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[angstysenior]

[angstysenior]

[bnettnews]

Not Everything that Glitters is Gold

     Besides ethnic and political tension, economic motives have spurred the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC). The DRC has an estimated $24 trillion in untapped minerals containing 30% of the world's diamonds and over 70% of the world's coltan (a metal used in the production of consumer electronics).

     In order to fund their forces, belligerents fight over mines and export the minerals. In 2003 as the price of coltan escalated, as did the violence. In addition to coltan and diamonds, the Congo Basin has vast gold, copper, and cobalt reserves.

Congolese gold mining operation, Reuters, 2009

   The combination of colonialism, nationalism, ethnic tension, and history of violence have put the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a seemingly perpetual state of war which has taken 5.4 million lives.

By Sohrob Moslehi, BNett News 

(Sources: BBC News, Huffington Post, VOA News)

Winter, Joseph. "DR Congo Poll Crucial for Africa." BBC News. BBC, 16 Nov. 2006. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.

Davidson, Kavitha A. "Congo's Conflict Minerals Fund Rebels' Brutal War, Use Of Child Soldiers In Sub-Saharan Africa (PHOTOS)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Dec.

Long, Nick. "Map Shows Gold Is Top Conflict Mineral in Eastern Congo." VOA. Voice of America, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.

[bnettnews]

Ethnic Hatred Crosses Boundaries

Congolese Child Soldier, New York Times, 2003

     In 1997, former Zaire president Mobutu fled and Kabila founded the Democratic Republic of the Congo in what was formerly known as Zaire. Kabila asked Rwandan and Ugandan forces to leave the nation, but they didn't; instead, Rwandan forces retreated to Goma (a city in the Eastern DRC) and from there launched a Tutsi-led campaign against the government. In response, Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe joined the conflict on Kabila's side. This was The Second Congo War, the aftermath of which is being faced today.

By Sohrob Moslehi, BNett News

(Source: BBC News)

"Democratic Republic of Congo Profile." BBC News. BBC, 11 July 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.

[bnettnews]

History of Oppression and Anguish

Mobutu Sese Seko, BBC, 2005

     Leopold became wealthy off of Congolese ivory, minerals, and above all rubber. He enforced rubber quotas by employing the brutal Force Publique (a group comprising of white officers and local solders) to sever hands of people who failed to meet them. In 1960, Belgium left the Congo and within three months the country was in chaos. It was not until 1965 that Colonel Mobutu Sese Seko finally gained power and brought peace. In 1971, Mobutu founded the Republic of Zaire and quickly won support from the West because of his strong anti-communist sentiments. The West, the United States in particular, supported him throughout the Cold War

By Sohrob Moslehi, BNett News

(Source: BBC News)

"Democratic Republic of Congo Profile." BBC News. BBC, 11 July 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.