Rebels prepare to topple Mobutu dictatorship  

BY MEGAN ARNEY
As the rebels of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo/Zaire come closer to toppling the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, the major imperialist powers - with Washington in the lead - are lining up their armed forces for intervention in Zaire. Dozens of U.S. and French troops are already on the ground there.

The rebels have seized about a third of Zaire since October of last year. Since then the they have grown into a 40,000-strong army, recruiting heavily from the population in seized areas. On March 15 they took Kisangani, the third largest city in Zaire and formerly the government's main stronghold in the eastern portion of the country. The rebels have been hailed as liberators as they capture town after town, sending the soldiers and mercenaries of the Mobutu regime fleeing.

Washington, which played a central role in installing Mobutu in power on the blood and bones of the independence fighters in Zaire in the 1960s, backed the dictatorship until very recently. Now, with Mobutu's days clearly numbered, the U.S. rulers are hunting for a pretext to step in.

On March 23, U.S. Army forces arrived in Brazzaville, Congo. In the name of a possible evacuation of U.S. citizens, Washington has sent about 100 paratroopers to an area that lies just across the Zaire River from Kinshasa, the Zairian capital. The day before the larger contingent of U.S. troops arrived, a 30-member reconnaissance team landed in Zaire along with 100 French soldiers. Defense Secretary William Cohen said March 24 that the Pentagon planned to have more than 600 troops in the region in the near future. Stating Washington's position on intervention, Cohen said, "We stand ready to respond if necessary."

Major Gen. Edwin Smith, the commander of U.S. forces deployed to Central Africa, said he will soon have 200 troops in Brazzaville and another 100 in Libreville, Congo. The U.S. State Department has ordered an estimated 1,250 army, navy and air force troops to the region of Zaire.

Imperialist forces converge in region
Meanwhile, the United States Navy maneuvered the amphibious warfare ship USS Nassau, carrying 1,000 marines, to hover just off the African coast. The ship came from the Eighth Fleet in the Adriatic, which has been prowling along the coast of Albania. The Nassau is equipped with Cobra helicopter gunships, Harrier attack fighter jets, and transport helicopters.

French military forces are also being moved into the region. The French defense ministry says three C160 Transall, a single C130 Hercules transport aircraft, and two Puma helicopters, in addition to the 100 troops, have been sent to Congo and Gabon. There were already about 600 troops stationed in Gabon at one of Paris's seven military bases in its former African colonies -totaling 9,000 troops. The imperialist power also maintains "military cooperation agreements" with 23 countries in sub-Sahara Africa. Paris' second-largest military installation is in the Central African Republic, which borders Zaire to the north.

The Belgian government has also said it would send 600 troops.

This is not the first attempt by Washington and other imperialist forces to militarily intervene in Zaire in recent months. In early November, Ottawa, Paris, and Washington led a drive to send an international intervention force of 15,000 to Zaire, in the name of a United Nations "humanitarian aid" mission to help the refugees fleeing the fighting in eastern Zaire. Underlying the wrangling over this plan was Washington's maneuvering to attempt to replace Paris as the dominant power in the region. However, the imperialist powers were forced to "reassess" their intervention when hundreds of thousands of the refugees left Zaire for Rwanda.

Washington has a long history of supporting the dictatorship of Mobutu Seso Seko. Since 1960, when Mobutu seized power -with the help of UN forces - in a military coup d'etat, Washington and Paris in particular have used the regime to serve their capitalist interests in the area.

There are very material reasons for this interest. Zaire is a large country that is extremely rich in mineral resources. Some 60 percent of the earth's cobalt and much of the world's supply of industrial-grade diamonds are there, as are large amounts of zinc, copper, manganese, and gold. Some 13 percent of the world's total hydroelectric potential is in Zaire.

Despite such natural wealth, in 1994, the per-capita Gross National Product in Zaire was $125 - about 70 percent lower than it was in 1958. Prices rose by an average of 23,773 percent, the highest inflation rate ever recorded anywhere, while industry runs at 10 percent capacity. Some 80 percent of the population can not find jobs. Real wages in Zaire in the early 1990s were less than 10 percent of those in 1960.

Crisis of Mobutu's regime
In face of numerous calls to implement a cease-fire, the rebels have refused to put down their arms. Recently, Zairian president Mobutu Seso Seko - who appears to be dying from cancer as quickly as his regime is dying - tried to stop the wave of instability by tightening the reins of government. On March 24, Mobutu accepted a parliamentary vote of censure of the highly unpopular Prime Minister Kengo wa Dondo. Later that evening, Kengo resigned.

The Washington Post cited one unnamed Western diplomat as expressing concern over the move, saying that Kengo's ouster could lead to "more political disorder" in Kinshasa.

The next day government spokesmen said Mobutu was willing to negotiate an end to the fighting and share power with the rebels. Alliance leader Laurent Kabila has shown no interest in the offer, however, and has said no existing political party will be allowed to participate in the transitional government to be formed when the rebels take power.

Meanwhile, opposition politician Étienne Tshisekedi has come forward in recent days, hoping for a piece of the action. Tshisekedi served as prime minister until Mobutu removed him in 1993. Many ruling-class figures who prospered under Mobutu are now supporting Tshisekedi, anticipating the collapse of the dictator's reign. "If he can be flexible and act like the father of a family, we can work with him. In any case it is the last chance to stop the progression of the rebellion and find out what Kabila really wants," said Bemba Salona, one of Zaire's wealthiest businessmen and a longtime ally of Mobutu.  
 
 
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