US policy, corporate interests leave heavy footprint in Congo

Tensions remain high in the Democratic Republic of Congo as riot police patrol the streets and officials finalize results from last week’s Presidential election. Opposition supporters say they’ll protest if the current leader, Laurent Kabila, is declared the winner. More than a dozen were killed and 100 seriously wounded in election violence, according to Human Rights Watch. US officials are watching this election closely. So are corporations with interests in extracting cobalt, copper, diamonds and other minerals that could be worth trillions of dollars. To learn more about US and corporate interests in the region, The Real News Network’s Paul Jay spoke to Kambale Musavuli, student coordinator and national spokesperson for Friends of the Congo. He started by asking Musavuli about a 2006 bill, sponsored by then Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, that stated that US policy would “hold accountable individuals, entities, and countries working to destabilize the country.” To listen to the full, multi-part interview, go to therealnews.com.