At a time when media attention and peace-keeping efforts are understandably focused on Ituri and the Kivus, a dangerous mixture of developments is taking place in Katanga, in the southeastern part of the country. Armed conflicts plague the northern part of the province while a disintegrating economy is driving the south deeper into poverty. Human rights, including freedom of expression, are increasingly violated. Meanwhile, reunification of the province is still marred by political and economic roadblocks.
Insecurity
Over the past six months, human rights organizations have reported massacres of civilians and clashes between Mai-Mai, self-defense forces (FAP) and the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC) along the former disengagement line in northern Katanga. When fighting broke out in May after the assassination of a Mai Mai chief named Makabe in Malemba Nkulu territory, thousands of people fled their homes to take refuge in the bush. A second larger displacement took place in October along the border between Mitwaba and Pweto territories as a result of a Mai Mai attack on a FAC base. Most of the 10,000 civilians who fled the violence are only now returning to their villages.
The problems between the Mai Mai and the FAC can be traced to Laurent-Désiré Kabila's call to arms in 1998, and the perception among the Mai Mai that while they were defending Lubumbashi and Kamina from Rwandan-backed RCD forces, FAC soldiers were looting their villages and abusing their families. As a result, most Mai Mai today don't trust the FAC, and feel they haven't been properly compensated for their efforts to defend Kabila Sr. They claim to be ready to turn in their weapons to the international community, but not to the local authorities.
Ethnic tension
During the last decade, Katanga has been the scene of violent ethnic clashes. In 1992 and 1993, Kasaians were victims of ethnic cleansing by the Mobutu regime in retaliation for the election of Etienne Tshisekedi as prime minister. The Governor of Katanga, Gabriel Kyungu, was encouraged to persecute people from Kasai province. Katangans themselves became involved, enticed by the promise of Kasaian-held jobs at the Gecamines, the country's largest state-owned mining company. According to MONUC's human rights section, thousands of Kasaians were killed and over 500,000 sequestered in inhuman conditions before being evacuated by humanitarian organizations to Kasai, where most of them had never set foot before. Although tension has decreased in the past few years, there is a risk of flare-up especially during the pre-elections period when ethnicity may be exploited for political gain.
Unemployment
Another potential time-bomb is the province's worsening poverty linked to the demise of the Gecamines. In 1986, 33,000 workers produced 476,000 tons of copper and 14,000 tons of cobalt. Last year, copper production barely reached 19,000 tons and cobalt had dropped to 1,800 tons. Yet the company still employed over 23,000 workers. To reduce the staff by half, the World Bank stepped in recently with an early retirement scheme. So far, $25 million of the total $40 million have been distributed, but the programme has proven inadequate, particularly in Kipushi, 25 km from Lubumbashi, where 80 percent of the population is made up of Gecamines staff.
"How can Gécamine expect us to get by on $2000?," one agent says, referring to the amount he received after 25 years of service. "I haven't been paid in 30 months. This money doesn't even begin to get me out of my rut."
Some of the retired workers in Kipushi have used the money to start their own public transportation businesses, but according to a community leader, Father Appolinaire Monta Matula, such ventures don't pan out. "They waste all their money on used minibuses that break down within a couple of weeks," he says. "When they don't have enough money for repairs and maintenance, they're back to square one."
Gecamines isn't the only ailing state company in Katanga. At the SNCC, the national railroad service, thousands of workers went on strike in late October to demand payment of nine months of back salaries totalling $125 million. Human rights organizations have documented cases of attempted rape, assault and arbitrary arrest in Likasi where SNCC agents went on strike in mid-November. In Lubumbashi, homes at the workers' quarters known as "Camp SNCC" were sacked by the police. One house was damaged by a grenade. Two union officials were jailed for several weeks by the state's intelligence agency (ANR).
Isolation
To make matters worse, many Katangans feel their problems are unaddressed, if not ignored, by the international community - a resentment some analysts think could lead to a resurgence of the separatist tendencies that have surfaced off and on since the 1960s when the UN quelled an independence movement led by Moïse Tshombe.
Today's secessionist impulses are also driven by the perception that mining profits are not benefitting Katangans but rather foreign companies and the Kinshasa powerbase.
Reunification
Pro-independence streaks notwithstanding, divisions persist within the province itself. True reunification has yet to happen due in part to bureaucratic slowness in Kinshasa and a lack of trust between leaders from the north and the south. For many Katangans, particularly in Lubumbashi, the choice of who will govern the province is linked to the candidate's potential to guarantee voter allegiance to Joseph Kabila in the presidential elections two years down the line. In one tract from a political campaign, the message is clear : "The only candidate to be appointed as the governor in Katanga Province is someone who is originally from Katanga, otherwise this province will be unruled." The appointment of a non-Katangan to the position of governor therefore has the potential to further divide the province.
For many observers, however, the reunification of Katanga has less to do with politics than with pocketbooks. Air trade between Lubumbashi and Kalemie resumed in August. A few months later, rehabilitation began on the Kindu-Lubumbashi railroad by a partnership of four non-governmental organizations, in collaboration with the SNCC. At a cost of $1 million, the first leg of the project will rehabilitate the 489-kilometre stretch between Kindu, in Maniema province, and Gwena in Katanga. Representatives from one of the organizations, Food for the Hungry International, have announced that the first train from Lubumbashi is set to depart in March 2004.
Crackdown on press freedom
Katanga is the birthplace of the last two DRC presidents. As such, some fear provincial authorities may institute a strong, if not authoritarian, regime. One early warning sign is the current lack of freedom of expression. Journalists in Lubumbashi complain of threatening phone calls, harrassment and arrests if they publish or broadcast material that is critical of the government. Correspondents of well-known media outlets also face repression. "When I started working for Voice of America five years ago, it wasn't easy," says Lucien Kahozi. "I was jailed, but even though today we are still threatened almost on a daily basis, we do our job." One of the few radios that can cover sensitive political issues is Radio Phoenix, thanks to its affiliation with the University of Lubumbashi, UNILU. "So far, I've felt no pressure to censure myself," says Guillaume Kazadi, the station's editor-in-chief. "I think the authorities hesitate to attack us because we are linked to the university. Maybe they fear that if they attack us, students may revolt." According to some reporters, harassment can be kept to a minimum by practicing ethical journalism. "Reporters have to double-check their facts," says Rose, who works for one of the main radio stations in Lubumbashi. "They can't go around reporting rumors. If we organize ourselves into a strong and respected press corps, I think the authorities will understand that we are not the enemy, but a necessary complement to their work." Although stringers for international media have budgets for transportation and communication expenses, most journalists in Lubumbashi survive on shoestring salaries that don't allow them to own cars or even take public transportation to confirm in person that their stories are accurate.
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Where does MONUC fit in?
MONUC has had a presence in Lubumbashi since November 2002 when two teams of military observers were deployed to monitor developments in the province. Substantive sections started arriving in February 2003. Today the Lubumbashi office has personnel working on political, human rights and child protection issues.
Radio Okapi broadcasts in Lubumbashi via an FM relay, and journalists from the MONUC office in Western Kasai make regular trips to Katanga to distribute the mission's publications and gather information for the national Radio Okapi network. To nudge the authorities toward a better understanding of the role of a free press during election campaigns, public information staff members from Kananga are collaborating with the human rights section in Lubumbashi to organize a roundtable on freedom of expression in early 2004.
Kinshasa-based staff members have also made several trips to Katanga to work on projects related to demobilization, human rights and police training.
During a visit to Lubumbashi in mid-November, MONUC chief William Swing pledged to boost the office with more staff, equipment and military observers. In the interim, head of office Magda Gonzalez says her small team will continue to try to carry out the mission's mandate, despite logistical and staffing limitations.
