Civil war in African nation reminder of million deaths

Thousands of people are fleeing eastern Congo where rebels and pro-government militiamen are involved in a bloody battle that threatens to explode into the kind of all-out civil wars of 1996 to 2002 that claimed 1 million lives and resulted in 2 million citizens being displaced.

The latest conflict is fueled by ethic hatred left over from those wars and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. At that time, neighboring countries became involved in order to plunder Congo’s mineral wealth.

Then there was a lull in the fighting, but it intensified in August and by midweek had displaced 250,000 people. A summit was held in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday attended by Congo President Joseph Kabila, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Kagama is believed to wield strong influence over warload Laurent Nkunda, whose Tutsi-led rebels are involved in the fighting.

Nkunda contends that the Congolese government has failed to protect ethnic Tutsis from Rwandan Hutu militia who escaped to Congo after the 1994 genocide. The rebel leader says the government is corrupt and has vowed to liberate the country from President Kabila’s rule.

Although this situation has received limited attention in the United States — the just completed presidential election was a national preoccupation for many months — the European Union is considering sending troops to enforce a ceasefire that is tenuous at best. Last Sunday, French and British foreign ministers arrived in Congo for talks with Congolese and Rwandan officials.

Peace talks

Now that the election is over and Democrat Barack Obama is preparing to take the oath of office on Jan. 20, President Bush should assign his foreign policy team to become actively involved in the peace talks.

The long-standing hatred between the Tutsi and Hutu is so intense that it would not take much for the 1994 genocide to be replayed. The world cannot stand idly by while there is a possibility of another 1 million people being killed and millions more displaced.

The inhumanity of that period was memorialized in an award-winning movie. No one who saw it could believe that such cruelty was possible and that the world was so unconcerned until it was too late.

There is another compelling reason for the U.S. and the European Union not to allow the situation to reach the point of no return: Children are being recruited by dozens of small militias operating across the forests and valleys of eastern Congo. The central government has struggled for years to control the militias.

“Child recruitment by all armed groups has increased significantly over the past two months,” the United Nations children’s agency said. “UNICEF reminds all armed groups of their obligation not to recruit small children, and to release all boys and girls under 18.”

The U.N. World Food Program began distributing 10-day rations Wednesday to more than 135,000 recently displaced people in camps.

On Monday, refugees who hadn’t eaten for days cheered when the first humanitarian convey in a week arrived at their camp, but their joy turned to anger when U.N. workers dumped soap and jerrycans instead of food. The convoy didn’t stop but sped through rebel lines.

Such inattention to detail just adds to the pain and suffering of those who cannot defend themselves.

The world must not turn a blind eye to what is taking place in Congo.