Why is poor little Congo so afraid of big bad Rwanda? Go study history

[nngu007]

By JOACHIM BUWEBO


Posted Saturday, September 1 2012 at 22:22
IN SUMMARY

• DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda-in-the-middle have all celebrated their fiftieth birthday and are thus about the same age.
• The "international community" is now accusing Rwanda of destabilising DR Congo. They could be right. But they should pause and ask why Rwanda isn't destabilising Tanzania instead?
• So, could the problem be more with Congo than with Rwanda?
• Why does the vastly rich Congo, whose population exceeds that of Tanzania by two and half times that of Rwanda, require any help to deal with Rwanda?
• Why can't DR Congo just overrun small, poor Rwanda and install a government of its choice? The answer is that DRC has the potential to be the richest, most advanced and most militarily powerful country in Africa.
• But it got stunted as a state from the time it became a personal property of King Leopold; and when it finally got a chance to start off towards development, it only ever legitimately elected leader was sentenced to death by two wealthy nations and executed by firing squad.

In a way, Rwanda sits like a mirror at the heart of Africa. On one side there is a huge country that stretches as far as the ocean. On the other side, there is a huge country that stretches as far as the ocean.



DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda-in-the-middle have all celebrated their fiftieth birthday and are thus about the same age.

Congo, stretching from the Atlantic to the centre of Africa, has over 70 million people, Tanzania, stretching from the Indian Ocean to the centre of Africa has 45 million people, and tiny Rwanda has about 10 million.

Both Tanzania and Congo are stupendously rich in minerals and forests.

The "international community" is now accusing Rwanda of destabilising DR Congo. They could be right. But they should pause and ask why Rwanda isn't destabilising Tanzania instead?

After all, its geographical relation to the two countries is the same, except that Tanzania has 25 million fewer people than DR Congo, so it should be easier for Rwanda to mess up.

Why don't we hear of Rwanda sponsoring Tanzanian dissidents? Why is it inconceivable for Rwanda to be arming Zanzibari extremists to secede from the Union but it is routinely suspected of arming secessionists in eastern DR Congo?

So, could the problem be more with Congo than with Rwanda?

The international community has always been interested in Congo's affairs, and in 1960/61, just after the country attained Independence, two "civilised" Western democracies decided that the best service they could render the Congolese people was to kill their popular, newly elected leader – Patrice Lumumba - to install a man who in their view would be more democratic and developmental - Joseph Mobutu.

With such a record and credentials of reading what is best for the Congolese, the international community now believes it has found the cause of Congo's problems – Rwanda.

Those who want to solve DR Congo's problems - and that should be almost everybody - would do well to ask the following question: Why does the vastly rich Congo, whose population exceeds that of Tanzania by two and half times that of Rwanda, require any help to deal with Rwanda?

At seventy plus million people and dizzying wealth, DR Congo should be having a well equipped, well paid army of 1.4 million men under arms (at a standard ratio of one government-armed man for every 50 people).

Why can't DR Congo just overrun small, poor Rwanda and install a government of its choice?

The answer is that DRC has the potential to be the richest, most advanced and most militarily powerful country in Africa.

But it got stunted as a state from the time it became a personal property of King Leopold; and when it finally got a chance to start off towards development, it only ever legitimately elected leader was sentenced to death by two wealthy nations and executed by firing squad.

Recently, leaders of SADC have expressed interest in the affairs of DR Congo. Let us hope they direct their collective brainpower towards establishing a working government in Kinshasa that uses the vast wealth of its people for their development.



Joachim Buwembo is a Knight International fellow for development journalism. E-mail: buwembo@gmail.com

 

[nngu007]

Wa-Congo hawajui Vita ni Kucheza Muziki na kukimbilia France au Ubelgiji ndio Ndoto zao toka Utotoni...

 

[snochet]

simple answer.....the nature of their colonialists(the french) brought them closer,thus easy to penetrate....Congo and Rwanda have all been in wars recently,birds of the same feathers fly together.......most of the congo militia have ties with the government of Rwanda....these people are very connected,ukichunguza hata their dialects,they are almost the same....ni tofauti sana na za watanzania...thats why its hard to do it.....thats my take.....we have to be very careful,,,,,,kama gvt yetu itaendelea kudumaa hivi,,,they rule us.....like zamani,egypt was too big and powerful,yet controlled by a smaller country......Rome was also a small city,,,,spread the roman spirit and norms,wakaitawala hadi england and other big european nations we know today....lastly,wat i think,ni nature ya governance yao,,Tanzania hatujawahi kuwa na serious revolution,,,due to them being too similar kwa mambo kama hayo,,,it gives Rwanda an easier path....hayo ni mawazo yangu tu,,,ninaweza kukosolewa kama mawazo yangu si sahihi,,,,cha maana tutambue kwamba hili jambo lipo.

 

[nngu007]

simple answer.....the nature of their colonialists(the french) brought them closer,thus easy to penetrate....Congo and Rwanda have all been in wars recently,birds of the same feathers fly together.......most of the congo militia have ties with the government of Rwanda....these people are very connected,ukichunguza hata their dialects,they are almost the same....ni tofauti sana na za watanzania...thats why its hard to do it.....thats my take.....we have to be very careful,,,,,,kama gvt yetu itaendelea kudumaa hivi,,,they rule us.....like zamani,egypt was too big and powerful,yet controlled by a smaller country......Rome was also a small city,,,,spread the roman spirit and norms,wakaitawala hadi england and other big european nations we know today....lastly,wat i think,ni nature ya governance yao,,Tanzania hatujawahi kuwa na serious revolution,,,due to them being too similar kwa mambo kama hayo,,,it gives Rwanda an easier path....hayo ni mawazo yangu tu,,,ninaweza kukosolewa kama mawazo yangu si sahihi,,,,cha maana tutambue kwamba hili jambo lipo.

HAPANA their Colonialists were Different

RWANDA - GERMANY then BELGIUM

CONGO-KINSASHA - FRANCE they were Members of FRANCOPHONE

* Serious Revolution ? Tuliivamia UGANDA na ILIKUWA a Serious Revolution...

 

[Chamoto]

HAPANA their Colonialists were Different

RWANDA - GERMANY then BELGIUM

CONGO-KINSASHA - FRANCE they were Members of FRANCOPHONE

Both countries were colonized by the Belgians

 

[Kabaridi]

DRC, with all its resources and potential to turn around and unlock its economy, is reduced to mere invalids that depend on material support (political, socio-economic, military/protection) from the western community (What a sharp contrast). A fully independent Rwanda facing stiff accusations from DRC (denied to excersice and run its own charter independently) does not make sense.

Why does DRC having a larger force in terms of military personnel than Rwanda fear them?! Why is even a country as small as malawi whose economy thrives on agriculture with smaller acrerage in sq. kms posing a threat to a certain country in EAC/SADC that boasts of an unrivalled demographic landscape? The picture that SADC is progressive and an easier bloc to harmoniously integrate without discord, is hypocritical and is exposed by the squabble of lake nyasa. Though the formulation of patchy diplomatic stances btn squabbling parties has hurriedly sourced the news airwaves for informing audiences, the suspicions lie underneath like a timebomb waiting for the right time to explode.