'Most Rebellions Are Hatched Abroad'

Prof. Emmanuel Yenshu Vubo, Political Sociology lecturer at the University of Buea, explains why the Democratic Republic of Congo often experiences difficult relations with some of its neighbours.

What explains the recurrent security challenges the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, experiences on its borders?

The main issue is the failure of the DRC to tackle these problems. The country has been plagued by several rebellions that have their origins across borders. The present regime was hatched in a neighbouring East African country by the late Laurent-Désiré Kabila as a guerilla leader with the aim of overthrowing President Mobutu Sese Sekou. This initial rebellion opened the eastern frontier to other insurgents.

Ever since, there has been insecurity on that front. This was compounded by the over-flow of Tutsi rebels and later on, Hutu militia, who exported the conflict between the two main components of the Rwandan nation to eastern DRC. Paul Kagame, who put an end to the Rwandan Genocide during which Tutsis and moderate Hutus were targeted, later facilitated the over-running of DRC for Laurent-Désiré Kabila to take over power in Kinshasa. Rwandans called the shots in the then Zaïre for a long time before things turned sour.

But the situation ensured one thing - Rwandan presence or recurrent intrusions into DRC territory to chase the remnants of the perpetrators of the genocide. This was also because the latter had also transformed parts of eastern DRC into a complex fall-back position, launching pad for attacks into Rwanda and refuge from Kagame's forces.

On the other hand, the situation within the Kabila regime only compounded things. A variety of rebellions then developed, mainly in the East, which in turn took the territories of neigbouring countries as refuge and launching pads for incursions into DRC.

This explains the insecurity along the Ugandan and the Burundi borders for the East and the frontier with CAR when Jean Pierre Bemba led a major war against the regime. It should be recalled that Mobutu's Zaire was also a refuge for rebels of Jonas Savimbi's UNITA that were fighting against the MPLA regime of Eduardo dos Santos in Angola.

Multiple war fronts, cross-border armed conflicts and instability in neighbouring countries, has led to today's recurrent insecurity. Also on the eastern front, trafficking in precious stones fuels instability as it finances conflicts. On the contrary, problems on the Zambian border relate more to governance issues such as the harassment of traders and truck drivers.

What can be done to better secure the borders and put an end to the frequent presence of foreign armed groups on DRC soil?

For now, the task may be rather gigantic and enormous to undertake, given the means and capabilities at the disposal of DRC. The country is poor and not well-equipped for such operations. However, some of the border areas have not witnessed any security problems for some time. The death of Jonas Savimbi on February 22, 2002, reduced tensions with Angola, while some relative peace now prevails in the East after last year's strong military action by the government.

DRC has to settle its internal problems with dissident groups to prevent them seeking refuge abroad and launching attacks against their country. Some forms of consensus and peaceful solutions to the conflicts that plague the country have to be arrived at. Besides, dialogue in countries that have armed groups in DRC has to be encouraged in order for reciprocal peace to prevail. Above all, cooperation in finding solutions to common problems has to be central. For example, there could be cooperation in tackling criminal activities and solving problems common to DRC and its neighbours.

What future do you see for relations between DRC and its neighbours?

There can be peace through the common search for solutions to problems and the mutual management of challenges that arise from frontiers. No nation has a boundary with itself. Achieving normalcy on the borders depends on the political will of the actors on the ground. Otherwise, the frontiers may even become more unstable if the root causes of insecurity are not addressed.