>> The Democratic Republic of the Congo
It is not easy to unravel the tangled threads of the Congolese problem. The Congo, the underbelly of the African continent, is a country with immense mineral and forest wealth and a geographical situation which should have made it one of the driving forces of the continent. The former Zaire has been ravaged by independence achieved through violence and asphyxiated by 32 years of totalitarian rule by Mobutu, followed by three years of dictatorship under Laurent Désiré Kabila. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC) is today a badly leaking ship which every day sinks further into the abysses of poverty and strife.
Kabila came to power in 1997 as a result of the largely armed support from the Rwandan and Ugandan authorities. Today he is supported by the Zimbabwean, Angolan and Namibian forces but on his eastern flank is an armed rebellion led by his former allies. These movements are however themselves divided. The Rwandans are now opposed to Kabila and to the Ugandans, while at the same time they are still fighting their own opponents; they control approximately the South East part of the country. The Ugandans themselves control the North East part of the RDC and now support three armed movements. The objective of one is to "overturn" Kabila, another is to protect the Ugandan frontiers from armed movements opposed to Museveni - and against certain threats from Rwanda -, and the third to appropriate the wealth of the region. Finally, each of these rebel groups is threatened by partition. To this confused situation should be added a "transverse" movement by traditional fighters -- the Mau Mau . Although at present the last are still isolated, they must without doubt be reckoned with in the near future.
Report prepared by Gregoire Lechat
Russian puppets à la Congolese
The former Zaire is breaking up more every day. Since 1998 2 rebellions, one an armed uprising by Rwanda, the other by Uganda, have divided up more than half the country. The territories which they occupy are however themselves divided. The Congolese Group for Democracy (Goma RCD), which is supplied with arms by Rwanda, only has real control over the principal towns in the east of the RDC. In the case of the three movements supplied with arms by Uganda, in the North and the North-East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, each apparently has different objectives. The Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba, the headquarters of which are based on Gbadolite in the north of the RDC, is the only one of the three which is still fighting the loyalist army of President Kabila. The young National RCD of Roger Lumbala, which has been in the Bafwasende region for two months, apparently allows Uganda to claim the town of Kisangani and to mine diamonds. Finally, the RCD Liberation Movement of Wamba dia Wamba, which occupies the North-East, now appears to serve as the buffer area to the Ugandan frontier. Since the Goma RCD took Kisangani two months ago, the leaders of the principal rival rebel movement, the RCD Liberation Movement, have felt somewhat isolated in the North-East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By losing Kisangani they had in fact also lost the possibility of influencing the future of the country. Hemmed in between the regions held by Rwanda and those held in the North by the Congolese Liberation Movement of Jean-Pierre Bemba, the RCD ML is now more concerned with ensuring the safety of its Ugandan neighbour than fighting the Kinshasa regime. With the support of the Ugandan forces, it forestalls the threats of attack by the Goma RCD and fights the movements opposed to the Museveni regime which are based in the Mountains of the Moon to the east of Butembo. One of the most important military RCD ML positions is consequently at the frontier between the two rebel movements in North Kivu 15 km to the South of Kanya-Bayunga where, fearing an invasion by the Rwandan Army, two months ago the Ugandans brought up tanks, anti-aircraft batteries and a considerable amount of heavy artillery.
A
fragmented
rebellion
The loss of credibility by the RCD Liberation Movement at national level resulting from the military support by Uganda has been further accentuated by the division which has increased within this movement. Thus, on 10 August last Professor Wamba dia Wamba dismissed two of his principal assistants, Mbusa Nyamwisi and John Tibasima Mbongemu accusing them of having organised a mutiny of an ethnic nature at Bunia. Later Mbusa Nyamwisi considered withdrawing with Tibasima into his own stronghold in North Kivu where he had an army but at the same time appealed for calm; "I think we will find solutions to our problems which will enable everyone to come together", he explained. "Not only Professor Wamba, Tibasima and me but many other units which have fought to bring this Movement to the forefront so that we can consider the possibility of coordinating our efforts with other liberation movements fighting in the Congo at the same time as we are. It is not desirable for a rebel faction to arrive at Kinshasa on its own. What would the other factions do then? Those who want to free the Congolese people must first understand."
It is not easy to get Mbusa Nyamwisi's message to North Kivu; its citizens are so hostile to the Rwandan and Ugandan armies that they are considered to be forces of occupation. Mbusa Nyamwisi is therefore making every effort to convince his fellow citizens that unification between the three armed movements opposed to Kabila is essential to make the latter abide by the Lusaka agreements again and find a national solution in a Democratic Congo Republic. The reason is that isolation of Wamba dia Wamba finally threatens to lead to a further division of the territories occupied by Uganda to the East of the RDC. Wamba dia Wamba has no other army apart from the Ugandan Army. Contrary to most Congolese politicians he has no followers. Apart from his Bunia headquarters, the territories under his control have been transformed into an enormous no man's land in the hands of the militia, his rivals and bands of deserters.
| And it is changing however... |
|
In spite of the de facto partition of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some institutions such as education and justice continue to function as if the former Zaire were still a unified country with its capital Kinshasa at the centre and at the top. As a result the two sectors are still ultimately the responsibility of the Kinshasa administration, therefore of Laurent Désiré Kabila and appear to ignore the rebel movements in the territories they control. Consequently, a judgement given in Butembo is appealed against in Goma, where the headquarters of the branch of the RCD armed by Rwanda is based. In the case of Supreme Court judgements, these can only be given in Kinshasa. Dieudonné Kahasa, Prosecutor for the Republic of Bunia in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo explains: "we have no political problems over the functioning of the judicial system. Those who have benefited from a decision in any one of the territories may obtain from the court of jurisdiction or even from the Public Prosecutor's Office the documents necessary, which may be executed in other territories without posing any problems since judicial cooperation is good." It has however become very difficult for a member of the public or a student to travel from the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Kinshasa as there are no direct flights. In addition, in the regions held by the Goma RCD many Congolese prisoners are quietly taken to prison in Rwanda or disappear into fictitious dungeons. In that case Kinshasa can of course do nothing. G.K. |
The Mau Mau control the countryside
Among the factions in league, the Mau Mau must also be reckoned with. They are classified as undesirable forces under the Lusaka agreements and as such are deprived by the signatories of these agreements of any legitimacy to participate in the future direction of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, Mau Mau fighters who were formerly dispersed have been restructured with the object of driving out the Ugandan Army which holds a quarter of the Congolese territory and of supporting democracy in the future. Kibancha Louairé, who has been encountered in Kampala then in Béni in North Kivu, is spokesman for Padire, one of the principal Mau Mau chiefs: "We have informers in Europe, here in Africa and even in America. Military action is threatened by Padire, the chief of staff, and he has installed informers everywhere in the country. We occupy a large part of North Kivu and South Kivu. We will also soon be in Kisingani." Contrary to the other armed movements in the RDC, the Mau Mau resistance movement does not have international support. It therefore does not have sufficient funds to purchase arms. Some Congolese resistance groups have decided to ally themselves with the RCD Liberation Movement which has set up a training camp at Lubero in North Kivu for them and has already trained a thousand Mau Mau guerillas. In order to drive out the foreign armies occupying their territories, the Mau Mau state that they are prepared for new alliances, with the exception of members of the Goma RCD which they consider to be those "who bring foreigners (to them) who are engaged in killing people on the spot."
Congolese resistance expressed within the Mau Mau movement has become an essential force in the negotiations in progress between the three movements armed by Uganda and Rwanda in order to unify them military against Kabila. Without the Mau Mau, who are said to number some 30,000 men, none of these movements can attempt to control anything other than the principal towns.
Extract
from
articles
by
Gabriel
Kahn,
Radio
France
International
correspondent
in
the
Grands
Lacs
region
|
"The
international
community
must
intervene
as
a
matter
of
urgency"
|
Eric Plouvier is a lawyer in charge of the FIDA Mission. He recently went to the Grand Lacs region in this capacity. On his return to Kisingani he gave his first impressions to The Letter.
How
can
the
presence
of
Rwandans
and
Ugandans
in
the
east
of
the
RDC
be
explained?
The
East
of
the
RDC
is
clearly
occupied
by
Ugandan
and
Rwandan
armies,
ostensibly
to
support
the
rebel
movements.
In
addition,
the
withdrawal
of
these
foreign
armies
from
Congolese
territory
is
one
of
the
points
both
of
the
Lusaka
agreements
and
the
position
of
Laurent
Désiré
Kabila
or
of
the
requirements
of
both.
The
Uganda
authorities
officially
reply
that
their
presence
in
the
RDC
is
to
protect
their
frontiers
in
view
of
problems
of
rebellion
in
the
Mountains
of
the
Moon
at
the
Ugandan
frontier.
In
fact,
senior
Ugandan
officers
are
training
Congolese
in
the
Béni
region.
They
form
a
buffer
zone
against
the
Rwandis
at
the
Rwindi
side
and
provide
protection
for
Congolese
participants
in
the
rebellion.
It
is
therefore
true
support,
although
the
reasons
are
perhaps
other
than
political.
In
fact,
it
is
extremely
difficult
to
establish
what
really
is
happening
in
this
complex
situation.
It
is
however
clear
that
the
real
motives
are
not
only
to
seek
support
for
the
movements
which
want
to
overturn
Kabila
and
his
anti-democratic
regime.
The
immense
wealth
of
gold
or
diamonds
in
the
Congo,
especially
in
this
region,
is
an
attraction
which
is
not
ignored.
In
the
case
of
Rwanda,
for
historical
reasons
it
is
also
to
respond
to
a
desire
to
expand.
What
is
the
human
cost
of
these
two
years
of
war?
It
is
horrific.
There
have
been
thousands,
even
tens
of
thousands,
of
deaths
among
the
civil
population.
People
are
still
dying
as
a
direct
or
indirect
result
of
the
conflict,
either
in
massacres
or
because
of
the
precarious
situation
associated
with
the
displacement
of
people
and
the
resultant
health
problems.
Since
2
June
this
year
at
least
50,000
people
have
fled
from
the
village
of
Kibirizi
and
the
surrounding
countryside
and
have
gone
principally
to
the
villages
of
Kirumba,
Kayna
and
Kanya-Bayunga.
Witnesses
speak
of
pillaging
and
massacres
committed
that
day
by
"men
in
uniform
speaking
Rwandi".
Those
who
finally
returned
to
harvest
their
crops
in
their
villages
in
the
area
controlled
by
Rwandan
forces
(Goma
RCD)
reported
that
they
had
again
been
driven
out.
Today
in
the
town
of
Kanya-Bayunga
alone
tens
of
thousands
of
people
are
in
urgent
need
of
humanitarian
aid,
i.e.
they
lack
food
and,
in
particular,
there
is
a
cholera
epidemic.
On
5
August
officials
from
the
province
of
North
Kivu
reported
that
out
of
this
population
displaced
by
war
10
people
were
dying
every
day
from
cholera.
However
only
two
vehicle
loads
of
provisions
for
displaced
people
have
arrived
safely
during
June
and
five
lorries
are
still
being
held
by
armed
forces
at
Rwindi.
The
international
community
must
intervene
as
a
matter
of
urgency.
It
is
astonishing
that
an
alarming
report
published
on
7
July
by
OCHA
(UNO
East
RDC
Humanitarian
Coordination
Bureau)
has
not
been
followed
up
by
action
and
that
today
there
are
still
50,000
to
70,000
people
who
have
not
received
any
international
aid.
It
is
unfortunately
a
conflict
which
is
taking
place
behind
closed
doors
and
the
humanitarian
organisations
which
could
come
to
the
aid
of
the
peoples
of
the
Congo
cannot
go
since
their
safety
does
not
appear
to
be
really
assured.
Finally, among the disastrous consequences of this conflict are the child soldiers armed and trained by the rebel movements. Children from 10 to 15 can be seen carrying arms. And when those responsible are asked the reason for their presence, the reply is: "when a child is seen with a gun nobody asks his age; if he has a weapon it is because he is old enough to carry it!"
