Where There Is Nothing To Eat, Life Doesn’t Cost Too Much Either

The purpose of the EUSEC-RDC mission is to assist the reform of the Congolese army with the help of military experts. So far six Hungarian soldiers have participated in this program, and one of them was you. How could you sum up the aims of the EUSEC, the tasks of the mission, and the activity of the Hungarian troops?

The EUSEC is the European Union’s Congolese mission since 2005, which expresses the efforts of the EU to play an active role in the creation of stability in Congo. It is already the fifth mandate for the mission. At the moment two Hungarian soldiers serve in Congo – my colleague was dealing with the IT system in Kinshasa and I was working in South Kivu province as the regional military advisor, first with two French and one Swedish colleague then later with the two French colleagues. As brigade advisors their duties involved the review of the system of payment – the first and most important step of the stability of the military is to establish a certain organization, and within this organization guarantee the arrival of wages and supplies. As the advisor of the commander of the military zone my task was to provide direct help for the commander and his some 150-strong staff. In addition to that I also participated in the integration of 13 armed groups from the province, and I was also in contact with the civilian administration and the UN forces. Last but not least, I was also the commander of this latter small team.

How did you check money circulation, what kind of methods did you use?

I spent seventy per cent of my time in Bukavu, as the only advisor in the military zone at that time, and my colleagues regularly went out to check the system of payment. So we were tracking the process from the moment the money arrived to the bank until it got to the last soldier.

Why is it a priority task in Congo?

The reason why we had to do this is that the first step of stability is that each soldier should get his allowances – this influences morals and discipline. We had to be there practically all the time so that they could feel the control, which also meant a kind of help, but with two or three people it is difficult to conduct continuous checks in such a huge area (the area of South Kivu province is some 65,000 square kilometers). In an army where there is nothing to eat, and where everybody keep their weapons at home and are forced to use them, crime happens, unfortunately. When I arrived in December 2008, approximately 50 per cent of violent acts were committed by the members of the military. This was in direct proportion to the other side, the Hutus in Rwanda, with whom they are at war. Since then the situation has significantly improved in this respect, mainly since President Kabila introduced the ’zero tolerance’ principle in every crime or breach of discipline committed by soldiers. The headquarters – that controlled basically a division (15,000 people) – had a very difficult task because they had extremely tight frameworks in every respect.

In spite of that, are there any tendencies, achievements that would indicate that the situation has improved a bit any respect (crime, violence)?

Yes, there has been improvement, but I must add that even though the EUSEC is present only with 50 people (theoretically there can be 60), their huge efforts have produced these results. This number is not the total, because there are many European states that do not undertake an active role. Great Britain for example does not send people but it finances a few positions. Owing to the structural changes in the new mandate Sweden is not present in the mission, although they were there for four years.

What kind of structural changes do you mean?

In line with the new set of tasks, the new organization started with the fifth mandate last October. From tactical level we have switched to strategic level. Regarding our work, as a result of this we can say that from now on, our tasks will basically be limited to keeping contact only with the regional military command (which requires quite a lot of work), and we do not have a lot of opportunity to go out to the units. The military operations that started in the province in June also generated a significant amount of work mainly for me, since my scope of activities were extended with cooperation with the operational staff. When I arrived last December, an armed operation began against the CNDP in neighbouring North Kivu, then later the driving out of Rwandan Hutus began in the southern province as well. For these operations a new military structure was created, which was not identical with the structure of military zones, it operated under a different command. Practically the units which were – so to say – operational were withdrawn from the military zones. Soldiers who were fighting on the side of the famous CNDP leader, General Laurent Nkuda before, and against whom a war was waged, were admitted to the organization of the integrated units (which we were working with before), and after the peace treaty these people joined the military. For the sake of peace they made a lot of compromises with them. When they began to mix the units it struck them that the majority of violent acts occurred in the case of people who were integrated from the CNDP. It was a problem that they did not have a uniform salary system, the so-called ’old’ and the ’new’ troops did not receive the same allowances. When the annual budget was planned in Congo, it was not foreseeable that some ten thousand people will be integrated into the military. The new register, which was already the second one – and was conducted under the supervision of the EUSEC – has been completed, they will start the distribution of identity cards in January, but this will already be my successor’s job.

In Hungary the news programs rarely cover the conflicts in Congo. Perhaps it is the medical missions (currently on their fifth tour of duty there) from which we can most often hear about this problem, mainly about the terrible situation of refugees. What can you tell us about the problematic issue of Congolese refugees? Were you in contact with the locals?

There are refugees in every province that was involved in the war conflict. In North Kivu province for example there is a huge refugee camp. There is not such a thing in South Kivu, although there are certain smaller camps set up by the UNHCR, but the function of these is to settle Congolese people in Congo and relocate Rwandans to their country. In South Kivu the refugees usually found accomodation at host families. Their estimated number was very significant, some 750,000 people were considered refugees. We also saw them moving, but not the mass migration known from the news. The areas where there were military operations were left by the inhabitants. This decision was better than just waiting for the trouble to begin, for it practically did not make any difference which group got there sooner: as regards the government, in case a villager was a supposed collaborator (for instance there was a mixed marriage with the members of the Rwandan Hutu FDLR), then they punished him or her. You must know that life doesn’t cost much in the Congo.

Let us return to the objectives of the EUSEC, and integration. Apart from integration, do you try to give the soldiers some kind of a training, for the sake of discipline or, if you like, non-violence?

My understanding is that there are plans for the establishment of a military school and there are certain plans in the mission for the restoration of military education. During the last twenty years or so there has not been any kind of military education in the country. Unfortunately, many people who got into leading positions do not have any kind of military qualifications. According to the current plans of the mission an IT network will be developed, first in the capital and also in the military zones later this year. The primary aim of this is to support their personnel and financial system. This is why I organized an IT course at the regional command. A lot of people were interested in the training even after the first course, and there were too many applications for the second course. The regional commander also understood the importance of this and supported the local trainings. With the support of the EU and through the EUSEC two military schools will be opened again soon, one of them will train people for the administrative system, while in the other non-commissioned officers will be trained.

Personal contact with armed warriors is an essential part of integration – I believe you personally met the groups several times during the mission. Could you properly deal with the armed insurgents? Didn’t you get into dangerous situations?

Operation ‘Kimia II’ (the word kimia means peace in Lingala) turned the whole province upside down. Danger was present everywhere. In the towns and villages, mainly in Bukavu crime reached a peak. At the beginning of my mission, prior to the launch of the integration process in South Kivu, we visited the armed groups together with the representatives of UN organizations, and our job was to make them understand the importance of participation in the peace process. With the leader and the gunmen of one of these armed groups a conflict evolved, unfortunately, after which the UN-MONUC forces had to evacuate us with a helicopter. Two of our Congolese colleagues were taken hostages and were released only a month later, following long negotiations. These were serious and tense hours for us. Nevertheless, for the civilian colleagues it was a lot more difficult to endure the situation than for me as a soldier.

The negotiations with armed groups began in 2007. The integration process has been going on for two years – is there any success in this field?

There were thirteen relatively organized armed groups in South Kivu, and back then we only knew their estimated number. When in Feburary 2009 the negotiations began, 28,000 people were declared and we could integrate practically only a bit more than 5,000 persons. In the integration process the warriors had options: they could choose either the military or the civilian sphere. Eighty per cent of them headed for civilian life. I think they made a good decision, since the army has not stabilized in an instant. Until the process was managed by the UN and organizations established for this purpose, integration worked in an organized form.

Why, what happened after that?

As soon as the task was delegated to the military, things changed. Now the members of armed groups are treated differently than before. Unfortunately, negligence only adds to those many problems and missing conditions which are essential to normal military training and preparation. Daily subsistence difficulties also belong here. If there is nothing to eat, no matter how wisely we argue, it falls on deaf ears.

You came home in December and handed over your position to your successor. What kind of instructions did you give him?

There is an extreme amount of independence in my job: for a start, I am two thousand kilometers away from the commander of the mission, and the only connection between us is the Internet and the telephone. Personal meetings rarely take place. Resourcefulness, creativity, inventiveness are important in this job. Empathy is a must. The most important thing is that Congolese people have to be treated as partners, they have to be taught because they are receptive to new things but one has to be able to present this in a proper way because they are also self-confident.

Was it difficult for you to get accustomed to the circumstances in Congo?

I easily integrated into that environment, but I had a colleague for whom it was difficult. Mainly because of language problems. If English is the only language you speak, it is like you don’t even exist. There are only very few Congolese people who speak languages – except the UN employees, but it is not them we have to work with but the soldiers and the inhabitants. There are twelve nations working together in the EUSEC, it is not easy to harmonize either them or their style of work, but we are talking about a problem that can be solved. If you mean the weather, it was not a problem. Where we were working there is a temperate temperature, the city is surrounded by mountains, but once we step out we meet the real Africa, with all its difficulties, its cruel but wonderful reality.

Has your family got used to the longer absences?

It wasn’t the first time I was away from my family. There were places where I could take my family with myself, but I could not bring them here, which is obvious because we are talking about an operational area.

What’s next here, at home?

In the summer I was transferred to Szentendre – I had worked as the chief of staff of the Tata brigade before – and at the moment I am the chief of staff of the training base. As a matter of fact I have managed to readapt myself to the situation at home in no time. But what is really strange is that it’s very cold.