ANB-BIA DOSSIER

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 320 - 15/03/1997

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE

Z A I R E

Actors and antagonists in Zaire: a reminder

by ANB-BIA, Brussels, March 1997 = Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement



PART 2/2


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2. NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES


A. Three countries accused of participating in the rebellion


The involvement of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi has been asserted from the beginning by Zaire, and acknowledged even by the United States which has demanded the withdrawal of all foreign forces.


RWANDA
The Rwandan Patriotic Front, (the movement and army of Tutsi exiles, supported by Uganda), attacked Rwanda in 1990 and seized power in 1994 after the genocide. More than a million Rwandan refugees, and among them the soldiers of the former Rwandan army and the interahamwe militia, settled in Zaire close to the border. It was important, if not vital, for Rwanda to establish a buffer zone in Eastern Zaire to defend itself against Hutu raids. It is hardly likely that Rwanda intended to extend its borders, though that possibility has been mentioned. It is generally admitted that there has been some involvement of its army on the side of the Zairian Banyarwanda, though the Rwandan government has always denied this.

BURUNDI
On the other hand, the engagement of Burundian troops in Zaire, is less probable given the guerilla war being waged within the country. However, Burundi seems to have helped the rebels. After the assassination of the president elect, Melchior Ndadaye, and especially after the putsch of Pierre Buyoya, the Tutsi minority seized power in Burundi. Many Burundians were refugees in Zaire, and groups of Hutu guerillas had bases in the Uvira area. They were expelled by the Zaire rebels.


UGANDA
The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, a Hima (related to the Tutsi) was powerfully helped by the exiled Rwandan Tutsi in the civil war which swept him to power. In his turn, he helped them when they invaded Rwanda and has maintained very good relations with them. On the other side, small groups of Ugandan rebels operating in the north of Uganda, who are helped by Sudan, had their fall-back bases in north-east Zaire. Uganda has admitted that it used the "right-of-pursuit", to cross the Zaire border, but denies ever having participated actively in the rebellion. One fact to be noted, however, is that Uganda has a large rearmament programme. According to some sources, it spends up to 30% of its national budget on arms. The government justifies this by saying that it has to modernise its army, to meet the challenge of the Ugan-dan rebels and the threats from Sudan.



FRAME 3 : Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers in Zaire


The presence of Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers among the Alliance forces, almost from the beginning of the rebellion, has been attested by observers who were present in Bukavu and Goma. Those soldiers betrayed their nationality by the language they spoke and sometimes by loose talk.

In January, refering to non-Zairian soldiers fighting with the AFDL, an eyewitness told us: "All the soldiers one met, were Tutsi; they spoke Kinyarwanda among themselves. If they spoke very poor Kiswahili, it was a sign that they came from Rwanda; if they spoke very well, with sophisticated words which local people did not understand, they came either from Tanzania or Uganda... At Goma and Bukavu, crossing the border is done discretely and generally at night by trucks with Zaire registration plates or without any registration plates. It is quite common, however, to see a truck with Rwandan plates... When a rebel military vehicle appears even during the day, at the Rwandan border at Gisenyi or Cyangugu, the barrier is immediately raised and it passes without any checking... It is obvious to people in Goma that it is not merely a question of a "rebellion" in Zaire by Zairians, but an invasion of Zaire by other countries".

Be that as it may, a comment by Colette Braeckman, a journalist with Belgium's Le Soir, is revealing. She writes in Le Soir, 24 February 1997: "The war in Rwanda and then the genocide, have increased tensions: young Hutu living in Zaire were enroled in the army of Habyarimana in 1990, but, particularly, thousands of young Tutsi have swelled the ranks of the FPR. A good number of Tutsi are to be found in the ranks of the Alliance. Are they originally from Zaire or have they come directly from Rwanda or even Uganda? It would be a clever person who could tell the difference. In fact, the participation of Tutsi refugees living in Uganda since 1959, or Uganda citizens, is a matter of dispute. But Uganda harbours not only Tutsi; there are also Azande people who straddle the frontier with Upper Zaire, and among them also, refugees who are also fighting with the Alliance. Besides, after 1960, many Lumumbist militants sought refuge in Uganda and their descendants are now engaged in the fighting. How can these descendants who speak English be classified? Are they Ugandans or Zairians?"

At any rate, if it is doubtless difficult to prove a permanent presence of Rwandan or Ugandan armed forces in the Zaire rebellion, the rebels can at least count on substantial logistical support and involvement of those two countries.


END OF FRAME 3







B. Other African Countries

ANGOLA
In Angola's lengthy civil war, Mobutu, for a long time supported Jonas Savimbi's UNITA. On the other hand, former Katanga Gendarmes, under the banner of the National Liberation Front of Congo, were fighting for years in the army of the Angolan government. Not far from Tshikapa in Kasaï, one of the chief diamond centres, they were only waiting for a sign from the former Simba, L. Kabila, to cross the frontier and attack the forces of Mobutu. This was confirmed by sources close to Kabila. Savimbi's troops were posted to guard the border. At the end of February, it was reported that a large number of former Katanga Gendarmes (estimated at 1,500-4,000) had arrived in Bukavu, having crossed Uganda and Tanzania.


SUDAN
Sudan has for years had military pacts with Zaire. But since January, it has had to deal with a strong upsurge of the rebellion in the South, and attacks by opposition forces united under the National Democratic Alliance.


MOROCCO
At the beginning of February, Mobutu paid a visit to the King of Morocco, probably to ask for help. It was even said that planes were ready to transport Moroccan troops as well as Togolese and Chadians, to Zaire. Those countries, however, have denied that they are ready to send troops.


LIBYA
In December 1996, Colonel Ghadafi disclosed: "If President Mobutu is driven from power, the lot of Zaire would be the same as that of Somalia after Siad Barre, and Yugoslavia after Tito".
In February, a message of gratitude from Mobutu was published in Libya, and Ghadafi expressed his support for Zaire and its President. Observers interpret that to mean that Libya's support has become more substantial, and some reports speak of help from Iran and Iraq, channelled through Libya.





3. INTERNATIONAL


The differences between the stance of France and the United States has often been aired; it is seen as a struggle for influence.


FRANCE
After the independence of African countries, France has always continued to play an important role in Africa where it has stationed military units, which on several occasions have intervened to save governments in difficulty (as recently in The Central African Republic). In the Great Lakes region, France has always supported Mobutu, and also former president Habyarimana of Rwanda. Some say that "Operation Turquoise" was undertaken to protect the former Rwandan army. It also seems to be counting on a post Mobutu era, which will be legalised by elections, in which Kengo wa Dondo will remain in command. Together with Belgium, France was more in favour of sending United Nations forces and giving help to the Rwandan refugees.


UNITED STATES
For a long time, the United States was not very much interested in Africa. But in recent years, this interest has certainly increased. To counter forms of Islamic extremism, it has adopted a position towards Sudan, in supporting forces opposed to Khartoum þ forces which are also helped by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Uganda. Last year, it launched the idea that it would bankroll an African force to keep the peace in Africa. France was unhappy about this plan. In enormously mineral-rich Zaire, the United States has long supported Mobutu as a bulwark against Communism in Africa. (Former-president Bush is a member of the Advisor Council of Canadian-American Company Barrick Gold Corporation, which operates in the gold-bearing area of Bunia). But now it appears that the USA is basing its African policy on Uganda and the new powers in Rwanda. And it appears to want to leave the field clear for the rebels in Zaire.
The Anglo-Saxon countries have also been the most reticent about a United Nations intervention force in the Great Lakes crisis.
The position adopted by France and the USA has since come closer together. The whole international community, including the United States, defends the territorial integrity of Zaire, and condemns all outside interference.


UN and OAU
The UN Secretary-General has appointed a special representative, Mr Mohammed Sahnoun, for the Great Lakes region.
The Organisation of African Unity has called on four African countries (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Cameroon) to form a peace committee for that region. At the end of February, President Mandela of South Africa invited Laurent Kabila and a representative of President Mobutu, to meet separately with South African and USA authorities.
On 19 February 1997, the UN Security Council accepted a Peace Plan proposed by Mr Sahnoun. It includes five points: 1. an immediate cease-fire; 2. withdrawal of all foreign forces; 3. territorial integrity of all the countries of the region; 4. protection of refugees; 5. the organisation of an international peace conference.



FRAME 4 : ZAIRE - SHORT CHRONOLOGY


18 October '96 - Fighting breaks out around Uvira.
26 October - The rebels capture Uvira.
30 October - Bukavu is taken by the rebels.
1 November - Goma falls to the rebels.
20 November - Hundreds of thousands of Rwandese refugees return to Rwanda.
3 December - The rebels announce that Bunia has been captured
12 December - Rwandese refugees in Tanzania flee from their camps. They are repatriated to Rwanda. The first wave of refugees arrives at Lubutu/Ting-Tingi.
17 December - President Mobutu returns to Zaire.
31 December - It is confirmed that Bunia has been captured by the rebels
2 January '97 - The government in Kinshasa announces a "devastating" counter-offensive.
3 January - Rebel forces are reported to be at Watsa and Bafwasende.
25 January - Fighting around the River Oso.
3 February - Kalemie and Watsa are captured by the rebels.
6 February - The rebels take Shabunda.
11 February - Isiro is taken by the rebels.
17 February - Mercenaries shell Bukavu.
22 February - Kalima is captured by the rebels.
28 February - Kindu falls to the rebels. The refugees leave Tingi-Tingi camp.


Compiled by ANB-BIA, Brussels, March 1997 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement

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PeaceLink 1997 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement