THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 342,000 sq km (132,000 sq mi)
Population: 3.1m (2001 est.)
Capital City: Brazzaville (population:
800,000)
People: 15 main Bantu groups, the
largest being Bacongo, Vili, Bateke,
M'Bochi, and Sangha. There are also
over 70 subgroups and a small pygmie
population.
Language(s): French (official), Lingala,
Kikongo and Munukutuba (national)
Religion(s): traditional beliefs (50%),
Roman Catholic (35%), other Christians
(15%), Muslim (2%)
Currency: CFA Franc (fixed to euro)
Major political parties: The largest
political party is the Congolese Labour
Party (PCT). Other parties include the
Pan-African Union for Social
Democracy (UPADS), Congolese
Movement for Democracy and Integral
Development (MCDDI), Coalition for
Democracy and Social Progress
(RDPS), Coalition for Democracy and
Development (RDD), Union of
Democratic Forces (UFD), Union of
Democratic Renewal (URD), Union for
Development and Social Progress
(UDPS).
GEOGRAPHY
Congo has a surface area twice that of
the United Kingdom and is covered
mostly by rainforest. It is bordered by
the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Gabon, the Central African Republic,
Cameroon, and the Angolan enclave of
Cabinda. Brazzaville, the capital of
Republic of Congo, is on the opposite
bank of the Congo River from
Kinshasa, the capital of DRC. The main
port, Pointe Noire, is the centre of the
offshore oil industry, linked to
Brazzaville both by rail and road.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
HISTORY
Longer Historical Perspective
Originally inhabited by pygmies and
later settled by Bantu groups, the first
European contacts arrived in the late
15th century. The Portuguese were at
first confined to the coastal areas,
developing slave and trade relations
with the interior. It was not until 1880
that Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, a
French explorer, extended control
inland, in competition with the Belgians'
International Congo Association.
In 1910 the Republic of Congo became
the administrative centre of the
Federation of French Equatorial Africa
(AEF). The Federation comprised the
Republic of Congo, Chad, Gabon and the
Central African Republic. The AEF
fought for Charles de Gaulle's Free
France during World War II, and in 1946
all AEF inhabitants were granted
French citizenship and allowed to
establish local assemblies.
The AEF was dissolved in 1958 and the
Republic of Congo achieved full
independence in August 1960 under
President AbbT Fulbert Youlou. He
resigned in 1963 and was replaced by
Alphonse Massemba-DTbat who
created a one party state.
Massemba-Debat formed the
Mouvement national de la rTvolution
(MNR), a Marxist-Leninist group with
an anti-Western foreign policy. In
September 1968 he was overthrown in
a military coup by Captain Marien
Ngoubai. The youth wing of the MNR
took over the government, renaming
itself the Parti Congolais du Travail
(PCT). Ngoubai was assassinated in
1977. His successor Colonel Jacques
Joachim Yhombi-Opango, was swiftly
replaced by Denis Sassou-Nguesso in
1979.
The Marxist Leninist Parti Congolais du
Travail (PCT) of which President Denis
Sassou-Nguesso was a member, ruled
from 1969 until 1992, when they gave
in to opposition demands for change. A
Sovereign National Conference was
established to decide the shape of the
country's political future and agree a
timetable for elections. The
multi-party constitution was
overwhelmingly endorsed in a
referendum in March 1992. Pascal
Lissouba, leader of the Union
Panafricaine pour la Democratie
Sociale (UPADS), was elected
President in August 1992, with 61% of
the vote. Bernard Kolelas, leader of
Mouvement Congolais pour la
Democratie et le Developpement
Integral (MCDDI) came second, while
former President Sassou-Nguesso was
eliminated in the first round and
conceded defeat.
Recent History
The National Assembly elections in 1993
led to skirmishes between armed
opposition supporters and the
Government military. After a partial
rerun under international supervision in
October 1993, the Presidential group,
comprising UPADS and its allies won 67
seats compared to 58 for the
opposition coalition, which included PCT
and MCDDI. However, fighting broke
out between the army and the
opposition, whose leaders maintained
dedicated militias. The 'Zulu' Militia
backed Mr. Lissouba, the 'Ninja' militia
supported Mr KolTlas, and the 'Cobras'
supported Sassou-Nguesso. Hundreds
were killed and the three militias
remained in conflict until January 1995,
when a new cross-party alliance under
Brigadier-General Jacques-Joachim
Yhombi-Opango assumed power. The
militias signed a peace accord in
December 1995, although the conditions
were never met.
Six presidential candidates emerged
for the 1997 presidential elections
including President Lissouba,
Sassou-Nguesso and Kolelas, who had
been elected mayor of Brazzaville in
July 1994. On 31 May 1997 they signed
an agreement to conduct a peaceful
campaign. But on 2 June fighting broke
out between forces loyal to Lissouba
and Sassou-Nguesso, after
government troops surrounded
Sassou-Nguesso's house and attempted
to disarm his militia in the run up to the
elections.
Between June and October 1997,
despite the efforts of AU, UN and
regional mediators, the country fell
back into civil war. Fighting was
centred in Brazzaville, which was split
into three zones occupied by the
militias of the three leading players.
5,000 foreign nationals were evacuated
from Brazzaville by the French Army.
700,000 people fled Brazzaville,
spreading throughout the country and
to the Democratic Republic of Congo. In
August President Lissouba appointed
Kolelas as Prime Minister, leading to
gains for the combined militias.
However, in October Angolan troops
entered Congo to support Mr
Sassou-Nguesso. This altered the
balance of power in Mr
Sassou-Nguesso's favour. He
proclaimed himself President on 25
October 1997. M. Lissouba and M.
Kolelas fled the country.
President Sassou-Nguesso formed a
'Government of National Unity'
composed mainly of his supporters.
The previous elected parliament was
dissolved. Sassou-Nguesso then held a
10-day National Forum of reconciliation
at the end of which he appointed a
75-member transition parliament. He
announced that legislative and
presidential elections would be held at
the end of a three-year flexible
transition period.
Uneasy calm was shattered in
December 1998 when fighting and
looting broke out in the Pool region of
Brazzaville. Sassou-Nguesso claimed
that it was an attempted coup by
militias loyal to Lissouba and Kolelas,
but there were widespread reports of
looting and killing of civilians by
government troops and armed militias.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians
were again displaced from Brazzaville.
Peace deals were signed in November
and December 1999 by the Government
forces and all major rebel militias in
Congo. Lissouba and Kolelas have still
not signed up to the deals.
In March 2001 the National Transitional
Council approved a draft Constitution
and the government drew up a
timetable for a referendum on the
Constitution and presidential, legislative
and municipal elections, all of which
took place in the first half of 2002.
The new draft constitution, providing
for a presidency with executive
powers and a seven-year mandate,
was supported by a referendum in
January 2002. There are two planned
chambers of parliament, the National
Assembly and the Senate. Presidential
elections were held on 10 March 2002.
Sassou-Nguesso won with 89% of the
vote. Six other candidates stood - the
main rival, Andre Milongo, having
withdrawn from the race in the final
days.
The peace has held well. More than
630,000 of the 810,000 people displaced
by the war have returned. Malnutrition
and death rates have dropped. The vital
railway line between Brazzaville and
Pointe-Noire was reopened and the
security situation is slowly improving.
In March 2003, the Ninja rebels signed
a new commitment to peace with the
government, and have begun
disarmament and reintegration into
wider society.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$ 2.8bn (2001)
GDP per head: US$ 963.3
Inflation: 3%
Major Industries: Petroleum, timber,
phosphates, natural gas
Major trading partners: France, US,
Belgium, UK, Italy, Germany, Taiwan,
China
Exchange rate: 1 euro = CFA 655.957
(fixed)
Trade Partners UK Country Profile:
Congo
The economy has suffered badly from
continued disruption but is propped up
by large offshore oil reserves that
have remained relatively unaffected by
the civil war. Oil revenues make up
over half of Congo's economy, with the
sector dominated by the French
company TotalFinaElf. Agriculture
accounts for only 10 per cent which
means that the country relies heavily
on imports.
The government has agreed a
Post-Conflict Assistance Programme
with the World Bank and the IMF
approved a $14 million credit in
November 2000 to aid post-conflict
reconstruction. Under agreements
with both the World Bank and the IMF,
the government's main priorities are
structural reform, re-establishment of
basic public services, and promotion of
post-conflict recovery through
macro-economic stabilisation. Congo
has arrears with most creditors,
including the IMF and the World Bank.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Congo's Relations with Neighbours
Congo has traditional ties with Gabon,
which has a number of ethnic groups in
common with Congo. President
Sassou-Nguesso's daughter is married
to President Bongo of Gabon.
Congo continues to be affected by the
upheaval in the Great Lakes region. It is
estimated there are 117,000 refugees
from the Democratic Republic of Congo
in the Likouala region of the country.
Humanitarian agencies have been able
to help only 50,000 of these because
fighting in the Equateur province of
DRC interrupted navigation on the
Oubangui and Congo Rivers. Resolution
of these and other problems are not
helped by ongoing hostility between
Brazzaville and Kinshasa, with each
accusing the other of supporting rebel
militias.
President Sassou-Nguesso has built
alliances with fellow African leaders
since he took power in October 1997.
He has developed contacts with
neighbouring countries and with Egypt,
Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. He
has very close relations with Angola,
signing a defence agreement with
Angola which ostensibly legitimised the
presence of Angolan troops in Congo,
until their withdrawal at the end of
2002.
Flags Of The World: Democratic Republic of the Congo
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