Difference between revisions of "Armed Forces of Zaire"
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| − | {{Image|http:// | + | {{Image|http://www.congovision.com/images/Generaux.jpg|right|Trein|The big five. Left to right: [[Bolozi Gbudu Tanikpama|General Bolozi Gbudu Tanikpama]] ([[Intelligence_agencies_of_Zaire#Military_Intelligence_and_Security_Service|SARM]]); [[Baramoto Kpama Kata|General Baramoto Kpama Kata]] ([[Armed Forces of Zaire#Civil Guard|Civil Guard]]); Admiral Mavua Mudima ([[Armed Forces of Zaire#Navy|Navy]]); [[Eluki Monga Aundu|General Eluki Monga Aundu]] ([[Armed Forces of Zaire#Army|Army]]); and [[Nzimbi Ngbale|General Étienne Nzimbi Ngbale Kongo wa Bassa]] ([[Armed Forces of Zaire#Special Presidential Division|DSP]]).}} |
The '''Armed Forces of Zaire''' (French: ''Forces Armées Zaïrois'', or "FAZ" for short) is the name of [[Zaire]]'s military. It consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and law enforcement and paramilitary organizations. [[Presidency of Zaire|President]] [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga]] is Supreme Commander of the FAZ. Former Army Chief of Staff [[Donat Lieko Mahele|General Donat Lieko Mahele]] serves as [[Cabinet of Zaire|Minister of Defense and Veterans' Affairs]]. | The '''Armed Forces of Zaire''' (French: ''Forces Armées Zaïrois'', or "FAZ" for short) is the name of [[Zaire]]'s military. It consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and law enforcement and paramilitary organizations. [[Presidency of Zaire|President]] [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga]] is Supreme Commander of the FAZ. Former Army Chief of Staff [[Donat Lieko Mahele|General Donat Lieko Mahele]] serves as [[Cabinet of Zaire|Minister of Defense and Veterans' Affairs]]. | ||
Revision as of 18:32, 1 January 2007
The Armed Forces of Zaire (French: Forces Armées Zaïrois, or "FAZ" for short) is the name of Zaire's military. It consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and law enforcement and paramilitary organizations. President Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga is Supreme Commander of the FAZ. Former Army Chief of Staff General Donat Lieko Mahele serves as Minister of Defense and Veterans' Affairs.
While the armed forces' stated purpose is to defend Zaire against external threats, in reality its sole purpose is serving as an apparatus used to ensure the survival of the Mobutu regime and the curtailing or destruction of any real or perceived opponents of his regime. The armed forces, one of the main pillars of Mobutu's support, have a well-deserved reputation for lawlessness and brutality. They are accustomed to arbitrarily committing human rights abuses with complete impunity, killing dissidents, stoking up anarchic conditions to divert the populace's discontent from Mobutu's misrule, inciting ethnic tensions to "divide and rule" the opposition, and provoking lawlessness to discredit his enemies.
