Les blues de Bruxelles

The recent update included the possibility where I would blog on 'urgent matters' in spite of me lacking time. This post already exploits that built-in glitch in my otherwise quite firm schedule. The topic once again is the protest against Kabila's re-election as president of Congo. This connects to former posts in which I made a brief sketch of the candidates and commented on Europe's waning commitment to promote democratic values.

Congolese in Matonge with a sign praising the Belgian
anti-establishment party N-VA, of which Bart (de) Wever
is the chairman. They are blatantly missing the point...

This post is a result of my indignation toward anti-Kabila protests in Belgium. Ever since the results of the Congolese presidential elections have been announced, people have been protesting in the Congolese Matonge neighborhood of Brussels. People of Congolese origin are unhappy that Belgium tolerates Kabila's alleged election fraud. They wave Flemish nationalist flags (?!) and they accuse the Belgian establishment. They are totally missing the point! The Congolese in Belgium are fitting themselves an identity that does not exist. As they see it, the West supports Kabila's oppression out of economic self-interest. This view of course can not account for the lack of unity within Congo. I do not deny that economic patterns play a defining role. Complex reality can however not be reduced to a one-on-one relationship of Western exploitation and Congolese dictatorship.

Congolese waving a Flemish flag during the protests.
This can well be considered a strange sight in Brussels.

Colonial inheritance, Cold War dynamics and modern day globalization trough interplay shaped the Congolese economy to what it is today: an inconsistent amalgam of Western-dominated resource extraction, feudal farming methods and an informal petty market in urbanized regions. The Congolese economy is directed at meeting external demand and as such can not realize domestic development. The people of Congo are forced to fall back on the local community to satisfy their basic needs. This causes commitment to a regional identity created along ethnic and cultural divides. Since an economic base is lacking, no civil community or indeed 'nation' can develop.

Without nationhood the central government lacks the legitimacy it needs to be effective. In addition local patterns of clientelism and ethnic tensions are projected into the government institutions. Different groups became engage in a struggle for power over the state, an instrument of which each community wants to avoid that it gets used against its own security concerns. Where the state fails to provide public good, local communities struggle for power. This is the case in Congo - there is no Congolese nation, no Congolese citizenship, no Congolese identity.

The protesters in Brussels are trapped by the modernity paradigm. They blame Western egotism but remain trapped in a liberal discourse of progress and citizenship. I encourage them to tackle the real economic causes which lie underneath. Even if this means recognizing that part of the fault lies with local Congolese interests and the understandable but backward reliance on a closed identity.

Congolese elections and European values

A few days before the Congolese were to choose their new president, I blogged about the candidates. Last week the results of those elections were announced: Joseph Kabila succeeds himself as president of the Congo DR. He is believed to be won with little under half of the votes. However, he is not believed to be so by everyone: Supporters of Étienne Tshisekedi, who came in second, called the elections a fraud. They point toward the 'irregularities' that occurred to support their case. While it is true that not everything about the election process was democracy proper, all by all the result is called credible by the authorized commission.

Belgian police forces restraining Congolese protesters in
Matonge - the Congolese district in Brussels, Belgium.

Kabila was not elected by a majority of the people and in a one-to-one race against Tshisekedi he would surely bite the dust. The incumbent president profited from the divided opposition as I predicted in my previous post. Tshisekedi's followers, and indeed the political leader himself, fail to recognize this. While in the urbanized region of the capital opposition against Kabila is strong, the majority of the nation accepts a second term. Riots in Congo or abroad (we had some trouble with protesters in Matonge, the Congolese neighborhood of Brussels) are ungrounded. I do recognize that the grievances held against the Kabila regime are just, but the election outcome is representative.

What I find a real pity is that Europe didn't send a strong signal when tensions rose. A call to 'sit back and stay calm' can hardly be called a signal, can it? I noticed that the Old Continent is no longer as agile in promoting democratic ideals. Congo is just a single dot in a much broader pattern: values are forced to take a back seat more often than should be good for our conscience. Take for instance a bilateral trade agreement between the EU and Columbia: should we really strike a deal with a regime that doesn't take too kindly to human rights? The same goes for a deal in the making with India; the Indian government refuses to accept any trade agreement that holds a clause on human rights - and the EU is actually considering to drop its standard human rights clause!

It can be expected that this tendency will grow stronger in the future, and this for two reasons: First of all, the playing field for international trade is changing drastically. Countries like India, China and Brazil gain prominence and they are not stupid enough to attach value judgements to their contracts. Also, Russia is joining the WTO soon - this nation isn't exactly a staunch defender of personal freedom either. Holding on to its noble ethics would compromise the competitiveness of the EU. A second cause might be the declining power of the Commission and the Parliament. They have lost some of their grip on foreign policy since the creation of the External Action Service. What the future might hold, I can not say, but for sure fragmented and superficial protest wont bend the forces that shape our world.

'GOP' election fever

I apologize to those of you who came here expecting something on the upcoming US primaries. Indeed 'GOP' (Grand Old Party) is a nick for our dear fellows of the Republican Party. If you wish to read about those I recommend keeping an eye on this all-American blog. My post here will be about a more recent display of election fever: the election of a 'Good Old President' in Congo-Kinshasa. Tomorrow, monday October 28, the Congolese people will elect a new president. Or they can of course extend the mandate of the incumbent one. Not many people are familiar with Congolese politics, so first up is an overview of the main candidates:

Joseph Kabila is the incumbent president of the Democratic Republic Congo. He holds the office for the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy. Kabila has a considerable support base with the urban population, who profited from his policies. The president, however, has a lot of opponents too. And not without reason as you might expect. Congo still has trouble in strengthening its democratic institutions and obtaining a positive economic outlook. Did you know that Congo has the highest rate of extreme hunger while, at the same time, it holds the second highest agricultural potential? Until 2010, Congo didn't even have an agricultural policy!

Joseph Kabila of the social-democratic PPRD. Incumbent president of the Congo DR.

Main opponent of president Kabila is Étienne Tshisekedi of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress. Tsishekedi has some very militant supporters who feel that the current regime did not carry out its promises. Supporters who already announced not to stand idle if Kabila succeeds himself. A major issue for victory over Kabila is that the elections consist of just one round. This might strengthen the position of Tshisekedi as most likely of all opposing candidates, due to strategic voters. Though it is more likely that the opposition will be divided and that not a single candidate will gain enough votes to trump Kabila.

Étienne Tshisekedi of the liberal-conservative UDPS

Tshisekedi has been a 'constructive opposer' in former political settings. He even made it to Prime Minister on some brief occasions. Despite his liberal and conservative views he is my personal favorite. He has a sense for realism and wants to tackle issues of corruption. I thus named my post after this 'Good Old Premmy'. Other interesting candidates are the also very popular Vital Kamerhe of the Union for a Congolese Nation and the more radical François Joseph Mobutu of the Union of Mobutuist Democracts. Both of these candidates promote Congolese unity, though with very different accents.

As you might have noticed 'construction' and 'progress' are buzzwords. All parties have inspiring names, but their capacities are all too often overrated. That is why I set my hopes on the reasonable voice of Tshisekedi. Soon enough we will get an idea of what the Congolese future looks like. Even more important than a capable candidate to win is for all losing candidates to accept their defeat, and not resort to violence. The drama we saw in the capital Kinshasa the past two days is a shame. Unfortunately, Tshisekedi too negated the prohibition on gathering earlier today. I hope this was just a stunt in his campaign and not a prelude to actual destabilization.