DATE=4/30/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43275
TITLE=SMALL ARMS IN AFRICA (PT. 2)
BYLINE=HILLETEWORK MATHIAS
DATELINE=WASHINGTON D.C.
CONTENT=
NOT VOICED:
INTRO: IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA, SMALL ARMS HAVE BECOME PRIME
CONTRIBUTORS TO REGIONAL INSTABILITY IN SOUTH AFRICA, FUELING
NATIONALISTIC AND ETHNIC WARS IN THE CONTINENT. IN THE SECOND OF
A THREE-PART SERIES ON SMALL ARMS IN AFRICA, V-O-A'S HILLETEWORK
MATHIAS TAKES A LOOK AT THE IMPACT OF THE INCREASING USE OF THESE
LIGHT AND EASY TO USE WEAPONS ARMS ON AFRICAN SOCIETIES.
TEXT: STUDIES SHOW THAT THE WIDE AVAILABILITY OF SMALL ARMS HAS
INCREASED VIOLENCE AND LAWLESSNESS IN AFRICA. IN SOMALIA, THE
ABUNDANCE OF ARMS HAS ALLOWED RIVAL CLANS TO GO ON SHOOTING
SPREES, KILLING ANYONE PERCEIVED AS ENEMY. IN SOUTH AFRICA, THE
WEAPONS HAVE INTENSIFIED SOCIAL CONFLICTS AND LED TO AN INCREASE
IN CATTLE RUSTLING (STEALING) AND THE BARTERING OF GUNS FOR
CATTLE.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE HAS REPORTED THAT SEVERAL
HUNDRED CATTLE HAVE BEEN STOLEN FROM RURAL COMMUNITIES IN RECENT
YEARS. SIMILAR INCIDENTS HAVE ALSO OCCURRED ALONG THE
KENYAN-ETHIOPIAN BORDER. VIRGINIA GAMBA IS HEAD OF THE SMALL
ARMS PROGRAM OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN-BASED INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY
STUDIES. SHE SAYS THE SHEER AVAILABILITY OF WEAPONS IS CHANGING
THE WAY CONFLICTS ARE SETTLED IN AFRICA.
// GAMBA ACT //
WE HAVE FOUND FOR EXAMPLE VERY PEACEFUL COMMUNITIES,
LIKE THE CATTLE COMMUNITIES IN SWAZILAND AND KENYA ARE
NOW BEGINNING TO UTILIZE WEAPONS SUCH AS AK-47S TO
PROTECT THE STOCKS. THEY HAVE TRIED TO RESOLVE
CONFLICTS IN A NEGOTIATED FASHION, THEY USED TO HAVE
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCHES AMONG ABLE YOUNG MEN OF THE
VILLAGES TO BE ABLE TO PROTECT THEIR CATTLE. NOW, THE
SMUGGLERS AND THE CATTLE RUSTLERS COME ARMED WITH AK-47.
THEY ARE NO MATCH FOR THE LOCAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION
PROCESS OR EVEN FOR A ROLE FOR THE ELDERS IN THE
VILLAGE. THEREFORE, YOU HAVE SCARED COMMUNITIES THAT DO
NOT GO OUT AT NIGHT AS THEY USED TO.
// END OF ACT //
IN SOME PARTS OF AFRICA, THE SPREAD OF ILLICIT WEAPONS HAS BEEN
ACCEPTED AS A NECESSARY EVIL OR EVEN WELCOMED AS A GUARANTOR OF
SECURITY. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE IN WAR-TORN SOCIETIES, WHERE
SECURITY AND EVEN SURVIVAL CAN DEPEND ON HAVING WEAPONS. FACED
WITH LIMITED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND WIDESPREAD UNEMPLOYMENT,
MS. GAMBA SAYS, YOUNG PEOPLE IN THESE SOCIETIES OFTEN RESORT TO
GUNS TO COMMIT THEFTS AND ACTS OF BANDITRY.
// GAMBA ACT //
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WITHOUT DEVELOPMENT IN
AFRICA, HAVING A WEAPON IS TRULY AN ASSET. IF YOU ARE A
REFUGEE ESCAPING FROM THE TERROR IN RWANDA, YOU WILL TRY
TO OBTAIN A WEAPON SO THAT YOU WILL BE SAFE AS YOU MOVE
FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY. YOU WILL EITHER HUNT WITH THAT
WEAPON OR YOU WILL PROTECT YOURSELF WITH THAT WEAPON.
IF YOU HAVE NO MONEY AND FOOD YOU WILL ACTUALLY ROB A
STORE AND GET THE FOOD YOU NEED WITH THE WEAPON.
// END OF ACT //
THE SPREAD OF LIGHT WEAPONS HAS ALSO MADE IT DIFFICULT TO RESOLVE
CONFLICTS AMONG RIVAL GROUPS IN AFRICA. WITH EACH SIDE EASILY
ABLE TO GET THE ARMS IT NEEDS TO FIGHT, THERE IS LITTLE INCENTIVE
TO RESOLVE THEIR DIFFERENCES THROUGH A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT.
DANIEL VOLMAN, AN EXPERT ON AFRICAN SECURITY ISSUES, IS DIRECTOR
OF THE AFRICA RESEARCH PROJECT IN WASHINGTON D.C. MR. VOLMAN
SAYS LIBERIA IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF HOW SMALL ARMS CAN PREVENT A
CONFLICT FROM BEING SETTLED PEACEFULLY.
// VOLMAN ACT //
THE LONG CONFLICT IN LIBERIA, WHERE THE ABILITY OF
VARIOUS WARLORDS TO CONTINUE TO ACQUIRE SMALL ARMS, MADE
IT INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT FOR GROUPS WITHIN LIBERIA AND
FOR EXTERNAL ACTORS TO PROMOTE ANY KIND OF DEMOCRATIC
POLITICAL SOLUTION BECAUSE THERE WAS NO REAL INCENTIVE
FOR ANY OF THE WARLORDS TO GIVE UP THE USE OF VIOLENCE
IN PURSUIT OF THEIR AIMS AND ACCEPT A POLITICAL
SOLUTION.
// END OF ACT //
SIMILAR PROBLEMS ARE STILL GOING ON IN SOMALIA, WHERE FACTIONAL
LEADERS WITH ACCESS TO SMALL ARMS HAVE VERY LITTLE INCENTIVE TO
FIND A NEGOTIATED SOLUTION TO THE SEVEN -YEAR-OLD CIVIL WAR IN
THE COUNTRY.
SMALL ARMS ARE MOST ABUNDANT IN THOSE PARTS OF AFRICA THAT ARE
EMERGING FROM VIOLENT CONFLICTS. WEAPONS THAT WERE WIDELY
AVAILABLE DURING CIVIL WARS ARE SELDOM CONTROLLED ONCE THE
CONFLICTS ENDED. THE UNCERTAIN PROSPECTS THAT YOUNG EX-FIGHTERS
FACE IN SECURING A JOB AND ESTABLISHING THEMSELVES IN SOCIETY
TRIGGER CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR THAT COULD ERUPT IN STREET RIOTS.
THUS, OBSERVERS SAY, THE PROLIFERATION OF SMALL ARMS HAS BECOME
ONE OF THE MAJOR THREATS FOR DEMOCRATIZATION PROGRAMS BEING
CARRIED OUT BY A NUMBER OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES.
NEB/HM/KL
30-Apr-99 11:19 AM EDT (1519 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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