How rebels profit from blood and soil
[2008-12-23 17:03:34]
How rebels profit from blood and soil
Congo's long-running war feeds on mining money. An estimated fivemillion people have died in this conflict, which nominally ended ina peace deal in 2003, but which never really went away in the east.The war has roared back into life in recent weeks; at least 850,000people are now displaced in the east and thousands of women havebeen victim of the war's signature tactic, public gang rape.
Congo's war is often linked, in vague terms, to the mineral trade,but here in Luntukulu, it is easy to see exactly how it works: theindustry is essentially unregulated, smuggling is simple to do andrife, and no one has any incentive to try to drive the armedmilitias out of the business. "The armed groups are all involved inmining - even our Congolese armed forces," sighed JuvenalNyamugusha, who heads the provincial mining ministry.
The FLDR, for instance - made up of the remnants of theInterahamwe, who carried out the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, andsome new Congolese and Rwandan recruits - controls vast swaths ofterritory in this region of Congo, and there is no confusion abouthow they chose the land they seized. "The mineral areas, the FDLRare only in mineral areas - they are there where you find tin orcoltan or wolframite," said Joseph Kakez, the administrator forthis district, which is dotted with patches of rich mines, andrebel groups.
Here, near Luntukulu, the militia members dig in particular forcoltan, or tantalite, the mineral that goes into making cellphones,laptop computers and Sony PlayStations. And they sell to thetraders, who have the ore carried back out to their trucks back upat the village checkpoint - after paying $40 a kilogram. And so theInterahamwe, or what remains of it, is wealthier and more powerfulthan it was 14 years ago, when the killing ended in Rwanda.
"The FDLR are the ones controlling the coltan mines and they arevery strong," said Mr. Beningabo, the miner. The provincial miningministry says the FDLR, in fact, controls 20 per cent of mininghere.
A squad of Congolese army soldiers are posted in Luntukulu to, intheory, isolate the Rwandan rebels. In reality, the checkpointserves as a handy place for the soldiers to collect bribes fromthose who carry the minerals out of the militia's territory. "Wepay at every checkpoint coming and going: Every person who crossespays 500 francs [about $1]. It's not official but the province anddistrict authorities know it," said Olivier Mugaruka, who travelsthe rough roads of this region to buy tin, tungsten and coltan.
The soldiers also take a cut out of everything hauled out bylegitimate miners such as Mr. Beningabo - an informal tax just likethe 10 per cent he must pay to his village chief.
And that's just small scale. In the next province of North Kivu,the infamous 85th brigade of the Congolese armed forces controls ahuge cassiterite mine at Bisie, where it forces the localpopulation to work. Although Congolese civil society organizationsand media have repeatedly shown that the brigade controls the mine- and pockets the revenue from it - work continues undisturbed, andthe tin is exported through both legal and illegal channels.
"We can only conclude that these activities are sanctioned at thehighest levels," said Patrick Alley, director of the British-basedorganization Global Witness, which has made extensive study ofCongo's mineral industry.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081024.wcongo1025/BNStory/International/?page=r [2008-11-4]
Tag : wolframiteCongo's long-running war feeds on mining money. An estimated fivemillion people have died in this conflict, which nominally ended ina peace deal in 2003, but which never really went away in the east.The war has roared back into life in recent weeks; at least 850,000people are now displaced in the east and thousands of women havebeen victim of the war's signature tactic, public gang rape.
Congo's war is often linked, in vague terms, to the mineral trade,but here in Luntukulu, it is easy to see exactly how it works: theindustry is essentially unregulated, smuggling is simple to do andrife, and no one has any incentive to try to drive the armedmilitias out of the business. "The armed groups are all involved inmining - even our Congolese armed forces," sighed JuvenalNyamugusha, who heads the provincial mining ministry.
The FLDR, for instance - made up of the remnants of theInterahamwe, who carried out the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, andsome new Congolese and Rwandan recruits - controls vast swaths ofterritory in this region of Congo, and there is no confusion abouthow they chose the land they seized. "The mineral areas, the FDLRare only in mineral areas - they are there where you find tin orcoltan or wolframite," said Joseph Kakez, the administrator forthis district, which is dotted with patches of rich mines, andrebel groups.
Here, near Luntukulu, the militia members dig in particular forcoltan, or tantalite, the mineral that goes into making cellphones,laptop computers and Sony PlayStations. And they sell to thetraders, who have the ore carried back out to their trucks back upat the village checkpoint - after paying $40 a kilogram. And so theInterahamwe, or what remains of it, is wealthier and more powerfulthan it was 14 years ago, when the killing ended in Rwanda.
"The FDLR are the ones controlling the coltan mines and they arevery strong," said Mr. Beningabo, the miner. The provincial miningministry says the FDLR, in fact, controls 20 per cent of mininghere.
A squad of Congolese army soldiers are posted in Luntukulu to, intheory, isolate the Rwandan rebels. In reality, the checkpointserves as a handy place for the soldiers to collect bribes fromthose who carry the minerals out of the militia's territory. "Wepay at every checkpoint coming and going: Every person who crossespays 500 francs [about $1]. It's not official but the province anddistrict authorities know it," said Olivier Mugaruka, who travelsthe rough roads of this region to buy tin, tungsten and coltan.
The soldiers also take a cut out of everything hauled out bylegitimate miners such as Mr. Beningabo - an informal tax just likethe 10 per cent he must pay to his village chief.
And that's just small scale. In the next province of North Kivu,the infamous 85th brigade of the Congolese armed forces controls ahuge cassiterite mine at Bisie, where it forces the localpopulation to work. Although Congolese civil society organizationsand media have repeatedly shown that the brigade controls the mine- and pockets the revenue from it - work continues undisturbed, andthe tin is exported through both legal and illegal channels.
"We can only conclude that these activities are sanctioned at thehighest levels," said Patrick Alley, director of the British-basedorganization Global Witness, which has made extensive study ofCongo's mineral industry.
Source: 沱沱网
Keywords:Industrial Supplies
Related Articles:



