It is high time someone gave it a serious thought - parts of eastern Congo should secede.
There is no reason at all a secession movement shouldn't work in Africa, given the right levels of determination on the part of the oppressed.
Many regions of that vast, appallingly governed - or simply lawless - country should secede because the government in Kinshasa very long ago forfeited any right to call them parts of its domain.
But eastern parts of the country, notably the Kivus, have a more urgent case for secession than any other areas of the country.
First and foremost in the Kivus the social contract between a government and its citizens - never much in evidence even at the time of the country's independence in the early sixties - broke up long ago.
At the minimum a government is supposed to provide the following basics: security for its people and for their property and to ensure law and order.
The Kinshasa regime's ramshackle army - which should ensure aforementioned security - instead is made up of predatory units of armed men who specialize in looting and rape. These are the individuals the Congo calls its army; characters who each and every one should be in jail for crimes against humanity.
The so-called gendarmeries (who supposedly are ensuring that everyone live lawfully) are just thieving gangs of unpaid men who, same as the army, specialize in terrorizing the people they are supposed to protect.
But that is not the worst of it.
The so-called Congolese army long ago allied itself with Interahamwe and ex FAR, perpetrators of the Genocide in Rwanda, who now can be found fighting, looting and raping side by side with their Congolese sidekicks.
The impunity of it is staggering.
Swathes of the Masisi, Rutshuru and other regions in the DR Congo are being run by these very Interahamwe who set up roadblocks, impose and collect taxes and murder anyone they do not like. At will. Hundreds of thousands of Congolese have lost their lives at the hands of these barbaric people.
These by themselves are good reasons to conclude that Kabila and the entire Kinshasa regime have no moral claim to any of these areas as part of the territory they should consider being under their government.
More facts on the ground and historical circumstances support a formal declaration of cessation by peoples of eastern Congo.
The fact that the frontiers of Africa were drawn up arbitrarily by Europeans over a century ago for their colonial purposes mean many governments on the continent are not representative of the needs or aspirations of any numbers of their peoples.
Here we are by no means advocating that every African group of people that have the slightest grievance with the central government should secede from their countries. Where governments function and people feel or are represented in one way or the other then nothing should cause break up.
But we are talking about the Congo here - a territory bigger than the whole of Western Europe that is one of the most failed states on earth. It is a country run by tribal diktat. Some feel they are more Congolese than others and therefore have the right to call the others non citizens.
Now if a place where one and one's ancestors have been for hundreds of years rejects them on some spurious claims that they are non-citizens and on the basis of that continue inflicting indescribable violence on them, why shouldn't one declare self-rule?
Would it be any worse than declaring self-rule from a European? Just because the European happened to be a white oppressor but black oppressors should get away with oppressing others for years and years?
No. It is high time some people said "enough is enough" and, "we are forming our own government to better care for us and our interests, not one thousands of kilometers away which relies on cutthroat thugs to run everything in the east."
We have seen waves of secession in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union after the collapse of Communism. Peoples in those countries declared independence or seceded because a) they could since the governing entities they formerly belonged to had weakened in the changed ideological times and b) self-determination and self-interest required it.
There is no reason at all a secession movement shouldn't work in Africa, given the right levels of determination on the part of the oppressed.
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I am a Congolese citizen and writing to strongly reject the recommendations of this article suggesting the secession of Eastern Congo for reasons provided by the author.
Let me first point out that the conclusions of the author based on his or her premisses are illogical as well as irrelevant.
I will address later on the motives behind those recommendations that we've heard before but for right now let's focus on the illogical nature of the reasoning. According to the author, the Easten Congo should secede because the central government in Congo is failing to provide the basics such as security to its people in the eastern part of the country.
The solution to a address the inability for a government to provide basics to its people is in the dismissal of the government and replacement by a more competent government able to manage the country properly.It is a non sense to suggest secession as a response to a mismanagement of a country as a response to a non competent central government. The analogy to this recommendation would be to cut away a wounded foot that is not responding to treatment instead of considering a different treatment or doctor.
Now those arguments have been heard before and this is the true rationale behind the persistent instability in Eastern Congo and Rwanda as well as Uganda are instrumental in this mission of splitting the Congo:looting the country easily by creating micro states from the big Congo. Some neocons in USA did suggest this scheme in the past. Please take this to bank: it will not happen now and will not happen any time soon despite the efforts of Rwanda in particular to dismantle the Congo with the blessing of those well known western powers.
Rwanda should work hard like South Africa to heal their wounds from a troubled past of mass killings of tutsis by hutus and vice versa. The solution is not in branding a large part of its population as killers and keeping them out of the country.This was the mistake of previous hutus regime that created those frustations with tutsis refugees in Uganda and elsewhere who later on toppled down the hutu government in Kigali. The same causes resulting in the same effects, the hutus sooner or later will regroup/organize themselves and topple down the current tutsi government in rwanda.Make no mistake, there's no eternal winners.Life is cyclic and events repeat.
If leaving in peace with only two major tribes is not possible, maybe secession of Rwanda in two states,Hutu and Tutsi lands, would be appropriate according to your own theory. Congo has well over 400 tribes and cohabitation between tribes has never been a problem for those who believe, belong to and carry themselves as Congolese. There's no such a thing as tribal diktat in the Congo. Some people from a known tribe are Congolese on paper and have a different agenda from a neighboring country and are the main source of the current instability in Congo.
Let me repeat it, they will fail this time as they have failed in the past.
A note to allafrica. As a reader, I would suggest that you adopt a more neutral line while dealing with Congo. Most of the coverage on Congo is biased and leans towards Congo invaders and enemies from Uganda and Rwanda.You should not allow your tribune to such anachronic suggestions as dismantling an independent country for obscure reasons.
God bless the Congo and God bless Africa.
Elie Minami. Congo.
I strongly support this idea, it should be given serious thoughts,analysis and consideration. I believe broadly speaking secession of some parts of DRC will bring enormous benefits for their population. Some of these territories were never part of DRC in the first place; history tells us.
You and the author of this jealous comments will do nothing to spilt the great Congo. . I'm already getting sick of you two cocroaches who wish Congo didn't exist. First of all . Where are you two from? are ypu both blind and deaf? Havent you seen how the congolese support each other. Soon you Tsusi will see armangendon of your terroristic reign in the great lake soon. CONGOLESE from the KIVUS and in General do not , i repeat, do not need your help. we we will do it alone with those who wants to help us. I was born and raised in the city of GOMA. I'M A PURE EASTERN CONGOLESE and no one will do that. to congo. you two don't know anything about CONGO. Worry about your little countries and leave congo alone.
like to see you try!! See how many tutsi-rwandan, ugandan, general all this east africans with their american and european counterparts will get their heads slashed throughout the country. If your not from Kivu or Congo don't even question the bond and history that connects the country. It's obivous that the key players in this conflict will embark to great lengths to destablize our eastern region for their personal gains. but the lives of those dead are very much in the minds of the average congolese and soon this east africans who are playing with fire will soon get burnt. keep pushing the Congolese people.
Enough of your threats. Never again means never again. You will be running from your own ghost. This has nothing to do with ethnicity. Interahamwe pretending to be Congolese does not scare anyone. I wish you would continue pushing us with your genocidal threats. We will fight to the last drop of blood. If we are threatened or attacked, you will be chased by your own ghost. Mark my words and my works.
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