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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) from 1995 to 2001 and by Africa Action from 2001 to 2003. APIC was merged into Africa Action in 2001. Please note that many outdated links in this archived document may not work.

Zaire: IRIN Briefing, 1
Date Distributed (ymd): 961026

This posting contains a background briefing on the conflict in
South Kivu, from the UN's Integrated Regional Information
Network (IRIN).  The next posting contains an update, also
from IRIN.

[Via the UN DHA Integrated Regional Information Network. The
material contained in this communication may not necessarily
reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN
DHA IRIN Tel: +254 2 622123; Fax: +254 2 622129;  e-mail:
[email protected] for more information. If you re-print, copy,
archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and
disclaimer.]

U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Department of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network

7 October 1996

IRIN BRIEFING: THE CONFLICT IN SOUTH KIVU, ZAIRE AND ITS
REGIONAL  IMPLICATIONS

INTRODUCTION

During September 1996 a growing number of reports testified to
human rights abuses against Zairean Tutsis, known as
Banyamulenge, by the army and local people in and around Uvira
in South Kivu, Zaire. It soon became clear that at the same
time a conflict between the Banyamulenge and the army was
taking place, and as refugees began to arrive in Rwanda and
Burundi, the Governments of Zaire and Rwanda traded
accusations over responsibilities for the escalating crisis.
As tensions between the two countries mounted, mortar fire was
exchanged between Bukavu, Zaire and Cyangugu in Rwanda over
several days.

This briefing describes developments in September and seeks to
put them in their historical context. It gives an account of
the immigration of Banyamulenge into Zaire, examines their
claims to Zairean nationality and describes how they have been
stripped of their nationality and targetted by the local
authorities, army and local people since April 1995. Drawing
parallels between this crisis and developments in Masisi and
Rutshuru over the past year, it examines the accusations of
both Zaire and Rwanda, as well as the humanitarian and
regional implications of the crisis.

DEVELOPMENTS DURING SEPTEMBER 1996

On 9 September local people in Uvira town mounted a
demonstration against Banyamulenge, declaring Uvira a `ville
morte', calling on the `foreigners' to leave the country and
attacking their homes and property. The demonstration followed
a weekend in which soldiers from the Zairean Army had broken
into several religious establishments in the town, arresting
local church members and missionaries and seizing vehicles,
documents and communications equipment. The events prompted
the German arm of Caritas to announce it had suspended its
activities in the town.     Reports soon emerged that during
the weekend of 6 - 8 September, five Banyamulenge had been
killed by Zairean soldiers. One man, Bolingo Karema, was
allegedly beaten and stoned to death in Uvira town, while four
others were killed in surrounding villages. The offices of a
local Banyamulenge NGO, Groupe Milima, had allegedly been
looted by soldiers, while its director, Muller Ruhimbika, was
in hiding after a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Mr
Ruhimbika had played a prominent role in drawing attention to
the situation in Uvira during 1995 and the first half of 1996
(see the following section), and is currently living in exile.

Over subsequent days the army sought out Banyamulenge,
arresting men while allowing women and children to go free.
The arrests were reportedly carried out at the instruction of
the District Commissioner of Uvira, Shweka Mutabazi. Amnesty
International singled Mr Mutabazi out for criticism, citing
reports that he had encouraged the takeover of Tutsi property
and authorized the enrolment of youths into the armed forces
to fight the `Tutsi armed group'. Amnesty also undertook to
investigate reports that more than 35 Banyamulenge had been
`extrajudicially executed' by the Zairean authorities and more
than 50 others `disappeared' at the start of the month.(1)

Reports of fighting between Banyamulenge militia and Zairean
soldiers also began to emerge, with three soldiers reported
killed during the week beginning 9 September. The Zairean Army
declared the Uvira area a `military zone' and was reported to
be reinforcing its presence with troops from Goma, Bukavu,
Shaba and Kinshasa. On 13 September the Zairean Government
accused Rwanda of having enrolled 3,000 Banyamulenge in its
army and of training and infiltrating them to destabilize
eastern Zaire, with Burundi providing them with rear bases.
Both Governments categorically rejected the charges.

At the same time Banyamulenge, some of whom had been held in
detention, were refouled or fled the country and began
entering Rwanda and Burundi. Several hundred refugees were
reported as having reached Cyangugu in Rwanda and others as
having gone to Cibitoke and Bubanza provinces in Burundi. At
the end of the month UNHCR estimates put the number of recent
Banyamulenge arrivals at over 500 in Rwanda and over 400 in
Burundi. Of this number 535 people had been `refouled' by the
Zairean authorities and the rest had left Zaire spontaneously.

During the weekend of 14 and 15 September Zairean television
reported accusations by the authorities that the UNHCR and IOM
(International Organisation of Migration) had been assisting
armed groups to infiltrate Zaire from Rwanda and Burundi with
the aim of destabilizing Kivu. Following these accusations two
UNHCR staff were beaten up by Zairean soldiers. On 17
September the claims were dismissed by the UN
Secretary-General, as being `completely unfounded'. The
Secretary-General subsequently sent Ibrahima Fall as a UN
Special Envoy to Zaire to seek clarification on the
allegations. The Zairean authorities, meanwhile, confirmed
that the activities of IOM throughout Zaire had been
suspended.

On Sunday 22 September the growing tension between Rwanda and
Zaire manifested itself in an exchange of mortar fire between
the two countries. This was repeated during the following two
days, killing one Zairean and injuring five others. It also
prompted the United Nations to relocate 23 `non-essential'
expatriate aid agency personnel to Nairobi and the
International Federation of the Red Cross to evacuate three of
its delegates, after two shells landed in the garden of a
hotel where IFRCS staff had been staying.

Rwanda and Zaire accused each other of having started the
exchanges of fire. On 23 September the Government of Rwanda
released a statement detailing its version of events. It
accused the Government of Zaire of targetting Kabembe town in
Cyangugu prefecture with automatic weapons fire and artillery
shelling between 6pm and 11pm on 22 September. These attacks
were said to have caused neither injuries nor material damage.

The Rwandan Government linked this alleged `act of aggression'
with an attack in mid-September on the prison in the
neighbouring commune of Gishoma, in which a group of
infiltrators had sought to free prisoners. According to the
statement, the RPA `repulsed the attackers, who fled under
cover of automatic weapons fire from the Panzi camp in Zairean
territory.'(2) The dispute over who had started the attacks
continued, however, although a ceasefire was agreed on 25
September. Zaire alleged that Rwanda broke the ceasefire on 26
and 29 September, a claim denied by Rwanda.

At the same time a Banyamulenge spokesman in exile reported
that on 22 September the Zairean authorities had executed 40
Banyamulenge being held in detention. They had been arrested
by the authorities the previous week at Baraka in Fizi zone.
The summary executions were said to have been in retaliation
for the killings of Zairean soldiers by Banyamulenge militia.
Independent confirmation of this incident has yet to be
obtained.

On 22 September the Zairean authorities also repeated
allegations that soldiers were infiltrating into Kivu from
Rwanda and Burundi in order to support the Banyamulenge
militia. Government spokesman Oscar Lugendo was quoted in the
press as saying that Zairean troops killed three `Rwandan'
soldiers and captured five others at Kiringye in Uvira region
on 31 August. He claimed that the infiltrators were being
commanded by Banyamulenge who had been officers in the Zairean
Army but had gone to Rwanda after the victory of the RPA in
July 1994. (3) The authorities said the soldiers had
infiltrated Uvira via Cyangugu in Rwanda and Cibitoke in
Burundi.

BACKGROUND

Different historians give different dates for the migrations
of Tutsi pastoralists from the historic kingdom of Rwanda to
what is now Zaire. All of the estimates, however, date the
migrations between the 16th and 19th centuries (4). The atlas
of the Republic of Zaire produced by Jeune Afrique in 1978
provides a map showing the routes of the major historical
population movements into and within what is now Zaire, and
dates the movement of pastoralists from Rwanda into Kivu
between the 17th and 18th centuries. This was part of the
migration which also brought Rwandan Tutsis to Masisi and
Rutshuru zones in what is now North Kivu.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Zaire
states with confidence that `ever since 1797, under the rule
of Yuhi IV Gahindiro, Rwandan Tutsis have emigrated to the
Congo, settling in Kakamba, in the plain of Ruzizi and in the
higher regions (Mulenge Hills), because of the climate and to
feed their cattle.' (5)

These Tutsis established their first settlement at Mulenge and
became known as Banyamulenge (people of Mulenge). They settled
in Uvira, Mwenga and Fizi zones, where they are to be found to
this day (although there are now Banyamulenge living further
south, in Shaba, and in major towns around the country).
Establishing their own settlements they lived side-by-side
with indigenous Bantu ethnic groups - the Babembe, Bafulero,
Banyindu, Barega, Barundi and Bashi. They speak a variant of
Kinyarwanda (the language of Rwanda), recognized as a separate
dialect by linguistic authorities (6). Today estimates of
their number range from 250,000 to 400,000 people, roughly
comparable with other ethnic groups in the area (the Barega
have been estimated at 400,000, the Babembe at 252,000 and the
Bafulero at 275,000).(7)

The Banyamulenge lived in relative peace and harmony with
their neighbours for most of this century. It was not until
the Mulele rebellion in Kivu in 1964 that Banyamulenge found
themselves in opposition to other local people. The Mulelists,
espousing a variant of communist philosophy in which property,
land and cattle were to be shared among local people, drew
support from other ethnic groups in South Kivu. The
Banyamulenge, however, did not share their neighbour's
enthusiasm for these goals and helped the then Congolese
National Army to crush the movement in South Kivu. This
episode instilled a deep and lingering resentment against the
Banyamulenge within other ethnic groups in the area.

The Banyamulenge, however, continued to prosper economically
and also succeeded in securing political representation at
both the local and national levels. In 1980 however, Mr
Gisaro, the sole Banyamulenge MP in the Zairean Parliament,
died in a car crash.  In 1981 the Zairean Parliament passed
new legislation relating to Zairean nationality. This sought
to nullify the 1972 legislation under which all persons of
Rwandese origin who established their residence in the Kivu
province before 1 January 1950 and who had continued to reside
in Zaire were collectively granted Zairean nationality as of
30 June 1961.

Henceforth nationality would be acquired on an individual
basis only and any other mode of acquisition of Zairean
nationality was null and void. In effect, people of Rwandese
origin in Zaire were rendered stateless persons. According to
informed legal opinion, however, the 1981 law was arbitrary
and discriminatory and therefore unlawful under international
conventions to which Zaire is a party. If this analysis is
accepted, the Banyamulenge retained a strong claim to Zairean
citizenship.

They were, however, refused permission to stand as candidates
or to vote in the 1982 Parliamentary elections. Banyamulenge
in Mwenga zone protested against the decision by burning
ballot boxes being used in the elections. The same was true
for the 1987 Parliamentary elections, when again the
Banyamulenge could neither stand for office nor cast a vote.
This time there were protests in Uvira and Fizi and again
ballot boxes were burnt.     The tensions aroused by these
disputes were further exacerbated by the refugee crises of
1993 and 1994, when Hutu refugees first from Burundi and then
from Rwanda, flooded into the area. Local people are said to
identify themselves with Hutus and to hold Tutsis responsible
for heaping the refugee problem upon them through the coup of
October 1993 in Burundi and their struggle for power in Rwanda
after the RPF invasion of 1990. In this analysis the genocide
of 1994 was characterized as the culmination of a war rather
than the planned and purposeful extermination of Rwanda's
Tutsi minority.

On 28 April 1995 the High Council of the Transitional
Parliament passed a Resolution in order, ostensibly, to
prevent Rwandan and Burundian refugees from acquiring Zairean
nationality. The Resolution followed a visit to Kivu by the
Vangu commission of inquiry, which had been established to
look into these questions. The most surprising aspect of the
Resolution was that it treated the Banyamulenge as recent
refugees. The Resolution included a list of people to be
arrested and expelled, the cancellation of any sale or
transfer of assets which benefited `immigrants who have
acquired Zairean nationality fraudulently', the replacement of
existing governors and commanders with new officials, and the
banning of Tutsis from all administrative and other posts. (8)
The Resolution was signed by the Speaker of the Parliament,
Anzuluni Bembe Isilonyonyi, who claims to come from Uvira and
have Babembe ancestry.

It wasn't long before the Resolution was put into action. On
19 September the District Commissioner of Uvira, Shweka
Mutabazi, wrote to the official responsible for urban planning
in Uvira telling him to make a list of the properties and land
owned by Banyamulenge, that all building work by Banyamulenge
was to be brought to a halt and that all abandoned
Banyamulenge houses should be identified and itemized. He also
charged the same official with informing the head of the
Banyamulenge community about these developments.

During late 1995 and early 1996 acts of harrassment as well as
evictions of Banyamulenge were an increasingly common
occurence. On November 21 1995 the authors of a petition to
the authorities were detained, shortly after one of their
number, Muller Ruhimbika, had been interviewed by the UN
Special Rapporteur on human rights in Zaire, Roberto Garreton.
During his January 1996 report Mr Garreton noted that some
Banyamulenge had already been expelled from Zaire while others
were under an expulsion order. The Special Rapporteur also
reported that he had been informed that `local tribes were
arming in readiness for a struggle against the Banyamulenge,
forcing the latter to do the same.'(9)

The immediate precursor to the events of September was the
banning of Groupe Milima, the non-governmental organization
run by Mr Ruhimbika, on 9 August, again at the instigation of
the District Commissioner for Uvira. Groupe Milima, a rural
development organization which had lobbied for the nationality
rights of Banyamulenge to be recognized, was clearly proving
to be a thorn in the side for the authorities. The letter
announcing the ban accused Mr Ruhimbika of political lobbying,
travelling without the permission of the authorities and
drawing the nationality issue to the attention of the Carter
Centre. It also alleged that Mr Ruhimbika had been trafficking
arms to the Banyamulenge.

CONCLUSION

In many respects recent developments in Uvira bear an uncanny
resemblance to developments in Masisi since November 1995.
There too, Zairean Tutsis have been targetted by the local
authorities, army and local people and forced to flee their
country. In the case of Masisi there is substantial evidence
that Rwandan Hutu refugees, in particular members of the
interahamwe militia and the former Rwandan Army, have fuelled
the conflict by bringing arms and hatred to an already
volatile situation (10). In the case of Uvira the alleged
involvement of Hutu refugees in targetting the Banyamulenge
remains just that - an allegation. With Masisi as with Uvira,
the conflicts have resulted in mutual recriminations between
Zaire and Rwanda.

Yet the obvious difference between the two conflicts is that
in the case of Masisi the Tutsis were forced out of their
country without putting up a fight. This is not proving to be
the case in Uvira, where the Banyamulenge have been arming and
preparing themselves for the current confrontation. As one
Banyamulenge spokesman in exile explained, "They have seen
what has happened in Shaba with the Kasai who were unarmed.
They saw what happened to their `brothers' in Masisi and
Rutshuru, who were defenceless and were killed and evicted.
The Zairean authorities say the Banyamulenge must go. The only
option they had was to get arms. They are saying, `we're not
going to allow this to happen to us'."

How the conflict will evolve is a matter of speculation. While
reports from the area do support claims that Rwandan Hutu
refugees are assisting the Zairean Army, it is unclear to what
extent local people from other ethnic groups in South Kivu are
willing to take up arms against their neighbours. In the case
of Masisi, it was the involvement of local Hutus in league
with refugees and occasionally the army that really made the
position of the Tutsis untenable and forced them to flee.
Again, there is evidence to support the claim by the Zairean
authorities that the Banyamulenge are receiving military
support from Rwanda and Burundi. This allegation is not
entirely improbable in terms of the interests of Rwanda and
Burundi in avoiding a major inflow of refugees and
coordinating actions to hinder attempts to destabilize their
own countries. The more nebulous claims of Tutsi ethnic
solidarity may also have a role to play. Unless the status of
the Banyamulenge can be  peacefully resolved, and tensions
between Rwanda and Zaire reduced, South  Kivu will continue to
be a potential flashpoint in an already volatile  region.

 REFERENCES

1. Amnesty International, `Zaire: Amnesty International
condemns Human Rights Violations against Tutsi', 20 September
1996.

2. Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Cooperation of Rwanda, 23 September 1996.

3. Arthur Malu-Malu, Reuters News Service, `Zaire hits out at
aid groups, neighbours, 22 September 1996.

4. Kagame Alexis (1972), Maquet, J and Hiernaux, J (1954),
Weis (1959), Depelchin (1974), cited in `Memorandum on the
Tragedy of the Rwandaphone Zaireans with some Proposals and
Recommendations', June 1996.

5. Mr Roberto Garreton, `Report on the situation of human
rights in Zaire', 29 January 1996.

6. Barbara F. Grimes, Ed., `Ethnologue: Languages of the
World', Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc., Dallas, Texas,
1992.

7. As for 6.

8. Le Haut Conseil de la Republique - Parlement de Transition,
`Resolution sur la Nationalite', Kinshasa, 28 April 1995.

9. As for 5.

10. UN DHA IRIN, Situation Report on Masisi and Rutshuru, 10
May 1996 and Update on Masisi, Rutshuru and Lubero Zones, 15
August 1996.

[ENDS]

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