CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Sylphes Mangaya, Brazzaville, April 1999
THEME = CIVIL WAR
Now fighting has broken out again,
the Angolan army's support for the government
makes itself increasingly felt, both
as regards national security and for training Congo's army
The Angolan army's continued presence in Congo-Brazza, an army which took an active part in General Denis Sassou Nguesso's return to power after five months (June-October 1997) of a murderous and destructive civil war, is causing a great deal of anxiety, especially in opposition ranks. Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya, leader of the Democratic Rally and Social Progress Party and one of the country's main opposition figures makes no bones about what he thinks. Tchicaya used to be Mayor of Pointe-Noire, a major "oil town" and Congo's main port. On 19 October 1998, in a radio interview with the French overseas service, Tchicaya said: "Maybe the government's got its reasons for the continued Angolan presence, but I'm personally troubled, because for me, it means my country is under foreign occupation. This Angolan army has helped one side to win the war, but what's it doing here? It should get out and we'll sort out our own problems".
Three days later, on the same radio network, the Communications Minister, Francois Ibovi, replied to this criticism. He didn't mince his words. He emphasized: "The Angolan force harms no-one. On the contrary, it's making a valuable contribution to the country's security, while waiting for the national security forces to complete the job". He then went on to accuse Thystère Tchicaya of helping to destroy the nation's security forces by siding with Pascal Lissouba. Emilio Gueira, Angola's ambassador in Brazzaville says this: "The Congo still doesn't have anything like an army yet, and the Angolan military are helping to form a national Congolese army which will eventually take over from the Angolan troops".
In the long run, stakes are high for the Angolan military in Congo- Brazzaville. And one thing is certain, the troops of Angola's President, Eduardo Dos Santos, are not prepared to leave the Congo in view of the complex regional military situation which has prevailed since September 1998. Angola is fighting a war on a double front: in Congo-Brazza and at home against Jonas Savimbi's rebel UNITA movement - apart from a military presence elsewhere.
Angola's determination to remain in Congo-Brazza is clear. Why? Because a number of diplomats think there is organised cooperation between the rebel movements in three Central African countries: Angola, Congo-Brazza and Congo RDC. That's why Presidents Sassou, Kabila and Dos Santos met in January in Luanda. And such a meeting accounts for the presence of Angolan soldiers in the two Congos. An Angolan official puts it this way: "The meeting went a long way towards showing how Angola's fight against the UNITA rebels is linked to the fight against rebels in these three countries."
However, the military situation in Congo-Brazzaville doesn't seem to be a minor affair for the Angolan troops who are helping Sassou's government. In spite of their wide experience on the battlefield and an iron discipline, the Angolan soldiers are experiencing difficulties in Congo's internal war, where the government forces are having to face up to Kolélas' poorly equipped Ninja militia, and Pascal Lissouba's Cocoye militia, in both Brazzaville and the interior. The same Angolan official says these difficulties are due to the fact that Congo-Brazza's armed forces, over-manned with senior officers, are far from being well organised. He says: "The enemy always manages to break through the Congolese army positions. We've seen this ever since fighting broke out in Brazzaville and in the Niari and Bouenza regions". This is just a gentle reminder to Sassou Nguesso's government that radical action must be taken - if indeed, it needs reminding!
During his New Year's Message to the Nation, President Nguesso promised to reorganise the army and the other security forces. Having appointed Jacques Ndolou as the new Chief-of-General Staff, the Congolese soldiers were asked to return to barracks. This is probably the first step in forming a true professional army.
Generally speaking, the Angolan soldiers have no difficulty in sympathising with the local Congolese population in their troubles. The people even call them "Amigos" i.e. "Friends". The local people are more at ease with the Angolan soldiers than with the Cobra militia. As soon as the Angolans leave an area, anarchy is once again the order of the day. This is what happened in Kinkala, capital of The Pool region, some 75 kms south of Brazzaville. Once the Angolans had withdrawn, the Cobra militia threw themselves into making demands on the local population and pressurising former Ninja militants who felt themselves to be hunted, and so fled into the forests.
Of course, all is not sweetness. Some Angolans who were supposed to keep order in a number of urban centres, proved overfond of the "demon drink". They looted, raped and sometimes murdered innocent citizens. Jean-Claude is a displaced person from Bacongo, a southern district in Brazzaville where a number of violent incidents took place in December 1998. He had to seek safety in the northern area of the city. He describes what happened to him: "A few days ago, in the evening, two Angolan soldiers demanded I should change some bank notes for them. Each of them had a 1,000 CFA banknote and I didn't have any change with me. One of them shoved his hand in my shirt pocket; having found nothing, they told me to go away".
Many of Congo-Brazzaville's womenfolk and prostitutes coming across the river from Congo-Kinshasa, have married Angolan soldiers - which everyone doesn't agree with. One elderly Congolese citizen says ironically: "They're going to have children who will all want to take up arms." He then says that if the present situation continues, the Angolans are never going to go back to Angola.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1999 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement