CIVIL CONFLICTS

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Lessons of Zaire Crisis -- Flow of Illicit Arms Fuels Ethnic Violence

By Michael T. Klare

Date: 11-27-96

With Rwanda now poised to absorb a half-million or more Hutu refugees from Zaire, the international community must deal with the need to house and feed so many people. But the key to long-term stability in the region lies in addressing the problem of illegal arms trafficking. PNS commentator Michael T. Klare is professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., and an expert on the international arms trade. He is author of "A Scourge of Guns: The Diffusion of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Latin America".

The roots of the ongoing crisis in Zaire and Rwanda are complex and tangled. But one key aspect of the conflict is clear and simple. The uncontrolled flow of guns and ammunition both sparks and sustains the violence. Without vigorous action to curb this illicit arms trade, new eruptions are virtually inevitable.

The destructive potential of small arms, mortars and other light weapons has been evident from the onset of the crisis in 1994. Imported and black-market munitions of this type were first used by the Hutu-controlled Rwandan Army to slaughter hundreds of thousands of Tutsis, and then by rebel Tutsi forces to defeat the Army and seize control of Rwanda. Later, the defeated Rwandan Army used such weapons to control Hutu refugee camps  in Zaire and to stage periodic raids in Rwanda -- thus extending the conflict into its current phase.

In all these activities, the various belligerents have relied on outside suppliers for arms and ammunition. Using well-tried means of clandestine transport, these suppliers -- usually operating from seemingly legitimate "front" companies in Africa and Europe -- ply their trade without respect to national boundaries, ethnic differences, or UN embargoes. What little wealth exists in this region has been wholly spent on funding the flow of arms.

Thanks to the persistent efforts of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), all this has long been known by the international community. But nothing has been done to curb the trade.

The role of outside arms suppliers was first exposed in early 1994. Human Rights Watch (a U.S.-based NGO) revealed that French, Egyptian, and South African arms firms had provided millions of dollars' worth of assault rifles, machine guns, mortars and grenades to the Rwandan Army (then under Hutu control) . These weapons, along with large numbers of machetes purchased by the government, were then used by the Army and extremist Hutu militias to kill an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Despite this, the United Nations and the international community made no serious effort to disarm the Rwandan Army and Hutu militias when they fled to Zaire in late 1994. This had disastrous repercussions: their arms allowed the Rwandan Hutu forces to terrorize the civilian refugee population, prevent their voluntary return to Rwanda, and regroup for raids into Rwandan territory.

Once again, despite NGO warnings, nothing was done. In May, 1995 Human Rights Watch reported that the Zairian military was secretly ferrying arms to ex-Rwandan Army forces in and around Goma -- arms reportedly obtained from black-market suppliers in Africa and Europe, including the British Mil-Tec Corp. (Mil-Tec's role came to light in November, when reporters found a cache of secret documents in an abandoned vehicle in the Hutu-controlled refugee camp. )

Human Rights Watch called on the UN and the world community to disarm the Hutu forces in Zaire , but to no avail.

Rwanda's new, Tutsi-led government , left to deal with the newly strengthened Hutu forces in Zaire, established links with Tutsi groups in Zaire -- themselves the victims of discrimination by Zairian government officials. Together they planned joint action against the Hutus and their Zairian protectors. This, too, must have entailed the transfer of arms, but no details have yet come to light.

With arms flowing in every direction, an explosion was inevitable. When Zairian officials called for the expulsion of the local Tutsi population (which had resided in the area for hundreds of years), local Tutsi militias -- with the apparent support of the Rwandan Tutsi forces -- attacked local Zairian army garrisons and Hutu refugee camps, sending a flood of refugees into the bush.

This finally spurred the international community into action -- to rescue the scattered Hutu refugees in Zaire. But these efforts are now on hold, as the defeat of Hutu forces in Zaire enabled hundreds of thousands of civilian refugees to escape the militias and return to their homes in Rwanda.

Historically, small arms traffic has drawn little attention compared to nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and the like. But the increasing incidence of ethnic warfare, has led international policymakers to look at light weapons. Several current UN studies are directed at finding ways to control small arms trade. These could include increased efforts at the national or regional level, international cooperation against black market dealers.

When the immediate crisis abates, it is essential that policy makers address the problem of illegal arms trafficking. Gun dealers are adept at circumventing international controls, but their operations in Africa have now been sufficiently exposed to allow for effective countermeasures. Failure to take those measures will almost certainly ensure further bloodshed in the region.