Underground Knowledge — A discussion group discussion

Excerpt from BANKRUPTING THE THIRD WORLD: How the Global Elite Drown Poor Nations in a Sea of Debt:

“For more than a century, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been plagued by regional conflict and a deadly scramble for its vast natural resources. In fact, greed for Congo’s natural resources has been a principal driver of atrocities and conflict throughout Congo’s tortured history. In eastern Congo today, these mineral resources are financing multiple armed groups, many of whom use mass rape as a deliberate strategy to intimidate and control local populations, thereby securing control of mines, trading routes, and other strategic areas.” –RAISE Hope For Congo organization

On the eve of this book being published, the world is up in arms over the apparent crimes the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, is committing against his own countrymen. It also seems likely there will be more intensive military action from the US and its allies, in collaboration with the UN, to remove Assad from power.

But the fact is Syria is literally one of dozens of countries on Earth right now with leaders or regimes committing heinous crimes against civilian populations. This is especially true in forgotten Third World nations around the world.

And the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the aforementioned six million-plus people killed since 1996 as well as hundreds of thousands raped, probably has the worst human rights violations of all.

Yet how many news headlines have you seen lately relating to the DRC? And how many people do you think even know about this devastating war, which is quite possibly the worst humanitarian crisis since WW2?

For that matter, how many even know this country exists?

Obviously, events in Syria and the Middle East conflict can’t be compared to the DRC in that what’s happening in the African nation isn’t related to Islamic terrorism. However, as we’ve already pointed out ad nauseam, the conflicts in the DRC include human rights violations of the worst kind – such violations are almost always the main reason, or the official reason at least, the West cites for invading certain countries.

Consider Afghanistan, for example, where the Taliban's crimes against the Afghan population provided the reason for America and its allies to invade; and Iraq where genocide under Saddam Hussein made invasion of that country an easier ‘sell’; and of course Syria, where Bashar al-Assad’s atrocities against the civilian population have prompted the West’s intervention – and Russia’s intervention as well in this case.

So the question remains, just how many crimes have to occur in the DRC before the international community say enough is enough?

There are numerous other examples of this ‘oversight.’ Anyone remember Rwanda? Where was the West when that went down? And where was the United Nations?

The Human Rights Watch website has an article on the DRC that makes for a sobering summary of the current state of affairs there.

It reads in part, “Political tensions have risen throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo, as political and religious leaders, activists, students, and others have spoken out against proposed changes to Congo’s constitution and other proposals that would allow President Joseph Kabila to stay in power for longer than the two consecutive terms currently permitted. Government authorities have sought to silence dissent with threats, violence, and arbitrary arrests. In eastern Congo, dozens of armed groups remain active. Many of their commanders lead forces that have been responsible for numerous war crimes for which few have been held accountable. Congolese army soldiers have also been responsible for abuses against the civilian population they are meant to protect”.

We have established that numerous rebel groups cause havoc in the DRC. Every year the body count rises; the bodies pile up – often literally; young Congolese boys (the Boy Soldiers) are given automatic weapons and told they are now soldiers; and lastly, the ‘weapon of war’ that is rape continues almost unabated.

A September 2015 article that appeared on the Al Jazeera news site correctly makes the connection between all these crimes in the DRC and the mineral riches on offer.

It reads in part: “ ‘We do see these armed groups are still present and they are most likely still benefiting from the mineral trade,’ said Evie Francq, a DRC researcher with Amnesty International in Nairobi. ‘What we see is there are still very big displacements of the population, people that are fleeing abuses by rebel groups,’ she said, adding that civilians have also become caught up in army operations against those groups, like the Democratic Force for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)”.

The Al Jazeera article states that in the last three weeks there has been “an influx of people at its (refugee) camps in North Kivu, where military operations against the FDLR and other armed groups are creating a humanitarian crisis”.

The Al Jazeera article goes on to confirm these immense human rights violations do indeed relate to the DRC’s vast mineral deposits.

“Four conflict minerals mined in Congo — tantalum, tin, tungsten (3TG) and gold — are used in all kinds of everyday items, from mobile phones to food containers. Tantalum is widely used in electronic equipment, such as cellphones and laptops, as well as camera lenses and medical implants … The Democratic Republic of Congo is believed to produce about 20 percent of the world’s tantalum … In the DRC, armed groups use revenue from the trade in these minerals to finance their operations, and it’s this link that U.S. lawmakers and advocates want to break.”

Al Jazeera concludes there appears to be no end in sight for the people of the DRC. “The DRC has been mired in war and upheaval since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960, and violence escalated after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which spilled over into neighboring Congo, then called Zaire. Two wars followed, drawing in nine African nations … In eastern Congo, the conflict continues, a shifting power struggle involving foreign armies and more than 50 armed groups, each with their own motivations and ideologies. According to the UNHCR, the fighting displaced more than 3 million people in the country in 2014.

Human rights groups continue to document abuses by armed groups and the Congolese army, including killings and mass rapes.”

And where is the UN in this matter? Missing in action, according to many critics.

In fact, the only Western interests – beyond the aforementioned financial aid organizations – that remain fully committed to the DRC year in, year out seem to be the international mineral brokers. These shady individuals who, incidentally, predominantly do their buying on behalf of Silicon Valley corporations, are regularly reported to be seen staying in the DRC’s hotels. This despite the country oftentimes being deemed too dangerous even for human rights campaigners and international charity workers. The mineral brokers hang in there no matter how much bloodshed is occurring.

Funny that, isn’t it?

Another excerpt from BANKRUPTING THE THIRD WORLD: How the Global Elite Drown Poor Nations in a Sea of Debt:

Blood coltan not as catchy as blood diamonds?

Najm makes an interesting comparison between Congolese coltan and diamonds, advising it’s logical to assume that “given the widespread violence attributed to coltan…one would imagine it would be destined for the same sort of notoriety as blood diamonds”.

Alas, not so, it would seem. ‘Blood diamonds’ obviously sounds a whole lot sexier or catchier than ‘blood coltan’ to Western media, moviegoers and the general public.

Predictably, smart phone manufacturers and the like have been quick to distance themselves from the whole murky business. Some publish disclaimers, denying that they source coltan from militia’s operating in the DRC; many claim the supply chain for coltan mined in the DRC is so complex it’s impossible to ascertain whether it has been legally or illegally mined and supplied.

To be fair, several high profile manufacturers in the US and elsewhere are sourcing their coltan from outside the DRC and, indeed, outside central Africa until such time as the legitimacy of mining operations there can be more clearly established. However, they’re in the minority.

Cell phone consumers and others have long been questioning the legitimacy of products. For the most part, it appears their questions are falling on deaf ears. Perhaps it’s time to ask more questions – and ask them louder.

There has been a campaign in recent years to try to force the big multinational companies to disclose whether or not they use Congolese conflict minerals. However, it’s often impossible to prove where such minerals come from.
 

Profiteers a’plenty

“We require all of our suppliers to certify in writing that they use conflict few [sic] materials. But honestly there is no way for them to be sure. Until someone invents a way to chemically trace minerals from the source mine, it’s a very difficult problem.” –Steve Jobs, email sent from Jobs’ iPhone on Jun 27, 2010 in reply to a concerned Apple customer

Just as crafty banksters frequently transfer vast sums of money between various offshore tax havens to conceal their money trail, corporations that profit from ultra-cheap Congolese conflict minerals have middle men – usually warlords – who smuggle minerals from country to country, so it’s extremely difficult to trace their origins.

Of course, the problem of conflict minerals isn’t limited to the Democratic Republic of the Congo; it exists throughout much of the African continent. Equally, the problem isn’t limited to Africa.

Perhaps the last word on this vexing issue should go to The Guardian contributor Zobel Behalal, a peace and conflict advocacy officer, who reminds us that in Burma the mining industry was militarized for several decades, with the national army controlling mining sites, business operations and exportation, while in Colombia tantalum, wolframite and gold mines as well as their respective business concerns are controlled and taxed by armed groups.

Writing in The Guardian, Behalal says, “Products that have funded conflicts can only reach the international market with participation of the businesses that buy and use them.

Bloomberg revealed that BMW’s, Ferraris, Porches and Volkswagens contain tungsten and wolframite that come from businesses under the control of the FARC Colombian rebels”.

Behalal insists these aren’t isolated cases.

“The trade of natural resources continues at the expense of violence and human rights violations. There is an urgent need to create a win-win contract between the economic factors and the local populations in order to create real and sustainable development in countries rich in natural resources.

“Due diligence must be enforced as a mandatory requirement throughout the supply chain of natural resources”.

And that brings us full circle, reinforcing our belief that corrupt elements within the World Bank, IMF, USAID and other global financial aid organizations are among the biggest profiteers in impoverished Third World nations, and are largely the reason they (those impoverished nations) remain that way.

Whether it is these organizations secretly and illegally collaborating with the CIA and the Military Industrial Complex in various wars, or whether it’s fraudulent senior executives working with multinational mining companies and the like, the bottom line is there needs to be formalized oversight of these institutions. Oversight to identify potential corruption and, more importantly, to stamp it out once it’s identified.

If that means establishing anti-corruption committees to operate at board level within such institutions, so be it. And, of course, these committees need to be independently appointed and run.

Clearly, just because an organization states it is charitable and working for the “greater good,” that doesn’t mean it’s above suspicion or beyond scrutiny.

“Once poverty is gone, we'll need to build museums to display its horrors to future generations. They'll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society - how a few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair.” –Muhammad Yunus, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism

It is interesting given the discussion of the Holocaust and deniers in other threads, the mantra of "never again," seems to fall silent when the atrocities happen in areas not usually considered as part of "The West." It's one thing to take the position that "it's not my problem," but it's entirely another when we claim some high moral duty to protect the world's underprivledged and underprotected, right before we justify not getting involved.

J.J. wrote: "It is interesting given the discussion of the Holocaust and deniers in other threads, the mantra of "never again," seems to fall silent when the atrocities happen in areas not usually considered as..."

If I read that correctly, you're saying we haven't learnt from the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides or atrocities, and that our First World governments only pretend to be have the world's poorest best interests at heart?

If I interpreted that correctly, then yes...totally agree with you.

Yes, you interpreted it correctly. I'm not saying we should get involved in every conflict, nor am I saying we should turn a blind eye, but if we are claiming the moral high road, then we shouldn't turn the blind eye. If we are taking the opinion that we can't always get involved, then we need to drop the pretense and just admit we're only acting in our best interests.

It was a theme I slipped into my Freedom Reigns series, not a predominate theme, but one that explains why the MC cares so much about issues that seem too big for him for him to even try to tackle without help.

The Debt Trap Debt Trap: The IMF and the Third World the IMF and the Third World

Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil

Each week the oil and gas fields of sub-Saharan Africa produce over a billion dollars worth of oil, yet this rising tide of money is not promoting stability or development but instead is causing violence, poverty and stagnation. 'Poisoned Wells' exposes the root causes of this paradox of poverty from plenty.

Agenda 2030: Bankrupting The Third World, One Country At A Time http://www.activistpost.com/2015/10/a...

The DRC and Rwanda are neighbours and the same war crossed both their borders. They're not separate conflicts because the two tribes involved occupy Rwanda and the DRC - both living in each.

I entirely agree with your comments. my dear James,

Faith wrote: "The DRC and Rwanda are neighbours and the same war crossed both their borders. They're not separate conflicts because the two tribes involved occupy Rwanda and the DRC - both living in each."

Okay thanks for the feedback and for providing extra knowledge.