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Title: Washington Maneuvers For Role In Zaire
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from the Militant, vol.61/no.20                          May 19, 1997

   
BY MEGAN ARNEY
   The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Congo/Zaire (AFDL) has captured three-fourths of the country
and are now 40 miles from the capital city of Kinshasa. As
the rebels advance, the imperialist powers - led by
Washington - are maneuvering to establish a position in
Zaire's future as the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko
collapses.
   Zaire, which borders nine other countries, is one of the
wealthiest countries in all of Africa. It leads the world in
industrial diamond production, produces about a quarter of
the world's cobalt, and ranks sixth in copper production.
Zinc, tin, manganese, gold, silver, iron ore, and uranium
are also found there. Energy resources include 13 percent of
the world's total hydroelectric potential, oil reserves, and
some coal deposits. Since the rebellion began in October,
the AFDL has consolidated control over nearly all of the
country's mineral-rich regions. Several major imperialist
corporations have reportedly met with the rebels to set up
contracts for mining.
   Seeing the collapse of the Mobutu regime as inevitable,
the White House and other imperialist governments have
called for the dictator to step down.  On April 28,
Washington sent William Richardson, U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, to Zaire to force negotiations between the
Mobutu regime and the AFDL. Washington is seeking to
stabilize the situation, get a regime it can work with, and
avoid any further instability that could damage imperialist
interests in the region.
   
   Negotiations hit a snag
   Talks between AFDL leader Laurent Kabila and Mobutu were
arranged for the weekend of May 3-4. South African president
Nelson Mandela, who has been pushing for the talks for
months, was to be the liaison between Kabila and Mobutu
during negotiations. Citing security reasons, Kabila refused
to board the boat at the last minute. However, on May 4, the
rebel leader and Mobutu met, agreeing on nothing.
   Coming out of the meeting, Kabila continued to insist
that Mobutu resign and demand immediate transfer of power of
the transitional government to the AFDL. Mobutu agreed to
resign, but only to hand over power to either Archbishop
Laurent Monsengwo, who resigned as head of the country's
transitional parliament in 1996, or the current prime
minister, Gen. Likulia Bolongo.
   In a letter to Clinton, Mobutu said that if he left
power, he wanted assurances that "some of his financial
resources would remain intact," White House officials said.
Kabila has conceded to give Mobutu eight days to consider
the demand to step down,  but added, "I made it clear a
cease-fire is out of the question and my forces will advance
on all fronts. If we make it to Kinshasa before the eight
days then too bad, but we cannot wait while he makes up his
mind."
   On May 6, Mobutu was reportedly leaving for what was
called a three-day trip to Gabon.
   With rebel forces closing in on Kinshasa, Richardson
delivered a message to Kabila saying, "We stressed our long-
standing view.. that .. there should be a peaceful entry
into the capital of Kinshasa - a soft landing which avoids
violence and chaos." The U.S. ambassador to the UN added
that Washington wants an "inclusive" transitional government
that would include those in the Mobutu regime and the
current opposition in the Zairian government.
   Richardson has also touted the White House's idea of
"free and fair elections."  These elections would include
Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of the Union for Democracy and
Social Progress. Tshisekedi, once part of the Mobutu regime
who actually signed the arrest papers for independence
leader Patrice Lumumba, still regards himself as the
rightful prime minister. Tshisekedi led anti-Mobutu
demonstrations in the capital in early April, after being
dismissed from his position of prime minister by Mobutu for
the third time.
   In a move to shore up support for Washington's plan,
Richardson stopped by to visit with Ugandan president Yoweri
Museveni and Rwandan vice president Paul Kagame.
   
   History of imperialist backing
   Mobutu, who came to power in the 1960s with Washington's
backing, has usurped an estimated $1 billion of Zaire's
wealth. For decades Washington used his regime as a
protectorate in the region. At one point a paid CIA
employee, Mobutu has long served the imperialists'
interests.
   Shortly before Angola's independence from Portuguese
colonial rule in November 1975, that country's new
government - led by the Popular Movement for the Liberation
of Angola (MPLA) -was attacked by South African apartheid
forces and Zairian troops. The invading forces were allied
with the Angolan National Liberation Front (FNLA) and the
Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
   The Mobutu regime backed these counterrevolutionaries in
Angola, and allowed Zaire to be used as a base for UNITA
leader Jonas Savimbi. On at least three occasions in 1986
alone, the CIA used an air base in Zaire to transship arms
to the UNITA terrorists. Today, reports in the big-business
press assert that Angola is backing the rebels as a
"payback" to the Mobutu government.
   Washington has warned the government of Angola not to get
involved with the struggle in Zaire. It has been reported in
the news for months that Angola has backed the rebels in
Zaire, financially and with weapons. Many big-business
papers have accused Angola of sending troops to fight in
Zaire.  On May 2, Angolan foreign minister Venancio de Moura
denied that Angolan troops were fighting alongside the
rebels.
   The big-business press has continued to use pictures of
starving refugees to lay the ground for possible
intervention in Zaire. For weeks newspapers like the New
York Times and Washington Post have splashed their pages
with such pictures, and printed articles that report alleged
massacres of refugees by the rebels.
   On April 21, Sadako Ogata, head of the United Nations
High Commission on Refugees, accused the AFDL of killing
Rwandan refugees - suggesting a UN intervention in the name
of "humanitarian aid." The AFDL antigovernment rebels have
consistently denied the allegations. For months
international food agencies, the UN, and Washington have
complained that the rebels were not moving fast enough to
repatriate the hundred of thousands of Rwandan refugees who
fled that country during the war in 1994.
   In late April, the rebel forces began to move refugees,
sending them by train and truck. On May 5, the UN complained
that the refugees were being moved too fast, and stopped the
transport of refugees by train. More than 90 refugees died
in overcrowded boxcars on one of the trains during the trip.


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