International story 16/5/97

Zairean rebels enter Kinshasa

ZAIREAN rebel units are now moving into the suburbs of the capital Kinshasa,
as last-ditch efforts continue for another face-to-face meeting between
General Mobuto and rebel leader Laurent Kabila, to avert a battle for
control of the last bastion of Mobutoism.

 The two men were scheduled to meet aboard a South African naval vessel
moored off the mouth of the Congo river last Wednesday, but Kabila was
called away. Presumably, he was dealing with operational matters as his
rebel army advances on all fronts towards Kinshasa.

 International efforts are continuing to persuade General Mobuto to
negotiate a peaceful surrender of the capital to avoid further fighting, but
also to deter what's left of his army going on a final rampage through the
stores and the quarters of the rich.

 There was considerable disappointment at the return of General Mobuto after
a brief tour of West Africa designed to drum up some support for his plan
for an interim coalition government. Mobuto returned empty-handed, but many
hoped he would use the opportunity to finally depart the scene and spend his
final days in his villa in France.

 The rebel Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire
now controls over 90 per cent of the mineral-rich African country after
seven months of fighting.

 Archbishop Laurent Mossengwo was elected speaker last weekend by the
Zairea'n parliament in a move by former Mobuto politicians aimed at helping
Mobuto on his way.

 Under the constitution he could assume the role of temporary head of state
if the president resigns or is prevented from fulfilling his duties. But
Mossengwo showed no eagerness to take up this role and the rebels want
nothing to do with him.

 Archbishop Mossengwo briefly held the post of speaker in 1995 and now he
says he's willing to act as "constitutional mediator" to end the crisis. And
according to the Kinshasa press, General Mobuto is on the brink of resigning
on the grounds of ill-health -- he's dying of cancer -and is willing to hand
over power to Mossengwo.

 But in Brussels, the Archbishop said that his appointment would have to be
guaranteed nationally and internationally, and must be approved by the
Catholic church in Zaire and in the Vatican.

 This failed to impress the Alliance. Rebel foreign minister Bizima Karaha
of the rebels' self proclaimed Democratic Republic of Congo, said that if
Mossengwo accepts the post, he would take "the entire responsibility for a
possible blood-bath in Kinshasa".

 Karaha urged Westerners still in Kinshasa to go, warning that Mobuto's
troops were planning to massacre them to justify an international
intervention in Zaire.

 The British government has repeated its previous call for all it's citizens
to get out now, and the United States has warned all Americans to leave
immediately. Nicholas Burns of the US State Department said the "end-game"
was approaching and that it was "too unstable" to stay.

 Meanwhile, the government radio station in the capital has said the army --
which now means little more than Mobuto's crack Presidential Guard -- will
defend Kinshasa and urged the people to arm

 Few, if any, will be prepared to die for Mobuto today. The opposition
forces in Kinshasa and the resistance have called for a general strike and
the people are now openly showing their support for the rebel Alliance. The
liberation of Kinshasa can only be a matter of days.

New Communist Party of Britain Homepage

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2853

A news service for the Working Class!

Workers of all countries Unite!