Democracy in Congo?

No one knows the answer to this question. Final results for the elections are out and Joseph Kabila has won them comfortably. But as usual, nothing seems to have changed. East voted for Kabila and the west for Jean-Pierre Bemba. Bemba, as expected, has refused to accept the results and plans to challenge it in the Supreme Court. So what is Democratic Republic of Congo( previously Zaire) all about and what do people fight for?

DR Congo is at the heart of the equatorial region of Sub-Saharan Africa and includes 47% of the continent's forest. The Congo River and its tributaries form an economic lifeline due to the lack of decent roads( total length of the roads is 300 miles in a country bigger than the whole of Western Europe). The country boasts huge reserves of gold, some 30% of the world's diamond reserves, more than 70% of the valuable coltan mineral,a vital ingredient in mobile phones, besides vast deposits of cobalt, copper and bauxite. Most of these reserves are in east and that is where the fighting has been concentrated.

4 million have died since 1998 and even today, close to 1200 people die everyday because of direct or indirect consequences of the war.From Belgians in colonial times to Mobutu Sese Seko( the guy who hosted Ali and Foreman for the Jungle in The Rumble at Kinshasa), everyone has pillaged this land. After the Belgians left in 1960, the country was ruled by Mobutu Sese Seko before he was deposed in a rebellion by Laurent Kabila( father of Joseph) in 1997. Laurent was killed in 2oo1 and since then, Joseph has taken the command.

Today there is hope but it still seems too early...things do not change for good that easily in Africa. How do you get 210 tribes together with such history of animosity? And combine that with Diamonds!!! Isn't it surprising that those regions which are rich in natural resources around the world are the most fucked up?