I have lost quite a good number of friends and relations I knew and cherished to this endless and useless crisis…
2)If you could only read the reports from the International Human Rights Activists and Amnesty International on DR Congo …you will understand why I say the Congolese crisis is useless…it is rather an outside story and a created crisis to make business…
-Local Congolese people in the villages do not understand why this “endless war” has been going on and why they have to flee all the times…
-According to the Amnesty International reports, there has never been real war in Congo…all this crisis going on for years has just been an excuse to confuse the world and plunder the country’s mineral ressources…
-While pretending there is “war”…booming business, big deals and smuggling of minerals have been going on for years…The International Community seems to know about all this…
-Congolese innocent people will continue to be victims and suffer the consequences of this “fake war” for a long period of time…
-When will this “useless war” end?…maybe only when there will be no minerals and important ressources left in the country…?
-It is rather complex to understand, analyse this situation and to identify different players…
-Rebels only can’t afford this war…there may be many other secret players
behind this crisis who do not want to be identified…I don't want to give any comment beyond these points…
3)Just guess how humiliated I feel when I see all these Humanitarian aids and big lorries distributing energy biscuits to fellow Congolese men, women, children in the outskirts of Goma, Kiwandja, Rutsuru, Saki, Buhimba…and yet if you watch the background of the same areas on TV, it is all green and fertile land for farming…which means if given a chance and a good opportunity of peace, Congolese people can be able to grow all sorts of crops and nobody will need all these temporary foreign biscuits and water…
4)If you can, keep praying for peace in Congo …We started praying for peace in Congo as a family when I was 5 years old…and up to now nothing has ever improved or changed…the situation has been worsening instead…
Faustin Chongombe
-I have been receiving hundreds of mails and phone calls asking me about the Congolese Crisis and what I think about the whole situation…
-Some of you asked me if my relations back in Congo were safe?
-I thank you all for your concerns…
1) You may notice that am rather silent about the ongoing Congo “war and crisis”
-My silence simply means that am sad, furious and tired of talking about this endless and useless Congolese crisis which keep killing us every day…
-Yes, I have lost quite a good number of friends and relations I knew and cherished to this endless and useless crisis…
2)If you could only read the reports from the International Human Rights Activists and Amnesty International on DR Congo …you will understand why I say the Congolese crisis is useless…it is rather an outside story and a created crisis to make business…
-Local Congolese people in the villages do not understand why this “endless war” has been going on and why they have to flee all the times…
-According to the Amnesty International reports, there has never been real war in Congo…all this crisis going on for years has just been an excuse to confuse the world and plunder the country’s mineral ressources…
-While pretending there is “war”…booming business, big deals and smuggling of minerals have been going on for years…The International Community seems to know about all this…
-Congolese innocent people will continue to be victims and suffer the consequences of this “fake war” for a long period of time…
-When will this “useless war” end?…maybe only when there will be no minerals and important ressources left in the country…?
-It is rather complex to understand, analyse this situation and to identify different players…
-Rebels only can’t afford this war…there may be many other secret players
behind this crisis who do not want to be identified…I don't want to give any comment beyond these points…
3)Just guess how humiliated I feel when I see all these Humanitarian aids and big lorries distributing energy biscuits to fellow Congolese men, women, children in the outskirts of Goma, Kiwandja, Rutsuru, Saki, Buhimba…and yet if you watch the background of the same areas on TV, it is all green and fertile land for farming…which means if given a chance and a good opportunity of peace, Congolese people can be able to grow all sorts of crops and nobody will need all these temporary foreign biscuits and water…
4)If you can, keep praying for peace in Congo …We started praying for peace in Congo as a family when I was 5 years old…and up to now nothing has ever improved or changed…the situation has been worsening instead…
Faustin Chongombe
Why Does Nkunda Repeatedly Call for the Renegotiation of the Chinese Contract?
In his meeting with Special United Nations Envoy to the Congo, Olusegun Obasanjo, rebel leader Laurent Nkunda repeated as one of his demands the renegotiation of the $9 billion Chinese contract. A deal that swaps Congolese minerals (mainly copper and cobalt) for infrastructure development (road, rail, schools, hospitals, etc).There are two possible explanations for Nkunda's repeated call regarding the Chinese contract. One is that he is trying to endear himself to the West as western nations and institutions such as the International Monetary Fund consider the Chinese deal to be a threat to their economic interests in the Congo. A second possibly reason is that the West is actually in support of Nkunda's destabilization efforts in order to send a sign to Congo's president Joseph Kabila that he had strayed too far off the plantation by signing such a bold deal with the Chinese without prior consultation or approval from the West. It is not clear which of the two options is correct but time will certainly tell.
It is rather interesting however that in spite of the myriad egregious western contracts (Katanga Mining, Anvil, Banro, Freeport McMoran and many more) that work against the interests of the Congolese people, Nkunda is silent.
Congo: One Hundred Years of Colonialism, Dictatorship and War (1908 – 2008)
Saturday, November 15, 2008 marked the 100-year anniversary of the removal of the Congo from King Leopold II of Belgium as his own personal property. Global outrage of the King’s brutal rule resulted in his losing the Congo treasure trove on November 15, 1908.
Leopold II accumulated spectacular wealth for himself and the Belgian state during his 23-year dominion (1885 – 1908) over the Congo. During this period an estimated 10 million Congolese lost their lives while Leopold systematically looted the Congo of its rubber and ivory riches. Congo was handed over to Belgium who ruled as a colonial power from 1908 to 1960. Congo finally got its independence on June 30, 1960 when Patrice Emery Lumumba, its first democratically elected prime minister took office. Unfortunately, the western powers, primarily the United States and Belgium could not allow a fiercely independent African to consolidate his power over such a geo-strategic prize as the Congo. He was removed from power in a western backed coup within weeks and assassinated on January 17, 1961. Belgium apologized for its role in Lumumba’s assassination in 2002 and the US still downplays its role in Lumumba’s assassination. The US replaced Lumumba with the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and backed him until he was overthrown in 1997. The overthrow of Mobutu unleashed an ongoing resource war that has caused deep strife and unbearable suffering for the Congolese people, particularly the women and the children. It is estimated that Congo has lost nearly six million people since the 1996 invasion by Rwanda and Uganda with support from the United States and other Western nations.
A century later, Congo is at another crossroads. In spite of the advances in technology and the shrinking of the world, it is curious that there is such silence around the suffering of the Congolese people due to the exploitation of powerful corporate and foreign forces beyond its people’s immediate control. Unlike the early 1900s, remarkably, today there are few if any voices the likes of Mark Twain who wrote King Leopold’s Soliloquy, Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness (PDF) (Often misread as Congo or Africa being dark but he was referring to the dark hearts of the exploiters of the Congo), and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame who wrote Crime in the Congo. The Congo Reform movement that drew from the work of African Americans such as William Sheppard and George Washington Williams and led by European figures such as Robert Casement and E.D. Morel gave birth to the modern international human rights movement.
One hundred years later we are again calling on the global community to be at the side of the Congolese. This time, there is one fundamental difference, the Congolese are agents in this narrative and the call this time is not a hand-over to a colonial power or neo-colonial institutions but rather to the people of the Congo.
The clarion call is for the combating of the forces (local elites and rebels, foreign governments, foreign corporations, and multi-lateral institutions) that have the Congolese people in a death trap. The charity prism of the humanitarian industry is not the answer. It only perpetuates dependency and dis-empowerment. Should Congo be truly liberated, the Darfurizaton (emptying of agency from the afflicted people) of the global movement in support of the Congo
must be avoided at all cost. Congolese must be agents rather than objects in the pursuit of the control of their land and their lives. The sovereignty of the people and control and ownership of the riches of their land is the fundamental human right for which we must advocate. It is a call not only for the Congo but the entire African continent.
Becomea part of the global movement to Break the Silence as the Congolese pursue
true sovereignty and liberty.
Kambale Musavuli, Student Coordinator, FOTC
Maurice Carney, Executive Director, FOTC
Useful links:
Rapper and Spoken Word Artist
Omekongo's "Welcome to the Congo"
Powerpoint Primer on the
History of the Congo (PPT)
Dan Rather All Mines Report on I-Tunes
FAIR on media coverage of Congo
Leopold II accumulated spectacular wealth for himself and the Belgian state during his 23-year dominion (1885 – 1908) over the Congo. During this period an estimated 10 million Congolese lost their lives while Leopold systematically looted the Congo of its rubber and ivory riches. Congo was handed over to Belgium who ruled as a colonial power from 1908 to 1960. Congo finally got its independence on June 30, 1960 when Patrice Emery Lumumba, its first democratically elected prime minister took office. Unfortunately, the western powers, primarily the United States and Belgium could not allow a fiercely independent African to consolidate his power over such a geo-strategic prize as the Congo. He was removed from power in a western backed coup within weeks and assassinated on January 17, 1961. Belgium apologized for its role in Lumumba’s assassination in 2002 and the US still downplays its role in Lumumba’s assassination. The US replaced Lumumba with the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and backed him until he was overthrown in 1997. The overthrow of Mobutu unleashed an ongoing resource war that has caused deep strife and unbearable suffering for the Congolese people, particularly the women and the children. It is estimated that Congo has lost nearly six million people since the 1996 invasion by Rwanda and Uganda with support from the United States and other Western nations.
A century later, Congo is at another crossroads. In spite of the advances in technology and the shrinking of the world, it is curious that there is such silence around the suffering of the Congolese people due to the exploitation of powerful corporate and foreign forces beyond its people’s immediate control. Unlike the early 1900s, remarkably, today there are few if any voices the likes of Mark Twain who wrote King Leopold’s Soliloquy, Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness (PDF) (Often misread as Congo or Africa being dark but he was referring to the dark hearts of the exploiters of the Congo), and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame who wrote Crime in the Congo. The Congo Reform movement that drew from the work of African Americans such as William Sheppard and George Washington Williams and led by European figures such as Robert Casement and E.D. Morel gave birth to the modern international human rights movement.
One hundred years later we are again calling on the global community to be at the side of the Congolese. This time, there is one fundamental difference, the Congolese are agents in this narrative and the call this time is not a hand-over to a colonial power or neo-colonial institutions but rather to the people of the Congo.
The clarion call is for the combating of the forces (local elites and rebels, foreign governments, foreign corporations, and multi-lateral institutions) that have the Congolese people in a death trap. The charity prism of the humanitarian industry is not the answer. It only perpetuates dependency and dis-empowerment. Should Congo be truly liberated, the Darfurizaton (emptying of agency from the afflicted people) of the global movement in support of the Congo
must be avoided at all cost. Congolese must be agents rather than objects in the pursuit of the control of their land and their lives. The sovereignty of the people and control and ownership of the riches of their land is the fundamental human right for which we must advocate. It is a call not only for the Congo but the entire African continent.
Becomea part of the global movement to Break the Silence as the Congolese pursue
true sovereignty and liberty.
Kambale Musavuli, Student Coordinator, FOTC
Maurice Carney, Executive Director, FOTC
Useful links:
Rapper and Spoken Word Artist
Omekongo's "Welcome to the Congo"
Powerpoint Primer on the
History of the Congo (PPT)
Dan Rather All Mines Report on I-Tunes
FAIR on media coverage of Congo
UN Special Envoy Obesanjo Makes the Rounds
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is making his rounds in the region. On Friday, he met with President Joseph Kabila of Congo. He also met with Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who told him no Angolan troops were in Congo. He plans to meet with Laurent Nkunda as well in an attempt to prepare a way for dialogue between the two gentleman. One should not expect much from these meetings as they almost always deliver less than expected or proclaimed.
Congo's problems are far more profound than shuttle diplomacy on the part of an envoy. The geo-strategic stakes are far too great to be left to talks mediated by an envoy even if it is a former African president.
Congo's problems are far more profound than shuttle diplomacy on the part of an envoy. The geo-strategic stakes are far too great to be left to talks mediated by an envoy even if it is a former African president.
Where Things Stand
A few observations are warranted based on the week of activities inside and outside of the Congo:
1. The mainstream media appear to be moving towards a more accurate description of what is taking place in the Congo. The pathological prism through which they often view Congo in particular and Africa in general is broadening to include other factors than the ethnic rivalries narrative. Thursday's New York Times editorial and Time Magazine's article on the Congo presented three elements that moved those institutions in the right direction.
A. They noted that the conflict was a resource war
B. They acknowledge that Rwanda invaded the Congo twice before and was likely supporting the latest upsurge on the part of Rebel leader Nkunda
C. They recognized that only a political solution will resolve the crisis and part of that requires pressure on US ally, Rwanda.
2. African institutions such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union are primed to be more engaged in the Congo issue. Considering Congo's importance to Africa, it is remarkable that they have been silent around the Congo crisis for so long.
3. Rwanda's leader Paul Kagame cannot feel as secure or be as arrogant as he has been in the past. One of his top aid was arrested in Germany as a result of warrants issued by a French court and their is almost global consensus that pressure must be put on him to cease his support of the destablization of the Congo.
4. It is with amazement that we read that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the New York Times editorial board are concerned about another Rwanda occurring in the Congo. What do they think has been happening for the past 12 years, with an estimated 6 million dead and hundreds of thousands of women raped?
5. The internally displaced persons are finally getting food and care. The suffering is still enormous but at least those who were trapped behind rebel lines can now get support.
6. Keep an eye on the mining contracts. As we are all rightly focused on the crisis in the East, do not be surprised if the government moves to approve some of the odious contracts on the table, particularly the grand daddy of them all the FreePort McMoRan deal. See Dan Rather's incisive report on this deal (search All Mines on I-Tunes)
1. The mainstream media appear to be moving towards a more accurate description of what is taking place in the Congo. The pathological prism through which they often view Congo in particular and Africa in general is broadening to include other factors than the ethnic rivalries narrative. Thursday's New York Times editorial and Time Magazine's article on the Congo presented three elements that moved those institutions in the right direction.
A. They noted that the conflict was a resource war
B. They acknowledge that Rwanda invaded the Congo twice before and was likely supporting the latest upsurge on the part of Rebel leader Nkunda
C. They recognized that only a political solution will resolve the crisis and part of that requires pressure on US ally, Rwanda.
2. African institutions such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union are primed to be more engaged in the Congo issue. Considering Congo's importance to Africa, it is remarkable that they have been silent around the Congo crisis for so long.
3. Rwanda's leader Paul Kagame cannot feel as secure or be as arrogant as he has been in the past. One of his top aid was arrested in Germany as a result of warrants issued by a French court and their is almost global consensus that pressure must be put on him to cease his support of the destablization of the Congo.
4. It is with amazement that we read that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the New York Times editorial board are concerned about another Rwanda occurring in the Congo. What do they think has been happening for the past 12 years, with an estimated 6 million dead and hundreds of thousands of women raped?
5. The internally displaced persons are finally getting food and care. The suffering is still enormous but at least those who were trapped behind rebel lines can now get support.
6. Keep an eye on the mining contracts. As we are all rightly focused on the crisis in the East, do not be surprised if the government moves to approve some of the odious contracts on the table, particularly the grand daddy of them all the FreePort McMoRan deal. See Dan Rather's incisive report on this deal (search All Mines on I-Tunes)
More Meetings, More Agreements, Less Change
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon best sums up the meeting around the Congo on Friday, November 7, 2008 when he said “It’s not a matter of how many agreements. It’s a matter of implementation. It’s a matter of political will.” The fact of the matter is there is little political will from the global community to cease the pilfering of Congo's wealth. At the root of the conflict is continued ease of access to Congo's vast mineral wealth at "dirt cheap" prices. It is for this reason that the West spent $500 million to install a rebel leader with Congolese blood on his hands so they would be assured of someone they can control; or as the International Crisis Group stated in their July 2007 report on Consolidating The Peace; someone who is reliable -- translation -- someone Western nations can rely on to serve their interests and keep the Congolese population in check.
Friday's meeting produced an agreement calling for an end to the conflict and an insertion of African Union troops if the UN troops currently in the Congo are not able to protect the civilian population. The meeting also called for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor so that aid can get to the people. Present at the summit were the DRC President Joseph Kabila and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, as well as the leaders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Africa. European and American observers were also present.
The path to peace and stability is clear but the will is weak, Congo is too rich and too easy a prize for greedy elites, Western corporations and foreign governments to cease their backing of greedy, inept leaders and allow the Congolese people shape and determine their own destiny.
Friday's meeting produced an agreement calling for an end to the conflict and an insertion of African Union troops if the UN troops currently in the Congo are not able to protect the civilian population. The meeting also called for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor so that aid can get to the people. Present at the summit were the DRC President Joseph Kabila and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, as well as the leaders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Africa. European and American observers were also present.
The path to peace and stability is clear but the will is weak, Congo is too rich and too easy a prize for greedy elites, Western corporations and foreign governments to cease their backing of greedy, inept leaders and allow the Congolese people shape and determine their own destiny.