[Socialism Today, No 19, June 1998, p. 5]
The overthrow of Mobutu in the renamed Congo by the forces of Laurent Kabila has undoubtedly been seen as a victory in defeating a ruthless and corrupt dictatorship. French imperialism is lamenting its loss of influence to the US, which recently gave its backing to the Congo’s new leader, to try and control the new regime as well as consolidate its own influence.
The smashing of Mobutu is something to be applauded. However, the nature of the new regime already suggests that one corrupt dictatorship is to be replaced by another. Kabila has issued numerous assurances to imperialism that the new government will respect private property and the market, to reassure Western imperialism and distance himself from his tenuous flirtation with Marxist ideas in the 1960s and with Che Guevara, who fought in the Congo in 1965.
It is perhaps a curious twist of history that Kabila has taken power on the 30th anniversary of Che Guevara’s death. Che Guevara’s ideas, analysis and methods diverged from the standpoint of genuine Marxism but he and others involved in the Cuban revolution, were heroic and self-sacrificing revolutionaries who aspired to spread the revolution internationally. It was for that reason that, in 1965, a small group of Cubans went to fight in the Congo and linked up with Kabila’s Popular Liberation Army (PLA).
What Guevara encountered there shocked him, as his recently published diaries reveal, and gives some insight into the nature of the new regime which Kabila is now constructing 30 years later. The Cubans who landed with Guevara in the 1960s had been schooled in a spirit of struggle, discipline and self-sacrifice, the example being largely set by Guevara himself, What they encountered in the Congo, however, was exactly the opposite.
In the battles which have taken place in the Congo during 1997 Kabila has always been absent, arriving only after victory was achieved. This merely repeats a pattern that was established in 1965. Three months after Guevara had arrived in the Congo, Kabila still had not shown up. The PLA leaders spent most of their time out of the country, away from their own fighters, in Dar-Es-Salaam. There they ran brothels, spent most of their time drunk, and rode around in Mercedes Benz cars.
Kabila evidently resented Guevara’s presence. This in part was due to the imposed manner of his arrival, but it also reflected a deeper concern. Kabila preferred life in Dar-Es-Salaam to leading his troops into combat. Guevara was just the opposite. Kabila’s fear of being outshone on the battlefield went so far as to refuse to permit the Cubans to participate in the conflicts which did take place.
The absence by the leaders from the frontline, coupled with no clear political direction and the well known lifestyle of the „exile leaders‘, had its effect on the PLA. The local peasants were terrified of its troops. This flowed from their conduct which astounded the Cubans. Che Guevara commented, „The characteristic of the Popular Liberation Army was that of a parasitic army“. Local peasants would often suffer „outrages and mistreatment‘ at the hands of the PLA.
The PLA, suffering from low morale, lack of discipline and a wholly corrupt leadership, was defeated in 1965. Its only competent leader, Laurent Mitoudidi, who was responsive to the Cubans criticisms, died under mysterious circumstances in a lake, probably murdered by other forces in the PLA leadership.
Guevara’s Congo mission, like Bolivia in 1966-67, failed, reflecting his wrong methods. However, 30 years later, these revelations give some insight into the character of the regime Kabila is now constructing in the Congo.
„Kabila arrived in Kinshasa wearing combat fatigues and crocodile shoes.“
Unsurprisingly Kabila arrived in Kinshasa donning battle fatigues and crocodile shoes! His first act was to ban all demonstrations and political parties in the capital, followed by his declaration at his inauguration that ‚this issue of democracy‘ can ‚wait a little bit‘. His newly appointed finance minister has declared than one of his objects is ‚to become a millionaire‘.
Kabila’s new regime, born in a struggle against the hated Mobutu dictatorship, is not destined to secure the liberation of the Congolese people. New and further upheavals are certain to develop as this becomes increasingly clear to the masses who greeted the downfall of the old regime.
Tony Saunois
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