In April, Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko announced the end of a 25-year ban on opposition parties and stated that multiparty elections would be held in one year`s time. The media embraced this announcement as further evidence of democracy`s sweep across the globe.
But on May 15, French Radio Internationale reported that on May 9, Zairian soldiers entered a dormitory at the University of Lubumbashi and attacked students who were planning a protest, killing as many as one hundred. Other than brief reports of the incident-some claiming only one student was killed by other students-this outrage has been largely ignored by the American media.
The massacre proves that Mobutu`s ”democratic reforms” were only a ploy to calm international opinion. In this scenario, Mobutu advocates the institution of a regime composed of three political parties which would receive his approval. Wouldn`t this be ”multi-Mobutism”?
To counter this campaign of deception, I urge the American people to write Congress to express:
1) Condemnation of the Lubumbashi massacre and the importance of an international investigation by the United Nations and Amnesty International.
2) Support for a Zairian round table, a UN-sponsored conference that would include all political and social forces: politicians, church leaders, labor leaders, students and traditional leaders.
