As the eastern Congo implodes in a violent civil war which is causing hundreds of thousands of people to be displaced the British Foreign Secretary, David Milliband, is reported to be on his way to the area.

The visit will no doubt provide numerous photo opportunities for Mr Milliband to express outrage and pose for the camera with a suitably sombre face.

However both Milliband and the UK Foreign Office know that most of the current problems which beset the Congo are caused by multi-nationals and external governments rushing to exploit the rich mineral reserves of this unfortunate country. Many of these multi-nationals are either directly or indirectly linked to the United Kingdom. Some are registered via shell companies in offshore centres including the Isle of Man.

The 'offshore links' are well documented, for example in the "Final report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo" a commission established by the UN Secretary General which reported in 2002.

In para 41 of the report the Commission refer to the activities of certain companies being "hidden behind a web of trusts and private holding companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man to whose records the Panel was not allowed direct access."

In tandem with the exploitation of rich mineral resources runs the arms trade and once again companies registered offshore (and in Ireland) have been heavily involved in concealing the true identity of those importing munitions into the Central African region and stoking the violence there.

The Celtic League have campaigned to expose this shady trade for years (some recent links are set out below). The UK and its offshore business acolytes in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have been involved in the exploitation of Africa for years. They started in the days of apartheid and sanction busting and it continued through the Rwanda genocide to this day.

When Manx regulatory authorities have been pressed on this issue their response has been suitably obtuse (but then these are the same regulators who recently 'displayed their efficiency' by effectively being 'asleep on the job' as insitutions they were supposed to supervise crashed around them).

Milliband's pious mumblings in Congo this weekend will mean nothing unless he and the UK government are prepared to close off the business links in their own country and offshore which exploit the trauma of Congo's civil war for greed and advantage.

There needs to be a root and branch analysis of all the business links with their tentacles from the City of London, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and other dependencies whose activities prolong the misery of the Conglolese people.

Related articles on Celtic News at:

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UN Report link here:

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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League 31/10/08

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