by Adovi John Bosco Adotevi, Lomé, Togo, 2 May 1997
THEME = INTERNAT. POLITICS
According to a local private newspaper, a Vespa motorcyclist who had written, "Air Kabila", on his machine, was arrested by the police. Justification for this arrest is vague, since there is no law to support it. But the police's zeal shows how afraid the authorities are, that events in Zaire will spread like an oil slick, and encourage similar hopes among many of Togo's people - to get rid of Eyadéma who has been in power for thirty years.
Mobutu has always been the model for Eyadéma, who imitates him at every turn. Like Mobutu, Togo's Head of State has obliged people to change their first names; he has formed a state party; he has introduced a kind of "authenticity"; and for political propaganda, he uses music and laudatory songs performed by paid singers. When Eyadéma was threatened by the landing of some malcontents at Lomé on 23 September 1986, Zaire sent soldiers to help Eyadéma. This only goes to show that cooperation between the two countries went beyond mere folklore, and revealed the existence of a military mutual support pact between the two Heads of State.
The near similarity of the political situation in the two countries, gives rise to the fear that Togolese dissidents will be encouraged to take the same road to seize power. Some people dream of the apparition of a Kabila, forgetting that the geographical situation of Togo is not the same as Zaire, and that phosphates, its only mineral wealth, is not enough to whet the appetites of the great powers.
However, the way the Zairian army has deserted Mobutu, running away without firing a shot, has surprised the Togolese. The Zairian army's action, proves that those who came to fight Togo's rebels in 1986, are in fact cowards. The Togolese listen to their radios and when they hear that Kabila's rebels are continually advancing, they tell themselves that Zaire's soldiers, like those of Togo, are brave, only when facing unarmed civilians. They also recall that during the confrontations of the nineties, some soldiers on hearing the first gunshots, showed their "bravery" by wearing civilian clothes and taking refuge among civilians. However, any future action demands caution. Remember: France always seems to be behind Eyadéma and his army.
People in Togo are amazed at France's eagerness to find a "peaceful" solution to the quarrel between two men, who live more than ten thousand kilometres from France. According to Hervé de Charette, France was not responsible for the Great Lakes tragedy.
It cannot be forgotten however, that the Great Lakes crisis began when France supported President Habyarimana of Rwanda in his obstinacy, when he refused to make any concessions to his opponents. This eventually resulted in the genocide and its on-going consequences.
If the suffering of the Hutu refugees continues in Zaire, it is because "Operation Turquoise", initiated by France under the auspices of the United Nations, allowed the remnants of Habyarimana's army and the killers, to organise the refugees and prevent them from returning home. And if need be, to conscript them into an army to fight the new government in Kigali.
The chaos in Zaire, the plundering, the assassinations, in a word, the manner in which Zaire is governed, dishonours Mobutu and his ilk, depriving them of any right to present themselves to the electorate. In short, they dishonour their country. (Dishonouring ones country is an abhorrence in all cultures. Remember how, at the end of World War II, Gaullist France refused absolutely to allow the Petinists to assume any office in France's "new order".)
Looking at Africa in general, the USA seems to favour the people taking positive action in order to achieve democracy. France, on the other hand, wants to make certain that her protégés are protected at all costs. When it comes to a state of armed conflict within a country, both powers demand a cease fire to allow an election to chose the new rulers.
Regarding Zaire, France is now demanding elections! Yes, elections, and this after being indifferent to what's been going on for decades (and being held to ridicule for taking this position). France has allowed one man, Mobutu, her own protégé, to continue ruining his people in a country which is extremely rich.
Seeing that French influence in the Great Lakes area is gradually slipping away, France is trying to confine the conflict less it spread to West Africa, which she still considers to be her own property. France pressurised Eyadéma (another of France's "own", and a man fond of large gatherings), into organising a mini-OAU Summit to "settle" the Zaire problem. This Summit didn't amount to much, so President Lissouba in The Congo tried to have a go - again, without much success. So then President Omar Bongo of Gabon was "chosen" for the task. He offered Franceville, his own town, to bring the protagonists in Zaire around the conference table.
But why were so many Francophone countries (The Congo, Cameroon, Togo, Gabon) invited? Is it any wonder that Kabila refused to be caught in the trap set by the tide of francophone people, sympathetic to his rival's cause? But such is the nature of French diplomacy. Even when it hides behind its friends, it cannot hide its rotten smell.
There are some places in which France makes no secret of its intervention. Togo is one of them. It has held French-Togo military manoeuvres, with participants coming from neighbouring countries such as Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso. Nigeria and Ghana were invited to send observers. But why all these francophone countries together? This time, France made her reasoning quite clear: "France has received a mandate from the UN to prevent trouble and stop vast movements of populations taking place in West Africa. Movements frequently resulting from the elections taking place in so many countries". (In 1998, Togo will hold elections to choose a Head of State).
In Togo, restrictions imposed by the existing regime on the Opposition, who are not allowed to protest peacefully against their exclusion from the election exercise, means that trouble can be expected. It is to be feared, that if Eyadéma is re-elected, the Opposition, having no confidence in an electoral commission dominated by the government, will revolt. On the other hand, if Eyadéma is defeated, there is risk that the military will revolt, as they did in Burundi, and will impose a new ruler. In that case, the French and the Togolese authorities have made it quite clear they are prepared for any eventuality.
The five countries of the Mutual Defence Council (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger and Togo), have decided to form an "intervention force" in accordance with the non-aggression pact which unites them. This is in response to an idea dear to Chirac, the French President, who is not trusted by the rest of English-speaking Africa.
Who knows what will happen in the future? The best calculations have often been overtaken by events which cannot be foreseen. Meanwhile, Kabila's victories are applauded by people in Togo who are hoping that after Zaire, it will be Togo's turn!
END