Category Archives: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Africa – Education: The Democratic Republic of Congo guest of honour at the Global Education for All Meeting organised by UNESCO

From: News Release – African Press Organization (APO)
PRESS RELEASE

UNESCO – Education: The Democratic Republic of Congo in the spotlight

The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo was the guest of honour at the Global Education for All Meeting organised by UNESCO

KINSHASA, Dem. Rep. of Congo (DRC) May 15, 2014/ — The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Matata Ponyo Mapon (https://www.primature.cd), was the guest of honour at the Global Education for All Meeting organised by UNESCO in Muscat (Oman) from 12 to 14 May 2014.

Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/rdc-en.png

Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1080 (The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Matata Ponyo Mapon)

In his closing speech, the Prime Minister stressed in particular the progress made in terms of school attendance and literacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent years. Consequently, the gross attendance rate increased from 83.7% in 2007 to 101% in 2012 at primary school level, with pupil numbers increasing from 8.8 million to 12.6 million over the same period.

“It is essential to focus on basic education as it is the foundation of a nation and ensures the transformation of society. Improvement of governance in the education sector additionally guarantees the quality of education”, insisted Matata Ponyo Mapon who pointed out that expenditure on education had increased from 6% of the national budget in 2007 to 16.04% in 2014.

In April 2013, the Congolese government notably launched a Reconstruction and Renovation of School Infrastructure Programme (PRRIS) with funding of 100 million dollars. Its objective is the construction or renovation of 1,000 schools across the entire country. To date, 180 schools have already been delivered and 580 are under construction or renovation.

Education, which is a fundamental condition for the economic and social development of a country due to the fact that it enables consolidation of human skills and capabilities, is a priority in the DRC. Some of the key measures undertaken in recent years include in particular the provision of free primary education implemented in 2010, the creation of study grants for young girls, the provision of 18 million school books, and the construction of Educational Resource Centres for teacher training with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

A new framework law on national education was also enacted on 11 February 2014 and a Mutual Healthcare Insurance Organisation for teaching staff was established. It should also be noted that the banking system for the payment of civil servants, and therefore teaching staff, launched in 2011 and rolled out in 2013 across the entire country, has contributed significantly towards improving the living standards of teachers.

“Thanks to the support of the Head of State, Joseph Kabila Kabange, my government has made basic education, the inclusion of girls in the education system and better conditions for teachers key priority areas”, the Prime Minister stated.

In her address, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, welcomed these displays and achievements made nationally in the education sector. She “congratulated” the Democratic Republic of Congo, represented by the Prime Minister, Matata Ponyo Mapon, for this “commitment to build a more effective and inclusive education system, so as to provide free primary education for all through the construction of 1,000 new classrooms and teacher training, with the UNESCO programme funded by China”.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Contact:

Office of the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Communication and External Relations Unit
Tel.: +243 (0) 82 5000 229
Email: info@primature.cd; cabinet@primature.cd

SOURCE
Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo

“Enough is enough”: the women of the DRC demand an end to sexual violence & conflict

From: News Release – African Press Organization (APO)
PRESS RELEASE

No more war on women’s bodies

BUKAVU (South Kivu), Dem. Rep. of Congo (DRC), February 25, 2014/ — A fact-finding mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo—led by Nobel peace laureate Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, and organized by the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict—today called on the government of the DRC and the international community to put women at the centre of peace efforts and bring an end to rampant sexual violence.

avatar.pngLogo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/nobel.png

Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/avatar.png

“They say that the DRC is the rape capital of the world,” said Gbowee. “But what I see is that it is the capital of strong women and solidarity among women. We are here to support the courageous women who have survived rape and other forms of sexual violence—and are now working to help other survivors. These women are the peacemakers, and they need to be supported to bring true peace to this country. They have told us: ‘enough is enough’–no more war on women’s bodies.”

The group, which also included American journalists, philanthropists and women’s right experts, visited Kigali (Rwanda), Bunia in the Orientale province of the DRC and Bukavu in South Kivu of the DRC. At each stop, the group met with women’s organizations, grassroots groups working on justice, provincial government officials, and officials from the UN and other international organizations—and also toured women-led projects aimed at supporting survivors of sexual violence. The delegation came to the DRC at the invitation of women’s organizations in the DRC that are part of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict.

“We work with organizations around the world who care deeply about the situation of women in the DRC,” said Julienne Lusenge, the President of Solidarite Feminine pour la Paix et le Developpment Integral (SOFEPADI). “Together with our partners in the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict, we are calling upon the governments of the region to come together with us to ensure adequate access to care for survivors of sexual violence all across the DRC—and end the impunity that still exists for committing rape and other atrocities against women.”

The fact-finding mission met with over 350 women in the DRC. The women presented the delegation with key recommendations for the government of the DRC, governments in the region as well as the international community. The recommendations include greater protection for human rights defenders, effective application of transitional justice in DRC and reparations for survivors, access to a full range of services for survivors (medical, psychological, legal and socio-economic, family planning) across the DRC, reform of the police, army and other judiciary mechanisms and the full implementation of the National Action Plan on Sexual and Gender-based Violence.

One of the key concerns is the lack of adequate funding for grassroots women’s organizations.

“Groups like SOFEPADI do so much—with so little,” said Elizabeth Bernstein, the Executive Director of the Nobel Women’s Initiative (http://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org), an organization created by six women Nobel peace laureates. “These small organizations have the knowledge and skills to provide a full range of services to women in the DRC. We are calling for more direct support to such grassroots organizations.”

The delegation will end it’s mission in Kigali, where it will be meeting with local officials, members of the diplomatic community and representatives of international agencies.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the Nobel Women’s Initiative.

For more information, please contact:

Rachel Vincent
Director, Media & Communications
rvincent@nobelwomensinitiative.org
Rwanda as of Feb 16: +250-783-114-778 / Congo as of Feb. 20: +243-810-223-626

Zuzia Danielski
Online Media & Outreach Coordinator
zdanielski@nobelwomensinitiative.org
Rwanda as of Feb 16: +250-789-523-339 / Congo as of Feb. 20: +243-814-551-168

Anna Mayimona Ngemba
Local Media Coordinator
m_ngemba@yahoo.fr
Congo: +243 999 958 352 / +243 818 047 216

Ashley Armstrong
Communications Associate
aarmstrong@nobelwomensinitiative.org
Ottawa: +1-613-569-8400 ext. 115

To follow the delegation on social media:

On Our Blog: http://bit.ly/CongoWomenSpeakBlog

On Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube: @NobelWomen #CongoWomenSpeak

The Nobel Women’s Initiative (http://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org) was established in 2006, and is led by Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkol Karman and Mairead Maguire. The Nobel Women’s Initiative uses the prestige of the Nobel Peace Prize and of courageous women peace laureates to magnify the power and visibility of women working in countries around the world for peace, justice and equality.

SOURCE
The Nobel Women’s Initiative

Inside Story Of Why President Kikwete Deployed Tanzanian Troops In DRC

From: Abdalah Hamis

At an urgent summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Kampala in late September 2012, Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete spoke passionately of how Tanzania was eager to end the conflict in DR Congo. President Kikwete informed other leaders that Tanzania was ready to use force. Months later, Tanzanian troops were deployed, but as News of Rwanda reports, the deployment is a personal project of President Kikwete after ignoring advice of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS).

Since the ICGLR authorized the deployment of 3,069 troops, including 1,283 Tanzanian Special Forces, the events moved so fast. In April, Tanzanian Brigadier General James Aloizi Mwakibolwa was named the commander of the so called Neutral Intervention Force (NIF). On 10th May 2013, the first batch of 100 elite forces arrived in Goma.

Even as the world was celebrating the developments on the ground in eastern DRC, back in Tanzania however, tempers were at exploding point between President Kikwete on one side and the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS). News of Rwanda has established that around July 2013, President Kikwete unilaterally appointed a man we have only managed to identify as Mr Zongo to be the deputy director general of TISS.

The shocking appointment was retaliation against the director general of TISS, Mr. Rashid Othman, who had rigidly refused to endorse the deployment of Tanzanian troops in DR Congo. According to sources close to Mr. Othman, he accused President Kikwete of “mishandling the geopolitical situation” in the region at the expense of Tanzania.

The man who the Tanzania state was paying to plan for its security strategy, feared that President Kikwete’s “unilateral decision” would come back to haunt Tanzania. As the supreme leader, President Kikwete was not impressed, and moved to curb the powers of the intelligence chief. Our sources have intimated to News of Rwanda that Mr Zongo is the current defacto boss as TISS and is the one who liaises between the Presidency and TISS.

In comes President Kabila’s sister

The refusal of TISS chief Mr. Rashid Othman did not come from the blue. Information obtained by our investigations team shows that the deployment of Tanzania troops had been a personal pledge by President Kikwete to DRC President Joseph Kabila when he was in Tanzania for the SADC Troika summit on 5th September 2012.

But how did the Kikwete pledge come? The two presidents have cultivated a very close relationship to the point that the two families are business partners. Tanzania’s First Lady fondly known as Mama Salma Kikwete and President Kabila’s twin sister Jaynet Kabila have a mineral export business operating from Dar es Salaam’s MIKOCHENI suburb.

News of Rwanda investigations have led us to two very luxurious “shops” in Dar es Salaam. One of them is named RENZO located within the upper class MIKOCHENI Shopping Mall opposite SAVERIOS Pizza. The other “shop” is VIRAGO, positioned opposite Baraka Plaza. Both these shops are located in the MIKOCHENI suburb of Dar es Salaam where Tanzania’s rich and good brash shoulders.

According to sources on the ground, these two Kikwete-Kabila shops sell the most luxurious clothing and jewelry in Tanzania. However, despite the size and expensive line of business, the “shops” are not registered with the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA). The two names are not found anywhere in the tax receipts of the TRA, which according to well-informed sources, means they do not pay taxes. However, nobody including the TRA commissioner general Harry Kitilya can say anything for fear of retribution.

According to people operating businesses within the MIKOCHENI suburb, these particular shops are a no-go zone for ordinary Tanzanians. Apart from seeing expensive cars packed within the vicinity, the shops are also common with foreigners who do not leave with any materials, and locals suspect strange businesses are taking place inside those buildings.

Could it be that the intelligence Chief Mr. Rashid Othman knew from day one that his boss’ insistence on sending troops to DRC was not back by any love for Tanzanian interests? Could it be that Mr Zongo was brought to TISS to keep an eye on Othman such that he does not search too far? Only time will tell.

Jaynet Kabila is the twin sister of President Kabila, and a very power force in the DRC parliament. Politicians in DRC see her as the powers-be that choose Congo’s fate

Then the FDLR militia emerges

First forward, on the morning of 26 May 2013, at a special and tense closed-door Africa Union heads of state summit on DRC, President Kikwete was seated across from Rwandan counter President Paul Kagame. The Tanzanian leader tells Kagame that he needs to sit at the same table with the democratic forces for the liberation of Rwanda rebels to talk peace. President Kikwete was reading from a prepared speech.

As News of Rwanda has reported ever since, Tanzania-Rwanda relations have since gone down the drain. Privately, President Kikwete’s closest advisors have confessed to friends that the FDLR issue as advanced by their boss to other African leaders was never discussed. The original speech prepared by the Presidency did not include a reference to peace talks for ending the FDLR problem in eastern Congo.

Publicly, many Tanzanian senior officials have kept quiet leaving only two people to deal with the expected consequences of Tanzania siding with the perpetrators of the genocide. President Kikwete and his foreign affairs minister Bernard Membe have been left to fight alone, reason why they are the only people who speak passionately about the Rwanda-Tanzania showdown. However, it is not accidental.

Dorcas Membe, the wife of the foreign affairs minister is a childhood friend of First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete. According to official data, Mama Salma was comes from Lindi, in Southern Tanzania. The First Lady and Dorcas Membe hail from the same village.

On 19th August last year, News of Rwanda reported exclusively Shabyna Stillman, a senior diplomat at the US embassy in Dar es Salaam had sent a secret cable to Washington on Thursday May 5th, 2005 explaining how Mama Salma Kikwete was from the family of ex-Rwanda president Juvenal Habyarimana.

Could it be that President Kikwete’s sudden move in favour of the FDLR was influenced by the personal friendship with DRC counterpart Joseph Kabila or his wife’s ancestry to Rwanda? Only time will tell.

http://www.newsofrwanda.com/featured1/22306/inside-story-of-why-president-kikwete-deployed-tanzanian-troops-in-drc/

DRC; ICC: Q&A – – Hearing to Confirm the Charges Against Bosco Ntaganda at the International Criminal Court

From: Abdalah Hamis

On February 10, 2014, the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will hear evidence against Bosco Ntaganda, a rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a short hearing to determine whether the case against him should proceed to trial.

Ntaganda has been implicated in grave crimes in eastern Congo over the past decade, but managed to avoid arrest for almost seven years after the ICC issued its first arrest warrant for him in 2006. His long record of involvement with a succession of armed groups responsible for killings, rapes and other atrocities had made him a symbol of the impunity for grave abuses that has plagued eastern Congo. Having Ntaganda finally face justice is a momentous development for accountability in Congo and for the victims and rights advocates who worked over the years seeking his arrest.

The hearing for Ntaganda underscores the vital role of the ICC in ensuring accountability for grave international crimes when national courts are unwilling or unable to do so. Over the past year, some African governments and the African Union have criticized the ICC, calling on African member countries not to cooperate with the court and seeking immunity from prosecution for heads of state. Amidst this, the Ntaganda hearing is a powerful reminder that the ICC is often the only hope for justice when impunity prevails at the national level.

1. Who is Bosco Ntaganda?

2. What are the ICC charges against Ntaganda?

3. What happened in Ituri?

4. How did the ICC gain custody of Ntaganda?

5. What will happen at the February hearing?

6. What rights does Ntaganda have during the hearing?

7. Can victims participate in the hearing?

8. Who is paying for Ntaganda’s lawyer?

9. What happens after the February hearing?

10. Is the ICC prosecuting Ntaganda for crimes committed after 2003?

11. Why the delay in bringing Ntaganda to the ICC?

12. Didn’t past pressure to arrest Ntaganda encourage him to start a new war in North Kivu province?

13. How will people in Congo follow the proceedings in The Hague?

14. What else is the ICC doing in Congo? What more should it do?

1. Who is Bosco Ntaganda?

Bosco Ntaganda is a rebel leader who has been active in various armed groups in eastern Congo since the late 1990s. For several years, he also served as a general in the Congolese army. He has been sought by the International Criminal Court for war crimes since 2006.

Ntaganda was born in 1973 in Kinigi, Rwanda. He fled to Congo as a young teenager amid attacks on ethnic Tutsi in Rwanda. He began his military career in 1990 in the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Rwandan rebel group based in Uganda; the RPF went on to stop the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and formed the government that is still in power in Rwanda today. Ntaganda then joined the new Rwandan army and participated in the Rwandan military invasion of Congo in 1996. In 1998, during the “Second Congo War,” he joined a Congolese rebel group backed by Rwanda, the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD). He subsequently moved among various Congolese militias before joining the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) in 2002. The UPC was an armed group that purported to further the interests of the Hema ethnic group in the Ituri district of north-eastern Congo.

From 2002 to 2005, Ntaganda served as chief of military operations under the UPC’s leader, Thomas Lubanga. During that period, forces under Ntaganda’s command were implicated in many serious human rights abuses, including ethnic massacres, torture, rape and the widespread recruitment of children, some as young as 7. Lubanga was the first person to go to trial before the ICC. He wasconvicted in 2012 for recruiting and using child soldiers in Ituri and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Ntaganda was the co-accused in that case but managed to elude justice until he surrendered in 2013. During that time, he continued to lead troops responsible for grave abuses and received significant support from backers in the Rwandan military.

2. What are the ICC charges against Ntaganda?

In the first ICC arrest warrant in August 2006, Ntaganda, like Lubanga, was charged with the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under 15 as soldiers and using them to participate actively in hostilities in the context of the armed conflict in Ituri in 2002 and 2003. The ICC issued a second arrest warrant against Ntaganda in July 2012, with four additional counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity, including charges of murder, attacks against the civilian population, rape and sexual slavery, pillaging, and persecution, all allegedly committed during the Ituri conflict in 2002 and 2003.

The second arrest warrant addressed concerns expressed by Congolese activists and Human Rights Watch about the narrow scope of the charges initially brought against Lubanga and Ntaganda. The expanded set of charges is more representative of the range of grave crimes allegedly committed by the UPC in Ituri. The additional charges are important in bringing justice to the victims of these further crimes, who belong predominantly to the Lendu ethnic group, and enabling them to participate in proceedings at the ICC. This had not been possible in the Lubanga case as the charges were limited to the use of child soldiers by the UPC, most of whom were from the Hema ethnic group. However, the additional charges do not cover crimes committed in North Kivu province since 2006.

3. What happened in Ituri?

Ituri district has been one of the worst affected areas in eastern Congo’s prolonged conflict. Localized fighting between Hema and Lendu ethnic groups that began in 1999 over land disputes expanded after Ugandan military forces backed Congolese armed groups. As the conflict spiralled and armed groups multiplied, more than 60,000 civilians died. Competition for the region’s lucrative gold mines and trading routes was a major contributing factor to the fighting. Foreign armies and local militia groups fought each other and committed numerous abuses, often targeting civilians. Armed groups, such as Ntaganda’s UPC, carried out widespread ethnic killings, torture and rape.

Human Rights Watch documented in depth serious human rights abuses in Ituri in the early 2000s, including in three detailed reports in 2001, 2003 and 2005. While the situation has become significantly more stable in recent years, armed groups are still active in some parts of Ituri.

4. How did the ICC gain custody of Ntaganda?

Ntaganda is the first accused to surrender voluntarily to the ICC. In a surprising twist of events, on March 18, 2013, he turned himself in to the United States embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, and asked to be transferred to The Hague. His motives remain unclear. Prior to his surrender, there had been clashes between two factions of his most recent armed group, the M23, in eastern Congo. The faction opposed to Ntaganda had gained the upper hand. This may have prompted Ntaganda to flee Congo. Ntaganda may also have lost the support of his Rwandan backers, leading him to fear for his life and to surrender.

Cooperation by the United States – although not an ICC member country – was critical to enable the prompt and efficient transfer of Ntaganda to the ICC, on March 22, 2013. Cooperation by Rwanda and Congo, which did not oppose the transfer, also helped facilitate it.

5. What will happen at the February hearing?

The hearing to confirm the charges against Ntaganda is not a trial. It will allow the judges of pre-trial chamber II to evaluate whether the prosecution has enough evidence to move ahead with a trial on the charges cited. The prosecution need not present all of its evidence at this stage but enough to satisfy the judges that there are “substantial grounds to believe” that Ntaganda committed the crimes alleged. This is a higher burden than the “reasonable grounds to believe” standard used by the chamber when issuing arrest warrants.

Ntaganda, through his defense counsel, can object to the charges, challenge the prosecution’s evidence, and put forward his own evidence. However, the hearing is not aimed at determining guilt or innocence.

The pre-trial chamber has indicated that the hearing will start on February 10. It was initially scheduled to start on September 26, 2013 but was postponed at the request of the Office of the Prosecutor to allow more time to prepare the case, as it had been dormant for several years.

6. What rights does Ntaganda have during the hearing?

Ntaganda’s rights during this hearing are similar to his rights during the trial. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty and is entitled to a fair and expeditious hearing, conducted impartially.

In advance of the hearing, Ntaganda has been provided with a document containing the charges sought by the prosecutor, as well as a list of the evidence the prosecutor intends to rely on at the hearing.

The disclosure of this evidence, as required by the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, has been on-going for several months. In recent filings, Ntaganda’s defense lawyers raised concerns about delays in the disclosure process and about the prosecution’s inability to disclose 116 documents containing exculpatory information. In the case against Lubanga (Ntaganda’s co-accused), proceedings were halted twice because of difficulties related to the disclosure of evidence collected by the Office of the Prosecutor under confidentiality agreements with the sources.

In accordance with the Rome Statute, Ntaganda is entitled to have the proceedings held in a language he fully understands and speaks. During his initial appearance before the court, he indicated that he “understands French somewhat… but speaks Kinyarwanda fluently.” Balancing issues of fairness and potential costs and delays incurred through extensive translations, the pre-trial chamber has decided to allow the translation into Kinyarwanda of documents considered central and material to the preparation of Ntaganda’sdefense.

7. Can victims participate in the hearing?

Under the Rome Statute, and for the first time before an international criminal tribunal, victims of the alleged crimes can participate as an independent party to the proceedings. This is an important feature of the ICC that can contribute to bridging the gap between victims and a court located thousands of kilometres away from where the crimes were committed. As participants, victims can go beyond appearing as witnesses for the Office of the Prosecutor and can present their views and concerns.

The court has agreed that 922 victims can participate in Ntaganda’s confirmation of charges hearing. These victims are separated by the court into two distinct groups: one group consists of 97 former UPC child soldiers and their relatives; and the other consists of 825 victims of UPC attacks and their relatives. Each group will be represented at the hearing by a common legal representative from the ICC’s Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV). An assistant counsel will be based in Congo. The creation of two distinct groups follows concerns expressed by victim applicants that victims of Hema ethnicity (the ethnic group purportedly represented by the UPC), on the one hand, and Lendu and other non-Hema victims, on the other, might have diverging interests in this case.

The common legal representatives of the victims are expected to make opening and closing statements at the hearing and to seek permission to make oral and written submissions to the chambers.

8. Who is paying for Ntaganda’s lawyer?

Under the Rome Statute, a defendant has the right to legal counsel during criminal proceedings and is entitled to financial assistance from the court if they cannot afford a lawyer. Ntaganda’s lead counsel is Marc Desalliers, an experienced international criminal lawyer who was also part of Lubanga’s defense team.

Ntaganda has declared to the court that he is indigent and cannot pay for his legal representation. The registrar of the ICC, the court’s chief administrator, has granted him provisional legal aid during the pre-trial phase. However, this decision can be reversed at any time if the financial investigation conducted by the registrar shows that he can bear the costs of his legal defense.

Concerned countries should cooperate with the ICC in its efforts to identify a suspect’s assets and to seize them if the court asks them to. Establishing an accurate assessment of Ntaganda’s resources is also in the interest of victims who are seeking reparations. Ntaganda is believed to have amassed considerable wealth during his time as rebel leader and army general in eastern Congo, notably through seizing control of fertile land and cattle, and looting and trafficking minerals.

9. What happens after the February hearing?

After the hearing, the judges of pre-trial chamber II will have 60 days to provide a written decision. If the chamber decides that there are “substantial grounds to believe” that Ntaganda committed the alleged crimes, the charges will be confirmed and the case will proceed to trial.

If the judges decide that there is not enough evidence to confirm some or all of the charges, the prosecutor can submit additional evidence and request a new confirmation of charges hearing.

The judges could also adjourn the hearing and ask the prosecution to consider providing more evidence or conducting further investigations in relation to a particular charge. In addition, they could ask the prosecutor to consider amending a charge if it appears that the evidence presented establishes a different crime.

10. Is the ICC prosecuting Ntaganda for crimes committed after 2003?

In 2006, after leaving the UPC following internal disputes, Ntaganda moved to North Kivu in eastern Congo and remained there until he surrendered in 2013. During this period, Human Rights Watchdocumented ethnic massacres, killings, rape, torture and recruitment of child soldiers by armed groups or army units under Ntaganda’s command.

None of the grave crimes allegedly committed in North Kivu province are covered in the current ICC case against Ntaganda, which focuses solely on alleged crimes in Ituri. At this stage of the proceedings, and given time and resource constraints, it is unlikely that the ICC prosecutor will add further charges relating to crimes in North Kivu province in this case.

It is regrettable that the prosecution’s case does not more fully address the range of crimes allegedly committed by troops under Ntaganda’s command. As a result of this limited focus, many atrocities in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces remain largely unaddressed, both at the ICC and before national courts in Congo. The ICC prosecutor should investigate those most responsible for these grave crimes, including high-level military and political officials who backed militias there, including Ntaganda’s. Rebel and Congolese army commanders implicated in grave crimes who are not being sought by the ICC should be promptly investigated at the national level by Congolese judicial authorities.

Abuses carried out under Ntaganda’s command in North Kivu province

In 2006, Ntaganda became military chief of staff of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (Congrès national pour la défense du peuple – CNDP), a Tutsi-led rebel group in the province of North Kivu, backed by Rwanda. Among other grave abuses, CNDP troops under Ntaganda’s command massacred an estimated 150 people in the town of Kiwanja. Ntaganda was present at the time according to video footage filmed by foreign journalists.

In early 2009, the Rwandan and Congolese governments reached an agreement: in exchange for Rwanda’s assistance in ending the CNDP rebellion and putting its leader, Laurent Nkunda, under house arrest, the Congolese government integrated CNDP fighters into the Congolese army and made Ntaganda a general and deputy commander of military operations in eastern Congo. This was despite the ICC arrest warrant against him and the Congolese government’s legal obligation to arrest him.

Ntaganda later became acting commander of military operations and used his position to create a parallel command structure in the Congolese army, with former CNDP soldiers who remained loyal to him. Army troops under Ntaganda’s command carried out numerous attacks on civilians, including killings, rapes and burning homes. In 2009 alone, Human Rights Watch documented the killings of more than 730 civilians by Congolese army soldiers and their allies during military operations against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda, or FDLR), a largely Rwandan Hutu armed group, some of whose members participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Most of these killings were carried out by former CNDP troops under Ntaganda’s command.

In one incident between April 27 and 30, 2009, Congolese soldiers attacked camps in the Shalio Hill area and killed at least 129 Rwandan Hutu refugees, mostly women and children. During the same incident, soldiers abducted at least 40 refugee women and girls, held them as sexual slaves, gang-raped and mutilated them.

From 2009 to 2011, Ntaganda led a brutal campaign against perceived military and civilian opponents, allegedly ordering assassinations, arbitrary arrests, and other unlawful acts. He recruited child soldiers and thwarted efforts to demobilize them. He blocked judicial investigations into abuses committed by those loyal to him and used his influence in the military to confiscate land and increase his wealth.

In April 2012, after the Congolese government signalled it would seek to arrest Ntaganda and break up the parallel command structure in the army, Ntaganda and those loyal to him defected and formed a new rebel group, the M23, named after the March 23, 2009 peace accord between the government and the CNDP. M23 fighters in turn committed numerous grave abuses, including summary executions, rape, and recruitment of child soldiers.

11. Why the delay in bringing Ntaganda to the ICC?

The ICC does not have its own police force and relies on the cooperation of governments to carry out its arrest warrants.

In the period following the first ICC arrest warrant against Ntaganda, in 2006, Ntaganda’s then-rebel group, the CNDP, was in a strong position: it controlled significant territory in North Kivu and militarily repulsed the Congolese army several times. In May 2007, the Congolese president, Joseph Kabila, confidentially requested assistance from the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC, since renamed MONUSCO) in arresting Ntaganda, but no further progress was made.

In 2009, President Kabila integrated Ntaganda into the army and declared that “now was the time for peace, not the time for justice.” He claimed that Ntaganda was an essential component for stability in eastern Congo. Congolese nongovernmental organizations denounced the deal and called on Kabila to arrest, rather than reward, Ntaganda. Human Rights Watch also called repeatedly for Ntaganda’s arrestand for the Congolese government to fulfil its legal obligations under the Rome Statute.

Over the past decade, the Congolese government has repeatedly integrated known human rights violators into the army as a short-term means to end rebellions. Instead of bringing durable peace, this has fostered a climate of impunity that encouraged, rather than deterred, further abuses.

12. Didn’t past pressure to arrest Ntaganda encourage him to start a new war in North Kivu province?

In April 2012, President Kabila indicated he was prepared to arrest Ntaganda. That, together with the ICC conviction of Lubanga in March 2012, may have been a factor in prompting Ntaganda and soldiers loyal to him to mutiny. Some Congolese officials and commentators have said they believed that it was the insistence on justice that led to the creation of the M23 and a renewed round of fighting in eastern Congo in 2012.

This interpretation overlooks important facts. It is the lack of justice – not efforts to bring abusers to justice – that has encouraged cycles of violence in eastern Congo over the past two decades. Military commanders such as Ntaganda have seen time and again that there was no price to pay for atrocities against civilians. On the contrary, those implicated in grave abuses were routinely rewarded through integration into the Congolese army. This, in turn, encouraged the emergence of numerous new armed groups, many of which have engaged in similar abuses.

Ntaganda was never an “instrument of peace,” as the Congolese government claimed. Soldiers under Ntaganda’s control carried out abuses even after Ntaganda was made a general in the Congolese army. Ntaganda was also implicated in targeted killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention of people who called for his arrest or denounced alleged abuses until he eventually fled Congo and surrendered.

13. How will people in Congo follow the proceedings in The Hague?

The opening of proceedings against Ntaganda at the ICC bears great significance for the thousands of people across eastern Congo who have suffered, witnessed, or documented abuses by troops under his command. It also sends a strong warning to other abusive commanders still active in Congo.

However, the ICC is located far from the locations of Ntaganda’s alleged crimes. The court faces the challenge of making sure that its proceedings are meaningful for the Congolese people most affected by these crimes and that victims are informed of their rights.

Since 2004, the ICC’s Public Information and Documentation Section has worked to ensure that information about ICC proceedings reaches affected communities in Congo, as well as journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and judicial staff.

The court should make every effort to ensure that information about the hearing against Ntaganda is widely transmitted. It should consider holding a live screening of the hearing’s opening statements in Bunia, the capital of Ituri, where the crimes occurred. This could be followed by a discussion with ICC staff, who could answer questions from the public. As radio is the principal form of public communication in Congo, ICC staff should also ensure that the most popular national and international radio stations broadcasting in Congo have the necessary information about the hearing to cover it adequately. The ICC regularly produces audio and video summaries of court proceedings. Such a summary of the confirmation of charges hearing could be widely distributed and discussed in Ituri and elsewhere, in events organized by ICC staff.

14. What else is the ICC doing in Congo? What more should it do?

The ICC prosecutor has initiated public cases against six suspects in relation to alleged crimes committed in Congo. These include four military commanders accused of crimes in Ituri – Lubanga, Ntaganda, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo – and two FDLR leaders implicated in serious crimes in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. Callixte Mbarushimana, the executive secretary of the FDLR, was arrested in France in October 2010 on an ICC arrest warrant, but pre-trial judges declined to confirm the charges against him for lack of sufficient evidence. He was released in December 2011. Gen. Sylvestre Mudacumura, the FDLR’s military commander, is still in Congo, evading justice.

Overall, however, the number and stature of Congo-related cases before the ICC do not address the scale of the crimes committed since 2002 (the year as of which the ICC has jurisdiction.).

Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called on the ICC Office of the Prosecutor to explore the regional dimension of the conflict in Congo, notably by investigating the role of senior political and military officials in Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda who supported, armed, and financed abusive armed groups in eastern Congo over the years. For example, in 2012 and 2013, Human Rights Watch documentedRwandan support to Ntaganda’s M23 rebellion, which was reminiscent of Rwandan support to previous abusive Congolese armed groups, including the CNDP and the UPC. Human Rights Watch has also called on the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes by the Congolese army and, evidence permitting, to prosecute those most responsible. These steps are crucial for the ICC to make a meaningful contribution to justice in Congo.

While we recognize that the ICC is investigating international crimes in seven other countries, and may lack the resources to take on additional Congo cases at this time, the ICC prosecutor should publicly express her intention to continue the work in Congo in the coming years. The court in turn needs strong, long-term support from ICC member countries, which should commit to allocating sufficient resources to meaningfully address these and other country situations within its mandate.

From its inception, the ICC was never intended, and does not have the capability, to investigate and prosecute all those responsible for grave international crimes in Congo. Under the “complementarity” principle in the Rome Statute, national authorities retain the primary responsibility to bring those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide to account. To strengthen the capacity of Congolese national courts to hear these cases, the Congolese government has drafted legislation to establish “specialized mixed chambers” within the Congolese judicial system, which would be entrusted exclusively to deal with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide and would include national and international staff.

Congo says to sign peace deal with M23 rebels on Monday

From: Judy Miriga

Excellent, sounds good, well thought and very smart……………..

Cheers !!!

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com/

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Congo says to sign peace deal with M23 rebels on Monday

* Government says to sign a deal with M23 on Monday

* M23 military leader must face trial for crimes, min says

* Congolese army will now target remaining rebel groups (Adds Ugandan official, background)

By John Irish

PARIS, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo will sign a peace deal on Monday with the M23 rebel group that laid down its arms this week after a string of military defeats, Congo’s Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda told Reuters on Friday.

The Tutsi-led M23, the most important rebel movement in lawless eastern Congo, announced on Tuesday it would disband after a 20-month uprising that displaced some 800,000 people. A two-week U.N.-backed army offensive had dislodged M23 from its last hilltop strongholds near the Rwandan and Ugandan borders.

M23’s announcement raised hope for greater stability after two decades of violence in eastern Congo partly motivated by ethnic tensions and combat over rich mineral deposits in which millions of people have died.

“It was decided one day after the M23 declaration renouncing the rebellion that the government would give them five days before the signing,” Tshibanda said on a visit to Paris. “Those five days end on Monday, so the signing is on Monday.”

“This signature is important because it in essence focuses on M23 going into barracks, disarming and demobilising, and to resolve other problems that were discussed in talks we previously held,” he said, referring to long-running negotiations in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

A Ugandan government spokesman said the signing would take place in Kampala. African Union and U.N. representatives were expected to attend, Ofwono Opondo said.

MAKENGA MUST ANSWER FOR CRIMES

Congolese officials have said the government would sign a declaration including 11 clauses agreed during talks, rather than a peace agreement, because M23 has already been militarily defeated and disbanded.

Tshibanda said the Congolese government had received confirmation from Ugandan authorities that they had detained M23’s military chief Sultani Makenga after he fled eastern Congo.

“Mr Makenga must answer for the crimes he has committed. In the discussions in Kampala it was clear there would be no amnesty for war crimes,” he said.

The Congolese government would now target other foreign rebel groups operating in the east of its territory, Tshibanda said. He singled out the Rwandan Hutu FDLR movement, Burundi’s FNL and the Ugandan Islamist movement ADF-NALU.

“All groups are targeted because we have said that this time we must sign the death certificate of all these groups, these negative forces to the east of our country,” he said. (Writing by Daniel Flynn; editing by Ralph Boulton)

Corruption in the Congo – How China Learnt From the West

From: Abdalah Hamis

To single out Chinese companies for entering into shady business in the DRC is to miss a fundamental point: Western firms have been at it for centuries, and still are.

Last January I was in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to research Sicomines, China’s controversial $6.5 billion megadeal in which Chinese companies will construct roads, schools and hospitals in exchange for mining and untold billions of dollars worth of copper and cobalt with Congo’s state mining agency.

On a sunny morning in the south-eastern mining city of Lubumbashi, I called a Congolese official to pose some hard questions about the deal – particularly, what happened to the $350 million ‘signing bonus’ that was handed over by the Chinese. But I hardly got a word in before his response betrayed his fear as to the more sensitive concern on his mind: “Is this about COMIDE?”

It wasn’t, of course. But perhaps it should have been, because the corruption scandal that burns hottest among Congolese officials today has nothing to do with the Chinese. In 2009, the International Monetary Fund started a $551 million loan to improve the DRC’s business climate through a series of projects. As a condition of the loan, Congo’s government would have to make all its mining contracts and transactions public.

So it must have come as a surprise to the IMF when Bloomberg revealed the DRC had sold its 25% stake in a copper mining venture called COMIDE SPRL – a trade the Congolese government hadn’t disclosed. The IMF responded to the news by refusing to renew the loan, meaning the DRC will essentially forfeit an incredible $225 million because a few Congolese officials didn’t want the world to know what they were up to.

Learning from the masters

When Westerners try to explain China’s rapid rise in Africa, they often assume that it comes through corruption, secret deals and manipulation. But there is nothing Chinese about COMIDE. Its parent company, Straker International Corp., is based offshore in the British Virgin Islands, and it is primarily owned by the multinational Eurasian Natural Resource Company, headquartered in London and traded on the Kazakhstan stock exchange.

Certainly the circumstances surrounding the Chinese Sicomines deal merit concern too. The DRC’s government doesn’t seem to have conducted any study that estimates the potential value of the minerals buried at the Sicomines site, meaning no-one can predict the eventual profits and what’s truly at stake for the Chinese companies, the Congolese mining company and the Congolese government.

What’s more, a 2011 study by the accountability NGO Global Witness reported that $24 million of that signing bonus was mysteriously diverted into an offshore account in the British Virgin Islands by Sicomines’ Congolese partners. Even in the DRC’s multibillion-dollar mining sector, $24 million is a lot of money to go unaccounted.

But does this then set China’s Congolese ambitions apart from the West’s? Is the $6.5 billion Sicomines deal in fact unprecedented in its lack of transparency and its potential to make its CEOs rich while the Congolese people remain poor?

To single out the Chinese companies as uniquely responsible for entering into shady business in the DRC is to miss a fundamental point: If the Chinese have learned how to leverage power over the Congolese government, they owe the lesson to the rogue businessmen from Western countries that preceded them. .

Two centuries ago it was the Belgians who colonised the Congo, first for its ivory, a trade which would eventually die out along with most of the wild elephants that supplied it. After ivory, it was rubber, transported by Belgian-constructed railroads whose tracks remain embedded in the ground, relics of Congo’s resource-driven history. Then, to build the atomic bombs it would drop on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States sourced its uranium from a mine just 100 km southeast of Kolwezi in south-eastern DRC.

Companies from Canada, the UK, South Africa and elsewhere began operating industrial mines. They extracted billions of dollars worth of copper, cobalt, and other minerals. Today, Congo’s mining sector generates 28% of the country’s GDP and is the primary source of income for 16% of the population, according to the World Bank.

In theory, the country should be rich from its vast mineral wealth. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at how most Congolese live. Rural families sleep in huts that flood when it rains. Only 4% have electricity.

Western nations such as the United States tend to claim they have tried to solve the DRC’s problems. But the record shows that for at least the first 30 years following the Congo’s independence they did the opposite, entrenching one of Africa’s most corrupt and violent dictators by supplying him with billons of dollars in aid, weapons and bribes. Mobutu Sese Seko killed his adversaries with impunity and commandeered as much as 40% of Congo’s wealth (between 4 and 8 billion dollars) during his 31-year rule.

In the years since Mobutu’s rein, foreign mining companies have garnered blame for manipulating Congo out of its natural wealth. On at least five occasions in 2009 and 2010, Congo’s state-owned mining companies sold their stakes in mines to offshore companies that immediately re-sold the same stakes for up to five times the price. “Between 2010 and 2012, the DRC lost at least US$1.36 billion in revenues from the underpricing of mining assets that were sold to offshore companies”, claimed a report released earlier this year by an international panel chaired by Kofi Annan.

Looking East

All the while, Congolese eyes are turning toward China in the hopes that the Chinese may usher in prosperity where patrons before it have not. The fact that China succeeded in moving 600 million people out of poverty over the past 35 years is a source of admiration for some Congolese who remain entrenched in it themselves. Many see China as much more welcoming than the US. Twice a week, a line forms outside the Chinese embassy in Kinshasa as Congolese students and businessmen arrive to apply for visas to work or study in China. They say it’s far easier to get a visa there than to the US.

China’s government has consistently reinforced the sentiment that it is eager to help the Congolese people flourish. In his very first trip abroad as China’s leader, Xi Jinping travelled in March 2013 to Tanzania, South Africa and Congo-Brazzaville, where he promised $20 billion in loans for aid to Africa over the next three years. In June, US President Barack Obama followed in the Chinese leader’s footsteps in what was only Obama’s first extended trip to Africa since taking office some four and a half years ago.

The metaphor of America’s lagging commitment to the continent is not lost upon Africans themselves. In a 2009 survey of 250 people in nine African countries, three-quarters said the Chinese way was a ‘very positive’ or ‘somewhat positive’ model of development. When asked which model offers more promise for Africa’s future, the Western or the Chinese one, they overwhelmingly chose the latter.

Chinese investment may not, in fact, radically alter the future of one of the world’s most underdeveloped nations. Unless the DRC’s government collects its fair share from the Sicomines deal and somehow uses that wealth to benefit Congolese society in a way it never has before, China may simply become the latest benefactor in Congo’s long history as a country rich in resources whose neediest citizens will never benefit from them.

But it’s hard to blame the Congolese for hoping China will succeed where the West has failed.

In an office overlooking Kinshasa’s grand Boulevard 30 Jeune, newly repaved and widened by the Chinese under Sicomines, stands Mack Dumba, Congo director of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which works to improve accountability in the global mining sector.

“Why don’t Americans build roads like this anymore?” Dumba asks. “Why don’t the Belgians, that colonised, build roads like this? The Chinese are doing things that no one else will.”

This article was adapted from Jacob Kushner’s new eBook, China’s Congo Plan, now available on iPad, iPhone and Kindle. Kushner’s research was advised by faculty at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Jacob Kushner is a freelance journalist currently based in Nairobi. He reports on international peacekeeping, foreign aid and development, offshore tax havens, and Chinese mining and other investments in Africa. See more on his blog at http://jacobkushner.com and follow him on twitter @JacobKushner.

UN Great Lakes Envoy to Address Rwanda Role in DRC Crisis

From: Judy Miriga

Good People…….

I hope Mary Robinson understands the complexity and brutality of M23 inflicting in Congo and not favor Kagame who has been a darling of the UN in the past.

Ideally, as many people feels, Congo has nothing to discuss with M23.

Kagame who is the owner of M23 should decide what to do with it and own responsibility to it. The UN should subject M23 to ICC Hague where Bosco is waiting for them there to answer charges…..To ask Congo to negotiate with M23 is being mean to Congo. It is like Congo was signed up for slaughter house where M23 was engineered to exterminate the Congo people from existance…….which means, who ever brings that topic that Congo talk to M23 must explain why M23 is Congo problem and not that of Kagame……….and this will mean the whole world will have to discuss the matter to save Congo from further inhumanity.

Let the Truth be told about Congo………!!!

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

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UN’s Mary Robinson in Goma after surge in DRC fighting

Tuesday 03 September 2013

UN Great Lakes Envoy to Address Rwanda Role in DRC Crisis

Gabe Joselow

September 02, 2013

GOMA, DRC — The United Nations envoy to the Great Lakes region says she will be direct with Kigali about evidence of Rwandan support for the M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Mary Robinson also hopes the recent military advances against the rebels will create a window for a political solution to the crisis

Robinson arrived Monday in Goma, the economic hub of eastern DRC, as part of a diplomatic tour of the region. Her visit follows nearly two weeks of fighting between Congolese armed forces and the M23 rebels on the outskirts of the city. She is due to attend a September 5 summit in Kampala of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region [ICGLR], which will bring together regional leaders to discuss the conflict.

Rwanda, a member of the conference, has been accused of supporting the M23 rebels, a group made up of former rebel soldiers who defected from the Congolese army last year.

Direct talks

Speaking to reporters in Goma, Robinson said she is prepared to address the issue directly with Rwanda. “I do not say one thing in Goma and another thing in Rwanda. I say tough things, especially to people who need to hear those tough things directly. And I am prepared to speak very truthfully, but also to continue to engage with Rwanda, because that is my role and my responsibility,” she said.

The U.N. Group of Experts has published evidence linking Rwanda to the rebels, and the United States has called on Kigali to end its support. Rwanda has repeatedly denied any ties to M23.

Other foreign envoys, including Boubacar Diarra of the African Union and Russ Feingold from the United States, are due to join Robinson on her tour of the region, which includes a stop in Rwanda.

MONUSCO muscle

A new U.N. intervention brigade, part of the U.N. peacekeeping force MONUSCO, was seen as being instrumental in helping the Congolese army push the rebels to beyond striking distance from Goma.

Robinson said she supports MONUSCO’s aggressive operations, which she sees as having opened up a chance for dialogue.

“What I see as being valuable is that there is now potentially a window for the political discussions,” she said.

Robinson also said she would like to see the renewal of the Kampala talks between the Congolese government and M23. Those talks fell apart as fighting intensified during the past few months.

Special envoy Mary Robinson arrives in Kinshasa
By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE | September 2, 2013

KINSHASA, Sept 2 – Mary Robinson, the UN special envoy to the African Great Lakes region, arrived in Kinshasa on Sunday, after warning against an escalation of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s volatile east.

Her visit, which will also take her to neighboring Uganda and Rwanda, follows new attacks on civilians in the country’s east, which has already suffered two decades of conflict.

The former Irish president was greeted on her arrival in the capital by Martin Kobler, head of the UN mission for stabilisation in the DRC (MONUSCO).

MONUSCO said on Sunday that she would travel to eastern city of Goma on Monday to meet representatives of “provincial authorities and civil society” such as trade unions and religious organisations.

Her programme shows that she will spend the week in the region, travelling to Uganda on Wednesday and the Rwandan capital Kigali on Friday.

The visit comes at the same time as the army and Monusco forces have begun an offensive and gained ground against the M23 rebels. The UN claims that the M23 group is funded by Uganda and Rwanda.

In November, the M23 rebels occupied Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, but agreed to pull-out following intense international pressure.

Mary Robinson is responsible for trying to implement a framework agreement, signed in February, to bring about peace in North and South Kivu.

UN special envoy arrives in Congo
September 2, 2013

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — United Nations special envoy Mary Robinson has arrived in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, following a week of heavy fighting pitting Congolese and U.N. troops against a rebel group entrenched in the hills above the strategic city.

Robinson will meet with Congolese leaders before traveling to Uganda and Rwanda. The rebels, who are widely believed to be backed by Rwanda, announced a ceasefire on Friday.

Lambert Mende, the Congolese government spokesman, said on Monday he hoped Robinson would speak firmly with Rwanda, which denies supporting the rebels.

He said: “When it comes to Rwanda and what they’re doing in Congo, it’s been total silence.”

Tanks were seen leaving the Rwandan capital and heading toward the Congo-Rwanda border at the weekend.

GOMA / MARY ROBINSON

By Thomas Hubert

The UN special envoy for the African Great Lakes region, Mary Robinson, has arrived in Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. She and other high-level international diplomats are visiting the region after the last week of August saw the heaviest fighting in months between the M23 rebel movement and Congolese government forces backed by a new, more offensive brigade of UN peacekeepers. The rebels retreated by several kilometres at the weekend and diplomatic efforts are due to culminate in a summit of regional leaders on Thursday. RFI talked to Timo Mueller, an analyst with a US-based conflict resolution lobby group, who is based in Goma.

Rebels in Congo declare ceasefire

From: Judy Miriga

Good People of the World,

Democratic Republic of Congo is bordered by Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. Congo have been embroiled in multiple conflicts for at least a decade.

The reason for conflict is as a result of Enormous Mineral Wealth East DR Congo’s has and because of greediness of neighboring political excessive interests, siphoning of Armed Militia-men weakened the fundamental fabric of Congo Nation. If it were not for the additional vested Special Business Interest financing of the excessive corruption with impunity, these multiple conflicts would not have gone this far. The Government also share in the blame for failing to stand firm against making deals with organized armed Militia-men from the neighboring Nation, thus he failed to provide security and protect its people from invasion and attack, but consulted with the very wrong people who have vested interest to plunder Congo, the very people who are the reason cause of problem in Congo.

Instead of putting the Country in a risky compromising situation, this is the time President Kabila must put his wisdom, responsibility and integrity to work and safeguard public dignity and honor peoples’ interest, human rights and deliver service directly to offer service to the people of Congo first.

The greedy and mean Special Business Interest engaged in inflicting pain and suffering to the people of Congo, must be put on notice; thereby financing and forming various armed groups with intention to plunder, steal and rape Congo’s wealth and values is unacceptable.

Kabila must concentrate to provide good organization on a fair Democratic process with good principles for Legal Justice and stop networks of these terrorists, proliferation of arms including pirating and theft of its Country’s mineral resources…..consequently, the network of Special Business Interest too will be forced to follow Law and Order where the all must obey the rules regardless. They are the reason for poverty in Africa and now the engineered Land Grabbing of Africa for illegal and unconstitutional occupation. It is because, the Special Business Interest found free loading of opportunity, the reason they continually engineer conspiracy for conflicts and civil war with corrupt politicians, where they spend huge sums of money to massacre and extinguish Africans from the face of earth. We must stop this Wild Jungle Rule. We can do better than that.

These money that are wasted to steal from Africa through pain and sufferings, could be put to better use where all people engage in peaceful and Mutual “Give and Take” fair business game and everyone end up happy and satisfied……with no war…….

Kabila with the help of UN and the International community, must now engage to transfer better living conditions to the local population of Congo. M23 have no business to demand any type of negotiations with Congo. They must be rounded up and taken to face charges at the ICC Hague to join with Bosco Ntaganda In Custody At International Criminal Court In The Hague, for charges of invasion, human rights abuses against civilians and plunder of natural resources.

Good People, let us join hands and for once give a lasting peace to the DR Congo from wanton multiple conflicts that have had catastrophic disaster with pain and sufferings to no end……….Let us all lookforward to sharing of Peace and Unity in pursuit for happiness where together, we all shall enjoy benefit of peace along with the Congo people……….and may God help us all in this endeavor.

Yes, M23 is not a big problem on the face of UN and the International Community. In advance, I want to thank Ban-ki-moon for the best foot he put forward this time round. I was mad at him like hell, but now, I am proud of him. I am at peace within me and believe that he will conclude this matter of M23 without much ado……and as per the power bestowed to him by the United Nations Commission.

I take this opportunity to congratulate him for the work well done……..I take liberty to share a toast for good tiding…..and wish him well……….

Cheers !!!!

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

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Rebels in Congo declare ceasefire

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Rebels entrenched in the hills above one of eastern Congo’s largest cities declared a unilateral ceasefire on Friday and began retreating from the frontline, the first indication that a joint United Nations and Congolese offensive might be gaining the upper hand in the conflict.

The M23 rebels said that they have begun pulling back from Kanyaruchinya village, which has been in the crosshairs of the fighting that erupted on Aug. 21. On Twitter, they said they were doing so in order to allow U.N. inspectors a chance to investigate the shelling of nearby towns.

Reached by telephone, M23 president Bertrand Bisimwa said that beyond the investigation, his group was declaring the ceasefire in order “to give peace a chance.”

“We have decided to decree a unilateral ceasefire and we have started pulling our forces out of Kanyaruchinya in order to allow the investigation into the shelling,” he told The Associated Press. “This announcement, which was made unilaterally, is meant to allow the Congolese to return to the negotiating table.”

The declaration marks a significant change in tone for the M23 rebels. As recently as Wednesday, Bisimwa maintained that the rebels had the advantage and that U.N. and Congolese troops had been forced to retreat.

Congolese military spokesman Col. Olivier Hamuli said late Friday that in addition to Kanyaruchinya, Congolese and U.N. forces had succeeded in routing the M23 from Kibati, a village they had controlled, and combat was ongoing in Kibumba, around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Goma.

“They announced (their ceasefire) when they realized that they were losing on the ground. I am just back from the frontline and they have suffered heavy losses. They have abandoned an arms depot with heavy weapons,” Hamuli said. “They even abandoned a military vehicle which proves that they are quitting because if they are just retreating they should take their armaments with them.”

Created in 2012, the M23 rebels succeeded in seizing and briefly holding Goma last year. That prompted the United Nations to create a special intervention brigade, which, alongside Congolese troops, has been pounding rebel positions for the past week, using combat helicopters, artillery and armored personnel carriers. The rebels’ retreat suggests the weeklong offensive against the rebels might have turned a corner.

In Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, government spokesman Lambert Mende said the call for a ceasefire does not go far enough.

“It’s our opinion that the only interesting proposition would be to see M23 demobilized, and to see them dissolve and cease all military action. Any other proposal is unacceptable,” said Mende, Congo’s minister of information.

The fighting, which began on Wednesday last week, has so far claimed the lives of one U.N. peacekeeper as well as at least 10 Congolese soldiers and 14 civilians who died from the shelling on either side of the Congo-Rwanda border.

On Thursday, Rwandan officials confirmed the death of a woman in the Rwandan border district of Rubavu who died after a rocket coming from the Congolese side exploded in Rwandan territory.

Angry Rwandan officials claim the rocket was fired on purpose by Congolese troops in order to drag Rwanda into the conflict — a claim that was seen as deeply cynical by some, given the mounting evidence that the M23 rebels are in fact a Rwandan proxy force.

A recent United Nations Group of Experts report describes how Rwandan soldiers sneak across the forested border in groups of up to 30 men to join the ranks of the M23, a group which is almost entire Tutsi, the ethnic group of Rwanda’s ruling class. Previous U.N. reports have described the logistical support Rwanda is providing, including night vision goggles.

Late Thursday, Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said on Twitter that Rwandan troops could enter Congo. She said in a Tweet that her country is not currently in Congo, and added the word “yet” in parenthesis. Earlier in the day she had said Rwanda had remained restrained “for as long as we can.”

Goma, a Congolese city of 1 million located on the Rwandan border, briefly fell to the M23 rebels last year in a humiliating blow both to the Congolese military, which barely put up a fight, and the thousands of United Nations peacekeepers stationed in the region, who stood by as the rebels entered the strategic town. They said they could not intervene because their mandate only permitted them to protect civilians.

“The perception is that they didn’t do a thing to stop them,” said Frances Charles, the Goma-based advocacy director for the international aid group World Vision. “There are literally photos where you have U.N. peacekeepers sitting in tanks while M23 walks past.”

In response, the U.N. created the new intervention brigade which is authorized to directly combat the rebels.

___

Rukmini Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Jason Straziuso also contributed to this report from Nairobi.

DR Congo: Ban deplores killing of Tanzanian peacekeeper

New York, Aug 30 :

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of a Tanzanian peacekeeper and the wounding of 10 others in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday during an attack against the M23 rebel group in the vast country’s restive eastern province. “The Secretary-General deplores in the strongest terms the killing and wounding of UN peacekeepers,” Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement issued Wednesday night. “He offers his sincere condolences and sympathy to their families and to the Governments of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of South Africa.”The attack occurred in the Kibati heights in North Kivu as the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) supported action by Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) to protect civilian-populated areas of Goma.The Mission has delivered mortar and artillery fire and engaged its attack helicopters, while the FARDC has used attack helicopters, battle tanks and ground forces. The operation is still ongoing.”The United Nations remains committed to taking all necessary actions in line with Security Council resolution 2098 (2013) to protect civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the statement read.Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of MONUSCO, Martin Kobler, also expressed his outrage by the killing of the peacekeeper. “He sacrificed his life to protect civilians in Goma. My thoughts go to his family and all members of his unit in this very difficult moment,” he said.Over the past year, the M23, along with other armed groups, have clashed repeatedly with the FARDC. The rebels briefly occupied Goma in November 2012. The fighting resumed in recent weeks, this time dragging in a group of Ugandan-based rebels, and displaced more than 100,000 people, exacerbating the region’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, which includes 2.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 6.4 million in need of food and emergency aid.On 28 March this year the Security Council authorized the establishment of the intervention brigade to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without the FARDC, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern DRC. At the same time the Security Council called on the M23 to cease immediately all forms of violence and destabilizing activities and for its members to immediately and permanently disband and lay down their arms.The strengthening of the MONUSCO mandate with the intervention brigade is designed to further support the political objectives of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region – a peace deal signed in February in Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia. –IBNS (Posted on 30-08-2013 – See more at:

http://www.newkerala.com/news/story/60548/dr-congo-ban-deplores-killing-of-tanzanian-peacekeeper.html#sthash.WbrLPxeK.dpuf

Getting tough in Congo: can risk pay off for UN forces?
Jonny Hogg and Louis Charbonneau August 29, 2013

Tanzanian Forces of the U.N. Intervention Brigade attend a training session outside Goma in the eastern …

By Jonny Hogg and Louis Charbonneau

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – In lawless eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a new U.N. force is trying a different strategy for keeping the peace: going on the attack.

The Force Intervention Brigade has in recent days seen its first real action in an operation to keep rebels away from the city of Goma, near Congo’s border with Rwanda. On Wednesday, one Tanzanian peacekeeper was killed and three other brigade members injured.

Created by the U.N. Security Council earlier this year, the unit represents an aggressive step up for U.N. peacekeeping operations in the region, which for years have been criticised for inaction and failing to protect civilians.

In the past, in Congo and elsewhere, peacekeeping missions usually saw U.N. troops use force only in self-defence or to protect non-combatants. The new 3,000-strong brigade has a specific mandate for “targeted offensive operations” to “neutralise” and disarm rebel groups. Part of MONUSCO, the existing U.N. peacekeeping mission with 20,000 personnel spread across the vast central African state, the brigade is made up of contingents from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi.

But will the new troops help or hinder efforts to bring peace?

On the streets of Goma, a trading hub on Lake Kivu, many people are angry with the existing mission for not doing enough to protect them from either the Congolese army or insurgent and militia groups that prey on civilians, raping, looting and killing.

“If MONUSCO does nothing, we’ll take up our machetes and chase them out. If they don’t tackle the rebels, we’ll do something to them,” motorcycle taxi driver Bienvenu Musoka told Reuters as a crowd jostled and heckled outside a meeting calling for protests against the new brigade.

As white armoured vehicles lumbered through Goma’s dilapidated streets on a recent U.N. patrol, a voice crackled over the radio warning troops to “watch out for stone-throwing, guys.” The blue-helmeted soldiers were greeted by hostile stares and gestures from local inhabitants.

The disillusion is not hard to fathom. Rights groups point to a number of massacres and abuses of civilians in eastern Congo over the last decade even though armed U.N. peacekeepers were in nearby bases. When well-armed fighters from a rebel group known as M23 swept into Goma in November after routing Congolese government forces, Indian and South African U.N. troops did not stop them. M23 eventually withdrew under international pressure, but the debacle fueled resentment among residents.

Locals want the new force to be much tougher.

“We want MONUSCO and the brigade to react. Ban Ki-moon (the U.N. Secretary-General) consoles us, tells us to wait whilst they formulate a strategy. That’s because it’s not his wife being raped, not his children who are dying,” said Willy Mulumba, a small trader in one of Goma’s chaotic markets.

That history means the new U.N. brigade starts operations facing a risky dilemma.

“If it fails (to bring peace) there will be a backlash, and that’s going to be bad for Congo, and will discredit the U.N.,” said Thierry Vircoulon, project director for International Crisis Group in Central Africa.

But if it imposes peace by force it risks stoking underlying tensions.

“With this offensive mandate MONUSCO is, even more than it was before, a party to the conflict,” Said Tariq Riebl, Oxfam’s humanitarian co-ordinator in Goma.

CRUCIBLE OF CONFLICT

Eastern Congo has long been one of Africa’s bloodiest battle fields. The roots of its current conflict lie in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, where Hutu soldiers and militia killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Tutsi rebels led by Paul Kagame toppled the Hutu government and sent those responsible for the genocide fleeing into eastern Congo along with two million Hutu refugees. Kagame became Rwanda’s president and pursued the “genocidaires”, many of whom remain in Congo and fight as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Two civil wars have ensued, both launched from the east with Rwandan involvement. The second, from 1998 to 2003, spawned a plethora of armed groups pitted against a corrupt Congolese army. Humanitarian agencies estimate more than five million people have died in the violence since 1998, despite the presence for most of that time of a U.N. peacekeeping force.

From a small group of military observers deployed in 1999, the U.N. presence morphed into a full-fledged peacekeeping mission. In the early days, its mandates – the rules under which its peacekeepers are deployed – were more defensive than offensive. Blue-helmets had to protect U.N. and other personnel and civilians “under imminent threat of physical violence.”

The mission has sometimes hurt itself. In the past, U.N. troops have been accused of sexual misconduct and smuggling arms and gold. The U.N. says these cases have been investigated and dealt with. As well, soldiers from Congo’s army, which the U.N. is backing, have been accused of raping and killing civilians. The U.N. has threatened to halt cooperation with some Congolese units because of this.

On occasion, the U.N. has taken a more offensive approach to the rebels. After heavy fighting in 2003 between rival ethnic militias in northeast Ituri district, the Security Council authorised France to deploy a mostly French 1,400-strong combat force to protect residents there. Two years later, also in Ituri, Pakistani peacekeepers killed 50 militiamen days after nine Bangladeshi blue-helmets were killed in an ambush.

In 2006, Indian U.N. troops used helicopter gunships, heavy weapons and armoured vehicles to kill dozens of advancing Tutsi rebels near Sake, north of Goma. A Congo army officer put the rebel deaths in that clash at 150.

In general, though, in Congo and elsewhere, the U.N. has been wary of “peace enforcement” ever since its involvement in Somalia in the 1990s. Appetite for proactive intervention withered after the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” incident when militia fighters shot down U.S. helicopters in Mogadishu, and killed 18 U.S. soldiers in the ensuing battle.

“A STRONG REQUEST FROM THE AFRICANS”

One reason for the new approach in Congo is the rise of the M23 rebel group, which emerged last year when former rebel fighters, who had been integrated into the Congolese army, mutinied. The group takes its name from a March 23, 2009 peace deal that ended a previous revolt.

M23 accuse Congo’s government and army of failing to honour that peace pact, and of tolerating and collaborating with the Hutu FDLR fighters who they view as mortal enemies.

U.N. experts have reported that the group is backed and supplied by Rwanda. M23 and the Rwandan government fiercely reject those accusations.

The surprise capture of Goma by M23 last year left the U.N. fending off charges that its troops stood idly by. The incident increased diplomatic pressure from a number of African capitals, in particular Kinshasa, to get a new, tougher brigade approved by the U.N. Security Council.

“It was really a strong request from the Africans,” a senior Western diplomat said.

But some Western powers in the Security Council feared the deployment might worsen rather than solve the violence.

“France, U.S. and UK were very sceptical,” the diplomat said. “We had the impression that it would add violence to violence, that it was not 3,000 soldiers who were going to change the balance and solve the issues.”

A senior U.N. official in New York confirmed the internal discussion. “The Intervention Brigade is very controversial and not everyone is sold on it,” the official said.

Even as it beefed up its military power, the U.N. threw its weight behind peace talks; A U.N.-mediated peace deal was signed in February by 11 regional states, including Congo and Rwanda. But separate direct talks between M23 and Congo’s government in the Ugandan capital Kampala have made little progress.

Some say negotiations may have been undermined by the new U.N. military force. “The U.N. is stuck between its aggressive mandate and peace talks, leading to a somewhat schizophrenic policy,” Congo expert Jason Stearns wrote this month on his Congo Siasa blog.

Axel Queval, MONUSCO’s acting head in North Kivu province, where Goma is located, sees the brigade working in tandem with political negotiations.

“The door for negotiations is always open, but if the negotiations can’t work, then of course the brigade is here to put pressure on. It’s a little bit of the carrot and the stick,” Queval said.

Congolese authorities want the brigade to act – and fast. “My advice to the United Nations would be to move more quickly. The resolution which was voted mustn’t just remain a bit of paper,” said Julien Paluku, governor of North Kivu. “I think we must finish with M23, with FDLR militarily … This is the first time the U.N. has created an offensive brigade for peacekeeping. If it fails, it’s going to be bad for them.”

The U.N. resolution behind the brigade foresees three infantry battalions, one artillery group and one special force and reconnaissance company under the direct command of the MONUSCO force commander.

But U.N. officials admit the brigade’s deployment is still only two thirds complete. The Malawians have not yet arrived and the South African and Tanzanian contingents do not have all their equipment yet.

Wednesday’s deadly skirmish has raised questions about whether the U.N. unit has the force, firepower and equipment to carry out its mandate. This is especially sensitive in South Africa, which in March saw 15 of its soldiers killed in Central African Republic during a rebel takeover there.

“The force is too small, it’s not mobile enough,” South African defence and military analyst Helmoed Romer Heitman told Reuters of the new brigade. South Africa’s National Defence Union (SANDU), which represents military personnel, issued a statement after this week’s fighting expressing concern that South African troops are backed not by their own air force’s Rooivalk (Red Kestrel) attack helicopters but by the U.N.’s Ukrainian-piloted Mi-24 gunships. The Rooivalks are due to arrive in Congo in October.

ATROCITIES AND MASSACRES

The newly appointed commander for MONUSCO is Brazilian Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, whose previous U.N. experience involved fighting criminal gangs in the slums of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. He recognises that his troops face a credibility test in Congo.

“We are supposed to have courage and take action, but sometimes the inaction is absolute,” he told international NGOs at a meeting in July, according to minutes taken by one group present. “We must be accountable (for) it.”

Dos Santos Cruz was unavailable for an interview.

Oxfam’s Riebl said that even as the new brigade is being deployed, militias and warlords have been attacking local communities without the U.N. intervening. The town of Pinga, in the mineral-rich highlands of North Kivu, has changed hands between rival militias at least eight times since last year, he said. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders was forced to suspend its acitivies in Pinga this month because of violence and after direct threats to staff.

“We’ve seen atrocities and massacres committed, people being decapitated … we’re definitely talking about hundreds in the last few months. All of this has happened in a town where there is a U.N. base, which has been there permanently,” Riebl said.

REBEL DEFIANCE

As the brigade steps up its operations, they will face a battle-hardened enemy.

On the road north from Goma, the final Congolese army checkpoints are followed by kilometres of deserted villages before a rebel roadblock marks the edge of M23’s zone of control.

M23 leaders believe they hold the upper hand in the rugged hilly terrain they know so well. At M23’s headquarters along the Congo-Uganda border, M23 President Bertrand Bisimwa told Reuters a U.N. offensive would be a “mistake”. Wearing a crisp khaki suit and cowboy hat, and surrounded by fighters in camouflage and gumboots, Bisimwa said his forces would fight back.

Rwanda has also pushed back against the U.N. brigade, alleging U.N. commanders discussed “collaboration” with Hutu FDLR rebels. The U.N. has asked Rwanda for proof of this claim, which Kigali has not provided.

The M23 rebels say their soldiers are more than a match for the untested U.N. Intervention Brigade. “The Tanzanians are the toughest. But kill five South Africans and they’ll pack up and go home,” one rebel leader said derisively.

As a recent convoy rumbled past tumbledown shacks in Goma, a South African soldier in full battle gear summed up the feeling inside the brigade: “If (the Congolese) can find a political solution, that’ll be good for us, and good for them. If not, we’ll do what we’ve prepared to do.”

Casualties as Congo and UN Forces Fight Rebels

From: Judy Miriga

Good people !!!!

Kagame cannot deny M23 is not of his making. Kagame is part and parcel of M23. He is the masterminder and the financier of M23 with the help of his unscrupulous Corporate Special Business Interest.

It is quite unfortunate that in his invation to Congo, he planned to be rich and build Rwanda through stealing from Congo. This is unacceptable. Kagame must be indicted and be charged at the ICC Hague for conspiring and planning to ambush, terrorize and kill people of DR Congo. Kagame and friends must be charged for genocide.

Justice must be served and be seen to be to be fair on the Congo People with its Government.

Justice delayed, is justice denied.

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com

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Casualties as Congo and UN Forces Fight Rebels

GOMA, Congo August 26, 2013 (AP)

By NICK LONG Associated Press

Congolese troops came under fire from rebels in the country’s volatile east Monday as fighting resumed just outside Goma, a city of nearly 1 million people near the volatile Congolese-Rwandan border, army officials said.

Heavy weapons fire rang out around 4:30 p.m. near the front line just 9 miles (11 kilometers) outside the city.

Hostilities resumed last week after weeks of relative calm, and by Thursday a new United Nations intervention brigade with a stronger mandate than past missions shelled rebel positions for the first time.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties over the weekend, with more than 50 rebels killed and 23 government soldiers dead, according to a doctor near the front line and an army chaplain. Three U.N. peacekeepers were wounded: two South Africans and a Tanzanian, U.N.-backed Radio Okapi reported.

The head of the United Nations mission in Congo, Martin Kobler, visited two hospitals on Sunday and paid his respects to wounded government and U.N. soldiers, hailing them as “heroes fighting to restore peace,” Radio Okapi reported.

The Congolese forces have advanced less than a mile (about 2 kilometers) since Wednesday and have yet to achieve their immediate objective — cutting off M23 from a border crossing where the rebel group is believed to get supplies from neighboring Rwanda, say observers.

The Congolese are fighting with the help of a new U.N. intervention brigade, which was created after the M23 rebels invaded and briefly held Goma in November.

The M23 has been pounding Goma from its positions just north of the strategic city, killing civilians in Goma’s residential neighborhoods. By Saturday, scores of angry residents took to the streets in protest, claiming that the U.N. had not done enough to protect them. A U.N. car was set on fire, and in the melee two protesters were killed.

Some Goma residents claim the U.N. opened fire on the mob, but the president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, said in a statement over the weekend that Uruguayan peacekeepers had only fired rubber bullets to control the crowd. Mujica said that it was Congolese police who had used live ammunition.

On Monday, the Congolese government called for an investigation into the deaths of the civilians. Minister of the Interior Richard Muyej told The Associated Press: “We are absolutely in agreement that a joint commission needs to be created” to do that.

Medical services were struggling to cope with the scale of the casualties among government troops and the M23 fighters who launched their rebellion last year and briefly held Goma in November before retreating. Subsequent peace talks in neighboring Uganda have repeatedly stalled.

Dr. Isaac Warwanamiza told The Associated Press he had seen 82 bodies since early Sunday, 23 of whom he claimed were government soldiers, the highest death toll reported since hostilities broke out last week. “I’m overwhelmed by what I’ve seen: bodies blown apart, arms and feet here and there,” he said, speaking by phone from a hospital north of Goma.

Eight of the dead had no uniforms, 23 were government troops and the rest were M23 rebels, the doctor added.

The total of wounded Congolese troops at the military hospital is 720, according to army chaplain Lea Masika.

This is the first time that the Congolese army has been backed by the new U.N. intervention force, which was created in March.

The U.N. brigade was given a mandate to fight the rebels after Goma was seized by the M23 in November. In a humiliating blow to both Congo and the international community, the rebels marched directly past U.N. peacekeepers stationed at the gates of this city. The peacekeepers did nothing to stop them because their mandate at the time was limited to protecting civilians.

The M23 is made up of hundreds of Congolese soldiers, mostly from the Tutsi ethnic group who deserted the national army last year after accusing the government of failing to honor the terms of a deal signed in March 2009. Many of the movement’s commanders are veterans of previous rebellions backed by Rwanda, which vigorously denies allegations that it has been supporting and reinforcing the M23.

In Washington, the State Department condemned the actions of the M23, calling on the rebel group to immediately cease hostilities, disarm and disband. The U.S. also suggested that Rwanda is assisting the rebels.

“We urgently call on (Congolese) and Rwandan governments to exercise restraint to prevent military escalation of the conflict or any action that puts civilians at risk,” the statement said. “We reiterate our call for Rwanda to cease any and all support to the M23.”

United Nations troops accused of killing two civilians in Congo
Demonstrators reportedly killed after car set ablaze and crowd tried to storm UN base in protest at lack of protection

David Smith, Africa correspondent
theguardian.com, Monday 26 August 2013 11.49 EDT

[image]Two Congolese women walk past a government army tank on the outskirts of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photograph: Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images

United Nations troops have been accused of killing two civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as the body’s first offensive force is dragged into an escalating conflict.

On Saturday, scores of angry residents took to the streets, complaining that the UN had not done enough to protect them. A UN car was set ablaze and, when the crowd allegedly tried to storm a UN base, two protesters were killed.

Witnesses claim that UN troops from Uruguay opened fire on the demonstrators, but the Uruguayan president, Jose Mujica, denied this, insisting that they only fired rubber bullets and it was Congolese police who used live ammunition.

The UN has opened an investigation into the incident, which has the potential to embarrass the 3,000-strong “intervention brigade” that was created in March and entered combat last week against the M23 rebel movement.

Fighting broke out last Wednesday after weeks of relative calm in and around the eastern city of Goma. The UN troops shelled rebel positions on Thursday but the Congolese government soldiers they are supporting suffered heavy casualties over the weekend, according to an Associated Press report.

Dr Isaac Warwanamiza said he had seen 82 bodies since early on Sunday, 23 of whom he claimed were government troops, the highest death toll reported since hostilities broke out last week. “I’m overwhelmed by what I’ve seen: bodies blown apart, arms and feet here and there,” he said.

Eight of the dead had no uniforms, 23 were government troops and the rest were M23 rebels, the doctor added. The total of wounded Congolese troops at the military hospital is 720, according to army chaplain Lea Masika. Two UN peace enforcers from South Africa and one from Tanzania have also been injured.

The front line of fighting is only nine miles north of Goma. The M23 rebels briefly held the strategic city in November last year and then retreated a few miles away. The Congolese army is yet to achieve its immediate objective of cutting off M23 from a border crossing where the rebel group is believed to receive supplies from neighbouring Rwanda.

On Sunday, the UK pulled its foreign office staff out of Goma due to security concerns.

The US state department said: “We urgently call on (Congolese) and Rwandan governments to exercise restraint to prevent military escalation of the conflict or any action that puts civilians at risk. We reiterate our call for Rwanda to cease any and all support to the M23.” Rwanda has repeatedly denied UN allegations that it backs the M23 rebels.

Congo army battles M23 rebels near eastern city of Goma
Kenny Katombe 1 hour ago

August 26, 2013 (AP)

By Kenny Katombe

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – A U.N. brigade tasked with neutralizing armed groups in Congo has assisted the country’s army in clashes with eastern rebels on Monday, ending a brief lull in days of fighting that has killed and wounded dozens.

The violence, the most serious in months, is the first major test for the newly deployed U.N. Intervention Brigade which has an unprecedented mandate to launch military operations against M23, one of the rebels at the heart of nearly two decades of conflict.

A senior officer with the brigade told Reuters that U.N. peacekeepers were “assisting” the Congolese army in operations against M23 rebels late on Monday.

“We are supporting the army in their operations but have not ourselves engaged the rebels at this stage,” the officer said by telephone from Goma, requesting not to be identified.

The brigade has fought alongside Congo’s army several times since the latest fighting erupted on Wednesday.

The M23 rebels said they were targeted by air strikes and came under heavy weapons fire on Monday afternoon.

“As usual, we expect that ground troops will come in the wake of these bombings,” M23 said in a statement. Congo’s army said rebels had attacked first and it was retaliating.

Congolese army spokesman Colonel Olivier Hamuli said clashes were taking place at Kibati, about 11 km (7 miles) north of Goma, a city of a million people on the Rwandan border.

The rebels briefly seized Goma in November before withdrawing and committing to Ugandan-hosted peace talks. Negotiations have faltered and renewed fighting has exacerbated tensions between Rwanda and Congo.

Several shells fell in Rwanda during clashes around Goma last week, prompting Kigali to accuse Kinshasa of bombing it. Congo denied the charge and accused Rwandan troops of backing the rebels.

The cross-border accusations underscore the rebellion’s roots in a complex web of local politics and regional conflicts over ethnicity, land and minerals. Rwandan troops fought in two Congo wars but Kigali says it is not supporting the M23.

‘VERY CHAOTIC’

A doctor at a military hospital near Goma said he was treating those wounded in “ferocious” fighting on Saturday.

“It is very chaotic and difficult to have precise numbers, but we have had around 15 deaths so far. There have also been 150 injuries,” the doctor said, asking not to be named.

The doctor and a U.N. official said the rebels, whose positions were struck by U.N. attack helicopters on Saturday, had lost many men in the fighting.

A rebel spokesman denied those reports. “How can we continue to protect our territory while suffering the kinds of losses they are saying? It is nonsense,” said spokesman Colonel Vianney Kazarama.

The United Nations said three of its soldiers – two Tanzanians and a South African – were injured on Saturday when a shell landed near their position just north of Goma.

(Additional reporting by Pete Jones in Kinshasa and Peroshni Govender in Johannesburg; Writing by David Lewis and Bate Felix; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Mohammad Zargham)

Congo soldiers, UN forces battle M23 rebels

NICK LONG August 25, 2013
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congolese soldiers and rebel forces suffered heavy casualties Sunday, a doctor near the front line said, as they fought for a fifth day near the city of Goma in the country’s volatile east.

Dr. Isaac Warwanamisa said he had seen 82 dead since early morning, 23 of whom were government soldiers, he said, the highest death toll reported since hostilities broke out last week.

A chaplain at the military hospital in Goma, Lea Masika, said 59 wounded were brought in on Sunday, bringing the total at the hospital to 720.

The Congolese government troops are still fighting to take a hill from where M23 can target Goma, and have advanced less than a mile (about 2 kilometers) since fighting resumed Wednesday after a three-week lull.

Congolese troops backed by U.N. forces fought the rebels for hours on Saturday. Three U.N. peacekeepers were wounded in the fighting. The U.N. mission created in March with a stronger mandate to protect civilians fired for the first time on rebel positions Thursday.

“We are using artillery, indirect fire with mortars and our aviation, and at the moment we have troops in the front line alongside (the government forces),” the U.N. force commander in Congo, Gen. Dos Santos Cruz, said.

However, there has been widespread skepticism in Congo that the intervention brigade will be a game-changing addition to the existing U.N. force, which stood by when M23 fighters briefly captured Goma late last year. And on Saturday, scores of Goma residents took to the streets in anger over a series of rocket and mortar attacks that have left at least seven civilians dead in recent days. Two other residents were killed during the demonstration, and the U.N. called for a joint investigation.

Congo accuses neighboring Rwanda of helping the rebels, charges denied by Rwanda’s government. M23’s leaders previously headed other rebel groups in the region that were backed by Rwanda. M23 is made up of hundreds of Congolese soldiers mostly from the Tutsi ethnic group who deserted the national army last year after accusing the government of failing to honor the terms of a deal signed in March 2009.

Peace talks in neighboring Uganda have repeatedly stalled, and M23 has vowed to fight back against the U.N. intervention brigade. The intervention brigade, made up of Tanzanian, South African and Malawian soldiers, is reinforcing 17,000 U.N. blue helmets already with the U.N. peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO.

DR Congo rebels face disarmament deadline Thursday

From: Judy Miriga
Good People,

M23 have dismissed UN ultimatum as IRRELEVANT !!!

Is that so ????????

Congo Army have a right to protect the Congo people,
their Country, including their land from M23 invasion with
their illegal occupation of Congo land………

Wether they like it or not, they have to give Congo Gov.
their space and peace…..It is not a request but an order.

If there are men and women in Congo, victory will come
sooner because the spirit of the dead is alive in Congo
today they just have to feel it……..Pray and feel it and
give thanks to God……!!!

All the same, we wait to see how irrelevant UN will be in
these few coming days……..while we listen to:
Congo Hero National ……..for Freedom and Liberty !!!

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

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Lumumba, Héros National (Franco) – Franco & L’O.K. Jazz 1967

DR Congo rebels face disarmament deadline Thursday
By Habibou Bangre | AFP – Thu, Aug 1, 2013

AFP/Phil Moore –

M23 rebels withdraw from the city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, last December. Rebels in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo face a deadline … Thursday to lay down their arms, but they have dismissed the UN peacekeepers’ ultimatum as irrelevant.

Rebels in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo face a deadline Thursday to lay down their arms, but they have dismissed the UN peacekeepers’ ultimatum as irrelevant.

“We consider that this measure does not concern us,” said M23 chief Bertrand Bisimwa. His fighters were not in the flashpoint city of Goma or on the road heading south towards Sake where much fighting has taken place recently, he said.

The United Nations on Tuesday threatened to use force against M23 fighters near Goma if they did not disarm within 48 hours.

A new UN intervention brigade will be used for the first time to help the DR Congo army set up a “security zone” around the city, the international body said.

A statement by the UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, gave the M23 until 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Thursday “to hand in their weapons to a MONUSCO base” and join a demobilisation programme.

After then, “they will be considered an imminent threat of physical violence to civilians and MONUSCO will take all necessary measures to disarm them, including by the use of force in accordance with its mandate and rules of engagement”.

The UN-proposed security zone includes Goma and its northern suburbs.

The M23, a mainly Tutsi Congolese group founded in 2012, launched a new offensive against the DR Congo army outside Goma on July 14.

Diplomats say fighting in the past two weeks has left hundreds dead.

“The M23 has used indiscriminate and indirect fire, including by heavy weapons, resulting in civilian casualties,” MONUSCO said.

“The M23 has also targeted UN installations with its fire. The security zone will push these indirect fire threats out of range of Goma.

“The security zone may be expanded and repeated elsewhere, where it is needed,” the statement said.

The M23 is among some 30 armed groups active in North Kivu.

But analyst Fidel Bafilemba of the Enough Project — dedicated to ending genocide and crimes against humanity — argued that they were positioned far from the areas specified by the UN force.

“What would make a major difference would be to set a more extended security zone,” he said. “But this is perhaps just a beginning.

The new, heavily armed 3,000-strong UN intervention brigade is drawn in roughly equal numbers from Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania.

It joins the 17,000 peacekeepers already deployed in the area with MONUSCO, the stabilisation force.

Its mission is to carry out offensive operations, alone or with Congolese troops, against rebel fighters.

Goma is the capital of North Kivu province, which borders two of DR Congo’s eastern neighbours, Rwanda and Uganda.

M23 rebels captured the city on November 20 last year, holding it for 10 days. They left only when leaders from the Great Lakes nations of central Africa promised fresh negotiations, opening the talks in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

UN experts and the DR Congo government have said Rwanda has supplied troops and military aid to the M23, allegations denied by Kigali.

The United States last week called on Rwanda to end its alleged backing of the rebel forces.

Rwanda and DR Congo are both signatories to a UN-brokered peace and security framework signed in March agreeing not to interfere in each other’s affairs.

DR Congo further agreed to reform its security forces and take new efforts to spread government authority.

On Friday, the government in Kinshasa issued arrest warrants for four of M23’s leaders it said had taken refuge in Rwanda.

It accused them of “war crimes, crimes against humanity including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery, ethnic persecution” and several other charges.

Italian firm to provide surveillance drone for U.N. in Congo

From: Judy Miriga

For You Information…….

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

– – – – – – – – – – –

Italian firm to provide surveillance drone for U.N. in Congo
Michelle Nichols 5 hours ago PoliticsDemocratic Republic of the CongoUnited NationsSurveillance

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations said on Thursday it has procured an unarmed surveillance drone from Italian defense electronics firm Selex ES, a unit of Finmeccanica, that will be deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the coming weeks.
It will be the first time the United Nations has used such equipment and, if the trial use by peacekeepers in eastern Congo is successful, officials and diplomats also hope the drones could be used by missions in Ivory Coast and South Sudan.

“Unarmed UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) will allow our peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo to monitor the movements of armed groups and protect the civilian population more efficiently,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.

“The selected vendor is the Italian company Selex ES. The UAV is known as the Falco and is designed to be a medium altitude, medium endurance surveillance platform capable of carrying a range of payloads including several types of high resolution sensors,” Nesirky said.

Thick forests, rugged terrain and the scarcity of roads on Congo’s eastern border with Rwanda and Uganda have complicated U.N. peacekeepers’ efforts to control the resource-rich area.

Congo and U.N. peacekeepers have been battling a year-long insurgency by M23 rebels. U.N. experts have accused Rwanda of sending troops and weapons across the border to support the M23. Rwanda denies the accusation.

“The deployment of the UAV is planned in the coming weeks,” Nesirky said.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, told Reuters earlier this month that the United Nations had signed the commercial contract for the surveillance drone on July 12, but did not initially name the company.

The United Nations has also deployed a 3,000-strong Intervention Brigade as part of its Congo mission. The brigade has been charged with aggressively neutralizing armed groups and is this week carrying out its first operation in eastern Congo.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MONUSCO, said on Tuesday its troops would disarm, by force if necessary, anyone other than members of the Congolese security forces found carrying weapons within the zone after a 48-hour grace period.

The United Nations has also set aside money to deploy surveillance drones eventually in Ivory Coast to monitor its border with Liberia following a recommendation by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a request from the West African country.

Ban has also suggested surveillance drones as an option for the U.N. Security Council to consider to boost the effectiveness of the world body’s peacekeeping force in South Sudan.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Tanzanian President ready to retaliate if Attacked in DR Congo

from: Tracy John

By Gasasira,Sweden

Ever since the Tanzanian President urged countries in the great lakes region to enter talks with their opposition as the only way of finding everlasting peace in the great lakes region. President Kagame responded in wildly way of declaring war at a neighbouring country Tanzania .

This was due to the remarks which president Jakaya Kikwete repeatedly made questioning reasons as why countries which have continued to support M23 rebels and at the same time forcing president Joseph Kabila of DR Congo to enter into peace talks with the notorious armed group M23 yet they have also failed to held peace talks of armed groups in their own countries and among those he sighted President Kagame who has continued involving himself in DR Congo internal politics yet he has also chronologically failed to negotiate with his own armed group, credible opposition, suffocating free media and lack of freedom of expression in his own country yet he tries to style himself as a saint and a liberator than an autocratic leader.

This prompted president Kagame to make different ruthless public remarks full of war mongering and attacking president Kikwete . It’s in this regard that president Kikwete also in return responded to President Kagame’s war mongering by warning him that his country is ready to defend her self using all possible means to give him a lesson he will never forget in his life if at all he dares to attack Tanzania or her Special Forces under the UN Intervention Forces in DR Congo .

Our Sources also reveals that the Tanzanian forces are on high alert due to intelligence information which confirms that Rwanda is in it’s last preparation of carrying out isolative counter attacks on Tanzanian Special Forces which are under the UN Intervention Forces in DR Congo. Reliable Intelligence sources within President Kagame Intelligence Services reveals to Umuvugizi that the war mongering President Kagame has of recently been repeatedly making in his different public remarks where none apart from vowing to target the Tanzanian forces among the UN Forces in the neighbouring DR Congo which were given mandate by the UN Security Council in her resolution 2028 which created and gave directives UN intervention Forces to work with the existing UN peace Keeping Forces together with the National Forces “FARDC” to save millions of innocent civilians who have been repeatedly cleansed and displaced to neighbouring countries by president Kagame’s proxy rebel group M23 which acts as his bridge to Plunder DR Congo wealth mineral Resources .

Kerry names Feingold special envoy for African region, including DRC

From: Judy Miriga

Good People,

Russ Feingold failed to harmonize Kenya’s situation of 2007/8. Instead of giving a hearing to warring factions to solve a situation, he made the situation worse by favoring one group against the other thus dividing Kenyans Diaspora who worked so hard to bring the 2007/8 to order and put it on a path to peaceful resolution of their problems. It is therefore that, I am not convinced that he is the right person to be send as envoy to broker a delicate situation of the Great Lakes of East Africa, more specifically the Congo situation with Rwanda. I can see in advance that he will fall in favor of the M23 of Kagame for Rwanda Government and this will be very divastating……..

Russ favored, trusted and believed in everything said by the group of Salim Lome the advisor of Raila Odinga as Gospel Truth and whatever the warring group put forth were disregarded and ignored. He had a fixed mind and wouldnt budge or change opinion to pay attention for fairness.

I am also seeing a situation where USA stand to loose grips in Africa giving a wider berth of opportunity to Chinese if we make such mistakes………We have to be very careful how we engage with Africa……..more or so now that Africa is very shaky and are unstable in their economic standing with China who is encouraging corruption with impunity and where respect for sovereignty and territorial boundaries of neighbours are not respected according to the International Treaty with failure to observe International Human Rights Law.

Africa is presently facing massive situation of LAND GRABBING with the scramble of the worlds unscrupulous greed by Special Interest to Africa for illegal occupation.

If we fail to save Africa, we shall have failed to reinvented USA power in the world.

Kerry will have made the worse mistake ever in going ahead with this plan……….

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com

– – – – – – – – – – –

U.S. News
Kerry names Feingold special envoy for African region, including DRC

Former Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., named special representative for Africa’s Great Lakes Region and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 2007 file photo. (UPI Photo/Kevin Dietsch)
Published: June 18, 2013 at 3:05 PM
WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) — Secretary of State John Kerry named former Sen. Russ Feingold special representative for Africa’s Great Lakes Region and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Speaking with reporters at the State Department in Washington Tuesday, Kerry said “the ongoing crisis” in the region “continues to trouble all of us greatly.”

“We are convinced that we have to help the parties find a path to a lasting peace, to a permanent cessation of hostilities and to the disarmament and demobilization of M23, accountability for human rights abuses and finally a breaking down of the barriers that are standing between humanitarian aid and the civilians who need it.”

M23 is a rebel military organization also referred to as the Congolese Revolutionary Army.

Kerry said the region is “a high level priority” for him and President Barack Obama.

He said Feingold, a Democrat, was “the Senate’s leading advocate and expert on Africa” during his time in office.

“I’m very grateful that he has agreed to come back to government and to apply the expertise that he gained those years for the Obama administration and for the State Department.”

In his new role, Feingold will work on issues including cross-border security, and political, economic and social assistance, Kerry said.

Topics:John Kerry, Russ Feingold, Barack Obama

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/06/18/Kerry-names-Feingold-special-envoy-for-African-region-including-DRC/UPI-78231371582356/#ixzz2Zo9EqBV7

REVIEW: It is time Kagame and Museveni take back their Rebel Groups out of Congo

From: Judy Miriga

Good People,

It is not about Kabila but the whole Congolese Public Mandate to Democratic Rights to live at Peace in dignity with its neighbours and observing the International Law for Human Rights security and protection to live a dignified life in pursuit for happiness.

The UN Peace-keeping unit in Congo is obligated to give security to Congo People, but instead, they are after hidden agenda with Kagame and Museveni, where they are seen as conspirators against the Congo people with intention to plunder Congo’s mineral resources. Because of this, the UN Peace-keeping Unit in Congo, clearly demonstrated biasness on the Congo Government but showed sympathy on the Tutsi led M23 Rebel Group which is an illegal imposter that was formed through a conspiracy by President Kagame, Bosco and Museveni with their corporate Special business interest network to terrorize Congolese people and destroy their peace and happiness. This is unacceptable………and what Congo people need is peace with their democratic space which has nothing to do with M23. M23 is a problem of Kagame and they belong to Rwanda not Congo……..M23 was created by Bosco with the help of Kagame……..That is the fact……

While I tend to agree with Maurice and Leila that Kabila may have be a spent force, and that Congo need a new Leader to move Congo forward; in other-words, if Kabila difficult to rule, let him organize to call an election urgently so that, Congolese people should consider electing a Congo-man who is capable to solve Congolese problems so Congo can move forward. This, I wont mind, but to punish Congo people and causing them to languish into too many unending killings, pain and sufferings time and again since Patrice Lumumba died, is not fair. and therefore, this situation of invasion on Congo by Kagame and Museveni is not right but very disturbing. It is destroying Congo people in order to satisfy the GREEDY of the RICH.

The fact remain that, the RICH AND GREEDY are the ones who created M23 to strike the already weakened Congo Government. What they want is FREE CONGO LAND for their special business; the reason why Land Grabbing is a problem in Congo extending through the whole Africa. If we shall fail to put Democracy for Africa into purspectives, these Corporate conspiracy will destroy Africa’s livelihood and survival with serious environmental pollution that will affect the whole worlds Climatic Situation. By the look of things, daggers are drawn which include UN Peace Keeping in Congo turning against the Congo people……..and what we read from this is that African peoles life is rated valueless with no rights……..but are fit for slavery with no cooperation. So the UN Peace Keeping is surely not for the Africa’s interest.

My dear brothers and sisters, I feel the pain of destruction, crime, abuse and violation injected to exterminate Congolese people. The Congo people are seen by the world as animal fit for slaughterhouse who do not deserve to live……..which is why the global-banksters (World Bank) ganged attacking poor Africas Economic stability the reason for planning terror on independent countries weakening their economy without caring to share wealth of the people of Africa……….This is sad…….

I am equally saddened by Ban-Ki-Moons’ overlooking UN statement here under, where they are considering pulling off from helping and supporting Congo people with its Government to get rid of M23 which was formed in March 2009 by Gen. Bosco a Tutsi and a friend of Kagame who plan to control and create a Government of Rwanda inside Congo knowing too well that M23 forming a Government of its own with Army inside Congo is against the International Treaty of boarder protection, is an assault and encounter of offensive onslaught for illegal invasion and is considered an atrocity against a sovereign Independent country, interfering with internal matters with intention to destroying its freedom, its peace, destroying its peoples livelihood and survival and rendering Congolese people Refugees in their own country LAND………This behavior is criminal in nature, it is an abuse and violation against International Law for Human Rights and it must be condemned by all good people of the world who are after PEACE and UNITY for common good of all.

When the M23 invaded Congo three months ago and took over Goma, the M23 past through UN coalition army in Congo with ease into Goma without any resistance, which was seen as a pre-planned engineered conspiracy for UN with M23 to takeover Congo land benefiting vested interest of Kagame and Museveni engineering the onslaught on Congo.

UN Ban-Ki-Moon’s behaviour in support of today’s report is clear indication that UN are amongst the interested looting party and thievers who supported M23 encroachment intrusion in Congo with a MISSION………that when Congo Government is gaining traction to remove M23 from their outbreak assailing violation, UN would rather look the other side………shame on UN peacekeeping in Congo……..

People of Africa, wake up……..wake up people…….demand for Africas justice……..there is no justice in Africa………Some of Africa’s leadership are sell-out……they have put Africa’s livelihood and survival at dangerous compromising situation, and Kagame and Museveni must be put to face ICC Hague for Human Rights crime, violation, abuse with environmental destruction and pollution in Congo……….

Rise up people and demand for Justice………..There must be a “Give and Take”……..we must demand trade that is fair, balanced and free based on democratic mutual agreement negotiations benefiting all in a varied diverse secure and protective interests……….not just to benefit a few greedy politicians with their cronies………

There will be no peace or happiness in the world if Africa shall not be free from subjective oppressiveness by the Corporate conspiracy network to destroy Africa people in ways and means……..

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com

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UN reviewing Congo army support over M23 abuse allegations

July 18, 2013 PoliticsUnited Nations
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations is reviewing support to Democratic Republic of Congo army units accused of desecrating the corpses of rebels and mistreating detainees, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday during renewed fighting in the country’s east.

U.N. peacekeepers had raised the reported abuse of M23 rebels with the Congolese army and welcomed steps by the army “to investigate these claims and to hold the perpetrators of these acts accountable,” Ban’s press office said in a statement.

Congolese army forces, or FARDC, supported by helicopters, attacked M23 rebel positions near the eastern city of Goma on Tuesday in a third day of heavy fighting that has forced hundreds of villagers to flee their homes.

“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about reports of alleged mistreatment of M23 detainees and desecration of corpses of M23 combatants by the Congolese armed forces,” Ban’s press office said.

The 17,000-strong U.N. force, known as MONUSCO, and Congo troops have struggled over the past decade to stem a conflict involving dozens of armed groups and complicated by national and ethnic rivalries. A new 3,000-member U.N. Intervention Brigade was recently deployed to fight and disarm rebels in the east.

“MONUSCO has launched the process of reviewing its support to FARDC units suspected of being involved in these incidents,” said Ban’s statement. “The Secretary-General calls on the DRC to bring the perpetrators of these reported acts to justice.”

The United Nations threatened in February to withdraw support for two Congolese battalions after soldiers raped at least 97 women and 33 girls, some as young as 6, in an eastern town after they fled from advancing M23 rebels in late November.

The peacekeeping mission decided to keep working with the battalions after 12 senior officers, including the commanders and deputy commanders, were suspended and about a dozen soliders charged over the rapes in Minova, according to a U.N. human rights report.

M23 began taking parts of eastern Congo early last year, accusing the government of failing to honor a 2009 peace deal. That deal ended a previous rebellion and led to the rebels’ integration into the army, but they have since deserted.

A report by U.N. experts last month said that M23 recruited fighters in neighboring Rwanda with the aid of sympathetic Rwandan army officers, while elements of the Congolese army have cooperated with Rwandan Hutu rebel group FDLR.

Rwanda and Congo have both denied the accusations.

—– Forwarded Message —–
From: Leila Sheikh
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2013 4:06 AM
Subject: It is time Kagame and Museveni take back their Rebel Groups out of Congo
Afu huyo J Kabila anajificha.
Maisha magumu sana ambapo kila saa inabidi ujifiche.
Leila Sheikh

From: Maurice Oduor
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2013 12:03 PM
Subject: It is time Kagame and Museveni take back their Rebel Groups out of Congo

Judy,

You’re really intense about this Rwanda-Congo-Uganda thing. Do you have a personal stake in Kabila staying in power? If Kabila’s presence in power is inspiring all these wars, then maybe it’s time we looked at the possibility of Kabila leaving and the AU sponsoring a fresh round of elections, real elections this time. What do you think?

As it is, Kabila seems to be a President of the Kinshasa and Lubumbashi regions only. The rest is under rebel control. How many congolese have to die before we can start asking Kabila to leave? What has he really done for his country since he came into power?

Courage

On Wed, Jul 17, 2013 at 10:22 AM, Judy Miriga wrote:

Good People,

The UN led invasion on the Rebel groups in Congo did well to start bombarding the Tutsi-led M23 which were advancing to re-capture Goma because of the failed talks in Uganda.

They were out to teach Kabila the President of Congo a big lesson. It was the reason Kagame bragged he was going to hit Kikwete when he least expected using the B words in Ki-Rwanda.

The sin of Kikwete was to request and advice Kagame to engage peace in the great lakes of East Africa.

All the Tutsi-led rebels of the M23 movement or the Hutu-led anti-Rwandan government Democratic Front for the Liberation Rwanda (FDLR) and the The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) sponsored and led by Salim Saleh, who is Museveni’s brother; are all doing big business with the Corporate Special Business Interest in Washington by spilling the blood of Congolese people and are exterminating and destroying livelihood and survival of the DRC Congo people…..the reason why DRC Congo do not have any peace however much Congo people try to stabilize their country. This state-of-affair is unacceptable.

Since this matter has gone out of control with Rwanda and Uganda invasion getting lethal…….the UN mission team in Congo with now the 3,000-additional strong special UN force may need to be more subjective in their attack of the Rebel groups with precision and they must genuinely help to save the situation conclusively and not allow themselves to be compromised by the Corporate Special Interest. Congo people too have a right to pursuit of happiness.

There is no more waiting to negotiate at the expense of Human Rights violation, crime and abuse with destructions of livelihood and survival of the Congolese except, to drive these Rebel groups back to their Country from where they belong into Uganda and Rwanda. Kabila also must stand his ground to add pressure to save his country from these extreme terrorism which emanates from instigations with engineered conspiracies by Kagame and Museveni to protect these groups for their profit. Kagame is a man and he must remain so……..

Problems can only be solved by tackling and fixing the root-cause of it. The root cause of problem of Congo people is Rwanda and Uganda private marcinaries lodged inside DRC Congo but controled from Rwanda and Uganda; forming a foreign Government inside Congo. No one can accept this kind of behavior. Kagame and Museveni must behave or else, they are both headed to a much more bigger trouble they have never seen before in their life time. They are not bigger than the world………they will not cause us heartache and disturb our peace and we sit pretty……….They are the aggressors and instigators and they will not get away with it…….It is because Civil Rights Justice must take precedence against them instantaniously……….

We must not ignore such butchery that has taken in Congo for over twenty years. This butchering started with the elimination and brutal death of Patrice Lumumba. Since then Congo has not seen peace. The Congo people have paid enough price with their blood, it is time things must be done differently.

Obscurity seems to confer immunity in high places where, strong men are judged only by their readiness to kill and take away Human Rights as they wish. Quoted in St. Augustine’s ”City of God,” how lawless armies dismembered the Roman Empire. If there be no “JUSTICE” there remain Kingdoms of selfish and greedy gangs of criminals left to control ways of life?

These Rebel/Mercenaries are gang groups of men formed under the command of a unscrupulous business community who work alongside bad leaders of the world in a compact of association to do business without paying taxes to the people’s Government, where with the control power, they plunder public wealth and resources for their selfish greedy gains and divide the loot according to an agreed Treaty they form amongst their network. This is how they establish their base, captures cities and subdues people for slavery by the attainment of impunity.

Shall we sit pretty and watch when Human Rights is abused??? Is this not a problem for the world??? Dont we need to stand our ground together under Civil Rights Justice Movement to protect Peoples Equal Justice and Liberty with pursuit for happiness for all without discrimination for the sake of Peace ???

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com/

Congo-Kinshasa: Stalled Kampala Talks Linked to Congo Clashes
By Mark Caldwell, 16 July 2013

interview

The Congolese army is battling two militias in eastern DRC, the M23 rebel group, comprising mostly ethnic Tutsi militia, and the ADF, a Ugandan Muslim armed force. The UN has a new intervention force.

The Democratic Republic of Congo said on Monday (15.07.2013) it had killed 120 fighters belonging to the M23 rebel movement to the north of Goma.

The insurgents deny these claims. The fighting comes after Uganda’s Red Cross Society confirmed 66,000 Congolese refugees had crossed into the east African country.

They were fleeing another battle zone in which the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was attacking Kamangu, a town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN has deployed a new 3,000-strong Intervention brigade with a tough mandate to fight armed groups in eastern Congo.

DW’s Mark Caldwell spoke to Thierry Vircouloun, Project Director for Central Africa with the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Why has this fighting flared up on two fronts?

I think it’s mainly a coincidence. There is no link between them. It’s clear that the fighting between the M23 and the Congolese army is a direct result of the dead end of the Kampala negotiations. The talks in Kampala have dragged on since December last year without any meaningful results.

Therefore it’s very clear for all the stakeholders that there won’t be a diplomatic settlement to the problem between the M23 and the Congolese government. Therefore the only way to change the situation is actually through the military way.

I would say that in the northern part of Kivu, the ADF is not involved in the same kind of fighting with the Congolese army.

It’s small clashes that have happened and the ADF has withdrawn to remote areas after temporarily taking some villages and taking some hostages. The main fighting is happening between M23 and the Congolese army and the M23 remains the main target of the Congolese army.

The UN has its largest peacekeeping mission in the world in the DRC, including a new intervention brigade. What have they done so far to stop the fighting?

interview

So far the UN has not done anything to stop the fighting.

They have called on the Congolese army and other parties to calm down, but it’s clear that there is a window of opportunity for military action as seen from Kinshasa, firstly because the Kampala negotiations are not moving forward and secondly because fighting the M23 is very popular in Congo unlike negotiating with them.

Thirdly, it seems like the M23 itself was very weakened by the internal fighting that happened at the beginning of the year

So what are the M23’s objectives at the moment?

I think at the moment the objective of the M23 is to resist the Congolese army and try to keep its position close to Goma.

What can you tell us about the UN’s new intervention brigade, what is its current status?

The brigade is not fully operational, the Tanzanian and South African components of the brigade have arrived in Goma, north Kivu, but the contingent from Malawi is not yet here. I also understand that the brigade has not received all its equipment.

However the MONUSCO commander has sent a very strong warning saying all civilians with a gun won’t be considered as civilians. It’s not clear at this stage what is going to be the first target of that intervention brigade.

As far as I understand, no operation by this brigade had been planned before this coming September. Howeve, given the development on the ground, the UN may be forced to intervene faster than they wanted to.

Thierry Vircoulon is the Project Director for Central Africa with the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Congo-Kinshasa: UN Blue Helmets On ‘High Alert’ As M23 Rebels Advance Towards Goma

15 July 2013

United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are on high alert today and stand ready to use force to protect civilians in Goma from an advancing rebellion by the March 23 movement (M23), the top UN official in the country said, urging all parties to exercise restraint.

The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) expressed “deep concern” about the latest bout of fighting which broke out after a significant group of the M23 attacked the national forces (FARDC) on 14 July in Mutaho, eight kilometres northwest of Goma, in eastern DRC. According to the Mission, heavy artillery and a battle tank were used in the attack.

“Any attempt by the M23 to advance toward Goma will be considered a direct threat to civilians,” the Mission warned. It also noted that the UN blue helmets stand ready to take any necessary measures, including the use of lethal force, in order to protect civilians.

The acting Special Representative of the Secretary General in the country, Moustapha Soumaré, urged restraint to avoid a further escalation of the situation.

“I call on all to abide by the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement and to allow the political process towards peace to move forward,” Mr. Soumaré said, referring to the UN-brokered accord adopted in February with the support of 11 nations and four international organizations (11+4), with the aim of ending the cycles of conflict and crisis in the eastern DRC and to build peace in the long-troubled Great Lakes region.

“I urge all signatories of the PSC Framework to exercise their influence in order to avoid an escalation of the situation,” he added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mary Robinson, the UN Special Envoy for Africa’s Great Lakes Region, along with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, visited the DRC in May to bolster support for the PSC Framework which Ms. Robinson dubbed a “framework for hope.”

Last month, there was talk of a possible resumption of peace talks between the Government of the DRC and the M23. At that time, Mrs. Robinson had urged both sides to engage in earnest discussion under the auspices of the Chairperson of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Mr. Robinson was convened in Burundi last week a conference to help develop a road map for women’s engagement in efforts to bring peace to Africa’s long-trouble Great Lakes countries.

Since March, tensions in the region have been heightened, leading to the Security Council to authorize in March the deployment of an intervention brigade within MONUSCO to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without FARDC, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern DRC.

Uganda: DRC-Based Ugandan Rebel Group ‘Recruiting, Training’

11 July 2013

Kampala — The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) (sponsored by Salim Saleh Museveni’s brother Mercenary/Rebel group which installed Museveni and Kagame to power and who moved from Uganda to Rwanda into Congo—–where Museveni conspired for them to occupy land in Congo), a Ugandan rebel movement based in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is recruiting, training and reorganizing to carry out fresh attacks on Uganda, officials say.

“The threat is real. ADF is recruiting, training and opening new camps in eastern DRC. We are alert and very prepared to deal with any attack on our side of the border,” said Lt Col Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). “We are sharing intelligence information with the DRC government [and] FARDC [DRC’s national army] about their activities. We hope FARDC will be able to deal with the group.”

According to media reports in DRC, early on Thursday morning the group clashed with FARDC in Kamango, a town in North Kivu Province close to the Ugandan border, briefly ousting the army before withdrawing. Uganda’s NTV tweeted that thousands of Congolese had fled across the border to the western Ugandan town of Bundibugyo.

The ADF was formed in the mid-1990s in the Rwenzori mountain range in western Uganda, close to the country’s border with DRC. The group killed hundreds in several attacks in the capital, Kampala, and in parts of western Uganda, and caused the displacement of tens of thousands. The rebellion was largely contained in Uganda by 2000, with reportedly just about 100 fighters finding refuge in eastern North Kivu. From the mid-1990s till 2007, ADF was allied to another Ugandan rebel group, the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda; together, becoming ADF-NALU.

The ADF’s leader, Jamil Mukulu, a former Catholic, converted to Islam in the 1990s, and the Ugandan government has long claimed the group is linked with Islamist groups including Al-Qaeda and the Somali militant group Al-Shabab. The US placed the ADF on its list of terrorist organizations in 2001.

UPDF’s Ankunda said: “There is no doubt; ADF has a linkage with Al-Shabab. They collaborate. They have trained ADF on the use of improvised explosive devices.”

Kidnapping, recruitment

According to Ankunda, the ADF – now thought to have up to 1,200 fighters – has tried to increase its troop numbers through kidnapping and recruitment in North Kivu Province and in Uganda.

“What is worrying us is that the ADF has been carrying out a series of abductions, recruitment and attacks in DRC without much resistance from FARDC,” Ankunda told IRIN. “We are critically following up their recruitment in Uganda. We have made some arrests.”

According to a December 2012 report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), the ADF is “more of a politically convenient threat for both the FARDC and the Ugandan government than an Islamist threat lurking at the heart of Central Africa”.

“They are still isolated, and actions against their logistic and financial chains have been quite successful,” Marc-Andre Lagrange, DRC senior analyst at ICG, told IRIN. “As in 2011, ADF are now engaged in providing military support to other armed groups to sustain their movement. This demonstrates that ADF, as such, is now a limited threat despite the fact they remain extremely violent.”

According to experts in Uganda, the continued presence of armed groups like ADF is a major concern for peace and stability in DRC, Uganda and the wider Great Lakes region.

“The allegations that ADF is regrouping are not new and should not come as a surprise. What should worry us as a country is the apparent collective amnesia of treating our own exported armed insurgencies as other people’s problems,” Stephen Oola, a transitional justice and governance analyst at Uganda’s Makerere University’s Refugee Law Project, told IRIN. “The LRA [Lord’s Resistance Army] and ADF are Uganda’s problems and will remain so, no matter where they are located at a particular time, until we seek a comprehensive solution to conflicts in this country.”

Neutralizing the threat

At the moment, Uganda has no mandate to pursue the rebels within DRC. Ankunda said he hoped the new UN Intervention Brigade – tasked with defeating “negative forces” in eastern DRC and due to be fully operational at the end of July – will step in to curb the group’s efforts to destabilize the two countries.

The ICG’s report warned that it would be important to neutralize the ADF’s cross-border economic and logistical networks; the group allegedly receives money transfers from Kenya, the UK and Uganda, which are collected by Congolese intermediaries in the North Kivu cities of Beni and Butembo. It also derives funding from car and motorcycle taxis in North Kivu and profits from gold and timber exports to Uganda.

“It would be wise to separate fiction from fact and instead pursue a course of weakening its socio-economic base, while at the same time offering a demobilization and reintegration programme to its combatants,” the report’s authors stated, adding that “Congolese and Ugandan military personnel colluding with these networks should be dealt with appropriately by the authorities of their country”.

According to Makerere’s Oola, Uganda needs to do some soul-searching if it is to defeat the rebellions that continue to destabilize the country: “We must sit down as country in judgment of oursel[ves], through truth-seeking and national dialogue, to ask the right questions. Why are they fighting? What should be done to end their rebellion? How do we address the impact of the cycle of violence that has bedevilled this country from independence?”

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. ]

Salim Saleh was haunted by Jet Mwebaze’s death. Why?
Posted by Bitukirire Isaac Newton on June 6, 2011 at 2:59 PM

In Sept. 1997, an army officer and brother to Brig. James Kazini, another senior army officer, died in western Uganda under circumstances that remain mysterious. The then Minister of State for Defence, Steven Kavuma, gave conflicting accounts of what had happened to the private plane carrying Mwebaze. The media also reported various accounts. Appearing on the Capital Gang talk show on 91.3 Capital FM at the time, the then Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh was grilled by the then Mbarara Member of Parliament, Winnie Byanyima, also a panelist on the Capital Gang, to explain what Saleh’s employees were doing on that plane in which Mwebaze was said to have died. Saleh did not have an answer. Maj. Gen. James Kazini the former army commander died on Nov. 10, 2009 still convinced that his brother had been killed by the state or at least an actor in the state. But for several months, Saleh found himself almost unable to sleep. He disclosed to some people that he was being haunted by the spirit of Jet Mwebaze. Apparently it was tormenting him night and day. On the day of Mwebaze’s burial, an unusually heavy downpour of rain swept over the area. It rained heavily and continually all through the burial proceedings and convinced many onlookers that there was something suspicious about Mwebaze’s death. In 1998, Saleh tried to find a way out of the nightmare he was facing. He sought the help of a traditional fortune teller, a soothsayer of some sort, to go to Mwebaze’s grave and perform a number of rituals to appease the spirit of Mwebaze. A young man approached by Saleh refused to look up the fortune teller. Saleh finally found another young man to go to Mwebaze’s grave with the medium on his behalf. What happened, however, shocked Saleh. The young man, usually meek and modest in personality, suddenly burst out into a loud wail when he met Saleh. He shouted at Saleh and insulted him, speaking as one possessed by a strange spirit or invisible force. What happened next is not clear but this episode is a glimpse into the dark and sinister world that Uganda’s leaders since 1986 live in. Their abnormal lust for power and material things, their casual way with shedding blood speaks not of ordinary human beings, but of people possessed by what some might refer to as the spirit of death and murder. It is this spirit in Museveni, his brother Salim Saleh, and Museveni’s wife Janet Museveni that I went to investigate in July 2006 when I met a Seer outside Kampala. I ended up discovering the most astonishing things imaginable. But the net result of that experience was that all my fear of the state, what it can do, and of Museveni vanished from me the next day. I had stumbled onto what in the Bible is referred to as the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, the ultimate in knowledge of the deep mysteries of the universe. That spirit of death and murder hangs over the other leader in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. About Mwebaze’s death, Saleh had planned to mobilise soldiers and army veterans to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo to offer support security to the new government of President Laurent Kabila. But failing to successfully convince these men to go to Congo, the task fell to Mwebaze, who easily assembled the men and these men waited for the flight at Entebbe International Airport. For whatever reason, Saleh started to view Mwebaze as threat to his power and influence within the army and plotted against Mwebaze. Just before Mwebaze was to have taken that flight, Saleh — who knew Mwebaze’s love of money — convinced him to give up on the military mission and instead fly to Congo on a diamond business mission. Mwebaze agreed to. Employees of Saleh’s company, including some Israelis, boarded a plane. When the plane arrived in the skies over Kasese, it came down to the ground. Later, Mwebaze was shot dead by the army in Kasese, then under the command of Brig. Nakibus Lakara. Who gave the order for Mwebaze’s murder? Who else but the man who would later be haunted by what he himself said was the spirit of Mwebaze. It is no coinsidence that it is he, Saleh, who made the call to Lydia Draru or Lydia Atim, asking her to call Mwebaze’s brother to Namowongo, only for three hit men, not Draru, to beat Kazini to death — and then reports of a domestic quarrel conveniently fed to the media. According to NRA fighters in Luwero, Saleh was given the nickname “Rufu” which in the languages of western Uganda means “death.” This nickname was not because of any extraordinary military achievements or bravery on the battlefield, but rather, according to the former NRA guerrillas, because it was to him that Yoweri Museveni entrusted the task of eliminating Museveni’s real or perceived enemies in Luwero. These NRA veterans say that such major assassinations as that of the first NRA commander, Lt. Ahmed Seguya and many others — including, now, the killing of Maj. Gen. James Kazini — were the core assignment of Salim Saleh during their guerrilla war. In Kampala, most army generals, intelligence officers, and others familiar with the workings of the NRM government do not believe that Kazini was killed by Lydia Draru. Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire’s melodramatic questioning of why God allowed Kazini to die without first consulting he, Otafiire, reflects the amount of fear being felt within top military circles than that Otafiire was trying to express black humour. END

Exposed! NRM’s plans to rule Uganda till 2042
Written by Our Editor
Monday, 29 June 2009 04:15
The Uganda Citizen today exposes a Master Plan by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) to stay in power until 2042. Hatched in March 1992 at Rushere, Nyabushozi, home of President Yoweri Museveni, the plan exposes the NRM as having lied to the whole world in general and to Ugandans in particular, when they said, in 1986, that theirs was not merely a change of guard but a new movement offering fundamental changes.

Muhoozi (left): Museveni’s sonIn an attempt to isolate the rest of Uganda and concentrate power into the hands of two clans from Western Uganda, the ingenuous plan sets out in detail how two Western Uganda clans, the Bahima and the Basita, planned to stay in power for 50 years before allowing anybody else to get into power.The plan of action that was read out by Mr Museveni to all the 76 people that attended the secret planning, sought to make sure that all top posts in the army were held by the Bahima. It arranged, among other plans, to:
Make sure their people had the highest educational qualifications during his term of office for their children. Make sure they were the richest people in Uganda with the 50 years master plan. Make sure they controlled the army and had the highest ranks in the army.

Museveni (left) and Paul Kagame (right) – Rwanda’s president and former Uganda intelligence chiefEnsure that they take charge of all the resources in the country.

Ensure that none of those not concerned, needed to know about the action plan.

This last wish may have already backfired as those that attended the meeting have already fallen out with Museveni. These include, among others, Hope Kivengere who minded to act as the link between Museveni and the grass roots.

Museveni asked the meeting to help recruit several of their relatives in the armed forces where he would install them in the security services especially the ISU, PPU, ESSO and Military Police. “This,” Museveni said, “would assist in the resisting of other tribes that would attempt to take power by the use of force.”

In order to ensure that power remained in the hands of the two clans, the meeting directed that Elly Karuhanga take the responsibility of ensuring that 80 per cent of their children were educated to a level that would ensure their sustaining power. He was instructed to send their children for studies abroad in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa and India. A Mr Kirimani was charged with educating the daughters and sons internally, especially to ensure that he put up special school in Nyabushozi to cater for the interests of the group. It was at this juncture that Sam Kutesa suggested upgrading Bunyanyeru Settlement School from Nursery to Secondary School.

Mr. Elly Rwakakoko interjected the chairman’s speech by introducing a new chapter of how Museveni could be succeeded after his term of office. On this point, Mrs. Jovia Salim Saleh begged the members to ensure that after Museveni, the next president must come from the Basita clan. She said that she had done a lot for the Basita and taken many risks for the last 20 years and therefore it was important that the Basita take charge of the resources of the country. The members resolved that she was not in order. Mzee Ephrann Rusimira suggested that the new president should be the brother to the president if the master plan was to succeed. He warned that if the Bairu and non-Bahima clans got to know about the action plan, it would fail to take off. Mzee Rutamwebwa suggested that Salim Saleh (Museveni’s half-brother) should go back to school if the objectives of their action were to be met. It was unanimously agreed that Salim Saleh had to get a A’ Level Certificate of Education. He also suggested that someone close, possibly the son of the president should be groomed to take over the reigns from Salim Saleh. This too was agreed on and the group begged Museveni to look around for a boy who would be groomed.

The group also brainstormed about how to destroy those who would gang up to take power from the clan. Death was suggested for the potential leaders who would attempt to fail the master plan. The group deliberated that they should:- a) Deny other people access to economic resources through: (i) Overtaxing individuals and companies, which don’t belong to their’ people and protect those that belong to them. (ii) Destroy co-operative societies and unions. (iii) Sell parastatals and public enterprises that those not with the Bahima and Basita clans don’t gain from. (iv) Commercialize education and health services. c) Destroy the economic, military and political will of Northern and Eastern Uganda.

d) Ensure that a non-political Kabaka of Buganda is installed on the Buganda throne, while at the same time promoting disunity among the Baganda. e) Unite all the Bahima in the Great Lakes Region and awaken their political, military and economic process.

f) Participate in the exploitation of economic resources of rich neighbouring states. g) Making strategic alliances with whatever power in the world that will enhance achievement of this plan.

Members recommended that all those given responsibility must ensure the achievement of the objectives. Museveni was mandated to appoint committees or individuals to implement the different aspects of the master plan. It is quite clear from the points made above that many of these plans have been fulfilled. However disagreement among the two clans has led to some in this group to approach the press with a copy of the deliberations.

The following people attended this meeting:-

NAME & HOME AREA

1. Mr.Y.K. Museveni – Nyabushozi 2. Mrs. J. Museveni – Nyabushozi 3. Mr. Elly Rwakakoko – Ruhama, Ntungano 4. Mr. Eric Kabango – Rukungiri 5. Akwandanaho Salim Saleh- Nyabushozi 6. Mr. Sam Kutesa – Nyabushozi 7. Mr. Abel Katemowe – Rukungiri 8. Canon Rwabugaire Buyania – Rukungiri 9. Mrs. Rwabugaire Buyanja – Rukungiri 10. John Wycliff Karigire – Ntungamo 11. Mrs. Karazarwe Ntungamo 12. Mrs. Rwakakoko Ruhama – Ntungamo 13. Bob Kabonero – Ntungamo 14. Mr. Jim Muhwezi – Rukungiri 15. Mrs. Susan Muhwezi – Rukungiri 16. Mr. Jotham Tumwesigye – Nyabushozi, Mbarara 17. Mr. John Nasasira – Kazo 18. Mzee Nyindombi – Kebisoni 19. Mrs. Faith Bitamurire- Kebisoni 20. Mugisha Muhwezi Nyindobi – Kebisoni 21. Mrs. Jane Mwesigye – Sembabule 22. Mrs. Mwesigye – Sembalue 23. Mr. Kamugisha – Kebisoni 24. Mrs. Kamugisha – Kebisoni 25. Mr. John Kazoora – Ntungamo 26. Mr. Christopher Kiyombo – Ntungamo 27. Major Henry Tumukunde – Buyanja Kitojo 28. Mrs. Tumukunde – Buyanja Kitojo 29. Mzee Rwakanengere – Kashari Rubaya 30. Jolly R
wakanengere – Kampala, Rubaya 31. Mrs Salim Saleh – Nyabushozi 32. Rev. Kajangye Buyanja – Kitojo
33. Aronda Nyakeirima Buyanja -Kitojo 34. Mzee Mpira Nuyanja – Nyakibungo 35. Charles Muhhozi Kifaburaza – Kagunga 36. Justus Katono – Karishunga Buyanja 37. Elly Karuhanga Nyabushozi – Mbarara 38. Mzee Kafumusi – Ibanda 39. Sikora B.K. Buhweju – Buyaruguru 40. P. Kaitirima – Sembabule 41. Mathew Rukikakire – Sembabule 42. Mrs. Rukikare Kabura – Rukungiri 43. Sam Baingana – Rukungiri 44. Mrs Baingana – Rukungiri 45. Mzee Amos Nzei – Kabale 46. Mrs. Nzei – Kabale 47. Mzee Rutamwebwa – Nyabushozi 48. Mrs. Mary Rutamwebwa – Nyabushozi 49. Rev. Canon Sam Rubunda – Nyabushozi 50. Mrs. Jennifer Kutesa – Sembabule/Ntungamo 51. Eriya Kategaya – Rwampara 52. Jovia Kankunda – Mbarara 53. Mzee Rwakiturate – Nyabushozi 54. Rwabantu Rusheyi – Ntungamo 55. Col. Chefali – Kazo 56. Col. Kazini J. – Nyabushozi 57. Major Kashaka – Nyabushozi 58. Jero Bwende – Nyabushozi 59. Augustine Ruzindana Rubaya – Ntungamo 60. Ephraim Rusimirwa – Nyakabuye 61. Mzee Kaino – Nyakininga 62. Rev. Rujoki – Nshwerunkuye 63. Mrs. J. Rujoki – Nshwerunkuye 64. Prince John Barigye – Kashari 65. Kanyesigye Barigye Junior – Kashari 66. Kirimani – Nyabushozi 67. Fred Kanyabubale – Kitojo Buyanja 68. Kakurungu – Kitojo 69. Captain Biraro – Nyabushozi 70. Mrs. Nasasira Kazo 71. Herbert Rwabwende – Kashari 72. Odrek Rwabwogo – Nyabushozi 73. Hope Kivegere – President’s Office 74. Bishop Justus Ruhindi – Rukugiri 75. Justin Sabiiti – Mbarara 76. Maama Rubindi – North Kigezi Diocese

majid alemi junior. in bc. – Exposed NRM & M7 Secrets Plan On Westnilers
Re: this message i forwarded under united nations convenson charter of 1942/45 citizens right to know act. international law. to all community of nations U.N. members including uganda. based on what is the article, we the voice of voiceless appeals to united nations secretary general. to take and present this case to the united nations security council to aprove united nations peace keeping forces to westnile region. which faced war for long time. their properties destroyed, no power electricity in region,roads are in bad shape, bridges are all damaged needs repair, education system are poor, unemployments problems are high, the present government dont care about the people in westnile region. based on all major problems facing the the people in the region. we request united nations international protection branch to take charge of the region. on humaniterian cause. people in westnile was refugees for many years, now they are returnees. they have nothing, united nations to rebuil…
Sewagaba – Even Museveni will fall.
Man proposes and God disposes.God said that,”Iam the one who frustrates the ways of wise men.”Even Hitler had a dream that his Third Reich would last for a thousand years, but only lasted for twelve years. All leadership comes from God.God knows the day and hour Museveni will get out of power. Milton Obote had the same ambitions, but he ran away one night without saying bye bye to the Ugandan people. Even Museveni will fall and never rise again, because he is a liar, a thief and a hypocrite.

Anonymous

Museveni is making Ugandans to suffer on his behalf but he should remember how he came to power ,and he should remember that it’s the baganda who brought him to power so he should dictate accorddingly and hope one time he will go back successfully
wanted – security puposes
i think this not a dream, when you look what is happening in all activitise as planed, they are working. employment, education,death, disruption of tribes,security and on top of that corruption is rampant in nrm reign due to diplomatic immunity….sit back & we fall….come 2gether we shall revive the glory of uganda. ”FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY” UG as THE PEARL OF AFRICA…..FOR the case of a NRM ”for me my tribe and relatives and clans mate” as thier motto :angry-red.
grace nalubega kalema – human rights activist
Its such a pity that greed e ncrunched their heart they (Nrm)owners i call owners because their resons to stay is not that they have love and mercy for millions of citizens suffering with unemployment,poor education skill ,corruption every where museveni would insist to stay and we opity to go and leave in others countries inorder to earn a living
king concerned – concerned
It is only a matter of a few years that this govt goes down. we shall neva allow this kind of domination. am particularly alarmed by the big numbers of the same clan or tribe in makerere and other higher institutions of learning (around 60 per cent). a single county in that area has over 500 students in makerere, yetthe whole of karamoja, bugweri, kumam, as tribes and oothers may not even raise such a number. this is so so unfair

James Arinaitwe – MD POSTA
Hi, am so surprised about this, and this further confirms that MUSEVENI IS NOT A UGANDAN, but A RWANDASE. honestly u have made us banyankole and banyarwanda suffer in the future, because the truth is u can not stay in power forever, so the day u will go is the day we shall start suffering, we are going to be slaughtered like goats. and u are forgeting that this is life and one time u will die, though am worried that u will die of hard disease like cancer of course mixed with your HIV/AIDS. and your children are going suffer too. u have impregnated so manypeople’s women, all this is on record. but your days are numbered, God is seeing all James
http://www.theugandacitizen.com/news/66-oureditor.html
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Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Yoweri Museveni is the African genocide machine
Peoples’ Media: Dictator Museveni has since 1997 been involved in the systematic destabilisation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the resultant horrific civil war. This involvement continues to this day.As early as 1992 ‘The Guardian’ reported that: “In the six years since Yoweri Museveni took power, his government has managed to alienate three of its five neighbours. Relations remain good with only Tanzania and Congo DRC.” Museveni sparked off Africa’s most tragic humanitarian crisis when it subsequently sought to destabilise Congo DRC. In 1997, the London ‘Times’ reported that “Uganda … backed an uprising by rebels in eastern Congo DRC who’s aim was to drive the Zairean Army from the region and bring down President Mobutu” In 2001, Human Rights Watch documented this involvement, stating that Museveni had “fuelled political and ethnic strife in eastern Congo with disastrous consequences for the local population.”This had included stirring up ethnic violence, murdering civilians and “laying waste their villages.” Human Rights Watch had also previously noted that Uganda was responsible for the murder of large numbers of civilians in north- east Congo.This was also confirmed by Congolese human rights organisations.In late 2002, Uganda was subsequently again accused of deliberately seeking to “provoke ethnic conflict, as in the past” – actions which the United Nations warned risked genocide in the region. In July 2003, a Human Rights Watch report, ‘”Covered in Blood”: Ethnically Targeted Violence’, stated, for example, that Uganda was involved in the ethnically-motivated murder of several thousand Congolese civilians in the Ituri area of north-eastern Uganda. Uganda continues to arm Congolese gunmen responsible for horrific acts of terrorism – acts every bit as horrific as those attributed to the LRA in northern Uganda. The Museveni regime was also accused of militarily and logistically assisting the UNITA rebel movement in Angola. Additionally, the UN has repeatedly stated that Uganda was criminally and systematically stealing Congo’s resources. A Human Rights Watch report also noted that Ugandan forces “have blatantly exploited Congolese wealth for their own benefit and that of their superiors at home.” The hypocrisy of Museveni’s public bleating about neighbouring states allegedly destabilising his government is clear. The International Community’s Responsibility for Continuing Conflict in Uganda. The international community itself shares a partial responsibility for the continuing war in northern Uganda. This responsibility is at least two-fold. Western governments continue to project Uganda as a success story when the reality is that it is wracked by political turmoil and Uganda’s economy is artificially buoyed by aid. A Refugees International report has observed, for example, that according to one estimate donors provide about 53 percent of Uganda’s budget. They also cited a UN official as saying: “[D]onors don’t want to portray Uganda as another African country that is going down the drain. Because they give so much to Uganda, donors have a political motivation to make sure that it is seen as a success story.” This pretence ignores, in addition to the conflict in northern Uganda, Museveni’s responsibility for the deaths of millions of civilians in Congo. The international community, by facilitating a military rather than a peaceful solution, also bears a direct responsibility for prolonging conflict. A UN news report, for example, has noted: “Some aid agencies working in the north have criticised the international community for allowing Museveni’s government to keep the humanitarian crisis in the north on the back burner … For example, they have expressed concern over the government’s recent decision to re-allocate 23 percent of funds from other ministries to defence, seen by some as indicating a preference for a military solution over a peaceful settlement in the north.” We call upon all our friends around the world to publish the crimes of Yoweri Museveni and also educate their local communities about the african Polpot.

COMMENTS:

Museveni in Congo and Sudan: The former commander of the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF), Gen. James Kazini, a nephew of Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni, was at the center of charges against the Ugandan army of wholesale looting in Uganda and southern Sudan. As EIR reported in its last issue (see pp. 58-65), Kazini was also caught in a covert caper to smuggle arms to the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army of John Garang, operating in cahoots with Roger Winter of the U.S. Committee on Refugees, Daniel Eiffe of Norwegian Peoples Aid, and notorious gun-smugglers Michael Harari, formerly Israeli Mossad station chief for South America, and Alberto P. Herreros, formerly a prime contract for the illegal George Bush-Oliver North Contra supply operation of the 1980s. The question now being raised is whether the covert supply of arms was being paid for by booty gathered by the Ugandan Armed Forces, which invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo on Aug. 2, and followed that with an invasion of Sudan in September. According to some sources, the money gained from the sale of the gold, timber, and diamonds, being looted out of Congo and southern Sudan, was put into offshore bank accounts, and then used to buy the arms and other supplies to keep the wars going. According to a South African intelligence source, Kazini was in command of the invasion of the Congo, the source having accompanied him during the campaign in western Congo, which failed. Kazini’s presence in Congo is not just military, but is also for business-a fact that came to light when Kazini’s brother, Col. Jet Mwebaze, was killedin a crash on Sept. 26 of a private plane, apparently on its way to the Congo. Soon after the rescue of some of the survivors of the crash, news began to leak out that pointed to far more than a technical failure or weather problems: The pilot of the plane was found with a bullet in his head. Colonel Mwebaze was reportedly also shot before or after the plane crashed. More than $1 million in cash was found on the plane. Other passengers on the plane included Asian businessman Arif Mulfi and Israeli businessman Zeev Shif, a partner in the Eforte Corp., a company of Salim Saleh, half-brother to Dictator Museveni and Museveni’s top military adviser. Speculation was rife throughout Uganda that the plane was going to the Congo for a pick-up of gold in areas under the occupation of Ugandan troops. Corroboration of this idea soon came from an unexpected source: an article appearing in the Oct. 12 issue of New Times, the semi-official newspaper of the Rwandan government, a military satellite of Museveni’s Uganda. The paper reported a “growing rift” between the Rwandan and Ugandan forces now occupying eastern portions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, blaming the tensions on a “clique” in the UPDF centered on Kazini and Salim Sateh. Titled “Saleh Reducing the UPDF to a Thieving Gang,” the article said, “When the war against [Congo President Laurent] Kabila broke out in the Congo, this clique saw it as a windfall-literally as a goldmine . .
.. The clique now wreaking havoc in the Congo includes Maj. Gen. Salim Saleh, Brigadier Kazini, Colonel Kerim, Major Ikondere, and the late Lt. Col. Jet Mwebaze. The list reads like a who’s who of the UPDF’s top convicts.” The article charged, “A brave and personable officer, Colonel Mwebaze died on a gold mission in the company of elements of a murky international gold- and money-laundering syndicate, heading for the part of the Congo under the control of his own brother, Brigadier Kazini, in the service of General Salim Saleh, the overall warlord.” The article was written by a Rwandan veteran of both the Rwandan Patriotic Army and Museveni’s National Resistance Army. The article further excoriated Salim Saleh for his involvement in privatization in Uganda, saying that he took a $1.5- million commission on a recent purchase of defective army helicopters. The paper prompted a visit to Kigali, Rwanda from Salim Saleh, and a trip to Kampala, Uganda to meet Museveni by Rwandan Defense Minister Paul Kagame. Salim Sateh admitted to the press that he was retrieving business operations lost with Kabila: “I used to have business with Kabila, but that is now lost,” Salim told New Vision. He also said that the Israeli businessman on Jet’s plane was in the gold business for him. He also attacked the Rwandans for “washing the dirty linen in public,” but said that the rift had been heated. “We have now established a new code of conduct for smooth running of our operations.” Salim Saleh has also come under scrutiny from the Ugandan Parliament for allegations that he is the hidden buyer of the Ugandan Commercial Bank, which is being privatized by the government. Before taking charge of the invasion of the Congo, Brigadier Kazini was commander of the fourth division of the UPDF, and in charge of operations in the north against the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army and in support of the Sudanese 56. As the mystery surrounding Mwebeze’s death was still swirling around, an article appeared in the Ugandan opposition newspaper, which quoted an unnamed official of the SPLA complaining that Jet had also been in charge of a company that was fleecing southern Sudan of its resources of gold and timber. “Jet was the managing director of the New Sudan Trading Corporation (NSTC), which was the company formed by the SPLA to help in facilitating trade in areas under its control,” the SPLA official said. He charged that the company was in fact dominated by Ugandan army officers, government ministers, and businessmen. The SPLA official said that in return for their share in the company, the Ugandan government permitted the SPLA to have free rein in northern Uganda to recruit guerrillas and to conduct private businesses, especially trade in cattle. The looting of southern Sudan and eastern Congo by the Ugandan military clique led by Museveni proceeds despite the fact that Uganda is being aided by outside sources as well. In hearings on July 29, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice, an enthusiastic supporter of Museveni, reported that the United States provided Uganda with $3.85 million in military equipment last year, and will likely do so again in 1998, in addition to an International Military Education and Training Program. Under questioning, she admitted that the Ugandan military had “a lot of problems” of corruption and lack of discipline, which the government is not dealing with successfully. The privatized looting is also evidently required despite a 26% increase in the Ugandan military budget announced for the 1998-99 budget by Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development Gerald Sendaula-an increase which has caused protest among parliamentarians who represent Uganda’s service-starved people. But Museveni was defended in this action by no less than the World Bank representative in Kampala, Randolph Harris, who proclaimed that the “security threats” to Uganda cannot be ignored. Money to feed the war effort continues to roll in. The International Monetary Fund announced on Nov. 11 that it will hand over a $46 million loan to support Uganda’s 1998-99 “economic program.” It is the conjecture of Ugandans that most of this money, including a recent grant from the British government of ?67 million, will be siphoned off to pay for Museveni’s military operations in the region, wars which the Ugandan people do not support. An additional question is: How much of a slice do Museveni and his relatives, including Salim Saleh, Kazini, and others who now dominate the Ugandan Armed Forces, get from the booty-grabbing and other money flows? No matter what the size of the slice, however, the British Commonwealth extraction companies that follow in the wake of the military triumphs of Museveni’s mercenary army, will take the biggest share of all.
Posted by: by Linda de Hoyos | Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Saleh’s wife sued Tuesday, 15 February 2005 A religious organization, Uganda Brothers Christian Instruction and two others have filed a suit against Jovia Saleh seeking cancellation of a land title. The plaintiffs through Bamwite Kakubo and Company advocates allege that Akandwanaho wife to Major General Salim Saleh fraudulently obtained the land title “ Nabigirwa Swamp”. They allege that they are the rightful owners of the land, which they purchased from one Petro Lukonge in 1976. The group says they had developed the land by growing crops as well as construction of buildings for their residence. They allege that Jovia came with a fake land title and started construction of a building after destroying their crops. They pray court to restrain her from taking over the land as well as stopping her construction.
Posted by: By Gertrude Nampewo | Tuesday, February 15, 2005.

Congo-Kinshasa: Army Advances in 4th Day of Battle

From: Judy Miriga

Good People!

UN DRC Congo combined Army must keep on the good work of surging forward aggressively. This is the only hope for the dying souls of Congolese people………

For the sake of Human Rights, M23 must be driven out of DRC Congo into Rwanda once and for all. That is where they belong.

The stealing of DRC Congo Wealth and Resources to Rwanda must be put to a stop. Kagame and Museveni are not entitled to genocidely damage peace with Rights in the Great Lakes and get away with it. They must ultimately face the consequences of the same, since, time and again they refused to heed all round advice given to them and instead remained adamant and stubborn.

If this unilateral momentum is maintain for a little longer, very soon peace and stability for DRC Congo is guaranteed………and we all shall say, Halelluia, God is great, he heard our prayers……….!!!

Cheers !!!

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

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Voice of America (Washington, DC)

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Congo-Kinshasa: Army Advances in 4th Day of Battle

By Nick Long, 17 July 2013

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The Democratic Republic of Congo’s army has continued advancing in a fourth day of fighting against M23 rebels near the eastern city of Goma.

The scene is a government army position at mid-afternoon Wednesday, just after the M23 had started targeting some nearby tanks.

“You men get forward,” the sergeant is shouting. “Where are you retreating for? Get in front of the tanks.”

For a moment, there was a brief panic as mortar bombs started falling, causing some casualties in a commando platoon.

“Take that man and get him out of here,” an officer shouts, pointing to a soldier who has just been hit.

But the incoming fire seemed to be heavily outweighed by the army’s outgoing fire with tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships that pounded the rebel positions.

After an hour or more of shelling on both sides, the commandos moved forward following the tanks.

An intelligence officer said the unit had advanced 300 meters by mid-afternoon. That rate of progress may speed up if, as United Nations sources report, the rebels are running low on ammunition.

The M23 is outmanned as well as outgunned, having only around 2,000 combatants, against an army that on paper numbers 100,000. Although the army faces many other armed groups, few of them support M23.

A civilian, Jules Akili, who traveled through the M23 zone on Wednesday before crossing over to the government side, told VOA he saw hardly any M23 soldiers.

He says he traveled from Rutshuru Centre a distance of about 40 kilometers, and saw only five M23 soldiers along the route, which was guarded by M23 police.

The Congolese army’s recent successes have prompted euphoric scenes in Goma, with civilians waving leafy branches staging victory runs on the outskirts of town.

Tens of thousands of people displaced by fighting who are living in camps around Goma are hoping the army can defeat all the rebels so they can return to their homes.

Women at a displaced peoples camp say they would be very happy to see their villages liberated from the rebels, and are hopeful the army can do it.

A Congolese journalist told VOA five government soldiers were badly wounded on Wednesday, and a local journalist also was hurt.

On Tuesday, the government said 120 rebels had been killed in the fighting since Sunday, a claim that could not be independently verified

A United Nations source Wednesday evening said the army had pushed back an M23 counter attack and was still advancing.

Nick Long sent this report from the front line, 12 kilometers north of Goma.

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com

Kagame Hits Back on Kikwete’s call to negotiate

From: Judy Miriga

Good People!

FDLR controls 50 percent of the South Kivu Province but they are a mixture of both Hutu, Tutsi and Congo Rebel groups. M23 is predominantly Tutsi of the Kagame tribal group which is why, Kagame gives its full financial support and protection for Kagame’s benefit looting from Congo. Kagame is the aggressor terrorizing and killing innocent Congolese and driving them our of their land for Tutsi to occupy Congolese land, for which he has created a government within another government inside the DRC Congo for his benefit.

Kagame made M23 to be a strong voice demanding what does not belong to them in Congo.

From intelligence observation, M23 is working with FDLR to benefit Kagame. He has made it a smart business to loot from DRC Congo. This is why Kikwete requested him to talk with FDLR and stop Congolese massacre. If they are able to talk when it is business, why should they not talk when Human Rights demands, after-all, both Ribel group were created by Kagame and Museveni. Kagame created this group was fighting the Habyarimana regime, in 1980s and this part cannot be ignored. Killing Congolese children and women is not justifiable matter. Kagame must be forced to eat a humble pie……..

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com

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Rwanda, Zambia agree on refugee repatriation

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Zambia agree on refugee repatriation

Rwandan refugees registering upon arrival

Rwanda and Zambia have agreed on a comprehensive strategy for former Rwandan refugees living in Zambia.

In a joint communiqué signed on Friday night following a bilateral meeting by the two governments held in Lusaka last week, the two countries reiterated the call for the two countries to establish diplomatic missions in their respective capitals for enhanced bilateral cooperation.

The Zambian delegation was led by Minister of Home Affairs Edgar Lungu while the Rwandan team was headed by that country’s Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs Seraphine Mukantabana.

These deliberations come as a follow-up to the regional assessment meeting of the global strategy on the search for durable solutions for former refugees, that was held in April in South Africa.

They also come following the effect of the cessation clause for Rwandan refugees that took effect on June 30.

The two delegations agreed that voluntary repatriation will remain open and efforts to encourage it will continue.

It was also agreed that former Rwandan refugees who wish to stay in Zambia will be facilitated by the Rwandan government in collaboration with the Zambian government.

“This is in order to facilitate processing and issuance of immigration permits in Zambia. The criteria and procedures for the eligibility to local integration will be set and published by the Zambian government,” reads the joint communiqué in part.

The communiqué further states that passport application forms for former Rwandan refugees shall be made available in Zambia through the office of the Commissioner for Refugees (COR) as the focal point for the process in Zambia.

While the focal point in Rwanda will be the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration. Additionally, the two governments also agreed that the said forms shall be available online for downloading and submission to COR.

Since the coming into effect cessation clause, hundreds of Rwandan returnees from regional neighbours have been streaming into the country on a daily basis.

According to MIDIMAR, intense registration program is under way to provide passports for tens of thousands of Rwandans who lost refugee status on June 30 as a result of the UN cessation clause, but prefer to stay in the host countries.

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Stop Paul Kagame From Destroying Rwandan and Congolese Lives

Sign

The Petition

Paul Kagame visits Said Business School at Oxford University on 18/05/13.

We the undersigned hereby affirm that continued support to the Rwandan president Paul Kagame and his country by British institutions and government are irreversibly destroying the lives of millions of Rwandans and Congolese. This sounds contrary to the Western media coverage of the politics of region and for particular reasons.

Since July 4th, 1994, when Paul Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front took power in Kigali after the genocide, they invested heavily and continue to do so in lobbying influential personalities such as Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and American investor Howard B. Buffet to portray his regime as a model of development in Africa.

But it is not rightly weighted how undemocratically his regime operates. On August 9th, 2010 the Rwandan president scored 93.4% of the votes in staged presidential elections. And this happened after assassination of politicians and journalists and imprisoning others. His regime took its criminal activities in foreign countries: United Kingdom, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa.

The reality is that the Rwandan government has put in place policies of killing imprisoning, and oppressing its citizens at levels never experienced in the country’s history. The claimed and drummed about development concerns only Kigali the capital and benefits less than 10% of the population. Instead the Rwandan president criminal activities have not stopped within national boundaries of his country. Since 1996 he waged wars in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the United States Geographic Survey, Rwanda produced more than 25% of the world’s coltan in 2011 more than what their coltan deposits should be able to provide. Rwandan coltan mining relied on mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some of which are in conflict areas and others not.

More than 6 millions of Congolese lives have been lost and five hundreds thousands of women girls and even men raped by militia and military groups he has been funding to help him plunder the country’s enormous mineral resources. The last of these groups is the rebel movement M23 operating in Eastern Congo and whose the ICC indicted General Bosco Ntaganda was part of.

On May 18th, 2013 the Rwandan President Paul Kagame is invited as a guest speaker at the Said Business School – University of Oxford. This might not be his last visit in the United Kingdom if the British members of parliament continue to be blind at the crimes he has been accused of by many UN reports and renowned human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, both in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Being at the side of the victims of the Rwandan dictator is what the undersigned would normally expect from institutions that claim universally to advocate for democracy, human rights, justice and development.

For the UK government and institutions to persist in being blind at the never ending crimes that President Paul Kagame is committing in DRC and indescribable suffering he causes to millions of his citizens would confirm complicity, which would look as criminal too.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-paul-kagame-from-destroying-rwandan-and/

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Africa will not fold its arms amid terrorism: Kagame
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Africa will not fold its arms amid terrorism

There are numerous Rwandan troops keeping peace around the World

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame stated in a press conference last month that terrorism is spreading within African continent and it is not advisable to continue folding arms despite such a threat.

Many people across the globe wonder why Rwanda continues to be a model in terms of peace keeping missions in different parts of the planet.

The same question will always be asked as long as the world does not yet understand the way Rwandans treat the security issues, especially with the fact that Rwanda as a nation was hurt by genocide and experienced horrifying human rights violence.

What makes Rwanda an outstanding peace keeper?

Discipline and determination are key qualities that are keeping Rwanda’s image on a high scale, and that goes down in the troops’ minds from the high commanding system. Rwanda is now praised all over the world for the role it plays in securing post-conflict regions and making an impact on the populations welfare in delivering vital services to them.

That goes round with top Rwandan militaries nominations by international organizations to head those missions. The recent nomination was when Maj. Gen Jean Bosco Kazura was appointed by the UN Secretary General to lead MINUSMA (Mali) which is the third largest UN mission with 12,000 soldiers.

Nevertheless, the Rwandans nominations cannot serve if the inside authorities don’t believe in their men and/or if they are not determined to facilitate them. The appointment of Gen. Kazura comes while another Rwandan Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba had finished his term as head of United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

President of Rwanda Paul Kagame is committed to help Rwandan military to be professional and useful not only in the country but also all over the world, one of many remarkable and developmental issues he deals with for Rwandans and their country.

Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, says General Kazura was appointed Force Commander of MINUSMA, “first, because of his personal competence and experience” and secondly “because of the role Rwanda has played in peacekeeping operations for the last nine years, particularly in Darfur.”

If Rwanda would not have done what was done in Darfur, Haiti, and Liberia or if Kazura would have been well facilitated to acquire professionalism and military knowledge, we would have been writing another story.

Can Rwanda send troops in Mali?

The mission led by Gen Kazura will undoubtedly play a key role in Mali’s presidential polls scheduled for July 28. This means the security has to be priority and given the terrorist groups’ experience in the region, the battle might not be easy.

One of the challenge the new Commander would face is the fact Rwanda did not deploy soldiers in Mali and that would be difficult to command the troops you have never been with before. The question repeats: is Rwanda ready to deploy in Mali?

According to the President Kagame’s words it is possible that Rwandan peacekeepers may also be deployed in the near future. In a news conference last month, President Kagame acknowledged that “There is a possibility of sending troops to Mali.” And a request had already been made, he said.

“Africa cannot, and should not, fold its arms when terrorist and criminal groups are occupying over half the territory of a Member State, carrying out the most atrocious crimes against innocent civilians and destroying monuments that are of great significance to Africa’s heritage and civilization.” Kagame stressed

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Rwandan exiles warned of assassination threat by London police

Two dissidents living in London told that Rwandan government poses imminent risk to their lives

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Haroon Siddique
The Guardian, Friday 20 May 2011 06.38 EDT
Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame
Rwandan exiles warned about threats to their lives may have been targeted because of criticisms made of President Paul Kagame (above). Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
The Metropolitan police have warned two Rwandan exiles living in London that they face an “imminent threat” of assassination at the hands of the Rwandan government.

The dissidents received letters within hours of one another which advised them to take extra steps to increase their safety and raised the possibility of them leaving the country, the Times reported.

“Reliable intelligence states that the Rwandan government poses an imminent threat to your life,” the warning letters read. “The threat could come in any form. You should be aware of other high-profile cases where action such as this has been conducted in the past. Conventional and unconventional means have been used.”

One of the men, Rene Mugenzi, 35, stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate for Greenwich council, in south-east London, and now runs a social enterprise which aims to help disadvantaged communities. He may have been targeted because of comments he made about the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, in March when asked on a BBC programme about the prospect of the Arab spring uprisings spreading to his homeland. He replied that criticisms of Kagame suggested that he was “a despot who doesn’t tolerate any form of opposition; that under his leadership, Rwanda has become a dangerous place for those who publicly disagree with him or his ruling party”.

Mugenzi told the Independent: “How can it be that in Britain, a foreign government can be allowed to threaten the life of a person? Every time I go outside, I am looking over my shoulder, wondering if there is an assassin around the corner.”

The other recipient of the warning letter was Jonathan Musonera, a former officer in the army of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front. He is one of several exiled military officers behind the founding of the Rwanda National Congress, a new political party that earlier this month called on the Rwandan president to stand down “if he cannot stop killing, jailing and exiling innocent citizens”. The group recently held a meeting in London. Musonera told the Independent he was “terribly scared. We know what the Rwandan government can do.”

A Rwandan suspected of being part of the assassination threat was stopped at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone, Kent, last week, according to the Times. It said the man, a naturalised Belgian aged 43, left after being questioned by police.

Western governments have praised Kagame for his efforts in transforming Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, with Britain committing £83m a year until 2015 to help rebuild the country. But political violence and suppression in Rwanda have shaken faith in Kagame.

Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, another founder member of the Rwanda National Congress and former head of Rwandan intelligence, was the subject of a failed assassination attempt in South Africa in June, last year.

The Independent reported last month that MI5 had warned the Rwandan high commissioner to London, who attended the royal wedding, to halt an alleged campaign of harassment against critics of Kagame living in the UK or face a cut in British aid.

A Rwandan government spokesman said the allegations contained within the warning letters were “without foundation. The government of Rwanda does not threaten the lives of its citizens, wherever they live,” he said. “The Metropolitan police have not approached us with evidence of these allegations but we are ready as always to work with them to ensure that nobody, be they Rwandan or not, is the victim of violence on British soil.”

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Kagame speaks out on Kikwete’s call for negotiations with FDLR rebels

Rwanda President Paul Kagame. Photo/File

Rwanda President Paul Kagame. Photo/File

By EMMANUEL RUTAYISIRE, Special Correspondent

Posted Monday, June 10 2013 at 18:32
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has described calls for the country to negotiate with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) as “utter nonsense.”
(Read: Unease in Kigali over Kikwete’s call for talks with FDLR)

Speaking on Monday at the Rwanda Military Academy (Nyakinama) in the northern part of the country where he was attending a graduation ceremony of 45 officers, President Kagame said:

“I kept quiet about this because of the contempt I have for it. I thought it was utter nonsense. Maybe it was due to ignorance but if this is an ideological problem for anyone to be thinking this way, then it better stay with those who have it.

“We will have another time to deal with this. As Rwandans, being who we are, achieving what we want to achieve for ourselves is not a myth, its real”.

The call to talk to FDLR was made by Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete at a meeting of Heads of State from the Great Lakes Region in Addis Ababa, on the sidelines of last month’s African Union Summit in Ethiopia.

Kikwete’s remarks have soured the already shaky relations between the two neighbouring countries with foreign affairs ministers from both countries issuing statements.

(Read: Dar-Kigali spat a serious matter)

Kikwete had suggested that Rwanda should consider direct talks with the FDLR rebels since the military option didn’t seem to be working.

President Kikwete also urged Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni to talk to the Allied Democratic Forces and the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda, as well as asking DR Congo’s President Joseph Kabila to talk to the M23 rebels and other forces operating in eastern Congo.

This is the first time President Kagame is personally responding to President Kikwete’s remarks even though both presidents attended the Addis Ababa meeting.

(Read: Rwanda can’t talk to FDLR; they’re stone cold killers)

Tanzania has said it is not going to apologise to Kigali over the statements.

The remarks have triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries although observers say it is a pointer to the fact that despite the cordial relationships, Presidents Kagame and Kikwete have never been friends.

The FDLR is a sensitive issue in Kigali because of the former’s role in the 1994 genocide as well as its continued security threat to Rwanda. The militia draws most of its members from the genocidaires who participated in the 1994 mass killings.

Kagame publicly threatening to hit President Kikwete.

4 juillet 2013

Amakuru

Kagame publicly threatening to hit President Kikwete. jeannet-300×200
She has reason to be worried

It is remarkable that the Rwandan president’s own wife has already understood the dangers of criminalizing a whole population group. In her own speech in the same event, she emphasized that criminal responsibility was individual and “every knee will have to kneel for itself”.

It has almost become a tradition in his improvised speeches to hear Rwandan president Paul Kagame spit his anger and express his contempt for Western donors and other foreigner s who do not share his peculiar ideas about governance and political freedom. He does not miss any opportunity to slam what he calls their attempts to give him lessons, while he has no lesson to receive from anybody. We have heard many insults and derogatory words, but an outright threat to “hit” the president of a sovereign neighbouring nation, this is something even those who know him for a long period would not easily had predicted. On Sunday June 30, in a speech to the “youth connect” meeting convened by the Ministry of Youth together with his wife’s own Imbuto foundation, Paul Kagame threatened Tanzanian President Kikwete in unmistakable terms that he will wait for him at the right place and hit him, in response to the latter’s suggestion that Kagame initiate talks with the armed Hutu opposition FDLR.

“And those whom you recently heard speaking for the Interahamwe and FDLR, saying that we should negotiate with them. Negotiate with them? As for me, I do not even argue about this issue because I will wait for you at the right place and I will hit you!! I really did not… I didn’t even reply to him, I never arg… uh… it is known, there is a line you can’t cross. There is a line, there is a line that should never be crossed. Not once. It’s impossible!!…”

From these words pronounced partly in his hallmark unstructured Kinyarwanda mixed with English, Kagame made clear that he is still deeply angered by the mere suggestion to engage in talks with political opponents. That is why he vowed to wait for the right opportunity to strike back at Tanzanian President. It is unheard of in world diplomacy, to see a head of state threatening to hit another head of state of a sovereign nation in time of peace.

This threat should be taken seriously. Kagame has already proven in the past that he is able to strike his adversaries and silence them. Whether fellow presidents or his own (former) trusted collaborators, his prowess in murdering those he thinks are his enemies would not shy from a comparison with L. Sulla’s famous bragging. Melchior Ndadaye, Juvénal Habyarimana, Cyprien Ntaryamira, Laurent-Desiré Kabila are all heads of states in whose assassination he has allegedly had a hand. Théoneste Lizinde and Seth Sendashonga, are former collaborators eliminated in covert operations from afar. The last known feat in this series is the failed assassination of his former army chief of staff Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who survived a shooting in Johannesburg, South Africa. The lesser known cases of eliminated military officers who had knowledge of damaging secrets of his cruelty or could become rivals for power in the military, is no less impressive.

The grudge against Kikwete has other sources as well. Kagame’s big ego does not suffer being second to anybody. Being overshadowed by Kikwete as the most visible leader in the region is an additional source of personal resentment towards the charismatic Tanzanian President who, in less than a year, has been honoured by the official visits of the presidents of the two most powerful nations in the world. The recent attempt by Kagame, Museveni and Uhuru Kenyatta to bypass Kikwete and meet in Entebbe without him underscores a rampant feeling of discomfort at the growing strategic importance of Tanzania in the region.

Tanzania’s resolve to play its full role in restoring peace in the region has borne him many enemies among the neighbours who most benefit from the chaos they have helped perpetuate in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Uganda and Rwanda will namely be the losers if peace returns in the region because violence has long been their cover and their opportunity to loot Congolese resources. But whether they like it or not, Kagame and Kaguta will have to understand that time for peace has now come.

Kagame doesn’t seem to notice the changing circumstances however. In his self-righteousness, he said in the same speech that he was the paramount example of tolerance because he accepts to live in the same country with an ethnical group of genocidaires. He said that allowing Hutus to stay alive is the biggest political space he could think of, anywhere in the world. He urged the Hutus, even those who were not born at the time of the mass slaughters of 1994 to repent and ask forgiveness on behalf of their ethnical group (Suddenly. There are ethnical groups in Rwanda again!). He made them understand that they owed their lives to him because his soldiers would have slaughtered the entire Hutu population that he characterizes as a genocidaire ethnical group, was it not for his magnanimity that forced him to stop the RPA soldiers. In return for RPF soldiers not slaughtering all Hutus, he urges them to bear the burden of perpetual guilt, because, according to him, crimes were committed on their behalf.

It is remarkable that the Rwandan president’s own wife has already understood the dangers of criminalizing a whole population group. In her own speech in the same event, she emphasized that criminal responsibility was individual and “every knee will have to kneel for itself”. She underlined the importance of liberating the youth from the burden of event in which they did not take part. When Kagame’s own wife starts signaling that she has understood the dangers of his principal political principle (criminalizing all Hutus), the peace in the region can’t continue to be held up by just one individual.

This is what Tanzania has understood much earlier. But Kikwete also knows that those who sow chaos in order to harvest in violence will not easily give up their booty. By accepting to step in, to make his voice for peace heard, Tanzanian President Kikwete knew there was a price. It is now up to the entire population of the region (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and obviously Tanzania) to step in and stand with President Kikwete, ensure his protection and denounce any attempt to threaten his physical integrity.

Dr Alexis Habiyaremye
http://www.editions-sources-du-nil.com/article-kagame-publicly-threatening-to-hit-president-kikwete-118887725.html

ARMED CONFLICT IN THE DR CONGO PUT TANZANIA INTO A CATCH 22 POINTS AS IT IS CONFLICTING WITH DAR’S SADC MEMBERSHIP.

Writes Leo Odera Omolo

Information emerging from the Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar Es Salaam says that armed conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is likely to shift to the East African Legislative Assembly this week with the regional parliament taking Tanzania to task over its support for a new UN sanctioned peacekeeping force following the recent breakdown talks between the M23 rebels and Kinshasa government.

Tanzania currently chairs the Southern African Development Community {SADC} peace and security Council, that political pundits and analysts argue that leaning towards SADC give Dar’s conflicting obligation to the international conferee on the Great Lakes and east African community, leaves on a collision course with Uganda and Rwanda, which are vehemently opposed to troop deployment under the UN.

A Ugandan member of the East African Legislative Assembly Fred Mukasa Mbidde was last week quoted as having tabled a motion at the regional parliament asking Tanzania to support the position that “military confrontation can only escalate war”.

THe EALA member said, ”Our position is based on three facts,
One, that Uganda and Rwanda may be drawn into an unnecessary war,
Two, that Uganda and Rwanda sometimes, Tanzania always suffer the humanitarian burden,
Third, war can only lead to further proliferation of arms in the region.”

The motion at the EALA meeting which is scheduled for April 16 will also propose that SADC AND THE un Security Council resolution or an “offensive international peacekeeping force” against M23 rebels be kept in abeyance to give dialogue a chance.

The newly elected Kenyan head of state President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta will attend the EALA meeting o the first time since winning his presidential race on 4 March 2013.

However, this latest development comes as Tanzania prepares to seek parliamentary approval for its troops participation in the mission when the government tables on 3 May 2013, the Ministry o Defense and National Service budget, which its national security council has already endorsed.

Tanzania is also engaged in other UN peace keeping missions in Liberia,Sierra Leone,Ivory Coast and Sudan It has committed itself to deploying 850 troops in the DR Congo, part of UN Security Council sanctioned 2,000 –man “Intervention Brigade” approved a week ago.South Africa is another SADC member state wit economic interest in the SADC has also agreed to contribute troops, according to the Uganda EALA member Mbide.

The M23 rebels and the Kinshasa government of President Laurent Kabila have been in talks aimed at ending fighting which ha claimed many lives and displaced thousands since late last year when a section of rebels that had joined government after brokered deal opted out and resumed fighting citing marginalization.

A UN probe committee accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the M23, but Uganda was .Kampala in spite of the accusations, brokered the dialogue between the belligerents citing the talks broke two months ago following a violent split in the M23 leadership. Uganda’s Defense Minister Dr Crispus Kiyonga however, continued with the efforts to brig the belligerents back to the talking table.

The Permanent secretary in the Ugandan ‘s ministry of Foreign affairs James Mugume dismissed talks as ridiculous exercise between Uganda and Tanzania.

He said, It is entirely untrue. We are currently hosting SADC and EAC Joint Chief of Staff we are doing truck carrot we are supporting dialogue but if dialogue fails then members can resort to other means of resoling the conflicts ,he added.

Mbidde said the regional parliament {EALA} has ten a position for dialogue and Tanzania position for troop deployment is against this spiriti of dialogue

Ends

Africa & UN: Regional Leaders Sign DR Congo Peace Deal

from: octomotor

Here is an article, found on site for an investigative journalist, Wayne Madsen http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/ in World News Reviews section. It concerns peace negotiations in D.R. Congo.

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Regional Leaders Sign DR Congo Peace Deal

VOA News – February 24, 2013

SADC, ICGLR leaders sign DR Congo peace deal in Addis Ababa | Enlarge Eleven African countries have signed a peace deal aimed at ending decades of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The agreement was signed on Sunday at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The 11 signing countries are from the Great Lakes region and Southern Africa.

The Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region will likely lead to deploying an intervention brigade in the DRC.

[ . . . ]
At link, read full article.
http://news.feedzilla.com/en_all/stories/world-news/287091130?count=20&client_source=feedzilla_widget&order=relevance&format=json&sb=1

Congo rebel leader to meet presidents in Uganda

From: Judy Miriga

Folks,

Congo should not fall in the hands of Museveni. Kagame was serving Museveni’s interest. Congo should go back to the hands of Congolese people. Kabila stole elections and he has been working with Kagame and Museveni. Museveni and Kagame have Special Interest in Congo and this must not be allowed.

Mr. Ntaganda Bosco “Exterminator” Deputized Kagame to invade Rwanda aided by Museveni. Bosco “Exterminator” a Rwandese overthrew Gen Nkunda and take over the leadership of the CNDP militia.

Kabila failed to allow for fair elections, but Congo must not go to the hands of the Rwandese and Ugandan authorities. It must go back to the Congolese people themselves. Occupation must be discouraged.

Kabila, Kagame and Museveni must be charged for all these violation, crime and abuse of Human Rights at the ICC Hague.

Why should the Extaminator Bosco a Rwandese be aided by Kagame and Museveni to overtake Congo; and why did Kabila steal the election? Two wrongs do not make a right at the end of the day, Kabila against Kagame and Museveni fail to agree on their Special Interest deals, things fall apart and Kagame with Museveni use Exterminator Bosco to invade Congo, killing people, children, women and consequently driving the community away from their homes…..

Is this fair…..Handing Congo to Museveni..? Kabila, Museveni and Kagama must all go to ICC Hague…….and Museveni must stop being a bully in the Region………….

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

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Congo rebel leader to meet presidents in Uganda
By EDMUND KAGIRE and MELANIE GOUBY | Associated Press –

GOMA, Congo (AP) — The leader of a rebel group seeking to overthrow the Congolese government headed to neighboring Uganda on Thursday following a meeting between the Rwandan and Congolese presidents.

However, rebel spokesman Lt. Col. Vianney Kazarama vowed that the fighters would press forward toward seizing the strategic eastern town of Bukavu, which would mark the biggest gain in rebel territory in nearly a decade if it were to fall.

The presidents from Congo, Rwanda and Uganda who met in the Ugandan capital of Kampala already have called on the fighters to give up the territory they now control. Congolese President Joseph Kabila later said he was willing to talk with rebel representatives.

“We are not stopping at all; the determination is the same. Whatever happens in Kampala does not affect us,” Kazarama told The Associated Press, confirming that rebel leader Col. Sultani Makenga was traveling to Uganda.

The fighters from the group known as M23 are believed to be backed by neighboring Rwanda already have seized the provincial capital of Goma this week and later took the nearby town of Sake on Wednesday.

The violence has forced more than 100,000 people to flee, more than half of whom are children, according to the U.N. children’s agency.

While the rebels have vowed to overthrow President Joseph Kabila’s government, they remain some 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from the capital of Kinshasa in a country of dense jungle with few paved roads.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Congolese soldiers who had retreated from Goma days earlier were holed up in Minova, a lakeside city on the road to Bukavu.

“We are waiting for orders, but they haven’t come yet. We’re hungry and have spent five days sleeping in the bush under the rain,” said a Congolese army major who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The rebels are believed to be backed by Rwanda, and to a smaller extent by Uganda, which are accused of equipping them with sophisticated arms, including night vision goggles and 120 mm mortars.

A report released Wednesday by the U.N. Group of Experts said both Rwanda and Uganda have “cooperated to support the creation and expansion of the political branch of M23 and have consistently advocated on behalf of the rebels.”

The report’s release, just one day after the violent takeover of Goma, is sure to increase pressure on the international community to confront the two eastern African countries over their role in neighboring Congo’s conflict.

Both Rwanda and Uganda have repeatedly denied supporting the M23 movement and have faced little international criticism over the allegations.

The presidents of Rwanda and Uganda recently met with their Congolese counterpart in the Ugandan capital, where they jointly resolved to put pressure on the M23 rebels to give up territory they have captured, according to a statement released at the end of the emergency talks.

The three presidents said in a joint statement released at the end of their talks in Kampala that they resolved to force M23 rebels to give up Goma and make a retreat.

“Even if there are legitimate grievances by the mutineering group known as M23, (the presidents) cannot accept the expansion of this war or entertain the idea of overthrowing the legitimate government of (Congo) or undermining its authority,” the presidents’ statement said.

Goma was last threatened by rebels in 2008 when fighters from the now-defunct National Congress for the Defense of the People, or CNDP, stopped just short of the city.

Their backs to the wall, the Congolese government agreed to enter into talks with the CNDP and a year later, on March 23, 2009, a peace deal was negotiated calling for the CNDP to put down their arms in return for being integrated into the national army.

The peace deal fell apart this April, when up to 700 soldiers, most of them ex-CNDP members, defected from the army, claiming that the Congolese government had failed to uphold their end of the deal. Like in 2008, they again advanced toward Goma. This time, the city fell and the disastrous consequences for the population were already on display.

21 November 2012 Last updated at 00:32 ET

DR Congo Seeks Democracy

The UN’s failure to confront insurgents who seized a strategic city in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday has raised questions about its largest and costliest peacekeeping mission.

The blue helmets gave up the battle for Goma in the eastern part of the country without firing a shot, standing aside as M23 rebels – widely believed to be backed by Rwanda – overran the frontier city of up to one million people.

For the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, it was “absurd” that the UN troops had allowed the rebels to parade past them. He urged that the mandate of the more than 17,000-strong force be reviewed.

The DR Congo peacekeepers – known by their acronym Monusco – are authorised to use force to protect civilians and support Congolese army operations against rebel groups and militias competing for control of mineral wealth in the lawless east of the country.

They have been criticised before for failing to respond adequately to atrocities against civilians committed by the rebels, notably a mass rape near one of their bases in 2010.

In their defence the UN emphasises that despite the relatively large size of the mission, troops are spread thinly over a vast and difficult terrain – 6,700 are deployed in North Kivu province where Goma is located, 1,500 in the city itself.

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Gender Violence in Conflict: Democratic Republic of Congo must protect Dr. Denis Mukwege after violent attack

From: News Release – African Press Organization (APO)

PRESS RELEASE

Gender Violence in Conflict: Democratic Republic of Congo must protect Dr. Denis Mukwege after violent attack

Dr. Mukwege is a founding member of the Advisory Committee of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict

KINSHASA, Dem. Rep. of Congo (DRC) October 27, 2012/ — The International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict (http://www.stoprapeinconflict.org) urgently calls on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect Doctor Denis Mukwege after a violent attack and assassination attempt at his home in Bukavu.

[image]Photo Doctor Denis Mukwege: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/denis-mukwege.jpg ; Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/verticallogo_english.jpg

Dr. Mukwege is a world-renowned surgeon and director of Panzi Hospital in Eastern Congo’s South Kivu province. The clinic has treated over 30,000 survivors of sexual violence.

Campaign member Physicians for Human Rights, reported that earlier today four armed men entered Dr. Mukwege’s home in his absence and held several family members at gunpoint. Upon his arrival, they forced him out of his car, shooting and killing a security guard who tried to intervene. Dr. Mukwege ducked when the armed men fired shots towards him, before driving off in his car, which was found abandoned soon after.

Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee said, “Dr. Mukwege embodies the strength of Congolese women who never relent in the face of such senseless violence. I join the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict, and others, in calling for the Democratic Republic of Congo to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice.”

The Campaign sends its condolences to the family of Joseph Bizmana, the guard killed in the attack. We fear for the safety and well being of Dr. Denis Mukwege and his family. Moreover, we are alarmed that the attempt on his life has a possible link to activities that Dr. Mukwege undertook in support of advocacy for the Campaign in September at the United Nations, spotlighting the increasing rape and gender violence in Eastern Congo.

At an event co-hosted by the Campaign and attended by government and UN officials as well as Nobel Peace Laureates Leymah Gbowee and Jody Williams, Dr. Mukwege stated, “This year I am once again operating on women whose genitals were destroyed by rape and other atrocities. There are many women who are barely getting by, and rape is continuing. The rainy season is coming soon in North Kivu and the vulnerability of women is increasing.” He ended by calling for “urgent action to arrest those responsible for these crimes against humanity and to bring them to justice.”

Jody Williams noted, “Instead of heeding his call, the response was a violent act of cowardice by those who fear his truths.”

Dr. Mukwege is a founding member of the Advisory Committee of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict, which launched earlier this year to coordinate action to highlight the widespread rates of gender violence around the world.

Susannah Sirkin, Deputy Director at Physicians for Human Rights said, “Thousands of Congolese women and girls put at risk following incidents of sexual violence have depended on Dr. Mukwege for their lives and well-being.” Physicians for Human Rights has recently conducted a training workshop at Panzi Hospital, where it has an office.

“The attempted assassination of Dr. Mukwege and the murdering of his security guard once again highlights how deadly serious the situation is in Eastern Congo. One of the great men of the world was almost murdered tonight. We cannot let this continue,” stated V-Day Founder/playwright and Campaign member Eve Ensler.

The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict calls on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to take immediate steps to protect Dr. Mukwege and his family, and on the international community to speak out in solidarity of our extraordinary ally.

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict.

Media contact:

Zuzia Danielski

Communications Consultant,

The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict

zdanielski@stoprapeinconflict.org

+1-613-263-0661

Liz Bernstein

Executive Director

Nobel Women’s Initiative (Campaign member)

lbernstein@nobelwomensinitiative.org

+1-613-262-1969

http://www.stoprapeinconflict.org

The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict is led by the Nobel Peace Laureates of the Nobel Women’s Initiative and an Advisory Committee comprised of 25 organizations working at the international, regional and community levels to stop rape.

Since its launch in May 2012, more than 600 organizations from around the world have joined. The Campaign demands urgent and bold political leadership to prevent rape in conflict, to protect civilians and rape survivors, and calls for justice for all—including effective prosecution of those responsible. http://www.stoprapeinconflict.org