It is often referred to as the Third World War – the, for twenty years ongoing, civil war in Congo. The war already costed over 6 million lives. And there is no end in sight – without new laws or an international lawsuit. The Democratic Republic of Congo is ruled no longer by democracy, but by fear, violence and chaos.
But what is fought about?
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the richest country of the world in natural resources. Alongside the Congo River uncountable mineral resources are to be found. Since the funding of these resources has started the country and its people are being exploited.
The most significant resources enforce massive conflicts between the ethnic groups, rebel leaders, the state, military, companies and neighbor countries. The greed of all leads to violent “solutions”. Whoever takes over a certain area is master of its resources.
A legal processing of the crimes has not taken place yet.
Director Milo Rau traveled to the Republic of Congo to gather video material of the crimes. He brought the Congo Tribunal into being – a symbolic court to make the abuses visible and to give them an audience. Almost all involved took part in the tribunal, only the resources corporations did not.
The Congo Tribunal is a great success with its strong and moving pictures. Even though the decisions of the tribunal are not legally valid, Milo Rau’s documentary movie has brought the topic to the public. Journalists have taken notice of the topic and want to move towards installing international tribunals, following the idea of The Congo Tribunal.
An article by Lina Reich