Congo: Once Again, Power and Profit Trump Human Dignity

On June 27, 2025, under the shadow of Donald Trump, Rwandan and Congolese officials signed a so-called “peace” agreement at the White House — a deal that once again sacrifices the Congolese people to Western interests.

Just five months ago, Trump shut down USAID’s operations in Congo, cutting off millions from basic humanitarian aid. Now, the same man promises prosperity and peace for the region — and even expects a Nobel Peace Prize in return.

But history makes it clear: what the United States brings to Congo is not peace, but a system of exploitation tailored to its own strategic interests.

From the CIA-backed assassination of Patrice Lumumba in 1960, to Washington’s support of Mobutu’s dictatorship, and now the subservience of President Félix Tshisekedi’s government, U.S. policy in Congo has been consistently destructive. Today’s “peace” deal is nothing more than a new cover for easier access to Congo’s vast mineral wealth.

The West once justified its domination of Africa under the banner of “civilization.” Today, it cloaks its exploitation in the language of peace and development.

Not a Civil War — A Resource War Backed by the West

The violence in Congo is not a tribal conflict nor a simple war between two neighboring countries. It is a decades-long campaign of plunder and destruction carried out with the backing of the United States and other Western powers, fronted by Rwanda and Uganda.

Since 1996, an estimated six million Congolese have been killed, while hundreds of thousands of women have been subjected to systematic rape. Much of eastern Congo remains under the control of militias that the West has directly or indirectly supported for decades.

Rwanda, under President Paul Kagame, has been armed, financed, and politically shielded by Western governments throughout this conflict. As Rwanda’s military footprint in Congo expanded, Western corporations gained easier access to Congo’s minerals.

This year alone, Rwanda’s occupation of Goma — a major city on Congo’s eastern border — left at least 7,000 people dead. The M23 militia, backed by Kigali, has displaced nearly seven million civilians. These atrocities cannot be dismissed as local disputes; they are part of a calculated war of exploitation, aided and abetted by global powers.

A “Peace” Agreement Without Justice

The agreement signed in Washington is not a step toward justice but a document of impunity.

It imposes no sanctions on the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who remain responsible for mass killings and systematic displacement. Instead, Doha is being prepared as a diplomatic stage for them, legitimizing their role in the conflict.

Even worse, the deal frames the FDLR — a Hutu militia tied to the 1994 genocide — as the main threat, effectively giving Rwanda justification to maintain its military presence inside Congo. As Maurice Carney of Friends of the Congo notes, this “security guarantee” echoes Israel’s claim of self-defense in Gaza while committing mass atrocities.

The agreement demands no accountability for decades of massacres, rapes, and pillage. Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnès Callamard condemned the accord, stating: “By failing to address the entrenched impunity in eastern Congo, this agreement misses a historic opportunity to tackle the root causes of the conflict.”

In reality, the deal opens the door for Rwanda and U.S. companies to tighten their grip on Congo’s mineral wealth. While Congo produces 70% of the world’s cobalt, Rwanda — which has almost none — has become a leading exporter by funneling stolen resources from Congolese mines through militias like M23.

The Real Target: Congo’s $24 Trillion in Minerals

Trump’s sudden concern for a country he can barely locate on a map is hardly humanitarian. His real goal is to outmaneuver China, which currently controls much of Congo’s mining sector, and secure cheap access to strategic minerals.

With an estimated $24 trillion in untapped mineral wealth, Congo is not just a technological prize but a geopolitical battleground.

The so-called U.S. “security guarantees” in eastern Congo are in fact guarantees of uninterrupted access to mining zones. This is where private military actors step in: Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, is reported to hold stakes in mining ventures in Congo, while Gentry Beach, Trump’s former campaign financier, is negotiating rights over the Rubaya coltan mine — seized by M23 rebels earlier this year.

Russia, too, is part of this resource scramble. Wagner mercenaries in Central Africa have already been trading military support for mining concessions, and their presence in Congo threatens to escalate the conflict further.

The result is clear: Congo has become a chessboard for global powers, with its people paying the price.

Tshisekedi Turns Away from Africa to the West

When renewed fighting broke out in January, Rwandan President Paul Kagame visited Ankara to seek mediation from Turkey. Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi rejected the offer, insisting, “African problems need African solutions.”

Yet, only weeks later, Tshisekedi turned to Washington, handing over Congo’s mineral future in exchange for U.S. “mediation.”

This contradiction reveals the vicious cycle Africa’s leaders perpetuate: in moments of crisis, they prioritize their own political survival over their people, running back to the very powers that exploit them.

The Price of a False Peace

The true losers of this agreement are the Congolese people. After decades of war, displacement, and suffering, they now face a future where even “peace” is reduced to a bargain over their land and resources.

But Congo’s tragedy is also Africa’s tragedy. This deal legitimizes a new form of colonialism, where Africa’s richest resources bring not prosperity but deeper poverty, violence, and dependence. Once again, Africa is being condemned to suffer for its own abundance.

Because in the end, an unjust peace is simply another name for exploitation.

The Power of Truth, the Weakness of Justice

International media outlets openly admit that Washington’s Congo policy is driven by cobalt and coltan. Yet these revelations do little to alter the reality on the ground.

As genocide unfolds in Gaza with impunity today, tomorrow Congo’s people will continue to endure massacres, mass displacement, and child labor in the mines — all to serve the interests of global powers.

Once again, the interests of the powerful prevail over the values of humanity.

 

This article was originally published in Independent Türkçe, on July 9, 2025.

https://www.indyturk.com/node/761549/t%C3%BCrki%CC%87yeden-sesler/kongo-g%C3%BC%C3%A7l%C3%BC-olan%C4%B1n-%C3%A7%C4%B1karlar%C4%B1-bir-kez-daha-insani-de%C4%9Ferlerin-%C3%B6n%C3%BCnde