UN must overcome fatigue, keep global commitment focused on Congo elections

KINSHASA, Congo – The post-election violence in Congo has only made it harder for the UN envoy here to persuade the world not to give up on a country he believes has the potential economic might to stand on its own and secure stability in sub-Saharan Africa.

“My argument generally is that of all the crises in Africa today, if you had to choose one, this is the one you would choose to put right, because this is the one crisis in all of Africa that has the potential for good for the rest of Africa,” William Swing said in a weekend interview at the heavily guarded UN compound in Kinshasa. Sprawling, resource-rich Congo “has the potential to change the face of Africa, and the image of Africa”, said Swing, a 40-year diplomat who once was the US ambassador here.But on August 21, events in Kinshasa reinforced a negative image of Africa.Gunfire broke out even before that day’s announcement of the results of Congo’s first democratic vote for a leader in 46 years.It had become clear in the hours before the official announcement, as results were posted on the Web, that there would be no first-round winner.The armed camps of the two top candidates went at it, killing 31 in the capital crossfire and leaving the world to wonder whether Kinshasa was truly ready for peace.The rival camps, furious that neither candidate had won a majority in the July 30 vote, wanted to show the other that they were prepared to go back to war and fight for first place.Who’s to say the violence won’t escalate after the October 29 runoff between President Joseph Kabila and rival Jean-Pierre Bemba? And why should the world stand behind the African nation, when its own leaders won’t meet face-to-face and pledge to put down their own guns? Just after the initial election results were in, Swing and 14 foreign ambassadors, including current US Ambassador Roger Meece, went to Bemba’s home to call on him to accept second place and face a runoff.Shortly after they arrived, Bemba’s men and troops loyal to Kabila clashed with guns and tanks outside the house, forcing peacekeepers to evacuate the diplomats several hours later.As the United Nations spends US$3 million (about N$21 million) a day trying to keep the peace and mediate the terms for the next round, its envoy here knows the hope for democracy hangs in the balance.Swing heads up the largest UN peacekeeping mission ever, with 17 500 troops, and must compete for limited resources and Security Council backing with 17 other missions, including a new one in Lebanon and a hoped-for one in the Sudan.Congolese politicians Kabila and Bemba are known as No 1 and No 2, respectively, on the streets of Kinshasa, as some fear saying their names out loud or being tied to their camps.The tension in the capital that has lingered since the results were announced was heightened Monday by a strike over economic issues by teachers and taxi drivers.Kinshasans were also awaiting the results of Parliament elections held alongside the presidential vote, in which some 9 000 candidates were contesting 500 seats.Some Congolese are despondent that their only two presidential choices were initially elevated to power at the barrel of a gun: Kabila after his father was assassinated by his bodyguards in 2001; and Bemba, a rebel leader turned politician and named one of four vice presidents in the transitional government.”At the time of Mobutu, it was good; now it’s just like someone has dug a hole in the ground, stuffed us in and strangled us,” says Pablo Kongolo, who sells short wigs and long hair extensions at the teeming open-air market in Gombe, the same neighbourhood where the political violence raged between August 21-23.Democracy is new to Congo.Mobutu Sese Seko’s repressive dictatorship followed quickly on Belgian colonial rule and lasted for more than 30 years, until he was forced to flee by rebels loyal to Kabila’s father in 1997.Though the civil war that initially toppled Mobutu formally ended in 2002, continued violence, starvation and disease still kill some 1 200 Congolese each day.That alone, says Swing, should be enough to maintain world compassion and UN support.”First of all, it is one of the largest humanitarian tragedies since the Second World War,” he says.The litany of sorrows includes one in five children dying before age 5; an estimated 3 million people displaced by civil war; and an average annual income that has fallen below US$100 (about N$720), less than at the time of independence in 1960.Swing argues, however, that investors from Cape Cod to Cape Town should be eyeing commercial ties with Congo.Unlike other nations where he served – such as Haiti and Liberia – Congo has enormous economic potential to stand on its own.The diamonds, copper and cobalt appear endless; the Congo River holds 10 per cent of the world’s hydroelectric capacity.”It’s not a country that’s going to be dependent on foreign assistance for a long period of time, if it gets a good government in place and follows good government practices,” says Swing.He concedes: “It’s a big ‘if’.”Nampa-APSprawling, resource-rich Congo “has the potential to change the face of Africa, and the image of Africa”, said Swing, a 40-year diplomat who once was the US ambassador here.But on August 21, events in Kinshasa reinforced a negative image of Africa.Gunfire broke out even before that day’s announcement of the results of Congo’s first democratic vote for a leader in 46 years.It had become clear in the hours before the official announcement, as results were posted on the Web, that there would be no first-round winner.The armed camps of the two top candidates went at it, killing 31 in the capital crossfire and leaving the world to wonder whether Kinshasa was truly ready for peace.The rival camps, furious that neither candidate had won a majority in the July 30 vote, wanted to show the other that they were prepared to go back to war and fight for first place.Who’s to say the violence won’t escalate after the October 29 runoff between President Joseph Kabila and rival Jean-Pierre Bemba? And why should the world stand behind the African nation, when its own leaders won’t meet face-to-face and pledge to put down their own guns? Just after the initial election results were in, Swing and 14 foreign ambassadors, including current US Ambassador Roger Meece, went to Bemba’s home to call on him to accept second place and face a runoff.Shortly after they arrived, Bemba’s men and troops loyal to Kabila clashed with guns and tanks outside the house, forcing peacekeepers to evacuate the diplomats several hours later.As the United Nations spends US$3 million (about N$21 million) a day trying to keep the peace and mediate the terms for the next round, its envoy here knows the hope for democracy hangs in the balance.Swing heads up the largest UN peacekeeping mission ever, with 17 500 troops, and must compete for limited resources and Security Council backing with 17 other missions, including a new one in Lebanon and a hoped-for one in the Sudan.Congolese politicians Kabila and Bemba are known as No 1 and No 2, respectively, on the streets of Kinshasa, as some fear saying their names out loud or being tied to their camps.The tension in the capital that has lingered since the results were announced was heightened Monday by a strike over economic issues by teachers and taxi drivers.Kinshasans were also awaiting the results of Parliament elections held alongside the presidential vote, in which some 9 000 candidates were contesting 500 seats.Some Congolese are despondent that their only two presidential choices were initially elevated to power at the barrel of a gun: Kabila after his father was assassinated by his bodyguards in 2001; and Bemba, a rebel leader turned politician and named one of four vice presidents in the transitional government.”At the time of Mobutu, it was good; now it’s just like someone has dug a hole in the ground, stuffed us in and strangled us,” says Pablo Kongolo, who sells short wigs and long hair extensions at the teeming open-air market in Gombe, the same neighbourhood where the political violence raged between August 21-23.Democracy is new to Congo.Mobutu Sese Seko’s repressive dictatorship followed quickly on Belgian colonial rule and lasted for more than 30 years, until he was forced to flee by rebels loyal to Kabila’s father in 1997.Though the civil war that initially toppled Mobutu formally ended in 2002, continued violence, starvation and disease still kill some 1 200 Congolese each day.That alone, says Swing, should be enough to maintain world compassion and UN support.”First of all, it is one of the largest humanitarian tragedies since the Second World War,” he says.The litany of sorrows includes one in five children dying before age 5; an estimated 3 million people displaced by civil war; and an average annual income that has fallen below US$100 (about N$720), less than at the time of independence in 1960.Swing argues, however, that investors from Cape Cod to Cape Town should be eyeing commercial ties with Congo.Unlike other nations where he served – such as Haiti and Liberia – Congo has enormous economic potential to stand on its own.The diamonds, copper and cobalt appear endless; the Congo River holds 10 per cent of the world’s hydroelectric capacity.”It’s not a country that’s going to be dependent on foreign assistance for a long period of time, if it gets a good government in place and follows good government practices,” says Swing.He concedes: “It’s a big ‘if’.”Nampa-AP