See also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_industry_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extractivism
\This translation with notes was sent out July 1st:
Ferñent
"A Free Union of the Free Peoples of Africa. Internationalist solidarity of the workers"
July 2025
US-DRC-RD Rwanda Tripartite Mining Agreement:
An imperialist maneuver to better legitimize the plundering of the Congo
from La Flamme, organ of the Communist Party of Benin [ www.la-flamme.org/ ]
[African leaders image]
The ongoing signing of a military and security agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the United States for the settlement of the conflict between Rwanda and the DRC is an extremely serious event. Behind the discourse of cooperation and security lies a new form of imperialist domination. It is, no more and no less, a disguised return to the old colonial protectorate system which, yesterday as today, has as its sole purpose the subjection and exploitation of the Congolese people. Since its formal independence in 1960, the DRC has known nothing but wars, foreign interventions and chronic instability. This chaos is not the result of chance: it is cleverly maintained by the imperialist powers in order to keep their hands on the immense wealth of the Congolese subsoil. Cobalt, coltan, copper, iron, manganese, diamonds, gold, uranium, lithium, rare earths... are all strategic resources coveted by capitalist monopolies to run their industries and fuel their technological transition. But these riches do not benefit the Congolese people in any way. On the contrary, they are a source of war, misery and desolation, with more than 6 to 8 million deaths in thirty years in the east of the country. In this predatory system, Paul Kagame's Rwanda plays the role of subcontractor. For decades, this country, supported, financed and protected by the Western powers, in particular the United States, France and Belgium, has served as a military and logistical support point for the occupation and plundering of the eastern provinces of the DRC. The crimes committed by armed groups such as M23, supported by Kigali [capital of Rwanda], are widely documented. Yet the major powers turn a blind eye, as these crimes guarantee them indirect but safe access to Congolese minerals, under the guise of "official" supply chains. It is in this context that the regime in Kinshasa [capital of the DRC], weakened, corrupt and totally dependent, chooses to reach out to its executioner in order to sign a mining agreement with the United States, Rwanda's main protector, and with Rwanda as well. As a result, the DRC will institutionalize its own domination. This imminent agreement, presented as a security partnership, is nothing more than a protectorate treaty, like those signed at the time of colonization by African kings who were duped or coerced. It is in no way aimed at the protection of the Congolese people, but at securing imperialist interests in the region, to the detriment of the partisans of Pierre Mulélé [a revolutionary who had been Minister of Education in Lumumba’s cabinet] [DS – August 11, 1929 in Malungu, now Kwilu – Mobutu had him brutally tortured/mutilated alive in public and thrown into the Congo River October 3 or 9, 1968 according to: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Mulele ] and the sovereignty of the country. Let us remember that a year ago (February 2024), the European Union signed an agreement with Rwanda on sustainable value chains for raw materials while the war was in full swing in the DRC with Rwanda's involvement alongside the M23 rebels.
And it is proven and documented by the UN and NATO countries that Rwanda is arming the M23 and plundering the DRC's mineral resources in return. And so, this kind of agreement is so horrible that European Deputies voted a resolution in February 2025 to demand the suspension of this agreement, the freezing of budgetary and military aid to Rwanda and the M23. The United States also called on Rwanda to stop the aggression against the DRC, and even threatened it with sanctions. But here, practically the same people are now working on a mining agreement on the DRC. As a result, this agreement will legitimize Rwanda's aggression against the DRC in a more serious way. It makes Washington an arbiter in a conflict in which it is clearly judge and jury. In reality, the victim (the DRC) is under the guardianship of the protector of his executioner (Rwanda). It is a real politico-diplomatic scandal that shows the degree of alienation of some African leaders. What the DRC-USA-Rwanda agreement organizes is the continuation and legalization of the international network for plundering Congolese resources, with the imperialist powers of NATO, their predatory multinationals, as its conductor, and Kagame's Rwanda as its regional servant. The Congolese people, instead of being masters of their own resources, become hostages of a globalized mafia system that transforms their wealth into a curse. In the face of this new neocolonial aggression, African revolutionaries and patriots must learn the lessons of history. Real independence is achieved neither by military agreements with the imperialists, nor by appeals for help to those who organize our subjection. The only viable path is that of organized resistance, breaking with imperialist alliances and building active solidarity among African peoples in struggle against neocolonialism. This necessary leap forward requires the rejection of any reformist illusion and the overthrow of puppet regimes that sell off national sovereignty in the name of "security" or "cooperation". In conclusion, this agreement under negotiation is not a solution for peace in the Congo: it is a further step in the plan of the dismemberment, occupation and plunder of this martyred country. Like Patrice Lumumba, Pierre Mulélé or Laurent-Désiré Kabila, fighters for the true independence of the country, the Congolese people are called upon to mobilize to put an end to this new imperialist diktat to which President Tshisekedi is submitting. Sovereignty is not begged. It is won in struggle, defended in organization, and consolidated in the consciousness of the popular masses. It is the duty of progressive forces in Africa and around the world to stand with the Congolese people to demand an immediate end to this imposed war, the withdrawal of all foreign forces, and the full restoration of their sovereignty.
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