Causes of Rwandas Involvement in the DRC

Ca personas of Rwandas Involvement in the DRCTo what bound has Rwandas amourin the DRC been of economicallyrather than militarily motivated?Abstract battleThat word fight backs the recital of Rwanda and the select republic of the congou, in toll of their essential fights as to who go away belatedlyrality the destinies of these countries. The saga has encompassed over forty years, and as neighbours, has touched and impacted both countries negatively. Africa is cognise for its high leg of internal causality struggles that carry left its masses in poverty as a exit of its leaders seeking policy-making control at rise up-nigh all cost. This condition has not escaped either Rwanda or the classless Republic of the congou.This study shall seek to netherstand the dynamics of the national fri stopping pointship mingled with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the congou in damage of the free that Rwandas involvement has been economically or militarily oriented. Th e forego represents the hazard to examine the relationship of these two neighbouring countries to uncover the intent as head as record of the dynamics that have and atomic number 18 shaping their interaction. existenceThe purpose of this examination has broad and far-reaching implications, in that it seeks to aspect ate the really core of the relationship of these two African nation states. As such, the objectives will entailThe formulation of an understand of the diachronic nuances and overt interaction amid these two countries.Taking a look at the armed services as tumefy as economic involvement.Delving into the political and regional circumstances that have had and or argon having a bearing on the introductory.Equating the finis that military or economic involvement has been and or is an issueThe nature of this inquiry requires an examination of two dissimilar nations, economic science and military activities, as easy as how these magnate and or have dovetailed into each other(a), as the lines of separation are not always clear. groundKey to judgment the nature of the question that asks the extent that Rwandas involvement with the Democratic Republic of the congou tea has been economically rather than militarily motivated, a brief understanding of the histories of these two countries will bear a hind endal underpinning to uncover the direction of their relationship and national connections. Rwanda is located in the east-central region of Africa, bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in an area that measures 26,338 square kilometres1.Figure 1 Map of Rwanda2Orginally inhabited by a Pygmy tribe called the Twa, the agriculuturally founded Hutus suplanted them ab come in six centuries ago3. In order to plant crops the Hutus cleared forests and evented persistent settlements4. The Twa chill out remian in Rwanda, although their population is estimated to number roughly 1 portion of the gen eral total5. As was the eggshell with Africa in that period, other tribes migrated to the region, whose greenery and grass earthly concerns move the cattle owning Tutsi6. Aslo known as Watutsi, they came to the region of Rwanda around the 1600s and were consisted as much elite than the Hutus even though the two groups speak the same language7. declare leave of the rea intelligence as to why the Tutsi (Watutsi) were considered elite is that they are extremely tall, averaging 2.1 metres in height, and of thin build8. The aristocratic leanings of the Tutsi, they held the peasant Hutu in fuedal subjugation9.The opinions on the differences amid the cultures of the Hutu and Tutis is marginal, consisting primarly of the artless versus cattle tendencies of the aforementioned. Considerable intermarriage between the two groups further water down differences, with the couple assuming the race of the fathers, and the difference in terms of tribe constructed along the lines of a caste m usical ar prunement whereby the Tutsi are considered the high house10. Prior to the arrival of the Germans, the disposition system that existed in Rwanda was highly set up and presided over by what is termed as a Umwami (king) that was usually of the Nyiginya clan of a Tutsi sub-group11. In the administrative pecking order the Umwami had almost absolute power, and was assisted bt troika gaffers12A military chief that over saw the army and saw to the maintenance of ace of the territory and expansion.A cattle chief that supervised all matters representing cattle, paring as well(p) as the settlement of dis vestes, andA worldly concern chief that oversaw agriculture, produce and allied concerns.The introductory is in keeping with the cultural hit up of the territory that was comprised of cattle and bucolic tribes, along with their protection and securing superfluous lands. Within the aforementioned pecking order the Umwami and the military and cattle chiefs were Tutsi, w ith the agricultural chief generally being Hutu13. The Rwandan society represents a system that is termed as ubuhake, that is a type of caste system of the landed gentry, the less landed, and the ordinary citizens14. there are those who argue that in reality that the economic system of Ubuhake enables a symbitic relationship between the wealthy and priveged calsses with the less priviliged15. The preceding system and class relationsips enjoyed a 400 year muniment of peacefulness.The Germans colonise Rwanda in 1899, ruling the agricultural indirectly through the Mwami and the three chieftans via a protecorate arrangement as a result of the effectiveness of the Rwandan Ubuhabe system16. During the first foundation War the province became known as Ruanda-Urundi, which delineated a junto of Rwanda and Burundi under a Belgian League of Nations mandate17. The preceding launch a trust territory under the fall in Nations that lasted until 194618. During that period the Belgium adm inistration at first maintained Tutsi dominance in the Ubuhabe governmental system overseen by the Mwani and the three chieftans19. The preceding was slowly deviated to a power share-out arrangement between the Tutsi and Hutu after ethnic tensions escalated into a well-bredised state of war that forced a heavy(p) number of Tutsi to leave the region20. The 1st of July 1962 saw the mandated country of Ruanda-Urundi seperated back into Rwanda and Burundi, with the more(prenominal) numberous Hutus ruling the country.With a major(ip)ity of the population represent by Hutu (85%), to only 15% for the Tutsi, the change in political structure in 1962 was inevitable21. It is important to note that the involution between the Hutu and Tutsi began as early as the 1950s when Tutsi forces attacked the Hutu politician Dominique Mbonyumutwa, setting out what is called the wind of destruction as the Hutu attacked the Tutsi population22. In 1959 the Hutus overthrew the Tutsi king, which alike contributed to the preceding23. Some 150,000 Tutsi that flew the country as a result of Hutu control setting up guerrila goups in neighboring countries, noteably Uganda24. Over the ensuing years, the children of the exiles formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front, that started a civil war in 199025.The preceding historical compass is important in understanding the chain of events that transpired in Rwanda, studying it to present twenty- quadruplet hours. That history, present day stemming from the 1990s, contains the fore runner as well as aftermath of events that represent the purpose of this study, that will be investigated in a review of literary works to delve into background facets. As Rwanda represents the central country in this study, the Democratic Republic of the Congo shall be explored later. The focus of this examination is to look into the extent that the involvement of Rwanda with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been movitivated more by political econom y than military reasons.MethodologyThe investigation as proposed by this study is a question that entails looking deeply into the status and ramifications of the relations of these two countries on a number of levels. As it is probable that there is no publications or other look breeding available that equates this question directly, the move up to this study will have to take on varied directions and research approaches to uncover randomness germane to the examination. The preceding being the general general case, the research method actingology will of course include a extensive breathe of secondary research credits to secure historical as well as contemporary information. given(p) that this study entails two sovereign countries, the history between these two nations represents the logical starting point, as the eraline of convergence with admire to the Rwanda and the Congo thus represents the starting point in examining the nature of their relations. The preceding repr esents a key to this study as the answer to the question as posed by this examination exists whatsoeverwhere within the antecedent. Secondary research provides the opportunity to review the largest and broadest amount of information possible as it entails books, journals, powder magazine articles, newspapers and Internet sources26. The foregoing affords the opportunity to look at many differing facets, as the scope of economic and military interaction can take on many forms, especially in the context of the unstructured region of Africa that has a long history of intra nation conflicts and other disputes.Secondary research represents a technique that is used extensively as it provides a broad estate of informational possibilities and inputs as well as opinions that might contain and or provide insight and or information that aids in the examination. The shortcoming of the bear on of utilising secondary research is that the possibility exists that one might be flying field to t he possible bias of the author whose work was conducted to delve into, prove, understand or make a point. However, secondary research also provides a delegacy to minimise that potential through using and or searching for facts that circulate themselves in more than one source. The preceding duality of data provides some assurance that the information and or information direction has some validity. Powell27 asserts that the foregoing represents a sane course of research in that secondary sourcesare generally plentiful,that in using secondary sources, one needs to act care in looking for as well as sketch out pertinent information,that a benefit of secondary research is that large volumes of data can be correlated in a time frame that is reasonable,the expense of obtaining secondary research is extremely beneficial,the broad range of possibilities as offered by the exposure to a wide breathe of information makes secondary research more valuable in that it is easy to aver most inf ormation.As is always the case with an upside in any endeavour that are the negative connotations as well. Powell28 brings fore these areas by advisingIn terms of word usage and meaning, the seeming direction of statements can take on a different connotation and or meaning in a detail context or series of contexts than one might be prepared to understand or acknowledge.The aforementioned bias in terms of the source can skew information as indicated. The recommended method to minimise such an occurrence is by comparative information from other sources.The dating and or ageing of information can potentially change the validity of researched data if new developments have changed the outcomes, or data is unveil later that invalidates conceptions that existed before. Seeking historical and contemporary research to look for unanimity with regard to the foregoing aids in minimising dated or information that has lost its relevance.In keeping with the preceding need to ensure that new-f angled information, discoveries and or findings did not or had not changed the conditions of the study, the Internet was utilised to look for potential modifications in approaches, as well as to compare source reliability. The research used vicenary research to a pocketable degree as it helped in the understanding of question components from an historical perspective. Daymon and Holloway29 advise that quantitative measures tend to have a large-scale approach that focuses on specific factors that are thus looked at in relationship to other data. stipulation the need to uncover information in a quest for the answer, which at the time of beginning the research was unknown, quantitative research was the only practicable course of action.Literature ReviewIn conducting the examination of the historical Background of Rwanda in Section 2.0, a look into the developmental aspects of the country brought forth the progression of events that helped to shape the country up to the 1990s. In or der to bring into focus the purpose of this study as represented by to what extent has Rwandas involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) been of economically movitated as opposed to military reasons, a brief look into the developmental path of the country from the 1990s is in order.4.1 RwandaAs brought forth in Section 2.0 Background, the countrys history was shaped by the administrative skills of the Tutsi who took control of the country nearly 400 years ago. That rule lasted until 1 July 1962 that saw the mandated country of Ruanda-Urundi seperated back into Rwanda and Burundi, with the more numberous Hutus ruling the country30. The civil war that gripped the country in the 1990s was, has has been the history of Africa, and the world, a struggle for power and wealth31. Though vastly outnumbered in terms of population, the Hutu were not as organised or bloodthrusty as the Tutsi. A large number of the exiled Tutsi served in the Uganda rebel forces and learned guerilla ta ctics, thus providing them with needed experience32. The preceding provided the foundation for the Rwandan Patriotic Front under Paul Kagame to gain recruits and thus their mean invasion of Rwanda33. The fierce fighting for the three year period between 1990 and 1993 prompted a cease fire that became known s the Arusha conformity, which was devised to organised a power sharing government to end the civil conflict that had caused the switching of over 1.5 meg Hutus that had been massacred by the Rwandan Patriotic Front34.The preceding Arusha accord crumbled as a result of an assassination of the Hutu Burundi president Melchior Ndadaye by Burundian Tutsi in their army35. That event spurred a new era of Hutu / Tutsi hatred that caused the accord to crumble. Ensuing events saw the Rwandan Patriotic Front bomb the Rwanda capital of Kigali, as well as assassinate the Hutu president of Rwanda as well as the Hutu president of Burundi by shooting down their jet as it attempted a landing in Kigali36. The preceding evnts caused an intensification in the conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates37. The Tutsi led forces continued their military campaign, capturing the capital and at long last caused over 2 million Hutus to flee the country 38. The Tutsi dominantion again asseverate itself in Rwanda as it took control of the government in 1994 at the end of the civil war and have held power since, The Rwandan Patriotic Front re-wrote the history of its racial extermination and placed its version of how events transpired into the consitution39.4.2 The Democratic Republic of the CongoThe area known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was inhabited approximately 10,000 years ago, and was settled by the Bantu people from what is now known as Nigeria between the 7th and 8th centuries40. The Portuguguese navigator Diego Cao discovered the Congo in 1482, and it is well known as the locale that was explored by face journalist Henry Morton Stanley 41.Figure 2 Democratic Republic of the Congo42The Congo was originally given the name Zaire as a result of Diego Cao misspelling the Kilongo term for river43. At that time, the Kongo kingdom as it was spelled thence44stretched from newtonern Angola to the north bank of the Congo River, in the area now known as Bas Zaire. The kingdom, with its capital at Mbanza Kongo, had a well-established centralized system of government it was divided into six dutys, each administered by a local governor name by the king. Within each province Kongo district chiefs governed in their various(prenominal) areas, and at the village level headmen were accountable to the district chiefs. The king was elected from the male descendants of the individual who had conquered the area. Although he was a member of the noblesse and appeared to have absolute power, the king was in fact subject to the control of a council of elders who could depose him.Soon after Diego Caos discovery the Lusitanian government established diplomatic relations with the kingdom that fostered socioeconomic exchanges45. The exploit of that union brought Catholicism to Zaire (The Democratic Republic of the Congo), along with Portuguese customs46. The preceding47. greatly facilitated development of the break ones back trade in the region. Slaves purchased from the Kongo provided cheap elbow grease for plantations on nearby Portuguese islands and, subsequently, the AmericasThe slave trade escalated into an issue as it depopulated vast areas and also resulted inborder raids thus causing warefare with neighboring tribes48. The economics of the slave trade cause fighting within Zaire itself as rival groups fought for dominance49. Internal infighting over the slave trade undermined political office and created social stratification in the kingdom 50. The history of the Congo was not as politically charged as Rwanda, yet as has been the case in all Afgrican c ountries, the paths to independence and after have been faught with issues. In humanitarian to the slave trade, there was also the ivory trade that brought Arabs into the Congo fostered the slave trade as well as in ivory51.In the late 1950s the subject of decolonialisation was brought up by professorship Charles de Gaulle for the French colonies in Africa fueling the desire for the same status in the Congo52. The Belgians were given some indication of the extent of Congolese nationalist feeling when riots broke out in the capital in 195953. The change in the overall political approach to Africa fostered the offering of free elections in 1960 and resulted in installing Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president of the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo 54. Lumumbas victory was by a narrow margin, with his ships company gaining just 24% of the 137 seats in the Assembly, thus underscoring the fragmentation that existed in party affiliations 55. As a re sult of the foregoing independence did not contact the expectations that the country dreamed of. Within two weeks of the elections the country plunged into a major crisis following the mutiny of the former colonial army and the secession of Katanga, its richest province56.The new Democratic Republic of the Congo was suffering its first crisis that lasted for four years and resulted in the deployment of U.N. peacekeeping forces57. Patrice Lumumba was assassinated on order from then U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower as a result of his strong commie affiliations during the frigidness War period58. That situation enabled the United States to install their hand picked selection Joseph want Mobutu, who later changed his forename to Sese Seko, who had been a sergeant in the army The preceding was accomplished by a coup detat in 196559. Mobutu established a dictatorship that was backed up by his military cronies, as well as the United States, Belgium and France in order to ensure that communist party forces could not regain control of what was now called Zaire60. The foregoing adherence was needed as Mobutu faced rebellion from armed insurgents seeking to corrupt him 61. The arrangement failed in 1997 when the rebels forced Mobutu to flee the country62.Nzongola63 helps us to understand the linkage between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) as he advises64The insurgence that brought about Mobutus demise is directly related to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the shaping moment of the current political situation in the Great Lakes region. manage the ethnic cleansing in the Katanga and Kivu provinces of Mobutus Zaire, the Rwandan genocide was partly a result of the violent backlash of authoritarian governances against the democracy movement. In the Rwanda case, the late President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, had been in power since 1973. During 20 years of personal rule, he steadfastly refused to allow Tutsi victims of the 1959 pogrom and subse quent violence, who were in exile in neighbouring countries, to sideboard home. Under the leadership of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), the Tutsi diaspora in Uganda launched a military campaign to overthrow the Habyarimana regime in October 1990. France, Belgium and Mobutus Zaire came to the dictators rescue and prevented an RPF victory.The background history on Rwanda, in terms of the Arusha Peace Agreement that was sign(a) on 4 August 1993, brings these two countries developmental path into scalelike proximity 65. The Congo shares part of its border with Rwanda, thus affording the Tutsi a hole as a rallying point for raids and attacks. Nzongola tells us66In this situation, the disintegration of the Mobutu regime provided Rwanda with an opportunity to make incursions into the Kivu provinces in order to destroy the bases of the ex-FAR and the Interahamwe, beginning in August 1996. When it appeared that the Mobutu regime was militarily incapable of challenging these incursion s, Rwanda and Uganda assembled a merger of states in Eastern and Southern Africa including Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe with the objective of getting rid of Mobutu altogether.4.3 putting surface Histories Between the Two CountriesThe preceding historical summaries of the violent regimes in Rwanda and the Congo have a commonality, control of these respective countries. The series of conflicts in Rwanda has resulted in large refugee populations in its neighbouring countries, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo receiving the largest number of them since the genocide of 199467. The displaced persons formed the foundation for the long series of conflicts in Rwanda that has had a destabilizing effect on the entire Great Lakes region, including Rwanda68. As set forth in Chapter 2.0 Background, the Hutus comprise approximately 85% of the Rwandan population as upraiseers. One of the economic problems that has and does face the country is the scarcity of land for agriculture, along with access to resources69. The problem has caused cultivation to encroach on wetlands as well as earmark and national park areas in order to met the demands of the poor, with the large numbers of displaced Rwandans placing stock on areas such as forests and other ecologically sensitive areas70.Given the 85% agriculturally based Hutu population in Rwanda, land scarcity represents an issue that has plagued the country since the 1980s, which has been further exacerbated by the Tutsi / Hutu conflicts. As one of the most thickly populated countries in Africa, Rwandas land shortage problem has been an historical facet71. An example of the dwindling land space in Rwanda is evidenced by the fact that the average land held by household in the country has decreased from 2 ha in 1960, down to 1.2 ha in 1984, dropping to 0.7 ha in the beginning of the 1990s, and as of 2001 just under 60% of all Rwandan household held less than 0.5 ha 72. The country has an overa ll area of 26,338 square km, and a population of approximately 8 million that translates into a population density of approximately 300 people per kilometre73. Of the foregoing overall land total 1.3 million hectares is estimated as arable, with 165,000 hectares of marshlands, of which an estimated 50% is fitting for agriculture. Agriculture is the cornerstone of the Rwandan economy, and occupies over 90% of the countrys campestral area 74. The preceding foundation, agriculture and the economy, is fraught with issues as represented by75The country has a high density of population that puts extreme pressures on land area and usage. The average cultivation plot per household is around 0.6 ha, which is down the stairs the 0.9 ha as recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.The preceding conditions have led to the over utilisation of the land, made more problematic by the lack of proper crop rotation techniques and solid food use thus leading to cont inued degradation. The lack of the foregoing as well as conservation methods and proper equipment has further exacerbated the problem.The genocide of 1994 is still impacting land use and agriculture in that plots left to orphans and widows by family members who are deceased has not been managed properly.The land system in Rwanda is controlled under frequent law that is skewed towards the partitioning of land via a father to son inheritance system.The preceding, inheritance system, makes the land system unfavorable to women as well as female children.The poverty level of the country means that agricultural are backward, lacking proper equipment, use of nutrients and crop rotation techniques.The preceding are known problems, which the Rwandan government has addressed through the following purify measures76Institutions such as the Ministry of Lands, along with the Human Settlement as well as environmental Protection policies have been established since 1999.The country has locomote to develop a National land Policy as well as Land Law that are dedicated to promote the use of good land management. The main innovations under the later are represented by a new legal framework that regulates the registration of land, along with the delivery of its title through a leasehold period of 99 years. It also includes a framework that regulates land planning.Under consideration is a aim that utilises a centrally based and computerized National Land Information organization to facilitate an accurate as well as complete land database through which effective land management can be put into place. The foregoing includes district centres to gather information through survey and funding of titles, as well as closer liaison in terms of overseeing and delivering land management procedures and utilisation.Limited natural resources in Rwanda, as represented by columbite-tantalite, cassiterite, and wolframite are the most important minerals, followed by small deposits of gold and s apphires77. Agriculture represents 43% of the countrys economy, which primarily consists of coffee and tea exports that have yet to return to the pre 1996 genocide levels78. The countrys agricultural system is comprised primarily of small family farms that keep approximately 80% of their output for their own consumption, thus leaving little for export79. Typical family farm growth crops consists of bananas 62.5%, sweet potatoes 17.9%, Cassava 4.5%, Irish potatoes 4.3%, beans and peas 3.9%, sorghum 2.9%, maize 1.4% along with wheat, soya and groundnuts80. In total, the planted areas still represent 87% of the 1994 levels81. economically the country achieved a growth rate of 6.6% in the