Democratic Republic of the Congo

[[File:Democratic Republic of the Congo - Location Map (2013) - COD - UNOCHA.svg|thumb|right|195px|Map of the DR Congo.]]
{{cquote|From the colonial era, the major legacy Europe left for Africa was not democracy as it is practised today in countries like England, France and Belgium; it was authoritarian rule and plunder. On the whole continent, perhaps no nation has had a harder time than the Congo in emerging from the shadow of its past.|||Adam Hochschild, {{wpl|King Leopold's Ghost|''King Leopold's Ghost''}}}}
{{countrybox|Democratic Republic of the Congo
|flag = Flag of Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg
|pop =92,377,993	
|GDP =46,062
|GDPPC = 457
|life =60.4	
|dev =0.459	
|dem =1.13	
|cor =18
|edu =0.475	
|rel =94
}}The '''Democratic'''<ref group=note>It tends to be a bad sign that a state feels the need to proclaim itself as democratic in its official name [[Hypocrisy|because it usually means it isn't]]. In similar cases where a state calls itself a "People's Republic", a state styling itself a "Democratic Republic" usually means it's governed by a dictatorship. Examples include the [[North Korea|Democratic People's Republic of Korea]], the [[Vietnam|Democratic Republic of Vietnam]], and the [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]]. The {{wpl|São Tomé and Príncipe|Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe}} and the [[Timor-Leste|Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste]] are two exceptions.</ref> '''Republic of the Congo''', also known as '''East Congo''' and '''Congo-Kinshasa''' (and formerly known<ref group=note>The former names are listed from most recent to least recent, just to be clear.</ref> as '''Zaïre''', as the Republic of the Congo (no,&nbsp;no, not {{wpl|Republic of the Congo|''that'' one}}) or Congo-Léopoldville<ref group=note>Yes, the capital&mdash;and by extension, the whole country&mdash;used to be named for the Belgian King Leopold. During Mobutu's extensive {{wpl|Authenticité (Zaire)|''authenticité''}} campaign, the city was renamed to Kinshasa.</ref> (to distinguish it from the other one),<ref group=note>Interestingly, Kinshasa and Brazzaville are on opposite sides of the Congo river. If politics and infrastructure allowed it, they could potentially function as one city.</ref> as the [[Belgian Congo]], and (no doubt sarcastically) as the Congo Free State), has been much abused and victimized since it came into being in its current borders as the private property of [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[monarchy|King]] {{wpl|Leopold II of Belgium|Leopold II,}} following an elaborate ruse by said monarch preaching humanitarian intentions towards the local population and making various promises to political leaders.<ref group=note>And what a massive ruse it was.  You'd almost admire the guy if it hadn't resulted in an abysmal humanitarian disaster.</ref> Ironically, the US was the first nation to acknowledge Leopold's claim to the territory.

The {{wpl|Congo_Free_State#Humanitarian_disaster|abuses of the Leopoldian regime}} were so bad that even the [[colonialism|colonialist]] 19th century was shocked by it. Many of the atrocities resulted from Leopold setting unrealistically high rubber quotas and demanding the death penalty for anyone who failed to meet them. In addition, chopped-off hands were required as 'proof' of such state-sanctioned killings. It was feared soldiers might forego executing these punishments to save their rather pricey bullets for other purposes.<ref group=note>They weren't wrong, but don't let that get your hopes up for a happy ending.</ref> Books such as {{wpl|Heart of Darkness|''Heart of Darkness''}} and numerous pamphlets deal with these crimes. The "solution" (namely giving control of the Congo over to the Belgian state) found in the late 19th century made conditions somewhat better for most Congolese, but not by that much.

The Belgian Congo was essentially an [[apartheid]]-type regime and initially focused on the region's economic exploitation, though forced labor and the murderous practices of Leopold's rule ''were'' abolished, of course. The Congolese arguably also experienced some benefits from the overly patronizing, paternalistic, religiously-tainted, and blatantly [[racist]] {{wpl|civilizing mission}} the Belgian colonizers took upon themselves, such as education and improved healthcare. Furthermore, some of the infrastructure the Belgians built,<ref group=note>Of course, they mostly built it to better extract the country's natural wealth, and thus they were never intended to serve the people and thus don't serve some major population centers.</ref> like railroads, still exists in various states of disrepair.<ref group=note>Mostly due to wars and lack of investment in maintenance</ref> Following the events of the two World Wars, in which the Congolese army had taken a major part on the African continent (with Belgium taking all the credit, of course), and events unfolding in many other colonies, a political independence movement  began to assert itself among the local population.

==From bad…==
[[File:Anefo 910-9740 De Congolese2.jpg|right|thumb|165px|Patrice Lumumba&mdash;possibly the last hope for decent leadership this country would get for half a century]]{{cquote|The Republic of the Congo has been proclaimed, and our country is now in the hands of its own children. Together, my brothers, my sisters, we are going to begin a new struggle, a sublime struggle, which will lead our country to peace, prosperity and greatness.|||Patrice Lumumba in his very optimistic {{wpl|Congolese Independence Speech|Independence Day speech|,}} June 30, 1960<ref group=note>Regrettably, it turns out he was wrong about that last bit.</ref>}}
Maybe you thought achieving independence in 1960 would've given the Congolese a bit of a breather. Well, think again. On the eve of independence, hardly any native Congolese held any higher or mid- administration position, let alone one of political leadership. Furthermore, there was a lack of well-educated people in almost all fields, and the few who did hold such degrees were Belgians or allied with the former colonial regime. This was a disaster waiting to happen, and of course, Belgian authorities were fully aware of this. But following violent protests and riots and relations between the local population and white colonials growing increasingly tense, the Belgian government hastily went ahead with it to avoid becoming involved in a costly, bloody, and likely futile colonial war. Additionally, some anticipated that Belgian forces would later sweep in as the "great saviors" once the country had descended into chaos, and colonial control might be reasserted.

But Congo still had a chance at building a somewhat workable government when in 1960, {{wpl|Patrice Lumumba|Patrice Émery Lumumba}} took over as prime minister. However, a political standoff between Lumumba, whose party held the relative majority, and the third-largest party, whose leader gained the position of president, quickly ensued. In a climate of mutineering soldiers and various localized rebellions, the province of Katanga even {{wpl|State of Katanga|seceded from the Republic|.}} With the [[United Nations|UN]] considering Katanga's secession an internal affair and refusing to intervene, Lumumba called upon [[Soviet Union|the Soviets]] for help.<ref group=note>If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln had been one person, but they had to call upon Soviet Russia to help fight the confederates, how would you feel? Now imagine the CIA of the 1960s and the British Empire from the Revolutionary War period teaming up to arrange the assassination of the Washington-Lincoln hybrid. It's not a perfect analogy, as said hybrid would also need to be a Native and have experienced black discrimination.</ref> Take note that much of the world was engaged in the [[Cold War]].
[[File:Mobutu.jpg|thumb|left|165px|Mobutu, a job creator<ref group=note>Read: rich person</ref> with a US$5 billion net worth,<ref group=note>All embezzled, of course.</ref> who often partook in the guilty pleasure of driving a Mercedes<ref group=note>Notice how no bad guy ever drives a Honda?</ref>&mdash;What, you thought he was evil?<ref group=note>You'd be correct.</ref>]]
By the next year, Lumumba was deposed and dead&mdash;assassinated by Katangan forces, with support from Belgium and the [[US]]<ref>{{cquote|The bestiality of imperialism, a bestiality that knows no limits, that has no national boundaries. The bestiality of Hitler's armies is like the North American bestiality, like that of the Belgian paratroopers and that of the French imperialists in Algeria. For, it is the very essence of imperialism to turn men into wild, bloodthirsty animals determined to slaughter, kill, murder and destroy the very last vestige of the image of the revolutionary or the partisan in any regime that they crush under their boots because it fights for freedom. The statue of Lumumba, destroyed today but rebuilt tomorrow reminds us of the tragic story of this martyr of the world revolution and make sure that we never trust imperialism in no way at all. Not an iota!|||[[Che Guevara]], [http://ziomania.com/guevara/Che%20Guevara%20At%20the%20United%20Nations%201964.htm speaking at the United Nations, 1964]}}</ref>&mdash;after which, several (more) years of {{wpl|Congo Crisis|political chaos and civil unrest}} would ensue. Many temporary governments succeeded one another until, in 1965, following a political deadlock (a situation that had become rather common during this period of post-colonial turmoil), the guy in charge of the Congolese army took control of the country in a bloodless military coup.<ref group=note>This was actually his second coup. In 1961, he'd already deposed Lumumba after the latter established relations with the Soviets. But in the first coup, he immediately set up a provisional government and later restored authority to president {{wpl|Joseph Kasa-Vubu|Joseph Kasa-Vubu|.}} Given the period of massive and violent political upheaval between these coups, it makes you wonder if he shouldn't have taken full control the first time around.</ref> The new leader&mdash;who would rule the country with an iron fist until shortly after the end of the [[Cold War]]&mdash;was one {{wpl|Joseph Mobutu}}, who later changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga ("The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake").<ref>http://www.plexoft.com/SBF/N04.html#Sese</ref><ref group=note>Holy shit!</ref>

==…To worse==
While Mobutu was a [[Nepotism|nepotist]], a kleptocrat,<ref group=note>His regime was even the reason they came up with that term, to begin with.</ref> and one of the worst dictators in [[Africa]]n history, at least his regime provided a semblance of "stability". He was able to stay in power mostly thanks to US aid. When the Cold War ended, US funding dried up, and by 1997 the writing was on the wall; it was really not a great sign when the Tutsi liberation forces in [[Rwanda]] were able to conduct military operations in Zaire with minimal resistance. Mobutu was forced to resign by rebels led by {{wpl|Laurent-Désiré Kabila}}, who conquered Kinshasa and most of the country. Mobutu died in exile shortly after that. But the worst was yet to come. Kabila managed to alienate almost all his allies, including Rwanda and Burundi, and the aftermath of the [[Rwandan genocide]] led to an almost constant war in the greater Eastern Congo area that has been referred to as the "Great War of Africa" and the "African World War". In January of 2001, Kabila got himself killed by one of his own bodyguards, and his son, {{wpl|Joseph Kabila|Joseph Kabila|,}} followed him into the office of president.

Though he already held the position of Chief of Staff before his rise to the presidency, many saw Kabila Jr. as inexperienced as he was the youngest head of state in the world at the time, at the age of 30. Regardless, though, Kabila Jr. managed to negotiate {{wpl|Sun City Agreement|a peace agreement}} that ended the {{wpl|Second Congo War}}, AKA the African World War (officially at least), and which maintained Kabila as president while granting government positions to leaders of some of the warring parties. Regrettably, however, this did not result in all the fighting ending.

==A glimpse of hope for democracy? Maybe not==
[[File:Joseph Kabila 2014.png|right|thumb|200px|My father [[nepotism president|was president already]]. You got a problem with that?<ref group=note>"President" is a hereditary title, right?</ref>]]
In 2006 there was finally a glimpse of hope to end the enduring conflicts when the "[[irony|Democratic Republic]]" of Congo had its first [[democratic]] {{wpl|Democratic Republic of the Congo general election, 2006|election}} in, well, ever. Kabila eventually won and his main opponent, {{wpl|Jean-Pierre Bemba|Jean-Pierre Bemba|,}} later relocated to Portugal due to security concerns following an outbreak of violence involving his personal guard.<ref group=note>Though the official reason he provided was: "I'm getting my broken leg treated there." (paraphrased)</ref> However, a year later, he was arrested in Belgium and soon found himself in front of the International Criminal Court as a defendant, charged with several counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.<ref group=note>The charges were for alleged atrocities committed in the {{wpl|Central African Republic}} by Bemba's {{wpl|Movement for the Liberation of the Congo|''Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo''|,}} a prominent Congolese rebel group (now turned political party), when in 2002, the CAR's then-president {{wpl|Ange-Félix Patassé}} requested Bemba's assistance in putting down a coup attempt. Arguably, the MLC's conduct in the CAR likely wasn't notably worse than&mdash;that is to say, probably just as bad as&mdash;its conduct (and that of many other rebel groups) within the borders of DR Congo; and many Congolese politicians, having been involved in rebel groups, are likely culpable for similar crimes as the ones Bemba is charged with.</ref>

In 2011, {{wpl|Democratic Republic of the Congo general election, 2011|another election}} was held where Kabila was predictably re-elected. This led to outbreaks of violence in areas where there had been large support for Kabila's opponent, {{wpl|Étienne Tshisekedi|Étienne Tshisekedi|,}} notably including Kinshasa and Mbuji-Mayi, where official tallies showed that a strong majority had voted for the latter guy.<ref>{{cite news|title=DR Congo election: Questions hang over Kabila's victory|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16128729|newspaper=BBC News|date=10 December 2011}}</ref> Official observers have reported that results from polling stations in Tshisekedi-support areas had mysteriously disappeared and understatedly noted that the government's official 2011 election results "lack credibility".<ref>{{cite news|title=Carter Center: DRC Presidential Election Results Lack Credibility (press release)|url=http://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/drc-121011.html|newspaper=Carter Center|date=10 December 2011}}</ref>

Kabila's term ended on December 20th, 2016, but he refused to leave office, leading to mass protests and demonstrators being killed by police. A deal was brokered with the opposition party to facilitate a peaceful transition of power.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-politics-idUSKBN14C0K3</ref>

In 2018, the presidential election was finally held, with opposition candidate Félix Tshisekedi (son of the aforementioned Étienne) winning the presidency over the government-backed candidate Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. Now, this seems like a standard transition away from the regime. However, it has been widely accepted that the election's real winner was ''another'' opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu. Kabila likely secured a deal with Tshisekedi when Shadary had no chance of winning.<ref>https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-congo-election-count-insight-idUKKCN1PC2CX</ref>

==The current situation&mdash;Ongoing conflicts and unrest==
[[File:KitshangaWar-11 (8539323200).jpg|right|thumb|250px|A city in ruins after days of combat between militias.]]

Okay, so at this point, you might be wondering, "What makes the DR o' Congo so unstable and conducive to violent conflict?" Before we detail the current ongoing conflicts, let's lay out the answer.<ref group=note>Perhaps surprisingly to some, religion and racial tensions have rather little to do with it.</ref> First off, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a ''big'' country. With its 2.3 million square kilometers, it's a close second to Africa's largest country, [[Algeria]]. It also boasts a sizable population of around 92 million people<ref name="cia.gov">
{{cite web|author=Central Intelligence Agency|title=Democratic Republic of the Congo|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|location=Langley, Virginia |year=2014|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html|accessdate=29 April 2014}}</ref><ref group=note>A remarkable increase compared to the 1950 figure of 12 million, especially considering the many conflicts the population has had to endure.</ref> and counts as many as '''''250''''' ethnic groups. It is also rich in many {{wpl|Natural resource|natural resources|,}} including [[gold]], [[diamond]]s, cobalt, coltan, and oil, which often end up being used {{wpl|Conflict resource|to sustain rebel groups financially}} while the people actually doing the extraction are grossly underpaid and work in horrifically dangerous conditions.

Now with the basics out of the way, let's focus on the DRC's military:

If the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo teaches us anything, it's that replacing an authoritarian regime with an ineffective government marred by factional infighting, rebuilding a nation's military from the ground up and arming/supporting a plethora of rebel groups and tribal militia are things that will '''''not''''' facilitate stability, but rather the opposite. If those things sound [[Iraq War|fam]][[Libya|il]][[Syria|iar]] for some reason, that's because [[United States of America|''someone'']] was too busy looking out the window during history class.

Now, without further ado, the DRC's ongoing conflicts:
===Foreign insurgent groups active in the DRC===
===="Allied Democratic Forces"====
The deceptively named {{wpl|Allied Democratic Forces}} are, in fact, a militant Islamist rebel group hailing from Uganda. The group, based in western Uganda, has opposed Uganda's government through violent means since 1996 but was largely repelled from the region from 2000 to 2004. However, this has led the ADF to greatly increase its activity on the other side of the border in DRC territory. 

In 2013, there was a major resurgence of ADF activity in both the DRC and Uganda, attracting attention from the UN's newly formed {{wpl|United Nations Force Intervention Brigade|Force Intervention Brigade}}. Despite joint UN-DRC offensives, ADF militants remain a persistent presence in the DRC's North Kivu province and regularly attack the Congolese population. 

Intelligence sources indicate the group has collaborated with {{wpl|Al-Shabaab (militant group)|Al-Shabaab}} and the Lord's Resistance Army.<ref>{{cite news|last=Yang|first=Fang|title=DR Congo gov't denounces Al-Shabaab presence in North Kivu|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2013-07/05/c_132516335.htm|accessdate=15 July 2013|newspaper=''Xinhua''|date=5 July 2013}}</ref> An [[DAESH|Islamic State]] financier also apparently donated to the ADF at least once.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-security/financier-of-islamic-state-paid-money-to-rebel-group-in-eastern-congo-report-idUSKCN1NK20G|title=Financier of Islamic State paid money to rebel group in eastern Congo: report|work=''Reuters''|accessdate=2018-11-15}}</ref>

In 2016, the ADF pledged allegiance to [[ISIS]], and as of 2021 have rebranded themselves as the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP). Local media still reports attacks from the organization as being conducted by the ADF.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57246001|title=Allied Democratic Forces: The Ugandan rebels working with IS in DR Congo|work=[[BBC]]|accessdate=November 11, 2024|date=June 13, 2021}}</ref>

====Lord's Resistance Army====
{{main|Lord's Resistance Army}}

===2015 protests===
On January 19th, 2015, protests broke out at the {{wpl|University of Kinshasa}} in the eponymous city of {{wpl|Kinshasa}} over the announcement that Kabila would stay in power until after the national census was conducted, which, for a developing country, could take several years.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite web|last=Ross|first=Aaron|date=21 January 2015|title=Update  2-Congo protests enter third day, rights group says 42 dead|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFL6N0V01NX20150121?sp=true|work=''Reuters''|accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref> By the third day of the protests, clashes between police and protesters had led to over 42 deaths.<ref name="Reuters"/> Government sources initially claimed a death count of 27.<ref>"[https://news.yahoo.com/anti-government-demos-dr-congo-killed-27-160351241.html Anti-government demonstrations in the Congo lead to 27 deaths]" - Yahoo News</ref>

Due to pressure from protesters and the West, the Congolese government formally abandoned the controversial census clause that had been the ''cassus belli'' of the protests in the first place. After that, the protests slowly trickled out as a result.<ref>"[https://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFL6N0V306S20150124?sp=true Western pressure leads to Congo abandoning controversial census clause]"</ref>

==Human rights issues==
While wars generally don't have a reputation for improving people's quality of life, recent conflicts in the DRC are notably marred by {{wpl|Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|rampant sexual violence}} and the use of {{wpl|Child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|child soldiers|.}} Sexual violence is most typically targeted at women and children,<ref group=note>No surprise there. :/</ref> with reportedly over 65% of victims being children,<ref name=HRW>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/en/node/84366/section/6|title=Soldiers who rape, commanders who condone|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|date=2009-07-16|accessdate=2011-08-16}}</ref> but the rape of men is also common (and likely underreported).<ref name=Melhado>{{cite journal|last=Melhado|first=L|title=Rates of Sexual Violence Are High in Democratic Republic of the Congo|work=International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health|volume=36|number=4|year=2010|p=210}}</ref> While notoriously routinely perpetrated by militia members, this kind of injustice is not limited to conflict areas. 

According to the organization {{wpl|Freedom from Torture||,}} rape and sexual violence are regularly used by state officials to punish politically active women.<ref>[http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/feature/drc_report/7878] Freedom from Torture 'Rape as Torture in the DRC. http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/feature/drc_report/7878.</ref> Marital rape is also not illegal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and domestic abuse is considered socially acceptable by much of the DRC's society. In addition, there are also reports of child labor and forced labor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/congo_democratic_republic.htm|title=Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Democratic Republic of the Congo|work=United States Department of Labor|accessdate=10 March 2015}}</ref> 

According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 873,100 people are enslaved in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, or 1.13% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kevin Bales|first1=et al|title=Democratic Republic of the Congo|url=https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/country/democratic-republic-congo/|website=The Global Slavery Index 2016|publisher=The Minderoo Foundation Pty Ltd|accessdate=19 March 2018}}</ref><ref>Haider, Huma. Helpdesk Report: Modern slavery in the DRC. 2 Mar 2017. https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/helpdesk-report-modern-slavery-drc</ref>

==Gallery==
<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:Kinshasa-Gombe, from CCIC.JPG|Kinshasa, the Congo's capital.
File:Moambe - noix de palme sauce with chicken.jpg|Moambe chicken and cooked cassava leaves.
File:Cecilia and her family.jpg|A Congolese family in North Kivu province.
File:Cathedrale Bukavu.jpg|Catholic cathedral in Bukavu.
File:Basankusu collecting firewood by Francis Hannaway.jpg|Congolese women collect firewood.
File:Loxodontacyclotis.jpg|Elephants in the Congolese forest.
</gallery></center>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
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[[Category:African countries]]
[[Category:Authoritarian regimes]]
[[Category:Misnomers]]

Categories: African countries, Authoritarian regimes, Misnomers