Maquis of Fizi
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Maquis of Fizi | |||||||||
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| 1967–1986 | |||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||
| Anthem: "La Lutte"[1] | |||||||||
 Approximate map of control by Kabila's Maquis of Fizi from 1967-1986 | |||||||||
| Status | Breakaway partisan republic | ||||||||
| Capital | Fizi | ||||||||
| Largest city | Baraka | ||||||||
| Official languages | Swahili[1] | ||||||||
| Common languages | Ibembe | ||||||||
| Ethnic groups | Mostly Bembe, some Banyarwanda and 1% foreign born populations of unknown origin[1] | ||||||||
| Religion | None (secular state) | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Fizian | ||||||||
| Government | Marxist–Leninist one-party presidential socialist partisan republic | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1967–1986 | Laurent-Désiré Kabila | ||||||||
| Legislature | None (rule by decree in its last years, previously functioned as a Party-state) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
• Republic declared | 24 October 1967 | ||||||||
• Joins Zaïre | 1 July 1986 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1967 | 15,786[1] km2 (6,095 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1967 | 250,000[1] | ||||||||
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The Maquis of Fizi was a breakaway state in the Maquis movement in what comprises parts of the modern territory of Fizi that broke off from Zaïre and existed from 1967 until 1986. Besides the contemporary Territory of Fizi, at its peak it also went as far as Kabambara in the west and Mwenga in the north.
The territory was created after the failures of the Simba rebellion as a revolutionary redoubt by Laurent-Désiré Kabila with a contingent of a couple thousand men. Although it was completely unrecognized internationally, it enjoyed some aid and assistance from Maoist China as it adopted policies similar to Maoist doctrine. It dissolved in 1986 when its weapon supplies ran thin, informants and spies caused chaos in government and the territory began to run out of resources to extract. Kabila escaped all the way to Uganda, being found there in the tail-end of the 1980s, eventually leading a Ugandan-backed revolt against the Zairian government.
Background[edit]
The Simba rebellion's failure was disastrous for the Congolese left, which found itself increasingly disorganized and broken. In this context, Kabila had met with Che Guevara to lobby for assistance from Cuba. Nonetheless, Guevara remained mostly unconvinced and Kabila was simply recognized as having "tremendous leadership skills".[1]
Before the rebellion, the Fizi area experienced numerous controversies, which constituted factors and conditions favorable to the outbreak of the rebellion. In 1963, a district was planned in Fizi which would be called the district of "Akye Ato". But, during the debate on the establishment of this district, the deputies of Fizi in the province (Bukavu), notably Mutambala Dieudonné, Jean Abedi, and Makangila Jérôme did not agree on the same solution; the first two wanted the district to be established in Uvira,'4 the third defended the cause of Fizi. The majority won and the district was established in Uvira.[1]
The rumors about this controversy divided the Bembeans in Fizi, and a dispute arose during the promulgation of the creation of the province of central Kivu, on May 18, 1963, some wanted the Fizi zone be part of the province of Central Kivu, others, of Maniema, and still others of North Katanga. Before elucidating this situation, the tension increased further following the assassination of a sector councilor - Samuel Mangapi arrested by the administrator Limoko, of Fizi territory, with 250 other people, as members of the MNC/L-Fizi. Mangapi was assassinated by members of the Bembe elite association in Bukavu, on the orders of Mutambala Dieudonné, because he wanted the Fizi zone to join the Maniema province. The Bembe, who were mostly supporters of the MNC/L5, were outraged by this death; it would be the basis of strong tension between the supporters of the MNC/L and those loyal to the administrator Limoko.[1]
As for the promulgation of the law creating the province of Central Kivu and submitting the territory of Fizi to the referendum, the Bembe leaders and advisors were divided into several tendencies. Some councilors had signed three petitions, one for Maniema, another for North Katanga, and a third for Central Kivu. This attitude reflected the triple attraction that was exerted simultaneously on the Bembe. The between supporters of the attachment to Maniema on the one hand, and those who wanted to see the territory incorporated into North Katanga or Central Kivu on the other hand, overlapped with the opposition between militant executives of the MNC/L (ex-UNEBAFI) and customary authorities.[1]
The beginnings of the rebellion[edit]
The popular and anti-bourgeois character of the rebellion emerges from certain declarations made in Fizi by local rebel leaders against the elite and the political-administrative class in place. All those who participated in power during the old regime are accused of being "PNP", that is to say enemies of the people and independence. However, it was not the very principle of power and administrative organization that was called into question, as was the case in Kwilu, it was rather the incumbents at the time.[1]
The organization of the Kabila maquis was facilitated by a certain readiness for revolution already present among the Bembe, frustrated by the failure of the 1964 rebellion, and overwhelmed by military (FAZ) and administrative harassment, following the crushing of the rebellion in 1966. To this, we must add the fact that Kabila took advantage of his familiarity with the Bembe of Lulenge, Ngandja and Itombwe, who had known him since the first rebellion. Thus, his group grew quickly and his maquis reached a fairly high level of efficiency and organization, thanks to his well-read experience with Marxist–Leninist theory with a view to the establishment of a democratic and socialist state. This is where Kabila and Ndalo's rebellion had begun to take shape. The Republic, thus, was declared on October 24, 1967.[1]
Consolidation[edit]
On December 7, 1967, in Makanga-Tubaone, President Kabila summoned all rebels, combatants and civilians alike, to a congress. During which, he identified the seven errors at the root of the failure of the 1964 rebellion. These ranged from lack of Party organization to tribal sectarianism. The congress was entirely assembled in Swahili. Besides grievances with the Simba rebellion itself, the Republic also focused on criticizing the government in Kinshasa as well for its comprador class, its lack of accountability to the people, among other grievances.[1]
After the consolidation of the Republic itself, in the town of Makanga-Tubaone, Kabila's allies and government ministers - Yumbu Gabriel, Masengo Ildephonse, Umba Jeanson - created, on December 24, 1967, a political party for the new territory. It would be called the PRP, or People's Revolution Party (Parti de la Révolution Populaire).[1]
Within the party, many Maoist principles would be enacted; party cadres would function as ideal members of society and representatives of the Party, women's and youth divisions would be created to further instill revolutionary values into the population, and political commissars would be appointed for the Fizian army.[1]
Economy[edit]
The Fizi area is an agricultural area par excellence, and the Bembe are above all farmers, even if hunting remains a significant activity for them. The regions of Baraka, Ubwari, Lulenge, Kaboke and Lubondja were particularly favorable to agriculture. A whole range of market gardening and food crops were grown: beans, peas, cabbage, sorghum, sweet potatoes, peanuts, corn, bananas, paddy, yams, and especially cassava, which constitutes the staple food of the Bembe. When the fields to be cultivated are vast areas, the work is carried out collectively. The owner of the field must have offered food and drink to all members of his farm. This is the "esale", one of the best frameworks for expressing Bembe solidarity and brotherhood. Colonization introduced so-called industrial crops. Three of these crops were (and are) grown in the Fizi area. Both varieties of Arabica and Robusta coffee are grown, the first on the Mutambala mountains, the second on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Oil palm and cotton were also cultivated in the coastal plain.[1]
Government structure[edit]
Due to the chaotic nature of civil wars and rebellions, alongside the relative isolation of the maquis, it is impossible to denote exact specifics on government structure in the Republic, but the President, in this case Kabila, served for life, and would cycle through vice-presidents by democratic elections, alongside the appointment of a General Secretary of the PRP.[1]
When the line of power was more or less clarified, the People's Revolution Party set up a leadership team at different levels of power: At the center was the President, a Revolutionary Military Commission, the Party's Central Committee, local popular Assemblies and the administration of subdivisions.
The first cabinet of the Fizi territory, in 1967, was structured as follows:
- Ministry of Internal Affairs: Malaka Baudouin
- Economy Ministry: Kakozi Saleh
- Foreign Affairs: Laurent-Désiré Kabila
- Financial affairs and Treasury: Kamimbi David
- Justice Ministry: Mangaza Efrazie
- Ministry of Social Affairs: Mwati Joseph
- Central Bureau of Provisions: Dewambele Sungura
- Labor Ministry: Mutchungu Jerôme
- Propaganda Ministry: Kilenga Saleh
- Transport Ministry: Mukendi Zakaria
- Department of State Security: Bisagiro Jeannot
- Military Commander of the Port: Talama Onesphor
- Military Base Administrator: Asani Bruno
Decline and collapse[edit]
The failures and decline of the Republic began to be noticeable from 1979, when Kabila began to commit repeated acts of injustice. Clothes and other goods, intended for the poor, as provided for in social affairs, and for combatants, were distributed by Kabila to his friends via nepotism. The repetition of these acts outraged the Army, some officers and commanders, and the majority of the population. The soldiers, stimulated by the dissatisfied officers, began to revolt, showing indiscipline, discouragement, and even a certain relaxation. Adding to these issues, Kabila began to rule by decree, ignoring the government structure he had created around him. Kabila, thus had produced a drastic solution: All sorcerers, cursers and mages of the "Red Zone" (the existing controlled regions of the Republic) would be executed. As a test, Kabila had produced a potion which would verify someone's status as a sorcerer: If they felt dizzy and nauseous upon consuming the potion, they would be burned alive on the spot, as it made it clear that they were one. 90% of the executed were men in old age. This operation had disturbed all the partisans and had sowed disarray in the PRP. Some, who did not want to take the potion because of their physical weakness, had fled and returned to the rest of Zaire. The waves of escapees had become so common that Kabila noticed the disappearance of many people and agricultural reports made mention of it. After a while, the operation was called off.[1]
This operation had singlehandedly caused immense distrust around Kabila by his cadres and had sowed the seeds of collapse into Fizi. Starvation and isolation in the Red Zone had also meant immense difficulties for the average Fizian by this time. Other mistakes included the movement of loyal troops to Lake Tanganyika's coast, resulting in even less security for the capital of Fizi.[1]
A small civil war thus broke out, resulting in the collapse of the Zone and Kabila's fleeing to Uganda. The Red Zone was thus almost entirely occupied by Zairian soldiers by the end of 1986.[1]