Tags
Africa, blood minerals, coltan, human rights, Invisible Children, Jason Russell, Kony 2012, tantalum oxide
The following article was written in 2009 by Christopher Federici. It offers an insightful look at the coveted mineral tantalum oxide in the DR Congo. This mineral may be a possible cause for recently increased interference (under the guise of humanitarian interests) by countries (particularly the United States) in African regions rich in minerals and oil. The recent attention given to LRA leader Joseph Kony via the Invisible Children’s release of ‘Kony 2012’ may have other purposes than calling world attention to Kony’s destruction of thousands of African children’s lives. It may also explain the sudden “bizarre” behavior of Invisible Children’s co-founder Jason Russell, and his hospitalization for psychological evaluation.
http://www.theinternational.org/articles/89-blood-minerals-continue-to-finance
ofpeasantsandothermatters 
Thanks for fixing the link; I was not able to access it until much later. What a massive disaster this is; makes our problems in the ME seem trivial by comparison!
The corruption is seemingly unstoppable. What will it take for a few good men …..
The Kony video which is being circulated far and wide is being discredited,I don’t understand why. The ‘child soldiers’ scandal is enough to break anyone’s heart.
Yes, it’s a massive disaster and the problems run very deep. Tantalum oxide is Africa’s new blood diamonds, in mineral form. Apparently, it’s yet another resource that has and will continue to cost precious lives.
The Kony 2012 video and the enormity of its fallout is interesting, to put it mildly. Bringing the tragedy of child soldiers to light in such an explosively successful way is very good, to be sure. Yet, when you consider this tragedy has been going on for decades and then look at the intensity of the campaign to discredit the video’s producers (Invisible Children) it does raise lots and lots of questions. As if the light has hit a raw nerve.
The Ugandan government is denouncing the video, I think, for several reasons. As is pointed out, Joseph Kony has not operated in Uganda for years but there is a perception that Uganda remains a base of sorts for Kony’s LRA which invites wider scrutiny of Uganda’s internal problems. There is, too, a hint of suspicion regarding Entebbe – perhaps a fear of vengeance from a country that celebrates ‘Entebbe Day’ as a national holiday (Israel). I believe several regional countries (DR Congo, Sudan, etc) share Uganda’s concerns that the sudden exposure might be part of a propaganda campaign to justify military operations/presence in mineral rich countries under the guise of humanitarian intervention. This is not an unreasonable fear given the track record of NATO/US forces opening doors to western corporatism theft. When considering this possibility in the context of what happened in Libya it does suggest the region has cause to fear what might happen next. It’s a tangled web that’s very difficult to sort out. Invisible Children’s co-founder, Jason Russell, suddenly behaving madly and subsequently being hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation makes it yet more curious.
As is always the case, whatever is happening behind the scenes, it is the children who suffer the consequences. Very sad.