Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The mineral resources of North and South Kivu (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo) are what have been fueling a conflict that has been going on for over 12 years now. This is what is explained in a report recently published by the organization Global Witness, which describes in detail how the military groups in the area are financed by looting the resources in the region.
“In many parts of the provinces of North and South Kivu, armed groups and the Congolese national army control the trade in cassiterite (tin ore), gold, columbite-tantalite (coltan), wolframite (a source of tungsten) and other minerals,” says the report, entitled “Faced with a gun, what can you do?” Among the groups named in the report are the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), formed by Rwandan hutus that have been harassing the Congolese people for 15 years, in spite of various intents to block their activity (see Fides 3/6/2009). How is it that this group, officially banned by all, is still active? At the light of the revelations of Global Witness, the response is clear: because it is financed by illegal trafficking of minerals in cohorts with others international players.
The document issued by the British Global Witness comes following a study conducted by the French group “Ecole de Guerre Economique” (ECG), led by Christian Harbulot, in November 2008, entitled “La Guerre du Coltan en RDC,” which sheds light on the economic interests and strategies of the major world powers in controlling coltan, a mineral used in the electronic industry, aerospace industry, and in arms manufacturing.
“Europe and the United States are completely dependent on the foreign coltan reserves,” the ECG's report says. “While Australia and Brazil export coltan in large quantities, the geo-strategic site of powers that reason in terms of reserves is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In fact, the coltan of the Kivu region is between 60-80% of the world's tantalum(metal extracted from coltan) reserves. What is at risk for these States with systems of defense with high-level technology, is the coltan, which not only has an effective economic potential but is also strategic, as tantalum is indispensable for the aeronautical, aerospace, and defense industries,” says the document that even cites a Pentagon report that acknowledges that “various applications of tantalum are, directly or indirectly, related with defense.”
From the analysis of the reports from the two research groups, it is evident that the war in the two Kivus, often referred to as “ethnic,” enters into a much vaster conflict, with economic and strategic implications that go beyond Congo and Africa itself. The various guerrilla movements and armies active in the two Congolese provinces are vying for control of the mineral deposits. Behind them are several African countries, used for exporting the minerals illegally stolen from the Congolese, several multi-national mining companies and various powers, that as has been seen depend on coltan and other strategic minerals in the area.
The Congolese Bishops and missionaries working in the area for years denounce this situation (see Fides 10/6/2009). Thanks be to God, independent analysts in Europe and the United States are starting to document those responsible for this situation. To continue speaking of an “ethnic” or “tribal” war means becoming an accomplice of those who wish to continue this exploitation of the region at the expense of its inhabitants, without any consequences. Among the crimes committed by the armed groups in the region are mass rapes (hundreds of thousands of cases), used on purpose to cause terror in the local people and force them to flee, thus leaving the area free for the predators of Congo's resources. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 21/7/2009)
