The Democratic Republic of Congo: Fighting in the Katanga Region

We, the West, may like to hide our past and pretend that we have moved on from it all. As though we have matured from a ‘naughty’ stage in our development to reach the heights of human welfare, economic prosperity and become the guardians of global peace. I mean we banned the slave trade, defeated communism and attempt to secure peace at every turn. Yet, though we like to promote this side we often forget that we accelerated the slave trade into a global business, wrecked countless states so its people could not express themselves, and often provide weapons for profit without considering the implications they may have. The repercussions of our abuses during the time of the colonies and the slave trade are still felt across the developing world.

Of course, we should not be too hard on ourselves. The slave trade has been a constant feature throughout the world for countless centuries and the fact that we got powerful… well other empires have existed before us that committed terrible acts of brutality. This is not a justification, rather the necessary context for this discussion.

The issue is that we, at least on the outside, now fight against most of our previous qualities. However, the developing world does not easily forget what we did. The signs of our presence are everywhere from the language they speak, the borders they guard and the political systems they use.

(Side note: There is a good film coming out called '12 Years A Slave', the interview of Chiwetel Ejiofor in the Culture was interesting and he has really taken his role a step further by campaigning strongly for an awareness of the slavery that still occurs to this present day.)

We should not forget the past.

It is not front page news, but the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been having some problems in the eastern and southern part of the state. It is easy to see why.

Throughout the research for my dissertation I have been focusing on the sources of conflict. Of course across the world these sources vary in their prominence but a unifying factor is the economy. Everything appears to be based around it. 

When we look at our own lives it seems obvious. Why do we attend school? To get a job (Yes, I know the government forces us to but they do have a reason). Why do we attend university? To get a better job (hopefully). Most of our lives are revolved around the economy and it consequently has an influence on our lives.

What the people of the developing world want before democracy and any other fancy initiatives is the ability to survive. Thinking about this I am reminded of an article I read about Morocco. It stated that though the people took some interest in politics their main focus was how they were going to feed themselves the next day. They do not care unless they can see the benefits in their everyday life. That is why aid is so focused on building a basis so that people can begin to consider democracy and other projects. Makes sense.

The DRC is a resource rich state, in fact that is an understatement... it is one of the richest in the world. Most of it based in the east and south of its territory (see below). Starting to get where I am going with this one?

The location of resources in the DRC

That is right. For a state repeatedly rated poorly in the UN Human Index this should not be the case. Furthermore, the people of the DRC are not blind to their natural wealth and understand it creates vast amounts of money. They observe truck after truck go by with the resources they have mined to be sold for huge profits which will rarely reach their way back to them. I can understand why they are angry.

Here enters another factor I witness in every conflict - leadership. The people can be angry but often will not do anything about it until a strong leader unites them together, works out a plan and tells them why they are fighting. 

For the one of the richest regions in the DRC, Katanga, it took the leadership of Gedeon Kyungu Mutanga to kickstart another conflict in the region. He was freed in September 2011 after gunmen attacked the prison he was in.

It did not take long for this former militia leader to draw men to his banner with promises of a 'better life'. A man who fled a rebel base told a BBC reporter that:

"Gedeon came to our village in August 2012," he said.

"We did not see him with our eyes; he hid in a hut to talk to us.

He told us that if we joined the Kata Katanga, we would have a better life. He told us that if Katanga became independent, it would put an end to the harassment by the soldiers, and would give us access to the resources that belong to us.

"Katanga is very rich, but we don't benefit at all. He told us that would change."

For men of this region this is an attractive offer as the Congolese law that 40% of the taxes on companies who operate in the area should be spent in this region have never materialized. In the face of regular mistreatment by government forces an armed struggle was inevitable.

Yet, what has limited support for the rebels is the brutish way in which they treat the local people too. The rebels, drawn from communities similar to the ones they are abusing, often rape, pillage and loot villages to support their army and in desperation against the overwhelming government and UN forces.

Indeed, the Congolese Prime Minister Matata Ponyo stated that "For me there is no rebellion".

With an 8-hour battle between rebels and government troops yesterday the President's statement seems unfounded...

It is not more violence that will cure this desperate situation but a united effort by the West to understand the havoc we wrecked here and encourage the government to improve the humanitarian conditions of these resource rich states. They need to have the bread of tomorrow to consider the politics of today.

If you are interested in the Congo, the Dutch settlment and all things historical you should check out "This World: Dan Snow's History of Congo".

For the purposes of keeping this post shorter I have not explored the rebel group, how the borders with other countries helps their struggle and other conflicts in the state so I would simply google Katanga, Gedeon Kyungu Mutanga or the DRC if you want to know more. Further, I may follow up with more articles on this or feel free to post below and I will attempt to answer your questions.