Kruse's Keys: Read "Dancing in the Glory of Monsters" to Learn About the Most Brutal War You've Never Heard Of (DRC)

Horseshoes and Hand Grenade History of DRC:
King Leopold II uses Congo as his own private playground, factory, and torture chamber until the Belgian government wakes up and takes it away from him. They create the Belgian Congo which they run for the next 50 years until Congolese independence in 1960. Rising nationalism combined with the fact that Belgium finally realized they couldn’t administer a country three times the size of Texas. Patrice Lumumba becomes Prime Minister until 1965 when, amidst the Cold War, the US conspires to support Mobutu in a coup to overthrow Soviet sympathizer Lumumba. From 1965 into the 90s, Mobutu Sese Seko rules the country that he renames Zaire. Eventually, in 1996 Laurent Kabila heads up a multi-national, multi-ethnic coalition of forces and takes Kinshasa from a fleeing Mobutu by 1997. Kabila promptly renames the country the DRC. Kabila proves ineffective and a Ugandan-backed rebel movement starts the next year led by warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba. Eventually this second war devolves into a struggle between six bordering countries. In 2001 Kabila is assassinated and succeeded by his son Joseph. By 2003 the war ends after much death and destruction. Since then Joseph Kabila has continued to rule through several corrupted election cycles. DRC continues to be a country on edge.

NOTE: In this book we are talking about the Democratic Republic of Congo (if you get them used confused just remember: if a country has “democratic” in its name, it likely is anything but. See a great explanation on the two countries here). The DRC is also referred to as “Congo-Kinshasa” (after it’s capital), and Republic of Congo as “Congo-Brazzaville”.

The Story:
I listened to this lengthy journalistic endeavor by writer Jason Stearns while driving home from work to Annapolis during the month of June. In it Stearns attempts to unravel the most complicated conflict that the world never cared about: the two wars in the Congo as he notes: “generally we do not care about a strange war fought by black people somewhere in the middle of africa.” This stands in stark contrast to the conflict in, say Kosovo, by contrast (Ch 23: 21:10).

As Stearns digs deeper and deeper into the wars, however, you are quickly struck by the overwhelming intensity of violence. Eventually it starts to weigh down upon you as you hear tale after graphic tale of rape and murder by every side (and there are many). In particular, the sheer level of sexual violence in incomprehensible as there’s likely no one in the country of 64 million who doesn’t know someone who was raped or assaulted (this Guardian piece notes that 12% of women in the Congo have been raped at least once). The reality of this becomes readily apparent as Stearns cautiously queries a gathered mixed crowd in one village as to whether they know anyone who’s been raped. Their reply: “We’ve all been raped, every single one of us!” (Ch 19: 40:36) The women go on to explain that in most cases, the rapists still live in their community.

Ultimately, it is the absence of justice that marks the conflicts in Congo as distinct from those elsewhere in Africa. There have been no truth and reconciliations commissions or gacaca courts to salve the deep wounds of most in the country. When one couples this festering infection with the lack of any effective state institutions, one is left without much hope. As Stearns observes, with no real state or effective governance, people default to ethnic identification which in turn only amplifies instability and further conflict (Ch 16: 44:31). The book does not end on a hopeful note but this was never the author’s mission. Rather Stearns has sought to reveal an incredibly complex issue that will hopefully inspire action and understanding. As the renowned Congolese singer Koffi Olomide notes in one of his songs: “Lies come up in the elevator, the truth takes the stairs but gets here eventually”

*One of my Reading Around the Continent books--the full list is here.
See our 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 Reading Lists.

Key Quotes:

• “Lies come up in the elevator, the truth takes the stairs but gets here eventually” -Congolese singer (and assaulter extraordinaire) Koffi Olomide (Ch 1: 25:36)
• Laurent Kabila, stereotypical Congolese big man. “Who has not been Mobutists in this country? We saw you all, dancing in the glory of the monster.” (Ch 2: 18:25)
• “Where elephants fight, the grass is trampled” Common excuse used by those who had committed atrocities in Rwandan genocide. In this case it was used by Rwandan leader Rwarakabije, who is today a Rwandan military leader responsible for much of the murdering. This proverb was a refrain commonly used by many leaders who perpetrated evil. You can read more about him today in this 2009 New Yorker Piece. (Ch 3: 54:09)
• “Africa has the shape of a pistol and Congo is its trigger.” -Frantz Fanon (Ch 5: 00:16)
• “We’ve all been raped, every single one of us!” (Ch 19: 40:36)
• “Generally we do not care about a strange war fought by black people somewhere in the middle of africa.” As opposed to say Kosovo (Ch 23: 21:10) 

Key Takeaways:

• Lack of institutions large part of conflict in Congo: Failure to ever build strong institutions = many actors compete for power and resources in this vacuum. There were 40 different Congolese armed groups at height of war with 9 different african states deploying troops in eastern congo. Don’t simplify for the sake of theoretical clarity. (Chapter 1: 12:21)
• International attention is stymied by the complexity and breadth of the conflict: No easy way to describe the war so despite its staggering statistics, it gets lost in the momentary headlines. There’s no easy villains. “War of the ordinary person” 20 different rebel groups. (Ch 2: 5:24-6:00)
• The African World War: The War in the Congo was not a civil war but rather it was African leaders against Mobutu in a regional conflict...in effect Africa’s World War. (Ch 5:28:04)
• Zimbabwe provided money, Eritrea provided boats, ethiopia and tanzania provided military advisors. (Ch 5: 31:13). Most important front of Congo war was being fought by foreign troops on both sides (Ch 20: 19:01)
• On the efficacy of using child soldiers: Child soldiers were used as vanguard special forces because they lacked the judgment of olders soldiers who knew to fear death and who would only accept a limited amount of risk. (Ch 12: 25:33)
• How foreign aid impedes progress: Development of rule of law and governance in the Congo is stymied by foreign aid which takes over the reins of tasks and responsibilities which should fall to a functioning government. (Ch 23: 15:44)
• The unexamined/unrestrained global economy as a driver of instability and violence: Link between Sony Playstation and coltan in the Congo (Ch 20: 41:02)

Key References (for further study)
My review of "A Bend in the River" is here.

NY Times 2011 Book Review of "Dancing"
WaPo Review of "Dancing"
African Arguments 2011 Review of "Dancing"
Telegraph 2011 Review of "Dancing"
New Republic Review of "Dancing"
Foreign Affairs Capsule Review of "Dancing"
Lonely Planet Founder Review of "Dancing"
The Life After Fifteen years after the genocide in Rwanda, the reconciliation defies expectations (2009)
Inside Africa's "Playstation War" (2008 Wired)
BBC Country Snapshot
A Tale of Two Congos blog
Pulitzer Center Report on "Plight of the Banyamulenge"

• Failure to ever build strong institutions = many actors compete for power and resources in this vacuum. There were 40 different Congolese armed groups at height of war with 9 different african states deploying troops in eastern congo. Don’t simplify for the sake of theoretical clarity. (Chapter 1: 12:21)
• Dan Gertler made fortune off illicit sales of mining rights (US targets Israeli businessman Dan Gertler with fresh sanctions) by exploiting his personal relationship with President Kabila (Chapter 1: 18:17)
• No easy way to describe the war so despite its staggering statistics, it gets lost in the momentary headlines. There’s no easy villains. “War of the ordinary person” 20 different rebel groups. (Ch 2: 5:24-6:00)
• In the Congo, the power of the state has been eroded over centuries. In 1885 King Leopold claimed the space as the Congo Free State until 1908 when he turned the country over to the Belgian government. (Ch 2: 9:57-11:00)
• Good history of Tutsi and Hutu in Rwanda/Eastern Congo (Ch 3: 25:55)
• Humanitarian aftermath of Rwandan genocide in effect whitewashed much of the crimes but erasing good and evil and recasting all as vicitims. (Ch 4: 24:07)
• The War in the Congo was not a civil war but rather it was African leaders against Mobutu in a regional conflict...in effect Africa’s World War. (Ch 5:28:04)
• Zimbabwe provided money, Eritreat provided boats, ethiopia and tanzania provided military advisors. (Ch 5: 31:13)
• Role and history of the Banyamulenge, a persecuted minority discussed in depth and a key group in the conflict. You can read more on it here. (Ch 6: 09:19)
• It’s difficult to convey how the mass killings could have occurred but its equally difficult to convey the generational and societal history of killing on both sides. (Ch 7: 06:21).
• 1937 Belgians brought in tens of thousands of Rwandan workers into Kivu due to their “reputation” as hard working and later morphed to another 100,000..this was followed by another wave around Rwandan independence number (due to unrest) which ultimately resulted in 335,000 living in the Congo as part of the Goma elite in Massisi (as much as 70% of the population there). (Ch 7: 08:18)
• Che Guevara eventually gave up in Congo with his disillusionment with Kabila (Ch 8: 10:12)
• Laurent Kabila accidental leader of AFDL movement (Ch 8: 26:25)
• AFDL troops took on names of famous bad guys...even today some captured villagers describe AFDL leaders named Rambo or Qadaffi. (Ch 10:40:10)
• Congolese army problem was how to reform it structurally but how to reform its corrupt leaders (Ch 10: 52: 36).
• Child soldiers were used as vanguard special forces because they lacked the judgment of olders soldiers who knew to fear death and who would only accept a limited amount of risk. (Ch 12: 25:33)
• Mwenze Kongolo, a former bail officer from Philly became Kabila’s Minister of Interior. (Ch 14: 26:48)
• Big obstacle to progress in Congo is the ethnic identification which is exclusive by nature and which is only strong because the state is absent (Ch 16: 44:31)
• “We’ve all been raped, every single one of us!” (Ch 19: 40:36)
• Since 1998 over 200K women raped in Congo, 39% of the total population! (Ch 19: 40:52)
• Most important front of Congo war was being fought by foreign troops on both sides (Ch 20: 19:01)
• War corrupted anything good in Kabila...he became consumed by it (Ch 20: 49:38)
• Link between Sony Playstation and coltan in the Congo (Ch 20: 41:02)
• Development of rule of law and governance in the Congo is stymied by foreign aid which takes over the reins of tasks and responsibilities which should fall to a functioning government. (Ch 23: 15:44)
• Congo is an outlier because they haven’t had tribunals to bring some measure of justice to victims (Ch 23: 19:29)

Daily Quotable- Conrad

A quote from my days as an English major:
"I tried to break the spell--the heavy, mute spell of the wilderness--that
seemed to draw him to its pitiless breast by the awakening of forgotten and
brutal instincts, by the memory of gratified and monstrous passions. This
alone, I was convinced, had driven him out to the edge of the forest, to the
bush, towards the gleam of fires, the throb of drums, the drone of weird
incantations; this alone had beguiled his unlawful soul beyond the bounds of
permitted aspirations."
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Secretary Clinton "Speaks out" on Mass Rapes in the DRC...

One thing that struck me today was how long it took to get the word out to the public and for the mainstream media to pick up this story.  The horrific rapes occurred between 30 July and 3 August. 


http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/08/25/congo.rapes.un/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Let's examine the timeline:

-IMC (International Medical Corps) stated they reported rapes to UN's Office of Humanitarian Affairs on 6 August (3 days after). 
-MONUSCO (UN forces there) state they found 12 August (9 day after).
-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks Tuesday saying he was "outraged." (22 days after)
-I found out and commented 20 days after.  State commented 22 days later. 
-Investigations are 'ongoing.'

       One item that has been continuously harped in various news articles is the fact that these atrocities occurred less than 20 miles from a UN outpost/headquarters (supposedly in Kibua, which is along the 529R Road from Walikale and Goma in the east).  I haven't been able to confirm this though (the main UN headquarters are clear across the country in Kinshasa and it's unclear where these 'headquarters within 20 miles' is physically located).

However, reviewing the attached maps boost one's situational awareness considerably.  20 miles in the Sud-Kivu (South Kivu) province may as well be 1000 miles in this densely forested area. 

The orange tack represents the town of Walikale (a mining town).  The 529R Road runs east from there to Goma.  The rapes have been reported to occur along this road. 

Here's a satellite shot of that road.  Looks like it would be pretty easy to hide away in...

 Some sources in the MONUSCO have stated that they came into the villages but that the rebels fled back into the woods (LFDR and Mai Mai.  However, the UN's official position now states they didn't know they were occurring till 12 August. 

   Also telling is the confusion in the basics of geography and succint language.  Among the incongruities:
-Some reports describe the atrocities as occuring in the eastern congo (vice Eastern DRC, which is the correct location).
-Others describe them as occurring in the town of Luvungi (google map this 'town', you won't find anything in the DRC despite one article describing as a small town with a population on 2,200, although I believe it is there, just not in the online databases I have searched).  
-Some call the province in which the rapes occurred as the North Kivu, others as the South Kivu.

 On the map to the left it clearly shows Goma in the Nord-Kivu (North Kivu) and the rapes happened due West (and a little North) from there, thus they DEFINTELY did not occur in Sud-Kivu.













-Some don't mention Luvungi at all and say the rapes occurred throughout 13 villages along a 20 km stretch in North Kivu (Banamukira territory).  FUUO's position is that this all occurred in North Kivu for the record and most likely within 10 miles of the village of Walikale (the orange tack a few maps above). 

STATE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE (my comments in italics)

Allegation of Mass Rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Washington, DC

August 25, 2010

________________________________


The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mass rape of women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – an armed, illegal rebel group that has terrorized eastern Congo for over a decade – and elements of the Mai Mai, community-based militia groups in eastern Congo.
Both groups deny the attacks but little is also known about these groups intel-wise...other than that they are bad news...I know of only one interview ever done with FDLR's leader. I was mistakenly referring to Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, who is also Bad news with a capital 'B'.
This horrific attack is yet another example of how sexual violence undermines efforts to achieve and maintain stability in areas torn by conflict but striving for peace.


The United States has repeatedly condemned the epidemic of sexual violence in conflict zones around the world, and we will continue to speak out on this issue for those who cannot speak for themselves. Less than a year ago, I presided over the UN Security Council session where Resolution 1888 (2009) was unanimously adopted, underscoring the importance of preventing and responding to sexual violence as a tactic of war against civilians. Now  the international community must build on this action with specific steps to protect local populations against sexual and gender-based violence and bring to justice those who commit such atrocities.


Sexual violence harms more than its immediate victims. It denies and destroys our common dignity, it shreds the fabric that weaves us together as humans, it endangers families and communities, it erodes social and political stability, and it undermines economic progress. These travesties, committed with impunity against innocent civilians who play no role in armed conflict, hold us all back.


When I visited the DRC last year, I learned an old proverb -- “No matter how long the night, the day is sure to come.” In the depths of this dark night of suffering and pain, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The United States will do everything we can to work with the UN and the DRC government to hold the perpetrators of these acts accountable, and to create a safe environment for women, girls, and all civilians living in the eastern Congo. 

There is no doubt that Secretary Clinton's statement is heartfelt and while a large portion of it strikes FUUO as rhetoric, that is only because she (State) are keenly aware of the monumental undertaking that must be done and achieved to create this 'safe environment
It is FUUO's belief that creating this safe environment means infrastructure.  And the ability to maintain that infrastructure.  We are talking about roads, mass transportation, effective and reliable communication, to name only a small portion of requirements)  This is not something that the United States is currently structured or positioned to do (or the UN for that matter...but I won't get started on that rant). 


But there is a way...but this will require a 'radical' departure in how the "Trinity" (DOD, State, AID) do business...

Some 200 women gang-raped near Congo UN base

This article literally makes my stomach turn.  Women and babies raped.  Absolutely evil.  The UN Peacekeeping Mission needs better forces/training. 

Where is the African Union on this? 

With the Marines leaving Iraq (and Afghanistan eventually), can we tie their future deployments into training the African and Regional Standby forces/brigades to better combat these soul-less rebels? 

Will the African Union engage and better organize these standby forces?

Will the African Unon call for a timely investigation?  It's been three weeks already!

And I won't even start on the effectiveness of the United Nations as an organization.  You would think they would be shamed into action by such atrocities.  Granted I recognize the difficulties presented to the out-matched UN forces there in Africa, HOWEVER, perhaps they need a better public relations director (Martin Nesirky).  That person should be CALLING GLOBAL ATTENTION to this and seeking a solution. 


Some 200 women gang-raped near Congo UN base



Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys over four days within miles of a UN peacekeepers' base in an eastern Congo mining district, an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor said.

Will F. Cragin of the International Medical Corps said Monday that aid and UN workers knew rebels had occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages in eastern Congo the day after the attack began on July 30.

More than three weeks later, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating.

More than three weeks later, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating.

Cragin told The Associated Press by telephone that his organization was only able to get into the town, which he said is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from a UN military camp, after rebels ended their brutal spree of raping and looting and withdrew of their own accord on Aug. 4.

At UN headquarters in New York, spokesman Martin Nesirky said Monday that a UN Joint Human Rights team verified allegations of the rape of at least 154 women by combatants from the Rwandan rebel FDLR group and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels in the village of Bunangiri. He said the victims are receiving medical and psycho-social care.

Nesirky said the UN peacekeeping mission has a military company operating base in Kibua, some 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) east of the village, but he said FDLR attackers blocked the road and prevented villagers from reaching the nearest communication point.

Civil society leader Charles Masudi Kisa said there were only about 25 peacekeepers and that they did what they could against some 200 to 400 rebels who occupied the town of about 2,200 people and five nearby villages.

"When the peacekeepers approached a village, the rebels would run into the forest, but then the Blue Helmets had to move on to another area, and the rebels would just return," Masudi said.

There was no fighting and no deaths, Cragin said, just "lots of pillaging and the systematic raping of women."

Four young boys also were raped, said Dr. Kasimbo Charles Kacha, the district medical chief. Masudi said they were babies aged one month, six months, a year and 18 months.

"Many women said they were raped in their homes in front of their children and husbands, and many said they were raped repeatedly by three to six men," Cragin said. Others were dragged into the nearby forest.

International and local health workers have treated 179 women but the number raped could be much higher as terrified civilians still are hiding, he said.

"We keep going back and identifying more and more cases," he said. "Many of the women are returning from the forest naked, with no clothes."

He said that by the time they got help it was too late to administer medication against AIDS and contraception to all but three of the survivors.

Spokeswoman Stefania Trassari said her UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid was monitoring the situation but that access for humanitarian workers remains "very limited due to insecurity."

Luvungi is a farming center on the main road between Goma, the eastern provincial capital, and the major mining town of Walikale.