CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by C. Goma Makaya, Brazzaville, November 1998
THEME = SOCIAL CONDIT.
Armed gangs are spreading panic among the inhabitants of The Pool,
some 75 kms south of Brazzaville
At the end of the 5 June civil war, the region of The Pool served as a bolt hole for those who had been defeated. The military, senior officials from the former regime, the ex-"ninjas" (Bernard Kolélas' private militia) who hadn't been able to escape into exile, all found themselves in this region - carrying with them arms and ammunition.
"Operation Dove" was intended to be an exercise for collecting all the munitions lying about or held by civilians since the civil war, but it wasn't very successful. What's now happening in The Pool, a year and a half following the end of the civil war, is synonymous with the same evil which led to 15,000 people being killed during the civil war. Norbert Nkouka puts it this way: "The former "Ninjas" are making their presence felt in The Pool, especially since the events which took place in August 1998 in Mindoull (a district of The Pool). In no way is it a rebellion. They're armed bandits, fanatics in cahoots with Bernard Kolélas, and they're making trouble so as to terrorise the population of the south. They went there to steal, now they're finding political reasons to be there. They're presently announcing the return of their charismatic leader. Does Kolélas really think that in order to get back to Congo-Brazza he's got to murder the people living in The Pool?"
Politically, the current crisis in The Pool is extremely serious. First of all, what's happening comes at a time when the government is just getting the country's administration reorganised, and preparations are already underway for the presidential elections - preparations which begin with a popular referendum on a proposed new Constitution, as announced by the President of the Republic during his speech on the first anniversary of the 5 June civil war. The referendum is due to take place in 1999.
Congo-Brazzaville has no national army as such, capable of protecting the population. The young recruits of the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC) are mainly members of Sassou's private militia (the "Cobras". They are spreading terror in the villages of The Pool area. They attack anyone getting in their way, both young and old.
Congo-Brazzaville's very future is threatened by the on-going insecurity. The crisis in The Pool was predictable. Thystère Tchicaya is president of the Democratic Rally of the Socialist Party (RDPS). He says: "Nobody should be surprised by the turn of events. Congolese have no confidence in themselves and in others. I don't imagine for one minute that our fellow citizens in exile care about what's happening in their country".
Instead of looking for some solution which would help Brazzaville's population, what is happening? The politicians condemn their enemies right, left and centre, but do absolutely nothing to help the people. Ever since the present crisis started, Brazzaville's population has been experiencing famine conditions and are afraid that the civil war is going to break out again. As if they hadn't suffered enough from the politicians!
The Churches have finally got their act together in taking an initiative which will, hopefully, bring about real and lasting peace. The Ecumenical Council of Churches of the Congo has set up a mediation committee of 47 members drawn from all classes and conditions of society, including members of the government, military officers. All of them come from The Pool. The committee is calling for:
@INDENT_NARR = An immediate end to all hostilities;
@INDENT_NARR = There must be some beginnings to a dialogue between the various armed groups, under the auspices of duly appointed mediators;
@INDENT_NARR = An appropriate peace committee or some other new structure must be set up in The Pool, to prepare the ground for a peaceful solution.
Anselme Nganga is a businessman coming from The Pool. He says: "We've confidence in our Church leaders who've taken it upon themselves to condemn the crisis in The Pool. There's too much in the way of extortion going on there, and the security forces sent to protect the population, are spreading more fear than confidence among the people. Enough is enough. A lasting solution must be found so that the people can get some encouragement".
The government has shown its appreciation for the Church's initiative and the peace committee, by financing the committee's budget estimated at 38 million CFA francs.
Since the outbreak of unrest in The Pool, life has got expensive in Brazzaville. The Congo-Ocean (CFCO) railway link has come to halt. Now the train leaves Pointe-Noire and terminates at Ioutété (Bouenza region, in south-west Congo), It doesn't go as far as Brazzaville. The government has established an air link to provide the capital with basic necessities, but the high price of goods on sale has done nothing to help the tradesmen. Prices in Brazzaville's markets are rocketing. The price of a 120 gr loaf of bread used to be 75 CFA francs. Now it's 250 CFA francs. There's now a cumulative price increase of 55.94%! To make the price increases more bearable, the bakers have decreased the weight of a loaf of bread to 90 gm and charge 100 CFA francs. All this, plus the fact that salaries are never paid on time, makes life unbearable in Brazzaville.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction
authorised, with usual acknowledgement