Page 105 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 103 Chief G5 Plans HQ MONUSCO –
Democratic Republic of Congo
For those of you with a hazy understanding of the causes of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, just dust off a copy of ‘Tintin au Congo’ which follows the journey of the
young Belgian reporter unearthing a criminal diamond-smug- gling operation run by the American gangster Al Capone. Not much has changed! The list of pickings was always longer: gold, cobalt, coltan, ivory, timber; you name it, the Congo has it! And Al Capone was later outdone by perhaps the world’s most suc- cessful gangster, President Mobutu Sese Seko, whose rape of the country for nearly 30 years spawned the term ‘kleptocracy’. In 1997 Laurent Kabila overthrew Mobutu and rescued Zaire, giv- ing it a democratic air, but ultimately failed too in keeping his hands out of the company till. Joseph Kabila, son and heir to this ‘democratic’ nation and ruling since 2001, knew the game was up given the title of the country. So, a big effort for Chief Plans during a nine month operational tour with the United Na- tions based in Goma, was to prepare contingencies for violence erupting from the election that would find Kabila’s successor. Kabila pulled a blinder. He put forward his own man, Emma- nuel Shadary, (assumed as a caretaker akin to a Putin-Medvedev arrangement) who, in light of historic corrupt electoral practic- es, many were resigned to seeing win. Meanwhile Kabila does a deal with the least threatening opposition, Felix Tshisekedi, the son of a former prime minister, for the top job. Many of the Congolese people were thus persuaded of a fair election when Shadary was polled third and, the real threat, Martin Fayulu, came a close and credible second. Keeping Fayulu out of office while elevating Tshisekedi was clearly the least-worst option for a 47-year-old Kabila, with plenty of powder in his gun yet, keen to return in 2022.
There was a bit more to the United Nations’ mission in the Con- go than the election. An Ebola outbreak occurred as a real threat but has been expertly managed and contained by the World Health Organisation using experience from West Africa. Other- wise, Chief Plans kept himself busy shuffling the deckchairs of a 15,000 strong division with a Chapter VII mandate for offensive operations. This involved routine engagement with UNHQ in New York to ensure the rotation of battalions, restructuring of
the force laydown, deployment of the Rapidly Deployable Bat- talion concept and Statements of User Requirement for various capabilities including attack helicopters, field hospitals, and minor units were all implemented to keep the Force running. With a successful election, the last effort was to put in place the framework for a drawdown of the Force in the next two or three years, underpinned by the Government stating that it was time for the United Nations to go – there being few armed groups to justify its existence – and by pressure from the General Assem- bly in New York to reduce the mission’s budget below $1 billion.
If you get a chance to deploy on a United Nations operation or train indigenous forces in Africa, grab it – you will never be dis- appointed by the energy and buzz that is Africa today. The peo- ple, their vision and the potential of a resource-rich continent, make it a dynamic place to operate. And it is humbling to meet people who, despite having little, are happy for every day they are given.
MMRW