Word: za
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...things considered, it was not a bad week for Zaïre's beleaguered President, Mobutu Sese Seko. After all, he had been struggling for a month to combat, both politically and militarily, the invasion of his country's Shaba region by exiles who had fled the former secessionist province of Katanga in the mid-1960s. Finally, last week, Mobutu got some important signs of support from his friends...
...Zaïre spokesmen announced that King Hassan II of Morocco had agreed to rush about 1,500 troops to support government forces in the mineral-rich southeastern district. The Moroccans-with Washington's apparent blessing -were expected to join the effort to defend Kolwezi (pop. 150,000), the center of the copper-mining industry that provides Zaïre with more than 60% of its foreign exchange. Zaïre also disclosed that another African country, possibly Egypt, would also send troops. Uganda and the Sudan have promised supplies, France promised air support and China began airlifting...
...Katangese have raised the sharpest challenge yet to Mobutu. A Belgian-trained soldier and former journalist, Mobutu has managed to unify a nation with a bloody history of chaos and tribal war. Parceling out privileged positions and sinecures to leaders of Zaïre's 200 ethnic groups, Mobutu in return demanded and got almost feudal loyalty. High-living and profligate, he tried to burnish his image as a 20th century chief by such flamboyant stunts as the "Rumble in the Jungle" between Heavy-weights Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974, which lost the government $4.1 million...
FRANCE government-run press, flopped badly in managing Zaïre's economy. Sinking millions into costly prestige projects when world copper prices peaked in early 1974, he led the nation to the edge of bankruptcy. Zaïre's copper travels 43 days from Shaba mines to Congo River ports on rickety Victorian-era railways and barges reminiscent of the African Queen. Swollen prices of bread, rice and other staples have led to widespread discontent...
Mobutu's own corruption-fueled life-style has angered many of his people. Still, le Guide gave the country a decade of stability. If his government is toppled by the Katangese, Zaïre could slide back into the butchery and division that scarred its birth...