1. The Intervention Brigade: The Security Council calls for the creation of a special force of three infantry battalions, in addition to artillery, special forces and reconnaissance companies to be based in Goma. They are supposed to carry out offensive operations against all armed groups to neutralize and disarm them. This is heady language for the United Nations––it is a radical new way of interpreting the protection of civilians, from a purely reactive to an aggressive, preventative stance.
It remains to be seen whether the countries contributing to this force––probably South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe––will take on these risky operations, and which groups are given priority. My guess is that the M23 and FDLR will be in the line of fire, but the UN has to decide on whether it will allow the stagnant peace talks in Kampala to run their course before launching operations.
2. The Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework (PSC): The Framework Agreement signed on 24 February 2013 creates the blueprint for a new peace process with a national and regional dimension––an end to cross-border meddling, and a new push to reform Congolese institutions.
This Security Council resolution creates a bifurcated structure, with the new UN Special Envoy Mary Robinson taking the lead on the regional process, and the head of MONUSCO (Roger Meece is due to step down in June) piloting the national side. This has raised some eyebrows. While the SRSG and the UNSE are supposed to collaborate, each reports to a different hierarchy: the SRSG to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and the UNSE to the Department of Political Affairs. In other words, there are two different chains of command dealing with separate parts of the Framework Agreement.
A first test for the UN Special Envoy will be coming up with concrete benchmarks and follow-up measures to make the Framework Agreement a reality and to give it teeth.
3. The Council is pushing for greater involvement for MONUSCO in Congolese state reform. Wary of concerns over sovereignty, the formulation adopted by the Council is: "Provide good offices, advice and support to the Government of the DRC"for a variety of issues, including:
- a comprehensive demobilization program for Congolese and foreign armed groups;
- reform of the army, with a priority on creating a Rapid Reaction Force that should eventually take over from the UN Intervention Brigade;
- reform of the police and (with UNDP) of the justice sector;
- build on the STAREC and ISSS policies to stabilize the eastern Congo.
This is ambitious, to say the least. Let's see how the SRSG engages with the Congolese government on these different issues.
A lot of good ideas in a Country which is not short of initiatives. Key will be establishing clear milestones and holding people accountable.
ReplyDeleteYeah!! Lets add more soldiers to the mix. Lets kill more people to teach people not to kill people! That'll work!!
ReplyDeleteIt will be very important for this forces to concentrate all operations alongside the Rwandan boarder. Stopping the Rwandan Army's endless violation of the DRC's territorial integrity will be key to bringing peace to this region .without the RPF 's help,most rebel or armed groupes operating in the that region are weak and they can be neutralized in weeks or days .the m23 was on the run and cornerd in the Virunga until their leader James Kabarebe sent in reanforcement (RPF) from KIGALI to capture Goma,Bunagana ,Ruchuru....under the guise of m23. The Rwanda army is the major trouble maker in the region and stopping them from crossing into the DRC and cutting all their supply chain by concentrating surveillance including drones alongside the Rwandan boarder,reinforcing financial sanctions on the Kagame regime will be key to bringing an end to the great lakes carnage.
ReplyDeleteFARDC has a standing army of more than 140,000. Monusco has another 16,000 plus force in the Kivus. If these forces have not solved the problem - why would an additional force of 3.000 make a big difference?
ReplyDeleteThe tendency to boil down all issues by invoking Rwanda as the bogey man is incoherent. Just as important an element of the current crisis is the blatant ineffectiveness of the Congolese army. Corruption, delinquency and a complete lack of professionalism that allows poorly armed and trained rebels to defeat a government army of thousands of troops trained by several countries, including the US despite the support of an 18,000 member UN force.
A radical solution is needed. Maybe all armed groups including (FARDC) should vacate the Kivus & leave only MONUSCO. That way, even the Rwandophones who fear (I think rightly so) oppression at the hands of FARDC & other groups will feel safer. Why not?
Here we go again....corrupt and chaotic Congolese central government/army that cannot protect the Rwandaphones from "real" Congolese genocidal tendencies, ineffective MONUSCO. Let me challenge some of your assertions
ReplyDelete1.Rwanda and its proxies have occupied the Kivus for almost 20 years without solving any of the security concerns of the Rwandaphones
2. Rwanda violent meddling in Congolese internal affairs is beyond doubt
3. Congo has been a corrupt place for decades but never experienced this level of widespread and senseless violence
4. FARDC, however weak and corrupt, is the legitimate army of the Congo. Why should they abandon a part of their territory...only you have the answer to this
4. You seem to contradict yourself: why leave only MONUSCO in the Kivus if they have unable to protect Rwandaphones
5. You use the term "Rwnadaphones" when you actually mean Tutsis....by the way, it is a Rwandaphone ( B Ntaganda) who has been one of the worst perpetrators of violence against Kivutians of all ethnic origins.
My comments are directed at Dark Eldar
ReplyDeleteJason,
ReplyDeleteDo you know whether any independent military experts have opined on this proposed force? I'd be interested to hear whether they think the troops proposed for the mission are sufficient to accomplish the goals the UNSC has set for it.
Pax,
D
@David Aronson,
ReplyDeleteit will actually be interesting if Jason adds opinions from military experts in his observations. The kivus alone are four times Rwanda's territory. Defeating a stationary force will be fairly easy but keeping security won't be with 3,000 troops. We need congolese boots on the ground to occupy those vacant territories otherwise something else will replace the void.
Another thing is that as long unemployment is high due to, among other, the ban on mineral exploitation, unemployed youth will be an easy target for recruitment in militias. #justSaying
I totally agree with Patrick Flombea .the DRC has 12 provinces and shares boaders with 9 other Countries but there's only trouble around the Rwandan Boader.all war Criminals (LAUREN NKUNDA,JULES MUTEBUSI,BOSCO NTAGANDA,MAKENGA,KAZARAMA,RUNIGA....) are Rwandan citizens or so called Rwandophones.most of those criminals are former RPF officers. The FARDC are present and keeping the peace in all 12 provinces except North and South KIVU where they are constantly being Challenged by the Rwandan army and their proxies .all provinces under 100% control of the FARDC or the DRC government (BANDUNDU,BAS CONGO,KINDU...) are very peaceful. Mass rapes or sexual violence only happen in regions that boaders Rwanda or under the Control of Rwandophones integrated FARDC troupes or rebel movements with strong ties to Rwanda.(CNDP ,M23,RCD...)this has been the trend throughout this conflict.there's no more excuses for this negative barbaric Rwandan meddling in DRCs affairs .millions of those Rwandophone people in the KIVU have also lost their lives and million more have been displaced by the same Rwandan army or It's proxy rebel movements (RCD ,CNDP ,M23) who claim to be their protectors.stopping Rwandan meddling is the only solution. You couldn't bring peace to Sierra Leone without stopping Charles Taylor and his liberian supported rebel movements from meddling in that Country's internal affairs.they also can't be peace in the DRC or Central Africa region until Rwandas PAUL KAGAME and JAMES KABAREBE are stopped from meddling in the DRC's internal affairs .
ReplyDelete@Congoman & Patrick,
ReplyDeleteThe roots of Interventionism in the DRC.
In late 1996, a deal between certain actors was struck. Against the backdrop of Mobutu's corrupt & faltering regime, and the creation of sanctuaries for Rwandan Hutu genocidaires in Zaire after the Rwandan genocide, a deal was made between the AFDL, Rwanda, Uganda, & one international power, "we can help you get rid of Mobutu, and take power, and you help us disperse and destroy the Hutu Interahamwe militias now in Eastern DRC."
On the Congolese side, the main actors were - a Tetela called Kisase Ngandu, a MulubaKat Marxist named Laurent Kabila, A Tusti named Deogratius Bugera, & a Bashi named Anselme Masasu Nindanga. In the ensuing days perhaps not suprisingly, a struggle ensued among the Congolese actors for control of AFDL.
In January 1997 - the favored candidate to lead AFDL - Kisase Ngandu - died under mysterious circumstances . Some allege that Mzee Kabila, his son Joseph (Cmdr. Hypollite) & Rwandan RPF Officers were to blame. Thus did Kabila finally take the ascendancy of AFDL over his rival, aided by the so-called "Tutsi Component".
Once Kabila was safely in power in Kinshasa, the “deal” began to dim as the sweet taste of power began to sate his not inconsiderable appetites. He made the mistake of thinking that Rwanda was just an annoying pimple on his face that no longer had power over him now that he was Monsieur Le President! He was dead wrong!
But to understand the forces that had brought Mzee Kabila down the long troubled road to power, one must go back to October 18, 1978.
On that day, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere made a speech to his nation. In that speech, he would make a statement that has shaped political thought in that part of Africa to this day. In reference to his impending invasion of Uganda to topple Idi Amin. Nyerere said “Sababu ya kumpiga tunayo, uwezo tunao na nia ya kumpiga tunayo.” Loosely translated "We have the means to fight him, we have the authority, and we have the will" - In the ensuing war, Tanzania received no help from other countries in the region, which denounced the invasion as a breach of national sovereignty. However, future African revolutionaries & most progressive forces saw the invasion for what it was - a just war against a brutal dictatorship. Two of those men were Museveni & Kabila both proteges of Julius Nyerere & both educated at the University of Dar-es-Salam.
Fast forward to the invasion of Rwanda by Ugandan supported RPF forces in 1990 & the subsequent overthrow of the Kigali regime after the Rwandan Genocide. Ugandan support for the Sudanese People's Liberation Army's war in the mid-90's that broke the Sudan government's back & resulted in indipendence for South Sudan, and the invasion of Zaire in 1996 by the Rwandan/Ugandan backed AFDL that overthrew Mobutu. All these, evidence of a political-military elite that did not see sovereignity as an excuse to torelate brutal regimes in neighbouring countries.
The Great Lakes political-military elite share common histories. The triple Ks (Kagame/Kabila/Kaguta) have emerged from the shared violence that has plagued the great Lakes region for the 40 odd years. We shouldn't forget tha they were a single military force in the late 90’s early 2000’s.
ReplyDeleteRegional conflicts such as the one that gave birth to the DRC, South Sudan, a new Burundi and now Somalia are all evidence of these leaders attitudes to a certain way of doing business.
The argument that the exploitation of mineral riches in the Congo is at the heart of this conflict is contrived. Uganda currently has more than 5,700 troops in Somalia doing peace-keeping, and another 3,000 in the Central African Republic (CAR) chasing Kony - are they after gold?
Bosco Ntaganda was simply the sacrificial lamb at the altar of restoring the balance of power - between an inept government in Kinshasa, an ineffective and expensive MONUSCO and the Uganda/Rwanda axis.
No doubt many celebrated his transfer to ICC as a victory for justice and “ a chance for peace” but they are mistaken. It is simply a restoration of the status quo - just a pause button. Unless something gives, other Ntaganda’s will be reborn out of that process.
As long as an armed genocidare FDLR continue to find sanctuary in the DRC, as long as virulent anti-Tutsi propaganda continues to be perpetuated by the authorities in Kinshasa, as long as Kinshasa appears unable or unwilling to deal with the ADF rebels that threaten Uganda's borders - there will be no peace
Happy Easter !!
ReplyDeleteDestroying Interahamwe/genocidaires has been an utter failure as they still operate in Eastern DRC although the RDF had a significant presence in the region: J Kaberebe (Congolese Tutsi in until august 1998 and a Rwandan Tutsi since September 1998) was head of the Congolese army; now a defense minister in Rwanda. Now corrupt, chaotic, inefficient DRC is blamed for harbouring genocidaires although efficient and organised Rwanda didn't finish off the same genocidaires when they had the opportunity...I wonder why....
I understand it is not easy to destroy them when RDF deploys only around mine producing cities such as Kisangani. Not surprisingly, a struggle ensued among the Rwandan/Ugandan actors for control of resources in 2000. Some neighborhoods in Kigali are even called "Merci Congo" or "Coltan City".
I am sure that a new Bosco Ntaganda is briefed in Kigali just like the previous one was debriefed before going to the ICC.
All in all, the fight against rebels/genocidaires worked as an excuse in 1998; it just doesn't anymore...please look for another excuse.
Dark Elder, thank You very much for your detailed explanation of historie. I'm so tired of all the rabble-rousing propaganda against Ruanda, Uganda, the Tutsis - Everybody is to blame, but not Kabila and his gouvernment.
ReplyDeleteSo your Comment gives a good background for another view on the situation and the causes.
After 2 decades of death and destruction, over 5 million dead and millions more displaced,my friend Dark Eldar still wants the world to believe that KAGAMISME or what has now been nick named African Nazisme do to It's endless destruction,number of victims and arrogant believe in ethnic superiority .is the only way for Rwanda and the great lakes. Despite the waves of democratic changes that have swept around East Africa and the freedoms that people of KENYA,TANZANIA even Burundi ...are now enjoying in choosing their own leaders and determining their own destiny .my friend Dark Eldar thinks that the Rwandan and Ugandan people do not deserve this freedoms .and the international community shall continue to force this brutal ruthless dictatorships on them. unlike Dark Elder ,I believe in democracy the rule of lows,freedom of expression ,equal opportunity ...and i think the Rwandan people deserve better than this brutal apartheid regime that has ruled that country for the last 2 decades. After 2decades ,over 5million deaths and million more displaced.the world can't continue to sit around and watch the people of the great lakes suffer and terrorized by this ruthless dictators and their war lord and criminals like BOSCO NTAGANDA,...There's no more excuses for this barbarism .now it's time to act.and free the people of the great lakes from this carnage.
ReplyDelete@ Jason
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for yet another thought provoking post. With the historic decision by the UN to help first create before keeping peace in the Kivus, its credibility should be restored by what it achieves. I can’t wait to see Kagame army and M23 militia slaughter UN peace-builders next!
That said, one observes that this conflict in Congo has seen an unprecedented profusion of ambiguous concepts and vague phrases to explain or justify things. So, to all specialists of things military, what does the phrase SECURITY and ARMY REFORM in CONGO mean in English? WHAT DOES IT ENTAIL PRACTICALLY?
For, as a non-expert, I favour practical outcome-based solutions over theoretical a-priori panaceas. In other words, the only security sector reform in Congo is the one that would have ensured that Congo protects its territory and citizens against internal and external enemies. Once again to security experts, how do we get there from here?
@ Dark Elder
“On reprend le meme majestueux alibi perime de FDLR et on recommence”. I trust you are brave enough to argue point against point. So before anything else PLEASE answer Patrick Fiombea and Congoman simple question: KAGAME ARMY HAS BEEN in THE KIVUS FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS, HOW COME , WHY HAVE THEY NOT EXTREMINATED the FDLR IF INDEED THEY WERE THERE? You also say that Joseph Kabila is in bed with Kagame and Kakuta, yet on the other hand you also claim that Congo and J. Kabila host FDLR! That is too smart from you, I am confused!
Look, seriously, the unbelievable specter of nuclear-cum-chemical- weapons-armed -billion-strong -FDLR ready to pounce on Tutsis has been debunked and terminated a while ago. You can’t still be more catholic than the pope because Kagame himself and his backers don’t parrot that inanity anymore, nor do the rest of the IC who have finally seen through Kagame’s lies.
More important, Congolese should stop expect much from anyone else. It is what THEY DO INTERNALLY that will matter. What they should DO FIRST is ERECT an IMPENETRABLE FENCE along Congo-Rwanda border. It is said in English that GOOD FENCE MAKES GOOD NEIGHBOURS. What is the DRCgov waiting for? Send Congolese engineers right now to Israel and USA (fence along Mexican border) to get the materials and learn how build the thing!
muanacongo
congo man, simple question about Bosco Ntanganda and the "brutal apartheid regime" Ruanda: Was it Kagame who gave Power to Bosco Ntanganda? Did he integrate this "Tutsi-troops" into the congolese Army? And why did Kabila extradite Lubanga to the IC, but not Ntanganda? Sometimes I'm wondering about all the strange arguments here (congo man, muana congo, Patrick Fiombea) Is there no Gouvernment in the Democratic Republik of Congo? What are they doing to protect their border and people? To say it in your words, congo man: Have the congolese People diserved that bloody Kabila-Regime?
ReplyDelete@sema wapi
ReplyDeletesome people will just blatantly call it "accountability" or to borrow John Kennedy thoughts :"Don't ask what the world can do for you but instead what can you do for the World" #justSaying
but it another hand comparing Nyerere's self defense move to the subsequent wars that shaped the region is kinda simplistic.Every ppl in these countries had their particular reasons for their infighting,at it doesn't justify any meddling in others affairs.
ReplyDeleteCongo has it's own problems,meddling just made them worse.
blaise, I don't get exactly what you want to tell me with that sentences. Unfortunately my english perhaps is not so good to make it clear, what I want to say. Anyway, I share the view from your former post from march 31. There will be no peace in the kivus, as long as there is no social and economic progress. And not only the kivus - the whole country needs infrastructure, education and justice. This problem is not caused by the neighbours. Kagame is not responsible to build streets, to care for schools, hospitals, electric energy or drinking water in the D.R. Congo. And he can't stop corruption and arbitrariness. And he is also not responsible for the neglected state of the congolese Army. This problem can only be solved by a strong and proper leadership. But this, unfortunately, is not to be seen.
ReplyDeleteThe killing of Kisase Ngandu & the ascension of Laurent Desire Kabila: The Story Cont'd:
ReplyDelete------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The two sides (Rwanda/Uganda) favored different candidates for the job to lead AFDL & different strategies for the removal of Mobutu & the liberation of the Congo. On the one hand, Rwanda favored Mzee Kabila & a quick conventional war to remove Mobutu. Uganda on the other hand, favored Kisase & a long protracted struggle. In Museveni's view, the Congolese people needed to be first politicized & then eventually do most of the fighting to remove Mobutu. A protracted guerilla war would achieve this & the Congolese would own their struggle & eventual liberation. Rwanda on the other hand feared that the Congolese were incapable of carrying their own fight & the Banyamulenge were in danger of being exterminated not to mention the problem of allowing Hutu genocidaires a chance to regroup. By Sept 1996 according to historians such as Mahmood Mamdani & Rene Lemarchand, over 14000 Banyarwanda (Banyamulenge) had been killed in the Kivus by armed Congolese groups supported by FAZ. On Oct. 7th, 1996 the vice-governor of the South Kivu province announced that all Banyamulenge would have to leave the province within a week. These 2 factors gave impetus for the Rwandan position that there was no time for a protracted struggle. The rubicon had been crossed. With Kisase Ngandu gone - the quick conventional war camp had won.
Some would argue that had Kisase led the AFDL to Kinshasa through a protracted struggle, events would have unfolded differently in the Kivus. A protracted struggle by necessity would have birthed local institutions & mechanisms that would enhance grass-roots political involvement & deal with problems of ethnic violence, etc. To use an example of Uganda in the mid-1980's liberation war, local councils would be constituted in every liberated zone to deal with issues of justice, security & local service provision. These councils called LCs would be elected on a grass-roots basis , close to the people. A village would elect LCs level 1. That LC would join other villages to elect LC level 2, etc: This system is still in use today. If you want to get an identification letter for a passport application - you must go to your LC. They are the ones who know you best. If the police want to search a suspect’s house, they do it with an LC rep to avoid issues of police bias. If a stranger appears in a village, it is reported to the LC. If one feels unsafe in one's house, the LCs will arrange a Local Defence Unit to provide protection. These kinds of arrangements are owned by the people at a community level & heal social ills such as ethnic tensions.
All this to say that Congolese people have to start owning their own stuggle now! They need to examine their own society & accept ownership of the problems that plague them. They should examine their history & see how they have arrived where they have arrived. They must find solutions born out of their own experiences. No outsider is going to do this for them.
@Blaise
ReplyDeleteThe Greek word historia, means "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation" It involves the analyses of a sequence of past events, and objectively determining their patterns of cause and effect. Thats what I am trying to do by juxtaposing Nyerere's invasion of Uganda & interventionism in the Congo. I had no intention of justifying anything.
@Patrick, Muana Congo, etc.
I am neither Rwandese, Congolese, Tutsi, or Hutu. I am all the above. The suffering of a Congolese villager diminishes me as much as the suffering of a Kikuyu slum dweller in Mathare. When there is war in the Kivus - I 'ask not for whom the bells toll' - I know that it tolls for me!
I sincerely hope that our discussions here provide a guiding light to shape our beliefs, our attitudes, and evntually our actions. Who knows where you or I will be tommorow?
@sema wapi
ReplyDeleteThe infrastructure in Bukavu and Goma lags behind because for the last 20 years it has been destroyed by KAGAME and his terrorists(RCD ,M23,CNDP...).this is the reason why this brutal ruthless and bloody doctor shall be stopped at any Cost. The last time that i visited the region I was shocked to see how much destruction this bloody regime has caused after 20 years of invasions and meddling in the DRC's internal affairs. Stop comparing Bukavu to KIGALI .you shall compare bukavu to Butare,Lubumbashi To GISENYI,KINSHASA to KIGALI then tell me wich City amongst those has better infrastructure .(bigger and better roads,hospitals,universities,industries).Comparing CONGO to RWANDA is like Comparing RUSSIA to BELGIUM.there's no Comparison. I know that you are just trying to energize the KAGAMISTES and get them out of their closets.but that Congo bashing strategy has been used by Rwanda and It's backers and the bloody criminal mafia that are wrecking havoc in Eastern DRC ,as a excuse and cover for their bloody activities. Kagamists have used that strategy for the last 20years but fortunately that strategy is no longer working .let us Congoles solve our problems. The Sunami waves of democracy that are sweeping across the African Continent are too strong to be stopped by Paul Kagame and his Junta.
Once again armed traffickers and members of the Mafia and criminal enterprises are trying hard to lecture history lessons to everyone. They're running out of excuses and keeping people focusing in the past sims like the only way to justify and give cover to their bloody activities.if you are not Congoles,Rwandes ,Hutu ,tutsi ,African etc...then who are you? and why are you opposed to peace ?
ReplyDeleteThe Infrastructure has been destroyed by Kagame and his terrorists... my gosh, what a pity! And I suppose, "Kagame and his Terrorists" are also eating congolese babys!
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of objections about this theme, but "Infrastructure" is not really the subject we are talking about.
It is about the meddling from Ruanda and Uganda, Kagames Terrorisme against the Congo and his Support of Rebel-groups.
About this I say, Kabila is also supporting Rebelgroups, especially the fdlr (before 2009) and different Mai-Mais, as well as he used people like Bosco Ntanganda for his political aim.
Besides, he is in Power now for more than ten years, but what did he do for the congolese Country and people? I just cannot belive, that he might be not able to install an army with good equipment, pay and morale at the borders to fight the Rebels.
It is right, Mr. congo man I am not congolese, but that doesn' t mean, I'm not allowed to give my opinion. And it doesn't mean that I'm opposed to peace, only because I don't share Your opportunity. But peace is a process, it also needs good gouvernance. Makes no sence to justify the neighbours.
@Sema wapi
ReplyDeleteI know you are Rwandese. My April 1 2013 at 6:02pm was addressed at someone else .not you.
@ Dark Eldar
ReplyDeleteI'm just disputing your juxtaposition of sequences:
- Tanzanian counterattacked when Idi Amin invaded their country. After that Obote was back and subsequently depose by gnrl Okello,end of the Tanzania backing. M7 started the bush war. The only thing he got in common with Tanzanian is the fact he fought among them in the first war. All that was in context of the cold war.
- If Tanzania was spearheaded "revolutionary movement, they will have supported Laurent Kabila long ago(who by the way never study in Dars es Salam,at my knowledge)
- U should ask Ugandan if they feel "liberated" in this corrupted regime which is as bad as Mobutu's.
-pres Museveni even contradict your analysis of events
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X2xT7sbyiQ
-Kisase died in kivu,not before the invasion.
When analyzing patterns,one should uncover the role of everybody and extrapolate with human behaviors to understand the "why"
@sema wapi
ReplyDeleteit was just a joke.There is always two sides of a story,one doesn't necessary have the same value than the other,it's all about perception based on living experience.
Dear congo man, sorry I really LOL! You think I am Rwandese, only because I don't like to blame Kagame and tell You the truth about Kabilas evil machinations. But I want to be true - I am only the German wife of a congolese man (real bantu, not tutsi) from south kivu.
ReplyDeleteGovernance concerns in Congo have been around for some time now. When the Congolese decided it was time for a change and voted J Kabila's out, the international community (IC) turned a blind eye to the vote rigging that took place to "rearrange" presidential results....Don't worry I don't intend on starting a new conversation on November 2011 elections....I have moved on from that... I am just surprised that the very person (JK) whose cheating was endorsed by the IC, is now a bad and corrupt as if the previous 10 years he spent in power didn't prove beyond doubt that he wasn't up to the job.
ReplyDeleteThose who claim that Congo's central government supports the FDLR have forgotten that a unit of over 300 Rwandan soldiers operated freely in the DRC (and with FARDC uniforms !) was tasked with tracking down and killing (with some success) FDLR's commanders.
I have to question the M23 credentials: they harassed, threatened, forced people to vote for Kabila in 2011, most notably in Masisi. Now, they are denouncing the same Kabila as a cheat and a thief....why didn't they raise their concerns straight after the November 2011 elections ? Could it be because they believed that their interests would be maintained under his leadership ?
You can fool some people sometime but you can't fool all the people all the time.
@Sema wapi
ReplyDeleteBeing Rwandese tutsi ,Hutu or twa is not a crime . be proud of your identity .I don't care if you are German or Swiss etc..or the origins of your supposed house band or boy friend. Some Congolese bantus like Bertrand Bisimwa,Roger Lumbala,Nyamwisi ...have profited from kagame's crimes and they would like to see this carnage to continue for eternity.some of them also have European or American spouses .I did not create the word trator my friend.PAUL KAGAME and his terrorists have to be stopped no matter what .
To all DRC bashers out there -
ReplyDelete1 border out of the existing 9 is causing most of the problems hindering to peace and stability in the DRC.
M23 must disband, no more recycling of professional rebels with dodgy national ID or patriotic commitment. New concept within FARDC will slowly replace the old philosophy of "brassage, mixage, integration, re-integration..." and we shall see very soon better discipline within the army hence more ability to defend the nation.
Congolese have no ill will against rwandan but they have the right to defend in face of adversity. No matter what it takes, their resilience will outlive the mean ambitions of those who bank on seeing them give up.
Kagamists shouldn't blame Congolese for siding with the int'l to get more favourable resolutions from the UN to help balance things on the ground. Despite the fact that the 1994 was an all rwandan affair, the regime in kigali was never shy to capitalise on it and use it as a fond de commerce that helped their country to gain notoriety. What's wrong if the DRC shows to the world where most of its problems related to peace come from?
Let's face it, if it wasn't for the genocide in 1994 (which is as I said an all rwandan affair) the world wouldn't hear very much about rwanda. So I find it a bit far fetched to mock the DRC when one knows their own country is not perfect and probably sitting on a ethnic hatred ticking bomb.
Back home we call this, "Libanga na molili"!
Rich
Bantu is a linguistic group NOT an ethnic one. Kinyarwanda is a bantu language, therefore all kinyarwanda speakers or Rwandaphones are bantus. Fulani (or peul in french) is also partly a Bantu language through the Benue-Congo linguistic group. For more authoritative information, one should refer to "Nations negres et Culture" by Cheikh Anta Diop. I don't have the title in english unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to distinguish ethnic identities/classification from linguistic ones. The former were manipulated by colonisers, and reappropriated by many Africans during and after colonisation, with tragic consequences as we all saw in April 1994.
@ Patrick Climbea.
ReplyDeleteThank-you I totally agree with you .
@Rich
ReplyDeleteIt will be suicidal not only for KABILA but for the nation to again allow Rwanda to infiltrate the Congolese army and It's institutions with pys and terrorists .the Congoles people or the FARDC will never accept another mixage,or brassage .the only solution now is the military one.I think the m23 understand this .they have no ether choice but to lay down their arms and go back to RWANDA.
Dear congo man, You say You don't care if I am German or Swiss etc.., but you are insulting me and my husband. I feel really sorry for You, Mister congo man. Where does all this hatred come from in your mind and hard?
ReplyDeleteRich, I don't know, where do You see "RDC bashers"? Does it mean, if one is critising Kabila and his policy, he or she is a "RDC basher" and "Kagamist"?
And I'm also not a personal Menber of the IC, that installed Kabila as president, but I blame my own gov. for accapting him. But You all, Congolese people, should also see what is going wrong in your country, not stearing at the neighbour. I feel this is what Kabila likes You to do - blame Kagame, but don't look at Joseph Kabila while he is plundering your country.
(And it is also my children's heritage he is plundering)
Yes, for all people in Congo I wish very much, that this new mandat and intervention can help to bring peace. But military means can not do all. There must be real reforms, and that depends on political leaders. We will see!
ReplyDelete@ Dark Eldar
Rather what is extremely sad is that while people are thinking of inhabiting Mars, Rwandans are busy planning on exterminating each other. It is WHEN and not IF. Also it is Rwanda that depends on the world’s charity not Congo. Kagame Rwanda has developed the “victim mindset” and overexploitation of 1994 to the point that now they have become the basket case of the world. See how they cry to mama for the freezing of a mere $200000. Congo has faced +$bil in int’l loans, in true resilient Congolese spirit we don’t cry we find other ways to survive. Be honest, can you see a future for Rwanda without foreign aid and dependency? How? Forget that hopeless Af.. gimmick, it is a huge joke!
Now let’s come to the usual propaganda lines concocted by the anti-Congo/Pro-Kagame int’l campaigners to stifle any effort of peace in the Kivus in the last 15 years, that you and others on CongoSiasa are slavishy repeating. Namely “(1) supposed lack of leadership and (2)Congolese seeking outside support”.
(1)First. No one can’t deny that DRCgov has its share of blame in this crisis. However, though I have my own criticisms on some aspects of JK leadership style, I find the overused “lack of leadership in Congo” quip an absolute copout; this is used to absolve Kagame of his crimes and senseless violence in the Kivus. Everyone conveniently forget how we got here. On one hand Rwandans who helped AFDL to topple Mobutu surprisingly refused to go back home to face hunger (Unlike Tanzanians who helped Museveni, Ugandans who helped Kagame, or the whole Africa-Tanzania-Angola-Mozambique who helped ANC in South Africa). On the other hand after FAZ was dismantled DRCgov was forced “for peace sake” particularly by the IC to practically amalgamate disparate former enemy-militias in one army that was not in fact.
(2)Second. Given that these unfortunate circumstances did not allow DRC to have a real army, there is no shame for Congolese to seek support to just end violence against their people. Now that the lid has been lifted, Congo has “at long last a unique opportunity to build a real army”, not with “foreign spies and rebels by profession” but with “new” Congolese who won’t dictate where they will be deployed. So be patient my friend, Rwanda has not faced a Congolese army yet. They might get the “honour” of facing one in a near future!
(3)Lastly, saying that Kagame should be coerced to stop his involvement in the senseless violence in the Kivus is stating the truth. WHY DO U GET ANGRY? Why is Charles Taylor in jail at The Hague? Why is the IC asking Pakistan not to support Talibans in Afganistan? Iran not to support Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hamas in Palestine?
PS
It was always known that the Americans and the Belgians killed PE Lumumba, now the British did join the party too. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/02/mi6-patrice-lumumba-assassination)
muanacongo
@Dark Elder
ReplyDeleteNow all kagamistes are starting to feel the heat .arms trafickers,and members of the Mafia ar now loosing it even before the coalition of the willing get their boots on the ground.insults are not going to stop friends of the Congo from helping us finish this terrorists once and for all.that's what friends are for .they will be no more mixage with spies and terrorists.all those terrorists stil have a chance to lay down their arms and join RUNIGA and NKUNDA back to RWANDA ,or they're going to face fire power from the coalition of the willing.all arms trafficking killers needs to start looking for a bloody market somewhere else .we the Congolese people and our friends are determined to stop PAUL Kagame and his terrorists once and for all.
Kagamistes hijacked Congo siasa for the past 2 or 3 years and turned it into another Congo bashing and kagame's propaganda tool.now they can't tolerate a different opinion. I thank Mr Jason Stern and others who have worked so hard to bringing the truth out .for almost 2 decades ,kagamistes and their backers in the international criminal MAFIA .spent millions of their blood money to spread their propaganda against the Congolese people in order to divert attention away from their bloody investment in Eastern Congo .from the BBC to NPR they dominated the air waves with anti Congo and false Kagame praising news .this led the word to turn a blind eye on the plight and suffering of the people of Eastern DRC ,and allowed Paul Kagame and his various terrorist groupes(CNDP,RCD,M23 ...)to massacre over 5 million people and displaced millions more.they plundered and looted billions from the DRC and caused one of the worst man made humanitarian disaster of this century .now that the word has awakened to this disaster and the perpetrators of this crimes like BOSCO NTAGANDA are starting to face justice.those criminal entrepreneurs and their backers are once again attempting to mislead the word with their with their false history lessons.but this time they are not going to succeed .BOSCO NTAGANDA and THOMAS LUBANGA are not the only ones who needs to face justice for this crimes .PAUL KAGAME and JAMES KABAREBE have to also deliver LAUREN NKUNDA,JULES MUTEBUSI,BISHOP RUNIGA and all the war Criminals that they are harboring in KIGALI to face justice for all the war crimes and crimes against humanity that they committed in Eastern Congo.
ReplyDeleteI meant the world
ReplyDeletecongo man you seem to be celebrating this 3000 foreign troupes comin to your coutry to make this fake changes but I think you foolin yourself .here is my question sir.. if congo army 20.000 plus men and 17.000 monusco troupes didn't defeat 1500 M23 rebels what change is 3000 gonna make?remind you this the south African troupes n the rest didn't stop MICHEL DJOTODIA to take power in CAR. solve your own national problems instead of depending on the outsiders to come fix it for you.ntn will change
ReplyDelete@ kizza brown.
ReplyDeleteThe battle of BUNAGANA was between a very infiltrated FARDC and thousands of UPDF and RDF troupes but not 1500 so called m23. Goma was envaded by thousands of Rwandan troupes under the guise of m23.you can run but you can't hide .with the help of our friends we drove the UPDF and RDF out of Matadi ,kin....and with the help of those same friends we are again going to drive them out of RUCHURU,BUNAGANA,MASISI....friends help each other in time of need .the friends of the Congo have decided to put up a coalition of the willing to help the people of the DRC in their fight against this terrorists.and i don't see anything wrong with that .just like the United states and It's allies helped the French people and ethers to fight HITLER and his NAZIS and stopped that evil bloody killer from further destroying Europe and put an end to the world war,finally the friends of the Congo and their allies have decided to put up a coalition of the willing.this will also help the Congolese stop this evil bloody killer(PAUL KAGAME ) and his terrorists from further destroying not only the great lakes but the entire Central African region,and put an end to what is now Africa's world war.after 5million dead and millions more displaced.they can't be no more excuses.this mass murderers have to be stopped now.
I don't quite get this sense of agitation that kagamists are showing these days!
ReplyDeleteIs this a badly hidden sign that rwanda's vote on resolution 2098 was not as genuine as the regime in kigali wanted the world to believe?
I'm tempted to think that the regime in kigali was somehow coerced by the big dogs(aid cut & gradual isolation of the regime) to sign the Addis-Abeba peace framework and hence voting the ensuing UNSC resolution 2098.
My guess is, as soon as the big dogs look away the regime in kigali will try its best to renege all the efforts made so far and will resume its project in the region where it left it when aid freeze and regime isolation started to bite.
My suggestion is, aid cut and isolation must be put in place for a lengthy period and the defreeze conditioned upon achieving durable peace in the region.
The question is, will the regime in kigali pursue its madness of grandeur and fight the UN over its blind ambition to dominate E DRC? Only time will tell!
Me thinks!
Rich
JUST IN
ReplyDeletePresident Joseph Kabila has just sacked 10 FARDC officers, including Rusandiza (aka Makenga) or Ngaruye and others.
No more niceties. No more endless integrations/mixages... No more recycling merchants-of-death of our people in the Kivus that Kagame uses at will.
(http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/90918)
muanacongo
@Muana Congo, Congoman, & Rich
ReplyDeleteAfrican Proverb:
It is an empty tin-can that makes the most noise !!
Hektor -
ReplyDelete"empty tin-can ?... most noise? ... African Proverb?" !
I mean reallyyyy?
Who said kagamists didn't have a sense of humour?
Rich
@Rich,
ReplyDeleteI humbly accept your compliments!!!
But more on a serious note - I appeal to you guys to set aside your mistrust, anger, fears, etc. to to seek a way forward for peace in the DRC! If there is a country in Africa that has no serious 'haters' - it is the DRC! We are all interested in its affairs because it has the potential to be a shining beacon! I can't tell you how many African children are called 'Lumumba' & how many of us grew up on Sokous & N'dombolo. It stands to reason that even Kagame would want peace in DRC despite the historical complexities that have created this great divide. But I really think that all sides have to try extremely hard to get over the mistrust! “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King, Jr
Hektor -
ReplyDeletePoint taken and on a more serious note, I agree with you. However, looking a the recent trend in the relationship between the two countries it seems DRC has shown more of the good will to have peace but always been mocked, ridiculed, blackmailed & threatened. I take for example the many interventions granted to rwandan special forces and advantages given to rwandan proxies in the FARDC to deal with so called FDLR threats to rwandan security.
This was all done despite the bad experience Congolese have with both rwandan and Ugandan forces when they occupied overtly the east part of the DRC fighting for the control of mineral rich areas etc...
Moving forward, I think Resolution 2098 is one of the most comprehensive and transparent text to help rid the region from thugs and kick pave the road for lasting peace in that region.
Peopl should simply forget about Kampala talks since most of the remaining grievances put forward by M23 are now covered in Annex B of Res 2098 which the DRC Gov under the
Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and the region have committed to fulfill.
Impunity must end therefore M23 must disband now and without condition the same applies to all armed groups or negative forces in the region.
Rich
@hektor
ReplyDeleteKagamists are running out of excuses.now they're turning to insults. I am not here to please you or any other kagamist or enemies of my people. Yes I a m very angry and I will never trust any kagamistes .we have given them so many chances but all we got in return was more death and destructions. Those Victor boots sales people needs to found a bloody market somewhere else .you want appeal for people to set aside anger ,mistrust and fear etc.I think you need to take that gospel to RWANDA and ask your leader Paul Kagame to get all his remaining troupes and terrorists out my Country(DRC),to move away from his system of apartheid and give opportunity all Rwandans regardless of ethnic of origin ,to free madame VICTOIRE INGABIRE(African OUNG SANG SU KYI) and allow her and the rest of Rwandans to freely exercise their democratic wrights.to set in a government of national unity that represents all Rwandans (HUTUS,TUTSIS,TWA...),but not only his ethnic group,To arest and also transfer all war Criminals like LAUREN NKUNDA,JULES MUTEBUSI,JEAN-MARIE RUNIGA...to the ICC ,to also free all political prisoners and to start a peace deal with the so called FDRL and other Political movements .to allow freedom of movement and a free press,to stop beheading journalists and his opponents,to seek a real peace and reconciliation in Rwanda...this is what the people of the great lakes are asking for.but all we.get is more bloodshed and insults from PAUL KAGAME and his arrogant supporters who do not want to see an end to this bloodshed and misery that has been brought to the people of the great lakes.our struggle will continue until peace returns to our beautiful land.
@CongoMan - says "our struggle will continue"
ReplyDeleteWhich struggle are you talking about? The one waged by
UPC, MRC, FDLR, Raia Mutomboki, APCLS, Mai-Mai Kifuafua, M23 Movt, Forces for Renewal, PARECO, ADF, Mai-Mai Cheka, Mai-Mai Yakutumba, FRPI, FPJC,
Please tell us which struggle you refer to! I bet you are nowhere near the Kivus that why you find it easy to beat your chest & talk about struggles
ReplyDeleteA catradeleswoman or man will prowith the purpose ofy work moall the rage 45controlnisheda number ofn support ofearthut at in support ofavailableu earn 10in support ofa sincer.With the purpose ofon't knthese daysquisitiona career
That pays what a good car salesman earns without putting in some
Extra hours.
cars online
cheap car
car sale
ReplyDeleteSelltradea used car is still a fawith the purpose ofo-face trall the rageon.Controlnisheda number ofn support ofearthling tin support ofavailableith prospin support ofivsinceuywith the purpose ofand negthese daysquisition. You
Should understand that potential buyers will want to take a test
Drive and get the car inspected. Even with eBay, local buyers
Are likely to swing by and kick the tires while the auction is
Ongoing.
cars online
cheap car
car sale
Nobody likes to be alone especially in Delhi, human beings are social faunas they aren’t exactly in their peak when alone.Because of this many firms have come to life in the region, so that nobody is left out.Escorts In Delhi are the people who chose to do something about it.
ReplyDeleteNow to describe them in simple terms, they are a bunch of dazzling women who will enjoy company.To look at this from a business perspective, escorts are the pretty faces which
will boost the confidence of the person in front of their earls.It’s no doubt that having a good looking partner will put a smile on practically anybody’s face.Now this is something which money can buy.
Delhi Escort Services
Delhi Escorts
Girls in Delhi
Female Escorts
Delhi Female Escorts
Delhi Escort Service
Delhi Escort Agency
Delhi Escort
Escorts in Delhi
www.delhi-escort-services.com
Visit our website: www.delhi-escort-services.com
Call us @ +91-9818989842