Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: RÃ©publique DÃ©mocratique du Congo), also often referred to as DRC, RDC, DR Congo, Congo or Congo-Kinshasa, and formerly as Zaire (or ZaÃ¯re in French), is a nation in Central Africa and the third largest country on the continent. It borders the Central African Republic and Sudan on the north, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania on the east, Zambia and Angola on the south, and the Republic of the Congo on the west. The country enjoys access to the sea through a narrow forty kilometre stretch, following the Congo river into the Gulf of Guinea. The name "Congo" (meaning "hunter") is coined after the Bakongo ethnic group, living in the Congo river basin.

Formerly the Belgian colony of the Belgian Congo, the country's postindependence name was changed in 1971, from Congo-Kinshasa (after its capital, to distinguish it from the Republic of Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville) to Zaire, until 1997. Since 1998, the country has suffered greatly from the devastating Second Congo War (sometimes referred to as the African World War"Rumblings of war in heart of Africa" by Abraham McLaughlin and Duncan Woodside The Christian Science Monitor 23 June 2004"World War Three" by Chris Bowers My Direct Democracy 24 July 2006), the world's deadliest conflict since World War II.

History

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Pygmy peoples. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations.

Congolese pre-history

From 2000 BC to AD 500, waves of Bantu migrations moved into what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Although the term "Congo" usually encompasses neighboring Congo-Brazzaville as well) from the northwest, adding to and displacing the indigenous Pygmy populations (also known in the region as the "Bitwa" or "Twa") into the southern regions of the modern DRC state. Subsequent migrations from the Darfur and Kordofan regions of Sudan into the northeast, as well as East Africans migrating into the eastern Congo added to the mix of ethnic groups. The Bantus imported agriculture and iron-working techniques from West Africa into the area, as well as establishing the Bantu language family as the primary set of tongues for the Congolese.

In the fifth century, a society began to develop in a region that initially encompassed only a 200 kilometre (125 mi) area along the banks of the Lualaba River in the modern day Katanga Province. This culture, known as the Upemba, would eventually evolve into the more significant Luba kingdom.

The process in which the original Upemba societies transitioned into the Luba kingdom was gradual and complex. This transition ran without interruption, with several distinct societies developing out of the Upemba culture prior to the genesis of the Luba. Each of these kingdoms became very wealthy due mainly to the region's mineral wealth, especially in ores. The civilization began to develop and implement iron and copper technology, in addition to trading in ivory and other goods. The Luba established a strong commercial demand for their metal technologies and were able to institute a long-range commercial net (the business connections extended over 1,500 kilometres (930 mi), all the way to the Indian Ocean). By the 1500s, the kingdom had an established strong central government based on chieftainship.

The Congo Free State (1870–1908)

Clearing tropical forests ate away at profit margins. However, ample plots of cleared land were already available. Above, a Congolese farming village (Baringa, Equateur) is emptied and levelled to make way for a rubber plantation.

European exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920sâ€"first by Sir Henry Morton Stanley who undertook his explorations mainly under the sponsorship of King Leopold II of Belgium, who desired what was to become the Congo as a colony. In a succession of negotiations, Leopold, professing humanitarian objectives in his capacity as chairman of the Association Internationale Africaine, played one European rival against the other. The Congo territory was acquired formally by Leopold at the Conference of Berlin in 1885. He made the land his private property and named it the Congo Free State. Leopold's regime began undertaking various development projects, such as the railway that ran from the coast to Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) which took years to complete. Nearly all these projects were aimed at increasing the capital Leopold and his cohorts could extract from the colony, leading to atrocious exploitation of Africans. In the Free State, the local population was brutalized in exchange for rubber, a growing market with the development of rubber tires. The selling of the rubber made a fortune for Leopold, who built several buildings in Brussels and Ostend to honour himself and his country. During the period between 1885 and 1908, between five and fifteen (the commonly accepted figure is about ten) million Congolese died as a consequence of exploitation and diseases. A government commission later concluded that the population of the Congo had been "reduced by half" during this brutal period. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild (1999)ISBN: 0618001905 Houghton Mifflin Books To enforce the rubber quotas, the Force Publique (FP) was called in. The FP was an army, but its aim was not to defend the country, but to terrorise the local population. The Force Publique made the practice of cutting off the limbs of the natives as a means of enforcing rubber quotas a matter of policy; this practice was disturbingly widespread. There were international protests, however, spearheaded mainly by E. D. Morel and British diplomat/Irish patriot Roger Casement, whose 1904 report on the Congo condemned the practice, as well as famous writers such as Mark Twain. Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness also takes place in Congo Free State. In 1908, the Belgian parliament, who was at first reticent, bowed to international pressure, especially from Great Britain by forcibly adopting the Free State as a Belgian colony from the king. From then on, it became the Belgian Congo.

The Belgian administration: Belgian Congo (1908–1960)

As soon as the Belgian Government took over the Congolese Administration from King Leopold II, the situation in the Congo improved dramatically. Economic and social changes transformed the Congo into a model colony. Hospitals and primary and high schools were built, and many Congolese had access to them. Even the ethnic languages were taught at school, a rare occurrence in colonial education. Doctors and medics achieved great victories against the sleeping sickness. The Administration continued with the economic reforms with the construction of railways, ports, roads, mines, plantations, industrial areas, etc. In the 1950s, life expectancy was around 55 years; today it is 51.

The Congolese, however, lacked political power. Everything was decided in Leopoldville and Brussels. The Belgian Colony-secretary and the Governor-general (the leader of the colony) had absolute power, while the people had none. Among the Congolese people, the resistance against this lack of democracy grew. In 1955, the upper class in the Congolese civilization, the so-called "Ã©voluÃ©s," initiated a campaign to end the inequality.

During World War II, the small Congolese army achieved several victories against the Italians in North Africa. The Belgian Congo, which was also rich in uranium deposits, supplied the uranium that was used by the USA to build the atomic bombs that destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, at the end of World War II.

Political crises (1960-1965)

In 1959, Patrice Lumumba, with the MNC party or Mouvement National Congolais, won the first free legislative elections and was appointed Prime Minister. Joseph Kasavubu, of the ABAKO (Alliance des Bakongo) party, was elected President by the parliament. Other parties that emerged include the Parti Solidaire Africain (or PSA, led by Antoine Gizenga) and the Parti National du Peuple (or PNP led by Albert Delvaux and Laurent Mbariko). Shortly after independence, the provinces of Katanga (with Moise Tshombe) and South Kasai engaged in secessionist struggles against the new leadership.

Subsequent events led to a crisis between President Kasavubu and Prime Minister Lumumba. On September 5, 1960, Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba from office. Lumumba declared Kasavubu's action "unconstitutional" and a crisis between the two leaders developed.

Lumumba had previously appointed Joseph Mobutu chief of staff of the new Congo army, Armee Nationale Congolaise (ANC). Taking advantage of the leadership crisis between Kasavubu and Lumumba, Mobutu garnered enough support within the army to create sentiment sufficient to inspire mutinous action. With financial support from the United States and Belgium, Mobutu made payments to his soldiers in order to generate their loyalty. The aversion of Western powers towards communism and leftist ideology in general influenced their decision to finance Mobutu's quest to maintain "order" in the new state by neutralizing Kasavubu and Lumumba in a coup by proxy.

On January 17, 1961, Katangan forces, supported by the Belgian government's desire to retain rights to mine for copper and diamonds in Katanga and South Kasai and the U.S. Central Intellgience Agency's desire to remove any leftist sympathizers in the region, assassinated Patrice Lumumba. Amidst widespread confusion and chaos, several governments led by technicians (College des Commissaires), Joseph Ileo, Cyrille Adoula, Moise Tshombe, and Evariste Kimba, took over in quick succession.

Zaire (1971–1997)

Following 5 years of extreme instability and civil unrest, Joseph-DÃ©sirÃ© Mobutu, now Lieutenant General, overthrew Kasavubu in a 1965 Central Intellgience Agency-backed coup d'Ã©tat. He had the support of the US because of his staunch opposition to Communism, which would presumably make him a roadblock to Communist schemes in Africa. It is also argued that the Western support for Mobutu was also related to his allowing businesses to export the many natural resources of Zaire without worrying about environmental, labor, or other regulations that protect against corruption and abuse. A one-party system was established, and Mobutu declared himself head of state. He would occasionally hold elections in which he was the only candidate.

Relative peace and stability was achieved; however, Mobutu's government was accused of human rights violations, repression, a cult of personality (every Congolese bank note displayed his image, his portrait was displayed in all public buildings, most businesses, and on billboards, and it was common for ordinary people to wear his likeness on their clothing), and excessive corruption. In 1984 he was said to have 4 billion U.S. dollars, an amount close to the country's national debt, stashed away in personal Swiss bank accounts.

In an effort to spread African national awareness, starting on June 1 1966, Mobutu renamed the nation's cities (LÃ©opoldville became Kinshasa [the country was now Democratic Republic of The Congo–Kinshasa], Stanleyville became Kisangani, and Elisabethville became Lubumbashi). This city-renaming campaign was completed in the 1970s. In 1971, he renamed the country the Republic of Zaire, its fourth name change in 11 years and its sixth overall. The Congo River became the Zaire River. In 1972, Mobutu renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. relations with Kinshasa cooled, as Mobutu was no longer deemed a necessary Cold War ally, and his opponents within Zaire stepped up demands for reform. This atmosphere contributed to Mobutu's declaring the Third Republic in 1990, whose constitution was supposed to pave the way for democratic reform. The reforms turned out to be largely cosmetic, and Mobutu's rule continued until conflict forced him to flee Zaire in 1997.

Conflict and transition (1996–present)

Since 1994, the Congo has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees fleeing the Rwandan Genocide. The government of Mobutu Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent-DÃ©sirÃ© Kabila in May 1997; he changed the country's name back to Democratic Republic of The Congo-Kinshasa. His former allies soon turned against him, however, and his regime was challenged by a Rwandan and Ugandan-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the new regime in Kinshasa. See Foreign relations of Congo and First Congo War.

UN peacekeepers to the DRC in 2005

A cease-fire was signed on July 10 1999; nevertheless, fighting continued apace especially in the eastern part of the country, financed by revenues from the illegal extraction of minerals such as coltan, cassiterite and diamonds. Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state. The new president quickly began overtures to end the war and an accord was signed in South Africa in 2002. By late 2003, a fragile peace prevailed as the Transitional Government was formed. Kabila appointed four vice presidents, two of whom had been fighting to oust him until July 2003. Much of the east of the country remains insecure, primarily due to the Ituri conflict and the continued activity of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda in the Kivus.

This period of conflict has been the bloodiest in history since World War II. Almost four million people have died as a result of the fighting. The New York Times, "War's Chaos Steals Congo's Young by the Millions" By Lydia Polgreen, July 30, 2006

On July 30, 2006 the Congo held its first multi party elections since independence in 1960.

Politics

The current political situation is slightly ambiguous because the Congo is living in the interregnum between two constitutions that establish different political institutions at the various levels of all branches of government, as well as different administrative divisions of the country. Politics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo therefore take place in a framework of a republic in transition from a civil war to a presidential democratic republic.

The transition constitution established a system composed of a bicameral legislature with a Senate and a National Assembly. The Senate has, among other things, the charge of drafting the new constitution of the country. The executive branch is vested in a 60-member cabinet, headed by a President, and four vice presidents. The President is also the Commander-in Chief of the Armed forces. The unusual executive organization of the executiveâ€"considering the large number of vice presidentsâ€"has earned it the very official nickname of The 1 + 4.

The transition constitution also established a relatively independent judiciary, headed by a Supreme Court with constitutional interpretation powers.

The 2006 constitution, also known as the Constitution of the Third Republic, came into effect in February 2006. It has concurrent authority, however, with the transition constitution until the inauguration of the elected officials that will emerge from the July 2006 elections. Under this constitution, the legislature will remain bicameral; the executive will be concomitantly undertaken by a President and the government; and the latter will be led by a Prime Minister, appointed from the party with the majority at the National Assembly. The governmentâ€"not the Presidentâ€"is responsible to the Parliament.

The provincial governments will gain new powers, under the new decentralized model, with the creation of provincial parliaments, with oversight over the Governor, head of the provicial government, whom they elect.

The new constitution also sees the disappearance of the Supreme Court, which is divided into three new institutions. The constitutional interpretation prerogative of the Supreme Court will be held by the Constitutional Council.

Political divisions

Administrative divisions

See also: Provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

A new provincial map of Democratic Republic of Congo

The Congo is divided into 25 provinces, and one independent city (Kinshasa). Before the constitution approved in February 2006, there were 10 provinces plus Kinshasa.[1] )

# Kinshasa# Kongo central# Kwango# Kwilu# Mai-Ndombe# KasaÃ¯# Lulua# KasaÃ¯ Oriental# Lomami# Sankuru# Maniema# Sud-Kivu# Nord-Kivu# Ituri# Haut-Uele# Tshopo# Bas-Uele# Nord-Ubangi# Mongala# Sud-Ubangi# Ã‰quateur# Tshuapa# Tanganyika# Haut-Lomami# Lualaba# Haut-Katanga

Major cities

Nyiragongo volcano

Kinshasa

Official Congolese name - French name - Dutch name (only used by Flemish colonizers)

*Bandundu (Banningville)
*Bukavu (Constermansville)
*Djokupunda (Charlesvilles)
*Goma
*Ilebo (Port-Francqui)
*Isiro (Paulis)
*Kalemie (Albertville - Albertstad)
*Kananga (Lualabourg - Lualaburg)
*Kikwit
*Kindu
*Kinshasa (LÃ©opoldville - Leopoldstad)
*Kisangani (Stanleyville - Stanleystad)
*Kolwezi

*Likasi (Jadotville - Jadotstad)
*Lubumbashi (Elisabethville - Elisabethstad)
*Lukutu (Elisabetha)
*Lusanga (Leverville - Leverstad)
*Mbandaka (Coquilhatville - Cocquilhatstad)
*Mbanza-Ngungu (Thysville - Thysstad)
*Moba (Baudoinville - Boudewijnstad)
*Mobaye-Mbongo (Banzyville - Banzystad)
*Mbuji-Mayi (Bakwanga)
*Ubundu (Ponthierville - Ponthierstad)

Geography

The map of Democratic Republic of Congo from CIA World Factbook

The Congo is situated at the heart of the west-central portion of sub-Saharan Africa and is bounded by (Clockwise from the west) Angola, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania across Lake Tanganyika, and Zambia. Its territory also straddles the Equator, with one-third to the north and two-thirds to the south.

As a result of its equatorial location, the Congo experiences extremely high amounts of rainfall. The average rainfall for the entire country is about 1,070 millimeters (42 in), which have created the second largest rain forest in the world (after the Amazon). This massive expanse of lush jungle covers most of the vast, low-lying central basin of the river, which slopes toward the Atlantic Ocean in the west. This area is surrounded by plateaus merging into savannas in the south and southwest, by mountainous terraces in the west, and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north. High mountains are found in the extreme eastern region.

The tropical climate has also produced the Congo River system which dominates the region topographically along with the rainforest it flows through, (though they are not mutually exclusive). The name for the "Congo" state is derived from that of the river, along with that of the Kongo Empire which controlled much of the region in precolonial times. The river basin (meaning the Congo River and all of its myriad tributaries) occupy nearly the entire country and an area of nearly one million square kilometers (400,000 sq mi). The river and its tributaries (major offshoots include the Kasai, Sangha, Ubangi, Aruwimi, and Lulonga) form the backbone of Congolese economics and transportion, they have a drastic impact on the daily lives of the people. The sources of the Congo are in the highlands and mountains of the East African Rift, as well as Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru. The river flows generally west from Kisangani just below Boyoma Falls, then gradually bends southwest, passing by Mbandaka, joining with the Ubangi River, and running into the Pool Malebo (Stanley Pool). Kinshasa and Brazzaville are actually on opposite sides of the river at the Pool (see NASA image), then the river narrows and falls through a number of cataracts in deep canyons (collectively known as the Livingstone Falls), and then running past Boma into the Atlantic. The river also has the second-largest flow and the second-largest watershed of any river in the world (trailing the Amazon in both respects). The river provides the country's only outlet to the Atlantic, a narrow strip of land on its north bank, otherwise the Congo would be completely landlocked.

The previously mentioned Great Rift Valley, in particular the Eastern Rift, plays a key role in shaping the Congo's geography. Not only is the northeastern section of the country much more mountainous, but due the rift's tectonic activities, this area also experiences low levels of volcanic activity. The rifting of the African continent in this area has also manifested itself as the famous Great Lakes which lie on the Congo's eastern frontier. The country is bordered in the east by two of these: Lake Albert and Lake Tanganyika. Perhaps most important of all, the Rift Valley has endowed most of the south and east of the Congo with an enormous amount of mineral wealth. These include cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, and coal. Unfortunately, this wealth has been both a blessing and a curse; the Congo people have not so far reaped the benefits of their country's tremendous mineral resources.

Economy

The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo—a nation endowed with vast potential wealth—has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The two recent conflicts (the First and Second Congo Wars), which began in 1996, have dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, have increased external debt, and have resulted in the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.8 million people. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. A number of International Monetary Fund and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President Joseph Kabila has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data.

Demographics

The population was estimated at 56.6 million in 2003, growing quickly from 46.7 million in 1997. As many as 250 ethnic groups have been distinguished and named. The most numerous people are the Kongo, Luba, and Mongo. Although seven hundred local languages and dialects are spoken, the linguistic variety is bridged both by the use of French and the intermediary languages Kongo, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Lingala.

About eighty percent of the Congolese population are Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. Most of the non-Christians adhere to either traditional religions or syncretic sects. Traditional religions embody such concepts as monotheism, animism, vitalism, spirit and ancestor worship, witchcraft, and sorcery and vary widely among ethnic groups; none is formalized. The syncretic sects often merge Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals. The most popular of these sects, Kimbanguism, was seen as a threat to the colonial regime and was banned by the Belgians. Kimbanguism, officially "the church of Christ on Earth by the prophet Simon Kimbangu," now has about three million members, primarily among the Bakongo of Bas-Congo and Kinshasa.

Languages

Major Bantu languages in the Congo

There is an estimated total of 242 languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Out of these, only four have the status of national languages: Kongo, Lingala, Tshiluba and Swahili.

Lingala was made the official language of the army under Mobutu, but since the rebellions, the army also uses Swahili in the West.

French is the official language of the country. It is meant to be an ethnically neutral language, to ease communication between all the different ethnic groups of the Congo.

When the country was a Belgian colony, the four national languages were already used in primary schools, which makes the country one of the few to have had literacy in local languages during the occupation by Europeans.

Culture

The culture of the emocratic Republic of the Congo reflects the diversity of its hundreds of ethnic groups and their differing ways of life throughout the country—from the mouth of the River Congo on the coast, upriver through the rainforest and savanna in its centre, to the more densely populated mountains in the far east. Since the late 19th century, traditional ways of life have undergone changes brought about by colonialism, the struggle for independence, the stagnation of the Mobutu era, and most recently, the First and Second Congo Wars. Despite these pressures, the customs and cultures of the Congo have retained much of their individuality. The country's 60 million inhabitants are mainly rural. The 30 percent who live in urban areas have been the most open to Western influences.

Flora and fauna

landscape in Bas-Congo

The rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo contain great biodiversity, including many rare and endemic species, including both species of chimpanzee: the Common chimpanzee and the bonobo (also known as the Pygmy Chimpanzee), mountain gorilla, okapi and white rhino. Five of the country's national parks are listed as World Heritage Sites: the Garumba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and Virunga National Parks, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The civil war and resultant poor economic conditions have endangered much of this biodiversity. Many park wardens were either killed or could not afford to continue their work. All five sites are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage In Danger.

Over the past century or so, the DRC has developed into the center of what has been called the Central African "bushmeat" problem, which is regarded by many as a major environmental, as well as, socio-economic crisis. "Bushmeat" is another word for the meat of wild animals. It is typically obtained through trapping, usually with wire snares, or otherwise with shotguns or arms originally intended for use in the DRC's numerous military conflicts.

The "bushmeat crisis" has emerged in the DRC mainly as a result of the poor living conditions of the Congolese people. A rising population combined with deplorable economic conditions has forced many Congolese to become dependent on bushmeat, either as a means of acquiring income (hunting the meat and selling), or are dependent on it for nutritional sustainance. Unemployment and urbanization throughout Central Africa have exacerbated the problem further by turning cities like the urban sprawl of Kinshasa into the prime market for bushmeat.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the only country in the world in which bonobos (Pygmy chimpanzees) are found in the wild.

This combination has caused not only widespread endangerment of local fauna, but has forced humans to trudge deeper into the wilderness in search of the desired animal meat. This overhunting results in the deaths of more animals and makes resources even more scarce for humans. The hunting has also been facilitated by the extensive logging prevalent throughout the Congo's rainforests (from corporate logging, in addition to farmers clearing out forest in order to create areas for agriculture), which allows hunters much easier access to previously unreachable jungle terrain, while simultaneously eroding away at the habitats of animals [2].

A particularly alarming case of bushmeat hunting is that of primates. The Congo is inhabited not only by two distinct species of chimpanzee, both belonging to the genus Pan, the Common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus), but gorilla as well. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the only country in the world in which bonobo are found in the wild. The two species of chimpanzees as well as gorillas are the closest living evolutionary relatives to humans. Both the Pan and Gorilla genera are now considered to be part of the subfamily Homininae to which humans also belong and it has even been proposed that the chimpanzees should be recategorized in the genus Homo as well. These apes are closely related to humans and are considered highly intelligent and much concern has been raised about Great ape extinction. Because of hunting and habitat destruction, the chimpanzee and the gorilla, both of whose population once numbered in the millions have now dwindled down to only about 200,000 per species. Gorillas and both incarnations of chimpanzee are classified as Endangered by the World Conservation Union, as well as the okapi, which is also native to the area.

References

LarÃ©mont, Ricardo RenÃ©, ed. 2005. Borders, nationalism and the African state. Boulder, Colorado and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Miscellaneous topics

*Communications in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
*Foreign relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
*Holidays in Democratic Republic of the Congo
*Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
*Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

External links

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Encyclopedia BETA

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