Since independence, the Republic of Congo has been suffering from ethnic strife, armed rebellions and military interventions by neighbouring countries. The presence of valuable minerals has added fuel to the strife which has taken millions of lives. Can peace ever come to this troubled nation?

D.J. Ravindran

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire from 1971 to 1977, has been engulfed in war, conflict, and devastating humanitarian crises for several decades.

The Congo has the unfortunate distinction of being colonized first by an individual rather than a state. The European powers at the 1884-85 Berlin conference awarded the Congo to King Leopold of Belgium. Initially, he plundered ivory, and when the rubber boom happened in the 1890s, he deployed concession companies to import rubber from the territory. The king’s rule in Congo became notorious for the amputation of hands of men, women, and children as an intimidation technique or as a penalty for insufficient production of rubber. In 1908, after an international outcry over the atrocities committed in the Congo, the Belgian state assumed direct control of the territory.

The country attained independence on 30 June 1960. The Congolese leadership was divided along ethnic and regional lines, with ten political parties that emerged within two years having no common vision to forge a consensus on governance, beyond seeking independence from Belgium. Patrice Lumumba, a charismatic leader of the largest nationalist party, became the first prime minister.

On 5 July 1960, Congolese troops mutinied against Belgian officers who refused to hand over command to them. Conflict broke out between the African and white populations. Belgium responded immediately, sending troops on the pretext of protecting its citizens. On 11 July 1960, Moise Tshombe, as self-proclaimed President of Katanga State, announced the independence of the mineral-rich territory. Belgium and its mining companies deployed mercenaries in support of the secessionists.

Lumumba opposed the Belgian military intervention and its support for the Katanga secession movement. The United States and Belgium were alarmed by Lumumba’s strong nationalist approach. Lumumba appointed Colonel Joseph Désiré Mobutu as chief of the Congolese army. Convinced that Belgium was keen to destroy the unity of the government and unable to freely travel within his own country, he sought the Soviet Union’s help. The Soviet Union responded by sending military advisers and other support. In view of the prevailing Cold War tensions, the US and the West were alarmed by Lumumba’s invitation to the Soviet Union.

On 14 September 1970, General Joseph Mobutu, with the active support of the US and Belgium, seized control of the government. Mobutu arrested Lumumba and sent him to Katanga, where the Belgian mercenaries tortured and executed him on 17 January 1961. Belgium in 2002 formally apologized for its role in the killing of Lumumba.

War and Conflicts in East Congo

Hutu and Tutsi living in Rwanda and Burundi share a common language, Kinyarwanda. In Congo, the Kinyarwanda-speaking Hutus and Tutsi are known, respectively, as Banayarwandas and Banyamulenges settled in Kivu. The migration of both groups has occurred over several centuries and continues to take place. However, the Belgian authorities in the 1920s created large chiefdoms as part of the local administration, but excluded the Banyamulenge and denied them land ownership. The local population does not consider them authentic Congolese and views them as foreigners. Mobutu’s regime denied citizenship and voting rights to the Banyamulenges.

In constructing the colonial political state, the Belgian power “created” the Hutu as indigenous Bantus and the Tutsi as alien Hamites. This colonial construct institutionalized ethnic differences, favouring the Tutsi. In the post-colonial period, this resulted in the majority of Hutus claiming power and reversing the discrimination they faced during the colonial period. The Hutu quest to correct past injustice turned into revenge. The Rwandan revolution in 1959 replaced the Tutsi monarchy and established the Hutu-led republic. More than 300,000 Tutsis fled to the neighbouring countries. A group among the refugees in Uganda set up the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and, in 1990, resorted to armed incursion into Rwanda. On 6 April 1994, the plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down over Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Hutu extremists accused the RPF of killing their president and carried out the killing of the Tutsi population across the country. In just 100 days, with the active participation of the Hutu population, the Hutu extremists killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

In July 1994, the killing ended with the RPF capturing Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and Tutsi groups taking control. As a consequence, nearly two million Hutu now fled to neighbouring countries, particularly to the North and South Kivu in the Eastern Congo, bringing armed elements to an already fragile region. The former Hutu regime and its army controlled the Hutu refugee camps and mounted terror attacks against Rwanda. The genocide gave birth to the Tutsi power in Rwanda with the mission to protect the Tutsi wherever they were (Mamdani 2001)….

https://www.theindiaforum.in/international-affairs/congo-tragedy-many-parts

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