Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, called Zaire between 1971 and 1997, is a nation in central Africa. It is sometimes called Congo-Kinshasa, after its capital, to distinguish it from the Republic of Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville. It borders on Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Angola and the Gulf of Guinea.

History

Main article: History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago, and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries by Bantus from present-day Nigeria.

European exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s. The area was first discovered and mapped by the British explorer Stanley. He prepared the region for European colonisation. Congo was given to King Leopold II in the Conference of Berlin in 1885. He made the land his private propery and called it 'Congo Free State'. In this Free State, the local population was brutalised in exchange for rubber, a growing market with the developement of rubber tires. The selling of the rubber made a fortune for Leopold, who built several buildings in Brussels with that money to honour himself. During the period between 1885 and 1908, over 10 million blacks were killed by the Belgians. After a few years however, the international community, including famous writers as Mark Twain, started protesting to the incredible cruelties of King Leopold. In 1908, the international pressure was so great that Leopold was forced to give his property to the Belgian state as a colony. From then on, it became Belgian Congo. The native polulation was well-treated compared to the natives in other colonies. For example: the Belgians are the only European power that have built a university in their colony, the colonist were carefully picked by the Belgian Governement to name only a few examples.

The Second World War smashed the idea that the white population was superior (the small Congolese army had several victories agaist the Italians in North-Africa), a fact that initiated the decolonisation proces.

Congo became independent in June 30th, 1960, under a populist Prime Minister, Patrice-Emery Lumumba (1925-61). A member of the Batatele tribe, he was educated in mission schools and later worked as a postal clerk. He became a member of the permanent committee of the All-African Peoples Conference (founded in Accra, 1958) and president of the Congolese National Movement, an influential political party. After the uprising (January 1959) in the Congo, he fled the country to escape arrest but soon returned. Late in 1959, accused of instigating public violence, he was jailed by the Belgians but was released (1960) to participate in the Brussels Congo conference, where he emerged as a leading negotiator. When the Republic of the Congo came into existence (June, 1960) Lumumba was its first premier and minister of defense. Shortly after independence, the army mutinied, the Belgian government flew in troops to protect Belgian citizens, and Katanga province declared its independence. Lumumba appealed for aid to the United Nations, which sent troops to reestablish order. In September, President Kasavubu, his rival for power, dismissed him as prime minister and he, in turn, dismissed Kasavubu as president. Shortly afterward, Lumumba was put under house arrest by Colonel Joseph Mobutu. Lumumba escaped but was recaptured and then flown (January, 1961), on orders from Mobutu and Kasavubu, to Katanga (now Shaba), where in February, it was announced that he had been killed. Riots of protest took place in many parts of the world. See his Congo: My Country (1962) and Lumumba Speaks (ed. by Jean van Lierde, tr. 1972); study by T. R. Kanza (1972). Mubutu became president of Congo.

Mubutu sucked the country of recources and collected an enormous fortune. He lived in luxury while the general population lived in misery. He implemented some strange alterations: the country was renamed Zaire, as well as the river, and promoted the old African values and traditions. He called himself Mobutu Sese Seko from that point.

Since 1994, DR Congo has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of Mobutu Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila in May, 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. See Foreign relations of Congo.

A cease-fire was signed on July 10, 1999; nevertheless, fighting continues apace especially in the eastern part of the country, financed by revenues from the illegal extraction of minerals such as coltan. Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state. The new president quickly began overtures to end the war. Fighting continued, even after an accord signed in South Africa in 2002. But by late 2003, a fragile peace prevailed. Kabila appointed four vice-presidents, two who had been fighting to oust him until July, 2003.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The government of former president Mobutu Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent Kabila in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. Kabila was assassinated on 16 January 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state ten days later. In October 2002, the new president was successful in getting occupying Rwandan forces to withdraw from eastern Congo; two months later, an agreement was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity.

Political divisions

Main article: Political divisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Congo is divided into 10 provinces, and 1 independent city (Kinshasa):

• Bandundu
• Bas-Congo
• Equateur
• Kasai-Occidental
• Kasai-Oriental
• Katanga
• Maniema
• Nord-Kivu
• Orientale (Congo) (Formerly Haute-Zaire)
• Sud-Kivu

Major Cities

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Congo is located in the west-central part of sub-Saharan Africa. It straddles the Equator, with one-third to the north and two-thirds to the south. Clockwise from the west, it is bounded by Angola, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania across Lake Tanganyika, and Zambia.

The capital, Kinshasa, is located in the country's western salient, immediately across the Congo River from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo.

The Congo includes the greater part of the Congo River Basin, which covers an area of almost a million square kilometers. The country's only outlet to the Atlantic Ocean is a narrow strip of land on the north bank of the Congo River.

The vast, low-lying central area is a basin-shaped plateau sloping toward the west and covered by tropical rainforest. This area is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaux merging into savannas in the south and southwest, and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north.

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, has increased external debt, and has resulted in the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.5 million people. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President Kabila has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The population was estimated at 56.6 million in 2003, growing quicky from 46.7 million in 1997. As many as 250 ethnic groups have been distinguished and named. The most numerous people are the Kongo, Luba, and Mongo. Although 700 local languages and dialects are spoken, the linguistic variety is bridged both by the use of French and the intermediary languages Kikongo, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Lingala.

About 80% of the Congolese population are Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. Most of the non-Christians adhere to either traditional religions or syncretic sects. Traditional religions embody such concepts as monotheism, animism, vitalism, spirit and ancestor worship, witchcraft, and sorcery and vary widely among ethnic groups; none is formalized. The syncretic sects often merge Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals. The most popular of these sects, Kimbanguism, was seen as a threat to the colonial regime and was banned by the Belgians. Kimbanguism, officially "the church of Christ on Earth by the prophet Simon Kimbangu," now has about 3 million members, primarily among the Bakongo of Bas-Congo and Kinshasa.

Culture

Main article: Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

See also: Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, List of writers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Transportation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Foreign relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Holidays in Democratic Republic of the Congo