We Have No Sides in Imperialist Wars here ♦ Imperialists Fight to Exploit Miners here ♦
We Have No Sides in Imperialist Wars But the Working Class Side
SOUTH AFRICA, February 11— Thirteen South African soldiers were killed in recent weeks in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a city called Goma. They were killed by M23 rebels backed by Rwanda, which is in turn backed by Israel through the supply of weapons.
“We do not know why we are being sacrificed so far from home,” remarked a friend of ICWP who was deployed in Congo a few months ago. “We are not even properly equipped.”
A comrade friend told this soldier, “You should not sacrifice your life for Ramaphosa and De Beers. We should fight for people like us, the ones you leave at home, our class. That’s why I urge you to always read our paper and talk to other soldiers about it.”
The South African soldiers are deployed in Congo by the Southern Africa Development Community under the guise of a peacekeeping mission. However, they aren’t there necessarily for peace. They are there to protect the business interests of the ruling class against other imperialist rivals.
South African soldiers have been in and out of Congo over the last two decades. In that time, South African businesses, particularly mining companies, have imported a lot of DRC’s minerals and have been given tenders by the ruling elites in Congo.
The soldiers have been dying in Congo ever since at the behest of the ruling elite. It is only now that a significant number have died that we get the headlines, coupled with the fact that the M23 rebels have gained significant ground in a region rich in rare minerals.
Different imperialists are vying for those rare minerals in order to control them. They are willing to sacrifice the lives of our brothers and sisters in order to own them. Kagame’s regime in Rwanda, the DRC, Angola, and Tanzania, along with South Africa, are not willing to give up their profit. They have no trouble in sacrificing our working class siblings to retain them.
This has resulted in a public spat between Rwanda and South Africa, particularly between Ramaphosa and Kagame, with both threatening war. As this rivalry grows, there are calls for South Africa to exact revenge, while the ruling elites call on South Africans to be patriotic.
We call on our brothers and sisters in arms to be loyal to the working class by turning those guns against the ruling class and fight for communism instead of the economic profits of the rich capitalists.
The soldier friend quoted above is one of the thousands we have to recruit to our party. The soldiers must not take sides of imperialists but that of our international working class.
We agreed that we will continue this conversation. He can see what we are trying to fight for. “This thing of fighting for the flag is bullsh*t,” he said. “We are just dying for nothing.”
We urge all soldiers everywhere to reject “dying for nothing” and instead to fight the system that wants to sacrifice them for profits. We want them to fight for a communist revolution.
Imperialists Fight to Exploit Miners for Rare Earth Minerals
Biden visited Angola just before Trump became president. He wanted to shore up support for a $56 billion US-Europe “Lobito Corridor” infrastructure project to connect Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Angola. Angola long supported Russia and China, but now its rulers covet this lucrative US-financed Lobito corridor.
The Angolan port city of Lobito would transfer $$billions of minerals rich in cobalt and copper. These minerals are used in electric vehicles, cellphones, solar panels, and electronics. Also in alloys for the aerospace and defense industry.
The big obstacle is Rwanda’s refusal to participate. Rwanda and the DRC have cobalt mines. China’s Belt and Road Initiative is countering the Lobito corridor. The President of Rwanda has switched sides: from a US ally to a supporter of China. Last year, he led the largest delegation to meet Xi of China.
The recent flareup in imperialist wars between the DRC and M23 (supported by Rwanda) is over control of crucial rare earth minerals. Thousands have died and millions have been displaced. The cobalt mines exploit children as young as twelve. They work over sixteen hours a day so some capitalists (Chinese, US, or European) can profit.
The Chinese capitalists get 70% of the cobalt produced in the DRC. The remainder goes to Tesla, Google, and Microsoft.
Imperialists who are only interested in maximum profits have no border, no loyalty. They will switch sides and sabotage each other, creating endless corruption, wars, and genocides.
Africa has a rich history of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggle. fighting colonial oppressors and imperialists. However, the fight must be to end capitalism, not to reform it for state capitalism or nationalism. ICWP is organizing soldiers to fight for the working class and communist revolution.