Sunday, November 9, 2008

Congo And Its Mineral Wealth


Search For Peace ‘Doomed’ By Scramble For Minerals
In Congo -- Times Online

Rebels reject ceasefire until demands are met

Efforts to avert all-out war in eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo are doomed as long as negotiators ignore the role of the area’s lucrative mineral trade in fuelling the violence, according to anticorruption advocates and development officials.

They say that the deployment of thousands more United Nations peace-keepers to the region would be fruitless if armed groups continue to profit from the illegal trade with the connivance of international corporations.

Armed groups, including the Congolese Army and Tutsi rebels led by General Laurent Nkunda, have profited from the illegal trade of minerals such as coltan and tin ore for years, with British, Canadian, American and Belgian companies among their best clients.

Read more ....

My Comment: Ethnic and tribal hatreds are the number #1 reason .... the mineral wealth is just the excuse.

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