I | INTRODUCTION |
Democratic Republic of
the Congo or Congo-Kinshasa, nation in central Africa, a vast
country of dense forests traversed by the powerful Congo River. Rich in natural
resources, the country is nonetheless economically stunted due to decades of
misrule in the second half of the 20th century, under dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
The region was first united as the Congo Free State, a colony created by Belgian
king Leopold II in the late 19th century. The colony was called the Belgian
Congo from 1908 until 1960, when it gained independence as the Republic of the
Congo. Its name was changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1964 and
then to Zaire in 1971.
Mobutu seized control of the country in 1965.
During his 32-year-long rule he grew wealthier as the economy stagnated. After
he was overthrown in 1997 the country’s name was changed back to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC). After Mobutu’s overthrow the DRC endured years of
civil war. Although the war officially ended in 2003, regional armed conflict
and a humanitarian crisis continued. By mid-2007 an estimated 5.4 million people
had died from violence, malnutrition, and disease. The conflict ranked as the
world’s deadliest since World War II (1939-1945).
The DRC is bounded on the north by the
Central African Republic and Sudan; on the east by Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and
Lake Tanganyika (which separates the DRC from Tanzania); on the south by Zambia
and Angola; and on the west by the Republic of the Congo and the Angolan exclave
of Cabinda. The equator crosses the northern DRC. Kinshasa is the capital and
largest city.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
The DRC has a total area of 2,344,885 sq km
(905,365 sq mi) and is the third largest country in Africa, after Sudan and
Algeria. The Congo is comparable in size to the area of the United States east
of the Mississippi River. The country’s greatest width from west to east is
about 1,900 km (about 1,200 mi); its greatest length from north to south is
about 2,010 km (about 1,250 mi).
A | Natural Regions |
The country’s most significant physical
feature is the Congo Basin, which encompasses the entire country. This region
consists of a vast depression, constituting the DRC’s entire central area, and
surrounding plateaus and mountains. Many rivers cross the Congo Basin and
mountain regions. The valleys of these rivers are covered with dense vegetation.
In the southern Congo Basin, forest gives way to savanna, drier grasslands
interspersed with trees. In the southeast the basin is fringed by the rugged
Katanga Plateau. This region, about 1,000 m (about 4,000 ft) above sea level,
contains rich deposits of copper, diamonds, uranium, and other minerals.
Virtually impenetrable equatorial forests occupy the northeast of the country.
The largest, known variously as the Ituri, Great Congo, Pygmy, and Stanley
Forest, covers about 65,000 sq km (about 25,000 sq mi). The Ruwenzori Range, on
the Ugandan border, contains the DRC’s highest point, Margherita Peak (5,109
m/16,762 ft). Near Rwanda are the Virunga Mountains, which include eight active
volcanoes. In the extreme west the country narrows to a wedge terminating at a
strip 37 km (23 mi) wide along the Atlantic Ocean.
B | Rivers and Lakes |
The country is dominated by the Congo River.
At 4,374 km (2,718 mi), the Congo is the second longest river in Africa and one
of the longest in the world. Formed on the Katanga Plateau in the southern DRC,
it flows north as far as the city of Kisangani, where Stanley Falls, a series of
wide cataracts, impedes navigation. Downstream from this point the river is
navigable and arcs west, then south to Kinshasa, forming much of the boundary
between the Republic of the Congo and the DRC. The Ubangi River is the Congo’s
chief northern tributary, while the Kasai is its main southern tributary. Other
rivers feeding the Congo are the Luvua, Aruwimi, and Lomami. Southwest of
Kinshasa, the Congo flows through the Crystal Mountains forming rapids and
waterfalls that prevent direct access to the sea. Below these rapids and
waterfalls, the Congo’s estuary is navigable to the South Atlantic Ocean, a
distance of 134 km (83 mi). The total length of navigable routes on the Congo
and its tributaries is about 14,500 km (about 9,000 mi), most of which is in the
DRC. Rapids along the Congo system, particularly on the Congo itself and its
tributaries in Kasai and Katanga, give the country enormous potential for
producing hydroelectric power.
In its lower course, the Congo widens to
form a lake, Pool Malebo. Just below the lake, Kinshasa sits on the south bank
of the Congo, and Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo, sits on the
north bank. The only other significant lake in the western Congo Basin is Lac
Mai-Ndombe, in the west central DRC. On the country’s eastern borders, several
lakes are important for transportation and fishing. Lake Albert and Lake Edward
are on the Ugandan border. Lake Kivu is shared with Rwanda. Lake Tanganyika, the
sixth largest in the world, covers the entire border zone with Tanzania. Lake
Mweru straddles the Zambian border. The Katanga region has a number of smaller
lakes, including Lakes Upemba and Tshangalele.
C | Plants and Animals |
The DRC’s vegetation is extremely rich and
diverse. Most of the northern two-thirds of the country is covered in dense rain
forest. Rubber trees of various species, coffee, cotton, and oil palms are
indigenous. Among the native fruit trees are banana, coconut palm, and plantain.
Timber trees occur abundantly. Species include teak, ebony, African cedar,
mahogany, iroko, and redwood. In all, about 57 percent (2005) of the country’s
total area is forested. Animal life is abundant and varied. Larger mammals found
in the forests include elephants, gorillas, buffalo, chimpanzees,
hippopotamuses, and okapis, rare relatives of giraffes that are found only in
the Congo Basin. Important savanna mammals include lions, leopards, giraffes,
zebras, and wolves, as well as elephants, hippopotamuses, and chimpanzees. Very
rare mountain gorillas live in the mountains in the far east. Mambas, pythons,
and crocodiles are among the numerous reptiles. Among the many species of birds
are parrots, pelicans, flamingos, cuckoos, sunbirds, herons, and plovers.
Insects are plentiful, particularly ants, termites, and mosquitoes, including
the Anopheles mosquito, host of the parasite that causes malaria. Another
disease-bearing insect, prevalent in lowlands, is the tsetse fly, which spreads
sleeping sickness.
D | Natural Resources |
The DRC is richly endowed with natural
resources. It has vast mineral deposits, notably cobalt, copper, uranium, gold,
and diamonds. The country’s forest reserves are considered the most extensive in
Africa. Many areas are well suited for growing crops. The highlands of the
eastern DRC, with their rich volcanic soils, are especially productive. The
Congo River and its tributaries provide a vast network of navigable waterways
and have great hydroelectric potential. Development of some of the DRC’s
resources has caused environmental problems, however. Deforestation, caused by
forestry and clearing for agriculture, is an increasing environmental problem,
especially in the Bas-Congo region and around Kinshasa.
E | Climate |
Except in the high elevations, the country’s
climate is very hot and humid. The average annual temperature in the low central
area is about 27°C (about 80°F). Temperatures are considerably higher in
February, the hottest month. At altitudes above about 1,500 m (about 5,000 ft)
the average annual temperature is about 19°C (about 66°F). Average annual
rainfall is about 1,500 mm (about 60 in) in the north and about 1,300 mm (about
50 in) in the south. Frequent heavy rains occur from April to November north of
the equator and from October through May south of the equator. In the center of
the country, rainfall is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year.
These extreme conditions have limited settlement and development to areas along
rivers and at higher altitudes.
F | Environmental Issues |
Biodiversity in the DRC is among the
highest in Africa because of the vast extent of the country’s biologically rich
forests. Important endangered or rare large mammals include the elephant,
rhinoceros, gorilla, hippopotamus, pygmy chimpanzee, and okapi. Altogether, 450
(2000) mammal species are known, with 29 (2004) threatened. Of the 929 (2000)
known species of birds, 30 (2004) are threatened.
The DRC has several major national
parks—including Virunga National Park and Garamba National Park—that were
created mainly to protect large game species. Several of these have been
designated World Heritage sites. There are also faunal reserves, special hunting
areas, and several biosphere reserves under the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program.
Protected land totals about 8.2 percent (2007) of the country’s land area.
Historically, local people did not participate in the management of protected
areas and were frequently relocated to accommodate new parks. Wildlife poaching,
soil erosion, and increasingly, deforestation, are the major environmental
threats. Many people do not have access to safe water and sanitation, and
waterborne diseases contribute to a low life expectancy in the DRC. The southern
region is subject to periodic drought.
III | PEOPLE AND SOCIETY |
The DRC has a population (2008 estimate) of
68,008,922, with a density of 30 persons per sq km (78 per sq mi). Largely
rural, the population is concentrated in the eastern highlands and along rivers.
Only about 33 percent of the population lives in cities. In 2004 the DRC also
had a refugee population of about 199,323, many of whom were exiles from
instability in Rwanda. The remainder were Burundians, Angolans, and Sudanese,
all fleeing upheavals in their countries. Meanwhile, about 462,203 DRC citizens
had taken refuge in neighboring countries due to violence in the eastern
DRC.
The capital and largest city of the DRC is
Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville). Among other major cities are a southeastern
copper-mining city, Lubumbashi (formerly Elisabethville); a south central
diamond-mining center, Mbuji-Mayi (formerly Bakwanga); a southeastern industrial
city, Kolwezi; and a northeastern Congo River port, Kisangani (formerly
Stanleyville). Matadi, on the Congo estuary, is the DRC’s principal
seaport.
A | Ethnic Groups |
The DRC has as many as 250 ethnic groups,
about 80 percent of whom are Bantu-speaking peoples who migrated into the area
from the northwest beginning around 300 bc. Peoples speaking Nilo-Saharan
languages—including the Mangbetu, Azande, and small Nilotic groups—live in the
north. The largest single groups are the Lunda, Luba, Kuba, Bakongo (Kongo),
Mongo, Mangbetu, and Azande. Pygmy groups are scattered throughout the rain
forest zone. A small number of people of European descent live in the DRC. Since
independence in 1960, political uncertainty has led to an emphasis on ethnic
affiliation, often accompanied by conflict.
B | Language |
About 700 languages and local dialects
are spoken in the DRC. French is the official language and principal business
language. Four African languages are also widely spoken: Swahili in the east,
Kikongo in the area between Kinshasa and the coast, Tshiluba in the south, and
Lingala along the Congo River.
C | Religion |
Most of the DRC’s people are nominally
Christians, primarily Roman Catholics, who account for about 52 percent of the
total population. Most of the rest adhere to traditional African beliefs or
belong to syncretic sects, which combine practices of different religions. One
of the most popular sects is Kimbanguism, which fuses Christian and traditional
elements. There is also a small Muslim community.
D | Education |
Founded by European and American
missionaries, the Congolese education system still depends on missionary schools
to provide a significant amount of public education. Although six years of
primary education is officially compulsory, only 47 percent of primary
school-age children attended school in 1998–1999. Under the constitution
approved in 2005, education at the primary level is free. Attendance at
secondary school has risen since independence, but is still only 18 percent of
those of eligible age. The nation has four universities, two in Kinshasa and one
each at Lubumbashi and Kisangani, and a number of teacher-training colleges and
technical institutes. These institutions of higher education had a total
enrollment of 60,341 in 1998. The adult literacy rate in 2005 was 89.8 percent
(95 percent for men and 84.9 percent for women).
E | Way of Life |
There are vast differences between the
modern, urban way of life and traditional rural cultures in the DRC. Belgium
began to colonize the region in the late 19th century, which led to
urbanization, adaptation to foreign ideas and values, and the loss of local
traditions for many. Modern and traditional values and practices remain at odds
in the DRC, despite attempts by former president Mobutu Sese Seko to promote
“African authenticity” over Western customs.
Since independence, the gap between rich
and poor has also widened. Wealthier city dwellers tend to live in modern houses
or apartment buildings, and they drive Western automobiles. The urban poor live
in crowded, unhealthy conditions in slums, shantytowns, or other informal
residences. Most rural Congolese live in round or rectangular thatched huts,
depending on their region and ethnic group. Some groups scatter homesteads while
others cluster dwellings into villages.
Family life is central to both urban and
rural society. Congolese women are clearly regarded as inferior to males, even
though many ethnic groups trace family membership through the mother. Both sexes
generally dress in light, brightly colored clothes. Women often wear
headscarves. Many people have adopted Western clothes, despite government
efforts to encourage “African authenticity.” For instance, in the 1970s Mobutu
banned suits and ties in favor of the abas-cost, a light short-sleeved
shirt.
The most popular dish in the DRC is
moambé, a spicy stew of peanuts, palm oil, and chicken served with yams,
native loso rice, or, most commonly, fufu, a paste of mashed
manioc (cassava). The Congolese diet also consists of sweet potatoes, bananas,
plantains, fruits, and fish, particularly perch. Beef is generally only eaten in
the higher regions of the country that are free of the tsetse fly. Protein
deficiency is a serious problem. Pastimes include music, dance, and
mancala, a board game common throughout Africa. Soccer is also
popular.
F | Social Issues |
Ethnic rivalry has plagued Congolese
society since independence in 1960. This severe problem is compounded by
political instability, poverty, a high crime rate, inadequate health care, and a
high incidence of tropical diseases and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS). Mobutu’s government attempted, with some success, to counter tribalism
(belief in the superiority of one’s own tribe) by banning ethnic organizations
and publications. However, government efforts to address the root causes of
poverty and the country’s problems in health, education, and the environment
have been scant.
G | Social Services |
Western missionaries are a major source
of health care, education, and welfare in the DRC. AIDS, malaria, and sleeping
sickness are major health problems. Child malnutrition, exacerbated by food
shortages and years of warfare in the DRC, is a chronic problem.
IV | ARTS |
The arts are particularly important in
Congolese life. The government has supported artists, writers, and architects
mainly to bolster political agendas. Kinshasa’s Monument to the Martyrs of
Independence is an example of this. However, most Congolese artistic activity
exists outside of officially sponsored circles.
A | Literature |
The Congo has produced a number of noted
writers since independence, including playwrights Valérin Mutombo-Diba,
Mwilambwe Kibawa, and Elebe ma Ekonzo; novelists Paul Lomami-Tshibamba and Mbwil
a Mpaang Ngal; and prolific poets Lisembe (Philippe) Elébé and Vumbi Yoka
Mudimbe. French is the main literary language. Writers have focused on themes
such as Congolese identity, colonialism, tribalism, and conflicts between
modernity and tradition.
B | Art |
A wide range of traditional arts and
crafts enriches Congolese culture. They include metalworking, basketry,
painting, jewelry making, and wood carving, particularly mask making. Groups
such as the Kuba and Luba peoples carve masks with distinctive traditional
styles that are occasionally used in traditional rituals. Throughout the
country, well-established, informal artistic gatherings are common, and numerous
street artists and artisans display and sell their works.
C | Music, Dance, and Theater |
Two important Congolese contributions to
music and dance are Congo jazz and soukous, a type of guitar-based
dance music. Both of these musical forms developed in Kinshasa and are known
throughout Africa and in other parts of the world. Famous Congolese musicians
and vocalists include Franco and his band O.K. Jazz, Tabu Ley, Pépé Kallé, Papa
Wemba, Koffi Olomide, Mbilia Bel, and M’Pongo Love. Traditional folk music is
also highly valued. Traditional instruments include the likembe (a
hand-held board with mounted metal strips that are plucked with the thumbs) and
drums of various types. The Mbuti pygmies of the Ituri rain forest in the
northeast are famous for their distinctive polyphonic singing style, in which
multiple voices pursue independent melodies. Dance ranges from a wide variety of
traditional forms to colorful, coordinated mass dances, often held as part of
political rallies. In urban areas, dance clubs playing popular music are a
vibrant part of the social scene.
D | Museums and Libraries |
The country’s major archaeological and
ethnological museums are the National Museum of Kinshasa and the National Museum
of Lubumbashi. The Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa exhibits and sells paintings
and sculptures. The universities, government, and certain private organizations
maintain libraries.
V | ECONOMY |
The DRC is potentially one of Africa’s
richest states, with extensive agricultural, mineral, and energy resources.
However, instability after independence in 1960 contributed to a sluggish
economy that grew only about 1 percent a year until the mid-1980s.
Nationalization, corruption, inexperience, heavy borrowing, a deteriorating
infrastructure, and inappropriate development took a high toll throughout the
32-year regime of Mobutu Sese Seko (1965-1997). The country dropped from having
one of Africa’s highest standards of living to one of its lowest. In 1990 the
DRC’s gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to be $8.1 billion ($220 per
capita). However, by the early 1990s the nation’s formal economy began to
disintegrate, and GDP plummeted. Hyperinflation of nearly 40 percent a month,
government deficits in which expenditures exceeded revenues by more than four
times, and plunging mineral production combined to make the country one of the
world’s poorest. In 1994 the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (World Bank) declared the DRC insolvent, and the country was
suspended from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The 1996-1997 rebellion
that culminated in Mobutu’s overthrow virtually halted economic activity
throughout the country. The post-Mobutu administrations have tried to rebuild
the nation’s economy, but continued unrest in the DRC has hampered economic
progress. The United Nations (UN) classifies the DRC as a least developed
country. Smuggling and black market activities are very common and may account
for income equal to the nation’s official GDP. In 2006 GDP was $8.5 billion, or
$140.90 U.S. dollars per person.
A | Labor |
In 2006 the DRC’s labor force numbered
24,213,136; 41 percent were women. A significant proportion of children from age
10 to 15 participated in the labor force, working in agriculture, street
vending, and other pursuits. The principal labor organization is the National
Union of Congolese Workers, an alliance of 16 unions founded in 1967. However,
most Congolese workers are agricultural and nonunionized.
B | Mining |
Mineral deposits constitute the DRC’s
principal source of wealth. The Katanga and Kasai regions are among the world’s
largest producers of cobalt and industrial diamonds. Other minerals produced in
significant quantities include copper, uranium, tin, gold, silver, coal, zinc,
manganese, tungsten, and cadmium. Offshore petroleum reserves have been drilled
since 1975. Mineral production declined severely in the 1990s, but mining
continued to account for almost 90 percent of the DRC’s export earnings in the
early 21st century.
C | Agriculture |
Agriculture, including forestry and
fishing, employs 68 percent of the working population and accounts for 46
percent of GDP. However, only 3 percent of the country’s area is under
cultivation. Large areas of the Congo Basin are suitable for farming but are
currently covered with forests. Cash crop production declined markedly after
Mobutu nationalized foreign-owned plantations in the 1970s, and again during
political disturbances in the 1990s. Much of the farmland has reverted to
subsistence farming. The principal food crops are manioc, plantains, sugarcane,
corn, peanuts, bananas, rice, and yams. Cash crops include palm kernels, coffee,
cottonseed and cotton lint, and rubber. Chickens, goats, pigs, and sheep are
raised. Cattle raising is confined to elevated regions that are free of the
tsetse fly, which spreads sleeping sickness.
D | Forestry and Fishing |
The DRC contains an estimated 6 percent of
the world’s forests. However, timber cutting has largely been limited to the
western DRC, close to the Congo River, because of the country’s poor
infrastructure. Most of the trees cut are not processed in the DRC, but floated
downriver and exported as logs. Almost all of the fish caught in the DRC are
freshwater fish and are consumed locally. Fish caught include perch, tilapia,
and eels.
E | Manufacturing |
The most important manufacturing activities
in the DRC are mineral processing and the production of cement and textiles.
Other manufactured products include tires, shoes, cigarettes, beer, and
processed food. During the 1990s, when the country experienced significant
unrest, industrial activity declined substantially. In 2006 manufacturing
accounted for 7 percent of GDP. Industry, which includes manufacturing, mining,
and construction, provided 13 percent of employment.
F | Services |
Services account for 27 percent of GDP and
19 percent of employment. The most important areas are transportation,
government, communications, and banking. Tourism has never accounted for a
significant sector of the economy. Before the instability of the 1990s, which
virtually eliminated tourism, the DRC received only a small number of tourists,
mainly from Europe. The most important tourist destinations were Kinshasa and
national parks such as Virunga National Park and Garamba National Park, both in
the northeast.
G | Energy |
The DRC’s hydroelectric plants produce
virtually all of the energy the country needs. The major hydroelectric plant is
on the lower Congo River at Inga (opened in 1972). Other generating plants have
been built in the southern DRC to serve mining operations. The plant at Inga
alone could produce 15 times the amount of electricity needed by the DRC. In
2003 the DRC exported 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to other African
nations. The small percentage of energy not produced by hydroelectric plants
comes from thermal plants.
H | Transportation |
Roads in the DRC are in generally poor
repair, hindering the transport of crops to markets and contributing to the
decline of export agriculture. The total length of the national road system is
about 153,497 km (about 95,379 mi). The country’s 3,641 km (2,262 mi) of aging
railways provide important connections domestically as well as with the Angolan
port of Benguela and with southern Africa. Inland waterways are used
extensively. The Congo River is navigable from its mouth to Matadi, a distance
of 134 km (83 mi). The river is unnavigable from Matadi to Kinshasa, which are
linked by a railway 401 km (249 mi) long. Beyond Kinshasa navigation is possible
for more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) until Stanley Falls impedes navigation at
Kisangani. The unnavigable portions of the Congo require exports from the
southeast region of Katanga to be sent through other countries. Navigable inland
waterways total about 14,500 km (about 9,000 mi). For most Congolese, the chief
modes of river transportation remain aging river steamers and long canoes, known
as pirogues. The principal seaports are Matadi and Boma, on the lower
Congo River, and Banana, at the river’s mouth. The country has international
airports at Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kisangani, Goma, and Bukavu. State-owned Congo
Airlines provides domestic and international service.
I | Communications |
The DRC’s wired telephone system is almost
nonexistent, so most people use mobile telephones. The country depends heavily
on air and telegraph services for internal communication. A
government-controlled national broadcasting system, based in Kinshasa, operates
several national radio stations and one national television station. Broadcasts
are in French and numerous African languages. Several private radio and
television stations are also located in Kinshasa. Daily newspapers are published
in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Kisangani.
J | Foreign Trade |
The DRC’s principal exports include
diamonds, crude petroleum, cobalt, copper, and coffee. Exports in 2000 totaled
$580 million, and imports totaled $396 million. The principal trading partners
for exports were Belgium and Luxembourg (which constitute a single trading
entity), the United States, Zimbabwe, Finland, and Italy. For imports, principal
partners were South Africa, Belgium and Luxembourg, Nigeria, France, and Kenya.
The DRC is a signatory of the Lomé Convention, a trade and aid agreement between
the European Union and African, Caribbean, and Pacific nations.
K | Currency and Banking |
The unit of currency in the DRC is the
Congolese franc, consisting of 100 centimes (468.30 Congolese
francs equal US$1; 2006 average). The Congolese franc was issued in mid-1998,
replacing the new zaire. The government controls the currency’s rate of
exchange. The Bank of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964) is the
national bank. A number of domestic banks and branches of foreign banks also
function.
VI | GOVERNMENT |
After the Congo received its independence
from Belgium in 1960, it experienced five years of political turmoil. In 1965
army chief of staff Joseph Désiré Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) seized power
in a coup. For 32 years Mobutu ran a corrupt, undemocratic regime, concentrating
power in the executive branch and favoring those loyal to him. His party, the
Popular Movement for the Revolution (Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution, or
MPR), became the sole legal political party, and dissidents were suppressed.
After significant opposition to Mobutu’s one-party system, he initiated nominal
political reforms in 1990. A national conference was convened to draft a new
constitution, but Mobutu successfully blocked its progress.
In May 1997 rebels led by Laurent-Désiré
Kabila seized control of the country and overthrew Mobutu. Kabila suspended the
constitution, dissolved the country’s powerless legislature, and declared
himself president. A constitutional commission drafted a new constitution in
mid-1998, but it was never submitted to a national referendum due to the start
of another civil war in eastern DRC. Despite promises of democratization and the
establishment of a 300-member transitional legislative body in 2000, Kabila
ruled by decree.
Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 by
one of his bodyguards. Kabila’s administration named his son Joseph Kabila as
the new president. After months of negotiations, in July 2003 Joseph Kabila
established a power-sharing government, swearing in four new vice presidents and
a new cabinet. Two of the new vice presidents were leaders of the two major
rebel groups involved in the civil war, one was a member of the civilian
political opposition, and one was allied with Kabila. The new cabinet posts were
similarly shared out to different political groups.
In May 2005 the country’s transitional
parliament adopted a new constitution, which was approved by referendum in
December 2005. The new constitution went into effect in February 2006. It
recognized as citizens all ethnic groups living in the DRC at the time of
independence in 1960. Anyone 18 years or older is eligible to vote, and voting
is compulsory.
A | Executive |
Under the 2006 constitution the president
is the head of state. The head of government is the prime minister, who is
appointed by the president. The president is limited to two five-year terms and
must be at least 30 years old.
B | Legislature |
The legislature is a bicameral body
consisting of a 500-member National Assembly (lower house) and a 120-member
Senate (upper house). All members serve five-year terms. In the National
Assembly, 60 members are elected by majority vote and 440 by proportional
representation. Senators are elected by indirect vote.
C | Judiciary |
The DRC’s legal system is based on Belgian
law and on local traditions. The highest court is the Supreme Court in Kinshasa.
There are also county courts and courts of appeal. The president appoints all
judges.
D | Local Government |
Until the new constitution was approved in
2005, the DRC was divided into one city, Kinshasa, and ten administrative
regions. The administrative regions were Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Équateur,
Orientale, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Katanga, and
Sud-Kivu. Each was administered by a commissioner appointed by the president. To
promote a looser form of federalism, the new constitution created 26 provinces
in the DRC.
E | Political Parties and Groups |
Many parties formed in the 1990s, largely
divided along ethnic or regional lines. A ban on the formation of political
associations was lifted in 1999, and all restrictions on the registration and
operation of political parties were removed in 2001. The party of current
president Joseph Kabila is the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et le
Developpement (PPRD), also known as the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction
et la Démocratie. Main opposition parties include Union pour la Democratie et le
Progres Social (UDPS), Forces du Futur (FDF), Forces Novatrices pour l’Union et
la Solidarite (FONUS), Parti Democrate Social Chretien (PDSC), Mouvement Social
Democratie et Developpement (MSDD), Mouvement Populaire de la Revolution-Fait
Prive (MPR-FP), Union des Nationalistes et des Federalistes Congolais (UNAFEC),
and Mouvement National Congolais/Lumumba (MNC/L). Former rebel movements that
became political parties include the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie
(RCD), Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo (MLC), and independent splinter
groups of the RCD (RCD-ML, RCD-N).
F | Defense |
In 2004 military forces consisted of a
total of 64,800 personnel, dominated by an army of 60,000. There is also an air
force of 3,000 members, and a navy of 1,800 members. Paramilitary forces and a
civil guard totaled more than 31,000 members. Military service is voluntary.
Defense expenditures in 1997 accounted for 14 percent of the national budget.
Because the military was the main source of support for Mobutu, the Kabila
regime reorganized the armed forces, placing its own supporters in command.
G | International Organizations |
The DRC is a member of the United Nations,
the African Union, and the African Development Bank.
VII | HISTORY |
The early history of what is now the DRC is
still largely unknown. The earliest inhabitants of the Congo Basin are believed
to have been pygmies. Bantu groups moved into the area from the north and spread
east and south beginning about 2,000 years ago. The northern Bantu groups
settled in stateless communities in the rain forest. The Nilo-Saharan-speaking
groups of the far north formed hierarchical systems with complex judicial
structures. In the southern savanna zone, the Luba, Lunda, and other Bantu
groups set up centralized kingdoms by 1500.
A | Kongo Kingdom |
The most important early Congolese state
was the kingdom of the Kongo people around the mouth of the Congo River. The
Portuguese had some contact with the Kongo around 1482, when navigator Diogo Cam
visited the mouth of the Congo River and claimed the surrounding region as
Portuguese territory. The Portuguese named the river Rio de Padrão (Pillar
River). At its height, the Kongo kingdom extended from present-day northwestern
Angola to Gabon. In 1489 a Congolese embassy was sent to the Portuguese king,
and in 1491 Franciscan missionaries and Portuguese craftsmen visited the area.
Soon thereafter, the manikongo, or king, of Kongo converted to
Christianity, but his attempts to impose the religion on his people provoked
violent opposition. His son Afonso succeeded him in 1507. Literate in
Portuguese, Afonso modeled his government on the Portuguese system and built
many churches. Under Afonso, Kongo participated in slave raids in neighboring
regions and in slave trade with the Portuguese, making Kongo a significant
supplier to the Atlantic slave trade. The slave raiding brought unrest to the
region, however, and the Kongo kingdom declined by the end of the 16th century,
in part because of invasions by the Jaga, an eastern warrior people. Centuries
elapsed before another serious European expedition to the region was undertaken.
However, Arabs from the sultanate of Zanzibar in East Africa reached the region
west of Lake Tanganyika in the mid-18th century, establishing plantations and
conducting extensive slave raids. By the late 18th century 50,000 to 70,000
slaves were taken every year to Zanzibar and the Middle East.
B | European Control |
Foreign encroachment on the area
increased during the 19th century. In 1816 British explorers attempted to follow
the Congo River inland, reaching a point between present-day Matadi and
Kinshasa, before illness forced them to retreat. Scottish explorer and
missionary David Livingstone, who brought the injustices of the Zanzibari slave
trade to the attention of Europe, reached Lualaba River from the east in 1871.
Growing European interest in Africa as a source of wealth was stimulated by the
accounts of explorers, notably Anglo-American journalist Henry Morton Stanley,
who explored the Congo between 1874 and 1877. The first explorer to fully
investigate the river, Stanley descended the Congo River system from the upper
Lualaba to its mouth, traveling more than 2,600 km (more than 1,600 mi).
B1 | King Leopold’s State |
Upon his return to Europe, Stanley
petitioned the British government to colonize the region, but he was refused.
However, King Leopold II of Belgium engaged Stanley to return to the Congo to
set up trading stations and establish relations with the native chiefs. This
territorial acquisition was pursued under the guise of an ostensibly
philanthropic organization, created and controlled by Leopold, with the stated
purpose of promoting the exploration and “civilization” of Central Africa in
order to end the slave trade. Stanley founded a number of posts, including
Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), and secured for Leopold the rights to extensive
regions bordering the Congo River.
Conflicting territorial claims advanced
by various nations, notably Portugal and France, around the mouth of the Congo
led in 1884 to the Berlin West Africa Conference. The conference, which was
attended by representatives of all European powers with colonial interests in
Africa, outlawed the slave trade and established rules for the division of the
continent of Africa among them. Leopold’s personal sovereignty over the region,
now called the Congo Free State, was recognized in 1885.
Leopold quickly occupied his territory
with Belgian soldiers and traders and commissioned the construction of railways
around unnavigable sections of the Congo River. According to agreements reached
at the Berlin conference, the Congo Free State was to be open to the trade of
all nations. After Leopold laid claim to all the ivory and rubber trees in the
Congo in the early 1890s, however, there was little else for any nation to
trade. Rubber proved to be the most lucrative product in the Congo. Starting in
the early 1890s, Congolese people were systematically forced to collect rubber
as the only means of paying new taxes levied on them. Ironically, in the same
period that this system of virtual slavery was imposed by the colonists, the
Belgian colonial army, the Force Publique, destroyed the Zanzibari slave trade
in the eastern Congo. The violent suppression of the slave trade and the new
system of forced labor caused severe hardships in the region. As colonial rule
was asserted, minor local uprisings were quelled, including three mutinies by
Congolese members of the Force Publique.
B2 | Belgian Congo |
In the first decade of the 20th
century, the administration of the Congo Free State became increasingly
oppressive in its exploitation of Congolese workers, and word of the
exploitation led to international protest. Reports by British diplomat Roger
David Casement and journalist E. D. Morel publicized the lack of development in
the Congo and the regular use of torture by Leopold’s rubber collection agents.
Public opinion forced Leopold to establish a commission of inquiry in 1904. The
commission revealed that the Congolese were victims of a slave labor system and
other human rights abuses. The king instituted certain reforms, but these proved
ineffective. As a result, in 1908 the Belgian parliament voted to annex the
Congo Free State, making it a colony that became known as the Belgian Congo.
While the most unfair labor practices were eliminated, most Congolese people
fared little better under the new administration.
During World War I (1914-1918)
Congolese troops aided the Allied cause in Africa, conquering the German
territory of Ruanda-Urundi (now Rwanda and Burundi). After the war Belgian
colonialism changed greatly. Labor practices were liberalized, and schools and
hospitals were established. The standard of living rose significantly. However,
the Belgian colonial attitude toward the Congolese remained extremely
paternalistic. The Africans were treated like children, disciplined when judged
to behave disobediently or immorally, and taught to abandon traditional
lifestyles in favor of laboring on colonists’ farms. In addition, the Congolese
were not taught modern technical or administrative skills.
Substantial industrialization and
urbanization took place in the colony during World War II (1939-1945). This
process was particularly marked in the uranium, copper, palm oil, and rubber
industries. Uranium from the Congo was used to develop the first atomic weapons.
During the postwar years, industrial productivity increased, and a limited
series of reforms, designed to prepare the Congolese for eventual
self-government, was initiated. Africans were allowed to own land, and a very
small number of Africans, under extremely subjective criteria, were officially
recognized as having the same legal status as white colonists. Municipal council
elections, the first ever for the Congolese, were scheduled for December 1957.
The Belgian government believed these reforms would be the first step in a
prolonged, gradual movement toward Congolese autonomy. However, the social and
cultural effects of colonialism and rapid modernization had left the colony
unbalanced economically and inexperienced politically.
In the December elections, Congolese
Africans won 130 of 170 local municipal council seats. Political parties, which
were not permitted in these elections, were allowed to operate only after
violent nationalist riots in Léopoldville in January 1959. As political parties
quickly sprouted across the colony, the Belgian government announced a schedule
for national elections, which were to inaugurate limited autonomy. But a
congress of leading nationalist parties insisted upon immediate full
independence. The two principal parties were the Abako (Bakongo Alliance), led
by Joseph Kasavubu, and the Congolese National Movement, led by militant
nationalist Patrice Lumumba. Belgium, faced with rapidly escalating tensions and
nationalist unrest, agreed to relinquish the unprepared colony. In
preindependence elections in May 1960 some 40 parties presented candidates.
Lumumba’s Congolese National Movement showed the greatest strength, followed by
Abako. By agreement between the two leading parties, Lumumba became prime
minister, and Kasavubu became president. The independent Republic of the Congo
was proclaimed in Léopoldville on June 30, 1960.
C | Postindependence Turmoil |
Violent disorders—stemming from ethnic
disputes, the disappointment of the parties excluded from power, and a revolt of
Congolese armed forces—began within a week of independence. With the intention
of restoring order and protecting Europeans, Belgium mobilized its forces still
in the Congo and flew additional troops into the country, despite Lumumba’s
objections. The military action, interpreted as an attempt to reimpose Belgian
authority, provoked even greater violence against Europeans. Virtually all
remaining Europeans fled, leaving the new country without administrators,
professionals, and technicians.
C1 | Secession of Katanga |
The political scene in the Congo was
further complicated in July when Moise Tshombe, the Belgian-supported premier of
mineral-rich Katanga Province, proclaimed Katanga to be an independent country.
In response to an appeal from Prime Minister Lumumba, the United Nations (UN)
Security Council demanded that Belgian forces withdraw, and it authorized
Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to send a peacekeeping force to the Congo to
restore order. The UN force, comprising units from African countries, Sweden,
and Ireland, gradually began to replace Belgian troops. When the Security
Council ruled that no UN forces should be used to affect the outcome of any
internal conflict in the province, Tshombe permitted UN troops to enter Katanga.
Disappointed by the UN’s refusal to use force to put down the secession, Lumumba
then requested military assistance from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR). This caused Western nations to view Lumumba as a Communist sympathizer,
and opposition to his rule increased both inside and outside the Congo.
In early September, President Kasavubu,
with Western support, turned against Lumumba and dismissed him, replacing him
with Joseph Ileo (later called Sombo Amba Ileo). Lumumba rejected the legality
of the dismissal and in turn dismissed Kasavubu. The Congolese government was
deadlocked. On September 13 the UN forces gave up control of the airports and
radio station to Lumumba. However, the next day the Congolese army—led by army
chief of staff Colonel Joseph Désireé Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko)—seized
control of the government. While maintaining Kasavubu as president, Mobutu
transferred executive and administrative authority to a caretaker government,
the College of High Commissioners. Lumumba was placed under house arrest.
In December 1960 Antoine Gizenga,
former deputy prime minister in Lumumba’s government, proclaimed himself prime
minister and designated Stanleyville (now Kisangani) as the capital of the
Congo. Over the next months his government was recognized by most Communist and
Arab nations and by Ghana, and the USSR began sending arms and advisers. In
January 1961 pro-Lumumba soldiers invaded northern Katanga, and the UN sent
troops there to prevent civil war. Meanwhile, Lumumba was captured while
escaping his UN-guarded villa in Léopoldville to join his supporters in
Stanleyville. On Mobutu’s orders, he was flown to Katanga, where troops loyal to
Tshombe murdered him on arrival on January 17, 1961. Lumumba subsequently became
a national hero and an inspiration for African nationalists and leftists. In
February 1961, with Mobutu’s assent, Kasavubu replaced Mobutu’s caretaker
government with a new provisional government headed by Ileo as prime
minister.
C2 | UN Peace Efforts |
In February 1961 the Security Council
authorized the UN to use force to prevent civil war in the Congo, and it
demanded withdrawal of all foreign military personnel not under UN command.
Opposing the council decision and hoping to forestall further UN intervention,
18 leaders of Congolese factions (not including Gizenga) agreed in March to
abolish the central government in favor of a confederation of sovereign states.
At a later meeting convened in April, Tshombe withdrew his cooperation. Arrested
and charged with treason, he secured his release by agreeing to dismiss all
foreign advisers and military forces in Katanga. However, on his return to
Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi), in Katanga, Tshombe reneged on his agreement.
The UN force in the Congo launched limited military action against Tshombe’s
forces in September and again in December. While trying to arrange a cease-fire
between UN and Katangan forces in September, Secretary-General Hammarskjöld was
killed under mysterious circumstances in an airplane crash near Ndola, Northern
Rhodesia (now Zambia). Meanwhile, Gizenga agreed to join the central government
after the new prime minister, Cyrille Adoula, promised to follow the policies of
Lumumba. Gizenga was made vice prime minister, but he was removed from his post
in January 1962 for defying a parliamentary resolution that he go to
Léopoldville to face secession charges.
During the first half of 1962 Tshombe
held intermittent talks with Adoula, but the two leaders failed to resolve the
Katanga conflict. To compel Tshombe to come to terms, acting UN secretary
general U Thant proposed a three-stage plan for ending Katanga’s secession.
Tshombe announced his acceptance of the plan but made little effort to implement
it. Adoula demanded that the plan be put into effect, by force if necessary. In
December UN forces moved decisively against Katanga and gained control of
Elisabethville. Tshombe, fleeing before UN troops, established his last
stronghold at Kolwezi. On January 15, 1963, he surrendered to integration
demands and was promised amnesty for himself and his followers. A few months
later, Adoula formed a new cabinet, which included Katangan representatives and
gave strongest representation to the Lumumbist party. However, Adoula dissolved
the parliament in September 1963. Several key Lumumbist figures turned against
Adoula, fled to the east, and plotted revolutions. Strikes and rebellions flared
across the country. In June 1964 Adoula resigned as prime minister and was
replaced in July by Tshombe. A new constitution was adopted in August 1964. This
constitution created new, smaller administrative units and defined the country
as a confederation, giving the units a higher degree of autonomy. At the same
time, the country was also renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Then, in August, Stanleyville fell to
Lumumbist rebels. After government troops, aided by European mercenaries, began
a drive to recapture the city, the rebels threatened to kill Europeans and
Americans being held hostage. On November 24, Belgian paratroops, carried in
U.S. aircraft, landed in Stanleyville and, together with Congolese troops,
recaptured the city. Also in 1964 Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the future Congolese
president, led another Lumumbist rebellion, in the eastern province of Kivu.
(Kabila later founded the People’s Revolutionary Party [PRP]), which in 1967
established a short-lived rebel state in the mountains west of Lake
Tanganyika.)
D | The Mobutu Years |
A fragile coalition organized by Prime
Minister Tshombe won parliamentary elections in early 1965, but shortly
thereafter Kasavubu ousted Tshombe, who was believed to be plotting to oust him.
In November 1965 Mobutu again intervened, overthrowing Kasavubu, installing
himself as president for five years, and canceling elections scheduled for the
next year. On October 26, 1966, Mobutu dismissed the prime minister and
established a presidential form of government. This change was formalized by a
new constitution adopted in 1967. In his first years as president, Mobutu
brought political stability to the country, although there were a number of
revolts, and students occasionally protested his dictatorial rule. Some
foreign-owned mining firms were nationalized, and in 1966 the European names of
cities were replaced with African ones (Léopoldville became Kinshasa;
Stanleyville, Kisangani; and Elizabethville, Lubumbashi).
D1 | Authenticity and Kleptocracy |
In 1970 Mobutu’s political party, the
Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR), was declared the only legal party, and
all citizens were obliged to join. Unopposed, Mobutu was elected to a seven-year
term as president. He undertook a major program of “African authenticity,” in
which ostensibly traditional African values and practices were promoted over
Western ones. In 1971 the country’s name was changed to the Republic of Zaire,
after an old, supposedly more authentic local name for the Congo River. In 1972
the president renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko and compelled other Zairians to
drop their non-African names and adopt more traditional African dress. In a
policy dubbed “Zairianization,” Mobutu’s government took over some 2,000
foreign-owned businesses in 1973. Most of the newly nationalized companies were
distributed among Mobutu and MPR loyalists. Many later failed because of
inexperience, mismanagement, and corruption. Some economic development projects
were completed, but Zaire remained dependent on income from copper and other
mineral exports. World copper prices fell sharply in the mid-1970s; Zaire’s
export earnings dropped, and the country’s foreign debt rose to nearly $4
billion by 1980. At the same time, Zaire experienced high rates of unemployment
and inflation. Nevertheless, Western nations backed Mobutu’s regime as a bulwark
against the spread of Communism in Central Africa. The West provided military
aid to Zaire, particularly in the late 1970s, to repulse invasions by Katangan
secessionists backed by Communist forces in Angola, who were backed in turn by
the USSR and Cuba. Mobutu crushed political dissent, using propaganda,
executions, censorship, imprisonment, intimidation, and other forms of
harassment to solidify his control. In 1982 opponents of Mobutu’s one-party rule
formed the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). The leaders of UDPS
were frequently imprisoned throughout the 1980s.
While the nation’s economy struggled,
Mobutu’s wealth grew to an estimated $4 billion. After coming to power Mobutu
profited from personal sales of huge amounts of state-owned mineral reserves and
occasional transfers of millions of dollars directly from the Bank of Zaire. He
purchased hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate in Morocco, South
Africa, and throughout Europe. Mobutu’s supporters in the country’s
administration and industry were regularly rewarded with large sums of money.
This system, often described as a kleptocracy, played a key part in
Mobutu’s firm grip on power. In this atmosphere, corruption prevailed at all
levels of Zairian administration and business, choking the nation’s economy. The
country’s foreign debt was rescheduled in 1981, and the IMF provided a $1
billion loan. In exchange for further aid, Zaire agreed to devalue its currency
and adopt other austerity measures in 1983 and 1984. However, seeing little
economic improvement, Zaire abandoned the IMF program in 1986, and its economy
took a downturn. The government was forced to embrace economic reform again in
1989. In 1990 the United States, which had supplied hundreds of millions of
dollars in aid to Mobutu since 1965, cut direct military and economic assistance
to Zaire because of the regime’s corruption and human rights abuses.
D2 | Political Maneuvers |
Discontent with Mobutu intensified in
the early 1990s, and he spent more and more time away from Kinshasa at a palace
he had built near his ancestral village of Gbadolite. Under pressure from the
opposition, Mobutu announced the creation of a multiparty democratic system in
April 1990. In August 1991 a national multiparty conference convened to draft a
new constitution and prepare for elections. However, the chaotic conference,
attended by almost 3,000 delegates, disintegrated after only a week. Meanwhile,
outbreaks of violence and looting led many European and American civilians to
flee the country. In September 1991 Mobutu agreed to form a coalition government
with UDPS leader Étienne Tshisekedi as prime minister. Mobutu fired Tshisekedi a
month later. The conference reopened in January 1992, only to be closed again by
Mobutu’s hand-picked prime minister for seemingly unreasonable objections. In
retaliation, some soldiers attempted to overthrow the government, but were
crushed by loyalist troops. In April 1992, amid continuing unrest, the
conference reassembled to draw up a new constitution. The conference soon
declared itself the rightful governing body of Zaire. In August the conference
appointed Tshisekedi prime minister, this time to head a newly assembled
transitional government. Mobutu consented to recognize this arrangement in
return for retaining control of the army and his position as head of state.
In November 1992 the conference adopted
a draft constitution that shifted most executive and military powers to the
prime minister, set up a bicameral parliament, and called for a popularly
elected but largely ceremonial president. The conference dissolved itself and an
interim government, the High Council of the Republic (HCR), was established to
organize elections. Although some foreign nations recognized this body, led by
Tshisekedi, Mobutu refused to acknowledge its authority and appointed a
different transitional government and prime minister. Throughout 1993 Mobutu and
the HCR operated as rival governments, each claiming authority. In 1994 Mobutu
declared the HCR and his own government dissolved, replacing both with a
transitional legislature known as the High Council of the Republic-Parliament of
Transition (HCR-PT). In April the HCR-PT approved the Transitional
Constitutional Act, calling for a constitutional referendum and presidential and
legislative elections within 15 months. Léon Kengo wa Dondo, a more moderate
opposition figure than Tshisekedi, was elected prime minister by the HCR-PT, but
Tshisekedi maintained his claim to the office. The rivalry between HCR members
and the HCR-PT further confused an already chaotic political scene, effectively
fracturing the anti-Mobutu movement. With the opposition powerless and
disorganized, Mobutu continued to dodge the democratization process. In June
1995 the HCR-PT voted to extend the transition period for another two
years.
D3 | Refugee Problem |
In July 1994 refugees from Rwanda began
streaming into Zaire because of the ethnic conflict between Hutu and Tutsi in
that country. More than 1.3 million Rwandans gathered in camps along Zaire’s
eastern border. The Zairian government and the UN struggled to find a way of
safely returning the refugees to Rwanda. In February 1995 the UN sent Zairian
troops to maintain order in the camps. In August the Zairian government ordered
that refugees be forcibly expelled from the camps. After about 15,000 refugees
had been forced back into Rwanda, the government halted the operation in
response to international pressure. In November 1995 Mobutu attended a summit in
Cairo, Egypt, with the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, and a
representative from Tanzania to discuss the situation. The leaders agreed on a
plan to encourage the exiles to return to Rwanda, but most refugees resisted
being repatriated. The Hutu, who feared reprisals from Rwanda’s Tutsi regime,
were particularly resistant. Many camps were controlled by armed Hutu militias
made up of former members of the Rwandan army, some of whom had been responsible
for genocidal killings in Rwanda. The militias had begun to use these camps as
staging areas for raids into their homeland.
E | Rebellion and Civil War |
In September 1996, near the refugee camps
along the border with Rwanda and Burundi, a small minority of Zairian Tutsi
known as the Banyamulenge became targets of harassment by local non-Tutsi and
Zairian troops. Recent legislation had established new criteria for Zairian
citizenship, and locals decided to expel the Banyamulenge, who had lived in the
area for about 200 years. The Banyamulenge, armed and trained by the Tutsi
Rwandan government in preparation for such an attack, retaliated and, reinforced
by Rwandan Tutsi, successfully fought off the Zairian army in October. Tension
between Zaire and Rwanda led to brief cross-border mortar fire around Lake Kivu.
By late October the resistance had been organized into the Alliance of
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), led by longtime Lumumbist
and veteran anti-Mobutu guerrilla fighter, Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Backed by five
neighboring countries, the uprising swiftly grew into an anti-Mobutu rebellion.
The governments of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, and Zambia had long been
hostile to Mobutu because of the Zairian leader’s support for various rebel
groups in neighboring countries. Rwandan and Ugandan leaders also had close
personal ties with Kabila. Meanwhile, Western governments failed to come to
Mobutu’s aid because of his reputation as a corrupt, ineffective dictator. The
AFDL began capturing border towns, easily defeating disorganized Zairian forces.
Undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, Mobutu avoided the rebellion by
staying at his villa in France.
While continuing to fight the Zairian
army, the AFDL, probably at the bidding of Rwanda, also began in November to
attack Hutu refugee camps. As each camp was attacked, its population fled to
another, creating a number of gigantic, unmanageable refugee camps. The refugee
population at Mugunga camp, northwest of Lake Kivu, grew to more than 500,000. A
U.S. military task force was drawn up to intervene and coordinate the
repatriation of refugees. Just before it was to be deployed in mid-November
1996, the AFDL routed Hutu militias in several camps, forcing them west. The
imperiled refugee population in eastern Zaire split, with about 800,000
streaming home to Rwanda and several hundred thousand moving west, deeper into
the jungles.
The AFDL captured more of eastern Zaire
in the next months. The Zairian army was consistently routed, as its underpaid
and inexperienced soldiers frequently surrendered or fled instead of fighting.
Meanwhile, the AFDL, with its stated intention of overthrowing Mobutu, drew
volunteers from every region it captured. Despite employing foreign mercenaries,
the Zairian army lost strategically located Kisangani to the rebels in March
1997. Lubumbashi, Zaire’s second largest city, fell in April. Under pressure
from UDPS protests in Kinshasa and Kabila’s rapid advance, Mobutu approved
Tshisekedi’s reappointment as prime minister in April. A week later he replaced
Tshisekedi with his hardline army chief of staff, General Likulia Bolongo.
E1 | Laurent-Désiré Kabila’s Rule |
On May 16, 1997, with the rebels
nearing Kinshasa, Mobutu relinquished power and left the capital. He fled the
country for Morocco, where he died in exile in September. Days after Mobutu’s
flight the AFDL captured Kinshasa with minimal resistance, and the rebels found
themselves in control of the country, which they renamed the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC). Kabila declared himself president with sweeping powers and
promised to establish a democratic system of government. Almost immediately,
Tshisekedi’s UDPS clashed with the new regime, demanding a leading role in a
transitional government, which Kabila rejected. Tshisekedi, who had long
struggled against Mobutu, accused Kabila of lacking commitment to democracy.
Breaking up opposition demonstrations with troops, Kabila’s popularity and the
euphoria generated by Mobutu’s ouster waned rapidly.
In 1997 and 1998 the Kabila
administration faced international condemnation for obstructing UN
investigations of alleged massacres of Hutu refugees by the AFDL during its
takeover of the country. At the same time, Kabila alienated his former allies
Rwanda and Uganda. In response to public sentiment that he was a puppet of the
Rwandan Tutsi elite, Kabila expelled Rwandan military advisers from the DRC and
systematically removed Tutsi from positions within the DRC administration. In
mid-1998 a string of events occurred that were strikingly similar to those of
late 1996. The DRC government sought to strip the eastern Banyamulenge Tutsi of
Congolese citizenship, and the Banyamulenge rose up in armed revolt with the
help of Rwandan soldiers expelled by Kabila. This rebel army became known as the
Congolese Rally for Democracy (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie, or
RCD). The RCD, backed by the Rwandan government, began capturing towns in
eastern DRC with the stated aim of overthrowing Kabila. Soon thereafter the
Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), a rebel group supported by
Uganda, began operating in northern DRC. Kabila was successful in rallying
military support from a number of regional allies, including Zimbabwe, Angola,
Namibia, Chad, and Sudan, and kept both rebel armies from threatening the
capital.
In 1999 the United Nations established
the UN Observer Mission in DR Congo (MONUC), which became the largest UN
peacekeeping mission in the world with 17,000 troops stationed in the country.
However, the civil war persisted into the early 21st century despite numerous
peace treaties and cease-fires. Many international observers accused the
intervening foreign nations of exploiting the war for economic gain by looting
the DRC of its resources in the process of fighting. The civil war was
staggeringly costly to the DRC, both economically and in terms of human lives.
In mid-2007 the International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimated that 5.4 million
people had died due to violence, starvation, and disease since the beginning of
the conflict in 1998. The IRC also reported that since 2003, when the civil war
officially ended, the mortality rate had remained essentially unchanged, with as
many as 45,000 additional deaths every month. The IRC survey found that the vast
majority died from preventable causes such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and
malnutrition, indicating the severity of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the
country.
E2 | New Administration |
In January 2001 Laurent-Désiré Kabila
was assassinated by one of his bodyguards and his son Joseph Kabila was named
president. At the age of 31, Joseph Kabila thus became Africa’s youngest head of
state. His succession was met with skepticism from many observers both inside
and outside the DRC, but the new leader pursued peace talks more earnestly than
did his father. In late 2002 he succeeded in negotiating the withdrawal of
Rwandan, Ugandan, and Zimbabwean troops from the DRC. After a series of peace
agreements, in July 2003 Kabila and representatives of the RCD, the MLC, and the
civilian political opposition entered into a transitional, power-sharing
government. Although this arrangement officially ended the civil war, heavy
fighting continued in the eastern provinces and UN peacekeeping forces remained
in the country.
In May 2005 the DRC’s new transitional
legislature approved a draft constitution, which was submitted to voters and
approved in a referendum in December. The new constitution, which went into
effect in February 2006, permitted a greater degree of federalism as well as
greater autonomy for some of the mineral-rich regions of the country. The
constitution also lowered the minimum age for the president to 30, permitting
Kabila to run for office in elections scheduled for 2006.
The country’s first direct, multiparty
elections in 40 years commenced in July 2006. Congolese voters cast ballots to
choose a new government from more than 9,700 parliamentary candidates, and a new
head of state from 32 presidential candidates. In the parliamentary elections,
no party gained a majority in the 500-seat National Assembly. Kabila’s party,
the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Developpement (PPRD), won more
seats than any other party. The Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo (MLC)
party, led by opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, won the second most seats.
In the concurrent presidential
election, Kabila and Bemba emerged as the top two contenders in the first round
of voting. A runoff election was held in October in which Kabila gained 58
percent of the vote, becoming the first democratically elected president of the
country since independence in 1960.
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