21.11.1996

Humanitarianism and imperialism

Once again the spectre of famine and massacre is stalking central Africa. Its roots lie in the countries of Rwanda and Burundi, whose soil is well enriched with human blood already, but it is spreading over the border to the large neighbouring country of Zaire (Zaire, in fact, is as large as Europe).

Large numbers of Hutu refugees have fled to eastern Zaire following the 1994 Hutu massacres of the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda, which then triggered off a victorious invasion by the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front. A further complication is that large numbers of Tutsi live in eastern Zaire, and they have begun to be persecuted by the Zaire central government.

As a result, there is rebellion by Tutsis against Zaire, and Rwandan Tutsi soldiers were reported to have crossed the border into Zaire. There have been numerous killings and rumours that fleeing refugees are beginning to die from thirst, starvation and exhaustion. Western and African governments are pondering military intervention, among them Britain.

Some of the heat has gone out of the situation, with a report on Rwandan radio on November 17 that 500,000 refugees have returned to Rwanda from Zaire. It is not clear how many are left, assuming that the report is true. In the meantime, countries who were formerly colonial masters in the region look like dominating any relief force that might be sent there. It is hard to disentangle genuine humanitarian concern from a desire by western powers to intervene and manoeuvre for best advantage.

Events in Zaire offer a clue: President Mobutu has been in France, where he has reportedly been receiving medical treatment. The situation in Zaire has become deeply unstable, and western countries, especially France, may wish to have troops handy in the region for any eventuality. The situation of the refugees may not in reality be what it is about. Britain and the USA have been less keen on deploying troops than France has been. Then again, they were not colonial masters in the region previously, and may not want to start now.

This is not to say that the humanitarian crisis does not exist. It does. However, communists should not assume that the appeals and pledges for action that have emanated from various heads of state can be taken at face value.

Imperialism has stoked the fire that is bringing this whole area to the edge of the abyss. The idea that the same forces should be encouraged to administer another ‘band aid’ is truly sickening. The fact that almost the whole of society is demanding intervention from the capitalist heads of state indicates how marginal the working class ideology of universal self-emancipation has become today.

Andrew McKay