Conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
7 Dec
Join us this Wednesday at 7:30 pm in SMG 304 to discuss the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
The history of the DRC conflict is heavily rooted in the events of the Belgian withdrawal from the country in 1960. The withdrawal of Belgian power in the DRC led to a power vacuum. This power vacuum persisted until 1965 (due in large part to cold war driven assassinations), when Mobutu Sese Seko took power and consolidated his rule of the DRC with an iron fist. Mobutu established what can only be described as a cleptocracy, using loans from international organizations such as the IMF to embezzle millions of dollars from the government. Mobutu also extracted a vast amount of wealth from the eastern Congo, an area with vast mineral resources. This vast mineral wealth is still a driving factor in the conflict to this day.
To the east, Rwandan refugee Paul Kagame took up a high position in the Ugandan Army after Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Army (NRA) overthrew Milton Obote in Uganda in 1986. Kagame would go on to use the infrastructure of the Ugandan National Army to create a Rwandan rebel force that would become to be known as the RPF. The RPF invaded Rwanda in 1990, leading to an instability that eventually erupted into the 1994 genocide. It was during the genocide that the RPF took control in Rwanda. The RPF forced those responsible for the genocide into Southwestern Rwanda, where they escaped into the eastern Congo by way of the French established “Turquoise Zone.” The genocidaires reconsolidated around the city of Goma, and most have remained in the Congo to this very day.
It was at this time that the Uganda/DRC/Rwanda powder keg exploded. Rwanda and Uganda supported Laurent Kabila and the AFDL, a rebel group that formed in the eastern Congo and slowly pushed to Kinshasa, overthrowing Mobutu in 1997. This became known as the First Congolese War. Soon after he consolidated power, Kabila turned on his supporters in Uganda and Rwanda, and began backing the rebel groups formed from ex-genocidaries (the ALiR, which became the FDLR). Kabila was killed in 2001, and his son Joseph Kabila assumed power. Joseph Kabila followed a similar policy to that of his father, fighting against Rwanda and the Rwandan backed RCD rebel group, while funding the FDLR. In 2003, the DRC established a transitional government, and in 2006 Kabila was elected president. Tensions in the area have since started to subside with the 2009 Joint-Military operation between Rwanda and the DRC, as the mission saw the opening of diplomatic relations and the removal of Laurent Nkunda and his infamous CNDP rebel group. Although this is a promising sign, recent altercations between MONUC and FARDC (The Congolese Army) have complicated matters significantly.
FARDC has been accused of killing civilians in the Kivu region, and Medecins Sans Frontieres has claimed that FARDC used MSF clinics as bait to lure civilians in the area into a trap. Following this development, MONUC pulled its support from the FARDC regiments accused of these attacks. FARDC has criticized MONUC for its move, and shortly after MONUC decided to cease it suspension of support. The future of the mission still remains extremely uncertain. MONUC’s mandate is set expire December 31st 2009, and as of yet no move has been made to renew it. Should MONUC renew its mandate? What will happen if it doesn’t? Come join us in better understanding this topic and debating future moves this Wednesday, December 9th, at 7:30 PM in SMG 304!
Further information:
Key Players:
Congolese Government (FARDC): FARDC is a government army plagued by corruption and self-interest. The soldiers of FARDC enjoy looting and women much more than they enjoy anything else. The soldiers may come ready and willing to help the cause of peace and stability, but eventually crumble into the corrupt and self-serving system of the army. They fight only so that they can loot further, and continue to live life as if it is one big party. It is hard to say what the future of a force so plagued by corruption will be, but it is certain that only two things will be able to help to stem the negative impact of FARDC corruption: FARDC reform, or an increased presence of MONUC forces.
MONUC- The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC has been victim of many bureaucratic time constraints that have weakened its ability to accomplish things on the ground. Corruption also runs deep in some of the units, as many soldiers have been accused of selling weapons and ammunition to the rebel groups in the eastern Congo. This hurts the reputation of the mission as a whole, even though many of the soldiers are truly trying to help maintain peace in the region. With a tarnished reputation, MONUC has had significant difficulties gaining the trust of the civilians in the region, making their mission that much more difficult. Further constrained by UN bureaucracy, MONUC has been struggling to create a force formidable enough to actually help maintain security. Without more support from the UN, a decrease in corruption and the trust of the local populations, MONUC will continue to struggle to obtain its objectives.
Useful Acronyms/Glossary:
AFDL- The “Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo.” The group led by Laurent Kabila that overthrew Mobutu.
ALiR- The “Army for the Liberation of Rwanda” was a rebel group formed primarily out of genocidaires from the Rwandan Genocide. In 2000, it merged with a Kinshasa-based Hutu group to form the FDLR.
CNDP- The “National Congress for the Defense of the People” (CNDP) was formed in 2006 by Laurent Nkunda. Supporters of ethnic Tutsi in the Kivu region, the CNDP fought against FARDC, FDLR and MONUC Forces. The group continued its campaign in the Kivus until 2009, when Laurent Nkunda was arrested by Rwandan forces at the beginning of a joint military operation between the DRC and Rwanda aimed at eradicating the FDLR.
FARDC- The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
FDLR- The “Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda” formed in 2000. The group contains within it former genocidaires and is opposed to any Tutsi control in the region. Originally supported by Joseph Kabilia to help him fight against the Rwandan-backed RCD, the group continued its armed struggle after the Second Congo War ended.
MONUC- The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN effort towards peacekeeping in the DRC during the Second Congo War. MONUC forces were originally only observers in the conflict, instituted at the Lusaka Accords, but began to have a troop presence in 2000. There are now approximately 18,000 MONUC forces in the region, and they have faced criticism for corruption and abuse of power.
Articles:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8337610.stm
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL3123409._CH_.2400
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8347503.stm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/14/content_12454163.htm
