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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