Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe Read online

  FLN:

  Forces de Libération Nationales. A military fraction of the old PALIPEHUTU Burundi opposition group which split in 1993 under the leadership of Kabora Kossan.

  FNL:

  Forces Nationales de Libération.

  FNLA:

  Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola. First Angolan anti-Portuguese rebel movement, created in 1961 by Holden Roberto.

  FNLC:

  Front National de Libération du Congo. The organization created by the former Katangese Gendarmes from their Angolan exile after the collapse of Tshombe’s regime. They carried out the two unsuccessful Shaba invasions of 1977 and 1978 and later joined the victorious AFDL.

  FRD:

  Forces de Résistance de la Démocratic. Rwandese democratic opposition party created in exile by Seth Sendashonga and Faustin Twagiramungu in 1996. It went into eclipse after the assassination of its first founder in May 1998.

  FRODEBU:

  Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi. Hutu opposition party created in exile by Melchior Ndadaye in 1986 and legalized in May 1990.

  FROLINA:

  Front de Libération Nationale. A Burundi Hutu guerrilla group led by Joseph Karumba.

  FUNA:

  Former Uganda National Army. Former soldiers of Idi Amin’s Uganda National Army who, after being defeated by the Tanzanians in 1979, regrouped in southern Sudan. Inactive throughout the 1980s, they were recycled by the Sudanese Military Intelligence in the late 1990s to fight the Museveni regime.

  GSSP:

  Groupe Spécial de la Sécurité Présidentielle.

  HCR:

  Haut Conseil de la République (High Council of the Republic). The embryo democratic national assembly of Zaire born out of the CNS. Convened between January 1993 and January 1994 before turning into the HCR/PT.

  HCR/PT:

  Haut Conseil de la République/Parlement Transitoire (High Council of the Republic/Transition Parliament). A product of the fusion between the HCR and the old Mobutist pseudo-parliament. HCR/PT theoretically lasted until the end of the Mobutu regime but lost most of its actual relevance with the resignation of its president, Monsignor Monsengwo, in January 1996. (See CNS.)

  HIPC:

  Heavily Indebted Poor Countries.

  ICG:

  International Crisis Group.

  ICRC:

  International Committee of the Red Cross.

  ICTR:

  International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

  IDP:

  Internally displaced persons. Refugees who have not crossed an international border.

  IMF:

  International Monetary Fund.

  IOC:

  Integrated Operations Centre. A UNREO spin off, it was in charge of coordinating the evacuation of the IDP camps in southern Rwanda.

  IRIN:

  Integrated Regional Information Network.

  ISO:

  Internal Service Organization. The Ugandan internal secret service.

  JMC:

  Joint Military Command.

  LDF:

  Local Defense Force. The Rwandese government local militia.

  LRA:

  Lord’s Resistance Army. Millenarian guerrilla movement active in northern Uganda since 1987.

  LSA:

  Lord’s Salvation Army. Original name of the LRA between 1987 and 1992.

  MAGRIVI:

  Mutuelle des Agriculteurs des Virunga.

  MDC:

  Movement for Democratic Change. Zimbabwean opposition party.

  MDR:

  Mouvement Démocratique Républicain, Largest of the prewar Rwandese opposition parties, it was heir to the old PARME-HUTU ethnic movement of pre-independence days. There was an ambiguity between the “old” party, identified with ethnic ideology and anti-Tutsi persecutions, and the “new” party, supposedly more democratic.

  MESAN:

  Mouvement d’Evolution Sociale de l’Afrique Noire.

  MIB:

  Mission d’Immigration des Banyarwanda.

  MIBA:

  Société Minière de Bakwanga.

  MLC:

  Mouvement de Libération du Congo. Congolese rebel group created in 1998 by Jean-Pierre Bemba to fight the regime of Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Turned into a political party during the Congolese transition.

  MMD:

  Movement for Multiparty Democracy. Zambian opposition party launched in the 1980s to challenge the single-party UNIP. It won the October 1991 elections.

  MNC:

  Mouvement National Congolais. Created in October 1958 by Patrice Emery Lumumba, it was the main nationalist party at the time of independence.

  MNF:

  Multinational intervention force.

  MONUA:

  Mission des Observateurs des Nations Unies en Angola. The UN peacekeeping mission (1994–1999) that followed the failure of UNAVEM.

  MONUC:

  Mission des Nations Unies au Congo.

  MPLA:

  Movimento Popular de Libertaçao de Angola. The ruling party in Angola since independence in 1975.

  MPR:

  Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution. President Mobutu’s single party, created in 1967.

  MRC:

  Mouvement Révolutionnaire Congolais.

  MRLZ:

  Mouvement Révolutionnaire pour la Libération du Zaïre. The small South Kivu anti-Mobutu movement created by Anselme Masasu Nindaga. (See AFDL.)

  MRND:

  Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement, In Rwanda, the late President Habyarimana’s single party whose cadres played a key role in the genocide.

  NALU:

  National Army for the Liberation of Uganda. A guerrilla movement formed by the Bakonjo tribe of western Uganda in 1988 to fight the Museveni regime. Into eclipse after 1992, many of its fighters later went into the ADF.

  NDF:

  Namibian Defense Force. The Namibian regular army.

  NGO:

  Nongovernmental organization.

  NIF:

  National Islamic Front.

  NRA/NRM:

  National Resistance Army/Movement. The guerrilla movement organized by Yoweri Museveni and his friends in Uganda. It has been in power since January 1986.

  OAU:

  Organization of African Unity.

  OECD:

  Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

  PALIPEHUTU:

  Parti pour la Libération du Peuple Hutu. Clandestine Burundi Hutu opposition party created in exile by Remy Gahutu in 1980.

  PALU:

  Parti Lumumbiste d’Action Unifié. Left-wing political party in Zaire created by former Lumumba associate Antoine Gizenga. Has links with the old PSA.

  PARENA:

  Parti du Renouveau National. Burundi Tutsi opposition party created in August 1994 by former president Jean-Baptiste Bagaza.

  PARMEHUTU:

  See MDR.

  PCT:

  Parti Congolais du Travail. Congo-Brazzaville’s single party created in 1968.

  PDC:

  Parti Démocrate Chrétien. A small Rwandese prewar opposition party which became a special target for the RPF when it started its confrontation with the Catholic Church. In April 1999 PDC President Jean-Népomucène Nayinzira changed its name to Parti Démocrate Centriste (Democratic Party of the Center) in the hope of severing the implied Catholic connection.

  PDSC:

  Parti Démocrate Social Chrétien. Anti-Mobutu opposition party led by André Bo-Boliko, a member of USORA.

  PL:

  Parti Libéral. A minor Rwandese opposition party.

  PLC:

  Parti de la Libération Congolais. Small guerrilla group created in 1986 around Beni which later contributed to the bigger Zairian rebellion of 1996 under the label of CRND.

  PPRD:

  Parti Pour la Reconstruction et le Développement.

  PRI:

  Parti Républicain Indépendant, Anti-Mobutu opposition party l
ed by Jean Nguza Karl-I-Bond, a member of USORA. Nguza’s break with USORA led to the creation of UFERI.

  PRP:

  Parti pour la Réconciliation du Peuple. Burundi royalist party created in 1993 by Tutsi politician Mathias Hitimana.

  PRP:

  Parti de la Révolution Populaire. Anti-Mobutu guerrilla movement created in 1967 by Laurent-Désiré Kabila.

  PSA:

  Parti Solidaire Africain. A left-wing nationalist party in the Congo at the time of independence. It became the nucleus of the radical Kwilu rebellion led by Pierre Mulele in 1963–1968 and constituted one of the political tendencies later reincarnated in PALU.

  PSD:

  Parti Social Démocrate. A prewar Rwandese opposition party that slowly died out after the RPF monopolized power.

  RCD:

  Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie. Congolese rebel group created in 1998 to fight the regime of Laurent-Désiré Kabila. It later split into several factions, which were supposed to be reunified by merging into the FLC. Became a political party during the Congolese transition.

  RDR:

  Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Retour. The “new” political movement created in the Rwandese refugee camp by the former génocidaire leadership to try to regain international credibility.

  RPA:

  Rwandese Patriotic Army. The new army created in Rwanda in 1994 after the RPF took power.

  RPF:

  Rwandese Patriotic Front. A political movement created in 1987 by Rwandese exiles living in Uganda. From October 1990 on it carried out a guerrilla insurgency against the Habyarimana dictatorship, finally winning the war in July 1994 and taking power in the wake of the genocide.

  RTNC:

  Radio Television Nationale Congolaise.

  SADC:

  Southern African Development Community. Regroups all the southern African states plus Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC.

  SADF:

  South African Defense Force. The South African army.

  SARM:

  Service d’Action et de Renseignement Militaire. Zairian military intelligence service often used for internal repression against civilians. It had a commando unit entirely made up of Ngbandi soldiers commanded by Mobutu’s brother-in-law.

  SASMIP:

  Service d’Achat des Substances Minérales Précieuses.

  SNIP:

  Service National d’Intelligence et de Protection. The “new” Zairian Special Service created in 1990 to “humanize” the former FIS and FAS previously led by “Terminator” Honoré N’Gbanda. SNIP was under the command of Gen. Likulia Bolongo.

  SOMINKI:

  Société Minière du Kivu.

  SPLA:

  Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army.

  SSR:

  Security Sector Reform.

  SWAPO:

  South West African Peoples Organization. Namibian nationalist movement created in 1960 with South African Communist Party help; it achieved power in 1990.

  TNA:

  Transitional National Assembly.

  TPDF:

  Tanzanian People’s Defense Force. The Tanzanian army.

  UDEMO:

  Union des Démocrates Mobutistes.

  UDI:

  Unilateral Declaration of Independence. The November 1965 proclamation of Rhodesian independence by the white minority-led government of Ian Smith. It resulted in fourteen years of conflict until the 1979 Lancaster House Conference on Zimbabwean independence.

  UDPS:

  Union pour la Démocratie et le Progès Social. Zairian opposition party led by long-time Mobutu opponent Etienne Tshisekedi. A USORA member organization.

  UFERI:

  Union des Fédéralistes et des Républicains Indépendants. A pro-Mobutu political party born of the fusion of Nguza Karl-I-Bond’s PRI (after it broke with USORA) with Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza’s Parti Fédéraliste Démocrate Chrétien. Reincarnated as UNAFEC after the fall of Mobutu.

  UMHK:

  Union Minière du Haut Katanga. The Belgian mining concern that dominated the economy of Congo’s Katanga province and played a key role in its secession from the Léopoldville government in 1960. It was nationalized in 1966 and renamed Générale des Carrières et Mines du Zaïre (GECAMINES) in 1971.

  UMLA:

  Uganda Muslim Liberation Army. An anti-Museveni Muslim guerrilla group created in 1996. (See ADF.)

  UNAFEC:

  Union Nationale des Fédéralistes Congolais. The new name of UFERI after the fall of Mobutu.

  UNAMIR:

  United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda. The military body supposed to help Rwanda and which, after evacuating the country during the genocide, came back and stayed on until 1996, but without much effect.

  UNAR:

  Union Nationale Rwandaise. Rwandese royalist party that fought against the Kasa Vubu regime alongside the left-wing Congolese rebels of 1964–1965.

  UNAVEM:

  United Nations Angola Verification Mission. The failed UN mission to supervise the voting in Angola (1991–1994).

  UNHCR:

  United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Among the various specialized UN agencies, it was the most important player in the Great Lakes crisis.

  UNHRFOR:

  United Nations Human Rights Field Operation for Rwanda.

  UNIP:

  United National Independence Party. Led by Kenneth Kaunda, it was the main nationalist party in Zambia before becoming the country’s single party for twenty years.

  UN ITA:

  União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola. Anti-Portuguese rebel movement created in 1966 by Jonas Savimbi. It fought the MPLA until Savimbi’s death in 2002. Later turned into a legal political party.

  UNREO:

  United Nations Rwanda Emergency Office. The UN body supervising all emergency operations after the genocide. It was supposed to act in coordination with UNAMIR but was largely autonomous.

  UNRF:

  Uganda National Rescue Front. This was initially a West Nile-based guerrilla organization created by former Idi Amin minister Moses Ali to fight the second Obote regime (1980–1985). When Moses Ali became a minister in Museveni’s government, disaffected Aringa tribesmen launched UNRF II with Khartoum’s support.

  UPA:

  Uniao de Populaçiao de Angola.

  UPC:

  Uganda Peoples Congress. Created in 1961 by Milton Obote, it dominated Ugandan politics until 1985.

  UPDF:

  Uganda People’s Defense Force. The name taken by the Ugandan NRA when it became the regular Ugandan army.

  UPRONA:

  Union pour le Progrès National Burundese nationalist party founded in 1957 by Chief Leopold Bihumugani and later led by independence hero Prince Louis Rwagasore.

  USORA:

  Union Sacrée de l’Opposition Radicale et Alliés. An anti-Mobutu political cartel which regrouped the UDPS, the PRI. and the PDSC after the collapse of the Conference Nationale Souveraine.

  WNBLF:

  West Nile Bank Liberation Front. An anti-Museveni guerrilla group created in Zaire by former Idi Amin commander Juma Oris in 1994.

  ZANU:

  Zimbabwe African National Union. Initially based on some Mashona sections, it was the main nationalist party in the anti-Rhodesian struggle, later becoming a single party after independence under the name of ZANU/PF (Patriotic Front).

  ZAPU:

  Zimbabwe African Peoples Union. ZANU Matabele-based rival nationalist party.

  ZCSC:

  Zairian Camp Security Contingent. FAZ elements paid by UNHCR to ensure refugee camps security in eastern Zaire during 1995–1996.

  ZDI:

  Zimbabwe Defence Industries.

  ZNA:

  Zimbabwean National Army.

  GLOSSARY

  The language from which the term originates is marked thus: Fr. for French, Kin. for Kinyarwanda, Lin. for Lingala, Port. for Portuguese, Sw. for Swahili, Lug. for Luganda.

  ab
acengezi (Kin.):

  “Infiltrators.” Name given by the RPF to the ex-FAR, former Interhamwe, and later ALIR combatants who infiltrated back into Rwanda after 1997 to try to overthrow the new regime.

  abacunguzi (Kin.):

  “Liberators.” Play on the word abacengezi by the local Hutu population in northwest Rwanda.

  abakada (Kin/Fr.):

  A Kinyarwanda corruption of the French word cadre combined with the Kinyarwanda prefix aba meaning “people.” These are the young men recruited by the RPF to extend its control over the rural areas. They are largely a law unto themselves.

  abanyanduga (Kin.):

  People from the nduga (i.e., south-central) area of Rwanda. The abanyanduga did not particularly like the Habyarimana regime and were often not supportive of the genocide. This gave them a reputation as “friends of the Tutsi,” which neither endeared them to their fellow northern Hutu nor really protected them from the heavy hand of the RPF.