A Beginners Guide to Armed Resistance Movements in DR Congo.

Part One: A Tumultuous History

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been a hotbed for unending violent conflict and political instability. Various insurrections staged by armed resistance movements in DR Congo are a mainstay in news outlets both domestically and internationally. Decades of dealing with unrest within its borders have left the country struggling with poverty as economic production only grinds down to a halt in the face of political upheaval. In this two-part series, we will be delving into understanding how the situation in the Congo got to where it is now, the nature of the players involved, and the implications of the upheaval in the future.

Colonial Roots

DR Congo has had it tough from the very beginning. The nature of atrocities being committed in the territory ranges back to the colonial days of the Congo Free State. During the Conference for the Partition of Africa (West Berlin Conference of 1884-85), King Leopold II of Belgium managed to solidify his claim to the Central African territory that later became the Congo Free State. King Leopold teamed up with Henry Morton Stanley, a distinguished European explorer and politician, who had a strong footing within the African continent.

Morton helped Leopold to claim the Congo territory by setting up ‘commercial outposts’ along the Congo River, for which Leopold argued that he would not exploit them for any commercial gains. Leopold stated that he would claim the Congo Free State as personal property under the monarchy since he was only interested in ‘humanitarian’ and ‘philanthropic’ work and would not seek to extract any economic gains.

No sooner had his wishes been granted than the King embarked on a streak of oppressive, brutal, humanitarian, and exploitative rule in the Congo State. It turned out that he was chasing economic gains after all as vehemently milked the territory of its rubber reserves at the expense of the population of whom about 10 million succumbed to the repressive violence of his rule. The rubber trade had become increasingly lucrative from the 1890s, especially given the demand for its use in the manufacturing of cars and bicycles.

Offering the Congo Free State to Leopold was intended to prevent an escalation of tensions between the main European powers at a time when relations between them were teetering at the brink of conflict. Leopold was only meant to be the ‘custodian’ of the region on behalf of the rest of Europe, as that would help maintain the balance of power in Europe. However, the humanitarian crisis that was at the heart of Leopold’s reign forced the rest of Europe to act, hence taking control of the territory away from him and to the administrative government of Belgium in 1908.

The days of colonial governance under Belgium were not any different from the days of King Leopold II. The colonialists maintained harsh governing conditions over their African subjects, granting no right for self-governance and continuing with the imposition of forced labor. The lines between private entities, particularly companies operating in the agricultural and mining sectors, and the government continued to be increasingly blurred.

All of these companies were controlled by European investors, many of whom maintained close ties with the Belgian colonial government. The colonial government therefore looked to maintain its repressive control over the Congo territory through forced labor measures for the natives as well as seizing of land resources, and it distributed these gains in a way that favored these private companies and the European settlers. The natives of the Congo were treated as being second-class citizens and they were deprived of any political freedom.

From the 1930s onwards, the colonial administration had begun to loosen its grip. The Great Depression of 1929-1933 had brought with it reduced demand for industrial raw materials such as rubber which were the territory’s main export and source of revenue. Consequently, the economy had collapsed and unemployment levels were as high as 70%. The colonial government sought to diversify its economy and introduced policies that favored ‘strong internal markets’. Many more Congo natives were allowed to trade and transact which helped to reduce the poverty levels and improve the stance of the economy.

Towards Independence

In the post-World War II days, the colonial government also invested in robust healthcare policies and investment into the education of the indigenous population. The idea for the independence of the Congo was also entertained, amidst the backlash from the Belgium settlers. The initial plan proposed by the Belgian professor Antoine van Bilsen in 1955 called for a gradual emancipation of the territory over 30 years to allow for the creation of an educated elite population that could effectively govern the Congo. However, the situation was escalating faster than the colonial government would anticipate.

The independence of Ghana in 1957 had perpetuated the independent struggle at the forefront of whom were a few of the educated native elites or ‘evolues’. The Belgian government, keen to avoid an armed independence struggle as witnessed by the French authorities in Algeria, was quick to grant freedom to the Congo territory which was fulfilled on 30^th June 1960 as the Republic of the Congo.

Seeds of Discord

It was at this point the seeds of the unending cycle of strife, unrest, and a lack of unity in leadership in the Congo were planted. The grounds that allowed these seeds to mature had been prepared during the days of colonial rule, given that the Belgians sowed seeds of discord through ethnic and racial segregation. It was a means used to ensure that the local population remained divided and thus could not unite to fight for the independence of their territory. However, this tactic not only backfired but also left deep wounds and gouges that hampered efforts toward national unity.

Furthermore, the presence of a polarized international sphere divided between the East (USSR) and the West (USA) looks to take advantage of such situations in newly independent countries such as the Congo, as either power sought to exert more global influence over the other. DR Congo would eventually fall victim to its internal divisions and the external forces from the East and West who sought to take advantage of the situation.

Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Patrice Lumumba, two of the most influential leaders at the heart of Congo’s independence movement, had been elected President and Prime Minister respectively during the 1960 General elections. It was quickly apparent that this partnership was not meant to last, as both leaders differed vehemently on their political stances. During their subsequent falling apart, Patrice Lumumba was arrested and handed over to the secessionist government in Katanga, which had been a thorn in his side as it disrupted his efforts towards national unity.

Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba had been involved in an unending tug of war for control and power (The Congo Crisis), even in the pre-independence days and it was amid this cacophony that Joseph Mobutu, the army’s Chief of Staff managed to usurp power to himself and it was him who ordered the arrest of Lumumba.

Mobutu’s asserted control at the heart of the Congo Crisis which emerged soon after Congo’s independence. Mobutu claimed that this was a move to oversee administrative control over the country while the leaders took the time to sort out their differences. Nonetheless, Lumumba’s unpopularity back at home and abroad, due to his supposed ties to communism, fueled Mobutu and the rest of Lumumba’s political opponents to take sides against him. The situational stance moved quickly from resolving the political differences to a coagulated predisposition to ensure Lumumba’s removal from power.

The Congo Crisis was, however, fueled by external powers keen on maintaining their interests in the country. The Belgians, despite granting independence to the DRC, still retained a foothold in the country, especially in the mineral-rich province of Katanga.

The mining company, Union Miniere du Haut-Katanga had been established in the colonial days was Belgian-controlled, and was tasked with overseeing mining activities in the Katanga province. Therefore, the Belgians were keen to ensure that they retained access to mines within the country which were a huge source of revenue, particularly given that DRC is the main source of non-ferrous minerals in the world. Belgian control was to be maintained, even if that meant supporting secessionist governments like that of Moise Tshombe in Katanga who were accommodative to Belgian activities in the region.

Belgian desire for influence and control was fueled by the United States’ paranoia over the supposedly ‘communist Lumumba’. Lumumba’s efforts towards national unity threatened Belgians under-handed influence which was sustained by aligning various regional kingpins. The Belgians, who had the respect of the international community on matters concerning the Congo, were at the forefront of a campaign that was aimed at branding Lumumba to the West as a perpetrator of the communist agenda.

Lumumba thus faced continuous isolation from the larger international community and was forced to seek help from the Soviets. Even then, he was quite dismissive of their political agenda and only reached for help from them due to circumstances. The situation was rapidly escalating and the stability of the newly founded nation was about to collapse mere months after independence.

The USA and many of the Western powers had been keen to get rid of Lumumba, seeing as he maintained huge political influence both domestically and on the continent and an alliance between him and the Soviets would deal them a huge blow in the Cold War. Choosing to take the less risky route and play off the domestic upheaval in the Congo, the Americans and Belgians teamed up with Mobutu and Tshombe to oversee a plot that would ensure that Lumumba was gotten rid of. On 17th January 1961, their wishes were fulfilled and Lumumba was executed by firing squad at Elisabethville (modern-day Lumbubashi).  

Lumumba’s death only served to further escalate the situation. With Lumumba out of the picture, The remaining leaders were left to squabble for control over the country. Kasa-Vubu now had the uphill task that Lumumba before him had faced; how would he reintegrate the secessionist regions of Katanga and South Kasai back into the fold of the Republic of the Congo? The rebellion that emerged following Lumumba’s death led by Antoine Gizenga from Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani), one of Lumumba’s trusted confidants, had pre-occupied the country’s peace efforts for the better part of a year.

It took the UN’s aggressive intervention following the supposed killing of the UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold in a plane crash on his way to lead negotiation efforts with the Tshombe for a lasting peace to emerge. Tshombe became the Prime Minister in 1964, just in time for another rebel movement known as the Simba Rebellion to emerge in the east. The Simbas were a Maoist force that aimed to establish an exclusively communist Congolese state. They were to be reprehensively quashed.

By 1965, however, Kasa-Vubu and Tshombe were locked in a heated stalemate over control of government. Once again, Mobutu resorted to staging yet another coup d’etat, this time ascertaining full control over the country. He did away with political freedom by establishing a one-party state and suppressing intellectual freedoms. Mobutu renamed the country ‘Zaire’ and went on a nationalist movement through the de-westernization of place names, resorting to using African names for many of the cities, towns, and municipalities that had been established during colonial times.

The Genesis of Modern Armed Resistance Movements in DR Congo.

Mobutu established a central governing authority, a kleptocracy of sorts, and up until the end of his reign in 1997, the country languished in economic retrogression. Mobutu was also involved in numerous acts that constituted a gross violation of human rights. Mobutu’s saving grace was the fact that he knew how to assert power, and he was therefore able to stay at the helm for well over three decades.

Mobutu ouster brought with it a cyclical turn of events. Much like the days of independence, Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was recovering from years of oppressive rule by an autocratic overlord. A similar turn of events to what happened in the post-independence days would play out in what came to be termed the Congo Civil War (First and Second Congo War 1996-2003). A fragmented leadership, made up of power-hungry factions would wrestle over control for power and at the end of it all, an assassination much like that of Lumumba would only serve to escalate the situation further.

The years of Mobutu’s reign managed to achieve what the colonial years had; they created a period of disgruntlement and fractionalization within the country that erupted into a full-scale conflict once the overarching symbol of power was overthrown.

Part Two: Old Playing Field, New Players.

More on Beginner’s Guide: A Beginners Guide to the Conflict in the South China Sea.