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Comment by bilbo0s | Hacker News Reader

"...a) happened more than 20 years ago in 1990..."

Nice try. Goma was cleared in fighting during the Nord-Kivu clashes in 2008. (Nkunda's forces opposed Army of DRCongo and UN Peacemaker contingent of roughly 17000.) Additionally, the theft of Congolese resources is ongoing.

"...b) have little or no direct bearing to the issue at hand..."

That depends on how one thinks.

Finally, with respect to the duplicity of Western Nations. You will get no argument from me. That doesn't make African nations less duplicitous though. The white man is not the only force for evil on the globe. Evil comes in all shades and hues.

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>The white man is not the only force for evil on the globe

No, but he does it really professionally, including having created most of the mess in Africa in the first place. Most of those "states" where designed by colonialists in artificial (i.e. what colonial power controls what as opposed based on historically and culturally developed ethnic formations), and were usually created to contain 2-3 competing fractions in a "divide and conquer" approach, with the colonial and post-colonial powers playing (and arming) both sides... Add their support to all kinds of dictators, scum and lackeys and the undermining of efforts to clean the slate, boost local control, etc, and the result is what we have today...

>he does it really professionally

I couldn't agree with you more. It is lost on most people that African boundaries and political realities are a fairly recent construct. The majority of African states as we know them today are no more than two generations old (c. 60 years). These boundaries are also, in many ways, an artificial creation that do not necessarily represent the pre-colonial and cultural realities of the numerous ethnic communities and interests that exist across Africa today. The legacy of this "divide and rule" approach cannot be over-stated and has been a driving force behind the continent's sad, sad state of affairs. Also, only a generation ago did the Cold War abate and with it, murderous proxy wars and political struggles in countries such as Angola, Mozambique, the DRC (and the wider Central Africa), Uganda, to name but a few. There are numerous explanations of and studies into the impact of colonization and the Cold War on ongoing conflicts and human rights abuses in Africa and, honestly, I am no domain expert. Regardless, here are two sources that should suffice: Did Africa have any significance in the Cold War? [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1ju3e3/did_a... 'The Effects of the (End of the) Cold War on Central African Politics: How a Cold War turned into a very Hot One' [http://www.mo.be/en/article/effects-end-cold-war-central-afr...]. Of course, this does not free Africa's leadership from the responsibility of good governance, but it does add context to coldtea's argument.

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