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Zaire PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD THE MILITARY
By the early 1990s, the FAZ's enlisted ranks
represented much
of society. However, members of President Mobutu's own
Ngbandi
ethnic group are disproportionately represented in the
military and
security forces, particularly at the highest levels. The
Ngbandi
overwhelmingly dominate the elite DSP. Mobutu has excluded
certain
areas of the country from recruitment in the military (in
the past,
the western half of the country had provided a majority of
recruits). The army reportedly is dominated by soldiers
from the
Équateur Region, Mobutu's home region, as well as
Haut-Zaïre. It
has also been reported that soldiers from the regions of
Shaba,
Kasai-Oriental, Kasai-Occidental, Bandundu, Bas-Zaïre,
Nord-Kivu,
Sud-Kivu, and Maniema are discriminated against.
The military is highly visible in most areas of the
country,
but it is not an institution that most Zairians identify
with or in
which they have any pride or confidence. The FAZ, as a
descendant
of the colonial Force Publique, has retained an aura of
separateness and, like the colonial force, is perceived,
justifiably, as an instrument of repression. As such, the
majority
of the population sees the army as their enemy.
There is also discontent within the military itself.
Low and
irregular pay is the primary cause for depredations by the
FAZ.
Only the highest-ranking officers and the DSP receive pay
sufficient to provide a basic level of subsistence. Most
officers
and other ranks receive wages that are inadequate to feed
and
clothe their families, and they often go unpaid for months
(see Conditions
of Service
, this ch.). As a result, FAZ members
often
prey on the local community in an effort to make ends
meet, and to
enrich themselves, which breaks down trust between the
military and
the Zairian population. In September 1991, unpaid
paratroopers went
on a rampage in Kinshasa, and widespread looting ensued.
France and
Belgium ultimately sent in troops to restore order and
protect
foreign nationals. Another wave of military-led pillaging
and
looting occurred in early 1993 following the introduction
of a new
Z5 million (for value of the
zaire--see
Glossary) note
that many
merchants refused to accept from the military personnel
who had
been paid with it. Lower-level, routine looting has
continued;
people who interfere or protest are often shot on the
spot. As a
result, fear of renewed military looting is widespread,
inducing
many citizens to pay the "contributions" that soldiers
demand as
the price of being left alone.
The FAZ has played a constructive role at times, in
conducting
occasional civic-action programs, but these may, in any
case, have
been largely window dressing for foreign advisers. For
example,
during a joint Zairian-American military exercise, Zairian
engineer
units built several bridges in Shaba Region, permitting
vehicular
travel between some towns for the first time in more than
ten
years.
Data as of December 1993
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