The People and Their History

The rain forest covering most of the Congo River basin obscures archaeological sites, making knowledge of human origins in present-day Congo and evidence of past societies scarce.

First Indigenous Societies

The Congo is believed to have been populated as early as 10,000 years ago by the people called Pygmies. Most of the early population lived in small groups, relying for subsistence on hunting, fishing and gathering. Different groups of people speaking Bantu languages migrated during the first millennium A.D. from western regions of Africa throughout the southern parts of the continent. With their knowledge of extracting ores and manufacturing tools they developed in the Congo food-producing communities. The process of immigration and adaptation to diverse physical, social and political environments provided by other communities resulted in a great diversity of groups that organized themselves into small-scale political units. Communities sharing the same ethnic name or otherwise closely related were sometimes scattered among alien groups. The relationships between these autonomously functioning societies were susceptible to conflict.

By the middle of the second millennium A.D. the Bantu had begun to organize themselves into small states governed by chiefs, some of which were later formed into larger kingdoms. Well-known are the Kongo, Luba, Lunda and Kuba Empires. In that same period two groups of people speaking non-Bantu languages started to penetrate the northern region.

These migrations have laid the basis for the Congo's present-day population, comprising numerous ethnic groups that are designated by the external boundaries.

Explorations, Slave Raids and Colonialism

In the 15th century Portuguese explorers landed on the coast at the mouth of the Congo River. There they found an organized society, the Bakongo Kingdom, which included parts of areas presently known as Angola, Congo (Kinshasa) and Congo (Brazzaville). The Portuguese named the area Congo, after this kingdom, and soon after their arrival they began buying slaves from the Kongo people. The impact of this trade on local communities became even more disastrous with extensive slave raids carried out by Afro-Arabs from Zanzibar. These events caused a serious depopulation of the area and crippled the Congo for almost 400 years.

The expeditions and explorations of the Scottish missionary David Livingstone and the American journalist Henry Stanley brought the Congo to the attention of Belgium's King Leopold II. In 1876 he established and controlled a chain of trading stations along the Congo River and took charge of the Congo Free State as his personal domain. At the Conference of Berlin in 1884 14 nations without African representation carved up Africa. They declared their intention to respect the rights of the aborigines and to bring civilization by opening up the interior to trade. Missions and other benevolent enterprises to offer instruction to the African people were encouraged. The Treaty of Berlin guaranteed freedom of trade in the Congo Basin, freedom of navigation on the Congo River, and freedom of religion permitting the entry of missions of every nationality. It also announced vigorous action against the slave trade from the Arab East. At this Berlin Conference the Congo Free State was granted to King Leopold II. However, the methods he used in the expanding economic exploitation of the area inflicted such atrocities on the indigenous population that in 1908, under international diplomatic pressure, the king transferred the administration to the Belgium government. Throughout the Congo's colonial period African political development was not encouraged. However, a bloody demonstration in 1959 forced the Belgian government to accelerate procedures for moving the Congo towards self-governance.

African leadership had not been nurtured. The problems of ethnic identification within the complex Congolese society had not been addressed. The lack of institutional arrangements failed to provide mechanisms necessary to minimize and bridge internal differences. Colonial economic policy had stressed the production of primary products without adequate attention to the kind of agriculture and industries necessary for a politically and economically independent society. The colonial era had left a vast geographical area inhabited by large numbers of diverse small communities that were unprepared to greet independence as a single nation on June 30, 1960.

First Republic 1960-1965

The first years of the newly declared Democratic Republic of the Congo, with rivaling Kasavubu and Lumumba as the country's elected first president and prime minister, were marked by tense relationships with Belgium. This period also saw the arrival of a United Nations intervention force, the execution of Lumumba, mutinies, and volatile secessionist rebellions in Katanga, South Kasai, Kivu and Kwilu. In 1964 one of the largest rebellions since independence grew progressively brutal. White mercenaries were fighting alongside the government's army, and many atrocities were committed by all parties. Intervention by Belgian and American forces eventually ended the conflict. With the country in a political vacuum, the national army took command in 1965 and confided the direction of the nation to Joseph Desire Mobutu, the army's chief of staff. Mobutu assumed full executive powers, declared himself the head of the "Second Republic," and imposed a ban on party politics. His own Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR) was superimposed on the existing administrative structures.

Second Republic 1965-1990

Soon after his takeover Mobutu managed to forge a nation out of a complex of ethnically diverse groups. However, this success became overshadowed by political measures that left the country wholly controlled by a single leader and a small circle of individuals closely connected to and dependent on him. In 1971 Mobutu established an ideology of "authenticity," an affirmation of and claim to cultural independence and national uniqueness that meant also a rejection of foreign ideologies and influences. The country's name was changed to Zaire and Mobutu claimed that the institution of a single authoritarian leader was in the Zairian tradition. Following the government's failure to pay attention to agricultural development and its focus on capital-intensive prestige projects, the country was hit by an economic crisis in the late 1970s. The link between political power and control of economic resources combined with the tendency of the political elite to use the economy for self-aggrandizement and corruption exacerbated this situation. The inadequate production and inflated cost of basic provisions in combination with a distorted distribution of wealth and income by the shrewd "cleptocrats" led to discontent among the population. Several rebellions in the 1970s were laid down with assistance from France and Morocco.

Onset of Opposition

In 1982 opponents of Zaire's one-party system of government established a new party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). Detentions followed, but opposition to Mobutu's regime continued. With ministerial reshuffles and reconstructions of the government, Mobutu regularly reinforced his personal position. Amnesty International published a report condemning Zaire for abuses of human rights, specifically the illegal arrest, torture and murder of opposition supporters. In 1987 UDPS political leader EtienneTshisekedi and a few other former opposition leaders were admitted to the central committee of the MPR, but were arrested again shortly afterward. Political activities and demonstrations by students and opposition leaders, most of which were violently suppressed and followed by detentions, continued throughout the following years. With pressure mounting, Mobutu announced in 1990 that a full multi-party political system would be established and declared the inauguration of the Third Republic.

Third Republic-End of Mobutuism 1990-1997

When the presidential guard massacred 50-150 students during a demonstration that same year, strong international condemnation was expressed and the United States terminated its military and economic aid to Zaire. Continuing disorder and a worsening internal crisis developed in 1991 into widespread rioting and looting, which was initiated by the military and then spread to the civilian population. Massive evacuation of expatriates followed the unrest. During a peaceful demonstration by Christian churches and the political opposition in February 1992, security forces killed over 30 people. The election of Tshisekedi as prime minister in a transitional multi-party government in August 1992, which later was succeeded by a High Council of the Republic (HCR), was widely considered a victory for pro-democratic forces. But in 1993, when another period of riots by Mobutu's soldiers caused again the exodus of many foreigners, Mobutu had a second government formed and reconvened the national assembly as rivals to the government of Tshisekedi and the HCR. He successfully fostered divisions in the opposition, but Tshisekedi announced that his newly formed party would not take part in any future negotiations with the presidential conclave. A new administration was charged with implementing political change. However, neither multi-party presidential and legislative elections nor a referendum on a new constitution took place.

Zaire drew international attention in April 1994 with the influx of more than 2 million Rwandan ethnic Hutus. They were fleeing Rwanda after elements of their ethnic group had undertaken genocidal actions in which over 500,000 of the rival ethnic Tutsi minority were massacred. The assumption of power by the Tutsis ended three months of ethnic cleansing but made the Hutus seek refuge out of fear for revenge by the Rwandan Tutsi population. In Zaire the refugee crisis and Mobutu's deteriorating health prompted a rebellion that marked a turning point in the dictator's rule.

More Recent History

A century of exploitive Belgian colonial domination and three decades of cleptocratic dictatorship by Mobutu had given Congo's diverse population little chance to discover and develop its great potential and the nation's rich capacity. Instead, it had stirred sentiments of distrust and hatred along tribal lines and had left the people empty-handed. Regional conflicts had weakened the national security, and border disputes had disturbed the relationships with neighboring countries. The stage was set for a popular rebellion, which was supported by the Ugandan and Rwandan governments and successfully led to a change of leadership in the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The following year dissatisfaction among military ranks led to yet another, less popular civil war. Several of the Congo's neighbors saw a chance to defend and secure their own interests by supporting the different sides in the conflict.

1996-1997: Civil War and Change of Power

In 1994 refugee camps had been set up in eastern Zaire for more than 2 million Rwandan Hutus who fled their country out of fear for revenge after the massacre of over 500,000 rival Rwandan Tutsi and moderate Hutu people. In these camps Hutu militiamen, who had organized the ethnic killings along with former Rwandan soldiers, were allowed to mingle freely with civilian refugees, and they turned the camps into bases for rearmament. Widespread sentiments against the Tutsi population, who have been living for many generations in South Kivu and are known as the Banyamulenge, as well as an unresolved dispute over their Zairian citizenship complicated the situation. What initially appeared to be a regional uprising in the defense of the Zairian Tutsi population and intended to incapacitate extremist Rwandan Hutus, soon grew into a national Zairian rebellion. The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL), under the command of Laurent Desire Kabila and with covert support from the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan government, aimed to overthrow the Mobutu regime.

During nine months of bush war, the unpaid and unmotivated government soldiers offered little resistance. Mobutu fled to Morocco, and the rebels were welcomed by the population of the nation's capital, Kinshasa, as their liberators on May 17, 1997. Kabila restored the country's name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, appointed himself as President under a one-party rule, and installed a strict order against corruptive practices, which relieved the population from the harassments it had endured for many years from Mobutu's soldiers. With this last measure Kabila earned large public support, but throughout the first year of his rule criticism grew both at home and internationally. His refusal to cooperate with a U.N. team to investigate alleged atrocities by his Tutsi allies against unarmed Hutu refugees during the civil war made the international community skeptical about Kabila's concerns for human rights. The frequent detentions of opposing political figures and journalists and the perceived absence of efforts for democratic reforms put in doubt his government's commitment to future political pluralism. The lack of improvement in the economy and unemployment figures tested the population's patience with the new regime, while it was outspokenly displeased with the long-term presence of Rwandan troops in the country.

1998: Anti-Kabila Rebellion

Tensions between Kabila and his Rwandan allies became overt in May 1998, when Rwanda refused an invitation to a summit preceding the first anniversary of the liberation. Two months later Kabila ordered the Rwandan elements in the military to return to their country. This caused an uprising of the ethnically related Congolese Tutsi soldiers and other disenchanted factions of the Congolese army. Under the command of Jean-Pierre Ondekane, the country experienced the outbreak of a second civil war in less than two years time. The intellectual opposition politicians, Ernest Wamba dia Wamba and Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma and Kabila's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bizima Kahara, profiled themselves as the political backbone of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), accusing Kabila of corruption, nepotism and violation of human rights.

Kabila, on the other hand, identified Rwanda and Uganda with their Tutsi-led governments as the invading enemies of the country. Threatened by their quick gains in both eastern and western Congo, Kabila called upon the country's other neighbors to help defend the integrity of the DRC's borders. He also attracted and trained the rival Rwandan Hutu militia to help fight the enemy. In broadcast speeches of its leaders, the population was summoned to take initiatives to rid the country of all hostile elements, thereby stirring the ever-present sentiments of ethnic hatred. Military support from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia prevented the rebel forces from capturing Kinshasa, and towns in western Congo were retaken by the allied forces. With the rebels continuing to make advances in the east of the country, Chad also joined the allied forces. Southern African countries, unified in the Southern African Development Committee (SADC), became split over the approach toward a solution to the geographically expanding war, with open conflict between the presidents of Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The fight against a common enemy united otherwise disagreeing groups within the Congolese population. Kabila, aware of his soaring popularity in the beginning of the war, stressed his intentions to pursue the national multi-party elections scheduled for April 1999. In January 1999 he allowed the registration of political parties under a multitude of strict conditions, which the main opposition leaders rejected as insincere. The SADC allied forces' failure to bring a halt to the fighting and Kabila's refusal to meet with rebel leaders incapacitated efforts by African leaders for a negotiated settlement to the conflict. Faced with the dilemma of a divided country with only half of the territory under government control, Kabila delayed the elections. Instead, he announced a national debate about the Congo's future, for April 1999. Objections to the character and agenda of this debate, the selection of its participants and the choice of location gave rise to serious doubts about its success. This debate was postponed and was supposed to be hosted by Kenya in June 1999. Negotiations initiated in April 1999 by Libyan President Khadaffi facilitated agreements between Kabila, the SADC allied forces, and Ugandan representatives. Without the signature of the rebel and Rwandan leaderships, however, this agreement offered little guarantee for an end to the hostilities.

Within the different groups that have joined the rebellion, disagreements surfaced about the ideology, quality and style of the RDC's leadership. Distrust about personal ambitions to pursue the rebellion caused rivalry between the leaders, while differences between the military sponsors, Rwanda and Uganda, became apparent in their backing of different factions. After Ngoma had quit the rebel movement in the beginning of 1999, Wamba dia Wamba was sidelined during an emergency meeting of the RCD in May 1999, when Dr. Emile Ilunga was named instead as the new leader of the movement.

Allegedly seven nations and multiple warring rebel factions from neighboring countries are militarily involved in the Congo conflict. Despite a peace accord signed in 1994, rebels of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) have renewed and intensified their fight against the Angolan government. In a continuation of the civil strife in neighboring Congo Republic, confrontations between forces loyal to the former democratically elected but ousted president Lissouba and military leader Sassou Ngesso account for great insecurity and vast destruction. Much of the Central African region seems to have entered an era of prolonged political and military instability, inflamed by ethnic conflict. A humanitarian disaster of unforeseen magnitude is well on its way.

In spite of a peace deal and the formation of a transitional government in 2003, the threat of civil war remains.