Zaire ARMED FORCES MISSIONS AND ORGANIZATION
Zaire's small navy operates along its short
coast and on its numerous lakes and rivers, such as this one
through dense jungle in Équateur Region.
The constitution states that the president is the
supreme
commander of the armed forces and is also responsible for
formulating and executing defense policy. The Ministry of
Defense
and Veterans' Affairs assists him with these duties.
Mobutu had
served as minister of defense and veterans' affairs since
his 1965
coup, relinquishing the position only in 1990, following
his
announcement of the Third Republic
(see Proclamation
of the Third Republic
, ch. 4). During the 1977 Shaba crisis, Mobutu
personally
took over as FAZ chief of staff, in effect becoming the
supreme
commander, minister of defense, and chief of staff of the
army, a
staggering array of duties for a single person to assume.
He holds
the unique rank of field marshal in the FAZ.
Mobutu also heads the advisory National Security
Council, which
comprises the prime minister; the ministers of defense and
veterans' affairs, external relations, interior and
security, and
justice and keeper of the seals; the administrators
general of the
National Service for Intelligence and Protection and the
Military
Intelligence and Security Service; the president's special
adviser
on security matters; and the chiefs of staff of the FAZ
and the
gendarmerie. Within the National Security Council, a
Security
Committee and a Secretariat were established in May 1982.
The official mission of the FAZ is to defend the
country
against all internal and external threats. But throughout
its
existence, the mission to protect Zaire against internal
threats--
as well as threats to Mobutu's rule--has been the
military's
primary task. The military's importance in propping up the
Mobutu
regime is amply demonstrated by the role military and
security
forces played in suppressing political opposition in the
early
1990s. Mobutu has routinely deployed loyal military units
to
suppress popular demonstrations; to harass and intimidate
political
opponents and newspapers critical of his regime; to gain
and retain
control of key government institutions such as state-run
radio and
television facilities and the central bank; to incite
ethnic
violence; and to obstruct the operations of the
transitional
government, including blocking access by members of that
government
to their government offices
(see
Subsequent
Political Developments, 1990-93;
Opposition
since 1990
, ch. 4).
Until 1988 the FAZ was organized into three military
regions,
but in August of that year, President Mobutu increased the
number
of military regions. They generally coincide with the
country's
administrative regions, but some military regions
encompass more
than one administrative region
(see
fig. 1).
Data as of December 1993
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