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Mobutu's Zaire: A Crucial U.S. Ally
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12626 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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6 / 1987 |
1,940 Words |
| Author
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William Pascoe III
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Now that liberal forces have succeeded in forcing U.S. economic sanctions on South Africa, they have shifted their focus to other areas of current Reagan administration policy toward Africa. In a move reminiscent of Jimmy Carter's days as president, they have raised the banner of "human rights" in a new campaign to destabilize U.S. allies in Africa. Early this year, they took the opportunities afforded by Mobutu Sese Seko's visit to Washington to focus attention on a critical U.S. ally in Africa - Zaire.
Mobutu, who took power in Zaire in a bloodless coup in November 1965, has been a faithful U.S. ally for virtually all of his uninterrupted 21 years in power. He supported U.S.-backed democratic resistance forces in Angola during the 1975-1976 civil war, reestablished diplomatic relations with Israel at a time when few other African nations would do so, and was the only African leader to send combat forces to support the governments of Chad and Togo against Libyan-backed insurgents. Currently, he plays a major diplomatic role in regional affairs, and he has been very responsive to U.S. geostrategic concerns in southern and central Africa.
Mobutu's record is not spotless, however. He has been guilty of human rights violations - as have many other Third World leaders - and reputedly has also enriched himself off international loans, to the detriment of the Zairian people. In this sense, Mobutu represents the classic problem for U.S. foreign policy in the Third World: what to do about the friendly but corrupt strongman?
History of instability
Explaining current U.S. policy toward Zaire requires some background. The Belgian Congo was granted independence on June 30, 1960. At the time, it had all the makings of a success story: The former colony was blessed with huge mineral deposits. In addition, the average flow of the mighty Congo River (since renamed the Zaire River), which is second only to the Amazon, gives Zaire 13 percent of the world's hydroelectric potential. It appeared that this former colony would be able to make it on its own.
However, internal political instability made this impossible. Less than a week after independence, the army mutinied. A week later, Belgian troops entered to protect Belgian nationals.
Moise Tshombe, the governor of Katanga province (which held the nation's mineral riches), then seceded from the central government and declared the establishment of the pro-Western Katanga republic. UN forces were sent to restore order. When the local UN commander refused to place his troops under the command of the central government, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba requested and received direct Soviet aid. Political infighting continued, until Col. Joseph Mobutu (now Mobutu Sese Seko) took control of the government, imprisoned Lumumba, and expelled all Soviet bloc advisers and diplomats.
Mobutu quickly returned power to the civilian authorities, led by President Joseph Kasavubu. Under a UN-sponsored plan, Cyrille Adoula became the new prime minister. But stability did not last long. Several factions vied for power in the capital. Within three years, the Adoula regime had lost credibility and was replaced.
The new
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