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The African-American Institute Update Editor: Russell Geekie Chairman Maurice Tempelsman Zambia History Repeats Itself 13 President By Melinda Ham Vivian Lowery Derryck Malawi Banda's Last Waltz 17 Publisher By Melinda Ham Steve McDonald Mozambique Editor-in-Chief Life After Landmines 22 Margaret A. Novicki State of Emergency By Dan Isaacs Guest Editor Page 13 South Africa Michael Maren Finding Common Ground 25 Associate Editor By Patrick Laurence Joseph Margolis Problem Child 28 Assistant Editor By Anne Shepherd Russell Geekie Editorial Assistant Egypt Marks Chabedi Terror on the Nile 32 By Sarah Gauch Contributing Editors Alana Lee Sudan Andrew Meldrum While the People Starve 36 Art Director By Mark Huband Kenneth Jay Ross Tough Talks Western Sahara Advertising Office Page 25 The Forgotten Front 40 212 350-2958 By Alfred Hermida Interns Somalia Timothy L. Bishop 44 Ted Hannon The Best Chance for Peace Zwelinzima Manzini MTimkulu By Rakiya Omaar Leopold Yetongnon Senegal Diouf's Tarnished Victory 49 Africa Report (ISSN 0001-9836), a By Peter da Costa non-profit magazine of African affairs, is published bimonthly and is sched- uled to appear at the beginning of Zaire each date period at 833 United Permanent Anarchy? 52 Nations Plaza. New York, NY. 10017. By Makau wa Mutua Editorial correspondence and adver- tising inquiries should be addressed to Africa Report, at the above ad- Elder Statesmen Liberia dress. Subscription inquiries should be 56 addressed to: Subscription Services, Page 44 An Uncivil War P.O. Box 3000, Dept. AR, Denville N.J. By Janet h'leischman 07834. Subscription rates: individuals. USA S30, Canada S36, air rate over- seas S54. Institutions. USA $37. Media Canada $43. air rate overseas S61 The Measure of Freedom 60 Second-class postage paid at New By Barry Shelby York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER If this maga- zine is undeiivcable, please send Democracy address changes to Africa Report at Officers and Politicians 64 833 UN Plaza, NY, NY 10017. Tele- phone. (212) 350-2959 Copyright •> By William J.Fottz 1993 by The African-American Insti- tute. Inc. Culture A Celebration of Cinema 68 Photo Credit: By David Turecamo The cover photograph of a rally in Mozambique was taken by Democracy's Gauge The Back Page 70 Alfredo Mueche/AIM. Page 60 By Steve McDonald Tunis CEUTA

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Copyright © 1984 by the Afncan-Amefican Inslituie. Inc. N THE NEWS The ANC's Most Popular Militant Assassinated On Saturday morning, April 10, South Africans, Hani's credentials as a of discipline is trampling on the values Chris Hani, the South African Commu- militant were never challenged by the that Chris Hani stood for," Mandela nist Party chief and ANC national exec- "young lions," who regularly accuse said. utive committee member, was gunned other leaders of selling out. In comments directed at the group down in the driveway of his home by a For the ANC, the challenge in the most incensed by the loss of Hani, he white extremist, Janusz Walus. The wake of the assassination was to chan- said, "To the youth of South Africa we assassination of the ANC's most popu- nel the fury of the militants into peace- have a special message: You have lost lar leader after Neison Mandela was a ful mass action protests, and it frequent- a great hero. You have repeatedly major blow to the organization, which ly recalled the slain leader to achieve shown that your love of freedom is had relied on Hani to sell its negotiating this. "Chris Hani was a soldier," Man- greater than that most precious gift, life stance to South Africa's militant youth. dela said in a second nationally tele- itself. But you are the leaders of tomor- Against a backdrop of fears that the vised speech on the eve of a day of row. Your country, your people, your murder would trigger an unprecedented national mourning on April 14. "He organization needs you to act with wis- escalation in the violence plaguing believed in iron discipline. He carried dom." South Africa, hard-liners in the out instructions to the letter. Any lack The ANC's calls for disciplined mass Congress called for the suspension of , protest are widely credited with having recently resumed multi-parly negotia- defused tensions in the wake of Hani's tions on South Africa's future. Instead, assassination. Nonetheless, success for the ANC leadership quickly reaf- the ANC meant that it was able to keep firmed its commitment to the process disorder to a minimum, and bloody and called for peace. incidents took place all over South Suddenly, the Congress seemed Africa. closer to power than ever. It was ANC Among the episodes that made the President Nelson Mandela—and not headlines in the first few days of the State President F.W. de Klerk—who crisis was the killing of three whites on appeared on South African television April 11. The men were burnt to death calling for calm the day of the assassi- by angry blacks after attending an ille- nation, an implicit acknowledgement gal bar in a township near Cape Town, by the government that it needed the fueling fears of a race war. Congress to govern. Then on April 14. during a national But the ANC strategy to channel protest strike and on the day of mourn- black anger to hasten the demise of ing for Hani, riots broke out across white rule—without breaking off South Africa, leaving at least eight negotiations—also exposes a potential dead and millions of dollars in dam- vulnerability of the organization: It age, in Cape Town, where ANC mar- risks attaining power without the sup- CHRIS HANI - shals were unable to control protesters, port of the militants it is now largely 1942-1993 a senior Congress leader, Trevor using to get there. And it no longer has Manuel, was punched in the face when Chris Hani to bring the youth back he confronted an unruly demonstrator. into the fold. ANC Secretary-General Cyril For the ANC, there is simply no Ramaphosa called the actions of the substitute for the charismatic Hani. protesters "measured," considering the There is probably no national leader FOUGHT WYD DIED anger Hani's assassination generated with his militant credentials and popu- FOR PEACE and the scope of the mass strike, which larity, let alone one who is willing to the Congress said brought over 1.5 urge support for peaceful negotiations. million people into the streets. As former commander of the ANC's But the violence aside, protesters military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. made known their displeasure with the and head of the South African Com- ANC's "soft line" toward the govern- munist Party since December 1991, as ment. At a rally in Soweto, Mandela's well as being feared and hated as a assertion that the National Party had "communist demon" by many white For the ANC. there is no substitute for the charismatic Hani expressed its sympathy over Hani's May/June 19 9 3 UP'TM death was met by jeers. At the same since police arrested Walus, a 40-year- In the meantime, the ANC contin- rally, hard-line black leaders, including old Polish immigrant and member of ues to push de Klerk to speed up the the Pan Africanist Congress head, the neo-fascist Afrikaner Weerstands- transition to majority rule. And while Clarence Makwetu, received thunder- beweging (AWB), half an hour after it battles to keep the left-leaning ous applause. he committed the crime. By April 21, youth in its ranks, it must also con- The worst incident of the day took police had arrested six figures in con- tend with the conservative Inkatha place when demonstrators, who had nection with the case, including Freedom Party which threatens to been at the rally, marched on a nearby prominent members of the Conserva- sabotage any agreements made police station. Security forces opened tive Party, the official opposition in between the Congress and the govern- fire on the protesters, leaving four dead Parliament. ment. • and as many as 250 wounded. But the Congress continued to call for restraint. That Chris Hani's funeral itself on April 19 passed without major incident De Klerk: South Africa Had the Bomb bode well for the ANC's efforts to show thai it has control over its followers. South African President F.W. de Klerk confirmed on March 24 what internation- Tens of thousands of mourners viewed al atomic experts had long suspected—that South Africa had produced weapons- Hani's body in a soccer stadium outside grade uranium and used it to manufacture a nuclear bomb. In breaking the news to Soweto. before he was brought to a specially summoned joint session of Parliament in Cape Town, de Klerk admit- Boksburg to be buried. ted that his country built six crude atomic bombs and was at work on a seventh The ANC has used the crisis—and its when it decided to dismantle its 15-year clandes- successful reaction to it—-to press de tine nuclear weapons program in 1989. Klerk to speed the transition to democ- De Klerk told Parliament that South Africa racy. This—the thinking in the ANC devised and built its bombs without help from leadership goes—could be the best way other countries, contradicting widely held suspi- to shore up support among its increas- cions by experts and diplomats that several for- ingly impatient young militants. Specif- eign countries had collaborated in the develop- ically, the ANC is demanding that it be ment of South Africa's nuclear programs. "I wish included immediately in running gov- to emphasize that at no time did South Africa ernment, that its guerrilla wing be inte- acquire nuclear weapons technology or materials grated into South Africa's security from another country, nor has it provided any to forces without delay, and that an early any other country, or cooperated with another date be set for the elections, which both country in this regard," de Klerk said. parties previously agreed would be held The president also told lawmakers that the by April 1994. decision to build the weapons in 1974 was taken Another demand the ANC and other "against the background of a Soviet expansionist black groups have called for from the threat in southern Africa, as well as prevailing uncertainty concerning the designs onset of the crisis is a proper investiga- of the Warsaw Pact." He insisted that the bombs were built purely as a deterrent tion into Hani's murder. Anything less and that his country never intended to use them. Instead, the strategy was that if the could lend credence to charges by some situation in southern Africa deteriorated seriously. South Africa would detonate a black leaders and their followers that test device to demonstrate its nuclear capability, and threaten to use the weapon the government was an accomplice to unless the U.S. intervened. the crime, potentially crippling the De Klerk said his country decided to dismantle the weapons soon after he came negotiations. Because of fears that the to power in September 1989 because of a changed international climate, noting the police might try to cover up state com- end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. "In such circumstances, a plicity in the assassination, the investi- nuclear deterrent had become not only superfluous, but in fact an obstacle to the gation is being monitored by two Scot- development of South Africa's international relations," he said. land Yard policemen and a German Critics say. however, that the government's decision to rid itself of the nuclear officer. program was motivated by a desire to prevent its atomic weapons from falling into To date, the only direct connection the hands of a future majority-rule government. The U.S. and other foreign gov- between the government and the assas- ernments had reportedly been putting pressure on Pretoria to destroy any nuclear sination is that the gun used to kill Hani weapons technology and high grade uranium before a new government, most like- was one of the weapons the right-wing ly dominated by the ANC, comes to power. Washington is reported to have been Afrikaner nationalist Piet Rudolph stole particularly concerned with the ANC's links with Libya. from an air force garrison in April De Klerk said his country's decision to sign the Non~Proliferation Treaty (NPT) 1990. Upon his release from prison in in July 1991, and its subsequent strict adherence to the pact, is proof of the coun- 1991 under South Africa's amnesty, try's willingness to eradicate its nuclear program. Noting that South Africa has Rudolph declared that he had carried been cooperating fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the out the crime with cooperation from nuclear watchdog group, de Klerk added that the IAEA inspectors will now have within the military. "full access" to inspect the facilities of the program and to satisfy themselves that Few analysts expect the government there is nothing hidden and nothing to hide. "South Africa's hands are clean and to be implicated in Hani's assassina- we are concealing nothing," he said. tion. But evidence that the killing was Officials of the IAEA in Vienna welcomed de Klerk's statement and said that a right-wing conspiracy has mounted Continued on page 11 A / r Report send its delegation after being pres- AVAXI sured to do so by the United States. Student unrest brought down the POLITICAL Despite Unita's stunning victories 10-monih-old government of Prime in the war since it resumed fighting Minister Younoussi Toure on April 9, POINTERS last November (it controls at least 70 1 1 months after Mali held its first percent of the country), both sides in multi-party elections since indepen- court. The Muslim candidate from the conflict concede that an all-out vic- dence. Kano state won the votes of 4,218 of tory is impossible. Months of demonstrations by stu- the 5,307 delegates in a four-way race. One of Unita's main demands is dents demanding larger grants reached On April 20. To fa chose Sylvester that a transitional government be set a flashpoint in the capital, Bamako, on Ugoh, a former minister of science and up in which it has equal footing with April 5. Several dozen university stu- technology, to be his running mate. the Angolan government. The govern- dents set fire to the new National Chief Abiola became the Social ment is demanding that Unita recog- Assembly building, offices of the rul- Democratic Party's candidate after nize the results of last September's ing Alliance for Democracy in Mali defeating Ambassador Baba Gana election and abide by the 199! cease- party, Presidenl Alpha Konare's pri- Kingibe the same day in the city of fire agreement. vate residence, the Minister of State Jos. Having received the votes of The fighting over the last six for National Education Baba Akhib 2,683 of his party's 5.139 delegates, months has left at least 15.000 Haidarra's house, and (he homes of the Yoruba businessman from south- Angolans dead. other stale officials. western Nigeria (who is also wealthy) Later in the day in a statement was expected to choose 11 running mate broadcast by Radiodiffusion-Televi- from the north to bolster his support RWANDA sion Malienne, the prime minister there. By March 19 the Rwandan Patriotic appealed for calm and said the stu- The campaign period, which began Front (RPF) had returned to positions dents' acts of violence were no longer in April, was scheduled to end on June it held before the latest round of fight- educational bui had become political. 11. ing between the rebel group and the Four days later he resigned. Nigeria's military ruler of seven Rwandan military broke out on Febru- In an April 9 address to the nation years, President Ibrahim Babangida, ary 8. in which Konare accepted the resigna- has promised to step down when The RPF's withdrawal from the tion of Toure and thanked his govern- power is turned over to a civilian gov- northern districts of Ruhengeri, Byum- ment for their dedication and sacri- ernment, scheduled for August 27. ba, and Mutara was confirmed by the fices, the president said, "The situation However, skeptical Nigerians were Organization of African Unity (OAU)- concerns not just one man, nor a gov- not surprised to hear an April 8 radio sanctioned Military Observer Group ernment. It attacks the very foundation report from Lagos which reported that (MOG). Under an agreement between of the republic and of democracy." He the military government had given the the military and the RPF, the MOG asked the Malian students not to National Electoral Commission the will administer the recently demilita- "destroy, or accept that you have to power to postpone the June 12 presi- rized zones. destroy, public property or the proper- dential elections "indefinitely" in the The RPF troop withdrawals have ty of others, for they constitute your event of unfair election practices. The led to a French commitment to remove only heritage tomorrow, your only last attempt to hold presidential elec- a contingent of soldiers it sent to the trump card." tions in Nigeria was brought to an country in early February ostensibly to On April 13. Konare appointed abrupt halt last October when the gov- protect its estimated 400 nationals Abdoulaye Sekou Sow prime minister. ernment disqualified all the candidates from the fighting. The RPF had earlier Sow had served as minister of slate in for their part in campaign fraud, accused the French of aiding Rwandan charge of defense under Toure. which included widespread vote-buy- government troops, a charge con- ing. firmed by observers from the OAU. NIGERIA Nigerians are hoping the relative The RPF instigated the latest round calm and cooperation that character- of fighting when it attacked govern- The Nigerian government's ized the primaries from the time they ment positions in northern Rwanda in blueprint for the nomination of presi- began on February 6 holds for the response to the slaughter of Tutsi there dential candidates came to a successful upcoming elections. at the hands of Hutus. The Tutsi-domi- conclusion at the end of March when nated RPF accused the government of Alhaji Bashir Tola and Chief Moshood complicity in the attacks which left Abiola were chosen to be the two can- ANCOLA more than 300 dead. The ethnic blood- didates in the country's presidential Angolan government delegates and shed in the north began shortly after elections, scheduled for June 12. representatives of the Union for the the RPF and the government signed a Tola, a wealthy businessman who Total Independence of Angola (Unita) peace agreement in Arusha, Tanzania, had been financial secretary for the began a round of United Nations-spon- on January 9. now-defunct National Party of Nige- sored peace talks in Cote d'lvoire's In April, talks in Arusha between ria, was nominated to be the presiden- capital, Abidjan, on April 12. the two sides continued on the compo- tial candidate of the National Republi- Unita, which failed to attend the sition of a future Rwandan army, com- can Convention at the party's March last round of UN-sponsored negotia- prising both rebel and government sol- 28 convention in the city of Port Har- tions in February, reportedly agreed to diers. May/June 19 9 3 AFRICAN OUTLOOK Eritrea Votes to Become Africa's Newest Nation against UN support play a significant role in Eritrea's for the referendum reconstruction efforts, according to the during a visit to the Asmara-based Voice of the Broad capital by UN Secre- Masses of Eritrea radio. tary-General Boutros In an interview with Africa Report, Boutros-Ghali. Secu- Vicky Rentmeesters, director of rity forces opened research and information for the Eritre- fire on the demon- an mission to the U.S. and Canada, out- strators, killing sev- lined areas in which her country needs eral of them. international assistance. "Reconstruc- In an interview tion will be our number one priority. with local journalists We have places where entire cities are on January 30, just bombed flat—the roads are really Ethiopia's President messed up, and all kinds of communi- Meles Zenawi, who cations are destroyed. Agriculture has supports Eritrea's also been disrupted by the war and the right to self-determi- bad drought in the 1980s. By the end of After 30 years offighting, Eritreans are turning to the task of nation building nation, declared that the war, about 80 percent of the people fter winning a 30-year armed "the issue of | the] referendum is not depended on relief supplies for food," struggle to break away from something that can be solved by student she said. Ethiopia in 1991—first against demonstrations. Indeed, even the mili- Eritrea's scarce resources will also A tary force of the Dergue failed to stop the forces of Emperor Haile Selassie, be strained by attempts to repatriate and then against Mengistu Haile Mari- it." He cautioned that refusing Eritrean refugees who fled during the war. am's Marxist Dergue—Eritrea is poised independence would lead to "needless Many who have returned to Eritrea to become Africa's newest nation on fighting" that his country could ill found their towns in ruins with the pro- May 24. The Red Sea territory's voters afford. visional government unable to meel decided overwhelmingly in favor of On top of convincing Ethiopians of their basic needs. "Half a million of the independence in a United Nations- the need for the referendum, Eritreans refugees are in Sudan and they want to sponsored referendum in late April. also faced the reluctance of the interna- come home. They are coming home to The groups that forced Mengistu tional community to support the vote a village where there is no home, no from power agreed to the referendum at because of fears that it would set a school, and no health care," Rent- the Democratic and Peaceful Transi- precedent for other separatist move- meesters said. tional Conference of Ethiopia held in ments across the globe. Significantly, To date, however, Eritrea has basical- Addis Ababa in July 1991. In return, the Organization of African Unity ly been "going it alone" in its recon- the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (OAU)—with a policy not to support struction efforts. Because the status of (EPLF)—which began its secessionist secessionist movements all but built the territory was in limbo, donors have struggle when the province was into its charter—agreed to send a dele- only provided humanitarian aid. But annexed by Selassie in 1962 and gation to supervise the referendum. The Eritrean leaders fear that the large attended the conference as an observ- OAU's ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim amounts of aid the reconstruction of the er-—has promised that an independent Sy, said the decision to send an observ- province requires will not be forthcom- Eritrea will not impede access to the er team to the vote was taken in accor- ing—even when Eritrea is independent, Red Sea ports of Massawa and Assab. dance with the UN General Assembly's as worse-off countries in the region and This was a crucial condition for the approval of the referendum and elsewhere compete for ever scarcer other parties—including the dominant Ethiopia's request that the mission be resources. According to African Busi- Ethiopian People's Revolutionary sent. ness, the post-war reconstruction is Democratic Front (EPRDF)—because The UN mission to monitor the vote, expected to cost $2.5 billion, of which Ethiopia will be landlocked after headed by Samir Sanbar of Lebanon, only $140 million has been pledged by Eritrea's independence. was also joined by several other inter- donors thus far. Despite the agreement, resistance to national observer teams including the Another potential problem facing an Eritrea's self-rule continued in Ethiopia Arab League and the U.S.-based independent Eritrea is the rise of Islam- up until the referendum. The most orga- African-American Institute. In a ic fundamentalism, and a possible split nized and vocal opposition to the seces- March meeting between Sanbar and between Muslims and Christians. As sion came from Amharas in the capital, the head of the transitional govern- part of an effort to guard against this Addis Ababa, who ruled the nation ment, EPLF Secretary-General Isaias threat and with an eye on the ethnic fac- when Mengistu was in power. In Jan- Afwerki, to discuss the UN's role in tionalism that has plagued virtually uary, demonstrations turned violent the referendum, the EPLF leader every other country in the region, Isaias when Amharic students protested expressed hope that the UN would Continued on next page Africa Report 8 Who Attacked Eyadema's Compound? On March 25, a group of commandos stormed President ment of training the forces that staged the March 25 attack. Gnassingbe Eyadema's military compound in northern But Togo's western neighbor dismissed the indictment, Lome, killing at least one high-ranking officer and fatally accusing Eyadema of ''laying the foundations for aggres- wounding another before retreating across the border into sion." While concerns persist that the long-standing antago- Ghana. The apparent target of the attack, Eyadema himself, nism between Eyadema and Ghana's President Jerry Rawl- emerged unscathed. ings could escalate into an armed conflict, officials in Ghana Togo's Defense Minister Inoussa Bouraima condemned the insist that their country has no intention of adding to Togo's raid hours later as an attempt by opposition forces to disrupt growing political turmoil. the work of Togo's six-week-old "crisis government" and Relations between Togo and its eastern neighbor, Benin, "end the democratic process in our country," according to a have also been strained. Most recently, Benin's President Togolese radio report monitored by the British Broadcasting Niccphore Soglo expressed his apologies to Eyadema after Corporation. the COD-2, meeting in Benin's capital, Cotonoiu on March But Togo's Collective of Democratic Opposition (COD- 22, nominated Jean-Lucien Savi de Tove as prime minis- 2)—which doesn't recognize the government and refuses to ter—despite Eyadema's having reappointed Joseph Kokou call off a devastating four-month-old general strike aimed at Koffigoh to the position on February 11. forcing political change—has denied any involvement in the Koffigoh—whom the transitional High Council of the attack. In an interview with Africa No. 1 radio on March 30, Republic made prime minister in 1991 after it stripped opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio said, "One wonders Eyadema of power—has fallen out of favor with the opposi- whether the attempt on | Eyadema's] life was not a ploy by tion for his continual compromises with Eyadema. the general himself." The opposition speculated that the raid While the COD-2's nomination of Savi de Tove awaited was orchestrated to dispose of key military personnel whom approval of the HCR, Defense Minister Bouraima declared the president perceives as a threat. the HCR's maneuver unconstitutional and warned. "These Indeed, at least 50 soldiers sought refuge in Ghana after 17 people forget that Togo already has a legitimate government servicemen were killed in what was rumored to be a military that is working for the restoration of peace and concord." purge. Many of the soldiers who fled Togo's ranks claimed But it was because of the government's failure to promote that the purge was directed against elements of the army who peace and national concord that France and other Western do not belong to General Eyadema's ethnic group, the Kabyc. donors suspended aid to Togo earlier this year. While the In an April 3 communique, the ministry of defense denied recent replacement of France's socialist government by a reports of "ethnic cleansing, manhunting, and massive deser- conservative administration has sparked some optimism in tion." While it was acknowledged that one officer had been the Togolese government, it is premature to assume that beaten to death by Togolese soldiers for his alleged involve- Eyadema will be able to recapture sorely needed aid and ment in planning the raid, officials claimed that any deserters diplomatic support from Togo's former colonial ruler. The were "beginning to return to the...great family of the new French administration has already followed the lead of Togolese Armed Forces." the old in refusing to issue a visa to Zairian dictator Mobutu The defense ministry also accused the Ghanaian govern- Sese Seko. •

Eritrea Continued BCP Finally Takes Power in Lesotho has said future political parties will not Two decades of rule by decree or the return the country to civilian rule, only be allowed to form along religious or gun came to an end on March 27 when to postpone polling four times since last tribal lines. Eritrean schoolchildren Lesotho's voters went to the polls and May. over the age of 11 are also now all gave the Basutholand Congress Party When the elections were finally being taught English to help defuse ten- (BCP) a landslide victory over its main held, many feared a return of the inter- sion between the nine different lan- rival, the Basotho National Party party violence that marked the 1970 guage groups. (BNP). elections in which 500 people were Indeed, the unity the territory has The election results—a sweep of all killed. But with soldiers guarding shops shown—cemented during 30 years of 65 constituencies for the BCP—were and government buildings as people war—is a hopeful sign fur its future. particularly sweet for the party's went to the polls, the voting was char- But Eritrea has more than its unity founder and leader, Ntsu Mokhehle. acterized by cooperation and relative going for it. The East African nation The 74-year-old Mokhehle has been calm. has a wealth of unexploited resources waiting to take power since his party In a view echoed by other interna- including copper, gold, oil, and gas. was robbed of a victory in the last gen- tional observer teams, the Common- Should the unity hold, the recon- eral elections in 1970. The then-ruling wealth Observer Group declared "that struction effort get the foreign support BNP cancelled the elections, suspended those who voted were able to freely and it requires, and Eritrea's many skilled the constitution, and outlawed the BCP. fairly exercise their views." While no workers return home (almost a third of The wait continued for Mokhehle significant irregularities were reported, the territory's registered voters live after Lesotho's military govern- some minor setbacks included a five abroad), Africa's youngest nation ment—which seized power from the hour delay in the opening of most of the should have a recipe for success. • BNP in 1986—promised in 1991 to Continued on page 11 May /June 19 9 3 Moi Rejects 'Unrealistic, Dictatorial' IMF Reforms "The action of the government was in Parliament—a step in the right direc- closure that the central bank had rolled intended to save the economy from col- tion. over loans worth almost $100 million to lapse and to alleviate the suffering of Feeling that he had satisfied Western two politically connected banks. The the majority of Kenyans. It was not demands to democratize, Moi focused loans were made through a frequently intended to result in a break with the in February on implementing economic abused scheme intended to provide IMF or the World Bank," Kenya's reforms required by the Fund. On the cheap credit to exporters, which the Finance Minister Musalia Mudavadi eve of a visit by an IMF team in late government claims has now been dis- said on March 26. But the govern- February, the government floated the continued. ment's action a few days earlier—the commercial exchange rate for the In order for aid to resume, the reversal of free market reforms that had Kenyan shilling; relaxed price controls donors at the March 15 meeting heen implemented at the behest of the on a number of commodities, including demanded that Kenya increase its inter- International Monetary Fund—-con- fuel, corn, maize, and wheat: and est rates to about 45 percent to mop up firmed that a crisis had indeed devel- allowed businesses to keep foreign the excess liquidity, cut its bloated oped between Kenya and the lending exchange earnings in "retention 270,000-strong civil service by tens of agencies. accounts," rather than remitting them to thousands, take bolder steps on price Kenya rejected the reforms after the the central bank. liberalization, reduce its strategic international donor community adopted When the IMF mission left Kenya in reserve of maize, and move more the IMF position that the one-time early March without giving the eco- quickly on its promise to privatize "model of capitalism" in Africa had not nomic reforms its stamp of approval, unsuccessful state industries. done enough to warrant a resumption of the government went even further in a A frustrated Moi decided the aid which has been cut off since bid to win the agency's approval before demands were too much, ostensibly November 1991 pending economic and a March 15 meeting of donors chaired because of the toll reform was taking on political changes. "Unilateralist, unreal- by the World Bank. Measures to rein in ordinary Kenyans. Unpopular policies istic, harsh, and dictatorial," were excess liquidity were announced and such as the massive increase in food words President Daniel arap Moi used the official exchange rate was lowered prices had raised fears of civil unrest. to describe the IMF's policies at the by 20 percent. The IMF had reportedly "Kenya will no longer agree to policies onset of the crisis, which is viewed as a insisted that the government work to which are economically suicidal...The challenge to the conditions Western merge the commercial exchange rate government is to rethink the country's donors place on aid to the continent. with the official rate, which is used to economic arrangements and take the Critics were quick to draw parallels service public debt and pay for govern- necessary steps it deems fit to safeguard between Moi's rift with the IMF and ment imports. the welfare of the people," he said on then-President Kenneth Kaunda's high- But when donors met in London on March 19. profile challenge to the Fund's policies March 15, they heard that the govern- But the reversal of economic in 1987. Like Moi, Kaunda lambasted ment had not gone far enough in satis- reforms—which included the reimposi- the IMF when he decided to abandon fying IMF demands. The $40 million a tion of price controls, abolishing the the agency's economic adjustment pro- month in quick-disbursing aid was left "retention accounts," and reestablishing gram—only to resume the reforms in frozen as was a World Bank export pro- foreign exchange control over Kenya's 1989. And like Kaunda's actions, Moi's motion loan reportedly worth $150 mil- main foreign exchange earners, tea, criticisms of the IMF and World Bank lion. coffee and tourism—has been called a are public expressions of what is said The government's reluctance to take victory for hard-liners in Moi's govern- behind closed doors by other leaders stronger measures to mop up excess liq- ment. Opposition members and diplo- throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Should uidity was one of the main reasons the mats have said the hard-liners resist Kenya convince Western donors to ease IMF maintained the aid cut-off. reform because the controlled economy the conditions required to resume aid, Kenya's money supply grew by 30 per- allows them to mete out patronage and other countries will have grounds to cent last year—the result of an estimat- manipulate business conditions to favor demand that the doses of their IMF ed 9 billion shillings being printed their interests. medicine be reduced. mostly to pay for Kanu's election cam- Widespread corruption and misman- From Moi's point of view, Kenya paign and to bail out failing banks agement are considered greatly respon- had bent over backwards to satisfy the which were owned by members of the sible for stifling Kenya's economy and donor demands to open up the political ruling party. The rapid money supply were prime targets of the Western system and liberalize Che economy and growth contributed to over 30 percent demand that Kenya democratize. he fully expected a resumption of the inflation in January. The liberalization Donors who looked to the new Parlia- roughly $40 million a month in bal- reforms in February—taken without ment for much needed accountability in ance-of-pay me nts support suspended in adequate measures to put a check on the the economic sphere were pleased to November 1991. money supply—made for even greater see that all three of the main opposition Last December, Kenya conducted its inflationary pressure as the floating parties have come out strongly against first multi-party elections in 27 years. shilling plummeted more than 60 per- Moi's decision to reverse the IMF While there were irregularities during cent against convertible currencies. reforms. the electoral process, Western govern- Donor concerns that corruption had When the new Parliament official- ments considered the exercise—which not been adequately addressed were ly opened on March 24—two months gave the opposition 88 of the 200 seats also bolstered in mid-March by the dis- after being suspended by the govern- Africa Report 10 I JJATE merit—two of the parties boycotted the economic reforms as a bargaining posi- percent donors had demanded. Encour- session and the leader of the Forum for tion to force a softer line on the resump- aged by these moves, and other actions the Restoration of Democracy (FORD)- tion of aid. Others, however, said that taken by the government against failing Asili. Kenneth Matiba, walked out at Moi is serious in his "go it alone" banks, the World Bank President, the beginning of the president's speech. approach on the economy. The French Edward Jaycox. announced in Nairobi Opposition MPs culled Moi's decision ambassador to Kenya. Michel de Bon- the next day that roughly $85 million in to reverse the reforms "economic sui- necorse, reportedly said that aid should aid would be made available to Kenya. cide," among them, Paul Muite, vice be resumed to "rescue" the Kenyan World Bank officials predicted that chairman of another opposition party, economy. the IMF and other donors would follow FORD-Kenya, who called for a For his part, Moi insists there is no suit with increased support for Kenya. campaign of civil disobedience to rift with Kenya and its donors. He said But the real aid prize—the $480 million protest ihe government's break with he was merely putting the "brake" on a year in balance-of-payments sup- donors. Kenya's structural adjustment program port—remained on hold pending IMF On March 31, Finance Minister to avoid a crisis, according to a Kenya approval for its resumption. Mudavadi and Minister of Labor Philip Broadcasting Corporation report. "The An IMF team was due in Kenya at Masinde said they were not opposed to government is continuing the dialogue the end of April to review the economy opposition requests that a parliamentary with the two institutions [the IMF and and again press its demands. Other select committee be set up It) look into World Bank] and other donors but on African governments watched closely alternative measures of reviving the the basis of more raiional and sustain- to sec if donors would in fact soften economy. "With such a committee, the able measures," Mudavadi said shortly their position on turning the aid tap to opposition will not continue blaming after the reversal of reforms was Kenya back on again. the government for the country's eco- announced. If the IMF's strict line on condilion- nomic woes." Masinde said. The oppo- At least one event in late April lent ality holds, the government will have to sition also looks to take up the issue of credence to Mudavadi's words. On April make further concessions for aid to be Kenya's over-reliance on foreign aid. 20. on the eve of a World Bank visit. resumed. In the meantime, the economy From the donor perspective, many Kenya devalued the shilling by 23 per- continues to deteriorate and ordinary viewed the government's reversal of cent and raised interest rates to the 45 Kenyans continue to suffer. •

from government politics in 1970 after In a Radio Lesotho report the following LeSOthO Continued repeated clashes with BNP leader Chief day. the BNP leader. Evaristus Ret- 1,600 polling stations, as well as the Leabua Jonathan, and was exiled 20 selisitsoe Sekhonyana, suggested that late arrival of ballot boxes in some years later. Moshoeshoe's son. Letsie the BNP could not accept the election areas. III, has presided as Lesotho's monarch, results until alleged irregularities were Despite calm at the polls, uncertainty reportedly under the tight control of the addressed. loomed as some political parties Uireat- government. Mokhehle's party also faces a possi- ened to reject the election results. Prior A larger threat to the BCP, however, ble threat from the military regime that to the polling, the royalist Marematlou comes from the BNP. In a statement ruled Lesotho for the last seven years. Freedom Party (MFP) had issued warn- issued in the capital. Maseru, on March The former government's frequent ings of violence should the new govern- 28, BNP officials claimed that the elec- postponement of the elections date ment fail to restore King Moshoeshoe 11 tions were "generally against every helped to fuel fears that the military to the throne. Moshoeshoe was banned tenet and spirit of fairness and equity." will once again seize control. In the midst of these uncertainties Mokhehle has attempted to resolve ten- mation concerning the size of stock- sions with the opposition parties. In an Bomb Continued piles of highly enriched uranium, fed April 2 election victory address he they would take up South Africa's offer concerns that South Africa has not praised the former ruling military coun- to "send inspectors to the sites involved fully accounted for its nuclear pro- cil for helping to make the election a in the former weapons program and gram. success and said he recognized the need review historical records as soon as The ANC, while welcoming de to cooperate with the BNP and other possible." In Washington, the White Klerk's statement on the weapons, has parties. House communications director, demanded that he disclose all the Prior to the elections, on March 13, George Stephanopoulos, said. "We wel- details of the program, including the leaders from the BCP, the BNP and the come President de Klerk's statement extent of international cooperation, and MFP showed that the parties could today that South Africa has destroyed the size of stockpiles of highly enriched agree on at least one issue. According all its nuclear devices, and is adhering uranium. The group said de Klerk's to a Radio Lesotho report the following strictly to the requirements of the "claim that there was no foreign assis- day, the three parties unanimously NPT." The Clinton administration also tance to a local weapons program con- agreed that, "cordial good neighborli- noted that the South African president's tradicts substantial speculation that ness [with| post-apartheid South Africa candid disclosure was not specifically there was indeed foreign involvement." is of primary importance to the socio- required by the treaty. and it added that it would not believe political and economic welfare" of But Pretoria's reluctance to disclose "South Africa's hands are clean until all Lesotho. The mountain nation is com- that it had developed nuclear details of the weapons program have pletely surrounded—and economically weapons, as well as the lack of infoi- been disclosed." • dependent—on South Africa. • 11 May /June 19 9 3 which arc aimed at forcing the North ECONOMY African country to turn over two sus- The World Bank's latest report, BUSINESS pects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Global Economic Prospects and the flight 10.3 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Developing Countries 1993, forecasts BRIEFS But the Council voted on April 8 to a 3.7 percent growth rate for sub-Saha- extend existing sanctions on Libya. ran Africa in the decade ahead, com- In testimony before a Senate Sub- pared to 2 percent growth in 1982- committee on March 30, Secretary of 1992. But the GDP rate is expected to State Warren Christopher had said, "I only barely eclipse population growth. NIGERIA think the time has come to stiffen the The growth rate for Africa is also In April, Nigeria postponed its embargo against Libya. We're consult- contingent on an expected improve- pledge to cut oil subsidies scheduled ing with our allies now about ways to ment in commodity prices such as tea for June 1 on the grounds that such a stiffen it and one of the things we want and coffee, according to the report. move would provoke widespread to talk about is an oil embargo." But the Overall, economic performance in unrest and risk marring the June 12 administration determined that it was the developing countries is expected to presidential vote. unable to muster the 10 votes it needed improve from an average rate of 2.7 "The government remains commit- on the 15-member Council to impose percent in the last decade to 4.7 per- ted to ensuring that nothing is done to sanctions on the purchase of Libyan oil. cent in this one. impede the progress of the transition" The effort reportedly encountered 'This brighter outlook is to a large to civilian rule, an official statement strong resistance from France, Arab extent the dividend of the wide-rang- explaining the decision said. countries, and nations which purchase ing—and often painful—economic Indeed, the proposed increase in the Libyan oil. policy reform of the past decade," the price for fuel—which the government A successful full oil embargo would report says. This reform included trade now claims will be implemented after wreak havoc on the country's econo- liberalization, a shift away from the military government of President my, which earns 90 percent of its import substitution schemes, the cor- Ibrahim Babangida ends its seven-year income through oil exports. The U.S. rection of over-valued exchange rates, rule in August—had prompted strike and its allies on the Security Council the improvement of public finances, and riot threats. have considered imposing lesser sanc- the cutting of inflation, and the privati- But the postponement was seen as a tions on Libya, including a ban on the zation of state enterprises. blow to Nigeria's efforts to secure an sale of oil-producing technology to the The report also warns that the high early agreement with the IMF—a pre- country. projected growth rates for the develop- requisite for the economically misman- The existing sanctions ban air links ing world over the next decade arc lied aged country to reschedule its stagger- with Libya, prohibit the sale of new to some uncertain projections. These ing $29 billion debt, more than half of aircraft and spare parts to the country, include economic recovery in the which is owed to the Paris Club of and disallow it all military aid and developed world and an increase in donors. The IMF team will reportedly training. international trade. wait to see the intentions of the new The suspects wanted in connection Africa can also expect to face a lim- government before it agrees to a pro- with the Lockerbie bombing, Abdel ited share of aid in the 1990s, accord- gram with Nigeria. Basset Ali Megrahi and Lamen Khali- ing to the World Bank report. In the meantime, the Financial fa Fhimah, are also sought in connec- Meanwhile, the "economic perfor- Times reported on April 27 that Nige- tion with a 1989 terrorist attack on a mance was well below expectations in ria was cracking down on the smug- French UTA flight, which blew up most less developed countries [LDCs| gling of gasoline—which is by far the over Niger. in the early 1990s," according to the cheapest in the world thanks to the 1992 annual report of the UN Confer- subsidies—into Benin and other neigh- ence on Trade and Development boring countries. The threat that Nige- (UNCTAD), released in March. ria would end the subsidies had led to Sudan was expected to open a stock The report said that the 47 poorest a considerable increase in the smug- exchange in April or May, according countries, which averaged 1.4 percent gling. to an article in African Business. The growth last year, had experienced a Philip Asiodu. an official in the oil general manager of the exchange, Ali drop in per capita income for the past and mineral resources ministry esti- Abdalla Ali, said some 50 companies three years and that their tenuous eco- mated in March that losses from oil would participate in the market, which nomic reform programs were threat- being smuggled out of Nigeria was the article reports is intended to estab- ened by the world recession and inade- costing the country $2 million a day, lish a free market for hard currency. quate international support. according to a Voice of Nigeria radio African Business also reports that the For many of the LDCs that are broadcast. government hopes the exchange will plagued by civil war and natural disas- eliminate the black market for hard cur- ter, including Liberia, Somalia, rency, fix one exchange rate for all Ethiopia, and Mozambique, "the devel- LIBYA transactions, and speed up privatization opment process has come to a virtual The United States backed away of state enterprises and encourage standstill," according to UNCTAD. from its efforts in early April to per- investment. The establishment of the Further decline, the report warned, suade the UN Security Council to exchange was called a major step in the could lead to more Somalias in Africa. strengthen sanctions against Libya liberalization of Sudan's economy. Africa Report 12 BYMELINDA HAM HISTO HIST REPEATS REPEATS

Kenneth Kaunda governed Zambia ITSELF under a continuous state of emergency, which he used to ITSELF silence opponents for 25 years. When President Frederick Chiluba's Movement for Multi-party Democracy ousted Kaunda in 1991 in the country's first democratic elections, the emergency lapsed. Eighteen months later, Chiluba declared that Zambia's democracy was threatened by some in the opposition who allegedly planned to make the country ungovernable, and he reinstated the emergency. Whether Zambia's fragile democracy can survive this authoritarian action is a question both Chiluba's friends and foes are asking.

May /June 19 9 3 n the evening of March 4, television ask friendly countries such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and viewers in Zambia were ready to watch Libya for assistance. Kaunda had enjoyed close relations the latest episode of the American with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. soap opera "Dynasty" when the Zam- According to sources wilhin Chiluba's cabinet, the bian army's brass band came on the MMD government acted so rashly because it was caught screen and began to play the national completely off-guard when the "Zero Option" excerpts anthem, the traditional prelude to a special presidential appeared in the Times, as its own intelligence service had announcement. been unaware of the plot. Instead of "Dynasty," Zambian viewers were treated to A crisis cabinet meeting was called on March 3, 24 the first installment of a real-life national drama that hours before the declaration was made. The meeting would become the hottest topic since the Movement for highlighted serious tensions within the cabinet. The legal Multi-party Democracy (MMD) took power. President affairs minister, Roger Chongwe, the minister without Frederick Chiluba, who was elected in the October 1991 portfolio, Godfrey Miyanda, and Labor Minister Ludwig multi-party elections, declared a threatened state of emer- Sondashi, and several others reportedly fought vehe- gency that shook the very foundations of the 16-month mently against the emergency declaration. administration that had been hailed internationally as a Some ministers maintained that the apparent necessity new model of democracy in Africa. of the emergency demonstrated that in their 16 months in "Zambia is threatened. Our young democracy is at office the government had failed completely to reform, stake. The danger is real and the consequences if not retrain, or re-equip the police and security forces. I^egal attended to are grave. The political climate is being sys- and constitutional reform also had been negligible. Argu- tematically poisoned by a few of our citizens who are bent ments raged until nearly 3 am, when, finally, the majority on plunging this nation into chaos," the president said. of ministers agreed that the president should proceed. His declaration would prove to be a major test for Zam- But some legal advisers seem to have misinformed the bia's democracy and demonstrate how fragile it was. president. A headline in the independent Weekly Post on Although he did not specify why he had invoked the March 11 shouted: "Chiluba signed the wrong declara- emergency, by the early hours of March 5 it was clear. tion." The newspaper revealed that he had invoked article Fourteen members of the official opposition, the Unit- 31 of the constitution, declaring only a threatened state of ed National Independence Party (UNIP), were arrested emergency. Under this article, the state cannot restrict and detained without charges. They included Wezi Kaun- fundamental rights and freedoms. Only under article 30, a da, son of the former president, Steven Moyo, former full state of emergency, can this be done, thus making the head of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, detentions unconstitutional. Henry Kamima, former director-general of the Zambian So the Weekly Post claimed that the 14 UNIP detainees, Intelligence Service, some members of Parliament, and who grew to 18 the next day and 23 a couple of days later, ordinary UNIP members. Two other sons of Kaunda, had been detained illegally and had the right to sue for Panji and Tilenjyi, were arrested later. damages. Once the presidential advisers realized their Ten days earlier, the state-run Times of Zambia had mistake, the president signed article 30 on March 8, published excerpts from a document called the "Zero which only then gave police the authority to detain people Option" plan, allegedly authored by a group of embittered without charges. UNIP members. The aim of the plan was to "wrestle power from the MMD in order to form a government responsive to the people's needs...before the 1996 general elections." The plan outlined a proposed campaign to incite civil disobedience, riots, strikes, and a rise in crime to make the country ungovernable and discourage foreign invest- ment, using the trade unions, students' organizations, "mishanga boys" (unemployed youths), marketeers, retired intelligence, army and police officers, civil ser- vants, and employees of state companies. Chiluba also said in his broadcast that relations with Iran and Iraq would be reviewed, and within a few days, Foreign Affairs Minister Vernon Mwaanga announced The "Zero Option" plan exposed a power struggle with- that diplomatic ties with the two countries had been sev- in UNIP, between the supporters of the plan and a ered because of their alleged "interference in Zambia's reformist faction led by UNIP president Kebby Musokot- internal affairs." The "Zero Option" said that UNIP would wane, former high commissioner to Canada and one-time prime minister under Kaunda. Melinda Ham is a Canadian freelance Journalist based in Lusaka, Zambia. The reformists aim to revamp UNIP's image after its

Africa Report 14 crushing 1991 election defeat and mold it into a viable stead Zimba. Former politician Vernon Mwaanga was alternative to the MM I). It seems the government is well held on drug-trafficking charges, while Gen. Christon aware of the split, as Musokotwane has not been Tcmbo. former commander of the army, and Brig.-Gen. detained, while two of his supporters, Chibembe Nyalug- Godfrey Myanda were jailed after a eoup plot in 1988. we, secretary for youth, and Lucy Sichone, political secre- They are now all cabinet ministers. tary, were detained briefly and then released. After the. cabinet's approval, the emergency then had Musokotwane admitted at a press conference that to be ratified by Parliament to extend it for a further 90 "Zero Option" was written by UNIP member(s), but days. This issue was the first real test of the separation of would not reveal their identity and emphasized only that powers between the executive and legislative wings of the document had not been adopted as party policy. government, and raised serious questions about Parlia- The hard-liners, who reportedly include Wozi Kaunda, ment's independence. Rupiah Banda, the secretary for international relations, The MMD controls 125 of the 150 seats and 63 of those and publicity secretary Bwendo Mulengela, allegedly MPs are ministers or deputy ministers, sitting on the view the MML) as an American-backed puppet adminis- front two benches in the House. tration. At the same time they have little patience for the It did not take much to silence enough back-benchers Musokotwane-led revival campaign. Instead they want to with promises of senior positions in the next cabinet capitalize on the rapidly deteriorating economic situation reshuffle for the government to win a comfortable majori- to overthrow the government as soon as possible. ty of 114 to 23. Only three back-benchers voted against But despite its internal divisions, those UNIP members the motion, although several registered protest by not who have not been detained have shown party loyalty and showing up. held numerous press conferences to complain about the The emergency debate took an ironi- treatment of the detainees. They claim that many have cally historical turn. Two chil- been interrogated without lawyers for as long as 39 hours drcn of former opposition lead- at a stretch. One MP, Cuthbert Nguni, was allegedly made ers in Zambia's short-lived era to stand on two bricks for up to half an hour at a time or to of multi-party politics, 1964 to squat and turn in circles. When he fell over, he was beat- 1972, who had opposed the en by his interrogators. introduction of a one-party state, Amnesty International, the London-based human took the floor. rights organization, has declared that the detainees arc Chilufya Kapwepwe, a daugh- "prisoners of conscience" and has appealed to the govern- ter of Simon Kapwepwe, the lead- ment to release or charge them as soon as possible. er of the United People's Party, Zambia had a continuous state of emergency from which was banned and had 123 independence from Britain in 1964 until it lapsed under party members detained in 1972 the new constitution, seven days under the state of emergency, Opposition after Chiluba came to power. spoke first. She contended that the hard-liners allegedly Kaunda had used the emer- same arguments the Chiluba admin-' view the Chiluba gency to silence political oppo- istration was using to justify the emergency now,! the Kaunda administration had used nearly three government as an nents. They included Chiluba, who was then leader of the Zam- decades ago. Not much had really changed in American-backed bia Congress of Trade Unions Zambian politics, as history puppet (ZCTU), and his deputy, New- was repeating itself. Margatet A Novicki "Already we have abused power and yet this government is asking us to give it more pow-

\s er. If the government is scared that it is sitting on a vol- warned: "By the CG, we expect that, first of all, the rea- cano which is about to erupt...it will not restore the confi- sons behind the state of emergency will have become dence of people in this country by declaring a state of clearer, secondly, that detainees will have been charged emergency," Kapwepwe argued, adding that many MPs or released, and, thirdly, that allegations of torture of were supporting the bill only because they saw Parlia- detainees have been proved baseless, otherwise this is a ment as a route to a ministerial position. violation of human rights. If this does not happen, many of The youngest son of Harry Nkumbula, the late lead- us will be forced to reconsider our pledges." er of the African National Congress (ANC), which con- When Chiluba made his emergency declaration, he trolled most of Southern Province and later also West- assured Zambians that their fundamental freedoms would ern Province before it was banned when Zambia be protected under the declaration, even though the became a one-party state in 1972, also argued against whole purpose of the emergency is to suspend these the emergency. guaranteed constitutional rights. Baldwin Nkumbula, who was minister of youth and "We will uphold the conditions in which our people will sport before he resigned last August, referred to a state- enjoy to the fullest extent possible their democratic ment made in 1965 by the ANC's vice president, Mungoni rights. Therefore, only those who break the law and wish Liso, who maintained that if a government detained peo- to bring anarchy will face the wrath of this state of emer- ple without charges or trial, it was afraid to bring those gency," he said. detainees before a magistrate because it knew there was And to its credit, the MMI) government has not pre- inadequate evidence to convict them. Such a government, vented the state-owned and privately owned media from he said, was a dictatorship. covering the emergency in full detail and it has faced the "When we created the Movement for Multi-party wrath of angry editorials. UNIP and other opposition Democracy," Nkumbula parties also held a protest march through Lusaka's city argued, "our ideal was A WEAKENED center. Former President Kaunda has also spoken out. "This is at idealhlfnot OPPOSITION the beginning of the end of this government. It can't go on been achieved With RAISES THE like this or the people are going to explode. It's a far cry this instrument that we from democracy," he told reporters. "The government is now wish to apply...this SPECTER OF made up of mad people. They are sick with power." hope of ever seeing Even the ZCTU that acted as a launching pad for Chilu- democracy in this coun- A N U I H c K V c ba's political career has described the emergency as try goes away forever." pACTQ Q N r__ "intimidatory" and hopes it will not be used against work- Although the debate ers if they strike. dragged on for 10 hours PARTY STATE. The Law Association of Zambia criticized the govern- over two days, the hand- ment for not revamping the existing criminal law and ful of courageous back-benchers failed to change the enforcement machinery as a priority after it took office. minds of most in their party. The association chairman, Isaac Chali, maintained that The vote set a worrying precedent for the future of a infringement of citizens' rights was inevitable. "We democratic Zambia. Cabinet ministers and MPs were per- believe these are bound to suffer if the declaration were suaded to vote in favor of a motion which many of them to be ratified even for a short time. Let us be seen to con- did not actively support. Few of them had seen the "Zero tribute to the building of a true democracy for ourselves Option" document and were only following their leaders and for posterity," Chali said. on blind faith. All this criticism demonstrates the beginnings of a Western diplomats voiced their concern against the vibrant civic society, one of the pillars of democracy. But route the government was following at a meeting between the emergency has also demonstrated how fragile Zam- Lusaka-based diplomats and Chiluba at State House. bia's democracy is, that the division of powers between Eldred Maduro, the Netherlands' ambassador, said, "Our the executive and legislative wings of government are governments are disturbed by the state of emergency, blurred, and Parliament has little power to challenge the which is viewed as an unfortunate development. cabinet. UNIP, the only existing viable opposition, is weak- We...trust it will be limited in time and focus." Other diplo- ened and faced with a split, which raises the worrying mats said that they thought the state of emergency was an specter of another de facto one-party state. "over-reaction" to a situation that could have been dealt In the next few months, domestic and international with under existing laws. observers will carefully scrutinize every move of the Zam- Zambian representatives were due to meet Western aid bian government. Neighboring governments in Malawi donors in Paris on April 6 and 7 for the annual Consulta- and Zimbabwe, and elsewhere on the continent that have tive Group (CG) meeting to discuss 1993-94 aid pledges, not gone through the multi-party process yet, are waiting and review Zambia's political and economic progress. eagerly to see whether this experimental "model for One diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous, democratic transition" in Africa will succeed or collapse.O

Africa Report 16 BYMELINDA HAM

BAN DAS LAST WALTZ One major obstacle stands between Malawi and democracy—the ninetysomething Life President Kamuzu Banda. In spite of his authoritarian rule, there are two active opposition movements, which attract...

17 May/June 19 ... large crowds ai their rallies as they and their supporters look forward to eventual multi-party democracy. They have been forging on despite periodic bannings of their newspapers and rallies and the jailing of the Alliance for Democracy leader, Chakufwa Chihana, for "inciting hatred" toward Banda. t was a battle of wits in Malawi's Supreme Court lawyer, told journalists later: "Our appeal went very well. on March 8 as four British barristers made their We gave very powerful arguments that we feel are unan- submissions, two in support and two against the swerable, unless the proseculion argues the Malawian appeal of opposition leader Chakufwa Chihana, constitution has no effect, international law has no serving a two-year prison sentence for posses- effect, and the UN charter of human rights has no effect sion of "seditious" documents. on this case," he said. Chihana's detention is perhaps the largest of The prosecution's case, led by British barrister John thDe many obstacles which Life President Kamuzu Banda Belveridge, rested on a 1940 judgment on possession of sedi- and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) have erected on tious documents under the British colonial government. Malawi's rocky road to its referendum on multi-party Glasgow argued that if the Supreme Court upheld democracy to be held on June 14. Chihana's conviction based on this colonial precedent, The government only reluctantly agreed to the refer- then it meant that Malawi in effect was still a colony. endum because donors froze $74 million in aid, and the Such arguments should "have no relevance in a modern two opposition movements, the Alliance for Democracy democratic society and where fundamental freedoms are (AFORD), chaired by Chihana, and the United Demo- protected by the constitution." cratic Front (UDF), chaired by businessman Bakili After both sides' submissions in the one-day appeal, the Muluzi, stepped up political pressure. Supreme Court judges said they would make a ruling Even though their leaders have been detained, their before the end of March. But then the Malawi government rallies and newspapers banned, AFORD and UDF contin- played its next card. The chief justice, Richard Banda, and ue their campaign undeterred. They are buoyed by the Minister of Justice Friday Makuta were summoned to the tens of thousands of supporters who have flocked to life president's hilltop palace outside Blantyre. more than 75 of their rallies held in every district of the Makuta reportedly told the nonagenarian leader that country. the prosecution's case had crumbled. It was legally Outside the Supreme Court, in the commercial capital impossible for the conviction to stand and Chihana would of Blantyre, thousands of angry supporters chanted slo- have to be freed. The life president said he never wanted gans praising Chihana. Their sentiments reverberated Chihana's name mentioned again. He wanted the through the crowded courtroom's open windows. Inside, AFORD leader silenced. British barrister Edwin Glasgow, Chi- hana's chief defense lawyer, laid out the arguments in support of the appeal. Chihana was detained on April 6 last year, after he read a speech calling for multi-party democracy as he stepped off a plane at Kamuzu international airport in the capital, Lilongwe. He was convict- ed on December 14 for possession of "seditious" documents, which included the text of his airport address. Glasgow argued that Chihana's con- viction went against section 2 of the Malawi constitution, which states: "The government and people of Malawi shall continue to recognize the sanctity of their personal liberties enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Michael Wood, the second defense

Melinda Ham is a Canadian freelance journalist based in Lusaka, Zambia.

Africa Report 18 clearly politically motivated. It is obvious to everybody that the MCP is trying to intimidate us and frustrate our campaign. But they can't stop us. UDF will continue to strive for a new Malawi." The MCP struck another blow and banned all opposi- tion rallies in northern Malawi when Banda hit the cam- paign trail in February to whip up support for the one- CHIHANA! party state. When he arrived in Mzuzu, the largest town in the north and allegedly an AFORD stronghold, angry residents pelted his presidential motorcade with stones and eggs. MCP spokesman Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba argued: "We have been faced with a lot of unwarranted provocation from the opposition. On many occasions they have defamed the character of the life president, using out- right abusive language. Their supporters have blocked traffic as they come back from rallies. The police are try- ing to maintain peace and calm." fScy City councils in Lilongwe and Blantyre then followed suit and banned all opposition meetings on public proper- ty. Four leading AFORD churchmen. Revs. Aaron Ixmg- FOR we, Peter Kaleso, John Mwambira, and Willie Zingani, MALAWI were prohibited from addressing public meetings. The high court later ruled that the police had no authority to NOWW ban speakers because under the referendum regulations anyone was free to speak at rallies. But a visiting United Nations team headed by Horacio Boneo, director of the electoral assistance unit in the Until then, the judiciary had maintained a degree of department of political affairs, put the government under independence from government and had decided several increased international pressure to improve its conduct cases in favor of the opposition. But Banda's political during the referendum campaign. interference was a crushing blow to justice Minister The team's report warned that if the referendum was Makuta, and he resigned. held on the original date of March 15, "the result might Chief Justice Banda ruled on March 29 that Chihana not be accepted unless there is conviction that the pro- will have to servo a nine-month sentence (many had cess has been free and fair. Therefore, one of the objec- hoped he would be freed) for "inciting hatred among tives of the government—normalization of relations with Malawian nationals toward the life president." donors—may be more hindered than helped." The ruling party also tried to muzzle the UDF. At a At least three additional months were needed so that rally in the southern town of Balaka in February, Wadson international observers could be invited, voters could Deleza, minister without portfolio, said that the life presi- register, and both the opposition movements and ruling dent had ordered the arrest of UDF chairman Muluzi on party would have time to campaign for and against the charges of embezzlement committed 12 years ago when issue. he was MCP secretary-general. UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali wrote a That weekend, 14 armed paramilitary police officers personal letter to the life president to persuade him to went to arrest Muluzi at home, but he had been tipped delay the poll and Banda gave in, although he empha- off and had gone into hiding. Instead, the police rounded sized that it was because of the secretary-general's letter up nine members of UDF's executive and held them for and not opposition demands. several hours. The next day, Muluzi turned himself in to The UN team also made other recommendations, on the police. He was de- which most donors will hinge their support of the refer- tained for a few days and endum, while UDF and AFORD threatened to boycott Chakuftva Chihana, left, then released on bail alter the polls if the recommendations were not followed. has been imprisoned for being charged with steal- Recommendations included one ballot box instead of more than a year after he ing party funds. the two traditionally used at MCP elections, equal repre- gave a speech calling for Edward Bwanali, a for- sentation of the opposition and the ruling party on the mer health minister and presidentially appointed Referendum Commission, dia- multi-party democracy now UDF publicity secre- logue between the MCP and the opposition, and equal tary, said, "His arrest was access to the media.

19 M a y / J u n 19 9 3 Hosting Mozambique's Refugees

he road from Ntcheu to Dedza was once an about 3.5 percent annually, while only 6,000 ecological dividing line between the ravages hectares were replanted each season. Fuelwood Tof Mozambique's civil war and the relative and charcoal production of roundwood has calm of Malawi's one-party state. increased by 30 percent since the late 1970s. "Even two years ago, fields of dust west of the Over-cultivation of the hills around the commercial road stopped where Malawi's forests began," said center of Blantyre has eliminated much of the natu- a European development official in the capital, ral tree cover and increased the threat of erosion Lilongwe. "Now there are so many people along the once rains return. border it's hard to find a tree standing." As home to more refugees from one country than Logging areas at Zomba near the end of the cen- any other nation in Africa, Malawi runs a close sec- tral African rift system show swaths of saplings ond to Ethiopia as host of the continent's largest aside old growth, evidence of the success of com- displaced population, according to the UN High mercial reforestation. Commissioner for Refugees, at a time when its own But on the Kirk Range south of Dedza along the burgeoning population is stretching limited natural largely unpatrolled border with Mozambique, the resources. quest for firewood has stripped most of the area The Population Crisis Committee, a Washington- bare. Children and goats compete for what shrubs based public interest organization, has named remain as men from a nearby village drag off trees Malawi one of the world's five worst population sit- and dig roots for charcoal. uations, with an annual growth rate of 3.6 percent The effects of deforestation by nearly 1 million predicted through 1995. Malawi is one of the conti- Mozambican refugees and this small southern nent's most densely populated countries with as African nation's own swelling population are likely many as 300 people per square kilometer, and this to worsen as drought, a faltering economy, and the rate of growth could push the population of 9.4 mil- suspension of development aid threaten the fragile lion near 25 million into the next century, surpass- ecological balance of a country that is one-fifth ing Zimbabwe, which has four times the surface covered by water. area. During the last decade, the World Bank esti- With staple food prices up nearly 20 percent fol- mates Malawi cut 150,000 hectares of its 4.2 mil- lowing devaluation of the kwacha, economists say lion hectares of forest and woodland each year, or that Life President Kamuzu Banda's attempt to buy

The UN team maintained that two ballot boxes was a ately, and said it would not resume them until the news- hangover from colonial rule and had been abandoned in papers were unbanned. most parts of the world. Their report added: "Unless "This shows that the government is not serious people are sure that their vote is completely secret, they about the referendum. They have violated the referen- can be subject to intimidation from one side or the dum regulations which state that anyone can campaign other." freely, using newspapers, pamphlets or the radio," These issues were explored in unprecedented round- Madicai Msisha, a prominent lawyer and PAC member, table discussions between MCP cabinet ministers and said. representatives of UDF, AFORD, and the churches, "Since the government controls their own radio and which formed the Public Affairs Committee (PAC). two newspapers, and we can't have access to them," The participants agreed that there must be parity on Msisha said, "it is our right to have our own newspa- the referendum commission, and UDF and AFORD sub- pers as well. If the papers remain banned, the talks mitted 20 names to the life president, from which he will won't resume, our points of contention will not be choose 12 to match 12 MCP members. resolved, and we will be forced to boycott the referen- Hut then the government made its next strategic move dum." and banned AFORD's newspaper, Malawi Democrat, and Msisha was invited recently to address a select com- the UDF News. The PAC pulled out of the talks immedi- mittee of the British House of Commons about the cur-

A/rtca Report 10 peace in the wake of unprecedented urban unrest concerns about the availability of safe drinking may ultimately backfire. Doubling the municipal water and adequate sanitation. minimum wage to $1.25 a day will still fall short of "When family needs help, you help," said a feeding households accustomed to subsidizing woman selling shriveled peanuts near the Men- meager earnings with backyard plots of maize and gowambalame border crossing south of Dedza other vegetables. where as many as 400,000 Mozambicans have Malawi needs over 800,000 tons of maize found shelter in the village community. "Now [the imports during the next year to meet minimum refugees] help us because they get food. Without national nutritional requirements and, located at that, what will anyone eat?" the end of sub-regional transport lines, it relies Malawians have so far avoided scapegoating almost entirely on the goodwill of neighbors to refugees for the country's declining fortunes, and move emergency drought relief supplies along the Malawian hospitality appears to be weathering the way. increased demands of drought as it has weathered Anxiety over food supplies in a society already decades of repression before. But even this refugee increasingly dissatisfied with Banda's rejection of food supply lifeline to Malawian civilians may be political pluralism has helped spread calls for fun- threatened by the country's increasing alienation damental reform from the urban population to rural from the international donor community. Malawians now experiencing a standard of living U.S. State Department officials say Malawi has that more closely resembles that of their Mozambi- repeatedly tried to use its refugee program to can guests. blackmail donors into continuing support for Predominantly subsistence farmers and rural Banda's 28-year hold on power. When former Vice plantation workers, some refugees arrived with cat- President Dan Quayle told Banda during his visit to tle and small harvests while some return to their Malawi last year that bilateral relations would suf- country across the road to tend small plots during fer if the country failed to improve its human rights the day. But failed rains have scorched the land, record, Lilongwe responded with a press release and with little vocational or academic education, warning that any cut in developmental assistance refugees are hard-pressed to provide for the pre- would immediately affect feeding programs for ponderance of orphans, single mothers, and handi- Mozambican refugees. capped victims of war without international assis- "They're doing a great job with the refugees and tance. they know it," a Western diplomat said. "We all UNHCR plans to spend $35 million on Mozambi- sympathize with the situation in Mozambique, and cans in Malawi this year, but relief officials say we all want to help them, but I wouldn't put it past drought has blurred the line of suffering as food dis- this government to use them as pawns if it means tributed to refugees in villages in invariably shared more money." • with hungry Malawians facing many of the same —Scott Stearns

rent political situation in Malawi. He told the more than "We have already won the referendum with the huge 100 people who came to hoar him speak that the opposi- crowds that UDF and AFORD draw at every rally, com- tion faced more problems not addressed by the UN rec- pared to the tiny crowds attending the MCP rallies," ommendations. said AFORD secretary-general Denis Nkwazi, just These included the fact that anyone can be detained before he left on a fundraising tour of the Scandinavian indefinitely without trial and denied access to lawyers, countries. clergy, or relatives. Msisha argued that this threat of pos- He added: "We might as well scrap this referendum, sible detention was used by the MCP as a tool of coer- campaign for an amendment to the constitution to cion. This combined with the questionable independence remove article 4 so we can form parties and then concen- of the judiciary from the executive, which can replace trate on our party strategies and platforms instead. All judges and magistrates at whim, did not create a climate sides will save a lot of money." conducive to a referendum. In an ironic turn of events, on March 22 the life presi- AFORD and UDF began to believe that because the dent pre-empted the opposition and asked Parliament if it referendum has been delayed it might be more cost- would prefer to abandon the referendum and proceed effective to follow the Zambian model—cancel the refer- directly to a general election. But all the cabinet minis- endum altogether and have multi-party elections right ters and MPs remained mute, not knowing what answer away. Banda wanted. O

21 May/June 19 9 3 BY DAN ISAACS

LIFE AFTER LANDMINES Fed up with war, Mozambicans are eagerly embracing the peace. The process of turning a war-ravaged country into a peaceful democracy, however, is fraught with danger—from clearing the landscape of deadly landmines, to integrating former combatants into a national army and absorbing a million or so refugees back into the economy. But the signs of recovery are hopeful, with both sides in the long civil war talking cooperation, reconciliation, and national unity.

Africa Report long a narrow dirt track, on the the hills around Gorongosa Mountain. Under the peace approach to an old rusting bridge, an agreement, Renamo continues to administer areas of the empty beer can has been placed on country thai they controlled at the time of the ceasefire. top of a stick pushed into the ground. Until very recently that meant extremely limited move- Buried in the earth beside it, and just ment either in or out for the1 civilian population. But that visible above the surface, is a small is now changing, and the people travelling in the over- green anti-personnel mine. laden bus had started their journey in the government- On this stretch of road, north of the town of Goron- held town of Gorongosa and had already passed through gosa in central Mozambique, the beer can markers are a a Renamo checkpoint in order to reach their destination familiar sight. But not for much longer—a de-mining within a Renamo-controllcd zone. team is already busy clearing the road. Laboriously they Ix)cal officials encourage the informal links now being have been checking every inch, investigating every forged among ordinary people. "Breaking down these metallic object that registers on their detectors. On a artificial barriers within our country, is the great task good day they cover just over a mile. that confronts us," explains Artur Canana. the governor "When we discover a mine, we tie a rope around it, of neighboring Manica Province. "First is the need to withdraw to a safe distance, lie down flat and pull," said establish contacts, not only with Renamo structures but bomb disposal expert Ian Gregory, explaining his crude also with the population. It is good to see that this is hap- but effective methods. "If it blows the first time, that pening in some places where people arc exchanging saves us a lot of bother. If it doesn't we help it along with chickens and dried meats. I wish I could say that this was a small explosive charge. But we spend most of the time happening all over my province, all over the country, but just looking for them. It's quite boring work, really." it isn't. We still have a long way to go." The United Nations estimates that there are 2 million Most of the new travellers make journeys of only a few unexploded mines in Mozambique, litter left behind from miles to a market, while others travel greater distances to two wars and almost three decades of fighting: First, visit, or even return permanently, to areas they fled dur- from 1964 it was the Frelimo liberation movement fight- ing the war. Already, after only a few months of peace, the ing for independence from Portugal. Then, with a short more optimistic are on the move. And the return of vast pause for breath after independence in 1975, the Marxist numbers of refugees who fled the country into Malawi Frelimo government entered its second war, fighting and Mozambique's other neighbors has begun as well. Rhodesian- and then South African-backed Renamo The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that rebels. Now, finally, with last October's ceasefire still over half a million will have returned by the end of the holding, the time has come to clear the mines, but a few year with another 800,000 returning over the next two strategically placed beer cans are not a good enough years. "This year's arrivals will come in two main guide. There are no reliable maps to locate explosives groups," says Philip Clarke, director of the World Food that have been scattered everywhere—in fields, on vil- Programme (WFP) in Mozambique. "The first will be in lage footpaths and along dirt tracks such as this one. the middle of the year, after the harvest in neighboring As the de-mining team works its way methodically countries, and the second group will come around down the road, a small pick-up truck arrives. It is October ready to take advantage of the sow- weighted down with passengers, chickens, ing season in Mozambique." and sacks of corn. This is the daily bus ser- The absorption into the country of so vice from Gorongosa to Carvelo, 18 miles up many people, although a logistical night- the road, and they want to get past. "I'm not mare for aid organizations such as the worried in the least about the mines," WFP, could provide just the economic sta- explains Arlindo, the driver. "I make the journey bility that the peace process needs. The almost every day now, and if there were any along country's devastated economy will, for many years to here, we would have hit them by now. And besides, now come, rely on agricultural production. And it is hoped the war is over, the people want to travel." And off they all that a productive rural sector will reduce the dependency go, laughing and clucking into the distance. "What can on external aid and provide a real force for peaceful you do?" says the technical coordinator of the de-mining reconstruction of the transport infrastructure, which has operation. Matt Metulevicz. "This is the Africa factor. already shown itself remarkably flexible to the needs of Nothing will stop them using the road—except one of thecountry's new travellers. those mines, of course." The World Bank representative in Maputo, Nils This stretch of road is controlled by Renamo. Snaking Tcheyan, is optimistic about the role to be played by a its way around the dense woodland of what used to be thriving post-war agricultural sector. "Mozambique is one of southern Africa's finest nature reserves, it contin- amongst the poorest countries of the world, but the ues on to Renamo's headquarters at Maringue high up in important, and the good, news is that with peace, eco- nomic growth in Mozambique could double its levels to Dan Isaacs is the correspondent for the BBC World Service in Maputo, Mozambique. perhaps 6 to 7 percent per year, largely coming from

May /June 19 9 3 Joel Chiziane/AIM increases in agn- matter of the people of this country being so cultural output, fed up with war that they won't tolerate any- improvements in body that has any idea of continuing it. But the transport ser- big danger now," says Cardosa, "will come vices, and devel- from the government army, not Renamo, If, say opment of min in a year's time, they don't get what they want eral and other then there may well be a resumption of hostili- resources that ties. Not full-scale war, but maybe pockets of the country has discontent." available." The fear of instability within the army arises Fortunately, out of some simple arithmetic. More than 60,000 over much of government soldiers will have to be demobi- Mozambique the lized. Renamo forces are outnumbered over rains have been good this year. In some areas market three to one. The new unified army is to be made up of stalls are groaning with fruit and vegetables. But overall, 15,000 men from each side, which means that although it has not been a particularly good harvest—a shortage Renamo will be hard pushed to provide even that of seeds has prevented a better crop. The demand for number, the majority of Frelimo's army will be out of a seeds throughout the southern African region, emerging job. They will be provided with a lump sum, perhaps from its worst drought in decades, far outstripped the some seeds and tools and a journey back home. available supply. Food and seed distribution was also Although many soldiers have had enough of fighting, hampered within Mozambique last year by Renamo's their dream may well not be a lite of farming. There are reluctance to allow UN and Red Cross convoys to enter also former combatants who left the army before the end areas under their control. Because of this, "only about 60 of the war and who stand to gain nothing from the demo- percent of seeds planted in a normal year were available, bilization package. The vast majority of them have been and they were not of a very good quality," explains WFP's unable to find work in the towns and have been demand- Clarke. "And even in a normal year, the crop provides ing to be included in the overall peace package. With only half the country's needs. So the emergency is far urban unemployment already extremely high, and with from over." This year the WFP plans to distribute not arms readily available in a country awash with weapons, only to the returning refugees but also to over a million it is a warning to be taken seriously as a destabilizing fac- people displaced within the country, many of whom will tor in the peace process. be returning to their home areas and will need to be pro- But the Renamo military cannot be completely left out vided with seeds, and fed until their first crops ripen in of the equation. The experience across the continent in the new year. Angola—where Unita was not disarmed, refused to And if that wasn't enough population movement to accept the election result, and returned to war—has been contend with, there's more to come. Under the peace a sobering one. But Renamo is rejecting any comparisons agreement, the intention is to guide over 80,000 former with Unita. "I think that everybody feels that the Angolan combatants from the two sides to 49 different demobiliza- experience is a great tragedy," explains Renamo's chief tion camps spread around the country. Once there they negotiator Rau Domingos. "I hope that both sides here must be disarmed, demobilized, and fed. All this is to be want to learn from that experience. And on Renamo's done under the watchful eye of the United Nations. But side in particular, I can say that if we lose the elections, the UN has been battling with its internal bureaucracy we have no problems accepting the result, because that and although the arrival of an expected 7,000-strong is what democracy is. If the people of Mozambique vote peace-keeping force has begun, it is still well behind for President Chissano, we shall accept him as President schedule. of Mozambique. I believe that President Dhlakama and The delay has effectively frozen the peace process in all of Renamo will do so." When it was suggested to Re- its tracks. Renamo leader Alfonso Dhlakama has insist- namo leader Afonso Dhlakama that he could follow Unita ed on the majority of UN forces being in place before he leader Jonas Savimbi and take up arms again if he lost will order his own men to start moving to the assembly the election, his reply was blunt. "Afonso Dhlakama is points. Dhlakama has been well aware that once he not Jonas Savimbi. Renamo is not Unita. Mozambique is begins to disarm, his much smaller force will very not Angola." quickly arrive at the point of no return, and so he wants "If Renamo loses the elections there isn't much they to be absolutely certain that the UN is on the ground in can do except learn how to be in opposition," says jour- force to control government forces should they try any nalist Carlos Cardosa. "Renamo is too small, they've lost dirty tricks. their South African support, they are finished now as a That the peace has held so well has surprised many military machine. Now that there is no foreign power people. But not Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardosa. interested in pumping more weapons into Mozambique, "It's certainly not a matter of luck," says Cardosa. "It's a we really stand a good chance of having peace." O

Africa Report 24 BY PATRICK LAURENCE

FINDING COMMON CROUND Even before the assassination of Chris Hani (left), head of the South African Communist Party and a charismatic leader of the African National Congress, South Africa's peace negotiations were proceeding delicately. Now, the killing has shaken the foundation beneath the discussions and tested the resolve of the country's political factions to stay on track to a peaceful settlement.

Violence threatens After faltering and then breaking down completely, South to tear the country Africa's search for a negotiated settlement to its protracted conflict had resumed again when the news of Chris Hani's apart and even as assassination shook the country. The resumption had gen- the negotiators erated cautious optimism. Heads which were kept below talk, civilians die the parapet during the second half of last year were now every day—killing peering anxiously over it as political leaders tried once again to find a formula for a peaceful compromise. is now part of the If the assassination doesn't derail the process, the South African resumed negotiations—a preparatory conference in way of life February cleared the way for full-scale multi-party bar-

25 M a y / J u tt e 19 9 3 gaining in April—appear to have a better chance of suc- will have a TGNU, in which the ANC and the National cess than the aborted discussions at the Convention for a Party (NP) are likely to be dominant partners. It may last Democratic South Africa between December 1991 and until the turn of the century and provide a link between May 1992. the old and new orders and, it is hoped, guarantee the loy- The new talks are more inclusive. Parties present at alty of the white-dominated civil service and security the resumed talks which were absent from earlier negoti- forces. ations include the vociferously militant Pan Africanist The ANC-de Klerk deal is seen by observers and Congress (PAC), the right-wing Conservative Party (CP) many South Africans as a hopeful development. The and its off-shoot, the Afrikaner Volksunie (AVU). belief is that it will serve as a cornerstone upon which Places at the negotiating table have also been found for the new South Africa will be constructed, that it will help traditional or tribal leaders, including, significantly, the buttress the center and. to quote Yeats, prevent things Zulu monarch. King Goodwill Zwelethini, whose pres- from falling apart and anarchy from being "loosed upon ence was repeatedly demanded by Mangosuthu Buthe- the world." lezi's Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) during last year's The deal, however, has been criticized from within talks. both the ANC and the government. In the ANC, radical The renewed negotiations cover the entire political elements see it as a risky compromise, accepted to spectrum, with the exception of the neo-fascist Afrikaner ensure, in the words of Winnie Mandela, "a short-cut Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) on the extreme right and route to Parliament by a handful of individuals." In the the Azanian People's Organization (Azapo) at the opposite government and its handmaiden, the NP, malcontents see end of the continuum. Azapo, however, has decided in it as capitulation to the ANC and betrayal of Buthelezi's principle to come to the negotiating table and is waiting IFP Already two of de Klerk's men, June Mentz and Hen- for an opportune moment to take its seat. nie Bekker, have defected to the Zulu-based IFP. They The greater inclusivity of the resumed negotiations may be straws in the proverbial wind. means that if an agreement is reached it will have a better The deal has been criticized by parties on the outside. chance of forming the basis for a durable settlement. On To them it reeks of "collusion." They suspect an ANC-de the other hand, it will be harder to forge an agreement Klerk maneuver to impose their will on the negotiating among such a disparate range of parties. process. The response of parties as divergent as the PAC The most hopeful aspect of the present negotiations is and the IFP is to cry: "Hijack!" the bilateral agreement hammered out in a series of high- Taking a broader view, two blocs can be identified at powered and secret meetings between the do Klerk the negotiating table as the different parties haggle for administration and the African National Congress (ANC). advantage. The agreement—described as a pact or collusion by In the first, which includes the ANC, the government, rival political forces—rests on four salient points: and the PAC, believes that the new constitution must be (1) The final constitution fora non-racial and democrat- drafted by an elected constitution-making body if it is to ic South Africa should be drawn up by a popularly elected acquire the necessary legitimacy. constituent assembly, consisting of 400 members and The second, led by the IFP, argues that an elected body functioning within the boundaries of a set of constitutional will result in the majority party imposing its will and that principles agreed to at preceding multi-party negotiations. its constitutional strategy will be to secure its own power Target dates have been set for the election: September rather than to establish democracy. The second bloc 1993 (ANC) and April 1994 (de Klerk). wants the new constitution to be drafted by the multi- (2) The constituent assembly will fulfill a dual function: party conference, aided by constitutional experts. It cites serve as a constitution-making body and as a transitional the 1979 Lancaster House conference —which drafted Parliament pending finalization of the new constitution. Zimbabwe's first post-independence constitution—as a (3) After the elections, a Transitional Government of precedent for its approach. National Unity (TGNU) will be established, drawn from But another fundamental difference divides the negoti- all that win between 5 and 10 percent of the vote (the ANC ating parties, one which put the government closer to favors 5 and de Klerk 10 percent). Parties will be repre- Buthelezi's bloc than to the ANC. It concerns regionalism. sented in the TGNU in proportion to their strength in the With the exception of the PAC and Azapo, all the par- constituent assembly. ties—including the ANC—favor regionalism, or, more (4) The life of the TGNU could be extended for five specifically, the division of South Africa into some 10 years, meaning that if the final constitution is completed regions with a high degree of autonomy over their own in, say, two years, its implementation could be delayed for affairs. another three. The ANC, however, advocates a system under which Thus, under the ANC-de Klerk accord, South Africa the balance of power will rest unequivocally with the cen- tral government. It will have concurrent and overriding Patrick Ijiurence is a specialist writer on the Johannesburg Star, Southpowers. Against that, the remaining parties favor a divi- African correspondent o/Thc Economist, and a contributor to The Guardian of London and'Y\\e Irish Times. sion of power in favor of regions rather than the center.

Africa Report Under their plans, regional governments will have origi- WISDOM AND minor issues such as the nal and inviolable powers. color and design of the Buthckzi's IFF favors a system in which the regions PATIENCE WILL BE flag and the wording of will retain all the powers which they do not specifically NEEDED BYTHE the preamble to the con- cede to the center. Buthelezi has already published a con- stitution. stitution for KwaZulu and Natal, an area where he hopes NEGOTIATING On the other side, the that the IFF will emerge as the majority party. Buthelezi bloc is deter- Under the proposed constitution, KwaNatal, as KwaZu- PARTIES TO mined to guard against lu and Natal are known collectively, would be able to veto AVOID THE what it fears will be the the deployment of federal troops or the imposition of fed- tyranny of the majority eral taxes and decide, via a special constitutional court, MANY SNARES. party. It will thus want to which South African laws had jurisdiction in Natal. draw the boundaries as Some observers contend that the IFF constitution pro- narrowly as possible, leaving the constituent assembly vides for KwaNatal to be a largely independent state in a with little scope. South African confederation rather than an autonomous In theory the multi-party conference will seek to reach region in a federation. Thus Etienne Mureinik, professor consensus. If it cannot reach complete consensus, howev- of law at the University of Witwatersrand, writes: "KwaNa- er, it will decide on the basis of the doctrine of "sufficient tal would require a separate and insular statehood, just as consensus." The problem is that "sufficient consensus" is Hendrick Verwoerd might have hoped." an ill-defined concept. It has been defined tautologically The ANC, as Thomazile Botha, head of its department so far. The multi-party planning conference defines it as of regional and local government, has made clear, fears "enough agreement" from enough participants to enable that confederation is the first step to secession and disin- the process to move forward. tegration of the South African polity. It will resist any If the parties cannot agree, who will decide whether or move in that direction of confederation. when there is sufficient consensus to proceed? The dispute over the question of regional power tends Does sufficient consensus mean, as some political ana- to obscure another equally important divergence over the lysts contend, concurrence between the ANC and the issue of who should determine the regional boundaries. government? If so, is there not justification for these two Buthelezi believes the existing regions should do so. central forces of collusion? Have they secretly decided to He is supported by the CP, the AVU—both of which aim try to persuade as many of the parties to join them as pos- at establishing an Afrikaner state—and the governments sible and then to move forward anyway? of Bophuthatswana and Ciskei, putatively independent These tricky questions lie waiting to ensnare the nego- states established under the now discarded doctrine of tiating parties. To avoid the traps will require the wisdom territorial apartheid. The ANC reckons that it is a task of Solomon and the patience of Job. that should be referred to the elected constituent Meanwhile violence threatens to tear the country assembly. apart. Even as the negotiators talk, civilians die every day, Thus the negotiating parties face two interconnected as assassins strike, killing women and children, white as and fundamental questions. Should the new constitution well as black. Murderous ANC fanatics, IFP zealots, and be drafted by an elected constituent assembly or by the renegade security force members have been joined by multi-party conference? Should the powers and borders fanatical gunmen from the FAC's armed wing, the Azani- of the regions be determined by the constitution-making an People's Liberation Army. Killing is now part of the body or by the existing regions (provinces and tribal South African way of life. "homelands")? Buthelezi, who wants elections to be held under a con- A possible middle course is under discussion. It will stitution drawn up by the multi-party conference, has require great ingenuity for the negotiators to get it accepted. declared that free and fair elections cannot be held in this The "third way" is for the multi-party conference to prevailing climate. I)e Klerk has insisted that South draw up a list of constitutional principles. These will serve Africa's first priority must be to end the violence. as guidelines within which the constituent assembly will But Slovo argues, "In moving rapidly, now, towards one have to draft the constitution. Thus there will be input person/one vote elections, we will show those forces who from both the multi-parly conference and the constituent have unleashed the violence in our country that they can- assembly. not stop the movement toward democracy with an escalat- Much will depend, however, on whether agreement ing body count. But if we falter now, we will encourage on- can be reached on the constitutional principles. going carnage." The ANC is wary of attempts to define these principles The problem of going to the vote before the violence in such detail that the constituent assembly will find that subsides is that it may result in the elections being decid- its work has been pre-empted. Joe Slovo, the shrewd ed by the party or alliance of parties which can create the national chairman of the South African Communist Party, biggest or most "no-go" areas. It would be a most inauspi- fears that the constituent assembly could be left to decide cious start for the "new South Africa." 3

May/June 19 9$ \mmi\wmuM\m BY ANNE SHEPHERD PROBLEM CHILD One of the stickiest issues facing peace negotiations in South Africa is the fate of the "homelands" created by the apartheid government. While some have agreed to be incorporated into an independent South Africa, officials in Bophuthatswana are holding out for sovereignty, while using increasingly repressive measures to stifle debate on the subject. William Campbell/Sygma

fficials of the "independent" South the garden of a hotel in Mmabatho, the "capital" of African homeland of Bophutha- Bophuthatswana, plainclothes men, whom Maref claims tswana like to boast about the are secret service agents, pace up and down within hear- peace-loving nature of the Tswana ing distance. people. Indeed, the tensions that underlie the surface in this The territory, they say, did not bizarre entity—six pieces of land straddling three sign the National Peace Accord that provinces of the country—are reminiscent of South most South African parties and "homelands" acceded to Africa before the repeal of its most repressive legislation in September 1991 because it doesn't need to. "The peace three years ago. While South Africa has done away with accord is irrelevant here," declares Bophuthatswana's most apartheid legislation, the laws creating the four minister of justice and prison service, S.G. Mothibe. "independent" and six "self-governing" homelands based "There is no violence in Bophuthatswana." on ethnic affiliation remain in place. So too, particularly That, say opposition groups and human rights moni- in Bophuthatswana, do many of the tools of repression tors, is a mirage. "Don't be fooled by the calm here," says invented under the apartheid system. a spokesperson of the Mafeking Anti-Repression Forum As multi-party talks aimed a reaching agreement on (Maref). an independent monitoring network. "It is a South Africa's first one-person, one-vote elections false calm, brought about by repression." As we talk in resumed, the question is no longer if, but how, the home- lands will be reincorporated. Anne Shepherd ts a iMndon-based journalist who has travelled widely in And the general consensus is that Bophuthatswana Africa and written extensively on African economic and political issues. —popularly, if disparagingly, referred to as "Bop"—is

Africa Report likely to prove the hardest nut to crack. "For historical, British did them out of the right to be part of the Bechua- cultural, geographical, and political reasons, Bophutha- naland protectorate, which led to Botswana's achieving tswana is likely to prove the most intransigent of the its independence while apartheid persisted in South TBVC states," notes John Dugard, a South African consti- Africa. tutional expert who has written extensively on the four They argued that the "independence" option offered "independent" homelands of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, by South Africa in 1977—albeit fragmented and in the Venda. and Ciskei. context of the grand apartheid strategy—gave them the Transkei and Venda long ago cast their lot with the opportunity to make up for this historical injustice. The African National Congress (ANC). They have fully rulers of this territory therefore see themselves as funda- accepted the principle of reincorporation. The main ques- mentally different from Transkei, Venda, and Ciskei. William Campbell/Sygma

tion is whether they would choose to stand The desperately poor They also harp strongly on their ethnic iden- with, or alongside, the ANC in an election. rural areas are afar cry tity—an emphasis which has hurt those on Ciskei's military ruler, Brig. Oupa the boundaries of the territory who are not Gqozo, has had strained and bitter rela- from the mushrooming Tswana. tions with the ANC. The relationship hit an high rises and bustling Bophuthatswana is also economically the all-time low after the ANC march on Bisho traffic of the capital. best off of the homelands, sitting as it does on September 7, 1992, in which 40 civilians Mmabatho atop one-third of the world's platinum and were killed by Gqozo's forces. But main- chrome deposits. The territory's economy taining control over an area traditionally regarded as grew at a rate of 18.4 percent between 1985 and 1989: a the ANC heartland {Ciskei is home to many ANC lead- fact reflected in the mushrooming high rises and ers) has not been easy, even using repressive methods. bustling traffic of Mmabatho even if this hectic pace is a And with HO percent of his budget coming from Preto- far cry from the desperately poor rural areas. ria, the Ciskei ruler is especially vulnerable. The recent Bophuthatswana is heavily dependent on South Africa. withdrawal of South African Defense Force personnel Some 21 percent of its budget comes from Pretoria, and who had been seconded to Ciskei after the Bisho inci- another 30 percent from the Southern African Customs dent, and reversal of legislation that allowed detention Union. About half the Bophuthatswana labor force works without trial and limited free political activity, have made in South Africa. But the bit of economic clout which the it possible for the ANC to campaign freely in Ciskei. Lucas Mangope regime has given Bophuthatswana the However, Bophuthatswana stands out as South Africa's confidence to go out on a limb. most difficult "problem child" for a number of reasons. Politically, the territory is not as obvious an ANC base Historically, Bophuthatswana officials claim that the as Transkei. However, even sources who have worked

May/June 19 9 3 Bophuthatswana's Squatter Problem

espite the claims that Bophuthatswana's In 1977, South Africa incorporated the land into economy is booming, the evidence is hard to Bophuthatswana without consulting the Kekana Dfind among the shacks that have mushroomed royal family. This was achieved by deposing around the "border" town of Hammanskraal, not far Nathaniel Kekana, then chief, and replacing him with from Pretoria. an appointed replacement willing to sell the land. The destruction of over 600 of these ramshackle The Kekana royal family never recognized this trans- dwellings, including a community-built school, is thus action. especially painful for the residents of the area. The Matters came to a head late last year after the dispute here, common on many of the fringes of this parastatal Bophuthatswana National Development unwieldy territory, is deeply rooted in the political Corporation (BNDC) made it known that it wanted paradoxes of South Africa. Repeated attempts to land in the Morokolong suburb of Hammanskraal for resolve the issue through the legal system have sim- industrial development. The BNDC maintains that it ply underscored that until the fundamental issue of would never have just thrown people out of their Bophuthatswana's reincorporation into South Africa homes and into the streets to achieve this objective. is resolved, recourse to the courts is likely to prove But the Bophuthatswana police—despite a court futile. restraining order—apparently irelished the task of raz- Ndebele chief Johannes Kekana, whose descen- ing the homes of these people. dants are the traditional authorities in the area, is Further problems have been experienced in the reputed to have bought the land in 1912. Sekampaneng township, where several homes, and closely with Mangope concede that he is deeply unpopu- ANC is not banned. However, to be able to meet without lar. Back in 1977, many opposed independence on the seeking permission from the minister of law and order grounds that they would lose their South African citizen- (Mangope), under the Internal Security Act the organiza- ship. Despite the lip service that Bophuthatswana pays to tion would have to register as a party. The ANC has democratic ideals, only a quarter of the potential voters refused to do so, because this would represent de facto in this territory of just over 2 million people actually recognition of Bophuthatswana. Only Pretoria recog- voted in 1977. nizes the homeland as a separate state. In the last election—October 1992—no opposition A further stipulation is that only "citizens" of Eiophu- candidates were nominated for the election; thus those thatswana can engage in political activity in the territory. put forward by the government returned unopposed. This immediately omits the thousands who opted not to Mangope, who reputedly built himself a bunker on his take Bophuthatswana citizenship for fear of losing their private farm after a failed coup in 1988, is surrounded by South African nationality. right-wing advisers of questionable reputation, including Although the number of political prisoners has been the power-behind-the-throne in Mmabatho, a former reduced from 140 to five,an d a moratorium placed on the Rhodesian minister. Rowan Cronje. death penalty, detentions and torture continue unabated, *"ITie pattern of repression during the past two years according to the Amnesty International and Maref in the nominally independent homeland of Bophutha- reports. tswana has contrasted markedly with that in most other Recently publicized incidents include the death of one parts of South Africa. The authorities have continued to person, and injuries inflicted on several others by the rely on their powers under security legislation to Bophuthatswana police in response to a protest against silence their opponents," notes the recently released alleged police and army harassment; efforts by the police Amnesty International report on South Africa, titled to disrupt a church voter education workshop; the deten- "State of Fear." tion of two foreign ecumenical monitors attending a Shortly after the release of ANC leader Nelson Man- funeral; and denial of access to international observers dela, in early 1990, Bophuthatswana introduced a state of seeking to visit the sites of recent forced removals. emergency. This has since been lifted, but the existing These latter two incidents have prompted the interna- Internal Security Act gives the authorities wide powers. tional observer missions based in South Africa to help Under this legislation, several political organizations stem violence under a UN Security Council resolution to and interest groups remain banned. Technically, the call for a repeal of the Internal Security Act, and to "allow

Africa Report the school which the community struggled to build, barred them from visiting the sites of recent forced have been destroyed. In one locality, two homes were removals. destroyed to make way for a private business enter- Lawyers for Human Rights, a local NGO. is helping prise that involved a Bophuthatswana "minister." to seek legal redress. But a number of court cases, According to local press reports, police in armored while leaving no doubt that the Bophuthatswana vehicles have struck in the Hammanskraal area more authorities did ruthlessly destroy these properties, than 10 times since January 12, demolishing homes have failed to bring respite to victims. and forcing 600 families to flee to neighboring vil- One problem is that efforts by the Royal Council or lages. the chief himself to take the matter to court on Bophuthatswana officials claim that they have a behalf of all those affected have been thwarted by duty to control squatting, otherwise "squatters" will the ruling that they have no legal right to represent continue to pour into the homeland for economic rea- everyone. sons. But those affected maintain that the exercise The question of who actually owns the land is com- is a cover for purging members of the community who plicated by the dispute over whether the chief who favor reincorporation into South Africa. There is also sold the land was empowered to do so. The whole an ethnic dimension to the conflict, as many of the chieftancy issue is the subject of a separate court inhabitants are Ndebele, not Tswana. case. Efforts by international observer groups based in Lawyers who have been working on these cases South Africa—the UN, Commonwealth, EC, and Orga- are losing hope of ever getting the people back the nization of African Unity—to investigate the issue land they lived on, let alone compensation for proper- have come to naught. According to a press release ty destroyed, under the present dispensation. As one from these missions, when they visited the Hamman- of the lawyers working on the Hammanskraal cases skraal areas under the auspices of the National comments: "This is a political issue—not a legal Peace Secretariat, the Bophuthatswana minister of one." • external affairs and information, Tom Sethiloane, —A.S. all political parties and interest groups to express them- of the nature of a future South African state should be selves freely, especially during this time of transition to a decided by the elected constituent assembly. However, democratic South Africa." that would imply that the homelands remain in place dur- So far, however, such calls have been ignored. Far ing the election. This is especially problematic in from relaxing restrictions on political activity, Bophutha- Bophuthatswana, where present legislation is far from tswana's main preoccupation is angling for the best deal conducive to a free and fair election. it can get in the multi-party negotiations. The international community, which has directed its The "Concerned Group of South Africa" (Cosag), complaints on the state of affairs in the homelands to Pre- composed of Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, the Inkatha Free- toria fails to understand why Pretoria refuses to simply dom Party, and several right-wing groups, is campaign- "pull the plug" on these entities. Even Bophuthatswana, it ing for a solution that would give maximum autonomy is widely agreed, could not survive a week if South Africa to the homelands. Ideally, it would like a confederal seriously imposed sanctions against it. state, but would settle for a federation. The ANC has Constitutional expert John Dugard offers a tantalizing- proposed a plan that would carve the country into 10 or ly simply solution to the problem: just as Pretoria gave 16 regions which, while enjoying some autonomy from independence to the homelands, so it can repeal the very the center, would essentially break up the current same legislation. He is of the view that it would be impos- homelands. sible to hold an election in South Africa with these enti- Bophuthatswana, which alone among the homelands ties in place. This strategy has been embraced by the declined to sign the "Declaration of Intent" at the previ- ANC, but the government appears unlikely to take ous multi-party talks, is still saying that it favors the sta- action, especially in the case of Bophuthatswana. tus quo and would be willing to go it alone. Most com- For all that South Africa has repented of its other sins mentators believe that is just posturing, but recent of apartheid, Dugard adds, it has "still not shown any sig- reports that Pretoria is arguing for Bophuthatswana to be nificant regret for the creation of the homelands—and treated as a "special case" and not be subject to agree- especially Bophulhatswana. The government is going to ments on reincorporation have raised a storm of protest back the solution that gives the greatest status to the by the ANC. homelands." Equally controversial is the issue of when the home- That, he adds, with the discontent simmering beneath lands cease to become entities: before or after an elec- the surface in Bophuthatswana, can only be a recipe for tion. Both the government and ANC agree that the issue more open confrontation in the run-up to elections. O

31 M a y , J u n e 19 9 i INfflUGM BY SARAH GAUCH

slamic extremists are posing an increasing chal- The bombing of the World Trade lenge for the Egyptian regime. After a year of militant attacks against tourists, Coptic Chris- Center in New York and a series of tians and police, and the assassination of a well- known secular intellectual, Egyptian authorities are now locked in an escalating battle of attack terrorist attacks in and around Cairo and counter-attack with the militants. Still, while the rise of Muslim extremism in have brought international attention EgypDt has hurt the regime economically and become a significant irritant, it will not likely topple the administra- to the rise of Islamic radicalism in tion of President Hosni Mubarak. "Is it threatening the government in the sense of a Egypt. The coup or mass upheaval? No," commented Dr. Aly Dessouqi, political science professor at Cairo University. "Is it threatening tourism? Yes. Does it constitute a major violence has challenge? Yes." While Islamic militants have long been a problem for devastated the Egyptian government, in the last year they have become stronger and bolder. Since the summer they have Egypt's tourist attacked foreign tourists in order to humiliate the Mubarak administration and damage the country's tourism sec- industry and tor—Egypt's main hard currency earner at over $3 billion Thomas Hart well/Sygma per year. In March they also warned foreign and Egyptian businesses to leave the country or face attacks. provoked the institution of new, While incidents against foreigners began in Upper Egypt, with militants throwing explosives at tourist buses harsher anti-terrorist laws. But and Nile River cruise boats, in February attacks started in major tourist destinations in and around Cairo. In mid- how much of a March a bomb exploded in the capital's center at the Egyptian museum, housing the world's most extensive selection of pharaonic treasures. A couple of weeks later, threat do the the Islamic extremists claimed responsibility for a bomb that exploded inside one of the pyramids, the most fre- radicals really quented tourist site, just outside Cairo. 'The Islamic Group urges tourists and investors to present for leave the country from this moment, because the time for Belly Press warnings has ended," a communique Hosni Mubarak's government? following the pyramid explosion read. Right, some of the These attacks have left three for- defendants in the eign tourists dead and at least two dozen wounded. They have also dev- trial of 49 Islamic astated the tourism industry, fu ndamentalists decreasing revenues by as much as charged with 70 percent. attacks on tourists N T

Afr Report n Frederic Neema/Sygma

The latest round of Islamic militancy began increasing invective, which is mainly directed toward Egypt and a year ago when Coptic Christians and Islamic fundamen- Mubarak's administration. talists clashed in the southern town of Dairut. Fourteen Previously a scholar at Cairo's AJ-Azhar University, the people were killed, all but one Christian. center of moderate Sunni Muslim teachings, Abdel Rah- A month later Faraq Fouda, a secular writer and open man today calls for the overthrow of the Egyptian govern- critic of Islamic extremism, was assassinated. The Islamic ment and Mubarak's assassination. His message is com- Group claimed responsibility. municated to his followers in Egypt through tens of Tliis organization, a decentralized conglomeration of thousands of cassette tapes that are smuggled into Upper militant groups, demands an end to the current adminis- Egypt, south of Cairo, the power base of the Islamic tration and full implementation of Islamic shari'a law. Group. Abdel Rahman is widely believed to be the man With 20,000 followers, according to Egyptian interior min- who issued the religious edict or fatwa calling for Egyp- istry estimates, it is the most influential extremist organi- tian President Anwar Sadat's murder in 1981. zation in Egypt today. His Islamic Group differs from Egypt's more well- The Islamic Group's religious leader is the 54-year-old known Muslim Brotherhood, which also wants to estab- blind cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, living in the lish a pure Islamic state, but advocates nonviolent means. United States for the last three years. An Egyptian, Mah- While the Islamic Group is made up mainly of the young, moud Abouhalima, the alleged ring leader behind New angry, poor and uneducated, the Muslim Brotherhood's York's World Trade Center bombing, extradited from members are Egypt's bourgeoisie, including doctors, Egypt in the end of March, has close ties with Abdel Rah- lawyers, and engineers. The Brotherhood is also widely man. Mohamed Salameh, a Palestinian, the first suspect believed to be the only organization with enough popular arrested in connection with the Trade Center explosion, support to assume power in Egypt. attended the same mosque in Jersey City, N.J., where In the past, the government's strategy had been to re- Abdel Rahman sometimes preached. integrate the Muslim Brotherhood into Egypt's political Many political analysts in Egypt saw a possible link arena, thus separating the nonviolent extremists from the between Rahman and Islamic extremists and the Trade violent ones and weakening support for the militant radi- Center incident. Militants could be expanding their strug- cals. The Brotherhood had seats in Parliament, influence gle to the international arena to protest a variety of recent in professional syndicates, and its own newspaper. events, they speculate: the United Nations Security Coun- Over the years, however, this more moderate organi- cil's neglect, for example, to penalize Israel for deporting zation has been increasingly marginalized. It boycotted 400 suspected Islamic extremists from the occupied terri- the last parliamentary elections in 1990, claiming an tories or its hesitancy to punish Serbs for the atrocities unfair electoral process, and subsequently lost its seats inflicted on Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia. in the People's Assembly. After the group gained con- Meanwhile, the Security Council has insisted on imposing trol of the lawyer's union last fall, giving it authority sanctions against Iraq and Libya. over almost all of Egypt's professional organizations, "They might have been responding to the abhorrent the government changed the law for syndicate selec- double standards in international relations at the time of tions, making it more difficult for fundamentalists to get the bombing," said Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a specialist in elected. Islamic extremism and sociology professor at the Ameri- 'The Muslim Brotherhood is the only political power can University in Cairo. that represents an alternative to I he government and it Some commentators, however, argue against the knows that," said Hala Mustapha, a specialist in Islamic involvement of Abdel Rahman or Egypt's militants, even extremism at the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strate- peripherally. They question why Abdel Rahman would gic Studies, a Cairo-based think tank. "When the govern- taunt the United States and risk deportation to Egypt, ment saw the growing presence of this group in associa- where he faces prosecution. On April 6, a case accusing tions and political and social organizations it wanted to put him and 46 of his followers of participating in an anti-gov- a stop to it. The new law for professional syndicate elec- ernment demonstration and the illegal possession of tions indicates the government's concern." weapons among other accusations, reopened in Cairo. While the government uses judicial measures to sup- Others say the techniques used in the World Trade Cen- press the Brotherhood, it is increasingly using force to ter bombing were far too sophisticated for people con- fight the Islamic Group. Whether for purposes of revenge nected to the Islamic Group. Some even implicate Israel's or defense, the militants are striking back. secret service, saying the bombing was an Israeli plot to "There is an escalation of violence, which has acquired demonize the Islamic world. an enormous proportion, because of action and reaction," Indeed, if Abdel Rahman is interested in expanding his said Mohamed Sayed Ahmed, a prominent journalist and organization's struggle abroad this is not reflected in his intellectual. In March, 28 people were killed and more than 50 Sarah Gauch is a Cairo-based freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, U.S. News and World injured in confrontations between the police and militants. Report, and The 'rimes oflMndon. Most of these casualties occurred in the southern tourist

Africa Report 34 city of Aswan as security forces and radicals clashed in The rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. While one of Egypt's bloodiest battles in a decade. it gets more difficult for the poor to feed their families, The Egyptian administration defends its repressive tac- increasing numbers of Mercedes crowd the streets and tics by claiming these measures are working to control expensive clothing stores line the sidewalks. the Islamic trend. 'Terrorists' despair comes from the One Muslim militant in Assyut, complaining about the feeling that the noose is tightening around them on the government's ineptitude, explained that of the $30 per one hand by the Egyptian people, who have joined to elim- month he made, $25 went to rent and electricity and $5 inate them, and on the other hand by the security agen- was left to feed his wife and two children. cies which effectively and courageously confronted these living under these tremendous financial constraints, terrorists," said Mubarak in an interview published in the many young people have turned to Islamic extremism as Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Syassa. the only escape. "We are fighting to free our country," The government has also made its anti-terrorist laws said this Muslim radical. "We have given our souls to harsher, giving authorities broader power to detain, God. With God's help we will succeed." arrest, interrogate, and try suspects. The government In addition to economic difficulties, the population has announced a plan to bring all mosques under its control, few outlets for political expression. While there is an and suspected militants can be tried in military, instead of opposition press, it is prone to exaggeration and false- civilian, courts to expedite their sentencing. hood and is largely discredited. While there are elections, The administration has broadcast more religious pro- they are skewed in favor of Mubarak's ruling National gramming on television and radio to gain support from an Democratic Party, and Egyptians are not free to elect a increasingly religious population. It also tries to use the new president. revered and state-run Al-Azhar University to denounce The extremist groups also attract followers by compen- the militants' actions. sating for the government's failure to provide social ser- There have been only minimal attempts by the govern- vices. These organizations offer funds to the destitute, ment to deal with the growth of Islamic militancy through health services and protection against crime. In the first socio-economic measures such as creating jobs. The few days after an earthquake hit Cairo last October, the World Bank-sponsored Social Fund was supposed to fundamentalists were more effective than the authorities begin operation in the fall of 1991 to ease the economic at distributing blankets and food. hardship of International Monetary Fund-inspired It is believed that the militants might get some of their reform. It wasn't until last summer, however, that these funds for community assistance and weaponry from projects began to deliver. Sudan and possibly Iran. "Egypt is a very poor country, Just recently the Egyptian government began mention- but one militant might have a machine gun and other ing plans for an employment program in Upper Egypt, equipment valued at $5,000. Who finances these wea- where in some parts it is estimated as many as 80 percent pons?" asked Prof. Dessouqi of Cairo University. of people are out of work. Egyptian officials claim extremists bring weapons over While some may call for more of these sorts of projects Egypt's porous southern border with Sudan, where they to eradicate Islamic militancy, many Egyptians agree with also receive training. Several hundred Egyptians, who the government's use of force against Muslim radicals. fought in the Afghan conflict, have also brought new skills "The government has to hit them and hit them hard," said in guerilla warfare back to Egypt. Gamal Abu Zeid, 30, a vegetable seller in the affluent Some political analysts say Israel might even be assist- neighborhood of Zamalek. ing these groups. "I wouldn't rule it out," said Ibrahim. "If Many Egyptians see the Muslim militants' activities as the Islamic extremists destabilize a neighboring country it contrary to Islam. "They (the Islamic Group) are crazy. may serve Israel's short-range interests, because it is try- What they are doing is completely opposite from Islamic ing to pose Islamic militants as the new devil in the world." teachings. It is not human," said a 31-year-old Egyptian In any case there appears no end to the problem in the business center manager. The antipathy people have near future. The government's attempts to solve the towards the Islamic Group is accentuated because its threat of Islamic militancy through force is just fueling the actions threaten many people's livelihoods—those work- violence, not smothering it, political scholars said. ing in tourism, foreign businesses, and even maids and No one believes the Islamic trend will disappear in the drivers employed by foreigners living in Egypt. near future. At best the government and extremists can Still, the reasons behind the growth of Islamic extrem- come to a temporary truce. The government could also ism in this country are deep-rooted and complex. They develop a new strategy, forming an alliance with one or probably cannot be extinguished by brute force, political several political opposition groups to fight the fundamen- analysts agreed. Under IMF-inspired economic reforms, talists. "I don't believe this phenomenon will end in the the country is experiencing a recession linked to its tran- short-term," said Hala Mustapha. "All we can expect is a sition from a socialist to a capitalist economy. Prices have kind of reconciliation to stop the violent acts on both increased and government has decreased its hiring and sides. The state can also change its alliances to support expenditures for employment programs. another political force, a secular force." O

M a y / J u n e 1 9 9 3 Belly Press Rival factions of the Machar to flee. According to one eyewitness who was Sudan People's Libera- with Riek's forces, 81 people were killed during the fight- tion Army (SPLA) are ing, which began with a dawn raid by Garang forces. battling over turf in south- According to the eyewitness, 15 of the dead were from ern Sudan while civilians are Riek's forces, 21 from Garang's and 45 were civilians liv- starving to death. At the same ing in the town. Riek's forces had been aware for several time, the SPLA prepared for crucial days that Garang planned an attack, but still appear to negotiations with the Sudan government, scheduled to be have been taken by surprise when it finally came. held in May in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. According to Nasir faction military sources, Inset, Lt. Gen. On March 27, forces loyal to the SPLA's Torit Riek withdrew to the town of Foktap, eight faction leader John Garang attacked the town of Omar Hassan al- miles from Kongor. However, Garang support- Kongor in Jonglei region, forcing supporters of Basbir, leader of ers say that Riek's forces stayed in the town the SPLA's Nasir faction led by Commander Riek Sudan's Islamic while their own troops occupied the surround- ing area. Mark Huband is Africa correspondent o/Thv Guardian military regime of London. The attack on Kongor can be interpreted as

Afr Report e southern rebels of.thgjSuOan People's eration Army prepared to iffeeMor. negotiations in Nigeria, a violent split within the ranks of the SPLA threatened to'cripple the organization. One SPLA faction leader, John Garang, now finds his toughest fight is with breakaway commander Riek Machar to win the hearts and minds of southern Sudanese. And while their leaders fight with each other, the people of the south battle starvation. a sign of Garang's determination to prevent Riek from placed the SPLA in an extremely vulnerable position with forging a strong political alliance which can use the regard to the overall effort among southern Sudanese Abuja peace talks as a springboard to recognition of the fighting the Islamic government in Khartoum to achieve Nasir faction as a major player in the 11-year civil war. autonomy for the largely Christian south. Riek led a split in the SPLA in 1991, amid accusations However, the day before the March attack on Kongor, that Garang had become a dictator within the movement Riek had convened a meeting in the town which effec- and was responsible for human rights abuses. Initially tively consolidated the Nasir group as the faction with Riek was strongly criticized for causing a split which the broadest appeal within the SP1A If Riek continues to

37 May /June 19 9 3 be successful he could emerge as a formidable political Despite the formation of alliances and the evolution of force in time for the Abuja talks. the SPLA in apparent attempts to push the conflict 'ITie intention of the Kongor meeting, taking place in toward a resolution, there remains a widespread feeling Garang's birthplace, was to encourage members of the within the movement that a clear military victory over Dinka, who would traditionally have supported their fellow the government in Khartoum is unlikely. It is for this rea- Dinka—Garang—to join the Nasir group. Riek, a member son that military operations swing around the southern of the Nuer tribe, has realized that support from the Dinka Sudanese provinces without any apparent direction, cre- is essential if he is to lead the SPIA and force the govern- ating havoc among the civilian population, which in many ment in Khartoum to hold a referendum of people in the areas is totally reliant on emergency food supplies flown south which would allow them to accept or reject his in from neighboring Kenya by the United Nations's Oper- demand for full secession from the rest of Sudan. ation Lifeline Sudan (OLS). Fighting is really intended as a way of preventing the military government in Khartoum from gaining the upper hand despite its superior firepower. Meanwhile, the SPLA has held talks with two successive govern- ments in Khartoum, first with the civilian administration led by Sadiq Al-Mahdi and, after his overthrow in 1989, the Islamic military regime of the current president, Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Because there are few illusions that force of arms can settle the conflict, the opportunity to wield power at talks and a readiness to resolve the dispute peacefully are weapons which give added importance to the political maneuvering currently under way. During an interview in southern Sudan with Africa Report a few days after he fled from Kongor, Riek said that despite the accusations levelled against Garang, dis- cussions had to be resumed: "It's necessary that we talk with John Garang. We can talk. It doesn't mean that we agree. Rapprochement with him is possible," he said. "[The Nasir group is] going to Abuja as one group. But we also think that the Garang group will cross the floor and join us." Riek insists on secession for the south, and he rejects But members of Garang's group who defect to Riek Garang's goal of establishing a federal state within Sudan. will be in the difficult position of joining a group which, At the Kongor meeting, an eyewitness said that up to while it may seem to have more political direction than 5,000 people were addressed by a former Garang support- Garang's faction, appears seriously hampered by its lack er, Arok Thon Arok, a Dinka from the town of Arok, who of military strength, as fell out with Garang in 1987 and was imprisoned by him the loss of Kongor for six years before escaping last September. Arok urged ALL SIDES HAVE revealed. the Dinka to support Riek's Nasir faction. Arok's appeal to STRESSED THAT Meanwhile, fears are his fellow Dinka was followed shortly afterwards by the increasing that the fac- attack by Garang's forces, so its impact remained unclear. OVERSEAS tional conflict will However, the Nasir faction's intention of attracting the increase hunger as relief Dinka to its side could create a much more assertive and CONCERN FOR workers have reason to directed movement. Exasperation with the longevity of THE SITUATION fear for their lives. On the conflict, as well as the internal split having distracted March 31, relief agency the SPLA from its stated aims, have led to an examination NEEDS TO BE staff were withdrawn of what those aims really are. from the towns of Waat, Also present at the Kongor meeting was the leader of TRANSFORMED Ayod, and Yuai after a a third SPLA faction, William Nyuon, whose forces have INTO ACTION. virulent private message been clashing with Garang's in the southeastern was sent by Garang to province of Eastern Equatoria. Nyuon has both Dinka the UN accusing UN staff of assisting the Nasir faction and Nuer lineage. Five days after the meeting, Riek with food and transport. announced that his and Nyuon's forces had formally The UN took the threat seriously, while denying the merged, furthering Riek's attempts at establishing a accusations. The threat to UN staff was made clear when broad alliance within the Nasir faction. Garang's forces attacked Kongor, stripped the UN repre-

Africa Report sentative in the town, Jean-Franc, ois Darg, to his underwear group in this area of extreme need deserve the world's and marched him through thorn bushes in scorching heat. utter condemnation and contempt...and calls into ques- After a few hours he fell to the ground, whereupon tion the motives and basic humanity of the participants." Garang's troops opened fire on him. They missed. He was The State Department's Office of Foreign Disaster later found by Riek's troops and evacuated to Kenya. Assistance recently estimated thai one-eighth of Sudan's Strains between Garang and the UN emerged when 27 million people had been affected by the combination the private message to the UN was followed by a press of famine and civil war; 1.7 million Sudanese are estimat- statement, stating, "Clearly what is going on in the Kon- ed to have been driven from their homes and several gor area is not relief work but massive political involve- hundred thousand face starvation if they do not receive ment in the affairs of the SPLA by certain individuals," a assistance in the coming months. The situation "is a clear reference to the UN, which is directing most relief major disaster" on a par with the anarchic state of Soma- in the region. lia prior to the international military intervention, U.S. O\S director Philip O'Brien angrily condemned the officials have said. statement, and met with Garang in Nairobi on March 31. In the run-up to the Abuja talks, all sides stress the Following the meeting, Garang issued a humiliating need for overseas concern about the deteriorating situa- retraction of the earlier statement, saying, "We regret the tion to be transformed into action. On March 31, the gov- remarks and the incident. The SPLM/SPLA leadership ernment in Khartoum appealed for the first time for out- would like to dissociate itself from the remarks...and is side intervention to stop the fighting between the rebel reassuring the international community that it has full factions. A statement said: "The government calls upon confidence in the United Nations Operation Lifeline international communities in general and African leaders Sudan and the NGOs." to exert necessary pressure on...rebel factions to stop The UN then decided to shuttle staff to the three the raging combat immediately and begin serious prepa- towns on a daily basis from ration for the forthcoming the OLS base at Ix)kichoggio peace talks." in northern Kenya. If relief Khartoum's calls for a cease- flights are affected by further fire between the factions came fighling. then it will mean that two weeks after the Garang fac- 75,000 people in the towns will tion had announced a unilateral be without relief food, upon ceasefire in its conflict with the which they are totally reliant. government. The Nasir faction, According to O'Brien, of though, was not a party to the the 3 million people in south- ceasefire, which it regarded as ern Sudan regarded as being having been arranged simply at risk from food shortages, in order to allow Garang's those in Ayod, Waat, and Kon- troops to attack the Nasir fac- gor are the most vulnerable. tion in Kongor. He described the daily with- Certainly there was little drawal of staff from the region effort made to bring the Nasir as "the only response to what group into the ceasefire agree- may be an escalation in the ment, and it was highly unlike- fighting." ly it would have joined in any "Launching offensive mili- event given the availability of tary operations in this envi- opportunities for increasing its ronment of human suffering own popularity in the weeks indicates a callous disregard prior to the peace talks. If for human life," the acting there is further fighting U.S. Agency for International between the SPLA factions it Development administrator, may not bring about an end to James Michel, said in a writ- the peace process. Instead, it ten statement. "Military may mark the beginning of a actions by any faction or new phase in the conflict which will see Garang under Left, John Garang, leader of increasing pressure to make the Torit faction of the Sudan his intentions clear in order to People's Liberation Army avoid losing support to rivals Right, soldier of the SPLA's whose vision of the future is clearer than his own. O Nasirfaction

May/June 19 9 3 BY ALFRED HERMi

THE FORGOTTEN FRONT Two and a half years have elapsed since a ceasefire was put into effect between Morocco and the Polisario Front in the Western Sahara war. Had a United Nations plan been carried out, the territory now would be either part of Morocco or an independent country. Instead, it is a land in limbo, with neither side apparently able to agree on the groundwork for the planned referendum.

wenty-five-year old Utah Mahfoud for control of the Western Sahara since Spain gave up its taught himself English slowly, one former colony in 1975. Morocco occupies the territory, word at a time, using only a battered although Polisario says it has "liberated" a substantial pocket dictionary. But then, he has amount of land along the border with Mauritania. had plenty of time on his hands. For The war in the Western Sahara came to a halt in the past seven years, Mahfoud has September 1991, with a United Nations-sponsored been marooned at the Polisario ceasefire. This was due to be followed by an exchange deserTt outpost of Bir Lahlou, in the Western Sahara. of prisoners, the repatriation of Saharawi refugees in Despite the endless vigil in the desert, there is little southern Algeria and a referendum on the future of the talk among the Polisario fighters of giving up the strug- territory. But none of this has happened. The UN peace gle for independence. "As long as the Moroccans are on plan has been in deadlock as Morocco and Polisario our land, we must fight to defend our people and our cannot agree on exactly who is entitled to vote in the country," Mahfoud said. referendum. The Polisario Front and Morocco have been fighting In a last-ditch attempt to salvage the peace plan, the UN Security Council has given the secretary-general, Alfred Hermida is a freelance journalist based in Tunis who contributes to The Times oflmidon and The Observer and reports for National Public Boutros Boutros-Ghali, until the end of May to find a for- Radio and Christian Science Monitor Radio, mula acceptable to both sides. He faces an almost impos-

41 May /June 19 9 3 still exists. Its forces are no match for Morocco's. Polis- ario's army of 15,000 men is out- numbered by more than 10 to 1 by Moroc- can soldiers in the Western Sahara. Its battered Kalashnikov rifles and its handful of aging tanks and sible armored vehicles cannot compete with the state-of-the- task.In his art weaponry of the Moroccan army. latest report to the The Polisario Front tries to put a brave face on its mili- Security Council, he de- tary shortcomings. "We have a motivated army, fighting scribed the chances of reaching a for a national cause," said Mohamed Ali Ahmed, the compromise as "very slim." director of Polisario's military college. "The Moroccans The UN intends to use a census of the territory are the invaders and they are trying to fight against a taken by Spain in 1974 as the basis for a new electoral people." register. Morocco wants the UN to add some 120,000 Polisario's only leverage over the Moroccans is not names to the 75,000 already on the census. Moroccans military but financial. The costs of maintaining control maintain these are Saharawis who migrated to Morocco over the Western Sahara are tremendous and a constant during the time of Spanish colonial rule and they should drain on the kingdom's resources. The Moroccan annual have a say in whether the Western Sahara should be defense budget swallows up more than Si billion, most of independent or part of its northern neighbor. which is spent on keeping four-fifths of the army in the Polisario strongly rejects Morocco's proposals. It says territory. Furthermore, many Moroccan soldiers have the proposed voters are in reality Moroccans and accuses had enough of serving on the wall of sand. King Hassan II of trying to rig the voting lists to guaran- The success of the Polisario Front in any future fight- tee victory in the referendum. ing would depend on There are signs that the UN is running out of continuing political and patience with both sides. It wants to dispense with the MILITARILY, material support from question of the Western Sahara, and has stressed that POLISARIO'S Algeria. Last year, Alge- the referendum must be held by the end of the year. If rian support for Polisario Boutros-Ghali fails to stop the squabbling between ARMY OF 15,000 appeared to be on the Morocco and Polisario, the UN may decide to press wane after Mohamed ahead with the referendum, with or without the coopera- S NO MATCH Boudiaf was appointed tion of the two sides. This was one of the options pre- FOR THE head of state in January sented to the Security Council by Boutros-Ghali to break 1992. Boudiaf spent the deadlock over the Western Sahara. He suggested MOROCCAN more than 20 years in adopting the Moroccan position. exile in Morocco and In recent months, Polisario has repeated its threat to ARMY'S MODERN sympathized with King take up arms again if the UN sides with Morocco over WEAPONRY. Hassan over the issue of the issue of the voting lists. "We have high hopes for the the Western Sahara. peace plan and we don't want it to fail," said the comman- During his brief term in office, Boudiaf stressed that der of the Bir Lahlou military region, Abdelahi Lahbib El he wanted to resolve the differences between Algeria and Belal. "But if if does fail, we are ready to start fighting Morocco over the Western Sahara. One of the first things again and to make more sacrifices in order to achieve our he did upon taking office was to dispatch his interior min- independence." ister to Rabat for top-level meetings with Moroccan offi- But Polisario's war cries are little more than a hollow cials. threat. For the first few years of the war, the intensity and But Boudiafs assassination last June brought to an frequency of Polisario attacks made Moroccan entrench- abrupt end the attempts at reconciliation between the ment in the Western Sahara difficult and slow. But the two sides. The appointment of Ali Kafi as head of state construction of a 2,500-kilometer wall of sand in the mid- and of Belaid Abdessalam as 1980s, bristling with radar and observation posts, effec- prime minister marked the Despite the harsh tively sealed off most of the territory. The wall put an end return of the old guard. conditions, few Saharaui to Polisario's damaging guerrilla raids against Moroccan They see the Polisario Front , „ _ targets, such as its fishing fleets, its valuable phosphate ... . refugees talk of returning mines at Bou Craa, and the 120-kilometer conveyor belt as a liberation movement that carries minerals to Atlantic Ocean ports. fighting for independence tothe Western Sahara For the past few years, Polisario's guerrilla operations against a colonial power, as territory while it is under have done little more than demonstrate that the Front Algeria did against France. Moroccan control As a sign of the change of Africa Report attitude by Algiers, Polisario officials are now treated ter, and his subsequent appointment as Hassan's special with the respect accorded to visiting ministers. ambassador, was particularly damaging for the Front. Algiers' renewed enthusiasm for Polisario has stalled Twenty years ago, Polisario formed the Democratic any hopes of a reconciliation between Algeria and Moroc- Arab Saharawi Republic. The pseudo-state is recognized co. Relations were at a low point already following a by more than 70 countries and it is a member of the newspaper interview by King Hassan in which he regret- Organization of African Unity. The Saharawi camps are ted Algeria's decision to cancel elections in January 1992 totally isolated from the nearby town of Tindouf and to prevent the election of an Islamic fundamentalist gov- they operate like a small state. Each camp is divided ernment. The king said a fundamentalist government in into districts, with local committees responsible for dis- Algeria would have been an interesting experiment for tributing the supplies of sugar, beans, flour, milk pow- the region. His comments caused outrage in Algeria and der, and other essentials which arrive once a month. led to almost daily anti-Moroccan polemics in the Algeri- This basic diet is supplemented by vegetables grown in an press. In the words of the Moroccan monarch, rela- hand-tended gardens in the desert. Friendly govern- tions between the two countries are currently at a "strict ments such as Cuba, Spain, and Austria have donated minimum." hospitals and schools, which serve as symbols of the Hassan has staked his throne on the question of West- state the Saharawis do not have. ern Sahara. He masterminded the famous "Green The Saharawis' best chance of achieving real state- March" of 1975 al a time when he was under pressure at hood rests with the UN. But the UN plan for the territory home. By occupying the Western Sahara, he managed to has been ill-fated from the start. In May 1991, the UN divert attention from his domestic problems. Virtually all General Assembly approved resolution 690 which pro- political parties in the kingdom agree that the territory posed a budget of $200 million for the referendum pro- should belong to Morocco. Many go further and sec the gram and laid out a detailed timetable for the peace plan. Western Sahara as a small part of a much larger "Greater Two years later, there is no sign of the referendum, and Morocco," which includes Mauritania, as well as parts of little else is going according to schedule. The UN planned Algeria and Mali. to deploy three units throughout the territory to prepare 'Hie Saharawi refugees who fled to Algeria following for the referendum: a civilian force of UN civil servants, a the Green March are under no illusions about the king's military force of 1,700, and a 300-strong police force. But position. They are pessimistic about the chances of only some 300 UN military observers are on the ground, achieving independence because they realize that Has- amid allegations that Morocco is hampering their work. san cannot afford to lose a referendum. With both sides firmly entrenched in their posi- Some 160,000 refugees live in four camps near the tions, the UN faces a difficult task. In the end it may town of Tindouf in southern Algeria. After 18 years the decide to impose a solution on the two sides. But there camps have taken on the appearance of small towns, with are no guarantees that Polisario and Morocco would mud huts dotted alongside tents donated by the United accept the settlement. So the UN could find itself *** Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. trying to enforce peace in the Western Despite the harsh conditions, few refugees talk of Sahara with the same chances of returning to the territory while it is under Moroccan con- success as elsewhere in trol. At the same time, there is a small but steady flow of the world. ) Saharawis making the trek from the Western Sahara across to Algeria. But this must be set against a number of high-profile defections from Polisario to Morocco. The defection last year of Brahim Hakim, a former Polisario foreign minis- BY RAKIYA OMAAR

BOQRfl ith the UN- and US-led multina- Up to now, the main impact of the intervention, with tional forces nowhere in sight its massive influx of U.S. dollars, has been a severe cash and away from the media spot- crisis in Somaliland. Immediately, the exchange rate light, there have been a few between the dollar and the Somali shilling fell by 50 per- diplomatic breakthroughs in the cent resulting in a sharp fall in revenues from livestock breakaway Republic of Soma- exports, on which the economy is based. Aid budgets, liland (northern Somalia). Somali clan elders have used limited as they are, were also badly affected. (The rate their authority and diplomatic skills to push through a has since improved.) series of peace initiatives at local levels. In the town of The decision of Somaliland to secede was taken in Borama, the Council of Elders (Guurti) met in March May 1991 a few months after the overthrow of Mohamed and April to negotiate a comprehensive peace deal for Siad Barre, under intense popular pressure from the Somaliland and to sel the political framework for the two- largest clan in the region, the Isaaks. Throughout the year transition period due to expire in May. 1980s, the leadership of the Isaak anti-government These vital initiatives, which spring from the heart of armed movement, the Somali National Movement Somali society itself, build upon painstaking grass-roots (SNM), had consistently argued that they were not seek- reconciliation efforts and enjoy widespread popular sup- ing secession. Many believed this would be a mistake but port. The Borama meeting is not only the best chance for they were also anxious not to alienate the other anti- peace in the north; the forces it represents could be a Barre forcos and international opinion. But the rank and model for Somalia as a whole. file had long argued in favor of a break. But now the greatest threat to the peace initiative may be In the months before the overthrow of Siad Barre, the United Nations. Instead of supporting such initiatives, negotiations between the SNM and the principal anti- the UN nearly derailed the Borama meeting by announcing government groups in the south were expected to plans to send forces to Somaliland. There have already restore peace and lead to an equitable share of political been demonstrations in both Hargeisa and Erigavo against power and economic resources. But the decision of the deployment of troops. Elders whose participation is cru- southerner Ali Mahdi to declare himself president with- cial to the prospects of stability have also condemned the in days of Barre's overthrow reinforced fears among plans. Despite the significance of local peace initiatives, the northerners that they were condemned to political government's failure to provide leadership, the dire eco- insignificance and lack of control over their affairs. The showdown came at the SNM con- gress in Burao in May 1991. When northern Somalia first broke away as the Ordinary Isaaks had felt increas- ingly bitter toward the south, the Republic of Somaliland, it seemed at first to seat of government which they blamed for their comparative under- provide a peaceful paradigm for the strife-torn development, lack of political clout and their sufferings throughout the south, until it too was riven by clan rivalries 1980s, particularly the horrors of the 1988-89 war, These grievances and warfare. However, without the intervention were heightened by the massive influx of Ethiopian refugees after of foreign forces, clan elders have been inch- the 1976-78 war with Ethiopia over the Ogaden. Government policies ing toward a diplomatic solution whose suc- favored Ogadeni refugees and led to the creation of armed militias cess probably hinges on the international among the refugees who preyed on Isaak civilians living along the community providing much-needed assistance. Somali-Ethiopian border. The result was the establishment of the SNM nomic situation, the fear and instability generated by fight- in London in April 1981. ing between various militias can unravel the work of elders. The government's response was to launch—and sus- The dispatch of troops without prior consultations in the tain—a furious assault against the SNM's civilian base of absence of sensitivity to the real political issues and without support. Interrogation, torture and imprisonment concrete evidence of a long-term commitment to economic became widespread. Discriminatory policies crippled reconstruction can only subvert the important, but fragile business practices. Nomads, seen as the economic and jx>litical process currently under way. manpower base of the SNM, were singled out for a brutal campaign of murder, rape and extortion. Anyone who Rakiya Omaar spent six weeks in Somaliland in 1992. She is the co-direc- tor of African Rights, based in Ijindon. could emigrate left the country, and support for the SNM

45 May/June 19 9 grew. Many of its recruits were the boys who left as mented on the relative security. The port of Berbera, the schools turned into war zones. economic nerve-center of the region, was bustling, The SNM, based in Ethiopia, launched surprise importing building materials, essential foodstuffs, and attacks against Burao and Hargeisa in late May 1988, exporting livestock. under pressure from the Mengistu regime in Ethiopia to But it was to be a short honeymoon. The fall of Siad move its military operations away from the border Barre exposed the SNM's organizational weakness and region. The government in Mogadishu then turned its its total failure to have planned for the post-Siad period. full fury against Isaak civilians. Thousands were slaugh- The SNM government which took power in May 1991 tered in their homes as government soldiers conducted under the presidency of Abdirahman Ahmed Ali has house-to-house searches. Several towns particularly the been stunning for its lack of leadership and the absence provincial capital of Hargeisa, were subject to intense of coherent policies on the economic front, education, or indiscriminate artillery shelling and aerial bombard- law and order. It has repeatedly ignored the pleas of ment. Within weeks, more than 400,000 civilians sought elders and ordinary people to create a unified army out of refuge in the harsh Ethiopian desert. the different clan militias. Nor has it made any serious The refugees began to return home in February 1991 attempts to formulate a policy on disarmament. Much of after Siad Barre was its energy has been squandered on factional squabbles forced out of the capital, DIPLOMACY between and among politicians and military officers. Its their numbers swollen failure to organize a referendum on independence does by the thousands of HELPED TO not reassure non-Isaak communities or facilitate interna- tional recognition. Isaaks fleeing the war in IMPROVE Mogadishu. Fears of Tensions between the militias of the Habr Yunis and SNM retaliation against RELATIONS the Habr Jelo in Burao erupted in three days of intense the non-Isaak clans in fighting on January 12, 1992. Civilians from both clans the north which had sup- BETWEEN who took no part in the fighting fled the town en masse. ported the regime—the The fighting stopped only after both Isaak and non-Isaak Gadabursi, Dulbahante COMMUNITIES. elders intervened at considerable personal risk to their and Warsangeli—encouraged many of them to leave for own safety. They used their own shirts when they ran out Ethiopia, especially after SNM forces destroyed the town of white flags. They stayed for 28 days to negotiate an of Dijla in February 1991. At the Burao congress the end to hostilities. The government, accused of complici- SNM reached a decision to pursue a policy of reconcilia- ty, did nothing to pre-empt or stop the fighting, ignored tion with non-Isaak clans. This has encouraged non-Isaak the plight of the civilian population, and refused to sup- clans to play a critical role in mediating intra-Isaak dis- port the elders' mediation efforts. putes. The decision to hold the meeting at Borama, the Far more serious was the outbreak of hostilities in principal Gadabursi town, was of symbolic importance. Berbera in late March 1992 between the militias of the Many of the returnees have settled in Hargeisa, a city Habr Yunis and the Isse Muse who dominate Berbera. devastated by the war. More than 70 percent of the build- Intense shuttle diplomacy by elders came to nothing in ings have been destroyed by shelling and landmines. the face of the government's determination to use the Anything that could be looted was taken. There is no conflict as a proxy war, a means of settling political electricity, no telecommunications or banking system. scores with some of its key opponents. Again, civilians Landmines kill and maim people and livestock and have most of them Isse Muse, fled in search of safety. The set back recovery of the agricultural sector. Today, many fighting also spread to Sheikh. towns are a testimony to an extraordinarily cruel war. In Economic activity, which had slowed down after the former security service offices in Hargeisa, skeletons fighting in Burao, ceased altogether. The port came to a with rope tied around their hands or feet are all that standstill, and the major roads between Hargeisa and remain of the Isaak men who were rounded up after the Berbera and between Berbera and Burao were closed. SNM attack. There are thousands of bones left on the The tension spilled over into Hargeisa, where outskirts of the city, the remains of those who did not throughout the summer fear of war was palpable. make it to Ethiopia. Gobiley is surrounded by the hills The fighting was a severe psychological blow for civil- where many were executed, simply for being Isaak. ians, sapping their confidence in the future. The econom- The decision to secede was followed by a six-month ic consequences were disastrous. Export of livestock and honeymoon. Despite the reluctance of foreign govern- the collection of port dues, essential for the govern- ments to recognize Somaliland, the poor response by the ment's resources, both came to an end. People lost the international community in providing assistance, the will to repair their homes and discouraged relatives from absence of a strong central authority, the lack of function- coming back. ing administrative structures, the collapse of infrastruc- The betrayal of the hopes for Somaliland by some ture and the shortage of experienced administrators, the power-hungry politicians and military officers has economy took off and spirits were high. Visitors com- pushed traditional elders to take matters into their own

A J r i c a Report 46 May/June 19 9 3 hands. Conflict resolution within clans and between clans discuss the details of peace agreements in later peace has always been the responsibility of elders. But their talks. authority was greatly enhanced during the years of Four subsequent meetings helped to consolidate this armed struggle. Before May 1988, the SNM only had grass-roots process of reconciliation. The first meeting about 3,000 fighters. Unable to feed or equip the tens of held at Shimbiraale in August 1992 provided for free thousands of men who joined after May, elders were trade, free movement of people, and the creation of a con- given the responsibility to support their militias. flict resolution committee, with representatives from the Throughout the war years, they played an active political three groups concerned. The framework for dialogue role. In recognition of their contribution and because of was then used to settle subsequent disputes over grazing the continuing need for their skills, the Council of Elders land and the theft of camels. is recognized in the constitution of Somaliland, though The improved security situation and the easing of their role is not defined. communal tensions immediately brought tangible results Worried that the Berbera conflict had paralyzed the to the region. Trade through the small port of Mait economy, discouraged international assistance and was in increased dramatically, while many new shops opened up danger of engulfing Hargcisa, elders concentrated their in Erigavo. The opening up of trade routes increased veg- efforts on ending the Isse Muse/Habr Yunis conflict. etable production, improved livestock health, reduced Their efforts culminated in a meeting of clan elders in food prices and increased terms of trade in the exchange Sheikh in October. Their first task was to arrange a of livestock for food, all of which had a significant impact ceasefire between the two groups. on nutritional standards. Other wide-ranging provisions show a remarkable Decisions of the second, third and fourth meetings grasp of the intricacies of peace-making. To discourage echoed those of Shimbiraale. Hie content and detail of dissatisfied individuals from exploiting popular ignorance discussions depended upon the nature of the conflict of the agreement, it called for a delegation from the meet- between the relevant groups. For example, at Darar- ing to visit the rural and urban areas settled by the war- weyne, elders attempted to settle the sensitive disputes ring clans in order to publicize the peace agreement. It between the Dulbahante and the Habr Yunis over graz- provided for the right of both clans to move freely in the ing land, water sources and personal property, especially areas settled by both groups and for the release of pris- water-reservoirs and private buildings in the main town oners. Committees with representatives from the Habr of Erigavo. The meeting, considered the most important Yunis and Isse Muse were established for the areas so far was also attended by religious leaders, profession- where both clans reside, in order to settle minor disputes als, members of the militias and three government minis- and to promote the peace effort. In order not to create a ters. While a peace agreement was signed without condi- sudden vacuum, the two militias were allowed to remain tions on February 2, 1993, a 50-man team was chosen to in their locations though they were to be organized on a work out the practical details. Herds belonging to both peace-time footing, while security became the responsi- groups grazed peacefully together. Broader issues bility of elders. A special committee was established to related to peace and stability of the region as a whole work out the specific measures to be taken against the were to be finalized at a general meeting of all clans in party that violates the accord. The elders of Somaliland the region in Erigavo beginning in April. as a whole agreed to stand together against the party Despite the stunning breakthroughs at the local level, identified as the cause of future problems. the potential for serious unrest still haunts Somaliland. The elders' success in bringing peace to Berbera has The elders' initiatives and the popular support they enjoy had dramatic results. Business at Berbera is reaching shows that hope and confidence in traditional structures pre-war levels, with a sharp rise in livestock exports. The can defeat fear. But it is not enough. No one is more price of commodities is falling, partly due to the increase painfully aware of this than elders themselves. "Our task in volume of trade and competition. Nomads are now is to ensure security and reconciliation. The govern- able to get a better deal when they sell their herds for ment's responsibility is management, administration and food. Exceptionally good rains have also contributed to development, all of which it has failed to deliver," com- making food cheap and widely available. mented Sheikh Ibrahim, the chairman of the Isaak com- Elsewhere patient diplomacy has done much to mittee of elders in Hargeisa in July. improve relations between different communities. Optimism about the Boram meeting, the triumph of Sanaag region, where Isaaks and the Darod clashed in discourse over armed conflict, is widespread in Soma- the 1980s, was a potential flashpoint. In addition to the liland. But the continued failure of the UN to deal with bitter legacies of the war, Darod clans were pushed out of the political and economic reality of Somaliland threatens Erigavo by the Habr Yunis (Isaak), which they had held to undermine the elders' peace efforts. Without stability during the war with government assistance. They also other strong civic organizations will not emerge, allowing lost some of the grazing reserves and water-reservoirs unscrupulous politicians and military officers to monopo- they had recently acquired. Fighting erupted in 1991 and lize the political space, and prolonging hardship and ended when elders arranged a ceasefire. It was agreed to despair about the future. O

Africa Report 48 BY PETER DA COSTA DIOUF S TARNISHED VICTORY 1 President Abdou Diouf, as Senegal's ever- and fair," reserving their substantive present Parti So- expected, easily won a judgment until the Constitutional cialiste (PS) hoped third term in February, but Council's declaration of a winner that by thoroughly based on the work of the National reviewing and re- his nearly 2 to 1 margin of Vote-Counting Commission (NVC). vamping the country's But the apparently simple question of electoral process it would silence crit- victory was marred by arithmetic that remained soon took ics of the multi-party system it has on the appearance of a constitutional dominated for almost two decades. controversy over the -: conundrum. But February's controversy-riddled The NVC, a nine-member body presidential poll rallied more anti- electoral process-which comprising a representative from establishment voices than any other each of the contesting parties and single act in the West African coun- had been anticipated as chaired by Court of Appeal president try's colorful political history. Andresia Vaz discovered evidence Victory for Abdou Diouf—the the fairest ever held by suggesting widespread abuse of the lofty civil servant-turned-politician system of ordonnances, special dis- who literally stood a full head and the continent's leader in pensations to vote. By law, local mag- shoulders above the seven chal- istrates could issue these dispensa- lengers to his 11-year presiden- multi-party democracy. tions to those ineligible to vote at cy—was nothing if not a fait accom- time of registration but qualified on pli, given his party's expertise at The next seven years polling day (such as newly retired managing electoral campaigns, its servicemen or teenagers turning 18). wealth of financial resources, and its will not be easy for Allegations of fraud came out into undisputed control of the state's the open, and opposition passions most powerful sectors. But few Diouf's entrenched Parti were ignited when the pro-govern- could have predicted the mess that ment Le Soleil—Senegal's only daily would follow voting on February 21. Socialiste, which must try newspaper—prematurely declared a More than half of the 2.5 million to correct a deep-rooted Diouf victory. Headlined "Abdou Senegalese registered—including Diouf Wins in Round One," the for the first time expatriates in economic malaise during February 28 special issue based its France and the U.S.—voted on a day lead story on unratified results from that passed almost without event. an increasingly unsympa- 10 of the 31 constituencies or depart- Diplomats mused over the adminis- ments. It reported that Diouf had trative mistake that left a small num- thetic donor climate. secured 58 percent of the popular ber of the more than 8,000 polling vote and amassed more than a quar- stations countrywide without U.S.-donated booths and bal- ter of registered voters, two conditions he needed to avoid lot boxes. And some 50 international observers on the a second round. lookout for irregularities found temporary excitement in On its front page, alongside a photograph of Diouf with the mystery of the indelible ink that voters reported could arms held aloft in victory, Le Soleil gave limited promi- be easily washed off with soap and water (officials soon nence to the real story. Exasperated NVC chair Vaz had calmed fears of a loophole by explaining the ink, also cour- handed all electoral dossiers to the Constitutional Council, tesy of the U.S., had to be vigorously shaken before use). Senegal's highest electoral body and the pinnacle of a A team of 30 monitors from the National Democratic three-court system replacing the old Supreme Court. Vaz Institute (NDI) declared voting on the day broadly "free complained that were her commission to try and unravel the complex affair it would take "more than 120 days." Peter da Costa is a freelance Journalist based in Banjul, the Gambia. Abdoulaye Wade, the 66-year-old constitutional lawyer

49 May/June 1 9 9 .i The Suffering Southern Province

rue to their promise, loyalists of the sepa- larly to areas near the swath of territory stretchfng ratist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques from Ziguinchor to the border with Guinea-Bissau, a Tde Casamance (MFDC) did all they could to region controlled by the MFDC, told Africa Report sabotage the presidential elections in Senegal's that many are fleeing because separatists have southern province. labeled voters as traitors. Radical elements embraced the armed struggle a "I saw truckloads of families leaving with as decade ago in a bid to secure autonomy from Sene- much of their property as they could carry, most gal's Dakar-based government in the north. Sporadic heading for Guinea-Bissau," said the worker, who attacks—crowned by a rocket assault on the region- has been near the trouble-stricken border area al airport January 17, less than two weeks before since election day. "People say the rebels confis- President Abdou Diouf arrived to begin his cam- cated a lot of voting cards before the election, and paign—were intended to show that the MFDC would went around telling everyone they would be killed if not tolerate electoral activity in Casamance. they cast their ballot." On the eve of the February 21 poll, 20 ruling United Nations officials confirm the mass exo- Parti Socialiste (PS) supporters died when their dus across Senegal's border into northern Guinea- van hit a landmine near Niadiou, a village 15 miles Bissau. They say at least 17,000 refugees from south of Ziguinchor town, the regional capital. Casamance are now being housed in camps at sev- Almost a month before, separatists had chosen the eral frontier villages. Niadiou area for their first attack using a landmine. Some 6,000 have fled to border towns in the In that attack, seven Red Cross volunteers died Gambia, which separates the troubled province and several were injured. In an election day inci- from northern Senegal, since January last year. dent designed to deter would-be voters, armed men Gambia's relief authorities, stretched since ambushed a bus carrying PS militants to polling Casamancais started fleeing an upsurge in sepa- booths, killing six and injuring 10. ratist activity two years ago, say they will be hard- Casamancais who voted now fear the worst and pressed to cope with further influxes. The local are abandoning their villages and farms in growing Red Cross volunteer corps has appealed for interna- numbers. A development worker who travels regu- tional assistance.

who heads the Parti Democralique Socialiste (PDS) testimony he had issued little more than 2,000. "We dis- whose rallying cry of sopi ("change" in the Wolof lan- covered... when we counted the votes that there was a big guage) has caught on in urban areas in recent years, was discrepancy between people who registered in a number the only serious threat to Diouf. He told a press confer- of constituencies and people who actually voted," fourth- ence the NVC had neither the right to issue an incomplete place candidate Abdoulaye Bathily told Africa Report, set of results nor the mandate to pass the buck to the "Kaolack is obviously a case of fraud." Council, whose job was simply to declare a winner after Bathily, who leads the left-of-center Ligue Democra- rubber-stamping the NVC's work. tique/Mouvement pour le Parti du Travail, said the PS Wade's allegation that up to a half million votes had had duplicated thousands of ordonnances "which they been lost using forged ordonnances was soon echoed by gave to their partisans who were able to vote several other candidates. Citing irregularities in at least 18 depart- times." The 47-year-old history professor at Dakar's ments they argued the matter was so serious as to warrant Cheikh Ante Diop University expressed doubts the matter a re-run in affected constituencies. Some even raised the would be impartially handled by the five-member NVC, specter of a fresh election. The opposition used Kao- which he alleged was packed with judges who were lack—Senegal's densely populated urban area outside the "henchmen of the ruling party." region surrounding the capital Dakar—to highlight what With tension rising and riot police positioned in strate- they alleged was a carefully planned strategy by the PS to gic areas of Dakar and its suburbs, many braced them- ensure victory for their candidate. selves for a repeat of the widespread civil unrest that There, they claimed, more than 18,000 had voted using greeted Diouf s controversial win in February 1988. Then, ordonnances, a figure that conflicted with the magistrate's Wade's claim he had fraudulently been robbed of the pres-

Africa Report 50 In one Casamance village, residents of 40 house- chor, in early March when 80 separatists were report- holds fled to the Gambia in early March after sepa- edly ambushed and slain. Their bodies, complete with ratists targeted and killed a local Muslim leader, gris-grls (magic charms the animist Diolas who domi- Imam Kutubo Manafang, because he had spoken nate the MFDC believe make them invincible), were out against violence. "At the end of Friday prayers, displayed at Ziguinchor's hospital to deter others. the imam would tell his followers that they should If the army is moving to break the psychological collectively pray so that the rebel activities could hold the mystical MFDC has over what remains of be curbed naturally and in their place be restored Casamance's cowed population, it is likely to be peace and tranquility." village elder Afang Bully bloody. The guerrillas are dedicated—and armed Darbo told a local newspaper. with sophisticated weapons. Human tragedies are now commonplace in The National Vote-Counting Commission reported Casamance. The fertile region's enormous poten- a 40 percent turnout in Oussouye department, the tial in natural resources, agriculture, and tourism epicenter of the conflict. In a department to the (which is at a standstill) have made a resolution of north, where Sidy Badji's armies have ceased activ- the conflict one of President Diouf's priorities. The ity, a surprisingly low 30 percent of the 63,000 reg- goodwill generated after a 1991 ceasefire agree- istered voters turned out. In Ziguinchor itself, a ment between MFDC commanders and Senegal's high security presence ensured 50 percent of the defense minister, Madoun Fall, has now been 46,832 who registered voted. In all three consti- lost—despite promises by moderate separatist tuencies of Ziguinchor region, Diouf won, with PDS leader Sidy Badji to hold his armed units in check. leader Abdoulaye Wade second and the native By all accounts, Badji had demobilized his fight- Casamancais, Landing Savane, polling a poor third. ers to the north of Ziguinchor. But he has no con- Diouf also swept polling in neighboring Kolda trol over the Southern Front, the faction with bases region, largely unaffected by the unrest, where reg- in Guinea-Bissau widely believed to be behind istration was consistently higher (62,989 in Kolda recent attacks. Diouf has repeated his pre-election department and 106,004 in Sedhiou). Voter decentralization pledge, reiterating that he will turnout, however, was below the national average grant administrative autonomy to all the country's of 51 percent. Pollsters were surprised Diouf did so regions but will not brook secession. His resolve to well in areas many expected would fall to the oppo- send more troops to Casamance is, however, evi- sition, and put this down to the fact that the sepa- dence of Dakar's increasing conviction a military ratist campaign is an ethnic-based movement with solution is the only way. little more than nominal support. The PS still draws Army units now appear to be pursuing a "shoot-to- most of its support from the rural poor. • kill" policy, seen at Badem, 17 miles south of Ziguin- —P.d.C.

idency landed him in jail, with Diouf declaring a state of Senegal's reputation as the continent's leader in multi- emergency. After his release Wade spent seven months of party democracy. Keba Mbaye, the Constitutional Council self-imposed exile in Paris, returning to pressure the president, threw the ball back in the NVC's court when he Socialists into the electoral reform he now claims much ruled it had a legal duty to attempt a resolution of the credit for. ordonnances imbroglio. Mbaye, who headed the commis- The new, much-vaunted electoral code at stake in the sion whose work led to the new code being adopted in presidential poll is a direct result of the flawed exercise in 1991, gave the NVC 72 hours to finish its work, failing multi-partyism of 1988. Arrived at after unprecedented which his own Council would declare a winner after five consultation among Senegal's 18 official opposition par- days. ties, the code is widely held to be fraud-proof—at least on A respected judge who served as vice president of the paper. Among other reforms, it lowered the minimum vot- Hague-based International Court of Justice before retiring ing age by three years to 18, made a secret ballot registra- only to be persuaded into taking on the job of constitution- tion, allowed all parties equal access to state-run media al reform back home, Mbaye simultaneously announced (monitored by an independent High Council for Radio and he was stepping down. In his resignation letter from the Television), and allocated three weeks (as opposed to two Council chair on March 2, the 69-year-old eminence grise under the old system) for politicking. Significantly, it limits appeared to take personal blame for the post-electoral future presidents to two terms, though the old five-year complications. term is extended by two years. "It was the political parties who wanted and adopted the The NVC's inability to discharge its functions cast new electoral code," wrote Mbaye. "It is their baby, but it doubt over how practicable the code really is, and taints is also a little bit mine...I said to myself it would serve to

51 May /June 19 9 3 elevate [people's] mentalities toward the unreserved is demanding. Only three parties—Savane's And-Jef, Iba acceptance of the democratic game. Sadly, what has taken DerThiam's Convention des Patriotes, and Mamadou Ix>'s place before my eyes has shown me I was wrong." 1,000 Group—have so far agreed to put up a joint list for Observers were quick to interpret Mbaye's resignation the legislatives, which are part direct election and part in mid-crisis as a strong indictment of Senegal's hierarchy proportional representation. and political culture, an analysis lent credence by the Under new pressures despite the clear margin of his judge's assertion that for the electoral code to be workable victory (in 1988 he secured 72 percent), Diouf, 57, will be in practice, adherence to the rules of democracy must be glad when the legislatives are over and his third term maintained "without deviation." Mbaye's words were begins in earnest. Aware of the growing perception that immediately enlisted by the opposition in its campaign to his entrenched party is identified with much that is wrong prove allegations of fraud. with Senegal today (socialists have been in power since 'Hie inability of Vaz's commission to agree on returns 1952), the president-elect will be hard-pressed to convince from 20 departments left the council with no option, under critics he is prepared to improve conditions in the impov- its new president Youssoupha Ndiaye, but to declare erished Sahelian country. Abdou Diouf the winner—a staggering three weeks after Poverty, unemployment, rural-urban migration, and polling day. The official result was academic. Diouf polled rumblings of discontent are all symptomatic of the deep- 58.4 percent (757,311 votes) to Wade's 32.03 percent rooted economic malaise that makes life a daily struggle (415,296 votes). In third place was Landing Savane of And- for Senegal's 8 million people. Jef, a grassroots-tending socialist party, with less than 3 Many argue the socialists have institutionalized corrup- percent of the popular vote—a reflection of the fact that tion to such a degree that nothing less than a change in Senegal's multi-party democracy, riddled with political the political hierarchy will bring progress. "Nothing groupings, is to all intents and purposes a two-horse affair. changes with this election," a Dakar-based donor repre- As expected, unrest did follow the belated announce- sentative told Africa Report. "Everything that is wrong ment, with riot police employing teargas and armored cars with Senegal is linked to the whole rotten system of against students and disappointed party militants who saw patronage, protectionism, and clientelism." Donors are the ruling as an outrage. Many Dakar residents showed known to be disappointed with the lack of depth displayed their contempt by simultaneously dumping their trash in by candidates in the pre-electoral campaigning, since most the streets. Among rioters were many of the university's preferred displays of populism to serious analyses of the 20,000 students—whose month-long strike against living state of the nation. conditions was timed to coincide with the presidential With France's center-right parties weakening the campaign. power of ailing President Francois Mitterrand, whose sen- Critics directed their fury at the Constitutional Council, timentalism has served Africa well, Diouf may find his role which had all but dismissed the ordonnances issue in its as spokesman for the francophones increasingly difficult, ruling, saying only 4,000 had been used to vote country- especially with regard to economic assistance. Speculation wide. Bathily dismissed the ruling as a "political and not a is rife that a right-dominated French government will juridical statement." He told Africa Report: "1 reject its con-devalue the CFA francwhic h it has guaranteed against the tent insofar as it did not address the issues raised by the French franc at a fixed parity of 50 to 1 for more than 40 seven candidates of the opposition...concerning the fraud years. Shortly after his victory—on the eve of France's which has been documented and evidence given and elections—Diouf responded to devaluation talk with an acknowledged by members of the ruling party itself." emphatic "no." But economists say the eventuality is For Bathily, Senegal's boast of being a bastion of inevitable and advise Diouf to prepare a realistic economic democracy is a sham. "I think it's just a...symbol of what blueprint that will cushion Senegal's already fragilesociet y propaganda can make for a country," he said in an inter- from the shocks to come. view. "I have always said that whatever electoral code you Short of announcing he will create 20,000 jobs a year, have—and this one is generally considered a good docu- and send more troops to quell a separatist uprising in the ment in theory—it won't work if the ruling party doesn't southern province of Casamance, Diouf has remained abide by its conditions." cagey about his plans for the last seven years of his With all legal avenues of redress now exhausted, the administration. To stifle critics of the PS's omnipotence hapless opposition is looking to the legislative election in he may opt for another "cohabitation" experiment by May. They hope to reduce the PS's 103 seats in the 120- drafting his most powerful opponents, specifically Wade. member National Assembly (the rest are held by PDS An 18-month coalition of three parties ended late last deputies). Failure to unite over a single presidential candi- year when Wade resigned as minister of state and with- date or a joint legislative campaign means the parties, drew with his two PDS compatriots, complaining of many no more than political entities in name, have virtual- marginalization. In the wake of his defeat, Wade ly no chance of upsetting the PS apple cart. remained silent, but he is known to favor an executive And Diouf's refusal to delay the poll means there is lit- prime ministership and may yet use his considerable tle time to overhaul electoral procedures as the opposition support to push for a share of power. O

Africa Report 52 BYMAKAU WAMUTUA

Yet again, President Mobutu Sese Seko has co-opted an opposition leader and named him as prime minister—this time, Faustin Birindwa to replace Tshisekedi wa Mulumba. But the High Council of the Republic, the body that is supposed to lead Zaire to democracy and had appointed Tshisekedi in the first place, has refused to knuckle under to the dictator's latest attempt to kill off the democratic transition. And significantly, the three influential foreign powers, Belgium, France, and the United States, have also rejected the Birindwa appoint- ment. n March 18, Zaire's President Mobutu respected Catholic cleric who impressively and resolute- Sese Seko appointed Faustin Birindwa ly led the national conference, was made the HCR's chair- as prime minister. Birindwa is a co- man. Under the new constitution approved by the nation- founder of the Union for Democracy al conference, Mobutu was allowed to stay on as and Social Progress (UDPS), Zaire's president but most of his powers were given to the prime largest and most influential opposition minister, Tshisekedi, and the HCR. The HCR was invest- party. The appointment pitted Birindwa against his long- ed with all legislative powers. When Mobutu unsuccess- time ally, Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, the Mobutu foe who fully attempted to dissolve the new government, he was appointed to the premiership last December by the chose to raise the heat by insisting on his control over High Council of the Republic (HCR), the interim parlia- the treasury. ment attempting to restore democracy in Zaire. The centerpiece of the dispute was a decision by Mobutu's dismissal of Tshisekedi and appointment of Mobutu to introduce the 5-million zaire bank notes, Birindwa was immediately rejected by the HCR, leaving worth less than $2, partially as a way of coping with the Zaire with two rival prime ministers, and deepening the county's 7000 percent rate of inflation. In a test of wills political crisis. Mobutu's antics would be funny if they and economic judgment, Tshisekedi ordered the notes were not so tragic; the country, mired in what appears to withdrawn, but Mobutu refused to back down. Mer- be a permanent state of political and economic anarchy, chants and traders, however, heeded Tshisekedi's call is on the brink of total collapse. and did not accept the new notes as legal tender. In this When Mobutu announced in April 1990 that he would polarized atmosphere, Mobutu added fuel to the fire introduce a limited form of democracy, it seemed unlike- when he decided to pay his hungry soldiers with the new ly that he would still be in power today. But the wily and notes. The traders refused to accept them, touching off a ruthless dictator, who has ruled with an iron hand for 28 spree of looting and killing by the soldiers beginning on years, has managed to cling to power by defying the January 28. According to Zairian human rights activists, wishes of the national conference and its successor, the as many as 1,000 people, most of them regular soldiers, HCR. Through his control of the elite security forces, in were killed by Mobutu's security forces. particular the Special Presidential Division (DSP), Mobu- A significant casualty of the mutiny was the French tu continues to withhold democracy and prolong tyranny, ambassador to Zaire, Philippe Bernard, who was fatally often through mass killings. His one-man rule, although shot by Mobutu's soldiers as he reportedly watched the universally opposed by Zairians, is buttressed by his mili- looting from what he thought was the safety of his office. tary control over the nation's treasury and the state- As the crisis continued, France, Belgium, and the United owned radio and television. States, the three powers which supported Mobutu dur- From the moment the HCR took over last December, ing the cold war, asked him to step down and hand over Mobutu has stood in its way. Among other things, the the nation's purse strings to Tshisekedi's transitional HCR was mandated to lead Zaire to its first open vote government. On February 5, a defiant Mobutu tried to since 1960. In view of recent developments, it will be a dismiss Tshisekedi but without success. He accused the miracle if the vote, slated for August 1994, takes place at three Western powers of all. Since the announced political reforms in 1990, it has MOBUTU'S meddling in Zairian been clear that Mobutu never intended to hand over affairs and dictating to power. ANTICS WOULD him like a colony. Tshi- At first, he tried to shut down the national conference. DC ciiMMY It sekedi asserted that When that failed he attempted to limit its powers and weaken it by coopting some of its leaders with a succes- Bb hUNNY I h Mobuluhadnopowerto sion of impotent puppet governments. In a span of three THEY WERE NOT firehim. years. Mobutu has appointed at least five prime ministers In a bid to dislodge in a bid to thwart the ascendancy of Tshisekedi and the ;(J I KAGIC, the interim government and ush pro-democratic Sacred Union, the coalition of about ISO 7 A I D Z I C DM TU C P Tshisekedi MIKt I)UIN !ht into political oblivion, political parties which controlled the national confer- BRINK OF TOTAL Mobutu convened in ence. Each prime minister was driven from office in dis- early March a political grace after failing to outwit and crush the Sacred Union. COLLAPSE. "conclave." The atten- Mobutu's intransigence notwithstanding, the national dees were a collection of conference has bravely soldiered on, solidifying its legiti- his hand-picked cronies led by his office director, veteran macy and further undermining Mobutu's tenuous hold politician Professor Vunduawe Te Pemako, formerly a on power. On December 6, the national conference took member of the central Committee of the Popular Move- a giant step by forming the HCR and renaming Tshiseke- ment for the Revolution (MPR), the single party that di prime minister. Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo, the ruled Zaire until 1990. On March 8, this "conclave" met with Archbishop Monsengwo to map out an agenda for a Makau wa Mutua, a lawyer, is the projects director at the Harvard IMW School Human Rights Program. meeting between the two sides to end the political crisis.

Africa Report 54 Mobutu had his agenda: He wanted Tshisekedi replaced. from the UDPS and the Sacred Union. If history is any He wanted the interim constitution rewritten to restore guide, he will go down to a humiliating defeat in the next his powers. He wanted a shorter timetable for elections several months. instead of the two-year transition period approved by the In the meantime, the political "conclave" convened national conference. by Mobutu to lend "legitimacy" to the Birindwa The Mobutu "conclave" did what it was supposed to. It appointment wound down on March 19 after passing a recommended to Mobutu that he dismiss Tshisekedi and resolution "downgrading" the HCR to just one of the replace him with Faustin Birindwa. Birindwa was a faith- "political organs" of the transition to democracy, a ful Tshisekedi aide and a senior leader of the UDPS until move intended to take away its legislative and parlia- February when he was dismissed from the party for mentary role. Closing the "conclave," Mobutu stunned "political truancy," a euphemism for selling out to Mobu- Zaire observers by announcing that he would call a tu. An Italian-trained economist married to an Italian, special parliamentary session of the defunct MPR legis- lature to discuss the constitution and the transition to democracy. The resurrection of the one-party MPR parliament, which has no standing in law, is designed to marginalize the HCR and allow Mobutu to recapture the ship of state through the Birindwa appointment, effectively killing the transition to democracy. On March 29, the MPR parliament met, in a direct challenge to the HCR, to hijack Ihe process of reform. The rubber- stamp National Assembly, which was sus- pended in 1992 by the national con- ference, is expected to review and amend the laws and rules governing the transi- tional period. Meanwhile, the HCR had approved on March 26 the 32-member government pro- Birindwa, 53, lias been the posed by Tshisekedi. Only several MPR ministers whom Mobutu's one-man rule victim of Mobutu's despo- Tshisekedi had named to his government as a gesture of is buttressed by bis tism on several occasions. In reconciliation have refused to join his cabinet, a develop- military control over the 1988, he was banished to a ment that is expected to have no consequence in the treasury and media remote village in eastern standoff between Mobutu and the pro-democracy forces, Zaire for political dissent. It or the steadfast support that the HCR has so far given is surprising thai a person of Birindwa's political experi- Tshisekedi. ence and history of opposition to Mobutu would agree to The crisis in governance is expected to escalate when participate in what will in all likelihood turn out to be Birindwa names his cabinet. Whether Mobutu manages another failed attempt to halt the democracy train. to cow Tshisekedi and the HCR will depend largely on In his first public statement upon being named by popular support for the democratic process in Zaire and Mobutu, Birindwa promised to work with the dictator in the support of the international community, especially a "spirit of non-conflict," a pledge that underlines his sta- that of the U.S., France, and Belgium, still the three most tus as a Mobutu lackey. Incredibly, Birindwa claimed influential countries in Kinshasa. On April 1, the govern- that Mobutu had given him free rein over state finances ments of France and Belgium announced that they did while the two would share responsibility over defense not recognize Birindwa as prime minister and pledged and foreign affairs. His appointment appeared headed their support for Tshisekedi and the HCR. France nowhere as it was overwhelmingly rejected by Tshiseke- emphasized that the "Zairian government should emerge di and the HCR. France, Belgium, and the U.S., which from the High Council of the Republic." In another posi- have all but ordered Mobutu to cede power to Tshiseke- tive move, the French denied Mobutu and his entourage di, sharply denounced the appointment and refused to entry visas. The three Western governments should recognize it. The Clinton administration went further, mount pressure on Mobutu by organizing the seizure announcing that its departing ambassador, Melissa and freezing of his assets and accounts abroad and deny- Wells, would not be replaced. Birindwa, who has been ing him and all his officials entry visas until he bows to rejected and soundly denounced at home and abroad for the HCR and allows the democratic process to go ahead. his opportunistic enlistment in Mobutu's machinations, Otherwise, Zaire is condemned to permanent anarchy as has indicated that he still intends to form a government long as Mobutu continues in power. O

55 May /June 19 9 3 IIUlLUilEflU BY JANET FLEISCHMAN

Patrick Roberf/Sygma

he civil war in Liberia has taken a Krahn-dominated Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), new turn, one that demands reso- engaged in bloody reprisals against real and suspected lute action by the international com- opponents, targeting mostly Gios and Manos; hundreds munity to prevent renewed violence were killed and hundreds more were detained without and recrimination from engulfing charges or trial. This violence and the subsequent the country. repression of independent activity and political opposi- TIf the cycle of abuse is to end, steps must be taken to tion set the stage for the country's ethnic conflict and protect the civilian population of Nimba County—birth- civil war. On December 24, 1989, Taylor launched his place of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of incursion from Cote d'lvoire into Nimba. The AFL Liberia (NPFL). Another rebel group—the United Liber- responded with a ruthless counter-insurgency campaign, ation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Ulimo)—now indiscriminately killing civilians, burning villages, raping threatens to reach Nimba. This group's abusive record is women, and looting. The brutality served to swell the reason to fear that the lives of Nimba residents would be ranks of NPFL recruits, many of whom were Gio and in jeopardy. To avoid a bloodbath, the West African Mano boys orphaned by the fighting or enraged by the "peace-keeping" force, Ecomog, should be pressed to get AFL's conduct. The NPFL, for its part, targeted suspect- to Nimba first and make protection of civilians its priority. ed supporters of the Doe regime, particularly members Nimba County, in the northeastern corner of Liberia, of the Krahn and Mandingo ethnic groups, slaughtering is home to the Gio and Mano ethnic groups. In 1985, civilians and destroying villages along the way. By the after Samuel Doe, an ethnic Krahn, stole the presidential summer of 1990, when the war spread to Monrovia, the elections, he brutally suppressed a coup attempt led by level of atrocities committed by all sides reached Thomas Qwiwonkpa, an ethnic Gio. Doe's soldiers, the astounding proportions. The Economic Community of West African States Janet Fleischman is research associate for Africa Watch, a division of Human Rights Watch. She travelled to Liberia in March. (Ecowas) peace-keeping force, Eeomog, is an unprece-

Africa Report 56 AN UNCIVIL WAR The civil war in Liberia grinds on with the West African "peace-keeping" force, Ecomog, now on the offensive, shelling and bombing positions held by rebel Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia forces. But the war has taken a new twist, with Ecomog recruiting some unsavory allies in its campaign against Taylor, threatening even more violence and human rights violations. dented five-nation West African military detachment, uneasy truce reigned in Liberia, with the West African though heavily dominated by Nigeria. (The main franco- troops guarding Monrovia and the NPFL controlling the phone contingent, from Senegal, withdrew its troops in rest of the country. During this period. Ecomog's role was January.) Ecomog arrived in Monrovia in August 1990 to confined to that of a police force; it was unable to bridge separate the warring factions and to stop the bloodshed. the political division of the country, and lacked the man- Unfortunately, with NPFL attacks continuing, there was date to confront Taylor militarily. On the diplomatic front, no peace to keep, and Ecomog was thrust into combat to a series of Ecowas-sponsored peace talks, culminating in push the NPFL out of Monrovia. the October 1991 Yamoussoukro IV accord, sought disar- Although the participating stales may have had ulteri- mament and encampment of all warring factions, to be fol- or motives for intervening in Liberia and their conduct lowed by elections. Despite hopes that all sides would has been far from perfect, Ecomog accomplished certain comply with Yamoussoukro, Charles Taylor continued to concrete objectives: It established a semblance of order renege on his commitments to disarm, and depicted Eco- and peace in the battered capital, which allowed interna- mog—especially Nigeria—as his principal adversary. tional humanitarian groups to return to Liberia. It con- The picture was further complicated by the rise of fined the AFL and another rebel group, the Independent Ulimo, formed in 1991 by ex-AFL soldiers who had fled to National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), led by Prince Sierra Leone. Ulimo's political agenda is unclear, despite Johnson, to their barracks. It installed the Interim Gov- its claim to seek peace and democracy for the country. ernment of National Unity (IGNU), headed by Amos After skirmishing with the NPFL many times since late Sawyer. And it obtained a ceasefire. One would be hard- 1991, Ulimo launched a surprisingly successful incursion pressed to visit Monrovia without hearing, time and in August 1992 and routed Taylor's NPFL from two west- again, "Thank God for Ecomog." ern counties. Taylor immediately charged that Ulimo For two years—from November 1990, when the cease- was in cahoots with Ecomog. fire was signed in Bamako, until October 1992—an The increasingly tense situation exploded on October

57 May/June 19 9 15, when Taylor launched "Operation Octopus," attack- This new arrangement has changed the dynamics of ing Ecomog positions around Monrovia, and even strik- the war, and raises questions about Ecomog's commit- ing the AFL, which was encamped at its Schiefflin bar- ment to human rights. Some observers justify this racks on the outskirts of the city. For almost a month, uneasy marriage on the grounds of military necessity, Ecomog struggled to repel what is called "the siege of arguing both that Ecomog was stretched too thin and Monrovia." Fighting raged in and around the city, with that Ecomog soldiers needed Liberian guides to show the suburban areas of Gardnersville, Barnersville, New them the terrain. Clearly, the AFL and Ulimo were Georgia, and Caldwell particularly hard hit. viewed as lesser evils than the NPFL. Expressing the Approximately 200,000 people displaced from these sentiments held by many in Monrovia, one Liberian areas flooded into the central city to escape the fighting. remarked: 'To hell with human rights. We have to get Other civilians were pushed behind Taylor lines into the this thing over with." country's interior, joining thousands of displaced persons Since Ecomog re-established its defensive perimeter there. Ecomog began conducting bombing and strafing around Monrovia in late 1992, it has taken the offensive. raids on Taylor territory, which the NPFL claims have A pattern has emerged in which AFL or Ulimo soldiers caused many civilian casualties. In late October, five form the front lines of attack, while Ecomog follows with American nuns, based in Gardnersville, were killed by heavy weapons. It is difficult to document the AFL's and the NPFL Although the nuns represented a tiny fraction Ulimo's treatment of civilians, but there is ample reason of those killed, their deaths attracted international atten- for concern. In one high profile case in January 1993, tion to the resurgent war. Brian Garnham, a British citizen working at the Liberian The urgency of the situation compelled Ecomog to Institute for Biomedical Research, an affiliate of the New adopt a new strategy: It accepted the assistance of other York Blood Center, was killed by the AFL. The lab is Liberian factions in fighting the NPFL The human rights located near Robertsfield airport, which has been con- record of these factions—Ulimo and the AFL—range trolled by the NPFL since 1990. Witnesses indicate that from suspect to abysmal. The AFL was thoroughly dis- the AFL soldiers who murdered Garnham arrived in credited by its horrific abuses during the 1980s and espe- advance of Ecomog. Earlier, as the fighting approached cially during the war in 1990 when it massacred civilians Robertsfield, Ecomog had been notified of the presence and devastated Monrovia. Ulimo is an offshoot of the of civilians at the laboratory. "Unfortunately," the Eco- AFL, and its conduct in the areas it captured in 1992 mog chief of staff later commented, "we weren't the first reportedly included attacks on civilians, looting, and exe- to get there." After the killing, AFL soldiers went on a cutions of suspected NPFL sympathizers. The formal looting spree, emptying the laboratory compound of connections between the AFL and Ulimo are unclear, whatever they could carry. although most of Ulimo's key commanders are former The investigation launched by IGNU into Garnham's AFL leaders, and hundreds of AFL soldiers apparently death does not inspire much confidence that the perpetra- left their barracks to join Ulimo. tors will even be identified, let alone punished. A commis- The relationship between Ecomog and these groups sion of inquiry has been formed and meets at IGNU's min- seems to be built upon the classic view that "the enemy istry of defense. It is headed by AFL General Pelham, and of my enemy is my friend." After first supporting the includes representatives of the AFL and IGNU's ministry right of the AFL to defend itself from attack, Ecomog of justice. Although outside observers were invited to par- soon permitted the AFL to operate alongside the multi- ticipate in the inquiry, including 1 he Catholic Church's Jus- national troops, although the AFL retained a separate tice and Peace Commission and the U.S. embassy, they command structure and controls certain areas on its have been excluded from important meetings on security own. Ecomog claims that Ulimo operates independently, grounds, and the Justice and Peace Commission pulled but it is clear that some coordination exists. There is lit- out. By all accounts, the commission of inquiry is reluctant tle indication that Ecomog tries to curb excesses by to blame the AFL, which is trying to recast its image as the these factions. legitimate national army. As of mid-March, the only wit- Still, Ecomog regards the AFL with disdain; the Eco- ness who had been interviewed was Garnham's American mog chief of staff accuses it of "every type of indisci- wife, Betsy Brotman, and that was at her initiative. pline—looting, indiscriminate firing," and complained A further indication of the brutality of Ulimo and the that "trained soldiers wouldn't do what they do." Realiz- AFL is found in the testimony of displaced persons. ing the dangers posed by the Ulimo and AFL fighters Many of these people are found in camps outside Mon- moving freely in Monrovia, IGNU prodded Ecomog to rovia. When asked under whai conditions they would push the fighters out of the city. Although Ecomog has return home, the vast majority stated that they would not conducted sweeps and trucked many fighters to the city go back until Ecomog was there. Adam, a middle-aged limits, anyone visiting Monrovia can see that plenty of man from Grand Cape Mount, put it this way: "I won't go Ulimo and AFL fighters remain, many of them armed and back if Ulimo controls the area; I don't trust them. I don't hauling back loot from the front lines. (Ecomog soldiers trust the AFL either. We know about them. If you know a have also been accused of looting.) leopard, you know what a leopard can do."

Africa Report 58 Iflimo is now behaving like the NPFL It is limiting the have afforded an unprecedented opportunity for trans- free movement of people and goods in its territory. It parency throughout the country. denied Africa Wateh a pass to travel to its areas without a By all accounts, the war is fast approaching Nimba Uliino "escort"; and it has established checkpoints along County, and Ulimo forces are well ahead of Ecomog. It is the roads, at which civilians often face harassment. a critical moment for the international community—espe- Liberian human rights monitors have raised concerns cially the United States and the UN Security Council—to about abuses by Ulimo, including summary executions, bring pressure to bear on both the Ecomog commanders beatings, and arbitrary arrests. "A system of control and the Ecowas heads of state to use their leverage to makes a lot of money," commented a foreign relief work- stop the Ulimo and AFL advance and to ensure that Eco- er. Ulimo is clearly setting up a military occupation of mog reaches Nimba first and acts in accordance with areas it has "liberated" and has given no indication that it international humanitarian law. The leaders of these fac- is investigating reported abuses. "Ulimo has accelerated the Liberian crisis by affirm- ing people's worst fears—that there would be more war- ring factions," according to the head of a Liberian relief group. The specter of the country degenerating into a Somalia-like situation, with armed factions killing and looting with impunity, looms large to many Liberians. These concerns are well-founded. A recent split in Ulimo's political leadership between Alhadji Kromah and Raleigh Seekie could foreshadow further splintering. The AFL has rearmed and resumed fighting. IGNU has formed its own militia, the Black Berets, which has been incorporated into the AFL At least two "warlords" who broke off from the NPFL have surfaced in Lofa County. And a shadowy group called the Nimba Redemption Council has re- cently emerged in Nimba. The question naturally arises as to whether Eco- mog will be able to control and dis- arm these fac- tions- Ecomog officials claim that they will disarm all parties simul- taneously, as provided for in the Above, boys suspected of Yamoussoukro accords. They main- being NPb'L combatants tain that once the NPFL agrees to a Top right. Prince Johnson ceasefire, the others will fall into (center) place. Their confidence is not shared by many Liberia watchers. Bottom right, Ulimo soldiers The UN's role also deserves scrutiny. After finally tions have professed a commitment to the Yamoussoukro addressing the Liberian crisis in November and impos- framework, and this is an important moment to pull them ing an arms embargo, the secretary-general dispatched a firmly into the process as the price of their claims to special representative, Trevor Gordon-Somers, to investi- international legitimacy. gate the situation. Human rights language is notably Ecomog has indicated that human rights were among absent from his report, which was released in mid- the reasons for its intervention. This commitment will be March, thus missing yet another occasion to insert credible only if Ecomog itself respects human rights and human rights protections into the peace negotiations. exercises control over the warring factions with which it The report suggested that there might be a role for UN is nominally allied. Similarly, the international communi- observers to monitor a new ceasefire agreement, but ty must act to break the cycle of ethnically motivated foresaw no human rights monitoring component to their abuses in Liberia, thus paving the way for reconciliation mandate. This is an unfortunate omission, since it would in this traumatized nation. O

59 May /June 19 9 Iflimo is now behaving like the NPFL It is limiting the have afforded an unprecedented opportunity for trans- free movement of people and goods in its territory. It parency throughout the country. denied Africa Wateh a pass to travel to its areas without a By all accounts, the war is fast approaching Nimba Uliino "escort"; and it has established checkpoints along County, and Ulimo forces are well ahead of Ecomog. It is the roads, at which civilians often face harassment. a critical moment for the international community—espe- Liberian human rights monitors have raised concerns cially the United States and the UN Security Council—to about abuses by Ulimo, including summary executions, bring pressure to bear on both the Ecomog commanders beatings, and arbitrary arrests. "A system of control and the Ecowas heads of state to use their leverage to makes a lot of money," commented a foreign relief work- stop the Ulimo and AFL advance and to ensure that Eco- er. Ulimo is clearly setting up a military occupation of mog reaches Nimba first and acts in accordance with areas it has "liberated" and has given no indication that it international humanitarian law. The leaders of these fac- is investigating reported abuses. "Ulimo has accelerated the Liberian crisis by affirm- ing people's worst fears—that there would be more war- ring factions," according to the head of a Liberian relief group. The specter of the country degenerating into a Somalia-like situation, with armed factions killing and looting with impunity, looms large to many Liberians. These concerns are well-founded. A recent split in Ulimo's political leadership between Alhadji Kromah and Raleigh Seekie could foreshadow further splintering. The AFL has rearmed and resumed fighting. IGNU has formed its own militia, the Black Berets, which has been incorporated into the AFL At least two "warlords" who broke off from the NPFL have surfaced in Lofa County. And a shadowy group called the Nimba Redemption Council has re- cently emerged in Nimba. The question naturally arises as to whether Eco- mog will be able to control and dis- arm these fac- tions- Ecomog officials claim that they will disarm all parties simul- taneously, as provided for in the Above, boys suspected of Yamoussoukro accords. They main- being NPb'L combatants tain that once the NPFL agrees to a Top right. Prince Johnson ceasefire, the others will fall into (center) place. Their confidence is not shared by many Liberia watchers. Bottom right, Ulimo soldiers The UN's role also deserves scrutiny. After finally tions have professed a commitment to the Yamoussoukro addressing the Liberian crisis in November and impos- framework, and this is an important moment to pull them ing an arms embargo, the secretary-general dispatched a firmly into the process as the price of their claims to special representative, Trevor Gordon-Somers, to investi- international legitimacy. gate the situation. Human rights language is notably Ecomog has indicated that human rights were among absent from his report, which was released in mid- the reasons for its intervention. This commitment will be March, thus missing yet another occasion to insert credible only if Ecomog itself respects human rights and human rights protections into the peace negotiations. exercises control over the warring factions with which it The report suggested that there might be a role for UN is nominally allied. Similarly, the international communi- observers to monitor a new ceasefire agreement, but ty must act to break the cycle of ethnically motivated foresaw no human rights monitoring component to their abuses in Liberia, thus paving the way for reconciliation mandate. This is an unfortunate omission, since it would in this traumatized nation. O

59 May /June 19 9 IIKH'JMIII BY BARRY SHELBY

THE MEASURE OF FREEDOM

s if he were speaking about someone many of the demonstrators were detained for the day, the else's life, Pius Njawe, editor and provincial governor told Njawe he would intercede on his publisher of Le Messager in Douala, behalf (thanks to a direct appeal from Njawe's wife)—but Cameroon, nonchalantly explained not before a lecture. Njawe recounts the exchange. "He how a cop lowered the barrel of his said, 'Let me tell you something: Stop provoking us.' So I gun at him during a protest rally in said, 'No sir, it is you who provoke us. You suspend our the fall of 1991. "It was all nicely set up. I was going to be newspapers. We want to use one of the most legal means caught in an altercation and shot. It would be blamed on to protest against the suspension and you sent the army police misconduct." and the police in to suppress the demonstration. Please Njawe was not shot. Later at the police station, where let me tell you that this morning I came close to being gunned down like a dog by a soldier.' And he said, 'Yes, Barry Shelby is a senior editor at World Press Review magazine in New York. yes, he could have shot you!' And I said,' 'Oh really? Was

Africa Report 60 Africa's troubled transition from authoritarianism to democracy is reflected in how the media is treated. Where countries are not serious about democratic reform, the media is hanging on precariously. With very few exceptions, the press is being squeezed, rather than serving its prime role as independent watchdog and communicator to the people of the changes taking place.

today's order to shoot me down?' And he said, 'Well, all I maneuver, let alone fill its central role in a democratic can tell you is: Don't provoke us anymore.' " society. A week after that incident, Njawe recalls that he went According to the recently released annual report, to the governor's office to inquire about the arrests of Attacks on Journalists, issued by the Committee to Pro- opposition leaders. Again he was warned about his tect Journalists (CPJ), "Regimes in Africa hold far fewer behavior. "Now, when you strip somebody and hit him prisoners (six) than they did two years ago (31), when 200 times," Njawe says, "how do you go further, except to the Sudan alone held 20." But intimidation and harass- kill him?" ment continues. In Kenya for example, the task has fallen Last year, when Njawe heard that his name was on a to an organization named Youth for Kanu '92, which is government hit list, he fled the country for awhile. Today allied with the ruling party. "African leaders often he is back and he waits, amid rumors that the govern- denounce attacks on the press, but they seldom do any- ment is trying to build a case against him on criminal thing to stop them," CPJ notes. "Virtually none of the charges that range from drug trafficking to arson to plot- cases [discussed in the report] have been investigated." ting the overthrow of the government. Of course, Njawe The view that not all is well in Africa is backed up by had committed only one sin—he and his newspaper did the London-based International Press Institute. 'There not back the re-election of President Paul Biya in the are fears that many of the long-awaited multi-party election last October. IF A FREE apparent moves toward One of the surest signs that African countries are democratization are little experiencing troubled transitions to democracy is the PRESS IS A more than cosmetic exer- treatment of the press. To the extent that the free press cises," wrote IPI director should be a gauge of liberty and freedom, countries are GAUGE OF Peter Calliner in the organi- not living up to expectations. When the so-called new LIBERTY, THEN zation's December 1992 "wind of change" began blowing across Africa at the start World Press Freedom Re- of the decade, many forecast that it would sweep the COUNTRIES ARE view. So while imprison- shackles from journalists. And many new independent, ment seems less in favor, privately-owned publications have started up as the dicta- NOT LIVING regimes are willing to try a tors have fallen down. But the breeze appears to have UP TO variety of means to silence been diverted too often. newspapers. Old habits do die hard. For more than two decades, EXPECTATIONS. An editor in Zaire, Mod- one-party states dominated Africa. The belief in "nation- este Mutinga, outlined the building" was sincere and deep following the colonial press situation there for the Belgian daily Le Soir. Many experience: It meant that the press had to go along with new newspapers have a share of the market, Mutinga this goal, and dissent was tantamount to blasphemy says—and all have been subjected to attacks. Mutinga's against the "founding fathers." While lip service is paper, Le Potentiel, had its print shop set afire and its equip- today paid to a new dawning of democracy, the reality ment.including telex, printers, and computers, stolen. too often is much closer to business as usual. In Zaire, "These criminal acts were committed solely due to dif- Togo, Kenya, and Cameroon, one-party states have ferences in political opinion," Mutinga said. "The aim of been opened up enough to allow new political groups to all these acts of aggression is to mute the press. Televi- form but not so far as to provide the mechanisms for sion and radio, which over the months had gradually their fair participation. The press, which could serve as gained a certain freedom of speech, have been muzzled the independent watchdog as well as the source of infor- once again. Journalists and professional news readers mation on political developments, is given little room to have been sacked in favor of other, more docile, replace-

61 May/June 19 9 3 ments. I'll have to start over because these thugs have on Biya's hit list for some time. Njawe has always been destroyed seven years of investment. We will have to pur- very clear on the limits that Biya has put on the demo- chase equipment because I don't think any Zairian print- cratic reforms he imposed from the top. "You can't talk er will consent to print our paper, for they too have about democracy in a system where the freedom of the received threats." press is trampled underfoot," he has said. "We've been In other countries, expectations were probably unrea- given multi-party politics, but not the corollary." sonable from the start. Sierra Leone was not necessarily Njawe was inventive in tweaking the government cen- any closer to democracy when Valentine Strasser, the 28- sors, who repeatedly laid waste to his paper. Instead of year-old army captain, toppled the one-party rule of Gen. running white spaces where passages had been excised, Joseph Saidu Momoh last year. But Momoh had given Njawe once chose to print a quote from a Biya address that observers little to hope for, and Strasser at least went said people no longer had to leave the country to express through the motions of restoring a modicum of democra- their views. When Le Messager was suspended, he fol- cy. In one refreshing although somewhat quaint act, the lowed the letter of the law and published under a new title, one-time disco dancer installed suggestion boxes around choosing the feminine form of the word. La Messagere. the capital so that people could have a say in his rule. But "All I was trying to do was make them feel foolish and when the press began to question his administration, the make the point that the law could be used against them. If whip came down, ending what some had described as a they suspended "honeymoon" between Strasser and journalists. This La Messagere, I year, the editor of The Pool was arrested after his newspa- would create Le per criticized the summary execution of more than 25 Message." Sierra Leoneans who had been accused of plotting a Biya turned coup. The Pool had suggested that an open trial would more vicious in have been the proper way of handling the case. the* wake of his In Tanzania, which has restored multi-party politics election victory, but not held an open election, the government banned however, and two independent newspapers this year. The reason given Njawe went into by the state—"Violation of journalistic ethics"—is hiding when he believed to be a cover for a political message to all of the heard that his independent papers that have sprung up recently. One name was on a publication's sin was publishing a story titled, "My lover government hit has asked for unnatural sex." list. His less for- ff "The emergence of a vibrant private press has opened tunate nephew was detained along with a journalist from a new chapter in Tanzania's state-controlled information the newspaper who was seized after dropping off Njawe's system," the London-based Newslink Africa feature ser- children at school. They were reportedly forced to eat vice reports. "Some newspapers have published exclu- glass and suffered beatings, as the police tried to force sive stories exposing government shortcomings, mis- them to sign a denunciation of Njawe. Serious harass- management, and failure to tackle theft and corruption. ment has also been levied on journalists at the Cameroon This has angered the ministry of information and broad- Post. Its publisher, Paddy Mbawa, has also gone under- cast, prompting it to look at ways to plug the publication ground. His paper was confiscated in January. of such stories." The Biya government has thwarted efforts by One means to accomplish that is to establish a national international observers from the New York-based Com- register of journalists and expell those who transgress. mittee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Sans Fron- Others see the recent bannings—and the government's tieres of Paris (for which Njawe served as an African rep- refusal to grant licenses to other independent papers—as resentative), to go to Cameroon. Visa applications have the state's way of eliminating the competition. Its own been denied repeatedly. publications had a lock on the news market until a few Njawe has no shortage of friends among journalists years ago. Because the independent press is vulnerable outside of Cameroon, not only because of his unflappable economically, simply pulling one issue off the stands can commitment to his craft but also because of his easygo- kill a publication. Few have deep pockets; most are depen- ing nature. In between threats and seizures last year, he dent on sales rather than advertising—particularly in took the time to talk to an American journalist with the those states with limited private industry—for income. dubious assignment of reporting on Cameroonians' pen- The worst transgressions in recent months have been chant for carving wooden bicycles. He seemingly in Cameroon. After winning an election in October that enjoyed the contact, even if the subject was frivolous many thought to be rigged, President Biya unleashed a given Cameroon's political upheavals. "If it were not for a campaign against those who dared to reject his candida- resurgence of international solidarity, I'm not sure cy. For Biya, public enemy number one may be editor whether I would still be alive," he has said. This year he and publisher Njawe. Le Messager and Njawe have been received an award from the Paris-based International

Africa Report Federation of Newspaper Publishers, which said: "Njawe ostensibly one-party state under President Robert is an authentic hero of the struggle to win freedom of the Mugabe, the government held the controlling interest in press, not only in his own country but throughout Africa, the largest newspapers, but proclaimed them virtually where this basic human right continues to be violated by free. Editors and reporters walked a tightrope, and when- a majority of countries." ever they failed to toe the government line to the govern- But again, not all the signs in Africa are terrible. Two ment's satisfaction, they were reprimanded. Former edi- examples of a press largely flourishing in new-found free- tor of The Chronicle in Bulawayo, Geoff Nyarota, was dom are in Benin and Mali, where several new titles have kicked upstairs to an executive position with the state been established and publish freely—most of the time. Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd. in 1989 when The Chronicle, There have been reports from Cotonou of President always a bit more aggressive than lite Herald in Harare, Nicephore Soglo—a former World Bank official—sin- ran a series of investigations on government corruption. gling out three publications for practicing "rotten journal- Dubbed "Willowgate," the scandal revolved around gov- ism." He has urged journalists to receive some training ernment ministers' procuring cars on the cheap from the abroad to improve their skills and judgment. Two papers, Willowvale Motor Industry and reselling them at a hand- Le Soldi and Tarn Tarn Express, had called the presi- some profit. The public attention led to the resignation of dent's wife an "ugly witch." The director of a third publi- some ministers. One committed suicide. Recently, Nyaro- cation, L'Observateur, was harassed and eventually sen- ta has been active in starting the MISA chapter in Zim- tenced to six months' imprisonment. babwe. In southern Africa, a new organization has been When Lister traveled to the U.S. earlier this year, she launched by editors in the frontline nations, as well as in was hoping to raise a little money—although she was not South Africa, with an ambitious list of goals to ensure very optimistic. Most of the attention these days is on East- press freedom in the region. The Media Institute of ern Europe. "Africa has been forgotten," she says. Her Southern Africa (MISA) governing council is chaired by paper's immediate goal would put any additional money Gwen Lister, editor of The toward the salary of a business manager she has hired Pius Sjaive, left: K. ... . „,. ,, , „,,. recently. Beyond that, she would like also to not depend on Namibian in Windhoek. We the commercial printing houses that are owned by the "If it were not for a fed strongly that thcre isn"t opposition party, which publishes its own papers. "We are resurgence of a free presSi even if you look all battling for self-sufficiency," she says. "We don't want to international solidarity, at Zimbabwe," where there ask for handouts, but at the same time we need a bit of I'm not sure whether I has been only "tolerance" of help to just get to that point where we are financially self- would still be alive" a frt'<-' Press- she says- "We sufficient or self-sustaining. It would be a very sad day to want to emphasize the vital see papers like The Weekly Mail in South Africa disappear \G£I< Mspenuu: simply because there was no one interested." Suspends! Dana Bullen, executive director of the World Press tf EXPRESSION iuor-—- LA UIUR^^ RE( Freedom Committee in Reslon, Virginia, acknowledges that assistance from the U.S. has been funnelled to East- ern and Central Europe. "The climatic impact of events in Central and Eastern Europe has diverted attention to that sector and has obscured other parts of the world," he says. The U.S. International Media Fund, for example, which has set up a print shop in Albania for six indepen- dent newspapers, doesn't do any work in Africa. The terms of its grant from the United States Information importance of a free and independent press in moving a Agency limits its mandate to Central and Eastern country toward democracy in the region." Europe. But Bullen believes the pendulum will swing In Zambia, the government has said it plans to priva- back and Africa will return to focus. His organization has tize the state-owned media. Although Zambian President proposals pending, at least, to investigate the situation, Frederick Chiluba surprised many by returning to old- which he knows has changed in recent years. There is a fashioned politics this year when he recently declared a strong feeling that they want to operate a truly indepen- state of emergency, the order did not impinge on press dent and free press. rights. The peace accord in Mozambique is supposed to Although it may take a few years, Bullen believes that guarantee equal access to the media, and an independent help is on the way. In the meantime, the independent newsletter, Mediafax, has been launched. In Zimbabwe, media will have to fend for themselves and seek help the first independent daily newspaper, The Daily Gazette, from elsewhere in the West. "Assistance can be very continues to challenge the monopoly once held by those helpful, but it is more important that journalists be able owned by the state's media trust. to stand on their own feet," Bullen says. "By necessity, it Zimbabwe has been something of a textbook case. An forces them to be more independent." O

63 M a y / J tt n e 19 9 3 DEMOCRACY BY WILLIAM J.FOLTZ OFFICERS

POLITICIAN In most of Africa, government has been synonymous with the military. Today, as civilian administrations struggle to create democratic traditions, their toughest task may be to convince their armies to accept secondary status and maintain political neutrality.

he colonel pounded the table for empha- sis: "Democracy cannot come about without the army's participation!" This was no threat from a would-be coup- maker; it was an earnest reminder to his audience that serious plans for demo- cratiTc transition in Africa had to include the military and had to find a new basis for relating the military to civil society and political authority. The scene was Bujumbura, Burundi's capital, where from January 31 to February 4, 1993, 64 senior military officers and civilian leaders from nine African countries and the Organization of African Unity wrestled with the topic, "Democratization in Africa: The Role of the Mili- tary." The countries represented were Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The conference had been the initiative of Burundi's president, Major Pierre Buyoya, whose country is in the early stages of a democratic transition. President Buyoya turned to the African-American Institute to organize the conference in consultation with his government. Finan- cial and logistic support came from the American embassy in Bujumbura, the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, the World Bank, the United Nations Devei-

WittiamJ. Foltz is the II.j. Heinz professor of African studies and political science at Yale University. He chaired the Bujumbura conference.

May/June 19 9 opment Programme, and the Burundi government and on a national basis, with no suspicion of ethnic or region- armed forces, which provided attentive hospitality. al bias. Almost all participants, not least the Burundian The goal of the conference was not to pass high-flown hosts, recognized this as one of their greatest challenges, resolutions of good intent, but to provide formal and raising all the complications of affirmative action plans, informal settings for serious exploration of a crucial and including discrimination against those (often poorer) difficult subject. Plenary sessions provided lectures by parts of the country, for whose young men military ser- African and American military officers and academic spe- vice had been an expected career. Whatever the compli- cialists on subjects ranging from civil-military relations in cations, recruitment had to be public, equitable, and a democracy to case studies of the military's role in the transparent. attempted transitions to democracy in Mali, Benin, and Civilian control of the military is the essence of demo- Togo. The hardest work was done when the participants cratic rule. This everyone could accept; yet some were divided into five small groups to discuss the issues raised not ready for all that it implied. Some military officers in the plenary sessions. The conversations in and out of from francophone states were taken aback when an meetings were intense. These most often crossed nation- anglophone member of Parliament outlined how the mili- al lines as when, for example, Chadian, Ethiopian, and tary had to appear before the appropriate parliamentary Namibian officers compared notes on demobilizing sur- committee to plead for new funds, and then would have plus troops. Some of the most fruitful conversations its accounts scrutinized by the auditor-general's office. brought together officers and civilians from the same Civilian control must have its limits, many argued. The country who had never before met for serious discus- military must be guaranteed a sphere of "professional sions. The final sessions brought reports of the discus- autonomy" if it was to be able to operate effectively. sion groups to the full conference, highlighting differ- The actual transition from authoritarian to democratic ences as well as broad agreement on some of the most rule poses particular problems for the military. Three fundamental issues. Here are some of the highlights. distinct phases can be distinguished: The heritage of colonial armies got civil-military rela- •disengagement of the military from the existing tions in independent Africa off to a bad start. The colonial authoritarian system (most difficult when the army func- powers had used their African forces more for civil tions as an agent of ethnic domination; often helped by repression than for defense of territorial integrity or civil economic distress affecting the army and civilians alike); society. Recruitment was usually ethnically biased, and •encouragement of, or at least neutrality in, the transi- attempts by successor African governments to change tion process (difficult decisions must be made about the army's composition usually overlaid new biases on whether the military is to help set up democratic elec- old and hastened the politicization of the military. As the tions); army became a political force, so it grew in size and cost. •establishing new relations between the military on The 73 successful coups d'etat that the continent has the one hand and civil society and the government on the experienced since independence are a sign of severe other (civilian politicians should not underestimate the social and political disequilibrium. Whether or not the nervousness, even fear, that campaign oratory may gen- military formally controlled the government, all African erate in the military, out of concern both for the institu- armies have been deeply implicated in the failure of their tion and possible per- states to develop economically and politically in the last sonal retribution). two decades. Now, the military cannot escape the domes- Relations between tic and international pressures for fundamental reform. the military and civil From this history, some basic lessons emerge. The society should not be proper relationship between the military, civil society, left to happenstance. and government must be clearly set out in a constitution- Several participants al document, as it is, for example, in the new Namibian urged that vigorous constitution. The army's mission and control structure education campaigns should be clearly distinguished from those of the police be undertaken within and gendarmerie. The military, it was readily agreed, the army and within must be "politically neutral," above the play of partisan civil society as a whole. politics, though discussants disagreed on the details of These should educate this neutrality. Should a serving officer have the right to both civilians and sol- run for office? Even if he resigned his commission? diers about their mutual Could an ordinary soldier have the right to join a political rights and responsibili- party? Should soldiers vote in their barracks, or should ties. Uganda, with one their vote be mingled with civilian votes so the army's of the heaviest legacies of abusive military rule, has per- preference would be disguised? haps made the strongest commitment to "demystify the The military, it was emphatically agreed, should be a military for the ordinary citizen." One central aspect of "national institution"; that is to say, it must be recruited the military's relations with civil society involves respect

Africa Report 66 for human rights. As one discussion group participant ARMIES ARE different national con- emphasized, "Human rights should be in Ihe curricula of texts, traditions, and def- the military and all other educational systems." Further- HEAVY BURDENS initions of democracy more, the military justice system must protect the rights r\h\ A CD \f AM would influence how of the ordinary soldier. If the soldier's own rights are vio- UN Ah K I CAN expansive the military's lated, he is unlikely to respect the rights of others. RiJDTFT^ CAN economic role would be. Conference participants were well aware of how diffi- One generalization cult it was to change the basic culture of most African PART OR ALL OF holds true for all Africa's militant's to make them more respectful of human rights. armies: They are too big Yet, democratic governments which could not bring the T H E A R MY B E and they cost too much. military under control could not hope to survive. Per- nc D I r\Vt n I M Reducing the size and haps the most effective argument for respecting human UlVLVY tl) IN costj as Americans rights came from the military commander of the Ethiopi- PFATFTIMF TO an Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), should be aware from who had fought a 17-year war to defeat the much larger their own current mili- Ethiopian National Army. Central to the EPRDFs train- HELP DEVELOP tary retrenchment, is ing program "was the principle that the fighters must inevitably a painful and respect, honor, and defend the rights of the population." THE NATION? controversial matter. This respect gave the EPRDF an advantage in popular The problem is most support that was decisive to its victory. The clinching acute in countries emerging from extended combat. argument for democratic authorities and for their mili- These countries must not only drastically reduce the tary leaders ought to be that disciplined respect for number of men and women under arms, but also inte- human rights in the end confers military advantage. Sol- grate once-opposed military formations into a single diers who violate such rights should be held responsible force, responsive to democratic leadership. The experi- for weakening the army and the political order it is sup- ences of Zimbabwe and Namibia show that such integra- posed to defend. tion and reduction can be accomplished, but only with political will, money, and outside assistance. The current Armies are heavy burdens on African budgets. Can drama of Angola shows how badly things can go wrong part or all of the army be redeployed in peacetime to help when those elements are not present. Even without a his- develop the nation? Is such a role desirable in practice? tory of combat, every country represented at the confer- Both American and African military officers spoke of the ence felt some internal and external financial pressures advantages that states can derive from setting the army, to reduce its military's size and cost. or at least its corps of engineers, to building infrastruc- Five elements of a proper demobilization program ture for civilian use. Examples abound in Africa, from the were distilled from the discussions: Senegalese army's road and bridge construction to the •legal instruments must guide demobilization to Tanzanian military hospitals, 90 percent of whose ensure fairness; patients are civilian. Furthermore, it was noted, such •demobilization should be voluntary and gradual; activities would have the political advantage of breaking •bodies should be created to counsel veterans and down barriers to understanding and respect between the monitor their progress after demobilization; military and the civilian population. 'The army is a very •financial assistance and vocational training are big parasite," said one civilian politician in calling for the essential; they must be related to real job possibilities; army to take on economically productive tasks. "Besides, •civilian populations in impacted areas should be con- we need to keep those boys busy and out of trouble," he sulted. added. Effective programs of demobilization and reintegra- Others sounded notes of caution. Most of these expe- tion into civilian life are difficult to carry out and they are riences have not proven their economic worth, said one expensive. There is probably no single area of African economist. Most of these tasks could be done more military affairs in which outside assistance is more nec- effectively and at less cost by private contractors. Use of essary or more appropriate. And there is probably none the military could represent just another way of subsidiz- in which it would be more welcome. ing an inefficient state sector. It could also be an excuse Could African countries do without armies altogether? to maintain an army larger than necessary and give it too Could regional security arrangements supersede nation- big a say in civilian affairs. Quick agreement was reached al armies? Such questions were occasionally touched on, on two points. The military should be given priority train- but participants felt they had quite enough to deal with in ing in disaster and famine relief, and this should be a reducing the existing military establishments and bring- major component of any civic action mission. The mili- ing them under democratic control. The greater ques- tary should also put great emphasis on training all levels tions would have to be pursued at some future confer- of its personnel in skills that would be useful to the civil- ence, or even more appropriately, by the democratically ian economy, with basic literacy as a priority. Otherwise, elected authorities of each African country. O

67 M a y June 19 9 3 QD IT

A Celebration of Cinema Twenty-three years ago, African filmmakers gathered for the first time in Ouagadougou to screen the few films produced on the continent. At that time, most Westerners' idea of an African film was limited to Tarzan. Today the festival, Fespaco, is an international event attracting Hollywood stars, wheelers and dealers, and corporate sponsors looking to find their next big hit in the new wave of African cinema.

By David Turecamo When the Pan African Film Festival (Fespaco) began 23 years ago, there were films from only five African nations. The organizers decided to hold the event every two years, it is said, in order to give people a chance to save up for the airfare to Ouagadougou. In 1971 it was can- celled due to a now forgotten war between Burkina Faso (then known as Upper Volta) and neighboring Mali. This year there were more than 200 films from 60 countries around the world and while some people may have saved for two years to get there, the international elite that descended on "Ouaga" seemed hardly to notice that the taxi fares rivaled New York's. can film crew to document the event. wheelers and dealers, producers Fespaco is now the single most Alice Walker was there with Tracy and packagers from European TV. important cultural event in Africa, a Chapman. They'd "always wanted to There were reporters, critics, and gigantic, week-long celebration of come." Jon Singleton, writer/director actors networking over croissants cinema, art, and ideas. Besides film- of Boyz N the Hood, slipped in and and coffee. Everyone insisting, makers, distributors, and journalists, out of screenings without fanfare. "See this film." the festival draws an impressive ros- Euzan Palcy, the filmmaker from Mar- The screenings began at 1 1 am ter of celebrities and intelligentsia. tinique who directed Sugar Cane and ran until after midnight at the 13 Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o Alley and A Dry White Season, tried theaters scattered throughout this and film critic Manthia Diawara to see films in between interviews dusty West African capital. From the arrived with a high-powered Amen- about her latest, Simeon. plush Cine Burkina, to the open-air By 8 every morning, the thatch- Cine Oubri, audiences lined up for David Turecamo is a freelance journalist who reports on Africa. He previously produced sto- roofed breakfast patio at the Hotel the chance to see Malcolm X, ries for "60 Minutes." Independence was filled with dubbed in French, Gito I'lngrat, the

Africa Report 68 first feature film produced in Burun- products in productions—it's not by just one step removed from Tarzan. di, and Thomas Sankara, a docu- chance that stars wear Reeboks, When will Africans be allowed to mentary about Burkina's assassinat- drink Evian or drive a Honda. make movies for the sake of sheer ed president. There were the mildly But when filmmakers have to tailor entertainment?" amusing, like Le Clandestin, a come- their scripts to fit the requirements of John Riber, a producer from Zim- dy from Algeria, to the dreadful, like an aid organization, what happens babwe, blames it on donor funding. Sankofa, beautifully photographed to free expression? Unicef held a "It's created a laziness among some but a one-note diatribe about slav- press conference mid-week at Fespa- filmmakers," he says. "Too many film- ery. And there were the absolutely co to encourage producers and makers feel their job is done once enthralling films like Rabi, a lyrical Robin Holland they've raised funding from a devel- study of life's passage by Gaston opment agency. The film doesn't Kabore of Burkina. have to be good, doesn't have to Minibuses shuttled viewers back draw audiences the way a Termina- and forth and the streets were dotted tor does, because it's paid for." with spectators wearing the laminat- Yet the mere fact that a film is ed badges that identified the bearers African virtually guarantees that it as press, VIP, or invited guest. Fespa- will draw African audiences who sel- co is big. Attendees filled every dom get a chance to see Africa por- square inch of hotel space in town. trayed by Africans. Certainly, most Fespaco is important. When the top of the audience at Fespaco is Burkin- honor, the Etalon de Yennenga, was abe, local residents anxious for a awarded to a film from Cote brief respite from kung fu and car d'lvoire, Ivoirians in the audience Ousmane Sembene chases. Yet even the continent's lead- chanted "Cote d'lvoire has won." directors to make films for and about ing directors don't acknowledge the The prize instilled a kind of national- children. Ironically, the theme of Fes- importance of their own markets. istic fervor matched only by soccer's paco this year was "Cinema and Lib- Guelwaar, a brilliant film by Sene- World Cup. erties," but whatever relevance that gal's internationally acclaimed Ous- But if Fespaco's size and signifi- may have had was lost amid the mane Sembene, was shown out of cance have grown since it began in funding themes of reforestation, gen- competition, presumably because 1969, it has also made the funda- der roles, and birth control. Several the film has a chance to win some- mental problems of African filmmak- films dealt with each. thing at Cannes, and would automat- ing more visible. Thirty years after The biggest problem facing what ically be disqualified if it had com- most countries won their indepen- could be a thriving film industry is peted in any other festival. The result dence from Europe, their films, like distribution. Africa is now the worst is that the top prizes in Fespaco then their economies, are still wedded to place to see African films. Most may be awarded to films of iesser "the North." Though the festival is screens are dominated by American distinction. open only to "African" cinema, the and Indian productions. Sturkine- But like the hero of Cito I'lngraf, an films are heavily financed by French com, the largest theater chain in African torn between the cultures of and German television, international southern Africa, is also among the Europe and his village, it is a dilem- development agencies, or the gov- world's top ten consumers of Holly- ma that the filmmakers are not ernments of their countries of origin. wood movies right up there with the afraid to confront, even One film's opening credits began: U.S., Canada, Britain, and the rest of make fun of. Or as Sem- "Produced in association with The Europe. It controls an enormous mar- bene himself observed, Danish Volunteer Services, The Dan- ket, more than 400 theaters in South "To be a filmmaker ish National Forest and Nature Africa alone, but it is geared mainly is not merely a Agency, The Media Office of the to South Africa's 4 million whites. right, but a "To be a Ministry of Education of Denmark, "African films are relegated to a responsi- filmmaker is Ministry of the Environment, Den- cultural ghetto," said director Simon bility.'! mark, DANITA, and the Danish Red Bright of Zimbabwe. "There are now not merely Cross." This is an African film? 30 'African' film festivals from Tokyo In fairness, the credits of major to Los Angeles, but only one of them is a right, but American productions are beginning held in Africa. And when a lot of the to look like the list of corporate spon- audience is from somewhere a responsibility" sors for the Olympics. Sony, JVC else, they're looking at these and Coca-Cola are all producing films to find 'exotic' cine- —Ousmane Sembene movies, and a cottage industry has ma, the 'village film,' in grown up in Hollywood to "place" which Af-ricans are THE BACK I iAGE NEWS COMMENTARY AND OPINION By STEVE MCDONALD ou can still count them on the fingers of one and freely contested by the opposition. But, in reality, the hand. They are the countries of Africa that have opposition has been only token, never taking more than Y made the peaceful, electoral transfer of power a half dozen seats in Parliament. Cynics are quick to that must, in the end, be the only yard stick of a true point out that a true challenge to the ruling party of Presi- democracy. Even then, the sustainability of that dent Quett Masire might unmask this seemingly political- democracy is questionable. As has often been noted, ly tolerant Botswana. In Senegal, Zimbabwe, and the democracy is not proven by the installation of an elected Gambia similar situations exist. Opposition parties are government, but by the acceptance by that government legal and they contest elections, but the ruling parties of its own political demise in a further election. Until that dominate. Elections procedures and results have been second generation of power transfer occurs, it is hard to flawed in ways that have led opposition leaders and out- judge if the new government is any more democratic in side observers to question their validity. In Senegal, the its tendencies than the former. And Africa is still strug- lasf two elections have resulted in protests from the oppo- gling through the first generation of power transfer sition that have led to violence. where, in a country like Angola, even the results of that The democratic processes undertaken so far have first democratic election have not been accepted by all moved in fits and starts, ana the picture across the conti- the parties to it. nent is not, at first glance, a particularly inspiring one. It's not that there aren't some fledgling democracies Bright spots are in Madagascar, Benin, Zambia, and like Botswana, Senegal, and the Gambia, and further Cape Verde where, over the last two years, opposition movement in that direction in other parts of Africa. In candidates have been installed through elections pro- fact, the last two years have seen an unprecedented cesses that were essentially free and fair. In each case, movement away from autocratic, military and one-party these were the first-ever democratic elections. In Zambia, governments as well as reform of centralized, state- a recently called state of emergency by the government planned economies. At least 22 countries have begun because of a reported coup attempt has shed some —and are at some stage in—a process of democratiza- doubt on the democratic leanings of President Frederick tion, from national conventions to full-blown multi-party Chiluba's government. In the others, despite some elections. This "second revolution" in Africa, as it is peripheral violence, the transitions seem to have taken being called by some observers, is due mostly to popu- hold and the world can only await the next rounds of lar pressure brought on by deteriorating economies elections to see how deep that hold is. and/or endemic human rights violations. Of course, it Less stellar performances of democracy have been has been encouraged by the insistence on political and witnessed in the recent elections in Cameroon, Ghana, economic reform by international donor countries and Kenya, Ethiopia, and Togo where the processes were multilateral institutions, particularly in the wake of the seriously flawed or subsequent actions by established fall of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the newly power centers reflect substantially on the validity of the independent states in East and Central Europe. Political results. Somewhere in the middle are countries like and economic reforms have become quid pro quos for Niger, Burundi, Uganda, Chad, Mozambique, South developmental aid. Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, and the Seychelles where Even so, the existing democratic states and initiatives plans are being pursued toward elections and a variety leave some cause for concern as they have yet to prove of democratic mechanisms are being put in place. The themselves. Newly independent Namibia may offer the opening of the political processes in those societies war- brightest hope of all. It has seen stirring constituency rants optimism that at least serious attempts are under assembly elections that led to its independence, and way. At the bottom of the spectrum are countries like opposition candidates have been freely elected to Parlia- Zaire and Cote d'lvoire where the democratic process is ment and in local elections held subsequently. But, the being actively resisted by the existing governments. promise of Namibia has yet to be tested in a transfer of Finally, there are Somalia, Angola, Liberia, and Sudan power to see if powerful, albeit fairly elected, ruling par- where conflict situations exist in unfettered and ties will accept defeat. This is the same case in the stable unabashed attempts at usurping or guarding power and long standing democratic government of Botswana, through force. the only real model on the continent, continually ranking Where can the observer find solace in all of this? high in the eyes of such chroniclers of democracy as Even the success stories carry their caveats because their Freedom House in New York. Botswana has repeatedly, fragile democracies have not endured long enough to since its independence, held elections that were openly prove their commitment. Is it enough to try? Can intent be taken as proof of a sustainable movement away from Steve McDonald is executive vice president of the African-American Insti- the centralized statism of the past? Is the fact that Europe tute. He led the observer delegations to the presidential elections in Mada- gascar. has now shown itself to be as ethnically divided and

Africa Report 70 prone to brutality as Africa and no more enlightened in and educated elites around the continent realize their its ability to deal with the troubled social and economic countries' failures are not inherent. They know they can fabrics of its nations an acceptable excuse to tolerate do better. People—the legendary "masses" in whose continued totalitarian governments in Africa? name all of this was supposedly done—have lost These questions require answers that only the per- patience with the corruption, inefficiency, cyclical spective of history will be able to fashion. But, prelimi- hunger, and interminable poverty that independence has nary soundings are not all bad and can be taken to given them. Most of Africa is worse off, in terms of show that, at the very least, the Africa of today is a very income, infrastructure, health care, and security than it different one than the Africa of yesterday. The promise was at independence. Africans now know that doesn't for the peoples of Africa is real. The fact that so many have to be, and they are demanding better. Herein lies countries on the continent are undergoing or have the big change: a change of outlook and a change of undergone, for the first time, processes that are meant attitude. Slowly, the systems are changing, too. to open up those societies and create more pluralistic Ironically, this apparent dedication to a course of and democratic governing structures cannot be ignored. democratization and economic reform, no matter how However imperfect and fitful some of the efforts have imperfect, and an adherence to existing boundaries and been, they do mark a change of attitude. The new gen- the avoidance of ethnic schisms that Africa has undertak- eration of Africa, the second generation of independent en have not resulted in an outpouring of support from the Africans, is impatient with its forebears who saw the donor nations and multilateral institutions. Russia and the breaking of colonial rule as the zenith but whose vision other newly independent states of Central and Eastern stopped there. Closed and non-pluralistic patterns of Europe, where the will for compromise and cooperation colonial government were readily and easily assumed has seemingly disappeared, are reaping billions in aid by their independent successors. Personal and kinship while Africa struggles on, for the most part alone. The group gain was accepted as an appropriate goal of old adage, "Democracy is not free," is one the West has government. Power became the goal of politics and its expounded repeatedly. Those in Africa who are trying maintenance the work of government. hard for democracy understand its costs, but they would Although pockets of power-hungry oligarchs still lurk welcome a little help with the bill. Those might be dollars in Africa, they are now the embattled species. Young better spent than in Europe. •

CONTACT: AFRICA A DIRECTORY OF ORGANIZATIONS IN WASHINGTON, DC. INVOLVED IN AFRICAN AFFAIRS

WITH LISTINGS FOR Non-Governmental Organizations International Organizations U.S. Government Private Consulting Firms The African-American Institute (AAI), a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C., and New York City, has been involved in U.S.-Africa relations for thirty-nine years. The Institute's mission—to foster devel- opment in Africa, primarily through strengthening its human resources, and to promote mutual understand- ing between Africans and Americans—is achieved through academic, practical, and technical training pro- grams for Africans; professional exchanges for African leaders; public policy conferences and seminars; educating the U.S. Congress on critical issues related to Africa; and publishing Africa Report, America's leading magazine on African affairs.

AAl's national Speakers' Bureau, a database of experts in African affairs, and resource guides for Houston, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Wichita, are also available to the public.

To order your copy of Contact: Africa, A Directory of Organizations in Washington, D.C. Involved in African Affairs, please send a check or money order for $20, plus $2 for shipping & handling, made out to The African-American Institute, to: CONTACT: AFRICA The African-American Institute 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 210 Washington, D.C. 20036

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