DATE=4/30/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43274
TITLE=SMALL ARMS IN AFRICA (PT. 1)
BYLINE=HILLETEWORK MATHIAS
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
NOT VOICED:
INTRO: ONE EFFECT OF THE CIVIL WAR RAGING THROUGHOUT AFRICA IS
THAT THEY HAVE MADE SMALL ARMS WIDELY AVAILABLE, AND MANY OF
THESE ARMS ARE IN THE HANDS OF CRIMINALS, BANDITS AND REBELS. IN
THE FIRST OF A THREE-PART SERIES, V-O-A'S HILLETEWORK MATHIAS
REPORTS ON THE ILLICIT DISTRIBUTION AND FLOWS OF LIGHT WEAPONS IN
AFRICA.
TEXT: SMALL ARMS ARE GENERALLY DEFINED AS WEAPONS THAT CAN BE
CARRIED BY AN INDIVIDUAL OR FIRED BY A SMALL CREW. THEY CAN BE
ANYTHING FROM RUSSIAN AK-47 RIFLES TO HAND GRENADES, SMALL
MORTARS OR SHOULDER-FIRED ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILES. THEY ARE
USUALLY ACQUIRED IN ONE OF TWO WAYS: FROM GOVERNMENT ARMORIES OR
FROM WEAPONS MANUFACTURERS WHO SELL THE ARMS COVERTLY TO
CRIMINALS, BANDITS OR REBEL GROUPS.
SMALL ARMS HAVE KILLED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE -- INCLUDING MANY
CHILDREN AND WOMEN -- IN RWANDA, SOMALIA, SUDAN AND OTHER TROUBLE
SPOTS IN AFRICA. THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN USED TO ARM CHILD SOLDIERS
IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CONTINENT. IN LIBERIA, THE MAN WHO IS
NOW PRESIDENT OF THE COUNTRY, CHARLES TAYLOR, RELIED HEAVILY ON
LIGHT WEAPONS AND CHILD SOLDIERS IN HIS SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN TO
OUST THE GOVERNMENT OF THE LATE PRESIDENT SAMUEL DOE.
ANALYSTS ATTRIBUTE THE SPREAD OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS IN AFRICA TO
SEVERAL FACTORS. VIRGINIA GAMBA IS HEAD OF THE SMALL ARMS
DIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES BASED IN SOUTH
AFRICA. SHE SAYS FOR MANY GROUPS IN AFRICA SMALL ARMS ARE USED
AS A WAY TO MAKE MONEY.
// 1ST GAMBA ACT //
AFTER THE END OF THE COLD WAR, VERY MANY LONG DISPUTES
HAVE BEEN SETTLED ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. MANY OF THESE
COUNTRIES THAT STARTED POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION
BUILD-UPS STARTED TO SEE SMALL ARMS AS ASSETS. AND BOTH
INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS STARTED MOVING THESE
ASSETS AROUND FOR THEIR FINANCIAL VALUES. THEY ENTERED
AFRICA MOSTLY IN AN ILLICIT MANNER AS PART OF COVERT
OPERATION OF SUPPORT OF ONE OR OTHER GROUPS OF FIGHTERS
AND ALL THE MARKINGS HAVE BEEN LOST. THEY HAVE LONG
LIFE BECAUSE THEY ARE EASILY MAINTAINED AND HIDDEN
CACHES WERE NOT PART OF PEACE PROCESSES WHEN THEY WERE
NEGOTIATED.
// END OF ACT //
WEAPON EXPERTS SAY SINCE THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR IN MOZAMBIQUE
IN 1994, THOUSANDS OF AK-47 RIFLES HAVE POURED INTO NEIGHBORING
SOUTH AFRICA, WHERE CRIME HAS BECOME EPIDEMIC IN SOME CITIES.
SOUTH AFRICA'S DEPUTY SECURITY MINISTER -- JOE MATTHEWS --
RECENTLY TOLD PARLIAMENT THERE ARE ABOUT 20-THOUSAND ILLEGAL
FIREARMS IN SOUTH AFRICA. HE SAID THE ARMS HAD EITHER BEEN
SMUGGLED INTO THE COUNTRY OR STOLEN FROM PRIVATE OWNERS AND
SECURITY PERSONNEL.
ACCORDING TO PUBLISHED REPORTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND AFRICA,
MOST OF THESE ARMS ORIGINALLY CAME FROM EASTERN EUROPE AND THE
FORMER SOVIET UNION. THE REPORTS SUGGEST THAT THE ECONOMIC
CRISES THESE COUNTRIES FACE IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA HAVE MADE
THEM LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN SHADY ARM SALES.
A STUDY BY HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ON ARMS TRAFFICKING TO REBELS IN
BURUNDI FOUND THAT MOST OF THE WEAPONS IN REBEL HANDS WERE
SUPPLIED BY GUN RUNNERS FROM BULGARIA, AZERBAIJAN, UKRAINE AND
TURKMENISTAN. THE STUDY ALSO SAYS THE ARMS WERE SUPPLIED ON
PLANES FLOWN BY RUSSIAN PILOTS WHO WERE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CORRUPT OFFICIALS AND POROUS BORDERS.
BUT MS. GAMBA SAYS INTERNATIONAL CRIME SYNDICATES ALSO HAVE A
ROLE IN THE PROLIFERATION OF ILLICIT ARMS IN AFRICA.
// 2ND GAMBA ACT //
WEAPONS ARE COMMODITIES FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIME
ORGANIZATIONS, VERY MUCH LIKE DRUGS, VERY MUCH LIKE
ENDANGERED SPECIES, VERY MUCH LIKE CARS IN A SITUATION
LIKE CAR JACKING. SO THE WEAPONS ARE BARTERED FOR
SOMETHING ELSE LIKE DRUGS. THE DRUGS ARE SOLD AND SO NO
MONEY EFFECTIVELY PASSES BETWEEN THE PEOPLE.
// END ACT //
MS. GAMBA ALSO SAYS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS NEED
SMALL WEAPONS TO COMMIT ACTS OF TERRORISM.
// OPT //
WHAT IMPACT DOES THE FLOW OF ILLICIT ARMS HAVE ON AFRICAN
SOCIETIES? MORE ON THIS, IN PART TWO OF OUR SERIES ON SMALL ARMS
IN AFRICA.
NEB/HM/KL
30-Apr-99 11:16 AM EDT (1516 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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