Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (18 Jul 2003 Jahr – 16 Dez 2021 Jahr)

Beschreibung:

Following the end of the Second Congo War, the DRC was left with a crippled economy, an unstable government, widespread poverty, and unsettled ethnic tensions. Over 3,000,000 people were killed in the conflict, making it the second most deadly war since World War 2. Homelessness, starvation, and sickness were at all time highs. Joseph Kabila had trouble keeping control of the country, but was able to get reelected in 2006. Fighting continued in the east, with two failed coups taking place in 2004. In 2008, a peace agreement was made and then broken by multiple rebel groups.

Violence continued to persist between various ethnic and rebel groups throughout the country. In 2011, Kabila was elected as president one again, but this time there was widespread speculation that fraud had taken place. The 2016 election saw complications, getting postponed to December 23, 2018. Kabila announced that he would not be standing in the election.

With this news, an array of new candidates began taking the spotlight, each one being in their own political party. This triggered a massive amount of anxiety and uneasiness throughout the country, leading to an increase in violence. Finally, on December 30, 2018, the election took place, with Felix Tshisekedi winning. Once again, there was widespread talks of possible election fraud, with leaked election data supporting the claims. Despite this, Tshisekedi was inaugurated on January 24, 2019, marking the first peaceful transfer of power since 1960.

Today, violence continues in the east among armed rebel groups, threatening the fragile state of the current government. These conflicts reflect the long term effects of European rule. Colonialism deepened ethnic tensions and disparities, creating long term hatred amongst many different groups. The harsh treatment under rulers like King Leopold also created an environment filled with violence and brutality, which is arguably a contributor to the violence seen in the DRC today. This violence continues to impact innocent civilians, killing and displacing men, women, and children of all ages. The future of the country and its people remains uncertain.

Cordell, D. D. , Payanzo, . Ntsomo , Wiese, . Bernd Michael and Lemarchand, . René. "Democratic Republic of the Congo." Encyclopedia Britannica, April 29, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/place/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo.


(IMAGE)
The camp for internally displaced persons on April 22, 2013. (Armin Rosen)
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/06/the-origins-of-war-in-the-drc/277131/

Zugefügt zum Band der Zeit:

Datum:

Abbildungen: