by Louis Kalonji, Kinshasa, 15 March 1997
THEME = CIVIL WAR
War is still raging within Zaire. The rebel leader, Laurent Kabila, seems determined to place himself in as strong a position as possible, before approaching the negotiating table
Almost five months ago, the Tutsi Banyamulenge rebels, supported by the armed forces of Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, invaded Zaire's Kivu province. Today, they control North Kivu, South Kivu, Upper Zaire and a good part of Shaba province. Kisangani, the capital of the Upper Zaire region, which had become the Zairian army's base for its counter-offensive, fell on Saturday 15 March at 3 a.m. after intense fighting. The rebel leader, Laurent Kabila, was determined to capture this strategic town, so as to be in a strong position for imposing his views at the negotiations in Nairobi (Kenya) and Lomé (Togo).
This present war has claimed many victims. Large numbers of Zairian displaced persons and Rwandese refugees have taken to the roads, fleeing the fighting. In rebel-held territory, looting has taken place. Also, the heaps of corpses and the mass graves recently discovered in these same areas, would seem to be the rebels' work.
Many governments have called for an immediate ceasefire. But Laurent Kabila is in strong position and does not appear to be willing to stop fighting. On the other hand, President Mobutu, who first rejected the UN peace plan, finally decided to adopt it. After the Cape Town Meeting (Editor's note: In February 1997), other summit meetings have been scheduled in the hope of finding a peaceful solution to the crisis. But what are the conditions for a lasting peace in Zaire?
In a detailed report published in Kinshasa by the DIA news agency, Bishop Charles Mbogba Kambale of Isiro-Niangara Diocese, described what happened in his diocese and in Wamba.
Looting has gone on for months over hundreds of kilometres (in Goma, Butembo, Beni, Bunia, Isiro-Dungu, Buta, Aketi, Bondo, etc.). Since nothing has been done to end it, one can only conclude that this is a deliberate policy by the government and the dictatorship, to destroy the country's economy and social institutions, so as to bring the people to their knees.
When the victims complain, the military and public authorities answer: "We can't do anything. That's your look out!" This lack of action is encouraging the looters, and shows that it's all part of a deliberate plan to initiate a "scorched earth policy".
Reporting on the looting in his diocese, Bishop Joseph Banga Bane of Buta, said that the way things are at the moment, "we have to look on helplessly as the looting and killings take place. Innocent men and women, indeed, a whole population living in great poverty is being wronged. It is terribly humiliating for us, and I, as their bishop, feel ashamed of being afraid; of having to flee; of being powerless to help neither the people nor the Church in this present situation; of being a Zairian in a country where such savage behaviour is still possible. It is frustrating and revolting to feel that the criminals have the upper hand. Frustration breeds anger, and anger can turn into revenge."
The rebels use dissuasion techniques every time they are face to face with the FAZ soldiers. They say: "Why are you fighting? Do you want Mobutu's dictatorship to go on for ever? Do you want to remain slaves of the Ngbandi (Mobutu's tribe)?"
A FAZ soldier, returning from the front, confirmed that the people are beginning to welcome the rebels. He said: "You can feel that people have an ever-increasing interest in the rebels. Sometimes we wonder why the very people we are supposed to be defending, hate us. Why are they prepared to strike bargains with the rebels?"
News arriving from towns in Kivu now under Kabila's administration, encourages other Zairians to look forward to the arrival rebel leader's arrival. Reports reaching other parts of the country speak about a return to honesty, professional behaviour and a fair administration of the occupied (liberated) territories. Money collected for taxes, for instance, reaches the state-coffers and not some individuals' pockets. Kabila's ministers are said to be unsophisticated people, truly concerned for the welfare of the people they administer.
That's why Kisangani's population triumphantly and peacefully welcomed the rebel leader and his men. They put out white flags to show their allegiance. In so doing, the population of the Upper Zaire region's capital city, adopted a peaceful attitude so as to avoid bloodshed and to protect the population. (We must remember that this town suffered very badly in the sixties under the Mulele rebels, losing many of its male population, and with the FAZ a defeated rabble, the people have no one else except Kabila's AFDL to look to for their protection).
Witnesses coming from the Kivu region also reported the discovery of mass graves in the Bukavu, Goma, Walikale and Shabunda areas. They draw attention to graves containing anything from 200-300 people shot by automatic weapons.
Others say the above reports have been concocted in order to weaken the position of Kabila and his AFDL in the eyes of the world. Also, in a press release, the United Nation's High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed doubts about the truthfulness of these reports, saying that 500,000 refugees couldn't simply disappear from the face of the earth without their knowledge. Likewise, the UNHCR categorically rejected information published in the Media, accusing Kabila and his men of genocide, and totally repudiated accusations made against Kabila by the Belgian State Secretary. Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) also issued a similar denial.
One day, the truth of the matter will come to light. At the present moment, it is well known that most of the Tutsi soldiers fighting in Kabila's forces, are those whose parents were either killed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, or who were hunted down and killed in 1995 and 1996 in the Masisi and Rutshuru regions, by former Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) soldiers and Interhamwe, with the support of the Zairian army. On the pretext of pursuing and punishing the 1994 killers, the AFDL Tutsi soldiers, have killed large numbers of Hutu men, women and children.
Massacres, tortures, forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests are also reported in these areas. AZADHO North Kivu section and other human rights associations, speak of a real genocide of Hutu and the local population, by AFDL and Tutsi Rwandese soldiers.
The rebels are blamed for the systematic massacre of local Zairian Hutus in the camps, and also for the ethnic cleansing operation carried out each time a town surrenders. Reports of these massacres have somewhat cooled the people's enthusiasm for Kabila. However, many Zairians, while dreading the invasion and the domination of Zaire by the Tutsi, still hope "that Kabila will chase the dictator Mobutu away, as he is the one who has ruined the country and turned the population into tramps".
Now comes the time for negotiations. In order to prevent Zaire from drowning in its own misfortunes, South Africa, acting upon advice from the United States, initiated negotiations in Cape Town. Here, Kabila's representatives met with those of President Mobutu. The Americans and the South Africans had worked out a plan for the resolving the crisis, first inside Zaire and then in the Great Lakes region. This plan provided for an immediate end to hostilities, the repatriation of the Rwandese refugees to their home country, the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Zairian soil (including the mercenaries), opening negotiations to solve Zaire's political and security problems.
In South Africa, Kabila insisted that Mobutu must be present at the negotiations. He described the President's representative, Mr. Ngbanda Nzambo, as "irresponsible".
People in Kinshasa wonder whether the American plan still has any chance of success. France then suggested another summit to be held on 26 March in Lomé, Togo.
To achieve lasting peace in Zaire, any negotiations must take into
account the population's concerns and aspirations, especially those
immediately concerned. What do the people of Zaire expect from the
negotiations?
- 1. They want radical change. Obviously they want
the war to end, but at the same time any negotiation must take a
long hard look at the reasons for Zaire's present lamentable state.
Most of all, the population wants to see an end to Mobutu's
dictatorship that has ruined the country.
- 2. They want to see the election process back on
track.
- 3. They want a solution to the delicate question of
Zairian nationality (one of the causes of the war.
- 4. They want a firm pledge that the democratisation
process will continue. The basic terms of reference for this
process are the conclusions drawn up by the Sovereign National
Conference, relating to:
a. The formation of a genuine government of national
unity. Such a government must include representatives from the
various political "families" and the civil society.
b. The re-organisation of a truly national army free from all tribal
and ethnic elements.
c. The organisation of free and open elections
under the supervision of the United Nations and countries friendly
towards Zaire.
d. There must be public accountability when it comes
to administering state finances.
But first of all, the dictatorship must end. This is why many of Kabila's friends have stated categorically that he must not make the same mistake as others aspiring to power, and trust the present dictatorship's deceptive promises. He must go in "for the kill" and drive away the dictator who is the root cause of the war.
END