Crisis In Eastern Congo Panel Discussion

William Vazquez

Professor Craig

World Politics 001H

Date of Submission: 5 November 2011

Crisis in Eastern Congo Panel Discussion

A few weeks ago as may be remembered, we had a week filled with discussions about the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Along the quad, a large banner displaying “Empower Congo” stood as a testament to that group’s dedication to helping the people of the Congo. In celebration of Congo Week, Empower Congo hosted a panel discussion to raise awareness about the conflict in Eastern Congo. Knowing very little about the conflict myself, I figured that it would be in my best interest to learn a thing or two.

Two informative sheets I acquired at the discussion gave me a brief overview of Congolese history and other information. Starting at 1885, it recalls the rule of King Leopold II of Belgium when it was the “Congo Free State.” In 23 years, the region’s natural resources were exploited, and over 10 million Congolese were killed in exchange for rubber, ivory and timber to meet European and American material demands. The timeline then skips forward to 1960, when Patrice Lamumba led the first successful Congolese independence movement. Only five years later, Joseph Mobutu overthrew the shaky interim government in a coup d’etat, established authoritarian rule, and renamed the country Zaire. Almost thirty years later, genocide in Rwanda caused high levels of tension and violence among Rwandan refugees in Congo.

In the face of this conflict, Mobutu sided with Hutu extremists, and Tutsi groups from Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi staged another coup d’etat with Laurent Desire Kabila becoming president in 1997. The next year Kabila ordered foreigners out of Congo, and Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Chad, Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe invaded Congo in response. In 1999, the UN conducted a peacekeeping mission in Congo. The plan was for the observation of the ceasefire and disengagement and to maintain liaison with all parties to the Ceasefire Agreement. Later in a series of resolutions, the UN Security Council expanded the mandate of the mission to the supervision of the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement and assigned multiple related additional tasks. (UN.org) Laurent was assassinated in 2001, and as a result his brother Joseph came to power. In 2006 Jospeh Kabila won the first democratic elections held in the DRC that were considered fairly credible by international standards. Now elections are scheduled for November 28^th, 2011. There is legitimate concern about current preparedness for elections and the potential for violence.

The first speaker was Jacques Bahati, a policy analyst from the African Faith and Justice Network. He was a wearing a camouflage jacket for effect and also “for warmth” (it was a pretty chilly night). He started off with a discussion of how children are involved. Regularly children are abducted, handed weapons, and then are forced to fulfill the desires of more “powerful sources.” As such they are forced to murder and rape, in a way thus transferring their own victimization onto another person. Bahati believes that the cost of this will be long lasting. He stated that from 5,000 to 10,000 children “have become useless.” With their spirits broken from the horrible things they were forced to do, they can provide little to no aid to their neighborhoods, communities, or families, and the latter all have to deal with their uselessness. As for the children still enrolled in militias today, Bahati asked, how do we treat and take care of them?

The second speaker was Makeda Crane, a journalist representing the Friends of the Congo association. In January 2009 she went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo because she had always heard from her father about its greatness but she wanted to see it for herself. She was also very surprised by the lack of newer reporting on the DRC. She knew of its rich ancient history, but what of the present? She stated that the Congo is like a modern day version of Pandora, making a reference to James Cameron’s Avatar. She also quoted the main character, Jake Sully, for an idea of how the people of the Congo feel: “The Sky People have sent us a message... that they can take whatever they want. That no one can stop them. Well, we will send them a message. You ride out as fast as the wind can carry you. You tell the other clans to come. Tell them Toruk Macto calls to them! You fly now, with me! My brothers! Sisters! And we will show the Sky People... that they cannot take whatever they want! And that this... this is our land!” While the whole quote wasn’t used, the message was clear both looking at the DRC’s past and its present.

Crane presented her five core themes of the discussion:

1. The appearance of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has not been determined by the people of the Congo but by outside sources.

2. There are many resources in the DRC, and as such it is caught in a geopolitical conflict. While China has offered to aid in building up Congo’s infrastructure in exchange for resources, the IMF has threatened to cut off supplies to the DRC, putting it in an awkward position.

3. The Congo’s challenge is internal and external – While the leader Patrice Lamumba was democratically elected in 1960, he was deposed and later assassinated with the help of the US and other Western nations.

4. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is literally and figuratively the heart of Africa.

5. The DRC has a lot of potential. Its massive rainforest coupled with the Congo River could potentially provide enough hydroelectric power to light all of Africa.

Crane stated that the Congo’s greatest resource, however, was its people. Many people are incapable of seeing them for what they are because they see Congo “through the lens of disaster pornography.” She was moved by the strength of the people, especially the women, and the diversity of the population. She believes that the way we look at the people of the Congo will determine the solution to the conflict, and went on to say that we should choose a stronger justice system for the Congo rather than allow the genocide to continue and only respond with humanitarian aid.

The last speaker was Thomas Turner, an expert on the DRC from Amnesty International. He returned from teaching in Congo and Rwanda in 2005. He asked a question he believed everyone was wondering and subsequently answered it: “Why are all these guys committing rape? Because they can. Who can stop them?” (He also mentioned that women commit rape too, only it is not as common.) While some might suggest the police, he stated that almost the entire police force is corrupt. One story he mentioned told of a woman who was raped for asking some policemen why she and her family were evicted from their home and land. She filed a complaint and the policemen were called to court before the military. The chief of police merely refused to send them, and now that woman fears for her grandmother and child lest she leave them for a moment at the mercy of the police.

Turner stated that some prisons in the DRC do not have doors and that the penitentiary and legal system is a joke. The people that are actually locked up more than likely starve due to poor running of the facilities. He thinks that the Congolese people and civil society need to solve their own problems, but as the international community, we cannot stop paying attention. We cannot look over their concerns, like that of one student in DRC who once asked Hillary Clinton if he would be killed if he became president one day, to which she simply responded: “Don’t dwell on the past. Look to the future.” The fact that her husband was president when genocide in Africa was the most prevalent may have played as an important undertone in this response…

Crane started up again to say that justice can sound abstract, but she had a few ideas on what should be done. Pressure should be put on the government of Rwanda to make a solution about Rwandan rebel groups in DRC. All parts of the DRC should receive attention, not just the east. There should be support for the establishment of an international tribunal in DRC to bring about justice. Bahati stated that the best way to get around the current dysfunctional system is to support local systems of justice. Intertribal court should be the source of justice because it builds strong village ties and helps to strengthen justice. He also said that the US public should support those local mechanisms of justice. He thought that there need to be strong international leaders who overlook bribes and have people’s best intentions in mind.

The fact sheet provided by Empower Congo really made the situation more realistic before hearing the speakers. 5.4 million Congolese have been killed since 2008, more than any other conflict since WWII. There are 1.8 million internally displaced persons as of July 2011. Approximately 48 women are raped each hour, and its GDP per capita is $186. Each person is expected to somehow survive on $186 per year. Meanwhile there is $24 trillion worth of “untapped” natural resources. Even so, every one in five children do not live to see their fifth birthday. Over twenty different rebel groups have plundered Congo’s immense mineral wealth in order to fund their destabilizing crimes against the Congolese population. Empower Congo is dedicated to legitimize the illicit trade of “conflict minerals” by promoting a conflict-free campus and legislation such as the Dodd-Frank Act.

As for what we students can do, there were a few different suggestions. Turner advocated supporting the Congolese women’s groups or just going to DRC to help women safely get to court so they can file their cases. Crane stated that by being at the discussion we were helping, but that we must keep ourselves updated and challenge any information that is released by the media. By supporting Congolese youth, environmental, peace, and more organizations and spreading that awareness, she can see positive change. Bahati suggested just lending the Congolese people our ears and being interested. He believes that justice must be achieved, and he should know. He lost his brother in DRC when he struck by a National Park truck and nothing was done about it. He said that we cannot spend so much time trying to save animals and land and forget about the people.

This was by far one of the most informative events I have gone to yet, and I believe the ideas proposed by the speakers were all legitimate strategies for us students to follow in order to raise awareness. Without staying informed, how can we know that there is an issue at all? Even so, are there more effective means of raising awareness? Is there more that we can do as ordinary citizens? Looking back, can you think of the last time you heard about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and would you classify what you remember as "disaster pornography?"

Also in connection with our discussion of transnational crime, I must ask: which of the five actors seems to hold the greatest potential in working against the conflict? While the DRC's elections are not too far away, this does not mean that the new government will necessary have more ease dealing with the conflict. Businesses could become involved to help making use of the "untapped" natural resources, but this does not help to solve the ever lingering issues. That leaves reporters, IGOs, and NGOs. Who can help the most to solve this problem?

Works Cited

"United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)."Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World. Web. 05 Nov. 2011. .