Socialistiskt Alternativ (ISA in Sweden) participated in a demonstration in Stockholm Saturday 8 February, with a special supplement on Congo. Below is part of the text.
- No to war, imperialism and capitalist exploitation.
- All foreign troops out of Congo.
- Natural resources belong to the workers and poor of Congo.
- For an international movement against war and exploitation in Congo, across Africa and beyond.
The M23 militia and Rwandan troops continue their offensive in eastern Congo. After capturing Goma, a city of millions in North Kivu, they are now targeting the town of Bukavu in South Kivu. M23 was said last week to be only 50 kilometres from the city.
M23 commander Corneille Nangaa has stated in the Rwandan media that the next step is an attack on the Congolese capital Kinshasa. This could trigger a new major war, similar to the wars at the turn of the century, which claimed millions of lives.
At its heart, the fighting is over control of Congo’s vast natural resources, with the Rwandan government and US, EU and Chinese multinationals making huge profits from plundering the country.
The recent fighting has forced hundreds of thousands to flee, in a country that already has seven million internal refugees. In Goma, 3,000 people were killed on Wednesday alone (5 February), many of them refugees from previous fighting. The M23 has been besieging the city for the past year, leading to large price increases, water shortages and a large increase in disease.
The M23, which also uses the name Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), claimed this week that it had declared a ceasefire, but continued fighting. The Rwandan government no longer denies that its army is involved in the fighting inside Congo.
Rwanda’s authoritarian President Kagame has received increasing support from Western imperialism in recent years. The UK has signed agreements to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and France has funded Rwandan troops protecting French gas companies in Mozambique. Meanwhile, Kagame has also signed agreements with China, most recently during a visit to Beijing last autumn.
What is needed is an international movement against war and exploitation in Congo, directed against the hypocrisy of all imperialist powers and multinationals. Democratic and socialist parties for workers and the poor are needed in Congo and neighbouring countries, seeking cooperation with workers and the oppressed throughout the region to end capitalism, corruption and violence.
