Congo's Elections Could Shape Africa, Head of U.N. Force Says
04 June 2006
Amb. Swing says MONUC helping to prepare country for July elections
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Correspondent
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo -- The upcoming national election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not only a huge logistical undertaking but could shape the future of the rest of Africa, says former U.S. ambassador Bill Swing, who now heads up the 17,000-man United Nations peacekeeping force MONUC.
"Success in the Congo will change the face of Africa," Swing told the Washington File during an interview in his office at MONUC headquarters, located in central Kinshasa.
During a diplomatic career that spanned four decades, Swing served as U.S. ambassador to five African nations. After retiring in 2001, he agreed to head up MONUC, the U.N. peacekeeping force mandated by the 1999 Lusaka Accords that ended a war that had embroiled the DRC and seven other nations.
In December 2002, political factions warring within DRC signed an agreement in Sun City, South Africa, that established a transition government and set a timetable for national elections.
"Everything about DRC is huge and significant," Swing said. The country has numerous other nations bordering it, is one of the wealthiest in mineral resources and is culturally and ethnically diverse. For example, with 58 million people, the DRC has the largest French-speaking population after France.
"So, the effect of successful [July 30] elections here in unleashing the political and economic energy of this nation could have an enormous impact on the rest of Africa," Swing said.
"That's why MONUC's goal is to hold credible elections followed by a stable and sustainable peace and why we're all so encouraged to make this thing work," he continued.
Swing's style of hands-on, tireless leadership-by-example has set the pace for a U.N. force that is the largest and -- at $1.3 billion a year -- the most expensive peacekeeping effort ever mounted.
According to Swing, no MONUC members are allowed to bring dependents to the area. Swing noted that he had just returned from a trip to the States where he saw his wife for the first time in five months.
"There is no time here for much entertainment or even family time on this mission," he said. "Most of our people are out in the field anyway and there is an element of danger. Thirty-three people have been killed and 79 wounded since MONUC was formed."
PREPARING FOR ELECTIONS
Although the center of MONUC's logistical and administrative operation is located in Kinshasa, most of its 17,000 personnel are engaged in security operations in eastern Congo and providing logistical support and airlift for election preparations.
MONUC has 16 regional offices tasked with helping the DRC prepare for the elections that will take place at 50,000 voting stations throughout the country. Altogether, 216 parties have been registered; 9,000 candidates will compete for 500 seats in Parliament, with 33 candidates vying for the presidency.
Swing was especially impassioned as he described the huge logistics effort MONUC faces in the pre-election run-up.
"These are the largest elections the U.N. has ever tried to assist by far," he said. "It's especially daunting when you consider the size of the DRC -- it is a continent-size country. You can put Afghanistan, Cambodia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire and Haiti inside this country and still have room for another large country."
Secondly, he said, the DRC has "one of the largest electorates in Africa -- 5 to 6 million more than South Africa."
In a country with few roads, even routine tasks like getting ballots to the people is a challenge, Swing explained. "The South Africans have printed the ballots and they will soon arrive here. Now, that is 1,800 tons of ballots that are being transported," he said.
"It will take 55 aircraft sorties to fly them" to the rest of the country, "using large aircraft like Ilushins, Antonov 124s and C-130s," he said. "So, it's a large operation and by far the largest we've ever done in the U.N."
SECURITY OPERATIONS
Turning to security, Swing addressed the continuing turmoil in eastern Congo -- an area of instability in the Great Lakes region where aid agencies estimate that more than 3 million people have died as a result of conflict since 1998.
The region is more than 1,000 kilometers from Kinshasa and spilling over with rebel militias stealing valuable resources like timber, gold and diamonds. Some warlords are supported by outside interests who supply them with arms from neighboring countries while others operate purely on a local basis.
At times they battle MONUC peacekeepers attempting to protect civilians, demobilize ex-combatants and provide support for the upcoming elections.
"The situation is not that bad," Swing said. "In any case, the point I would make is that there is nothing negative in the security situation now that will significantly affect the elections. There may be pockets of instability here and there but we think the situation will be all right."
One such "pocket" is in the Ituri district, where rebels recently ambushed a unit of Nepalese soldiers serving with MONUC.
One soldier was killed, three wounded and seven were taken "into detention by the militia forces," Swing said. The ambush, he explained, came as the result of "an ongoing series of joint military operations we have been doing with the newly formed and integrated Congolese armed forces."
The three wounded soldiers are "all right and out of danger," Swing added, and "we are working to get the other seven freed and expect to have results on that very shortly."
Despite that incident, Swing said he believes organized violence in the east is on the downswing. As an example, he cited the recent experience of the transition government's independent electoral commission registering voters.
"If you look at the record, we helped the National Electoral Commission do voter registration over a five-month period. During that time they registered 25.6 million voters out of an estimated 28 million and there was virtually no disturbance from any of the armed groups, including the domestic armed groups [like] the militia in Ituri [district]."
"We will, however, have to decrease the operational tempo of our [protective] military actions because we will need all our helicopters and airplanes for the distribution of the ballots," the MONUC chief said.
SUSTAINING MONUC'S MISSION
Asked about U.S. contributions to MONUC, Swing said the 27 percent of its budget that comes from America is "absolutely essential."
"I've been back to Washington to meet with Congress and others to tell the story of the Congo transition and MONUC," he said, and "tried to make the point that since we've never done peacekeeping on such a scale we have to consider the issue of sustainability -- how long we should stay to help out."
With MONUC's U.N. mandate ending September 30, the issue of sustainability takes on added importance. "The difficulty is that people often see elections as an exit strategy," Swing said. "They fail to see the work that remains to be done to help people consolidate democracy.
"Clearly, you've got to try to stay the course until you can see there is some institutional stability and legitimacy through elections - then you go," he said.
For more information on U.S. policies, see Africa and Democracy.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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