Congo Struggles to Create Single Army
By David Lewis KINSHASA (Reuters) - It is an old trick -- and one that has been used by Congolese musicians and soccer players in the past -- but it still angered many back home.
Sent to Belgium to train as instructors for the Democratic Republic of Congo (news - web sites)'s new army, 16 "officers" slipped out of classes in small groups and have not been seen since.
They were probably not soldiers, simply people with military contacts who wanted to get to Europe. But the case highlights just one aspect in the huge task of building a unified, professional army in Congo after years of factionalized war.
"It shows how much work needs to be done. Many of these 'instructors' could not even clean a rifle, let alone instruct -- they just had good friends," said Freddy Mulumba Kabuye, editor of Le Potentiel, a daily in the capital Kinshasa.
The vast mineral rich African country is slowly emerging from a five-year war that sucked in six neighboring countries and killed 3 million people, mostly from hunger and disease.
Elections are due in June but many of the estimated 300,000 gunmen who made up the myriad of armed groups are still roaming the country, largely out of control.
Fighters from all sides are meant to take part in a program which would help some return to civilian life and select and train others for the new unified national army.
But little tangible progress has been made in setting up a new army to protect nearly 60 million people in a country the size of Western Europe.
"There are clearly blockages from the Congolese side as army unification -- and this means getting rid of a power base ahead of elections -- is difficult for the groups to deliver on," said one Western diplomat in Kinshasa.
TOO MANY PLANS
Nearly a year and a half after they formed a transitional power-sharing government, the former belligerents are still deeply distrustful of one another and keen to maintain control in their traditional fiefdoms.
"But at the same time, the international community has lacked coordination in its approach, so it's not surprising that what we see now is confusing," the diplomat added.
The confusion stems partly from the number of different countries now involved in different army reform plans.
Former colonial ruler Belgium began the process, training the first integrated brigade of fighters -- some 3,000 men -- earlier this year. Since then, Kinshasa has also signed military deals with Angola and South Africa.
South African military sources say they have brought equipment to Congo and are keen to get up and running, but have yet to be provided with a place to work.
The Angolans have instructors in the southwest of the country, but no Congolese soldiers to train.
Building on their original efforts, more Belgian military advisers arrived last week to assess the progress of the first integrated brigade. They are will help the military to restructure and start to train more instructors.
NOT ENOUGH MONEY Sitting in his tiny office in Congo's cavernous military headquarters, where sleeping guards wake up just long enough to ask passers-by for some money to buy a soda, Colonel Aime Mbiato, the head of the military integration unit, concedes that he is a long way behind schedule. He says the delay is not due to a lack of will among the Congolese but a lack of promised funding from foreign donors. "Yes, we should have started in January this year. All the planning was done and we nominated all the appropriate people -- we were just waiting for the money," he said. Mbiato says he has a $102 million 12-month plan for integrating fighters into the new army but no money was allocated for the project in this year's budget. Authorities have advanced him $1 million from next year's funding. But in a country where the government often complains it has little money, it is doubtful how much more of the $79 million earmarked for him in the 2005 budget he will actually receive. Still unsure of the final size of Congo's army, officials have put in place an emergency plan to train and deploy at least six battalions, around 18,000 men, before elections in various parts of the country. "It is not a question of will -- the men on the ground want to integrate and the government has shown it is willing. If the international community wants to help make things work they should react by actually financing this plan," Mbiato said. Foreign donors have agreed to come up with $220 million for demobilizing fighters and helping them adapt to civilian life. Raising funds for a new army is more difficult. Many donors follow ethical guidelines which forbid them from using aid to buy military equipment or weapons. Many also fear their money will go astray due to rampant corruption. It could be a disastrous blow to efforts to stabilize the Democratic Republic of Congo if a new integrated army is not created soon, regional military analysts warn. "Army integration would break down the warlord aspect of the DRC and put it on a normal footing," said Jim Terrie, from the International Crisis Group.
|
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses.
_______________________________________________ Ugandanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet % UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
