[allAfrica.com] [The_Leon_H._Sullivan_Summit_Dinner] Soldiers of Misfortune Financial Gazette (Harare) NEWS June 3, 2004 Posted to the web June 3, 2004 By Brian Mangwende Harare ZIMBABWEANS have generally been expecting the country to benefit from the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but those frank enough will admit that given the Mozambican experience, they did not have very high hopes for it. They contend that, as international politics took centre stage, it was inevitable that the United Nations (UN) would exclude Zimbabwe from the spoils of the protracted war in the diamond-rich country. Last week this paper revealed that the UN peacekeeping chief, Jean-Marie Guehenno, had left Zimbabwe out of his regional tour to consult with those countries the world body considered key to the cessation of hostilities in the vast African country. Political observers said the move by the UN, which they said amounted to snubbing Zimbabwe's role in the DRC war, was hardly surprising. "We are witnessing the inevitable," said one commentator, adding that the world body, which has been critical of the role allegedly played by some influential Zimbabweans in plundering minerals in the DRC, was sending a signal to the Zimbabwean authorities that the international community would not condone the looting of member states. The UN released a damning report in 2002 which implicated the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and senior ZANU PF politicians in the plunder of minerals in the DRC. The UN report said an elite network of Zimbabwean and Congolese politicians with an interest in mineral resources had been set up and new trade and services agreements signed between the two countries just before the withdrawal of ZDF troops from Mbuji Mayi, a diamond centre. Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi was implicated in the report as having proposed the establishment of a company to deal with their business transactions in Mauritius, a country with strong ties to the Zimbabwean government. "This network benefits from instability in the DRC," the report said. "Its representatives in the Kinshasa government and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces have fuelled instability by supporting armed groups opposing Rwanda and Burundi. "Even if present moves towards peace lead to a complete withdrawal of Zimbabwean forces, the network's grip on the richest mineral assets of the DRC and related businesses will remain," the UN report said. The observers said the decision by the UN to sideline Harare comes at a particularly irksome moment for the increasingly ostracised Zimbabwe as it raises questions about the country's eligibility to participate in future UN- sanctioned peacekeeping initiatives or the recently formed African Union Peace and Security Council - a body expected to fight conflicts in Africa and ensure peace and stability on the continent. Zimbabwe sent about a third of its then 11 000 soldiers for about four years to the DRC to assist President Laurent Kabila, who was under attack from neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda, without the ratification of Parliament. The approval followed nine months later as a by-the-way matter. Unknown assassins later murdered Kabila and his son, Joseph Kabila, took over as leader of the DRC. The political analysts said the exclusion of Zimbabwe from the UN visit was not only a slap in the face for a country considered key in the resolution of the DRC crisis, but a way to prove to ZANU PF who controls the political levers in the world body. "The critical element is who controls or dictates policies in the UN and that is Europe and the Western powers," Joseph Kurebwa, a political analyst, said. "We are caught up in a conflict situation with powers that control policy in the UN and also have a stake in the DRC - for instance, America, Britain, Belgium and so on. These are the same countries that were opposed to Zimbabwe's intervention in the DRC to secure the country from falling into rebel hands. Now that their interests have been secured, they want to sideline Zimbabwe. It's a whole political game being played here," he said. The Zimbabwean government's long-drawn diplomatic stand-off with the American and British governments, which both have considerable influence in the UN, might have partly cost Zimbabwe commercial, political and military interests in the DRC. The British and the Americans, whom President Robert Mugabe accuses of trying to force a regime change in Zimbabwe, have considered the country a pariah state since the bloody 2000 parliamentary election and the controversial 2002 presidential ballot. Eliphas Mukono-weshuro, a confidante to opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, said: "Zimbabwe's exclusion from that visit is a matter of international credibility. Zimbabwe at the moment doesn't have what it takes to play the role of an honest broker in any conflict resolution programmes because it has failed to resolve its own domestic problems. "The government is taking too long to accept what international power politics is all about. They (the government) play second fiddle to South Africa and, as one can see, the international community is gravitating towards South Africa to play a key role in conflict resolution and not Zimbabwe. There is no doubt about that. It's now a game of international politics." South Africa, seen as a country with immense influence on the continent, Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC were the countries visited the UN envoy. Another political analysts, Heneri Dzinotyiwei, said: "In many developing countries, those who sponsor activities tend to end up wanting to be the main beneficiaries. Those with greater influence end up sidelining those they believe played a minor role. "Zimbabwe may have played a significant role in the DRC, but when it comes to world decisions concerning the UN, then, as the saying goes, he who pays the piper calls the tune. It's unfortunate, but that's reality. "It goes without saying that the Americans have had a significant foothold in the DRC, although unjustifiable. Europe in many ways as well. The United Nations doesn't want to be seen to be liaising with countries with a tattered and torn political and social record, hence the move not to include Zimbabwe on their itinerary despite the crucial role the country played in the DRC. "Until we are able, as a country, to go it alone we'll always find out that the relationship we have with the international community is from a point of weakness rather than a point of strength. I hope Zimbabwe won't antagonise those countries included on the mission," Dzinotyiwei said. Asked why Zimbabwe wasn't entitled to establish businesses in the Congo or in Mozambique where it helped restore peace, Dzinotyiwei said: "Zimbabwe has always not gone beyond peacekeeping missions. We strictly discuss the enemy and it ends there. Nobody really discusses the broader impact of the mission, including prospects of business ventures after the war. The agenda of peacekeeping missions needs to be broadened."   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 Financial Gazette. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================