DRC celebrates 50 years of independence.

[Small Geezer]

Democratic Republic of Congo celebrates 50 years of independence

30 Jun
The following article is from Zimbabwe’s Herald (http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=20653&cat=1):
By Morris Mkwate in KINSHASA, DRC
PRESIDENT Mugabe arrived here yesterday to join in celebrations to mark the vast country’s 50 years of independence from Belgian colonial rule.
He was welcomed by Harare’s Ambassador to Kinshasa, Mr John Mayowe, DRC Prime Minister Adolf Muzitu, DRC Defence Minister Charles Mwandosimba and Zimbabwe embassy officials.

http://marxistleninist.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/kabila-mugabe.jpg?w=300&h=188 (http://marxistleninist.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/kabila-mugabe.jpg) Joseph Kabila and Robert Mugabe

The President, who was accompanied by First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and several senior Government officials; was seen off at Harare International Airport by Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu and service chiefs.

Forty other leaders, among them Sadc Heads of State and Government and Belgium’s King Albert are expected to attend the main celebrations at Boulevard Triomphale in Kinshasa today.

Several activities have been lined up for the golden jubilee, among them military and civilian parades and a state banquet.

DRC Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Mwampanga Mwana Nanga said President Mugabe’s presence at the festivities signified the strong bond between Harare and Kinshasa.

“I am glad President Mugabe is going to attend the celebrations, the relations between our countries are very strong because we share the same vision.

“This vision is not based on leaders. It centres on our dream of a new Africa that can stand on its feet.
http://marxistleninist.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/drc-50anniv.jpg?w=219&h=300 (http://marxistleninist.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/drc-50anniv.jpg)“The relationship is cast in blood. One must always bear in mind that Zimbabweans shed their blood in order to uphold the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo. You cannot just wipe that out.”

Ambassador Mwana Nanga said the event presented the Congolese with an opportunity to reflect on their successes and failures. He said the focus was on peace and stability, infrastructure development and ensuring locals benefit from the country’s rich mineral reserves.

Kinshasa has commissioned the Chinese to construct 3 000km of roads, railway links spanning 3 000km, 250 hospitals and three universities at a cost of US$9 billion.

Education and training are also key priority areas that have seen the country churn out 1 000 doctors and other professionals annually.
“This year’s celebrations are very important. First, in that they mark a long period since we gained independence.

“But more important is the fact that we have stumbled on the last 50 years and have learnt a lot from that past,” said Ambassador Mwana Nanga. “Our country has been at war for years. The conflict is not out of the making of DRC nationals. The West uses people to fight against their own kith and kin. They have always wanted to destabilise us in order to gain access to our resources.

“They are doing it here (in Zimbabwe) with the Chiadzwa diamonds. The West wants to benefit from this wealth. And if it doesn’t it will label the gems ‘blood diamonds’.

“One only wishes the West could follow the example of countries like China. We are not against foreign investment.

“What we want is a win-win situation, not the kind of system that presupposes control over the resources of other nations. However, we are optimistic about the future. We have trained people and the leadership has a vision to develop resources for the benefit of our people,” he said.
The DRC attained independence in 1960, but has been plagued by conflict since.

Its first leader, the iconic Cde Patrice Lumumba, was assassinated in a Belgian-American conspiracy that propelled Western-backed rebel leader Mobutu Sese Seko to power.

A liberation struggle led by nationalists Pierre Mulele, Antoine Gizenga and Cde Laurent Desire Kabila then followed. But it was the Alliance de Forces Democratique Pour la Liberation du Congo/Zaire led by Cde Kabila that made the difference. The liberation movement toppled Mobutu on May 17, 1997.

However, Rwandese and Ugandan troops — backed by the West — invaded the country in August 1998.
Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and, briefly Chad, moved in to defend Kinshasa under the auspices of Sadc.

President Kabila, who had assumed power after the dismantling of the Mobutu establishment, was assassinated in 2001. His son and current leader, Joseph, took over and was involved in the inter-Congolese dialogue that culminated in the formation of an eight-party coalition government in 2003. In 2006, the DRC held its first multi-party elections, which drew 33 presidential aspirants.

President Kabila won the first round, but failed to garner the mandatory 50 percent to ensure outright victory.

He then prevailed over his main rival Jean-Pierre Bemba in the second round. During his visit to Zimbabwe last October, President Kabila paid tribute to Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia for their help.

[Nuvem]

A sad state in the DRC. They can celebrate their imagined independance, but the truth is that the Congo remains the deadliest and most dangerous place on earth, with more cases of rape and murder than any other single nation. The militias there run rampant and law is only applied with any capability in the big cities- where it is applied tyranically. The prison system there is monstrous. In the countryside the militias run the show, enslaving peasants to work in diamond, gold and tungsten mines to sell to Western jewelling and electronics corporations.

However, blaming the West entirely for the struggle in the Congo is shortsighted and misleading on the part of their leadership. In all truth their government is a classic African false democratic oligarchy and their bourgeois interests coincide with the Capitalists and exploitation industrials just as much as the western nation's. Let's face it, few people still consider China to be Communist anymore; its economy is distinctly corporatist/state capitalist and cooperating with China is no better than cooperating with European or American exploitation industrialists. The end result is ultimately the same. They cheer for their independance while simultaneously indebting themselves to higher powers.

There can be no "win-win" situation in the Congo. Someone has to lose out in this conflict, something has to give. The government doesn't have the power to force out the militias or the foreign capitalist interests (who I suspect would crack down heavily if such an attempt were made) and the people are too disorganized and generally unarmed to presently overcome either the militias or the government. As usual in Africa, the leaders make pretty promises and can talk a good game, but they never reveal just how deeply the problem is rooted.

[AK]

So where exactly is the independence of the Congolese working class? National independence is bullshit.

[InuyashaKnight]

Good luck to the Congo!

[Barry Lyndon]

So where exactly is the independence of the Congolese working class? National independence is bullshit.

National independence is not "bullshit". The Congo's(and most of Africa's) ills stem from the fact that it was freed from the shackles of colonialism only to be re-enslaved by neo-colonialism.

[AK]

There was no "re-enslavement" for "most of Africa". It was still wage-slavery. The national liberation movements that succeeded ultimately never got rid of class-based society (if it was in their intentions), nor did they really get close. It became a power-shift between different old and new Bourgeois factions plus it gave a few more rights and concessions to Africans and it caused the near-destruction of all the physical traits of old-style imperialism (i.e., countries not recognised as colonies but sovereign states).

[Adi Shankara]

The truth is, Congo gained independence on June 24th, 1960 with the election of Patrice Lumumba...and lost independence on January 17th, with the assassination of Patrice Lumumba at the hands of the Belgians and CIA. after his assassination, they faced 32 years of capitalist puppet rule at the hands of an oppressive dictator, and when he passed away...nothing but hell and violence. How is that "independence"?

The history of African communism/socialism (with the exception of the Derg, which truly was a ridiculous regime) is that of tragic assassinations or coups overthrowing revolutionary leaders who had a genuine faith in democracy and native African socialist values.

I don't blame Africa for not having many leaders of great character (afterall, we in the West are no ones to talk)--it seems to be, the minute you get a legitimate leader, he gets assassinated, and out of the shadows comes a truly terrifying character like capitalist dictator Mobutu Sese Seko...and next thing you know, 5 million lie dead in a 6 year long war that devastates your country and litters it with broken families and landmines.

[Adi Shankara]

However, blaming the West entirely for the struggle in the Congo is shortsighted and misleading on the part of their leadership. In all truth their government is a classic African false democratic oligarchy and their bourgeois interests coincide with the Capitalists and exploitation industrials just as much as the western nation's.

I'm sorry, but that's absolute bullshit.

the Republic of Congo had democratically elected a leader who was chosen in peaceful elections back in 1960...then he started allying himself closer to the Soviets (even though he was a 3rd worlder, in the literal sense of the term) and so the Belgians in collaboration with the CIA, in the names of preventing communism and protecting rubber and timber interests, assassinated him and replaced him with the autocratic dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

His rule JUST ended a little more than a decade ago. After that, due to the instablity created by his departure and the reluctance of the west to assist in establishing democracy where they raped it, So began the 2nd Congo war, one of the bloodiest wars in modern history, where 3,500,000 African soliders died, and that doesn't even include civilians.

So before you resort to a condescending stereotype of Africans, please realize, the situation in Congo is almost 100% the West's fault.

[Small Geezer]

This is an interesting article about the Congo from the CPGB-ML publication, the Proletarian
http://marxistleninist.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/congo-still-struggling-for-independence/