Congo killings highlight need for change

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This article was published 14/12/2017 (2324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The killing of 14 United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Congo last week highlights the need for a drastic overhaul of peacekeeping missions — and Canada is the country to do it, says a Congolese researcher living in Winnipeg.

“Peacekeepers have been in Congo since 1999, but peace and security remain elusive,” said Evelyn Mayanja, who came to Winnipeg in 2011 to work on a PhD in peace and conflict studies at the University of Manitoba.

The 14 dead — all from Tanzania — were killed in an attack Dec. 7 at the peacekeepers’ base in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN reported. It said the rebel group, Allied Democratic Forces is suspected to be responsible.

The attack occurred in the North Kivu area of Congo, where Mayanja recently spent six months doing doctoral research.

She said she interviewed 147 people — from former child soldiers to community organizers — in an area where people are killed every day by a growing number of armed groups vying for control of mineral wealth. The region is rich in coltan, gold, tungsten and tantalum used in communications devices.

Armed groups control the illicit trade in minerals, and an increasing number of militias are fighting over them, Mayanja said.

“Some commanders in the national army have their own armed groups. Local politicians have their owned armed groups. It’s a source of political power and economic power,” she said.

“People monitoring the peacekeepers have seen them carrying weapons to armed groups,” said Mayanja, who was told by several people she interviewed they’ve lost faith in the peacekeeping process. “There is no peace to keep.”

The situation — like in many places experiencing prolonged conflict — shows peace “will not be gained through the barrel of the gun,” Mayanja said.

“We silence the bullets but people have nothing to eat” and they will pick up a gun again to survive, such as the former child soldier named Nguvu she interviewed in North Kivu.

He told Mayanja he was fed once a day after being recruited and trained to kill with an AK-47 that was almost as big as he was. Now, Nguvu struggles to find enough to eat and faces the prospect of having to join an armed group fighting for mineral wealth.

“Hunger and poverty will send me back to kill people,” Nguvu told Mayanja.

Canada, Mayanja said, has the history, resources and heart to find a way to recast peacekeepers as peace makers.

Peacekeeping as a UN military intervention operation began under former prime minister Lester Pearson’s leadership in the 1956 Suez Crisis and Canada’s role in the UN Emergency Force he helped create. Canadians have sometimes seen peacekeeping as part of the nation’s identity.

In November, the government of Canada announced it is prepared to offer up to 200 ground troops, transport and armed helicopters, cargo planes and military trainers for future UN peacekeeping operations. The five-year military commitment is part of a package that includes millions of dollars to help other countries boost the involvement of women in peace operations and strengthen security for those involved in high-risk missions.

Mayanja said she wants Canada to get into “peace making” by going after the root causes of conflict, especially poverty and corruption.

Supporting development and education initiatives that come from grassroots groups on the ground that know what’s needed, rather than initiatives hatched by the UN in New York would be a start, the former development worker said. Canada could call out multinational companies that profit from the bloody fight for Congo’s mineral wealth, Mayanja said.

“Canada could contribute to ensuring there’s a comprehensive enforcement of the rule of law,” she said, adding it could target corrupt governments by calling on the international community to freeze the bank accounts of officials stealing from their nations.

“The Mediterranean Sea has become a graveyard for African youth, but it’s one of the richest continents.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca