the badly disguised imperialist intervention in Zaire
CRAP intervention force
* Zaire
The westward advance of the rebel forces has encouraged many opponents of Zaire's
Mobutu regime. But France, the USA and Belgium, the main imperialist powers controlling this region, so rich in strategic raw materials, are increasingly worried. They are trying, in vain, to impose some kind of Mobutuism without Mobutu.
Eric Toussaint
The capitalist powers can't agree on how to keep Zaire within the fold.
France wants an aggressive, active policy, reinforcing its role as prime power in the region. Belgium is desperate not to lose its remaining influence in its former colonies. The United States wants to consolidate its influence in
Uganda and Rwanda, and make new friends in Zaire.
But the size of the disaster seem to be forcing the three neo-colonial powers into a temporary alliance to protect their interests.
The pretext, of course, is humanitarianism:
coming quickly to the aid of those Rwandan refugees who have not yet begun the trek home. The second pretext is avoiding a destabilisation of all of central Africa.
What form will the intervention take?
For the moment, under-the-table support for the Mobutu regime, enabling it to gain military control over the eastern regions of
Zaire. The Belgian and Us governments are hesitant, but they are allowing France to
NIGER
CHAD
CENTRAL AFRICAN
REPUBLIC
CAMEROON
Taine
Kisangani
CONGO
ZAIRE
GABON
RWAN
L KASAI
*Kinshasa
ANGOLA
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International Viewpoint forge ahead.
An international military expedition under the auspices of the UN Security Council is unlikely, but not impossible. The goal of any such intervention would be to prevent the rebellion from spreading to the rest of
Zaire.
Another option would be to pressure rebel leader Laurent Kabila to negotiate with the Zairian regime, with some kind of guarantees for the parliamentary elections which should take place later this year. This would be hard to put into practice. What kind of compromise could be stitched together
DJIBOUTI
SOMALIA
KENTA countries
US allies
SEYCHELLES
TANZANIA
AMRIA
MOZAMBIQUR between the rotten regime in Kinshasa, the zig-zag opposition of Tschisékédi, and the armed rebellion of Laurent Kabila? In any case, progressives should oppose any pact of this type, which would only prolong the lite of the dictatorship, and the suffering of the Zairian people. Blood on Parisian hands
France fully supports the Mobutu regime. The dictator's second home is on the Côte d'Azur, and France enables him to shuttle between Zaire, Morocco and Europe to mobilise support for his regime. Despite an official embargo, France continues to arm the regime in Kinshasa, training the officers and torturers of the Zairian armed forces.
There are even French troops among the mercenary force led, on paper, by the Belgian adventurer Christian Tavernier. According to Colonel Yamba, who defected from the Zairian army after active service in the Eastern provinces during the 1980s, "what you call mercenaries are actually 500 French soldiers from Bangui [France's main permanent bases in the region]. According to journalist Colette Braeckman, "the elite CRAP (Deep Search and Action) unit,' was trained at Kota Koli, a Zaire army training camp set up by Belgian officers, and now operates from a base in Kisangani"
The mercenary Tavernier is just a cover. According to Billets d'afrique newsletter "the General Statt of the mercenary force is 80% staffed by French instructors." And "In June 1996, Christian Tavernier visited the Elysée palace [home to French President