Thursday, March 5, 2015

Podcast: Interview with Simone Schlindwein and Michael Sharp on anti-FDLR operations

This is the second in our podcast series and is focused on the recent operations against the FDLR. Who are the FDLR? How do these operations, now in their second month fit into regional politics? What is the likelihood of their success? Are there any political avenues that can be explored in addition to this military offensive?

I discussed these and other questions with:


  • Simone Schlindwein, correspondent for Die Tageszeitung for the Great Lakes region and the author of an upcoming book on the FDLR;
  • Michael Sharp, who has been working for the past three years with the Mennonite Central Committee doing outreach with armed group, in particular the FDLR.
Enjoy!


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3 comments:

  1. NotYetRegisteredMarch 6, 2015 at 6:19 AM

    Thanks for the interesting podcast, Mr. Stearns.

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  2. NotYetRegisteredMarch 6, 2015 at 6:20 AM

    Thanks for the interesting podcast

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 12, 2015 at 5:49 PM

    There are many points to argue in this podcast. For brevity I will just point out something Simone said. Towards the end she says FDLR leaders are playing "a political game" and they "destabilize the region." The conversation is implicitly oriented in favor of the Rwandan government- and their position is presented as legitimate. Returnees must come back only as individuals, etc. etc. So people who have survived RPF massacres should just submit to the same authority that killed their relatives and friends? People are leaving Rwanda all the time (every day?) to escape torture, death, prison, etc. I've talked to many Rwandan refugees and exiles and they have "legitimate" political grievances and they are not genocidaires either. Yes Rwanda has a "democratically elected" government favored by the "international community"- in practice that is a joke to many refugees

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