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War in the Congo and Sum 41’s Experience | 01.11.2004 |
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 The Ignored War: The Fight Over Natural Resources
Most of the western world is concentrated on the war in Iraq and the United States’ so-called “War on Terrorism.” Unfortunately, there are other conflicts that are not making headlines and it is only right that someone such as myself bring this topic into the open. The fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been horrific and terrifying. Genocide is virtually taking place in the country and none of the superpowers are doing anything about it. Some argue that the reason the United States has not committed troops to the region is due to the fact that the U.S. is already bogged down in its occupation of Iraq. The United Nations has had peacekeepers in the region for the past few years but the fighting rages on. While the world is eagerly to suck whatever oil is left out of Iraq, the Congo is hanging left to dry. An underlying reasoning behind the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo is due to the vast amount of natural resources the country has.
“The war claimed an estimated three million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition. It has been called possibly the worst emergency to unfold in Africa in recent decades.” (BBC News) The country has been in a civil war since its independence in 1994. The nation formerly known as Zaire, is in the midst of a complex battle between political factions that want control of the country. “Laurent Kabila and his long-standing but little-known guerrilla movement launched a seven-month campaign that ousted Mobutu in May 1997, ending one of the world's most corrupt and megalomaniacal regimes. The last of the CIA-nurtured cold war despots, Mobutu deftly courted France and the U.S., which used Zaire as a launching pad for covert operations against bordering countries, particularly Marxist Angola. Mobutu's disastrous policies drove his country to economic collapse while he siphoned off millions of dollars for himself. In Aug. 1998, Congolese rebel forces, backed by Kabila's former allies, Rwanda and Uganda, gained control of a large portion of the country until Angolan, Namibian, and Zimbabwean troops came to Kabila's aid. In 1999, the Lusaka Accord was signed by all six of the countries involved, as well as by most, but not all, of the various rebel groups. In Jan. 2001, Kabila was assassinated, allegedly by one of his bodyguards.” (Infoplease.com) The fighting continued despite peace efforts by the different factions of the government and neighboring countries.
Millions of people have died and now only a few hundred United Nations peacekeeping forces remain in the area. Much of the fighting is between the Hema minority and Lendu majority. Many NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) have been in the region for quite sometime for humanitarian aid. As the fighting increased in the past year, NGOs have pulled out fearing for their lives. Despite the increased violence, the non-governmental organization, War Child Canada has been working in the region. “Founded in 1999, War Child Canada is an independent charitable organization working across North America and around the world to assist children affected by war and to raise awareness for children's rights everywhere.” (warchild.ca) Interestingly enough, the Canadian rock band Sum-41 decided to film a documentary earlier this year. “In May, the Toronto-based rock band traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo with War Child Canada for a documentary, now titled "Rocked: Sum 41 In The Congo." The violence in the Congo (formerly The Belgian Congo, then Zaire) has been on and off since the 1880s. Staying at The Orchid hotel on Lake Kivu, a UN-brokered peace accord deal had been in place for two years and the idyllic town, full of UN peacekeepers, had been calm for three. Sum 41's agenda entailed visits to refugee camps and child soldier rehabilitation centers in Bukavu.” (warchild.ca) As the band visited and documented the war-torn region, fighting increased and the band narrowly escaped. A fellow Canadian, UN inspector Chuck Pelletier helped the band escape. The band left a few days earlier than planned due to the violence. I talked to the bassist, Cone, of Sum-41 about the experience and what his perspectives are in the Congo after experiencing the fighting first hand.
Interview with Cone of Sum 41 in Santa Barbara California 10-29-04:
Q: What motivated you guys to join War Child Canada and do the documentary?
Cone: We wanted to get involved with a charity. So we researched on a bunch of them. War Child in Canada deals a lot with artists and bands and it clicked with them. They showed us programs they did with other bands and we really liked it. So we joined up with them. Then we didn’t know whether we were going to donate money or do a concert but then they showed us videos of bands going over to countries such as Iraq and other war torn areas and did documentaries. We thought that was really cool. The Congo came up and there has been a civil war over there for such a long time. We were hesitant to go over there but they said there has been a cease-fire for the past year. So we said ok, we guess. So we went over there and shit hit the fan.
Q: For the people that do not understand the conflict, describe the conflict in your view after going over there?
Cone: The Congo has a lot of minerals including diamonds and gold. There is this mineral called coltan, which is used to produce cell phones and cameras. Basically the war is being fought over these minerals. A lot of the people that are mining the minerals are kids and they are slaving away in the mines everyday. All the minerals end up coming over to our side of the world and no one there gets anything for it. It is very corrupt over there and everyone is fighting for these minerals and money. It is one of the worst 3rd world countries. I never thought I would go to a country like that. It is really bad over there.
Q: Describe the personal situation you guys had when you went to the Congo?
Cone: As soon as we flew in there were soldiers at the airport. All the soldiers were wasted. They were drinking beer and one guy was past out on a rocket launcher. We were like ok, cool, glad we are here. Then we got into our van and driving along the road and these ex-soldiers set up a roadblock. They wouldn’t let us pass unless we gave them money. Our driver was Congolese and was arguing with the guys at the roadblock. Then the guy pulled out a machete. He basically said give us money or else you guys aren’t going to live. Our driver started to argue with them again and they eventually let us go. Just after that we had a bad feeling in our stomach about the trip. We had cameras and everything and people weren’t really happy about it. People have been over there before filming and people claim they are doing a good thing but nothing has changed. The people are asking what are you doing for us. People always come over here but nothing happens. The UN was happy that we were there but the local people were just like fuck off. People are here all the time and no one helps us and they just look at you angry.
Q: Do you see a cease-fire in the Congo anytime soon?
Cone: No. Unless there is a legitimate government in place the fighting will continue. The UN has been there for years now. When the battled started, the UN was brushed aside by all these rebel groups. If the UN can just get brushed aside like that, how can they help out in a big way? The Congolese army and rebel groups just brushed them aside like they weren’t even there. There is no real government and they are trying to have elections in the next couple months but it doesn’t seem like anything good is going to happen there for a while.
Q: How much did the Congo experience contribute to the latest album?
Cone: Not a lot. Most of the album was finished when we went over there. “Were All to Blame” was being written when we were there. So that song has a little bit to do with the Congo but more about the rest of the world as a whole.
Q: Thank you for the interview.
Cone: You’re welcome. Take care.
After talking to Cone one question that came up in my mind was the UN’s capabilities. The United Nations has had peacekeeping missions that have been failures and successes. I do not see this particular peacekeeping mission in having any sort of success. As long as the United States and other large western nations demand these minerals for their luxury items, no international agency will be able to stop them. The UN went to the Congo (formerly Zaire) to stop the fighting and implement a ceasefire or at least have some form of negotiations. Unfortunately, who do you think are controlling the rebel groups that control the mines in which child slave labor is being used to extract coltan? It is hard to find concrete evidence that there is a direct link between the United States (and the rest of the westernized world) and the rebel groups controlling and fighting over the mines. Despite that, it is obvious that Multinational Corporations have significant involvement with the mining. Since these materials are used to produce the most sought after “toy” of the past twenty years, cell phones. The United States, let alone the entire western world will not try to stop this because of the massive profits being made from the extracted materials. “A dozen major international human rights and development groups are calling on the UN Security Council to press the United States and other western governments to launch immediate investigations into the involvement of multinational corporations based in their countries in profiteering from the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).” (us.oneworld.net) “U.S. policy toward Mobutu was rationalized on the grounds of fighting “communism” and Soviet influence in Africa, but the U.S. was clearly more concerned with securing its own interests in the region than helping foster a stable, secure, and peaceful future for the people of Central Africa.” (globalissues.org)
I want to add to Cone’s argument and say that not even a legitamate government would stop the violence unless the legitamate government was funded by the United States or large multinational corporations. According to a statement by several national and international NGOs in the 2002 UN report: "The Security Council has failed to act on previous reports from the panel showing the link between the activities of multinational corporations and armed groups guilty of massacres and other atrocities." (www.idpproject.org) I usually do not hear about people going to the Democratic Republic of Congo unless it is someone from a human rights NGO or a UN peacekeeper. It was interesting to hear about Cone’s experience and his viewpoint on the ongoing fighting and genocide occurring in the Congo. Sum 41 is releasing a documentary about their experiences in the near future.
Further Links:
 sum41.com
warchild.ca
islandrecords.com
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| Author:
Adam |
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