The current Democratic Republic of Congo, a Belgian colony from 1885 to 1960, has never really known political stability since its independence on June 30, 1960. First of all personal property of King Leopold II (1885-1908) and then conventional colony of Belgium, the country was quickly exploited, especially after the discovery of vast mineral wealth of Katanga. Despite a slow and continuous improvement people's living standards, the claims, namely, of the intellectuals, different regional communities and religious movements all focus in 1960 on obtaining political rights and lead to a struggle for independence symbolized by Joseph Kasavubu , the first President of Congo and especially Patrice Lumumba, first Prime Minister of the first Republic.
After the assassination of Lumumba in January 1961 and a period of turbulence marked by the attempted session of Katanga and the United Nations intervention in the conflict, the Lieutenant General Mobutu overthrows the elected President Kasavubu on November 24, 1965 and establishes an authoritarian rule with one-party (MPR). In 1972, President Mobutu establishes the policy of "Zairianization" based on the nationalization of commercial property and real estate owned by nationals or foreign financial groups. This policy that allows him to strengthen his regime results in a tremendous economic failure. Favor-selling, rampant corruption and rising foreign debt eventually weaken Zaire which continues to be supported, however, in the wake of the Cold War, by the former colonial power Belgium, the United States and France.
In 1996, Mobutu, weakened by illness and deserted by his former allies , with the exception of France, is unable to cope with a heterogeneous coalition by the name of AFDL (Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo) supported by Rwanda, Uganda and Angola and funded by the mining lobbies. The AFDL forces enter Kinshasa without actual fighting on May 17, 1997 headed by a former rebel Laurent Kabila who proclaimed himself president of the country that was then renamed Democratic Republic of Congo.
A year later, the former allies, Rwanda and Uganda, rise against Kabila himself and raise two politico-military movements which start a new war from the East: JP Bemba's MLC ( Congo Liberation Movement) supported by Uganda and A. Ruberwa's RCD (Congolese Rally for Democracy). Unable to fight these opponents, LD Kabila called the armies of Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Chad to the rescue for Inter-African clashes which only ended with the Lusaka cease-fire in 1999 and the withdrawal in September 2002 of foreign troops, namely Uganda and Rwanda.
After the signing of the Sun City/Pretoria agreements at the end of 2002, a transitional government made up of various groups from the Inter-Congolese Dialogue was set up. This government, with the support of the international community and in particular the MONUC, sets out to pacify the country and organizes the first free elections since independence. The referendum in December 2005 allows the adoption of the Constitution of the Third Republic, and the 2006-2007 presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections install the new institutions. Joseph Kabila was elected president with 58% of the votes, JP Bemba, his opponent in the second round, got 42%. Vital Kamerhe is the president of the National Assembly while Leon Kengo was elected as president of the Senate. Early 2007, Provincial assemblies and governors take office and give shape to decentralization, which was one of the important claims of the various parties who participated in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue.
Unfortunately, the new republic begins in the middle of fighting in Kinshasa, in March 2007, between supporters of JP Bemba and the Presidential Guard. The exile of JP Bemba and his arrest by the International Criminal Court changes the political landscape and weakens the Congolese opposition. The presidential majority is thus largely dominating the country's political life, both at the national and provincial levels. The continuing presence of armed groups, including the FDLR and CNDP, in the Kivus made it difficult for these two provinces to be pacified and that justified the military combing operations jointly carried out by the FARDC and the MONUC.
Finalement, Joseph Kabila décide d'un rapprochement avec le Rwanda de Paul Kagame et autorise les troupes rwandaises à revenir au Congo pour traquer les FDLR. Ce changement de politique est mal vécu aux Kivu et dans l'Est du pays et entraine la prise de distance de Vital Kamerhe avec la majorité et son éviction de la présidence de l'Assemblée nationale, puis de Mbusa Nyamwisi, allié du président et leader important du Nord Kivu. Enfin, la majorité présidentielle au Parlement parvient à faire modifier la Constitution et à imposer un scrutin à un seul tour pour la présidentielle de 2011.
Finally, Joseph Kabila opts for collaboration with Paul Kagame's Rwanda and allows the Rwandan troops to return to Congo to hunt down the FDLR. This change of policy is badly perceived in the Kivus and in the eastern part of the country and this leads to Vital Kaneohe's disapproval of the ruling majority and his dismissal from the presidency of the National Assembly, followed by Mbusa Nyamwisi, President's ally and important leader in North Kivu. Finally, the presidential majority in parliament manages to amend the Constitution and impose a one-round poll for the 2011 presidential election.
Democratic Republic of Congo
country profile and political background
