(m) I already hold this claim and I have explained to thefallenhero that I'm quite busy and thus am kind of on a hiatus but I couldn't stay away and figured that since I'm only just starting to play I may as well make a claim since technically I have lost it. Either that or Ive been on pseudo hiatus this whole time and its entirely unnecessary, I don't know how it works in this case XP (/m)
This is going to get long but the backstory is real interesting and worth the read. Trust me. If you really don't want to read it skip to the end where I explain 2018 on-ward's.
Backstory:
Zaire, under Dictator and President Mobutu, has been stagnant for a number of years under his regime but never the less has enjoyed plenty of support from the US government due to his anti-communist stance. The now named DRC suffered a 65% decrease in GDP during the mans reign. US support ended in 1992 once the Cold War ended and the US pivoted to supporting new leaders such as Paul Kagame and Uganda's Yoweri Musevini. As such under high internal and external pressure a wave of Democratisation took place during the 90's. Mobutu promised to get with the times and reform, but ultimately proved unwilling to do so.
The Rwandan Genocide happens in 1994 during the Rwandan civil war, directed by the Hutu majority government primarily against the Tutsi minority. 70% of the Tutsi population and 30% of the Pygmy Batwa population in Rwanda were killed, constituting 500k to a full 1m of slaughter and persecution over a 100 day period. It ended after the heavily armed and Tutsi backed Rwandan patriotic Front, led by Paul Kagame took control of the countries capitol Kigali and displaced 2 million Hutus as refugees. 1.5 Million of which ended up settling in refugee camps in the eastern regions of the DRC, many of whom were the ones who instigated the genocide in the first place. This has been a historic point of Immigration for a couple centuries from neighboring Rwanda and has only served as a point of conflict in all of that time.
Tutsi who had fled to Zaire to escape the genocide, the Banyamulenge and Banyarwanda, eventually ended up coming under fire as newly formed Hutu militias and extremist groups which had allied themselves with local Mai Mai militias eventually turned from defending themselves to attacking other refugees and immigrant tribal members from Rwanda. This caused about 100 deaths a month in 1996 and became a launching point for assaults into Rwanda as the Hutu militias aspired to retake the country, representing a serious security threat to the new fledgling state of Rwanda and forcing the nation to act to protect itself. And start the first African Continental War, or First Congo War depending on who you ask about the name.
Zaire at this point had all but ceased to exist as the army in a bid to survive was forced to turn to raiding from the population in order to secure vital supplies in absence of pay from the state.
First Congo War:
Rwanda began to form Tutsi militias for operations within Zaire from as early as 1995, but largely chose to act after an exchange of fire with Zairian and Rwandan troupes. This started the Banyamalunge Uprising in August 1996 when Zairian Tutsi who had been recruited by the Rwandan Patriotic army incited the conflict, as recalled by Ugandan leader at the time, Yoweri Mousevini.
The goal was the seize control of the eastern Kivu provinces and combat the extremist Hutu militias (called Génocidaires) that were attempting to continue the Rwandan genocide, just in a new area.
Because of Mobutu's... unpopularity (to put it politely), his enemies used this as a chance to start shit, resulting in massive public support for the rebellion, which quickly lost its Tutsi dominance but never the less continued to be backed by Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, etc. The rebellion quickly coalesced into the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo (AFDL for short) under the leadership of Laurent-Desire Kabila. A long time opponent of Mobutu and a leader of one of the 3 main rebel groups that formed the AFDL. Vice President and Defence Minister of Rwanda at the time, Paul Kagame, claims that the AFDL was formed in and directed from Kigali in Rwanda, and contained Rwandan-trained troupes. Thus another goal of the AFDL, through its large backing from Rwanda, was the overthrowing of Mobutu after plans were discovered for an invasion of Rwanda backed by him and executed by the Génocidaires.
Refugee camps at this point were dismantled and Tutsi, regardless of if they were Zairian or Rwandan born were forced to repatriate to Rwanda and massacred Hutu refugees as they fled in revenge for their genocide. This had the triple affect of replenishing Rwandas depleted workforce after so much conflict, protecting Tutsi from slaughter by the Hutu in the region, and decimating the camps which the Génocidaires had used extensively to hide in as they plotted their invasion.
Uganda, with their historic ties to Rwanda, supported the AFDL with multiple intelligence organisations reporting that 15 000 Ugandan trained Tutsi fought in the first war. Museveni during this period worked closely with Kagame throughout the war, but did not support the AFDL in all aspects, preferring to keep the rebellion in the east and not go all the way to outright overthrowing Mobutu.
Angola entered the fray in 1997 to support the AFDL in overthrowing Mobutu as it saw doing so as the only way to combat the Zairian-UNITA relationship. UNITA being a militia group at the time that fought in the Angolan War for Independence and an ensuing decades long civil war. Members of Mobutu's government at the time were supplying the Angolan rebel group.
Other nations also supported the AFDL during the first congo war but their support was significantly lower. Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Eritrea which was a Rwandan Ally at the time all lent their support. Eritrea stands out as having sent an entire battalion of its army.
With support from several nations behind him, Laurent-Desire Kabila, in 1996 captured 800 x 100 km of territory in the east, temporarily sating the rebels as they could now defend themselves against the Génocidaires and had crippled the ability for them to use Zaire as a base for attacks. Thus the rebel advance paused itself following the acquisition until Angola entered the conflict in 1997. It is during this time that refugee camps were decimated and Tutsi repatriated. Several lucrative diamond and coltan mines were also captured and used to the benefit of the rebellion and its supporting nations. Multiple attrocities were commited by the AFDL against the Hutu refugees, the true extent of which is unknown due to careful management of NGO and Press access to areas where they were thought to have occurred. Hard to blame them considering the genocide but also inexcusable for dropping to their level.
Operation Thunderbolt: There are two reasons for the rebel advancement to resume, one being Angola joined in and the other, presented by Paul Kagame, being that Mobutu employed Serbian Mercenaries in the Battle for Walikale, which Rwanda took as further proof that Mobutu bode Rwanda ill will. Its unclear how this was a threat to Rwanda but ok lets go with it.
Once Angola had joined the Anti-Mobutu coalition in 1997 the rebel advance resumed, having acquired numbers far superior to Mobutu's forces at the time. The AFDL started demanding that Mobutu be removed from power. With their superior numbers and training, even someone who had read merely a chapter or two of Sun Tzu's Art of War could see that Mobutu had no chance at that point. Moral high ground, superior numbers, superior training and military discipline. You get the picture.
Sudan did help remnants of Mobutu's forces at the time in order to try and prevent Zaire from becoming a haven for the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army in the Second Sudanese Civil War. They're another rebel group. But Mobutu's forces were flopping over like over-boiled spaghetti so it was really pretty damn hopeless for them.
Eventually fighting broke out in the countries capitol, Kinshasa and Mobutu fled. the city was taken with little resistance. Throughout the advance the international community attempted to negotiate some kind of settlement but the AFDL only participated to avoid international criticism for not seeking a diplomatic end to the conflict.
Aftermath:
Laurent-Desire Kabila proclaimed himself president and instigated a violent crackdown to restore order. His rule proved to be very similar to Mobutu's and the economy went even further down the shitter, leading to a lot of criticism for failing to repair it or do anything to address the incredibly corrupt government, sparking new conflict in the east who demanded autonomy from the now renamed DRC. He came to be seen as an instrument of the foreign countries that aided him in seizing power, resulting in the expulsion of his former allies' forces from the country in an attempt to improve his image. This displeased Rwanda which wanted to instate a proxy regime in the DRC at the time. This lead to a renewal of the Hutu Génocidaires insurgencies into the western regions of Rwanda which it could no longer properly defend itself from.
Second Congo War:
Once Kabila had given his former allies the boot, tensions in the east only grew more exacerbated between the Génocidaires, other ethnic groups and the Banyamulunge (basically expat Tutsi's from what I read) This coupled with increased centralisation of power, a violent crackdown, and little to no progress in repairing the economy or fixing the governments corruption problem
In August 1998 the Banyamulunge in Goma erupted into rebellion, whom received immediate support from Rwanda which acted opportunistically. With support from Rwanda and Uganda, the newly formed Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) lead an initial offensive that threatened the Kabila government within weeks, but quick intervention from neighboring nations aided the DRC in pushing back the rebels.
Kabila eventually ended up enlisting the aid of Hutu refugees in the east and began to agitate public opinion against the Tutsi's, resulting in several public lynchings. A loyalist Army major ended up broadcasting a message on the radio on August 12th urging resistance against the Rwandan backed Rebellion in the east. "People must bring a machete, a spear, an arrow, a hoe, spades, rakes, nails, truncheons, electric irons, barbed wire, stones, and the like, in order, dear listeners, to kill the Rwandan Tutsis."
During this period the Rwandan government challenged the current borders by claiming the areas (which were substantial) as "historically Rwandan", kind of like how the South China Sea has "TOTALLY" been a part of China since Ancient Times. The Rwandans also alleged that Kabila was organising a genocide against the Tutsi still living in the Kivu region. Harkening back to when they repatriated many Tutsi to Rwanda in order to both strengthen their own economy and apparently protect their brethren.
1998-1999:
A bunch of shit happened, planes were hijacked and flown into Congolese military bases. The Ugandans which also supported the RCD, also created their own group, the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC). The defeat of Kabila seemed all but certain, and then his diplomatic efforts and requests for help bore fruit in fellow members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), headquartered in Botswana. Initially this included Namibia, Zimbabwe and Angola preceeding a meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe on the 19th of August, but in the following weeks several nations aided the DRC and Kabila in the following weeks. Chad, Libya and Sudan.
A ceasefire was agreed on the 18th of January 1999 between Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, but the RCD wasnt invited and fighting continued. Most states outside of Africa remained neutral during this period.
Zimbabwe entered because as a member of the SADC he was on paper supposed to be in a mutual defence treaty, but both Zimbabwe and Namibia had interests in the DRC involving fish exports and stakes in the Societé Minière de Bakwanga, a valuable diamond mining company. Their participation resulted in several foreign backers placing aid programs under review or outright cancelling them, denying the nations a lot of funding required for military upkeep.
Angolas skin in the game was to try and eliminate UNITA operations within the southern part of the DRC, which was exchanging diamonds extracted from rebel held areas of Angola to purchase foreign weaponry. They also feared that a new president wouldn't do much better and that the resultant power vacuum would destabilize the entire region that could only help their UNITA foe.
Chad entered the fray in September under the encouragement of France in a bid to regain influence it lost in the region post Rwandan Genocide, but they were quickly involved in a big fiasco involving looting and severe human rights violations from the moment they touched down on Congolese soil. they quickly withdrew under international pressure and public shaming.
Sudan supported several rebel groups within the Congo to hinder Ugandan backed groups in retaliation for that nations support for the Sudan People's Liberation Army.
Beginning of the Ituri Conflict: Ethnic tensions within the RCD concerning the Banyamulunge dominance of it reached a boiling point on the 5th of April when its leader, Ernest Wamba dia Wamba moved its headquarters from Goma to Uganda controlled Kisangani to lead a splinter group called Forces for Renewal. A further splintering occured on the 18th when Uganda and Rwanda signed a ceasefire, but the RCD and Rwanda about faced and refused to take part. Wamba was later ousted as the RCD's head and a pro Rwandan figure was put in place instead. Rebel factions met on the 8th of June to discuss a united front against Kabila but despite these efforts, Ugandas creation of the new province of Ituri, sparked the Ituri conflict, which is sometimes referred to as a war within a war. The main conflict of which lasted until 2003 with low levels of ongoing conflict continuing to this day.
The First Ceasefire:
The first ceasefire between the then involved nations was signed in July of 1999, the MLC on the 1st of August signed as well. However the RCD refused to sign anything. Under the agreement, forces from all sides would be sought out, documented, tracked and disarmed under a joint military commission. Especially forces identified as having been involved in the Rwandan Genocide. Little was done to actually disarm anyone however in the following months and all sides accused eachother of repeatedly breaking the ceasefire. The UN ended up deploying troupes to monitor the ceasefire in early 2000 to the tune of 5537 soldiers to monitor the cease-fire. But fighting continued between rebel and government forces anyway, especially heavy fighting occured between Ugandan and Rwandan forces in May and June of 2000
Laurent-Desire Kabila's Assassination:
President Kabila was Assassinated on the 16th of January, 2001 by his bodyguard, Rashidi Muzelein at the presidential palace in Kinshasa. He was flown to Zimbabwe for intensive care, but died of his wounds and was returned for a funeral of the 26th. Kabila's son, Joseph was unanimously sworn in to replace his father as president. He won largely due to the backing of Zimbabwean leader, Robert Mugabe and that most of the parliamentarians had been hand picked by Kabila Senior. The new Kabila met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the United states and managed to reach an agreement on a UN pullout plan. Uganda and Rwanda began pulling back its troupes during this period.
In April the UN investigated the illegal exploitation of congolese resources by Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe during the conflict and recommended to the security council that sanctions be imposed.
2002:
During this period the situation began to worsen for Rwanda as many members of the RCD began to give up on fighting and/or decided to join Kabila's government. The Banyamulunge had also grown tired of the constant conflict and Rwandan control and mutinied, resulting in violent clashes between them and Rwandan forces. It didnt help Rwanda's case that Kabila was doing a good Job. Western Congo was increasingly becoming safer and more secure, inflation was brought under control and international aid to the DRC was resuming.
Peace talks were held in April, hosted by South Africa resulting in the Sun City Agreement, paving the way for true democratic elections and multiparty governance. Several Breaches of the agreement have been reported but ultimately it has resulted in a reduction in the fighting. Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace deal known as the Pretoria Accord after 5 days of talks in Pretoria, South Africa. Talks centered on the two main issues of the withdrawal of 20 000 Rwandan troupes from the DRC and the rounding up of Ex-Rwandan Soldiers and the Dismantling of the Hutu Militia, Interahamwe. The Interahamwe took part in the Rwandan Genocide and continues to operate out of the eastern parts of the DRC. Rwanda previously had refused to sign until these militias had been fully dealt with.
the Luanda Agreement was signed in September between the DRC and Uganda. The aims were withdrawal of Ugandan troupes and improvement of relations between the two nations.
Rwanda completed its withdrawal on October 5th
Zimbabwe withdrew its forces in October 2002 but in 2006, 50 Zimbabwean troupes still remained behind to protect Kabila.
The government and various rebel groups signed an agreement on December 17th which lead to a transitional government and resulted in presidential elections within 2 years.
Pygmy Genocide:
From late 2002 to Early 2003, soldiers from the MLC and RCD engaged in the extermination of the Bambuti Pygmies and came to be known as les effaceurs (the erasers). The primary objective was the conquest of the north Kivu province of the DRC and ethnic cleansing of the Pygmies in the eastern region. Their population numbered numbered 90 000. They were targeted because the rebels considered them to be sub-human, and that their flesh had magical powers. Reports of cannibalism were widespread. 60 000 to 70 000 were murdered in that genicide. Jean-Pierre Bemba, At the time the vice president of the DRC was found guilty of human rights violations by the International Criminal Court, but was acquitted by the appeals court in June of 2018.
2003 Onwards:
As part of the signed agreement between the warring parties, each was obliged to carry out a plan to reunify the country, and disarm and integrate the previously in conflict groups, and hold elections. There were a lot of problems, but elections were eventually held after a years delay in 2006.
Second Congo War Aftermath:
Due to the fragile nature of the state and still quite high levels of corruption there are still several areas of conflict to this day. Much of the conflict was entirely driven by the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups both fearing that the other side will exterminate them. The DRC and Hutu aligned forces enjoy close relations. Ugandan and Rwandan aligned forces have worked closely to gain territory at the DRC's expense, but internal schisms and squabbling within the alliance over access to resources has formed fissures in the relationship. Uganda, the DRC and the Hutus are now all to varying degrees, acting to mostly check Rwandas influence. The Ituri conflict still continues in part to this day.
A coup attempt occured in March 2004 lead by former members of Mobutu's regime, but it failed. In June, coup plotters led by Major Eric Lenge attempted to take power and announced on the radio that the transitional government was suspended, but they were defeated by loyalist forces.
Kabila's Presidency:
A new constitution was approved in December 2005 and a presidential election was held on the 30th of July 2006. Controversy surrounding the absence of a holding of debate between the 2 remaining presidential candidates did not occur and was called unconstitutional. Acording to widely disputed provisional results on 20th of August, Kabila won 45% of the vote and his opponent, Jean-Pierre Bemba, won 20%. But the irregularities surrounding the election lead to a runoff vote. Kabila was delared the winner with 58.05% of the vote and the results were confirmed by the supreme court on the 27th of November. Kabile was Inaugurated on the 6th of December, naming Antoine Gizenga, who backed him in the runoff as prime minister on the 30th.
Kabila was reelected for a second term in December 2011. This caused major unrest as polling had strongly suggested his opponent, Etienne Tshisekedi would win. It was reported that returns from 2000 polling stations from areas where support for Etienne was strong conveniently went missing and were not recorded in the official results. Never the less, Kabila was sworn in for a second term, promising improvements to infrastructure and public services. Catholic Bishops in the DRC also chimed in and condemned the elections, calling on the elections commission to correct serious errors.
In 2015 the Congo government passed a law reqiring a census before the next elections could be held. Protests led by university students soon broke out following the announcement of a proposed law that would allow Kabila to remain in power until the census could be held. Resultin in a significant delay in the elections that were planned for 2016. The protests ended up claiming 42 lives, though the government claims only 15 were killed. The senate eventually striked down the law requiring the census and at least one member of the ruling party announced he would be leaving it due to disagreements over when the elections should be held.
Moise Katumbi, the man who had left the ruling party, announced on the day the elections were supposed to be held that he would be running for the presidency. And his house was subsequently surrounded by police looking to arrest him.
Ultimately the election was delayed until 2018. The reason the electoral authority gave was that the number of voters was not known and that a census needed to be held. Kabilas opposition widely criticised this as an intentional delay so that Kabila could remain in power. Lots of protests were held. People were killed in the protests. c'est la vie. Opposition groups ended up stating that late elections would result in civil war.
Kabila ended up staying in power anyway and instated an entirely new cabinet which resulted in even more protests with about 40 people killed, eventually an agreement was made between Kabila and the opposition that he'd leave before 2017's end, but that fell out royally and he continued, eventually on December 30th 2018 an election was finally held Kabilas endorsed candidate lost and the Opposition candidate, Felix Tshisekedi was made president in January 2019. The vote has still received criticism, some of which came again from the Catholic Church, especially with voting 'delayed' to march for certain areas citing an ebola outbreak and ongoing conflict. And some have speculated that Kabila and Tshisekedi made a deal of some kind.
What About Now?:
Felix has been in power for the past year and a half or so. One of his first acts as president was to pardon 700 prisoners, including political opponents of Joseph Kabila. He then quietly went on to begin ousting known corrupt individuals from the government and courts, thus strengthening rule of law. Police forces are now better equipped with funding and are undergoing better training in order to make the street safer. Corruption is on the decline and the courts are seeing significantly more justice being dealt. In the beginnings of 2020, Felix executed a full scale anti-corruption campaign to examine and purge all corrupt individuals from the executive and legislative arms of the government, under the control of the now mostly corruption free courts. This has resulted in a coup attempt and 3 cases of attempted assassination. All of which are expected to continue as war criminals, leaders of child soldiers, the corrupt and the rapists are all tried, convicted and jailed. The Inquisition is in its early days but it has resulted in a solidification of Felix' power base as president so far and an overall stabilizing effect for the nation as a whole. Corruption is also decreasing in general out of fear that individuals will be targeted and brought before the courts. Many have criticised the move as silencing opposition, but the arguement falls flat when you take into consideration the number of members from his own party being sent to the courts. Many a provincial election has been called to elect new members so far.
Christianity was declared the state religion due to the huge number of Christians in the country (95% I think?), but allows for religious freedoms still.
Overall the market has responded well to the changes with increased GDP growth and greater attraction for businesses to come and set up shop in Congo. Its still a fringe thing, but some people are also embracing the entrepreneurial spirit and starting their own businesses, leading to a strengthening of the economy overall. Even if quite a few people in power hate his guts right now and want him either dead or out of the picture, you can't argue with the results.
Future plans include once and for all tackling the Ituri conflict, bringing it to an end, establishing rock solid rule of law in the eastern provinces, mining company tax reforms resulting in a higher income for the state to fund the building of much needed roads and infrastructure to facilitate trade and proper travelling, trade deals with neighbouring nations and maybe a holy crusade or two if I can get the religious zealotry up a notch or 50.
Submitted April 02, 2019 at 10:07PM by DuskCypher https://ift.tt/2K0CMKu
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