The Great African War. Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996–2006

339 Pages·2009·1.5 MB·English

by  Filip Reyntjens

The Great African War
Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996–2006
This book examines a decade-long period of instability, violence and
state decay in Central Africa from 1996, when the war started, to 2006,
when elections formally ended the political transition in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC). A unique combination of circumstances
explain the unravelling of the conflicts: the collapsed Zairian/Congolese
state; the continuation of the Rwandan civil war across borders; the
shifting alliances in the region; the politics of identity in Rwanda,
Burundi and eastern DRC; the ineptitude of the international commu-
nity; and the emergence of privatised and criminalised public spaces and
economies, linked to the global economy, but largely disconnected from
the state on whose territory the ‘entrepreneurs of insecurity’ function.
As a complement to the existing literature, this book seeks to provide an
in-depth analysis of concurrent developments in Zaire/DRC, Rwanda,
Burundi and Uganda in African and international contexts. By adopting
a non-chronological approach, it attempts to show the dynamics of the
inter-relationships between these realms and offers a toolkit for under-
standing the past and future of Central Africa.
Filip Reyntjens is Professor of Law and Politics at the Institute of
Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp. He has
worked in and on the Great Lakes Region of Africa for more than
thirty years. Professor Reyntjens’s main research interests are contem-
porary history, legal anthropology, political transitions and human
rights, and he has published several books and numerous articles on
these subjects. He co-edits a yearbook on current affairs in Central
Africa, L’Afrique des grands lacs, which is a major reference work on
the region. In addition to his academic work, Reyntjens serves as a
consultant for governments, international organizations and NGOs,
and as an expert witness before courts in several countries, including
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International
Criminal Court.

The Great African War
Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996–2006
Filip ReynTjens
University of Antwerp
cambridge university press
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Cambridge University Press
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© Filip Reyntjens 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data
Reyntjens, Filip.
The great African war : Congo and regional geopolitics, 1996–2006 / Filip Reyntjens.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-521-11128-7 (hardback)
1. Congo (Democratic Republic) – Politics and government – 1997– 2. Congo
(Democratic Republic) – Foreign relations – 1997– 3. Civil war – Great Lakes Region
(Africa) I. Title.
dt658.26.r489 2009
967.5103∙4–dc22 2009004017
isbn 978-0-521-11128-7 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or
accuracy of urls for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in
this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is,
or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information regarding prices, travel
timetables and other factual information given in this work are correct at
the time of first printing, but Cambridge University Press does not guarantee
the accuracy of such information thereafter.
Contents
Acknowledgements page ix
List of Maps xi
Introduction 1
1 A Region in Turmoil 10
1.1 Kivu: Land of confrontation 10
National context 10
Crises of identity, of land and of politics 13
The new given: Influx of Hutu refugees 16
South Kivu: The Banyamulenge 21
1.2 Rwanda: From genocide to dictatorship 23
The power base 24
The drift 25
‘Burundisation’ of Rwanda 29
Militarisation of the political landscape 31
Continuity in managing the state 32
1.3 Burundi: From putsch to civil war 34
Creeping coup 34
Extension of the civil war 39
Coup of 25 July 1996 and its aftermath 41
1.4 Regional junctions 42
2 The ‘War of Liberation’ 45
2.1 The ‘Banyamulenge Rebellion’ and the Rwandan
operation 45
2.2 The other eastern neighbours: Uganda
and Burundi 58
2.3 Angola enters the fray: Kinshasa in 100 days 61
2.4 Other regional allies 65
2.5 U.S. involvement 66
v
vi Contents
Logistical and political support 66
Supply of material and personnel 70
Incoherence 74
Degree of involvement 77
3 Massacre of the Rwandan Refugees 80
3.1 Aborted international intervention 80
3.2 Crimes against humanity: Genocide? 87
Attacks against refugee camps and concentrations 93
Humanitarian assistance withheld or used as bait 96
Separation of men from women and children 97
Involvement of the RPA 98
Massacres of other groups 99
3.3 The force of manipulation 99
4 The Fall of the Mobutist State 102
4.1 The players 102
Laurent-Désiré Kabila and the Alliance des Forces
Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre
(AFDL) 102
The Forces Armées Zaïroises (FAZ) and their allies 108
4.2 The diplomatic ballet 118
4.3 Meanwhile, in Kinshasa, the orchestra on the TITANIC 131
4.4 The new geopolitical situation 140
5 Congo: Waiting for Another War 144
5.1 The ‘liberated territories’ in the East 144
Two problems worse than before 144
Massive human rights violations 152
Practices of governance 153
5.2 The end of an alliance and the prelude to a new war 155
The regime adrift 155
The art of making enemies 164
Towards a new war 166
6 Impasse in Rwanda and Burundi 170
6.1 The civil wars 170
6.2 Political or military outcomes? 179
6.3 Justice in deadlock 181
6.4 Institutional developments and practice of governance 184
7 ‘The First African World War’ 194
7.1 From Goma to Kitona, and to military stalemate 194
7.2 Shifting alliances 201
7.3 Wars within the war 207
The Kivus 207
Ituri 215
7.4 Privatisation and criminalisation 221
State collapse and the privatisation of public space 221
Criminalisation of states and economies 224
Contents vii
8 Negotiating the Transition 232
8.1 The political landscape 232
The regime in Kinshasa 232
The rebel movements 238
8.2 The false start of negotiations: From Victoria Falls to the
death of Laurent Kabila 244
Many cooks in the same kitchen 244
The Lusaka process 247
From Lusaka to the assassination of Laurent Kabila 250
8.3 Towards an imposed settlement: From the accession of
Joseph Kabila to Sun City 252
A dynastic succession 252
From Sun City to Pretoria, and back to Sun City 256
8.4 Political transition in conflict 261
The bumpy road towards elections 261
The 2006 elections 271
Conclusion 279
Appendix 1: Sources on the killings of Rwandan refugees
in early 1997 287
Appendix 2: Chronology 291
Appendix 3: List of abbreviations 297
References 303
Index 319

Acknowledgements
Writing a book like this is essentially a lonely business that can, however,
be conducted only with the support and assistance of many people. After
I served for seven years as Chair of the Institute of Development Policy
and Management, the University of Antwerp offered me a sabbatical year.
Without my employer’s generosity, it would have been impossible to con-
duct the research that has led to this book and to another, smaller, one.
During this period, my colleagues at the Institute have taken over some
of my tasks, in addition to their already busy schedules. I thank them
sincerely for their support.
After having worked for more than thirty years on the Great Lakes
region, I have developed extensive networks of friends, colleagues and
political and social actors. They have been a rich source of information,
a sounding board for ideas and a platform for sharing analysis. I cannot
thank them individually. However, it is my pleasure to express the debt
I owe to those who have generously given their precious time to com-
ment on draft chapters, including an earlier version in French: Alison Des
Forges, Gauthier de Villers, Erik Kennes, René Lemarchand, Emmanuel
Lubala and three readers who will remain anonymous, either because
that is their wish or because they reviewed the manuscript for Cambridge
University Press. I wish to specially mention the help of René Lemarchand,
who has gone well beyond what colleagues routinely do for each other in
terms of help and advice. Without his careful reading of successive drafts
and his insightful and detailed suggestions, this book would probably not
have been published. Of course, the usual disclaimer applies.
The maps have been drawn by the University of Antwerp media service.
Craig Rollo and Stephanie Hughes, colleagues from the University of
Antwerp, have revised the language and style. Frank Smith, Jeanie Lee
and Cathy Felgar of Cambridge University Press and Kavitha Lawrence
ix
x Acknowledgements
of Newgen Imaging Systems have turned this manuscript into a book. I
sincerely thank them all.
For many years now, my companion Greet has suffered considerably
due to my passion for Africa, and I am sorry to say that she will probably
suffer more in the future. I thank her for her patience; unfortunately, I
cannot promise that I will find more time for her.
This book is dedicated to the memory of Alison Des Forges (1942–
2009), for her friendship and her unremitting struggle for the cause of
human rights in Central Africa.
Filip Reyntjens