Brazil prepares for another month of political battle as run-off looms in February
A member of the media holds the new bill, which was passed on a bipartisan vote, during a news conference outside Bangu history square to celebrate the historic adoption of the bill which will allow the use of the Congolese flag in primary elections.
Photo Credit: AFP
New York- Paris-London- Washington- Tokyo; the latest in a string of geopolitical events for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, have recently gathered momentum.
The DRC is not a country of peace. It is a land of poverty, suffering and violence.
The violence is not a war of course. It is a result of the long history of the DRC’s internal disputes. Between 1998 and 2000, the DRC saw a total of 21 years of civil war. The long conflict between the government and the rebel coalition, the National Union for the Total Independence of the Congo (UNITA), was also known as the First Congo War, which was a result of the First Congo Crisis.
The conflict between the rival political parties in the DRC has been raging at least since the first quarter of 1980.
Since then, the country has experienced more than 100 rounds of peace talks between the DRC government and the rebel UNITA faction.
After the talks failed in March 2002, a military operation was launched against the rebels. Several hundred political prisoners were kidnapped and killed during the operation.
The First Congo War is considered the first major international conflict in African history.
In January 2006, the DRC government announced the launch of its “Plan Congo.”
The Plan, which is also known as the Congo’s First Democratic Transition, aims to put an end to conflicts and to create a new generation of democratic leaders.
The DRC government has thus far failed to successfully implement the plan. The war has been continuously raging in Congo’s North, South and West since 1994.
The Congo’s current peace agreement was signed in June 2015. It is the second peace agreement signed between the government and UNITA. The agreement includes a number of provisions concerning elections, the establishment of an independent judiciary and the constitutionality of the country’s ruling party, the Congol