France-Africa
Congo-Brazzaville: Normalisation… step by step
Bloodied by a decade of civil wars, Congo-Brazzaville entered a phase of normalisation in 2002, although troubles still continue in the Pool, the region surrounding the capital.
President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who returned to power by military means in October 1997 following a civil war pitting his militia against those of his predecessor Pascal Lissouba, now in exile in London, has good reasons for satisfaction. He won the March 10, 2002, presidential election hands down, and then the legislative elections. He has patched up with the donor countries and institutions, and has no significant problems with his neighbours.
Angola, which rescued him militarily in 1997, repatriated its last remaining troops in December. The leaders of the two countries, who are formerly Marxist allies, have always kept up a close relationship, all the more so since the oil-rich Angolan enclave of Cabinda borders on Congo-Brazzaville. Luanda justified its military intervention in Congo by the need to counter the Lissouba regime, which it accused of complicity with UNITA, the armed Angolan opposition movement.
Brazza-Kinshasa: a strict minimum
Congo maintains "correct" relations with its neighbour on the other side of the Congo River, the Democratic Republic of Congo, even if they are not particularly cordial. "It is as if the two countries are turning their backs on one another," says a diplomatic commentator. Brazzaville and Kinshasa are in fact facing each other across the river. Denis Sassou Nguesso is friendly with Jean-Pierre Bemba, chief of the MLC, one of the DRC rebel movements, although he has been careful not to get involved in the conflict. But he has been unable to play the part of a mediator, which he hankered for, although he facilitated contacts between President Joseph Kabila and Bemba, and between the MLC leader and Moustapha Niasse, the personal representative for the DRC of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
He has also shown himself eager to keep peace in the North, on the frontier with the Central African Republic, in order to avoid an additional influx of refugees, adopting a neutral attitude as regards the disorders that have shaken this country.
Elections seen flawed; aid resumed
The president, who led Congo from 1979 to 1992 under the single-party system at the head of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) – still at the centre of the alliance now in power – is faced by a deeply divided opposition, which denounced the electoral process as flawed but nevertheless took part in it. The Congolese leader in 2001 launched a "non-exclusive" dialogue, under pressure notably from the donor community. This allowed most opponents to return home. But Pascal Lissouba, who became the Republic of Congo’s first democratically elected president in the early 1990s, and his last Premier, Bernard Kolelas, were both barred from participating, and are still in exile. They were both sentenced to death in absentia.
Since last April, Denis Sassou Nguesso, who reorganised the top Army leadership in December, has been struggling to contain a rebellion in the Pool by the Reverend "Ntoumi" and his Ninja militiamen. "Ntoumi" claims to be the heir of Kolelas as leader of a mystical sect that has many followers among the region’s Lari population. The Congolese president at the end of 2002 issued a call for peace and offered the Ninja militiamen safe passage through "humanitarian corridors."
Congo was granted post-conflict aid by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank after the 1997 civil war. But these programmes were suspended when fighting resumed at the end of 1998. Aid was resumed in November 2000 because of president Sassou Nguesso’s commitment to economic reforms and political dialogue. Prompted by France, principal partner of the Congolese, the European Union also reactivated its aid, suspended in 1997 under pressure from the northern European EU countries and the French Greens who accused Sassou Nguesso of having overthrown a democratically elected president – whose electoral mandate had in fact expired. "France is practically the only member country which takes a real interest in Congo," a senior European Commission official said recently in Brussels.
HIPC debt treatment expected for 4th sub-Saharan oil producer
While Brazzaville is eyeing closer ties with the Americans, who are interested in Congo’s oil, Paris remains its main source of aid. In spite of some points of friction between the two countries – such as the difficult current negotiations with the TotalFinaElf petroleum group, and the investigations by an examining magistrate of Meaux, eastern France, into the "disappearance" of a group of returning exiles at Brazzaville’s "Beach" river port. This case has caused deep irritation among Congolese officials who deny any involvement.
The Congolese president has drawn advantage from the big powers’ desire to see a return to a measure of stability in a country that is a close neighbour to the DRC – where peace still remains fragile. With a population of three million, Congo-Brazzaville is the fourth-ranking oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa behind Nigeria, Angola and Gabon. But civil war has destroyed most infrastructure except those at the port city of Pointe Noire, the base of the oil companies operating in the Congolese offshore. The country is also heavily indebted and its population has been impoverished by the successive civil conflicts.
Sassou Nguesso has promised economic reforms and has committed himself to fighting endemic corruption in order to facilitate the reconstruction of his country. He must also settle over the next two years the problem of the reintegration of displaced persons and returning refugees, as well as that of refugees from troubles in neighbouring countries and the resettlement of demobilised soldiers and militiamen. "The year 2003 will be decisive for Congo; it is not only the year of [implementation of the presidential] seven-year programme but also above all one in which we hope to conclude with the IMF and the World Bank a decisive programme which should help us benefit from [debt relief under] the initiative for highly indebted poor countries (HIPC)," the Congolese chief of state said in early January.
Angola, which rescued him militarily in 1997, repatriated its last remaining troops in December. The leaders of the two countries, who are formerly Marxist allies, have always kept up a close relationship, all the more so since the oil-rich Angolan enclave of Cabinda borders on Congo-Brazzaville. Luanda justified its military intervention in Congo by the need to counter the Lissouba regime, which it accused of complicity with UNITA, the armed Angolan opposition movement.
Brazza-Kinshasa: a strict minimum
Congo maintains "correct" relations with its neighbour on the other side of the Congo River, the Democratic Republic of Congo, even if they are not particularly cordial. "It is as if the two countries are turning their backs on one another," says a diplomatic commentator. Brazzaville and Kinshasa are in fact facing each other across the river. Denis Sassou Nguesso is friendly with Jean-Pierre Bemba, chief of the MLC, one of the DRC rebel movements, although he has been careful not to get involved in the conflict. But he has been unable to play the part of a mediator, which he hankered for, although he facilitated contacts between President Joseph Kabila and Bemba, and between the MLC leader and Moustapha Niasse, the personal representative for the DRC of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
He has also shown himself eager to keep peace in the North, on the frontier with the Central African Republic, in order to avoid an additional influx of refugees, adopting a neutral attitude as regards the disorders that have shaken this country.
Elections seen flawed; aid resumed
The president, who led Congo from 1979 to 1992 under the single-party system at the head of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) – still at the centre of the alliance now in power – is faced by a deeply divided opposition, which denounced the electoral process as flawed but nevertheless took part in it. The Congolese leader in 2001 launched a "non-exclusive" dialogue, under pressure notably from the donor community. This allowed most opponents to return home. But Pascal Lissouba, who became the Republic of Congo’s first democratically elected president in the early 1990s, and his last Premier, Bernard Kolelas, were both barred from participating, and are still in exile. They were both sentenced to death in absentia.
Since last April, Denis Sassou Nguesso, who reorganised the top Army leadership in December, has been struggling to contain a rebellion in the Pool by the Reverend "Ntoumi" and his Ninja militiamen. "Ntoumi" claims to be the heir of Kolelas as leader of a mystical sect that has many followers among the region’s Lari population. The Congolese president at the end of 2002 issued a call for peace and offered the Ninja militiamen safe passage through "humanitarian corridors."
Congo was granted post-conflict aid by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank after the 1997 civil war. But these programmes were suspended when fighting resumed at the end of 1998. Aid was resumed in November 2000 because of president Sassou Nguesso’s commitment to economic reforms and political dialogue. Prompted by France, principal partner of the Congolese, the European Union also reactivated its aid, suspended in 1997 under pressure from the northern European EU countries and the French Greens who accused Sassou Nguesso of having overthrown a democratically elected president – whose electoral mandate had in fact expired. "France is practically the only member country which takes a real interest in Congo," a senior European Commission official said recently in Brussels.
HIPC debt treatment expected for 4th sub-Saharan oil producer
While Brazzaville is eyeing closer ties with the Americans, who are interested in Congo’s oil, Paris remains its main source of aid. In spite of some points of friction between the two countries – such as the difficult current negotiations with the TotalFinaElf petroleum group, and the investigations by an examining magistrate of Meaux, eastern France, into the "disappearance" of a group of returning exiles at Brazzaville’s "Beach" river port. This case has caused deep irritation among Congolese officials who deny any involvement.
The Congolese president has drawn advantage from the big powers’ desire to see a return to a measure of stability in a country that is a close neighbour to the DRC – where peace still remains fragile. With a population of three million, Congo-Brazzaville is the fourth-ranking oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa behind Nigeria, Angola and Gabon. But civil war has destroyed most infrastructure except those at the port city of Pointe Noire, the base of the oil companies operating in the Congolese offshore. The country is also heavily indebted and its population has been impoverished by the successive civil conflicts.
Sassou Nguesso has promised economic reforms and has committed himself to fighting endemic corruption in order to facilitate the reconstruction of his country. He must also settle over the next two years the problem of the reintegration of displaced persons and returning refugees, as well as that of refugees from troubles in neighbouring countries and the resettlement of demobilised soldiers and militiamen. "The year 2003 will be decisive for Congo; it is not only the year of [implementation of the presidential] seven-year programme but also above all one in which we hope to conclude with the IMF and the World Bank a decisive programme which should help us benefit from [debt relief under] the initiative for highly indebted poor countries (HIPC)," the Congolese chief of state said in early January.
par Marie Joannidis
Article publié le 17/02/2003
