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Civil Conflict in the Great Lakes Region: the Issue of Nationality of the Banyarwanda in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Civil Conflict in the Great Lakes Region: the Issue of Nationality of the Banyarwanda in the Democratic Republic of the Congo CIVIL CONFLICT IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION: THE ISSUE OF NATIONALITY OF THE BANYARWANDA IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Angèle N. Makombo* I. INTRODUCTION The question of nationality of the populations of Rwandan origin living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (former Zaire)1 or Banyarwanda2 is one of the key factors which triggered the rebellion led by the Alliance of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo/Zaire (hereinafter The Alliance). This rebellion, which was launched in October 1996 from the South Kivu Province (in eastern Congo) and led by Laurent-D6sir6 Kabila, ended the 32 year-long dictatorship of President Mobutu Sese Seko and * Political Affairs Officer, United Nations Department of Peace-Keeping Operations, New York; Maitrise en Droit (Université de Paris I - Sorbonne), Diplôme de l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po.). The views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the United Nations. 1 President Kabila renamed Zaire Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 1997 after his victorious Alliance of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo/Zaire (AFDL) ousted President Mobutu from power and took over the country. The use of the name Zaire in this paper will refer to events which occured before May 1997. 2 "People of Rwandan origin living in Congo or Banyarwanda comprise the Hutus, Tutsis and Twas. The population of Burundi and Rwanda are made up of three groups: the majority group of Hutus (85%), the Tutsis (14%) and the Twas(1%), who are pygmies and who, apart from the Great Lakes region, live also in the equatorial forest of Central Africa."... "Contrary to colonially created myths, the Tutsi-Hutu conflict is not a centuries old struggle between "Hamitic" pastoralists (Tutsis) and Bantu agriculturists (Hutu). For the Tutsi are not "Hamites." They are a Bantu people who share a common Bantu culture with the Hutu, with whom they speak a common Bantu language. Kinyarwanda in Rwanda, Kirundi in Burundi." Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja "Conflict in eastern Zaire" paper posted online by the Zaire.news (November 19, 1996) and reposted for wider distribution by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC), Washington DC (hereinafter "Conflict in Eastern Zaire"), p. 2. reestablished the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).3 The question of whether or not Banyarwanda can claim Zairian (Congolese) citizenship on the ground of having lived in Zaire (Congo) for generations lies deep in the history of the ethnic conflicts between them and the indigenous Congolese in the eastern parts of the country since its independence in 1960. The incoherent and confusing legislation governing this question inspired and enforced by President Mobutu's administration since the 1970s as well as the arbitrary decisions and ill-advised policies of the regime helped exacerbate the tensions in those parts of the country. It is an irony that Mobutu's downfall resulted in part from the impact of an issue that he manipulated for more than two decades for his advantage. Mobutu gone, this crucial question remains and represents one of the challenges that the new administration of President Kabila4 will have to deal with if it is to achieve national reconciliation and therefore preserve the country's national cohesion. It is all the more urgent for the new regime to tackle the nationality issue, since ethnic hatred against the Banyarwanda, which has been further inflamed in the eastern parts of the country, is spreading throughout the country as the resentment towards the presence of Tutsis in key positions of the Alliance is growing among the Congolese population. After considering the background to this question, this article will describe the legislation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on this issue and examine the questions that this legislation raises with respect to international law and Human Rights Law. II. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND TO THE QUESTION OF NATIONALITY OF THE BANYARWANDA Following the Berlin Conference of 1885, which divided the African continent among colonial powers, the Congo Territory which the Belgian King Leopold II had taken as his own personal royal property, was ceded to the Belgian State and became the "Congo beige," while Rwanda became a German protectorate. In the aftermath of the first and second World Wars, Belgium took over Rwanda under the League of Nations mandate 3 At its independence on 30 June 1960, the country was named "The Republic of the Congo." It became "The Democratic Republic of the Congo" in 1963. In 1971, Mobutu changed the name of the country to Republic of Zaire, an old Portuguese corruption of the name of the country's largest river. In May 1997, President Kabila renamed the country `"The Democratic Republic of the Congo" . 4 Laurent-D6sir6 Kabila proclaimed himself President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 19 May 1997 after his Alliance ousted Mobutu Sese Seko from power. .
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