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institutions were affected thus creating an environment which led to continuous political instability in the whole country (Nzongola-Ntalaja, 2002:95). That political instability created space for continued exploitation of the Congolese mineral resources by external players with interests in the country’s vast strategic mineral resources.18
Thus, the origins of the political, military and economic crisis in the DRC and the legacy of military interventionism in the country can be traced back to the 1960s when counter reactionary and neo-colonial elements were overtly and covertly backed by external forces. In the early years after attaining independence, Congo was characterised by a wide range of conflicts and struggles for power. The conflicts that the country experienced resulted in interventionism by foreign forces in one way or the other. It is important to make a brief trace of this historical military interventionism by foreign powers in Congo’s conflict.
Foreign military intervention was witnessed in the Congo in mid July 1960 when the Belgian government deployed troops in the country following a mutiny by the Congolese troops.
(Nzongola-Ntalaja, 2002:135). Again there was foreign military intervention in Congo in the early sixties when some European countries deployed their troops to support Moise Thsombe’s initiative to secede the mineral rich Katanga province from the rest of Congo Nzongola-Ntalaja, 2002:135). The intervention by Belgium and some these European countries in support of Katangese secession was perhaps intended to promote their respective economic interests considering that Katanga province is rich in strategic mineral resources.
Foreign military interventionism in the Congo was also witnessed in the mid-1960s and that intervention was at the level of the UN. The UN Security Council passed a resolution on 14 July 1960 which saw the withdrawal of the Belgian troops and the deployment of UN
18 Interview with Professor Wamba dia Wamba, 25 August 2009.
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peacekeepers that were authorised to provide military and technical assistance to the Congolese government to ensure that its national security institutions were effective and efficient enough to execute their constitutional obligations (Nzongola-Ntalaja, 2002:113).
When Congo continued to experience political instability in the early 1960s, the situation again created an environment that resulted in international players getting involved in controlling and influencing the political administration of the country. Controlling any given regime was possibly meant to provide a leeway for access to the country’s resources. When sergeant Joseph Desiree Mobutu successfully staged a coup d’état that resulted in the toppling of Patrice Lumumba from power, his arrest and murder, it is noted that Mobutu had the direct and indirect support of Belgium and the US governments who wanted to install a strong and compliant leader who would protect their interests (Hochschild, 1998:78; Baregu, 2006:60; Nzongola-Ntalaja, 2002:145). The murder of Lumumba was meant to get rid of a Congolese president who supported the Soviet Union and its communist ideology thereby affecting western interests in the Congo.19 The western country’s intelligence services are reported to have played a critical role in as far as making sure that any leadership of the Congo was to be a compliant one that would protect the interests of these western countries.20 The same western countries also continued to keep a keen interest in the Congo even after the end of colonialism in Africa. Even the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the support of the Katanga secessionist movement led by Moise Thsombe, and Joseph Kasavubu, are widely believed to be linked to the question of who controls the Congo.21
19 Interview with Presidential Special Security Advisor, Professor Mumba, Kinshasa, 05 June 2009.
20 Interview with Professor Mutombo, Kinshasa, 30 August 2009.
21 Professor Wamba dia Wamba also pointed out during the same interview with the author (Kinshasa, 25 August 2009), that Britain, France, Belgium and the US support of the Mobutu dictatorship was because of his regime’s compliance to the wishes and interests of the western world.
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The bigger power rivalry for the control and influence of the Congo was also witnessed in the 1960s when the country found itself in a political situation where four separate governments were formed. All of these governments claimed legitimacy. The western countries and a majority of UN members recognised and supported Joseph Kasavubu and Mobutu Sese Seko who were based in Leopoldville (Kinshasa) and both claimed national jurisdiction of the Congo (Nzongola-Ntalaja, 2002:90-100; see also Chinyanganya, 2006:100). On the other hand the Soviet Union and other communist countries as well as some African countries supported and recognised the government of Antoine Gizenga which was based in Stanleyville (Kisangani). The fourth government was that of Moise Kapenda Thsombe claimed the right of Katanga province to separate statehood. In order to enforce his autonomy, Tshombe engaged the Belgian mercenaries.22 Because of Katanga’s vastness in mineral resources, Thsombe received logistical and even military expert support in the form of mercenaries from Belgium, France, South Africa and Rhodesia who all had interests in that province (Nzongola-Ntalaja, 2002: 135; see also Chinyanganya, 2006:101).
From the above it can be noted that there is a link between the legacy on the causes of conflict in the Congo, military interventionism and strategies adopted by the bigger powers that had interests in the country’s vast mineral resources. Control over a given regime in the Congo would arguably translate to mean access to these resources (Baregu, 2006:60). It would appear that during the cold war period, greater powers particularly western nations’
support to a given regime in the Congo was not much based on whether or not that regime observed or practiced democratic principles of governance and efficient as well as effective national administration. What appeared to be the main strategy was to offer political and military assistance to a compliant regime that served the interests of these bigger powers. It is
22Author is indebted to Professor Wamba dia Wamba for providing such valuable information during interview, Kinshasa, 25 August 2009.
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therefore important at this point to briefly discuss how western nations opted to support the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko despite it being accused of practising authoritarianism.
4.4 US and Western interventionism in the Congo in support of the Mobutu regime