One of the reasons I regret leaving Congo in March, is that I won't be on the spot to see how all this is going to work out. Especially given the attitude of the people I was able to talk to.
They were very optimistic about the process, not about the individuals, but about the political structure, idealistic even. One guy told me, "We'll see how Kabila does. If we don't like it, in 5 years we'll vote him out". I hope it works out that way.
The premise and flaw is in the title of the article.Congo-Kinshasa: New Democracy Must Build on Local Leaders
Local leaders are determined by whom? The locals correct? The problem in apllying that to the DRC is that Kinshasa is an abberation in the "Congo" as the locals are a melange. The provinces when it is all said and done remain tribal and tribal alliance-based.
The DRC is not a country and this article just trots out the same old tired phrases to describe but at the sametime camouflage that reality. the authors writing safely from the UK and Canada for AllAfrica are not going to cross the PC line by stating such realities.
Best
Tom
Hey Carl !
As always, Tom's got this one - dead wringer.
I never had this feeling I needed to go back as if I was missing something. Then, after 10 years, I was fairly sick of the joint and it's endless routine.
Don't know if you recall the -ahem- great 1990's opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi from Mobutu's days. Basically, a real sour puss around the embassy (when he came out of hiding long enough to hound the Zairian government and ask the Americans for help). He also promised (among other great things) democracy once Mo was gone. "You folks get rid of Mo, and I'll fix this dump"!
You can't run Zaire from K-town without a big stick, and that has never changed.
Even when the Embassy's 'source' (somebody's cook) managed to turn Tom's ground-zero reports ass-backwards, the country was on a downward spiral and most had completely disregarded events in Goma, which would ultimately collapse the country.
15 years later, the fate of the DRC appears to still reside in the east.
Enter Kabila (or better said, Bemba's arch rival). Bemba was my neighbor for years (most impressive having your own .50 nest if front of your main gate).
With his death and his son Joseph now in the hot seat trying to once again run the DRC from K-town, it appears little more than a glimmer of hope, which the naive Congolese thrive on.
Sorry, I believe in Santa, but not democracy in the Congo
Last edited by Stan; 10-11-2007 at 02:05 PM.
USIP, 29 Jan 08: Elections in the DRC: The Bemba Surprise
Complete 16 page report at the link.Summary
• The surprising showing of Jean-Pierre Bemba in the 2006 presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has its roots in the histories of both the candidate and his party in the conflict in the DRC.
• However, the space for opposition politics in the DRC is rapidly closing. With weak political institutions in place, the government increasingly relies on strong-handedness at home even as it is looking abroad for financing and infrastructure Development.
• The violence in eastern DRC poses great challenges for the new government but also opportunities for external actors to support peacebuilding efforts by working multilaterally.
• Should President Joseph Kabila’s progressive weakening continue and a leadership vacuum emerge, Bemba would be a strong candidate to fill it.
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