SWP Public Meeting
Public Meeting
Thursday 11th December @8pm
Central Hotel, Exchequer St., Dublin 2
War in the Congo and the new scramble for Africa.
Speakers:
Blaise Tangamu Mwanza-Congo Ireland Union,
Philip Ikurusi-Niger Delta,
Luke Bukharin-Zimbabwe
and Sara O’Rourke SWP.
While much focus has been on the credit markets and stock exchanges of the western world, we should not forget that hundreds of thousands are also fighting for their very lives in parts of Africa. Imperialism has devastated the continent and the new economic crisis will make it worse.
Between 1998 and 2003 the United Nations (UN) has estimated that the war in the Congo led to the deaths of as many as 5.2 million civilians. It is the bloodiest conflict since the end of the Second World War.
This is not a “civil” war but an international one. It has pulled in neighbouring states that have armed rebel groups and involved Western multinationals and governments that supported different sides in their attempts to control mines and minerals in the DRC.
Almost all African countries are highly dependent on the sale of raw materials and agricultural products, both of which are very vulnerable to dips in world commodity prices.
Supporters of the market continue to blame the lack of “pro-business” reforms for the condition Africa is in. These are precisely the kind of deregulations that have made the problems worse in Britain and the US.
So come along to the meeting on December 11th to hear more about the current situation in Africa.
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