Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba writes:
Is Paul Kagame on his last legs as he rattles all key stakeholders in the Eastern Congo Conflict?
He has been the darling of the West…until now.
DRC is the wealthiest country in the World and by mineral resources endowment, and the war in Eastern Congo is primarily about this wealth.
While the conflict has been raging in the last 30 years in Eastern Congo, Rwanda has emerged as among large exporters and major producers of minerals like tin, tantalum, rare earths, gold and tungsten.
Mining, though we don’t know of any major mines, has become a major source of export revenue for Rwanda.
Apple, Samsung and their mineral traders would rather claim that they import their raw materials from Rwanda than the conflict ridden DRC, as this would attract human rights condemnation of child labour and conflict and blood minerals.
So the conflict is fueled by traders and multinational companies and use the local conflicts of ethnicity and border issues as excuse for the war.
Eastern DRC has the largest number of deployed UN peacekeepers under Monusc is the longest peacekeeping Mission in the world, yet the conflict continues to rage.
The United Nations established and deployed the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSC) and SADC has deployed the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).
Kenya recently sent troops to DRC to support the UN forces.
Kagame has launched an all out war through the rebel group M23, in Eastern Congo capturing Goma.
It’s like he is no longer pretending that the war machinery of M23 is from Rwanda.
M23 has captured Goma, the capital and largest city of the North Kivu Province in the eastern region and caused displacement of a a large population and a humanitarian crisis.
13 South African peacekeepers have been killed.
Kagame has increasingly become undiplomatic, disrespectful and abusive to President Tshisekedi and other leaders, multilateral institutions such as Great Lakes, SADC and East Africa Community.
His point is that nobody is listening that a tutsi population, who are Congolese, have been marginalised, victimized in Eastern Congo, thrur home and therefore justified to form a military rebel group to defend themselves and assert their existential rights .
He places emphasis that these Tutsis are NOT Rwandese.
Hence M23.
More than six (6) million people have died as a result of the conflict in the DRC since 1998.
With the latest escalation of conflict, it’s the people of Congo that continues to death, displacement while their mineral wealth is carted away amidst plenty.