Here is an excellent analysis, by Ken Anderson, of what's really going down in Congo-- where, according to the MSM, the dreadful violence is but the latest consequence of the aboriginal "ethnic tension" in that region.
As you may remember, the US press, back in the Clinton Years, deployed the same moth-eaten narrative to tell the story of the wars in what had formerly been Yugoslavia. Then as now, the "ethnic tension" meme conceals way more than it reveals. Ken's piece is invaluable, both as an explication of what's happening in Congo, and as a cogent piece of media criticism. MCM Hi Mark, Jason Leopold just published my article on the latest flare of violence in the Congo. It is longish, but if you have some spare time (!), check it out. It took quite some time to put together and I found myself reading several reports from the UN Security Council and MONUC document archives, an exercise that was both fascinating and grim to the point of despair. Anyway, if you have some time, I'd like to hear what you think about it. The working thesis: The recently intensified conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a proxy war intended to stifle Sino-Congolese economic cooperation and promised "mining reform." Western media remain complicit in the operation by perpetuating the narrative charade of "ethnic tension." Ken Home Nation/World Imperial Clash on the Congo Resource Front Imperial Clash On The Congo Resource Front By Kenneth Anderson The Public Record Tuesday, December 16, 2008 Favoured : 6 Published in : Nation/World The recently intensified conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a proxy war intended to stifle Sino-Congolese economic cooperation and promised "mining reform." Western media remain complicit in the operation by perpetuating the narrative charade of "ethnic tension." http://www.pubrecord.org/nationworld/568-imperial-clash-on-the-congo-resource-front.html "For there is, in our own time, an absolute taboo among the corporate news media and the political class against mentioning anything to do with the strategic and economic reasons for war." -- Robert Newman On its face, the recent New York Times story, Congo's Riches, Looted by Renegade Troops, is an excellent journalist endeavour. Richly detailed and well drawn, the story drills down into the strife and hardship of life surrounding the operations of a single, "illegal" mining operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, run by the enigmatic commander of a "renegade brigade of army troops." Readers are informed that the renegade commander, Colonel Matumo, runs his operation "like a mafia," where the rightful owners of the mining concessions, "British and South African investors," fear to tread. There is truth in this story, which is exactly why it serves so well as a tool of disinformation. But it a very small truth. Though the story attempts to pass itself off as a definitive study of illegal Congo mining, as implied by the overwrought headline, it is anything but that. Indeed, as an explanation of Congolese conflict, the story of Colonel Matumo is equivalent in kind to studying the life of a family facing home foreclosure and presenting it as an understanding of the financial collapse on Wall Street. The two are related, but in no way does the smaller story impart any understanding of the far larger, devastating morass. snip> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to newsfromunderground-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
