Written by Advik S Mohan
Edited by Aishwarya
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In the unfortunately long list of wars that wage our world, there is one that has skipped the attention of the media and the larger international community despite going on for over 25 years now. This is the conflict in the Democratic Republic of The Congo (DRC). The DRC ranks among the poorest nations in the world, and a mix of factors including colonial legacies, misrule by local warlords, invasion and interference by foreign powers, etc. has compounded its problems.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
In order to understand the present condition of the DRC, it is essential to go back into its history. The region that forms the present-day DRC has always been rich in natural resources such as ivory, rubber, copper, gold, and cobalt. It was this untapped reservoir of resources, alongside abundant rainforests and land which drove outside forces with their vested interests to the Congo. To quote renowned historian Dan Snow, “The Congo’s biggest curse is its mineral wealth.” During the colonization of Africa by Europe, the coveted Congo land was handed over to the Belgian King Leopold II. The Congo was not made an official colony, but it was rather the private land of Leopold known as the Congo Free State. Leopold’s reign aimed solely at extracting the resources for economic purposes, with the native Congolese as slaves. Strict quotas were imposed for extraction, which the locals had to meet. In case the stringent labour quotas were not met, Congolese labourers had their limbs cut off. An estimated 10-15 million people perished during the brutal Belgian occupation. Even after independence in 1960, the Congo fell into violence with fighting between pro-USSR and pro-US factions. The pro-Soviet leader Patrice Lumumba was overthrown and assassinated in a coup supported by the US and Belgium. The new leader Mobutu Sese Seko would rule the country for the next decades, running a kleptocratic regime where the economic fortunes of Mobutu and his supporters grew at the expense of the population. However, the US supported Mobutu’s government, considering him to be essential in the fight against communism. Thus, it can be seen how the interests of the ordinary Congolese population were neglected in favour of the big powers pursuing their agendas and interests.
PRESENT SITUATION
The DRC has been ravaged by incessant military conflicts for the better part of the past two decades. In 1997, Mobutu’s reign was brought to an abrupt end with a rebel-led offensive supported by the DRC’s neighbour Rwanda. Following this, a new government run by Laurent Kabila came to power. The Rwandan government believed that the Hutu militias who had helped perpetrate the Rwandan genocide in 1994 were being sheltered in the DRC and were being supported by the Kabila government. However, the new regime soon fell out with its foreign allies for it began asserting itself rather than simply following the desires of its allies. In 1998, Rwanda, along with Uganda and the rebel groups they supported, invaded the DRC. While they were expecting a swift victory, the DRC government was supported by other African nations such as Zimbabwe and Angola who had their interests. Zimbabwe feared a loss of its business interests in the DRC if the government collapsed, Angola believed it faced a threat from the rebel groups who had a base in the DRC, and Sudan was antagonistic towards Uganda. All the involved nations descended upon the battlefield of the DRC in pursuit of their interests, and the conflict came to be known as “Africa’s World War” owing to the sheer number of actors involved and their interests. While a peace agreement was signed with international backing in 2002, conflicts have continued, especially in the east of the country. The conflict is between the central government and rebel groups allegedly supported by Rwanda who claim that they are fighting for the rights of their ethnic communities. This stems from the failure to come up with lasting solutions to the crisis and bring about a proper peace. Moreover, the DRC is now the sight of a new proxy war between the US and China, who compete for access to the coveted resources such as cobalt.
HOW CAN THE CONFLICT BE RESOLVED
Currently, the DRC is in a deplorable condition, ranking 164 out of 174 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). It remains one of the poorest nations in the world and grapples with serious issues of poverty, unemployment, instability, violence, etc. The DRC has the potential to be one of the richest nations in the world owing to its abundance of mineral resources such as diamonds, copper, gold, etc. With a population of over 100 million, the country can also reap the benefits of a demographic dividend. However, the country has fallen prey to the interests and selfish agendas of global powers who are only interested in the nation’s resources, regarding the people as expendable. The international community’s interventions have also proven to be a failure. To resolve this scenario, global institutions such as the UN can take more of a proactive role by being directly involved in peace talks and agreements to end the crisis, instead of neglecting the issue as it has. Additionally, the local governance structures and institutions in the DRC need to be strengthened in a manner such that they can be more accountable to the citizens whose interests should be put first and foremost. This will require foresight and vision from both the local Congolese and international leaders, who should put the welfare and future of the country and its people first, instead of narrow ethnic or personal goals.
REFERENCES
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