Afghanistan's newfound mineral wealth could fuel further conflict

[maddezmom]

The US Geological Survey prompted widespread cheer in Kabul with the release of a report on Monday stating that Afghanistan is home to $1 trillion (£680bn) in mineral wealth. But Afghan and international leaders should be cautious. This discovery is a double-edged sword. The mineral reserves may pave the path to a better future, but they may also lead to even more endemic conflict.


The "blood diamond" phenomenon – diamonds mined in African war zones that are then sold on to finance an insurgency or a warlord's grip on a region – is well known, but other examples of misused mineral wealth abound. Afghanistan may not have diamonds, but it does have an insurgency, the country is packed with warlords and many of the minerals present in Afghanistan are the cornerstones of conflicts in other parts of the world. You don't have to look far to find an example of how minerals can fuel conflict rather than end it. One of Afghanistan's closest neighbours is mired in conflict that is partly rooted in mineral wealth.


In India, a hidden war against the government is raging in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The basis for this conflict is political and social. The insurgents, called Nexalites, are descended ideologically from Mao Zedong and show no signs of abandoning their fight against what they believe is to be an unfair, caste-bound capitalist system. The Indian government stepped up its campaign against the guerillas in 2006, in part because of what lies beneath the forest floor in Southern Chhattisgarh – some of India's largest reserves of iron ore, coal, bauxite and limestone. India's largest corporations have moved into the region to harvest these resources and some £1.6bn worth of contracts have already been signed. Nonetheless, conflict remains endemic.


Although you've probably never heard of this war, it is no trivial matter. Estimates put the insurgent forces at around 4,500 fighters and around half the population supports the Nexalites. Some of that support is coerced and some is willing. Upwards of 50,000 people have been displaced, two-thirds of the forest is off-limits to the Indian government and numerous posts from doctors to police are unfilled because of the war. The rebels set up "people's courts" to punish and execute what they call capitalist collaborators. In 2009, the Indian prime minister concluded that the state was losing the fight against the Nexalites – not a good sign for a superpower on the rise.

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/16/afghanistan-mineral-wealth-conflict