Owei Lakemfa
17 October 2008
column
Death from unending wars, famine and starvation rain in torrents daily in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Apart from the daily deaths, recent clashes between government forces and rebels loyal to dissident General, Laurent Nkunda meant more deaths, while hundreds of thousands of people who had fled their abode many times over, were once again on the run for their dear lives.
Given the anarchy in the country, rebel groups from various countries also got involved. The Uganda rebels under the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) ransacked two Congolese villages and emptied two schools of their children.
Their total haul was ninety children who by now would have been forced into the rebel army as child soldiers and slaves. Some may already be dead.
The Congo is the world's deadliest place to live, far worse than Iraq and Afghanistan. Since August 1998 when a fresh hostility began; over 5.4 million of the country's 62.2 million people have been killed. In 2004, it was estimated that 1,000 people died daily from malnutrition or disease.
To understand how devastated the country has been by wars, imagine a geographical area where the armies of ten African countries and twenty five other armed groups battled themselves for five years.
Beautiful Congo, Africa's heart has fantastic waters including the Congo River, amazing forests, which is home to the world's largest gorilla population.
It is also the world's largest producer of cobalt, one of our universe's main producers of copper, tantalum and diamond. In other words, Congo is one of the richest parts of the world, yet it is the poorest with millions starving to death.
The ongoing war in Congo is one of the battles ignited in 1998 when the new government of Laurent Kabila was swarmed by rebel groups backed by neigbouring countries.
Fearing his government could be over run, he appealed for outside help.
Namibia under Sam Nujoma sent in troops, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe similarly responded as did Angola under Jose Eduardo dos Santos and Chad under Idris Deby. All these, along with the Hutu Interahanwe fought on Kabila's side.
On the other side were the Ugandan army under Yoweri Museveni, the Rwanda Patriotic Force army under President Paul Kigame which sent in 8,000 solders and Burundi's President Pierre Buyoya. These armies were supported by the opposition, the Rally for Democracy.
This madness, which some called the "African Nations War" was brought to a temporary close by strenuous diplomatic peace efforts championed by the legendary Nelson Mandela.
On January 18, 1999, Uganda, Rwanda, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe signed a ceasefire agreement in Windhoek, Namibia and most foreign troops were withdrawn from the country leaving largely the rebel groups that are still fighting.
Local and foreign interests in the country's natural resources have remained the major cause of this carnage. In Congo, rape is both a weapon, and part of the spoils of war. In no other place on earth is rape a policy, a casual encounter and a weapon of terror. Yet, the rape of that country by Belgium and America was far worse.
This is at the heart of the tragedy that is the Congo.
Four European countries laid claim to Congo; Belgium, Portugal, France and Britain. However, in April 1884, the US swung its support for Belgium and France followed.
The Berlin Conference where Europe sat to share the booty that was Africa, recognized Belgium's claims, and in July 1885, the Belgians declared it (the Congo) Free State.
But it was not meant to be a colony like others, it was meant as a private estate and property owned exclusively by King Leopold II.
In 1906 he declared: "The Congo has been, and could have been, nothing but a personal undertaking. There is no more legitimate or respectable right than that of an author over his own work; the fruit of his labour... My rights over the Congo are to be shared with none; they are the fruit of my own struggles and expenditure".
It was therefore a rude shock when the Congolese fought for and snatched independence from the "proprietor" on June 30, 1960.
Belgium would have none of this. It tried to wreck the country's infrastructure and civil service, then poured in mercenaries. Its mining company in Katanga Province, the Union Miniere Du Hault Katanga (UMHK) recruited mercenaries which declared Katanga Province independent.
The elected Prime Minister, Lumumba asked for United Nations assistance. When the UN troops arrived they put Lumumba under house arrest.
For being patriotic, many forces wanted Lumumba dead; the mining companies, the rebels in Katanga, the neo-colonial army led by Joseph Mobutu, Belgium and the U.S. Wilbur Crane Eveland then Special Adviser for Africa to the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Allen Dulles wrote in his autobiography "Ropes of Sand" that Dulles got the permission of the American President to assassinate Lumumba because the elected Lumumba administration was seen as "... a classic communist effort to take over a new government ... Lumumba had to be stopped quickly or the Congo might become another Cuba"
Eveland wrote that for the American government "...eliminating Lumumba was essential, and a CIA expert was sent to the Congo with a special poison for the purpose". But before the Americans could murder Lumumba, their allies under Mobutu had done so.
Lumumba was murdered in Katanga in January 1961. So within three months of independence, Congo was thrown into chaos which has persisted until today.
The solution includes ensuring that the rebel actions against Rwanda and Uganda are brought to an end so that both countries can stop arming and funding Congolese rebels. Also, Joseph Kabila's support for Hutu rebels should end.
The Belgians, Americans and their allies who sowed the seeds of conflict must also be committed to peace in Congo while African countries must play decisive roles in internal peace deals. This is where we miss Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.
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