"Refugee Massacres," "Machetes, Axes and Rebel Guns: Hutu Tell of Zairian Attacks," "The horror of the attacks is filtering from the jungle in the numbed minds and maimed bodies of the victims," "Maimed Victims Carry Tales of Slaughter," screech the New York Times and Washington Post. Date: April 30, 1997.
Same imperialists, same propaganda.
After the Congo (now Zaire) won its independence from Belgium in June 1960, Washington and its allies moved quickly to destabilize the new government headed by Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who had been the leader of the independence struggle. In July 1960, Moise Tshombe began a war against the new regime by declaring the secession of the southern province of Katanga (today Shaba), with himself as president. Lumumba's government appealed to the United Nations for help, and UN troops were sent as "peacekeeping forces." The UN troops did not disarm the secessionists or keep the peace. Instead, they disarmed the legitimate government of Lumumba, backed the secessionists and Tshombe, and engineered the prime minister's execution.
In August 1960, the Militant reported that UN officials proclaimed their mission to be one of restoring "order" in the Congo. Under-Secretary Ralph Bunche instructed his staff "to pacify and then administer the Congo."
Today, O'Donovan and Bunche's successors in the ruling- class news rags, in Washington, and in the United Nations have stepped up their propaganda for intervention in Zaire. Special White House envoy William Richardson, the U.S. delegate to the United Nations, ventured to Zaire April 28. He is reportedly carrying a "message" from the U.S. president "offering" to help negotiate a "settlement leading to an inclusive transitional government." In other words, he is trying to make sure the new government in Zaire includes figures whom Washington - along with the mine owners and other capitalists with big stakes in the region - prefers. Richardson himself has continued the propagation of "reports of massacres," declaring that "this must end."
Same imperialists, same propaganda.
The Alliance for Democratic Forces for the Liberation Congo/Zaire has denied allegations that they are responsible for killings in eastern Zaire, and the imperialists have no credible proof to offer. Washington is using the presence of hundred of thousands of Rwandan refugees in the area as a pretext for intervention - with troops poised on the borders and UN "rescue teams" gearing up for action. "The rebel alliance must bear responsibility for what happens to innocent people in the regions they occupy," warned State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns.
When Washington and the United Nations intervened in central Africa in 1960, it was not about "humanitarian aid" but about smashing the independence movement. It is clear today that they intend to do the same thing. Working people and youth should oppose any troops in Zaire -either under the auspices of Washington or the "peace-keeping" banner of the United Nations. The workers and peasants of Zaire need more political space - without the boot of imperialist troops - to be able to fight for a way forward out of the economic devastation and turmoil capitalism breeds. Workers the world over should celebrate the fact that the rebellion in Zaire is close to accomplishing its aim of kicking out the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, whose brutal dictatorship Washington backed from 1964 until this year.
Cuban revolutionary leader, Ernesto Che Guevara explained that " `Western civilization' disguises behind its showy facade a picture of hyenas and jackals. That is the only name that can be applied to those who have gone to fulfill such `humanitarian' tasks in the Congo. A carnivorous animal that feeds on unarmed peoples. That is what imperialism does to men... All free men of the world must be prepared to avenge the crime of the Congo."
The nature of the beast hasn't changed a bit in the three decades since. Hands off Zaire! No U.S. or UN troops in Zaire!