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Article: Payback time: our man in Kinshasa: Zaire gets the bum's rush from Washington. (US pressures President Mobutu Sese Sese to relinquish presidential powers)
- Article from:
- U.S. News & World Report
- Article date:
- August 2, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 All rights reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Diamonds are forever, but Mobutu Sese Seko's days are definitely numbered. The president of Zaire steals diamonds from his country's mines to the tune of some $15 million a year. He also keeps a copy of Machiavelli's "The Prince" at his bedside and seems to have learned all the lessons of that fine work. But Mobutu's troubles are deep, getting deeper, and the end may now be in sight. Who would have imagined such a thing for one of America's best friends?
Last week was a shock, to be sure. President Mobutu sent his most trusted envoy to Washington to see how things might be patched up with the administration of Bill Clinton. Ngbanda Nzambo-ko-Atumba sat down with ...