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Painted barkcloth like this is created by the Mbuti women of the Itari Forest in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Click for full size. 17K)

According to a report from Human Rights Watch, this Congolese refugee and many others were killed in 1996 and 1997. (Click for full size. 6K)

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Shifting political and military alliances have made the Democratic Republic of Congo insecure, causing economic devastation

Editor's Note: Reese Erlich is a regular contributor to the Stanley Foundation's public radio program on world affairs, Common Ground. Tapes and transcripts of his recent Common Ground reports from Congo are available on our Web site: www.commongroundradio.org.

Mention of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire, brings to mind images of still another African mess—a seemingly intractable civil war, economic collapse, and horrific tribal conflict. But it is important to understand the war in the DRC, because it may well become a turning point in post-cold war Africa.

For the first time black-ruled nations have invaded and occupied portions of another country. Fifteen years ago the US and USSR would have lined up behind opposing forces. But today the United States just plays a behind-the-scenes role, and no less than nine African armies are now fighting on Congolese soil.

Rwanda and Uganda, with the tacit support of the United States, have invaded the DRC from the east and support rebel forces opposed to the government of President Laurent Kabila. Angola, Zimbabwe, Chad, and Namibia have come to Kabila's military aid. The war appears to be in a stalemate.

The eventual outcome will set a precedent for central Africa and possibly the entire continent. If the DRC fragments into separate areas under foreign control, it could lead to chaos and long-term instability in the region. If Kabila wins the war, his supporters will claim a victory for national sovereignty and against western domination.

Strategic Importance
The DRC sits on an estimated $58 billion in mineral wealth—including enormous deposits of gold, diamonds, cobalt, and copper. The DRC is also strategically located in the center of Africa, bordering eight countries.

In 1960 when the Congo won independence from Belgium, the United States and western powers recognized the country's strategic importance. After free elections in June led to leftist Patrice Lumumba becoming prime minister, the United States, France, and Belgium swung into action. In September they backed a coup led by Col. Joseph Mobutu. Lumumba was jailed and later murdered, many Congolese believe, at the instigation of the United States.

Col. Mobutu, who changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko, became the country's iron-fisted dictator, ruling from 1965-1997. His rule was marked with corruption, brutality, and profitable mining concessions for western companies. Mobutu strongly supported the United States against the Soviet Union, including allowing his country to become a staging area for right-wing guerrillas opposed to the neighboring Angolan government. But by 1997 Mobutu's regime was collapsing. Inflation hit 260%, the army degenerated into roving bands, and corruption virtually eliminated mining production.

New Struggle for Power
Enter Laurent Kabila, a leftist guerrilla leader in the 1960s, who reinvented himself as a populist and began a campaign against Mobutu. Kabila secured military backing from Rwanda and Uganda and came to power mainly with the aid of Rwandan and Ugandan troops.

The US government initially backed Kabila with US diplomats welcoming Kabila's calls for foreign investment and promises to end corruption. One American-headquarted mining company even paid Kabila $1 million in advance taxes and provided him with its private airplane. During his first year in power, Kabila brought inflation down to 6% and reversed the trend of negative economic growth.

Kabila, however, also instituted a series of populist measures inspired by his leftist past, including public works projects and sending volunteer youth brigades to farm in the countryside. Most significantly, he refused to pay World Bank loans run up during the corrupt Mobutu years, arguing that the money had not benefited the Congolese people. Kabila began to fall out of favor with the United States.

In August 1998 Uganda and Rwanda invaded the DRC from the east and instigated disgruntled Congolese soldiers to form a rebel group. The United States criticized the invasion. But a US diplomatic source interviewed for this story couched the criticism in terms that were considerably milder than in other cases of foreign aggression. "The presence of foreign troops, specifically Rwandan and Ugandan," he said, "is cause for concern."

Some Congolese directly blame the United States and the West for the war. "The current war in Congo is a war of the Westerners' making," said Charles Abedi, a Kabila supporter. "They supported Mobutu for a very long time. But with Kabila's program, it's tough for them to get something from Congo."

As proof of the anti-Kabila bias, Abedi and others point to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) $2.5 billion loan recently extended to Uganda, one of the invading parties. But that same institution halted payments on an already promised loan to Zimbabwe, which backs Kabila. The US diplomatic source said the IMF decision was based strictly on economic criteria and was unrelated to the Congo war.

Kabila's government argues that a rebel victory could lead to partition of the country, with the valuable mining areas of the east and southeast splitting off from the DRC.

Tribal Conflicts
While the war began as a power struggle between Kabila and the rulers of Rwanda and Uganda, both sides quickly played the tribal card.

Tens of thousands Tutsi—Rwanda claims as many as 300,000—live in eastern Congo. Known as the Banyamulenge, they form a minority in the DRC's total population of about 46 million. Many of these Tutsi emigrated from Rwanda generations ago and hold Congolese citizenship. But many Congolese still consider them foreigners.

When Kabila came to power, backed by the mainly Tutsi Rwandan Army, he also had strong support from the Banyamulenge. After Kabila took the capital many outside observers say that the Rwandan Tutsi soldiers in Kinshasa acted as arrogant occupiers rather than liberators. "They would take away people's food," says Olivier Kungwa, a researcher with the human rights group Voice of the Voiceless. "They would rape women. So people were pretty angry at them."

By the middle of 1998 resentment of the Rwandan Tutsi army was severely undercutting Kabila's popular support. He kicked out the foreign political advisers and troops. The Rwandans and Ugandans responded by sponsoring the rebellion and were on the verge of winning in August.

Some of Kabila's ministers mobilized popular support by giving speeches attacking all Tutsi. They played into the popular prejudices against Banyamulenge. The population hunted down and murdered Banyamulenge or anyone who even looked like a Tutsi. The government eventually reversed course and sent out troops to protect the Banyamulenge. However, many Tutsi had to flee from the capital.

Foreign diplomats and human rights groups confirm that the anti-Tutsi violence has stopped in Kinshasa. The Kabila government now proclaims itself an opponent of ethnic hatred and tribal war. But the tribal-based conflicts continue in the east of the country.

For its part, the Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers have been accused of tribal-based massacres of civilians in eastern Congo. Rwanda is seeking to make a wide swath of eastern Congo into a secure zone against cross-border attacks from opponents of the Rwandan government. Many diplomats worry that such a zone could become permanent and destroy Congolese sovereignty.

What's Ahead?
The Kabila government argues that it is fighting for an important principle, to stop foreign invaders and keep the Congo united. Finance Minister Mwanga Nanga Mawampanga wonders why Western countries launched a massive war when Iraq invaded Kuwait, but "did nothing when Rwanda and Uganda invaded my country."

But fighting for a principle doesn't travel any further in Africa than it does anywhere else. In reality, the rebel Rwandan-Ugandan coalition controls about one-third of the country. The war is also causing economic collapse in the DRC. Large-scale mining has stopped. Inflation is back up to 250 percent.

Peter Bashinga, an accountant, expresses the sentiments of many Kinshasa residents. "Kabila sticks to his position," he said. "The rebels stick to their position. The economic situation is really very bad. So what's going to be the future?"