Muffling the Sound of Murder: Re-interpreting Zimbabwe's Strategic Choices in the Congo
2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/13698249.2011.599999
ISSN1743-968X
Autores Tópico(s)African studies and sociopolitical issues
ResumoAbstract Zimbabwe's military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1998 and 2002 has not been analysed in detail. Scholars have either taken the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) regime at its word or been too distracted by Zimbabwe's domestic turmoil to cast a critical gaze on what must rank as one of Africa's most disastrous military interventions. This article addresses this lacuna by discussing three aspects of the intervention: Zimbabwe's motives; the military's performance in the Congo; and ZANU-PF's efforts to obscure the reality of the intervention from the Zimbabwean public. While Zimbabwe's motives were more nuanced than many scholars acknowledge, the military's performance in the conflict was an unmitigated failure borne of poor training and leadership, corruption, weak allies and poor strategic choices. At home the intervention wrought a generation of veterans infected with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), a bankrupt exchequer and a military thoroughly depleted by an unnecessary war. Notes 1. V. S. Naipaul, A Bend in the River (New York: Random House 1979) p.53. 2. 'Lightning Kills Zimbabwe Soldier in DRC', Zimbabwe Standard 24 Aug. 1999. 3. Andrew Price-Smith and John Daly, Downward Spiral: HIV/AIDS, State Capacity, and Political Conflict in Zimbabwe (Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace 2004) p.31. 4. Peter Godwin, When a Crocodile Eats the Sun (New York: Hachette 2006) p.50. 5. Michael Quintana, e-mail correspondence 2 Aug. 2010. 6. '150 Soldiers Back As Army Withdraws From DRC', Herald (Harare) 20 Feb. 2002. 7. John Clark, 'Causes and Consequences of the Congo War' in John Clark (ed.) The African Stakes of the Congo War (New York: Palgrave 2002) p.2. 8. Ibid. pp.381–82; René Lemarchand, 'The Geopolitics of the Great Lakes Crisis', L'Afrique des Grands Lacs: Annuaire 2005–2006, p.45. 9. Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide (London: Hurst 1997) pp.376–77. 10. Gérard Prunier, From Genocide to Continental War: The 'Congolese' Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa (London: Hurst 2009) p.23. 11. Ibid. p.184. 12. Martin Meredith, The Fate of Africa (New York: Public Affairs 2005) p.539. 13. Filip Reyntjens, The Great African War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2009) p.202. fn. 29. 14. 'Caleb Sanyangare (Zimbabwe/DRC)', Indian Ocean Newsletter 4 Apr. 1998. 15. 'Mugabe to the Rescue', Indian Ocean Newsletter 29 Aug. 1998. 16. See John Clark, 'Explaining Ugandan Intervention in Congo: Evidence and Interpretations', The Journal of Modern African Studies 39/2 (2001) p.269. 17. International Crisis Group [ICG], The Agreement on a Ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 5, 20 August (1999) p.15. 18. See Frank Smyth, 'A New Game: The Clinton Administration on Africa', World Policy Journal, 15/2 (1998) pp.82–92. 19. Michael Nest, 'Ambitions, Profits and Loss: Zimbabwean Economic Involvement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo', African Affairs 100/400 (2001) pp.474–75. 20. 'A Country Pays as Foreigners Fight for the Spoils of War', Guardian 19 Jan. 2001. 21. Prunier (note 10) p.190. 22. Laurie Nathan, 'SADC's Uncommon Approach to Common Security', Journal of Southern African Studies 32/3 (2006) p.615. 23. Michael Bratton, 'Zimbabwe's Long Agony', Journal of Democracy 19/4 (2008) pp.46–47. 24. Willie Breytenbach, Dalitso Chilemba, Thomas A. Brown, and Charlotte Plantive, 'Conflicts in the Congo: From Kivu to Kabila', African Security Review 8/5 (1999) pp.33–42. 25. Richard Carver, 'Zimbabwe: A Strategy of Tension', UNHCR: Centre for Documentation and Research (Paper No. 04/2000), 1 Jul. 2000, p.9, online at < www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6a6c70.html>, accessed 1 Dec. 2010. 26. Sandra Maclean, 'Mugabe at War: The Political Economy of Conflict in Zimbabwe', Third World Quarterly 23/3 (2002) p.523. 27. See, for example, 'U.S. Cannot Bring Peace, Says President Mugabe', Inter Press Service 4 Nov. 1998. 28. Martin Rupiya, 'A Political and Military Review of Zimbabwe's Involvement in the Second Congo War' in John Clark (note 7) p.96. 29. Donald Chimanikire, 'A Common Foreign Policy: The Case of SADC', Paper presented at a conference on Regional Integration and its Implications to SADC Countries, organised by the National Institute for Economic Policy (NIEP), Johannesburg, July 2001, p.11, online at < ir.uz.ac.zw:8080/jspui/handle/10646/6>, accessed 21 Jun. 2010. 30. 'UK Has Moral Obligation to Correct Colonial Evil', Herald 9 Jul. 2003. 31. 'Rhodies to the Rescue', Africa Confidential 5 Nov. 1999; 'A Victory Foretold', Africa Confidential 29 Aug. 2003. 32. 'Rebels Advance After Fall of Kindu', Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg) 16 Oct. 1998. 33. Michael Nyambuya, 'Zimbabwe's Role as Lead Nation for Peacekeeping Training in the SADC Region', Institute for Security Studies (Pretoria), Monograph 21 Resolute Partners Feb. 1998. 34. Solomon Nkiwane, 'Zimbabwe's Foreign Policy' in Stephen Wright (ed.) African Foreign Policies (Boulder, CO: Westview 1999) p.199. 35. 'Transatlantic Tryst', Africa Confidential 5 Mar. 1999. 36. 'Defence Forces Have Reason to Celebrate', Herald 10 Aug. 2005. 37. 'President Hails Defence Forces', Herald 13 Aug. 2008. 38. Daniel Henk and Martin Rupiya, Funding Defense: Challenges of Buying Military Capability in Sub-Saharan Africa (Carlisle, PA: Army War College 2001) p.v. 39. 'Squalor and Lack of Food Force Zimbabwe Troops to Return Home', Times 7 May 1998. 40. Steve Metz, Refining American Strategy in Africa (Carlisle, PA: Army War College 2000) pp.23–24. 41. Henk and Rupiya (note 38) p.18. 42. Norma Kriger, Guerrilla Veterans in Post-War Zimbabwe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2003) p.132. 43. Eric Young, 'Chefs and Worried Soldiers: Authority and Power in the Zimbabwe National Army', Armed Forces & Society 24/1 (1997) pp.137–38. 44. Michael Quintana, The Role of the Military in Zimbabwe: 1980–2003, Institute for Strategic Studies (University of Pretoria), 1 Nov. 2004, online at < www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-131321557.html>, accessed 17 Jun. 2010. 45. Young (note 43) p.139. 46. Rosaleen Duffy, 'The Role and Limitations of State Coercion: Anti-poaching Policies in Zimbabwe', Journal of Contemporary African Studies 17/1 (1999) p.115. 47. Abiodun Alao, 'The Metamorphosis of the "Unorthodox": The Integration and Early Development of the Zimbabwean National Army' in Ngwabi Bhebe and Terence Ranger (eds) Soldiers in Zimbabwe's Liberation War (London: James Currey 1995) p.115. 48. Bjørn Møller, Raising Armies in a Rough Neighbourhood: The Military and Militarism in Southern Africa (Åalborg: Research Center on Development and International Relations, Åalborg University 2003) p.21. 49. Martin Rupiya, 'Demobilisation and Integration: "Operation Merger" and the Zimbabwe National Defence Forces, 1980–1987' in Jakkie Cilliers (ed.) Dismissed: Demobilisation and Reintegration of Former Combatants in Africa (Halfway House, SA: Institute for Security Studies 1995) p.38. 50. Martin Rupiya, 'The "Expanding Torrent": British Military Assistance to the Southern African Region', African Security Review 5/4 (1996), online at < www.iss.co.za/pubs/asr/5no4/ExpandingTorrent.html>. 51. Quoted in Young (note 43) p.135. 52. Kriger (note 42) p.21. 53. Alao (note 47) p.186, n. 41. 54. Kriger (note 42) pp.126–38. 55. Eric Young, 'N'angas, Varoyi and Midzimu: The Institutionalization of Traditional Beliefs in the Zimbabwe National Army', Armed Forces & Society 24/2 (1998) pp.250–53. 56. Samuel Huntington, The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations (Cambridge, MA: Belknap 1957) p.83. 57. Masipula Sithole, 'Zimbabwe's Eroding Authoritarianism', Journal of Democracy 8/1 (1997) p.133. 58. Prunier (note 10) pp.182–83, 418, fn. 13. 59. Rupiya (note 28) p.94. 60. Prunier (note 10) p.186. See also Thomas Turner, 'Angola's Role in the Congo War' in John Clark (note 7) p.84. 61. 'Gunfire Rattles Downtown Kinshasa', Associated Press [AP] 27 Aug. 1998. 62. 'Zimbabwe Forces Drive Rebels from Kinshasa Airport Road', South African Press Association, 11 Sept. 1998. 63. Prunier (note 10) p.186; 'Mugabe Sends More Troops as First Bodies Return from Congo', Times 28 Aug. 1998. 64. 'Angola Seeks DR Congo Ceasefire, Results from NAM Summit', Agence France Presse [AFP] 1 Sept. 1998. 65. 'Integrated Regional Information Network [IRIN] Update 511', United Nations [UN] 28 Sept. 1998, online at < www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin511.html>. 66. Quoted in 'Zimbabwe Claims Capture of Ugandan Troops', Monitor (Kampala) 2 Sept. 1998. 67. Quoted in 'Guerrilla Forces Not Able to Hold Kinshasa', Washington Times 31 Aug. 1998. 68. Prunier (note 10) p.186. 69. 'Guerrilla Forces Not Able to Hold Kinshasa' (note 67). 70. Rupiya (note 28) pp.98–99. 71. 'Zimbabwe, Congo Fail to Agree on Treatment of War Prisoners', Zimbabwe Standard 20 Sept. 1998. 72. Reyntjens (note 13) p.162. 73. 'Zimbabwe, Congo Fail to Agree on Treatment of War Prisoners' (note 71). 74. Prunier (note 10) p.126. 75. 'The Jews of Africa', Economist 19 Aug. 2004. 76. 'Army Action in DRC Could Undo Mugabe Regime – Defence Editor', Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) 19 Aug. 1998. 77. 'More Deployed as Casualties Rise', Zimbabwe Independent 28 Aug. 1998. 78. 'Mandela Stops Weapon Sales to Uganda, Rwanda', New Vision (Kampala) 21 Mar 1999. 79. Quoted in 'Zimbabwe Forces Drive Rebels from Kinshasa Airport Road' (note 62). 80. Rupiya (note 28) p.94. 81. Knox Chitiyo and Martin Rupiya, 'Tracking Zimbabwe's Political History: The Zimbabwe Defence Force from 1980–2005' in Martin Rupiya (ed.) Evolutions and Revolutions: A Contemporary History of Militaries in Southern Africa (Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies 2005) p.358. 82. 'Basis for an All-African War?' Africa Research Bulletin 35/11 (1998) p.13312. 83. 'Turning the Tide', Africa Confidential 6 Nov. 1998. 84. 'Rwanda Returns First Captured Zimbabwean Soldier', DPA 5 May 1999. 85. 'ZNA Dispatches 1500 Military Police to DRC', Zimbabwe Independent 20 Nov. 1998. 86. 'Zimbabwean Troops in DR Congo Mistrustful of Kabila's Forces, Says Paper', BBC Summary of World Broadcasts 27 Nov. 1998. 87. 'Congo Offensive Holds New Dangers', Zimbabwe Independent 23 Oct. 1998. 88. 'Down with War', Economist 7 Nov. 1998. 89. 'Turning the Tide' (note 83). 90. 'Zimbabwean Troops in DR Congo Mistrustful of Kabila's Forces' (note 86). 91. 'Hard Talk in Kinshasa', Africa Confidential 5 Mar. 1999. 92. 'ZNA Dispatches 1500 Military Police to DRC' (note 85). 93. 'Zimbabwe Army Beefs Up for Risky New Congo Campaign', DPA 22 Oct. 1998. 94. Cited in 'Down with War' (note 88). 95. 'Zimbabwe Army Beefs Up for Risky New Congo Campaign' (note 93). 96. 'Zimbabwe Troops Desert in Protest at Congo War', Guardian 14 Nov. 1998. 97. 'Ban on Lies will Cramp Ministers', Zimbabwe Independent 29 Jan. 1999. 98. 'Violent Reaction to Coup Story', Africa Research Bulletin 36/1 (1999) p.13417. 99. 'Pro-government Forces take DR Congo Town of Buta', AFP 24 Oct. 1998. 100. 'Zimbabwe Announces Start of Eastern Offensive in DR Congo', AFP 25 Nov. 1998. 101. 'Major General Goes Down Memory Lane to Historic Event', Herald 11 Aug. 2004. 102. 'War's Wounds', Indian Ocean Newsletter 12 Dec. 1998. 103. 'Air Strikes Force Congolese Rebels to Change Tactics', AP 27 Nov. 1998; 'At Quiet Frontline, Congolese Rebels Await Marching Orders', AP 30 Nov. 1998. 104. Ibid. 105. 'Congolese Rebels Patrol Captured Towns by Lake', AP 12 Dec. 1998. 106. 'Fighting Rebels at Home and Abroad', Africa Confidential 4 Dec. 1998. 107. 'IRIN Update 568', United Nations, 16 Dec. 1998, online at < www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin568.html>. 108. 'Zimbabwe Toll Rises in Congo Debacle', Times 15 Dec. 1998; 'Congolese Rebels Say they Killed Two Zimbabwean Commanders, 45 Troops', AP 15 Dec. 1998. 109. 'Officers Court-martialed', Zimbabwe Independent 18 Dec. 1998. 110. 'ZNA Dispatches 1500 Military Police to DRC' (note 85). 111. 'The Wages of War', Africa Confidential 20 Nov. 1998. 112. 'Military Minders', Africa Confidential 10 Nov. 2000; on Chingombe's ZANLA background, see 'Rtd Lieutenant-General Chingombe Dies', Herald 10 Jun. 2008. 113. Nyambuya had an impressive resume of deployments on peacekeeping missions; Chingombe did not. 114. 'Turning the Tide' (note 83). 115. 'Hard Talk in Kinshasa' (note 91). 116. Prunier (note 10) p.206. 117. Ibid. p.207. 118. Ibid. p.208; 'Noose Around Mbuji Mayi Tightens', Africa Energy & Mining 29 Sept. 1999. 119. 'Corpses of Dozens of Zimbabwean Troops Around DR Congo Town', AFP 18 Mar. 1999. 120. 'Zimbabwe Loses Battalion as War Spreads', Africa Research Bulletin 36/3 (1999) p.13481. 121. 'IRIN Update 647', United Nations, 12 Apr. 1999, online at < www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin647.html>. 122. Prunier (note 10) p.212. 123. 'Lusambo Under Rebel Control', Panafrican News Agency 16 Jun. 1999. 124. 'Kabila At Risk in All-out Battle for Gem Fields', Times 18 Jun. 1999. 125. 'Rebels Advance to Centre of DR Congo', AFP 16 Jun. 1999. 126. 'Mugabe Army Trapped in a Congo Jungle of Despair', Times 15 Jun. 1999. 127. Ibid. 128. Ibid. 129. Quintana (note 5). 130. Prunier (note 10) p.210. 131. ICG, Disarmament in the Congo: Jump-Starting DDRRR to Prevent Further War (Report No. 38), 14 Dec. 2001, p.7. 132. 'The Congo Factor', Africa Confidential, 22 Nov. 2002; 'IRIN Update 720', United Nations, 22 Jul. 1999, online at < www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin720.html>. 133. 'Zimbabwe: IRIN Focus on arms links to Burundi', UN IRIN, 3 Feb. 2000, online at < www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID = 12104>. 134. 'The Congo Factor' (note 132). 135. 'Mayi–Mayi Warriors Reportedly Attack Community in Sud-Kivu', BBC Summary of World Broadcasts 3 Apr. 2000. 136. 'A Losing Gamble', Africa Confidential 1 Sept. 2000. 137. Ibid. 138. 'In Congo, War Gets Serious', Economist 23 Sept. 2000. 139. ICG (note 131); ICG, Scramble for the Congo: Anatomy of an Ugly War (Report No. 26), 20 Dec., p.8. 140. 'Desperate Battle Defines Congo's Warlike Peace', Washington Post 2 Jan. 2001. 141. Rupiya (note 28) p.102. 142. 'Government Deploys More Troops To Congo War Front', Zimbabwe Independent 5 Jan. 2001. 143. 'Kabila, a Victor in Peace', Economist 5 May 2001; 'Is Kabila Jr. Quietly Shedding His Father's Legacy?' The East African 1 Feb. 2001. 144. Rupiya (note 28) p.99. 145. 'A Losing Gamble' (note 136). 146. 'Zim Soldiers in Congo Food Scam', Financial Gazette (Harare) 13 Jun. 2002. 147. 'Soldier Detained over Diamonds Story', Zimbabwe Standard 12 Jun. 2001. 148. 'Talk Inside the Military is of Mugabe's Private War Gain', Southscan 30 Apr. 1999. 149. 'Glittering Prizes from the War', Africa Confidential 26 May 2000. 150. 'Military Companies Reveal Aim of Profiting from Congo Link', Southscan 15 Nov. 1999. 151. 'A More Complex Tale of Plunder in Congo-K', Africa Analysis 13 Dec. 2002. 152. 'Soldier Detained over Diamonds Story' (note 147). 153. 'Zimbabwe Toll Rises in Congo Debacle' (note 108). 154. 'Minister in Exchange With Editor Over DRC', Zimbabwe Standard 20 Dec. 1998. 155. 'Imagine Opposition Rally in Zvimba', Zimbabwe Independent 16 Oct. 1998. 156. 'The Cost of Sustaining Mugabe's Ego', Zimbabwe Independent 28 Aug. 1998. 157. 'Imagine Opposition Rally in Zvimba' (note 155). 158. Kenneth Good, 'Dealing with Despotism: The People and the Presidents' in Hanning Melber (ed.) Zimbabwe's Presidential Elections 2002 (Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet 2002) p.21. 159. 'IRIN Update 568', United Nations 16 Dec. 1998, online at < www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin568.html>. 160. 'Zimbabwe's Hidden War Costs', Guardian 9 Apr. 1999. 161. Irene Staunton, Damage: The Personal Costs of Political Change in Zimbabwe (Harare: Weaver 2009) p.289. 162. 'Government's Secrecy Over DRC Deaths Slammed', Daily News (Harare) 29 Sept. 2002. 163. 'Government Still Compiling Statistics of DRC War Casualties', Herald 3 Jun. 2004. 164. 'Zimbabwe Has New Private Daily Amid Threats of Press Clampdown', AFP 31 Mar. 1999. 165. Rupiya (note 28) p.100. 166. Martin Rupiya, 'Contextualising the Military in Zimbabwe between 1999 and 2004 and Beyond' in Brian Raftopoulos and Tyrone Savage (eds) Zimbabwe: Injustice and Political Reconciliation (Cape Town: Institute for Justice and Reconciliation 2004) p.84. 167. 'Violent Reaction to Coup Story', Africa Research Bulletin 36/1 (1999) p.13417. 168. 'Mugabe Heads Army Coup Plot', Zimbabwe Independent 4 Feb. 2000. 169. 'State Arms Used in Press Blast', Africa News 2 Feb. 2001. 170. ICG, Zimbabwe in Crisis: Finding a Way Forward (Report No. 32), 13 Jul. 2001, p.11. 171. 'State Arms Used in Press Blast' (note 169). 172. 'ZDF's Participation in DRC Helps Strengthen Capability to Defend Zimbabwe: President', Xinhua News Agency 30 Nov. 2002. 173. Quoted in 'DRC Confronts New Challenges', Herald 1 Nov. 2002. 174. 'ZNA to Mark Troops Pullout From DRC', Herald 28 Nov. 2002. 175. 'Nation Marks ZDF Silver Jubilee', Herald 10 Aug. 2005. 176. '18 Airforce Planes Grounded', Zimbabwe Independent 11 May 2001. 177. Quoted in 'Ceasefire Finally Signed, But Peace Force Doubts Are Growing', Southscan 3 Sept. 1999. 178. '18 Airforce Planes Grounded' (note 176). 179. Quoted in 'DRC Paper Forced to Close for Criticising Zimbabwe Troops', Financial Gazette (Harare) 17 May 2001. 180. 'Welcome to the Home of Ndombolo …', Financial Gazette 11 Nov. 1999. 181. 'Alarm Over HIV Prevalence in Armed Forces', UN IRIN 24 Jun. 2004. 182. 'A Major Cutback is Made in the Size of the Army', Economist Intelligence Unit 1 Mar. 2006. 183. 'Veteran Army Photographer Dies', Herald 21 Jul. 2006. 184. 'Senior ZDF Officer Chadehumbe Dies', Herald 25 Mar. 2008. 185. 'Retired Air Commodore Midzi Buried', Herald 4 Apr. 2009. 186. 'Rtd Lieutenant-General Chingombe Dies' (note 112). 187. See 'Brigadier-Gen Muleya to Be Buried At Heroes Acre Today', Herald 18 Jul. 2007. 188. Rupiya (note 28) p.101. 189. 'The Disaster We Pretend Not to See', Zimbabwe Standard 4 Jun. 2000. 190. Quoted in Bruce Baker, 'Going to War Democratically: The Case of the Second Congo War (1998–2000)', Contemporary Politics 6/3 (2000) p.277. 191. Angus Selby, 'Radical Realignments: The Collapse of the Alliance between White Farmers and the State in Zimbabwe 1995–2000', Working Paper 144 (University of Oxford: Queen Elizabeth House Working Paper Series undated) p.36. 192. Quoted in 'The Incursion into Congo that Few Know About', Inter Press Service 10 Sept. 2004. 193. John Clark and Koyame Mungbalemwe, 'The Economic Impact of the Congo War' in John Clark (note 7) p.213. 194. Rupiya (note 28) p.103. 195. See Kriger (note 42). 196. 'Seven Byo Soldiers Die in Congo', Zimbabwe Independent 4 Sept. 1998.
Referência(s)