I know we're all focused (rightly) on the elections and the fall of capitalism, but there is a scary situation developing in the the Democratic Republic of Congo that shouldn't get lost in the news.
Laurent Nkunda's Tutsi-led rebel group has already "secured" locations in eastern DRC, near the Rwandan border. The UN has attacked back, but as I understand it, is now in a retreat mode while the rebel group marches towards Goma -- the eastern-most provinical capital in the DRC. I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of the fighting in the DRC, but this does seem to be a fight over resources (the DRC has loads of diamonds, coltan and other minerals) that threatens to boil over into another ethnic war. I worry that this will spread to Rwanda, which has reached an uneasy peace after the 1994 genocide.
Why does this matter? Well, for one, it just shows how unstable the world is and that we need a leader who won't add to the destabilization. But this is a also a situation that has the potential for destabilizing a large portion of the African continent. The DRC is the 3rd largest country in Africa and is centrally located.
The west has already ignored the 1994 Rwandan genocide and largely ignored the genocide taking place in The Sudan. We owe it to the world to make sure this story gets out and to let the UN and the US govt know that, as citizens of this country, we can't sit by and let another genocide take place because we simply can't be bothered to care. For those who are interested, here's an article on the developing situation:
http://ap.google.com/...
and here's a blog that has some "non-reporter" updates of the developing situation:
http://gorilla.cd/...
UPDATE:
I emailed Obama about this situation yesterday (he's my Senator) and received this reply today:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your concerns about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). I appreciate having the benefit of your perspective on this important matter.
This issue has been a priority of mine in the Senate, and I am pleased to report that at the end of 2006, Congress passed the Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act (S. 2125), a bill I wrote with my Republican colleague Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) which supports the country in its transition to democracy. This bill sets forth U.S. policy objectives with respect to the DRC and ensures critical assistance for programs to resolve the instability, promote good governance, and address humanitarian needs.
Yet, in eastern Congo, continued violence could destroy any gains the country has made since its first free presidential elections in 40 years were held last year. The violence has been marked, in particular, by systematic sexual assaults against women and girls. In October 2007, I wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to convey my deep concerns about the atrocities against Congolese women. I asked Secretary Rice to answer a series of questions about what the United States government is doing to help curb this violence against women. A copy of that letter and the State Department's response are enclosed for your review.
Unless increased attention is given to consolidating security gains and achieving political solutions to the conflict in eastern Congo, lasting peace and stability in the DRC will remain elusive. The United States has both humanitarian and security interests in a prosperous DRC, and, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Africa Subcommittee, please be assured of my continued attention and commitment to addressing this issue.
Thank you again for contacting me, and please feel free to keep in touch on this or any other matter of importance to you.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
I try to be informed and even I don't know everything Obama has accomplished as a Senator. Yet another reason why we need THIS man to be president.
UPDATE 2:
Here's some additional Q&A information about the conflict from salon.com: http://www.salon.com/...
Update 3: The mainstream media is reporting on this. Here's a first hand account from MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
CNN's account: http://www.cnn.com/...
Good overview from the BBC about the region:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
And here's BBC's account of the day's fighting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...