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Zaire Relations with Belgium
Belgo-Zairian relations have been on a roller coaster
throughout the Mobutu years, in part because of disputes
involving
the substantial Belgian commercial and industrial holdings
in the
country. Also contributing to the tumultuous relationship
were the
numbers of Zairian students who continue to congregate in
Belgium
and the persistent symbols of the former colonial
relationship,
which remain highly charged for both Zairians and
Belgians. The
coup of November 1965 was interpreted by some observers as
having
been actively supported by Belgian military officers in
Mobutu's
entourage. Others noted that the coup was a loss for
Belgium in
that it prevented the return to power of Moïse Tshombe,
the most
reliable defender of Belgian interests in the ex-colony.
In any case, Belgo-Congolese relations were cordial
until
Mobutu raised the question of revising the Convention of
February
6, 1965, which supposedly settled the contentieux
belgocongolais , i.e., the bundle of disputes concerning
assets and
debts of the former colony. Belgium rejected the demand to
revise
the convention but agreed to reopen negotiations, because
it had
some unsatisfied demands of its own. When bilateral
negotiations
failed to produce substantive results, the Congo acted
unilaterally
on July 13, 1966, breaking off the negotiations, freezing
the
assets of certain Belgian organizations, and seizing a
number of
their properties in Kinshasa.
Relations with the Belgian-controlled mining company
UMHK also
deteriorated in early 1966. On June 7, the government
ruled that
the headquarters of all enterprises operating in the
country must
be transferred to the Congo and promulgated a law, called
the
Bakajika Law, which in effect cancelled concessions
granted before
independence. All titleholders wishing to continue in the
country
were given thirty days in which to introduce a request for
renewal
of title.
Discussions with the Belgian government and UMHK
continued
until December 1966, when the Congo decided to break off
the talks.
On December 23, when UMHK announced its refusal to
transfer its
headquarters to Kinshasa, the government suspended copper
exports
and blocked the transfer of the mining company's funds. On
January
2, 1967, Kinshasa authorities announced formation of the
stateowned company, General Quarries and Mines (Générale des
Carrières
et des Mines--Gécamines) to replace UMHK. In February
1967,
Gécamines signed a technical cooperation agreement with a
sister
company of the former UMHK, and copper exports were
resumed.
Although the matter of indemnities for UMHK properties
remained in
suspense, the accord marked a turning point in relations.
Belgium subsequently took a number of steps to ensure
closer
relations with the former colony. In early June 1968,
President
Mobutu and his family were received as houseguests of the
Belgian
king and queen, the first such visit by statesmen from the
new
nation since 1960. The two governments signed a convention
for
scientific and technical cooperation on August 23, 1968,
and the
minister of state for foreign affairs and foreign trade
announced
the release of certain Belgian funds that had been blocked
in the
Congo since 1960. During a return visit by King Baudouin
and Queen
Fabiola in June 1970, a treaty of friendship was signed.
In the early 1970s, the relationship periodically
soured over
various issues. But starting in 1976 both sides made
efforts to
move closer. A new cooperation agreement was signed in
March, and
Zaire promised to compensate Belgians who had lost assets
under the
Zairianization policy. Zaire later allowed foreigners
whose
property had been expropriated to recover 60 percent of
their
assets, leading to a Belgian renewal of interest in
investment.
Improved relations notwithstanding, Mobutu complained that
students
and exiles hostile to the regime were allowed to publish
and be
active in Belgium.
During the second Shaba invasion in 1978, Belgium sent
paratroopers, as did the French, to rescue the stranded
Europeans
at Kolwezi. Planning to negotiate with the FLNC rebels,
the
Belgians proceeded cautiously, landing their forces at
Kamina, more
than 200 kilometers away. Their hand was forced, however,
when the
French preceded them by landing directly at Kolwezi and
counterattacking. Fearing the extension of French
influence in
their former domain, the Belgians promoted the formation
of a joint
African defense force to repel future attacks by Zairian
dissidents.
Despite such support, by 1989 Zaire apparently was
closer to a
total break with its former colonial ruler than at any
time since
the crisis at independence. In November 1988, Belgium had
offered
to postpone for ten years the due dates of state-to-state
loans and
to make new arrangements concerning Zaire's guaranteed
commercial
debt to Belgium. However, this relatively liberal stance
toward
Zaire was criticized in the Belgian parliament and
especially in
the press, where Mobutu was depicted as an autocrat who
had led his
country into economic ruin. In response, Zaire renounced
all
measures of reduction of its debt undertaken by Belgium.
All
Zairians with property in Belgium were to dispose of it or
transfer
it out of Belgian territory. By the end of the academic
year, every
Zairian studying in Belgium would have to leave.
Zaire then escalated the conflict by terminating the
treaties
governing Belgian aid to Zaire, calling for an inventory
of all
specific aid agreements and termination of all those that
did not
contribute to the development of Zaire, and reopening the
contentieux belgo-congolais. Belgium replied that
the
contentieux had been definitively settled and that
it was
suspending cooperation with Zaire, although pending aid
projects
would be completed.
The Francophone Summit held in Dakar in late May 1989
provided
Zaire with considerable debt relief and also brought its
dispute
with Belgium nearer to resolution. The highlight of the
meeting was
French president François Mitterrand's announcement of the
cancellation of US$2.6 billion of debts from thirty-five
African
states. Attracting less attention, but of more direct
importance to
Zaire, which accounted for 80 percent of the US$500
million of
guaranteed debt owed to Belgian banks by developing
countries, were
the debt relief plans announced by Belgium's premier,
Wilfried
Martens, at the summit.
Suddenly, in July, the crisis was over, and
Belgo-Zairian
relations were back to "normal." During a ceremony in
Rabat on July
26, President Mobutu and Premier Martens signed an
agreement that
formally ended the dispute between the two countries. The
accord
wrote off nearly US$277.7 million in commercial and
government debt
and rescheduled the remaining commercial debt of US$296.7
million.
Relations between Belgium and its former colony were
cordial once
more. They stayed that way for about a year, then worsened
again
over the killings at the University of Lubumbashi in May
1990, in
the aftermath of which Belgium cut off all but
humanitarian aid.
Mobutu retaliated by expelling 700 Belgian technicians and
closing
all but one Belgian consular office in Zaire. In October
1991,
Belgium dispatched troops to Zaire to help restore order
and
protect foreign nationals following a mutiny and rampage
by
paratroopers in Kinshasa in September 1991. But Belgium
increasingly began to voice criticism of the Mobutu
regime's human
rights abuses and lack of democratization. Moreover, there
was a
growing consensus among most Belgian politicians in favor
of the
departure of President Mobutu from office.
In late 1992, Belgium, along with France and the United
States,
expressed official support for the Tshisekedi government,
despite
fears that its power was more apparent than real. Belgium
also
showed some cautious interest in resuming aid to Zaire if
democratization continued and it Zaire received IMF and
World Bank
backing for its economic program. But no such resumption
appeared
likely at the end of 1993.
In response to another wave of violence in Zaire in
early 1993,
Belgium again sent troops to Zaire to evacuate its
nationals.
However, Mobutu refused to permit the Belgian forces to
enter
Zaire, forcing them to remain in Brazzaville. In the
aftermath of
the violence, in February 1993, Belgium joined France and
the
United States in voicing continued support for the
Tshisekedi
government and democratic forces in Zaire. The three
nations
demanded that Mobutu live up to his agreement and transfer
power to
the Tshisekedi government. They subsequently refused to
recognize
the rival Birindwa government appointed by Mobutu in March
1993.
Nevertheless, Belgium, France, and the United States have
stopped
short of taking stronger action to oust Mobutu, such as
confiscating his assets abroad--a measure advocated by the
European
Parliament in early 1993--or imposing economic sanctions
on the
regime. In July 1993, Belgium did send a pointed
diplomatic message
to Mobutu by not including him among those invited to
attend the
funeral of King Baudoin I, with whom Mobutu had enjoyed a
good
relationship prior to 1990.
Data as of December 1993
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