All posts by Rajdeep Banerjee

Homage to Catalonia: Is this Balkanization of Europe ?

Falangists win over Republicans in the bloody civil war started the Francoist era which ended with Franco’s death in 1975. The nascent Republic was destroyed by Franco and his army with active military assistance from Nazi Germany and Italy. The Republicans were helped by USSR. Orwell’s commander famously described the situation as “This is not a war, it is a comic opera with an occasional death.”After a prolonged war, Republicans could not save Madrid and the Nationalists (Franco) captured it and formed the government with Franco at its helm. In 1931 Spain became a Republic and an autonomous Catalan regional government, the Generalitat, was created. But the long 36 years of Franco dictatorship saw Catalan being completely incorporated within Spain. Catalan and other regional provinces were dominated under the Franco regime. Autonomy, culture and even language of Catalan was suppressed. Only after the transition to democracy, limited autonomy was restored to Catalonia.

Orwell humorously stated that the Spaniards were good at many things, but not at making war! The Spanish civil war was more of a comedy where the Republicans were using forty years old German Mauser dated 1896! Machine guns at the rate of approx 1 to 50 men and where majority of rifles were mere scrap iron, also rounds were in tremendous short supply.

Catalonians argue that it is absolutely absurd to suggest that Catalan’s small size is an impediment to its independence. Comparable to that of prosperous Switzerland, it is a rich province which pays much more to the Republican than it receives from it. In terms of its population, territory, GDP and language, Catalonia has similar proportions to that of many other countries of the European Union. Though it does not have natural resources like natural gas or petroleum, yet it is of no significance as Spain also does not have any such resources. Catalonians argue that peaceful separation like ‘Velvet Revolution’ in 1993, the self-determined split of the federal state of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, a bloodless affair, can be beneficial to both the economies. But a situation like Yugoslav Wars must be avoided at any cost.

Artur Mas i Gavarró is the current President of the Generalitat of Catalonia. He is the leader of the Catalan liberal nationalist party Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and his coalition ‘Together for Yes’ alongwith other parties like Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Democrats of Catalonia (DC) had garnered the largest vote percentage of 39.54 and won the maximum 62 seats out of 135 in the elections held in September 2015.   As it is six short of a majority, the alliance is currently in negotiations with another pro-independence party to try to form a coalition majority. The elections were plebiscitary in nature. Mas has set a period of approximately 18 months for a measured and progressive disconnection. In November 2014, a referendum was held, wherein about 80 percent voted in favour of breaking away from Spain. Spain’s Constitutional Court had suspended it but it was still held. Prosecutors now accuse Artur Mas of grave disobedience, abuse of public funds, usurping powers and obstructing justice which has led to mass protests.

Spain fear that if Catalonia is allowed to become independent, similar demands will be raised by the separatists of Basque province. The violent Euskadi Ta Askatasuna ETA (Basque Country and Freedom) still haunts Spain. Also Nationalists of Bavaria(German), Flanders(Belgium), Corciso(France), Scotland(UK) are already clamouring for independence. The pandemonium will only grow louder.

‘Nyama tembo kula hawezi kumaliza’: DR Congo, Ntaganda, Kabila and the road ahead (PART 5 of 5)

The Swahili proverb means ‘You never finish eating the meat of an elephant’. Skullduggery continues.

Though there was a substantial decrease in violence post 2003, low level conflicts in certain pockets continued. Katanga insurgency continues till date. Ituri conflict is primarily between agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in north-eastern Congo. Hostilities in Ituri Province started in 1999. The Front des nationalistes et intégrationnistes [National Integrationist Front] (FNI) and Forces de Résistance Patriotique d’Ituri [Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri] (FRPI) fought for Lendu while Union des patriotes congolais [Union of Congolese Patriots](UPC) fought for the Hema. Finally, in December 2003, after the UPC split, fighting decreased significantly in Ituri Province.

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, founder of UPC and the Force patriotiques pour la libération du Congo (FPLC)[military wing of UPC], was found guilty by ICC of committing the war crimes of the enlistment and conscription of children under the age of 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities between 2002 and 2003 and has been sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment. The Appeals Chamber confirmed the verdict in 2014. ICC, in 2014, found Germain Katanga, commander of FRPI, guilty as an accessory of one count of crime against humanity (murder) and four counts of war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property and pillaging) and has sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment. But Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, former leader of FNI, was acquitted. In February 2015, the Appeals Chamber confirmed the acquittal.

Bosco Ntaganda, former Deputy Chief of the Staff and commander of operations of FPLC has been charged of various war crimes including murder and attempted murder, attacking civilians, rape, sexual slavery of civilians, pillaging, displacement of civilians, attacking protected objects, destroying the enemy’s property, conscription of child soldiers under the age of fifteen years and using them to participate actively in hostilities and various counts of crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in 2002-2003 in the Ituri Province. The Chamber found that there was a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population pursuant to an organisational policy adopted by UPC and FPLC to attack civilians perceived to be non-Hema. The Chamber also found that an armed conflict had taken place between the UPC/FPLC and other organized armed groups. The trial has already commenced last month and is expected to be a cyclopean one. Due to the gravity of charges and the number of crimes he is accused of, the trial is of much consequence.  It is the first trial, at the ICC, where a commander will be charged with rape and sexual violence committed against child soldiers under his command. The case is significant because Ntaganda evaded justice for nine long years and even an international campaign for his apprehension could not get Congolese government to arrest him. But astonishingly, he voluntarily surrendered in 2013.

In the political arena, President Kabila is desperately trying to change the country’s constitution so that he can remain in power beyond his second and final five-year term. This has raised a storm of protests in the country. Opposition leaders have openly criticised any such moves. Last week, Moïse Katumbi, the multimillionaire governor of copper rich Katanga Province, a close aide of Kabila and the second most powerful man in Congo, announced leaving the ruling party. Congolese remain profoundly sceptical about their future. This makes the political situation all the more gripping.

Reminiscing Weimar Hyperinflation, the first modern Currency War, on Germany’s Reunification Day

First World War’s armistice was signed in a railway carriage on November 11, 1919. A large part of Europe was laid waste by the Great War. But the most insidious economic legacy of the war was the mountain of death in Europe. Governments of Europe spent around $ 200 billion in the battle. To finance the war, money supply in Britain doubled, in France tripled and in Germany quadrupled. Now the question of war reparations i.e. how much German should pay the victors, Britain and France, led to a currency war, which can be considered as the first massive debasement of a developed country’s currency. Britain and France advocated for punitive reparations against Germany. Astronomical sums were being demanded from Germany. French Prime minister Clemenceau and Prime Minister of Britain David Llyod George asked for onerous conditions to be put on Germany. At the Paris Peace Conference frantic negotiations commenced. The final terms of the peace treaty were extremely onerous. Large territories were to revert back to France, certain territories were to become part of Denmark and Poland, and both banks of the river Rhine were to be permanently demilitarised. Interim reparation of $5 billion was ordered to be paid by Germany. Later the reparation commission finally asked Germany to pay a whooping $33 billion. Understanding that Germany could never pay such a colossal amount, the reparations bill was reduced to $12.5 billion. But Germany was never willing to honour any commitment regarding war reparations and so never really made any effort to meet the terms of the payment schedule. Even otherwise the country was now run by a series of weak coalition government. Also huge expenses were incurred due to the war and the government also started new social obligations which alongwith the reparation payment made the situation potentially explosive. The solution Germany resorted to was printing unlimited paper money.

At the inception of the war the mark (German currency) stood at 4.2 to the dollar. But by 1920 the price level stood at 9 times the pre war level. Many thought that mark had touched its lowest level and would rather appreciate in future. But a rude shock awaited them. The assassination of the foreign minister in June 1922 and French inflexibility over reparations started showing signs of panic setting in. Prices rose fortyfold during 1922 and the mark fell from 190 to 7600 to the dollar! The final culmination was the French occupation of Ruhr valley, the German industrial heartland. The printing of paper money then increased to an unprecedented maddening level. The Reichsbank mindlessly continued printing money on demand by the government. By 1923, 133 printing works with more than 1500 machines were printing paper currencies. Inflation was increasing at a tremendous speed. Prices were increasing thousand folds!

The collapse of the currency led to the usual capital flight. Many moved their savings abroad. Inflation readjusted relations between certain classes like debtors and creditors. Those who owed debts were very soon relieved of their debts since the debts evaporated as the amounts owned became worthless. Also those who held unionised and government jobs were initially hedged as the government continuously increased their wages commensurate with inflation. But a large section of Germans were financially ruined. They were doctors, teachers, professors, pensioners who had invested in government bonds and bank deposits, suddenly found their investment worthless. They had to now live on meagre pension which was further decimated by high inflation. Currency speculators enriched themselves. German industrialists also profited as their real estate values increased while high inflation wiped away their debts.

Hyperinflation reached its peak in November 1923 when a dollar was worth 630 billion marks! The reasons for this reckless policy of hyperinflation are not clear till date. Many consider it as a ploy of Germany to avoid the onerous war reparations. The monetary explosion which destroyed the financial fabric of Germany ruined a very large section of its people. Reichsbank acceded to government dictate of printing unlimited paper currency as asking to raise taxes or cut domestic expenditures, as the allies were demanding, would have been viewed as antinational. The ruination was finally over by bringing an alternate currency, the Rentenmark, which was now backed by mortgages. The sordid episode of hyperinflation showed that countries could play with fire when it came to paper currency, very well understanding that a simple resort to gold standard or any other tangible asset standard could restore order when the condition seemed felicitous.

African quagmire metamorphosed to cataclysmic carnage : DR Congo, Ntaganda, Kabila and the road ahead (PART 4 of 5)

The escalating disquietude of Rwanda and Uganda with Kabila government led to a protracted tragedy of modern Africa. Kagame’s plan for another regime change in Kinshasa was anticipated by Kabila resulting in his dismissing all Rwandan soldiers and ordering them to return home. Kabila even started recruiting ex-Hutu militias who had been accused of killing Tutsis in the 1994 genocide.

A rebellion group by the name of Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD) alongwith Congolese Tutsis and Banyamulenge (ethnic Tutsi of South Kivu of Congo), with active assistance of the Rwandan Army, started a rebellion against Kinshasa. The rebels initially made rapid progress but intervention by neighbouring countries like Angola and Zimbabwe in favour of Congo turned the tables. Robert Mugabe’s dream of becoming a regional power broker and Angola’s concern about its internal security were the primary reasons for their involvement in this foreign crisis. Namibia and Chad soon joined the fray assisting Kabila, whereas Tutu led Burundi government took the side of Rwanda and Uganda. Active military assistance of Angola and Zimbabwe saved Kabila’s regime.

The war, though ostensibly fought for saving the national governments, was primarily to capture and exploit the vast natural resources of Congo. Unsurprisingly, Angola and Zimbabwe Generals started looting, despoiling and grabbing diamond, gold and other mining businesses. On the other hand, Rwanda and Uganda turned eastern Congo into their own fiefdom.  All the belligerents indiscriminately plundered the natural resources at an unprecedented scale. Gradually RCD splintered into rival factions. The war became even more complicated with multitudinous factions changing sides as per their financial interests. Banyamulenge fighters also split into separate factions. Rwanda and Uganda even fought among themselves for the spoils of the war! It seemed as if war would never end. But Kabila’s assassination in January 2001 changed the scenario. Kabila Jr., ‘western educated’ and ‘english speaking’, but a political greenhorn, was put in place of his father.  Since Kabila Sr. was considered as the major impediment to a peaceful settlement of the war, as he adamantly refused to share power, the change of guard was seen as a positive development towards the peace negotiations. Gradually Rwanda too found it difficult to sustain the war as RCD splintered and many joined the Congo government. Many from the Banyamulenge changed sides. Finally Suncity agreement, in April 2002, provided the framework of the multipartite government in Congo. Later in July, the main belligerents Rwanda and DRC signed a peace deal (Pretoria Accord). Congo and Uganda also signed a peace deal (Luanda Agreement). These peace deals led to the withdrawl of Rwandan and Ugandan troops from DRC’s territory and led to a substantial contraction in hostilities. In December 2002, the primary warring factions like the national government, MLC (Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo, a group backed by Uganda), RCD, split factions of RCD as well as the opposition party alongwith representatives of civil society signed an agreement which formally ended the bloody second Congo War. In July 2003, the transitional government was formed.

But Kivu, Ituri and Katanga conflicts persisted despite the formal end of the Congo War. Alleged role of Ntaganda in Ituri conflict is now before the ICC.