Producing the Importance of the Congo

            The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been in a state of turmoil for years, but with the democratic election in 2006 the civil unrest in the country was expected to diminish. The result of the election was not to produce harmony through democratic discussion, but as the as the elected government tried to coerce dissenting citizens to agree with their views by use of violence perpetrated by the military and police that lead to hundreds of deaths, and the unexplained arrest of thousands. In February of 2007 The Congolese governmental, under orders of president Kabila, forces attacked members of the he Bundu Dia Kong, or BDK, killing of 104 members of the group and bystanders.  The army and police attacked BDK again in March of 2008 killing over 200 members of the group and destroying meeting places, and a were described as a deliberate effort to destroy the group by the United Nations.  These two attacks a re emblematic of the violence that the government of President Kabila perpetrated against that Congolese citizens (HRW).

             In the east part of the country General Laurent Nkunda, leader of the National Congress for People Defense or CNDP, holds control of much of the land. Nkunda fought on the for the Rwandan Patriotic front that ended the Rwandan genocide in 1994.   Then during the five year civil war in the Congo Nkunda served as a commander in the in the Rally for Congolese Democracy that controlled the majority of the eastern part of the country, but in 2002 Nkunda was accused in humane acts in the town Kisangani that he controlled.  (BBC)

            The provinces of North and South Kivu, located in the eastern part of the country, are rich in raw materials, many of which are used in the electronics industry.  These resources are sold to multinational corporations in illegitimate trade systems that facilitate the purchase of weapons, and involve many of the organizations vying for power in the country, including the Congolese army. The army has set up a system by which soldiers mine these minerals and profits are distributed along the chain of command. (UN)

            In order to create peace in the Congo and end human rights violations, the U.N. has created a program referred to as Mission of the United Nations Organization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUC.  The mission of MONUC as stated on the MONUC web site is:

MONUC’s mandate can be broken down into four phases: Phase one involved forcibly implementing the ceasefire agreement. Phase two involved its monitoring, and the reporting of any violations through the proper channels. The third phase, still underway, centers on the DDRRR (disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration) process. Phase four, also in progress, includes facilitating the transition towards the organization of credible elections.(MONUC)

Regardless of the United Nations intention to be a peace keeping force, the Congolese Government has accused UN forces from on particular nation, that they declined to name, of perpetrating atrocities in the Congo.  In a more recent press conference, after the UN announced their intention to send 3000 more troops to the Congo, the Congolese Government requested that none of the troops come from India.

            The Democratic Republic of the Congo is sjbject to a multitude of complex atrocities that every party invested and present in that nation is complicit in.  The government of the Congo has a right and a duty to keep order in the nation, but has already out stepped the bounds of the nation’s constitution and international law. General Nkunda and the CNDP regardless of their intentions have militaristically occupied a portion of the nation and are responsible for the deaths of hundreds.  Companies that buy raw materials from the Congo need to acknowledge their complicity in the construction of the power structure in the Congo. Even the United Nations peacekeeping forces are complicit in the violence in the DR Congo. 

            In order to put a stop the violations of human rights in the cong it is necessary to produce a detailed understanding of the satiation taking into account the validity of all viewpoints.  By gathering material into one community with the intention to generate discussion about the information and draw as much attention as possible to the information via websites such as digg and delicious or facebook and myspace, this blog seeks to form a cohesive understanding of the information available on the Congo in a highly visible manner and attempt to disseminate this information through out the internet. 

 

Works Cited

"Profile: General Laurent Nkunda." BBC NEWS | Africa | General Laurent Nkunda. 31 Oct. 2008. BBC. 1 Dec. 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3786883.stm.

United Nations. "PRESS CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO HUMANITARIAN SITUATION." PRESS CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO HUMANITARIAN SITUATION. 26 Nov. 2008. United Nations. 1 Dec. 2008 http://un.org/news/briefings/docs/2008/081126_drc.doc.htm.

Wild, Franz. "Congo Accuses Some UN Peacekeepers of Complicity in Conflict." Bloomberg.com: Africa. 27 Nov. 2008. Bloomberg. 1 Dec. 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=auhhtdcr2k24&refer=africa.