(The following statement by the Political Bureau of the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire, French section of the Fourth International, was published in the April 28 issue of Rouge. The translation is by Intercontinental Press.]
In telling the African presidents and premiers in Dakar on Wednesday [April 27] that they could "count on French support in all forms," [French President Valéry] Giscard d'Estaing revealed the full meaning of the French military intervention in Zaïre.
Its unconvincing arguments about a foreign invasion notwithstanding, the overriding factor in the French government's decision to intervene was its desire to bolster a reactionary regime on the brink of collapse.
The economic crisis plaguing Zaire, the crumbling of the authority of the central government, and the regime's indebtedness have wrecked Mobutu's plans for establishing a strong, centralized state, which was the mission given him by imperialism in 1965. Regardless of the nature and goals of the Congolese National Liberation Front, the clashes in Shaba province are threatening to plunge the country into a prolonged civil war.
Such a situation would destabilize Black Africa from the cape to the western part of the continent. It would throw a monkey wrench into the negotiations around Zimbabwe, deepen South Africa's isolation, and spur radicalization of the mass movement throughout the continent. Mobutu has lost the confidence of the Western powers. But there is no replacement for him, and no imperialist sector has come up with a viable way to change the regime in Zaire from within.
However, the aim of the French interventionists is not only to act as zealous hodvonarde of Mohutn in the name of bodyguards of Mobut in the name of imperialist interests in general. Giscard is basing his policy on the perspective of a North-South dialogue and the partial industrialization of some African countries. At a time when the African bourgeoisies can afford to diversify their diplomatic and trade relations, he is out to advance the particular interests of the French bourgeoisie. This explains why the president's move has not met with unanimous approval from his Western allies. The American and European imperialists are questioning the wisdom of aggravating the Shaba conflict, at the risk of jeopardizing the prospect of future negotiations with such African states as Angola.
The French and Moroccan operation has apparently reestablished the military balance of forces, secured the Kolwezi mining center, and achieved a reorganization of the Zairian troops. This has pleased the bourgeois African leaderhips, who are much more afraid of their own internal opponents than of any supposed danger of Soviet domination. The Franco-African summit meeting in Dakar fits neatly into this framework. The objective of this conference is to negotiate partial readjustments in the relations between the African bourgeoisies and their imperialist masters, as well as to work out a plan for long-term stabilization of the bourgeois African states.
So French intervention in Zaire is by no means over and done with. A major military mission remains in the country; the flow of material aid continues.
In France, these events should have been met with immediate protests. The working-class organizations, particularly the CP and the SP, should have called for an immediate response. But the reformist leaderships are not about to undertake any real struggle against French imperialism and colonialism, any more than they are ready to struggle against the Barre government and the minority regime today. Didn't the authors of the Common Program consider it sufficient to put forward a perspective of "negotiating" with all the regimes in question? And aren't Rangoolam, president of the Organization of African Unity, and Senghor, president of
In a further escalation of the international involvement in the Zaire conflict, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat announced May 1 that Egyptian pilots would be sent to "take over the operation of the entire Zairian Air Force" and to help Mobutu Sese Seko quell resistance by antigovernment Katangan forces in Shaba Province. "We are going to help Mobutu until he ends this matter," Sadat said.
In a new variation of the old "domino theory" advanced by Washington during the Vietnam War, Sadat claimed that the military action by the Katangans was a "direct measure against the Sudan and
Washington Expresses Approval
Sadat Sends Egyptian Pilots to Zaire
Washington Expresses Approval
Sadat Sends Egyptian Pilots to Zaire
Senegal, who supported the French intervention, members in good standing of the Social Democratic international?
Clearly, France under the Common Program will still be an imperialist coun try. Even the far left, which has still not mobilized very much around the struggle against imperialism in Africa, was not able to organize an initial protest.
However, in the present context, there are other factors that make it still more important to respond to the French intervention in Zaire-the banning of the Organization of African Communists and repression against immigrant workers and sections of the Federation of Black African Students in France. So, what is needed is a broad campaign against French imperialism and colonialism. And this campaign must be taken up by the entire labor movement.
The trade unions should organize boycott of the Zairian regime without further delay. We must demand the immediate withdrawal of French troops, not only from Zaire, but from all of Africa and the Indian Ocean. The soldiers' committees can carry this campaign into the antimilitarist movement, by condemning the French army's covert activities in support of the reactionary African regimes. We must demand the broadest democratic rights for immigrant workers, freedom of association, and the lifting of the ban on the OAC. The May 1 demonstration will provide an opportunity to make these slogans heard.
against the sources of the Nile [River]. We are going to side with the Sudan no matter what the dimensions of the battle." Earlier he said, "I don't want to wake up in the morning and find happening in the Sudan what is happening in Zaire."
Sadat also invoked the time-worn theme of a "Communist menace," charging that Moscow had a hand in the Katangan operation.
About fifty Egyptian pilots and mechanics, as well as an air force colonel, arrived in Zaire within hours of Sadat's speech. According to an Egyptian representative, they would "handle the Mirages," the twelve French-built Mirage jets that are part of Mobutu's air force. Only some of them are now operational.
Shortly after Sadat's announcement, the Carter administration declared its approval of the Egyptian intervention. A State Department representative tried to justify
Washington's stance by stating, "It is our position that such situations be solved by the African states themselves."
This pious claim has already been belied by Washington's provision of $15 million worth of "nonlethal" military aid to help
Mobutu counter the Katangan forces. In addition, Washington has backed the French airlift of 1,500 Moroccan troops to Zaire, as well as the provision of French and Belgian military supplies and "advisers."