For years, Colonel Siatilo Ngizo was a soldier in Congo's eastern battlefields, serving in a rebel army that tried -- and failed -- to seize Kinshasa, the capital.
Ngizo finally has made it to Kinshasa -- not as a fighter, but as a bureaucrat.
He serves in an internationally brokered power-sharing government of former enemies charged with a daunting task: patching together a nation the size of western Europe torn apart by five years of war.
But with old rivalries running deep and half the country still carved into de facto fiefdoms, it isn't easy to divvy up power, government posts and mineral spoils.
"Things are moving very, very slowly," said Ngizo, the defense minister's adviser on military affairs.
"People are resisting change," he said.
The transitional government was born nine months ago in a peace deal after a conflict that sucked in the armies of half a dozen African nations and claimed an estimated 3 million lives, mainly through war-induced hunger and disease.
Congolese President Joseph Kabila has four vice presidents -- two of them rebel leaders who had long fought to overthrow him. A two-house legislature is divided among eight groups, including smaller rebel factions, the political opposition and the Mayi Mayi, a tribal militia whose followers believe magic water can protect them from bullets.
In the lush hills overlooking Kinshasa, rebel officials have moved into sprawling villas, living alongside government officials who were once their enemies.
Airlines fly to formerly rebel-held eastern cities. Long-severed trade routes on the Congo river have reopened.
"Not long ago, it wasn't possible to think that we could all sit together in the same government. We've made a great step," said Sesanga Hipungu, chief of staff for Jean-Pierre Bemba, a vice president and one-time rebel leader.
"But there is a long way to go," he said.
In the capital, former rebels complain that military brigades, police and ubiquitous intelligence agents are still controlled by Kabila and the hardliners around him.
Their leaders each have about 200 troops in the city -- and a helicopter on standby for a quick escape if needed.
Other habits die hard.
In south and central Congo, the main state companies exploiting lucrative diamond, copper and cobalt mines are still run by Kabila appointees, who, along with the president's closest associates, are believed to be profiting personally.
In the north and east, former rebel factions retain control over huge tracts of land rich in gold, diamonds, timber and coffee.
In a mineral-rich country long pillaged by its leaders, the poor are resigned to more of the same.
"They're all egoists, they only care about themselves," said Guy, a security guard who wouldn't give his surname.
"While we're struggling to find something to eat, they're trying to find nice cars to drive," Guy said.
To regain control of Africa's third largest nation, Kabila has dispatched 10 new regional military commanders nationwide -- putting rebels in former government zones and vice versa.
But plans to appoint new governors to each of Congo's 11 provinces -- a big step toward imposing central government authority -- have bogged down in bickering over how to share the posts.
Elections are scheduled for June next year, but many believe they will be delayed. Much of the east is still volatile and lawless, despite the presence of 10,800 UN peacekeepers.
The first battalion of a newly unified national army has graduated from a Belgian-run training program. It has yet to be armed.
Nationwide disarmament plans are still in limbo.
"Despite initial progress in national reunification, the peace process is facing daunting challenges," chiefly whether the transitional leaders can overcome "an atmosphere of distrust" and become a unified government, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned in his latest report on the country.
Tensions hit a new high March 28, when hours of gunfire rattled through the crumbling streets of humid tropical capital for the first time in years.
Diplomats and authorities say about 40 men launched simultaneous, pre-dawn attacks on four military bases in the city, and fled after troops loyal to Kabila stepped in.
Two weeks later, it's still unclear who they were. Theories include a coup attempt by ex-combatants, a mutiny by unpaid troops or, as Ngizo believes, stage-managed violence aimed at derailing the peace process to put off elections.
"Those who have power want to hold onto it as long as possible," Ngizo said.
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
A US federal judge on Tuesday ordered US President Donald Trump’s administration to halt efforts to shut down Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, the news broadcasts of which are funded by the government to export US values to the world. US District Judge Royce Lamberth, who is overseeing six lawsuits from employees and contractors affected by the shutdown of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), ordered the administration to “take all necessary steps” to restore employees and contractors to their positions and resume radio, television and online news broadcasts. USAGM placed more than 1,000
RSS