Link: The Huntsman: Blair, Conflict Diamonds & The Rape of The Congo.
The third matter which impinges upon the suitability of Paul Kagame as a friend of Blair or, indeed, as a partner of any civilised state, concerns the activities of armed forces under the control of Kagame in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since 1994 Rwanda has exercised de facto control over a substantial area of the eastern DRC wherein lie considerable important mineral reserves, potentially large oil reserves and in which are to be found the remnants of the Interahamwe militias who were at the forefront of the 1994 genocide.
This article is very very informative. On the heels of a visit by President Bush, it provides a good summary to the "real relationship" of Rwanda and Congo. Also, contained in the article is a long quote from an article published on April 13, 2004 edition of The Guardian by George Monbiot.
By 1999, the "Congo Desk" of the Rwandan army was generating 80% of the Rwandan military budget - some $320m. This is the equivalent of 20% of Rwanda's gross national product. The money came principally from two sources: diamonds and coltan. Coltan is the ore from which tantalum, the expensive metal used in mobile phones, is extracted, and almost all of it comes from the DRC.
Rwanda, along with the Hutu and Tutsi Conflict as a cover, is balancing their budget and developing its country with its relationship with Congo.
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