The New Times (Kigali)
1 November 2008
President Paul Kagame has told the visiting European Union Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, that the Democratic Republic of Congo is responsible for 95 percent of its problems.
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Who is responsible of the 5% of problems caused in Eastern Congo?Rwanda should have the courage to admit they are. Therefore, contrary to what Rwanda has been saying,this is not an internal Congolse problem.The truth is that this share of responsibility is certainly much higher than what they are willing to admit under pressure.
The mineral war in DRC is actually manifesting and showing the greed of Britain and France.What are the interest of these two notorious blood manifested nations in DRC?As some one categorically put it,where are the EU forces in Dafur?The European should stop pretending or disguising their true intensions.Foreign minister hastenly flying to Africa now where there are old chaos and none of u have ever ponder of mediating-Liberia,Zimbabwe,Cameroon,Ruwanda genocide etc.Let's be realistic,Is DRC in Europe or a member of EU ,may DRC is now in Europe.God curse u and u meet your doom on your way back.A plane crash await u bastard
It is surprising that Miliband and his counterpart from France have headed to DRC. What protocol are they using? There are protocols which they should follow, because DRC does not belong to EU, and here is their ignorance or lack of respecting the AU and SADC and the regional powers within Africa. Here again, its the exposure of superiority being displayed by Europe, theat they can solve a problem which they alone have created so as to get their hands on wealth to propp up their own economies. How come Miliband did not go to Georgia and Russia, for they are closer to the UK and are member of EU?
All sides are believed to fund fighters by illegally mining minerals — meaning they have no financial interest in stopping the fighting.
The rebel leader is especially concerned about the $9 billion agreement in which China gets access to Congo's vast mineral riches. The joint venture is between Congo's state-owned mining company Gecamines and a consortium of Chinese companies, which is believed to include China Railway Group, Sinohydro and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company.
Under the deal, the joint venture can extract 10.6 million tons of copper and more than 600,000 tons of cobalt.
In return, Congo will get $6 billion worth of new roads, two hydroelectric dams, hospitals, schools and a railway. The remaining $3 billion will be invested in mining infrastructure.
Demands for minerals have fueled Congo's conflicts for years. Experts confirmed the situation was unchanged from 2001, when a U.N. investigation found the fighting in Congo had become mainly about "access, control and trade" of five key mineral resources: coltan, diamonds, copper, cobalt and gold.
Uganda and Rwanda in particular turned their soldiers in Congo into armies of business, it said.
The UN has only 6,000 of its 17,000-strong Congo peacekeepers in the east because of unrest in other provinces. It says the force is badly overstretched, but European nations were sharply divided Thursday over whether to send troops to Congo. Why sending more troops to DRC yet none are interested in sending troops to Darfur, who is controlling Nkunda, for him to refuse a government deal for his country? Whose interests in he serving?