Luca Attanasio he was killed a month ago. Along with his bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci and to the driver of the Pam convoy he was traveling in, Mustapha Milambo. David Van Reybrouck he knows well the way of the attack, the whole region and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 600 pages of his book “Congo” have been translated and appreciated all over the world. “The death of your ambassador was a great loss to the international community”.
How did you feel when you read the news that an ambassador had been killed in an ambush on the way to Rutshuru?
“I was really shocked. From what I read it seemed to me that he was really part of a new generation of diplomats. Very open, far from the old-fashioned arrogant. With a role of respect and cooperation. One of those people who can. make the difference”.
Did you expect it to happen in that part of the country?
“It is extremely rare for a Western diplomat to be killed in Congo. There is no precedent. But violence is. The road that goes from Goma to Rutshuru is one of the most violent and dangerous areas in the Congo. Tragically, it is also the most dangerous part. beautiful of the country. I was there when there was war, more than 10 years ago. I was going to the front. Goma was in the hands of the government and I had to interview Laurent Nkunda (the general in charge of the militias for the liberation of North Kivu , ed)”.
What has changed in 10 years?
“At that time it was political violence, to control the territory. Today it is economic. People often ask me: ‘But why is the war going on in Congo?’ There is no war in Congo, but a militarized economy. In the West, war is very expensive. In Congo, violence is cheap and very profitable. Anyone can buy a pair of Kalashnikovs at a cheap price. And children are recruited. I interviewed some child soldiers from Nkunda’s army, they told me “but we can do it.” They give them beans, organic and metal, the bullets.
Why can’t Congo make it, like so many other African countries?
“What is happening now goes back to the colonial period, to independence. The borders of the Congo are still colonial. The world changes, but the borders we see on the map of Africa are the most stable on the planet. Except for the South. Sudan and Mali, the borders are fixed. This means that Africa, now, is still its colonial heritage “.
And in the East?
“What is happening in the eastern Congo is the failure of the state. From independence onwards Mobutu reigned for 32 years. He ruled from above, with the support of the United States. And the economy has changed from formal to informal: corruption, black market. Which in the 1990s became a militarized economy. In the East there is piracy. As in Somalia and the Gulf of Guinea. And in the Virunga park, where they killed Attanasio “.
So, in what context did Attanasio’s death take place?
“The groups of bandits, about 120, are businesses by now. No connection but full of weapons. They kidnap for ransom. It is an economic model. The state is unable to protect the population, nor to guarantee the needs of base. And people want to survive at any cost. Insecurity is an economic resource. As long as Virunga is not safe, it is profitable. It is the tragic conclusion. “
UN forces and thousands of Congolese army soldiers are deployed there. Unnecessary?
“They are unable to stand in the way of the bandits. And until they can stop them, they will continue to pursue this business model. Insecurity is the livestock of the entire region.”
Kinshasa has given responsibility for the attack to the Fdlr (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, of Hutu ethnicity, ed)
“We know that gold and coltan cross the Congo-Rwanda border illegally and regularly. I wonder, how far can the Kigali government get into this security imbalance? As long as this mineral-rich area is insecure, someone can exploit it for themselves. pleasure. If peace came and the tourists returned, it would be the end of exploitation. “
We will probably never know who killed Athanasius. Is there anything that could be done, in your opinion, to ensure that this death was not in vain?
“In 2003 the European Union started the military operation Artemis in the DRC. Thousands of soldiers, with French command, were sent to Bunia for a short time, in the Ituri region. An autonomous operation authorized by the UN but without no recourse to NATO military means and capabilities. A brief military disarmament campaign could make a difference. These bandits work in total vacuum. The state is absent, the army is corrupt and Kinshasa is far away. They do what they want. This may be an option. “
But do you think the EU could now authorize such an action?
“Italy has been treated so harshly on the issue of migrants from Europe that the time may have come for the EU to do something for your country, returning the favor”.
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