Subdued EU response to Zaïre blamed on lack of interest

Date: 10/04/1997

WITH Zaïrian rebel Laurent Kabila now in command of a quarter of the country and tens of thousands of refugees cut off from essential supplies, the EU response to central Africa's latest crisis remains muted at best.

Although European governments bolstered incumbent President Mobutu Sese Seku throughout much of his reign, they have almost unanimously ducked out of the civil war that followed his years of repression and waste.

This leaves calls for help by Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Emma Bonino looking rather forlorn. “The European public and its politicians simply seem not to be interested in this conflict,” said one Commission expert.

Despite French pressure, the EU has firmly rejected military protection of the humanitarian aid corridors and the Union's special envoy to the region Aldo Ajello has all but been ignored by national politicians.

A Belgian proposal to impose an arms embargo on the Great Lakes region has also been greeted with widespread scorn by northern EU member states.

Although an embargo was imposed on Zaïre in the early 1990s, the lack of controls on neighbouring countries has rendered it ineffective in practice.

When Zaïre's civil war began - with Mobutu condemning the West for indirectly supporting Ugandan and Rwandan-sponsored rebellion - the Belgian and French governments argued that only a clamp-down on the entire region could stem the flow of weapons.

But their proposals were strongly opposed by northern EU governments, many with important arms industries, which described them as impractical and unfair on sovereign states with a legitimate right to defend themselves.

Following a furious round of debate before Easter, the idea has now, to all intents and purposes, been dropped.

Some technical support for the country has, however, been forthcoming. The European Commission has been stepping up its support for fair and free elections in Zaïre (seen as crucial to a tenable peace) and has staff there now paving the way for a possible poll later this year.

The Union has also spent almost 200 million ecu on rehabilitation projects in the country over the past two years, building crucial sections of road outside Kinshasa to ensure food supplies reach the city.

But such projects take time and that is a luxury which many destitute people in Zaïre cannot afford. Many thousands of Rwandan, Burundi and Zaïrian refugees still remain out of the reach of international aid organisations and are in fear of their lives.

Bonino, the only leading EU figure to have consistently campaigned for action over the central African tinder-box, has joined forces with the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata in pleading for moves to ensure their safety.

“These people's needs must not be overlooked as the Zaïrian parties prepare for political negotiations over their country's future. They need help and they need it now,” she said last week.

But Bonino appears to be fighting a losing battle. The European public is tired of bailing out a region which it feels is a lost cause.

A recent Save the Children conference stressed to policy-makers the need for more long-term development strategies.

Perhaps the most important step in that direction would be the long-awaited Great Lakes conference, to be held under the auspices of the UN and the Organisation for African Unity. But that remains as far away as ever.

Although Rwanda is allegedly growing less hostile to the idea , Commission experts suggest that “there will be no regional settlement until the Zaïre affair is resolved”.

Officials are also calling for the establishment of a forum which would allow government, businesses and charities to talk to each other - a kind of African Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development - and favour the creation of a regional free trade accord.

In the absence of any local enthusiasm, however, their recommendations face a long, arduous trek.