Daily Archives: July 15, 2012

EA is a tough neighbourhood, where only the strong survive.

Charles Onyango-Obbo

07/14/12

 

War has flared up in the DR Congo again, and President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa is accusing Rwanda of supporting the M23 who took to arms in April, claiming they had been cheated of the spoils of a 2009 peace agreement.

The Rwanda government has been denying any involvement. One interesting thing is that without Rwanda, Kabila wouldn’t be president today. The Rwandese led the war that ousted the thieving Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997, and installed Kabila’s old man, Laurent Kabila, as president.

Kabila only helped himself at the last election by, according to his opponents, stealing the vote.

Rwanda’s denials of being M23’s godfather has roots in the disastrous “Congo war” of 1998-2002 when it and Uganda found themselves getting serious stick, disgraced internationally for allegedly plundering the DRC. The two countries escaped a UN Security Council resolution to slap sanctions against them by the skin of their teeth.

And, in my reading, the real change is that Rwanda feels the need to strenuously deny involvement in the DRC. That is not the way of the wider East African region. Uganda’s military dictator Idi Amin attacked Tanzania openly in 1978.

Continue reading

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, élue le 15 juillet à la tête de l’UA.

VirungaNews 

115/05/12

 

nkosazana_dlamini-zuma.jpgLa Sud-Africaine Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma a été élue présidente de la Commission de l'Union africaine (UA), le dimanche 15 juillet au soir, à Addis-Abeba, lors du 19è sommet de l'institution. Quatre tours ont été nécessaires aux chefs d'Etats réunis en huis clos pour départager le match entre le Gabonais, Jean Ping, président sortant, et sa concurrente.

Au premier tour, Dlamini-Zuma a emporté 27 voix contre 24 pour Ping. L'écart n'a ensuite cessé de s'élargir. Au deuxième tour, l'ancienne ministre des Affaires étrangères sud-africaine a gagné deux partisans supplémentaires (29 voix contre 22), puis, au troisième, 33 contre 18.

Continue reading

Congo rebels threaten to attack UN peacekeepers.

Saleh Mwanamilongo

07/15/12

 

runiga.jpgKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Rebels in eastern Congo are threatening to view United Nations peacekeepers as hostile forces unless the world body explains its role and refrains from further attacks.

The veiled threat came only days after U.N. helicopter gunships on Thursday bombarded several of the M23 rebels' positions near Rutshuru in North Kivu province.

In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday, the rebels allege that civilians were killed in the air raids, without providing a death toll.

They say if the Security Council fails to explain the peacekeepers' "real mandate," they will assume that it has changed to make the U.N. an active partisan force, which would mean "to tell our forces to set up defenses against the U.N. troops, their infrastructure and staffers."

A detailed response is necessary to avoid that the M23 rebels will respond to armed attacks in the same way, "regardless of who is the author" of such an attack, said the letter dated Friday.

Continue reading

DR Congo, Rwanda agree on force to combat rebels.

AFP

07/15/12

 

kabila.jpgADDIS ABABA — Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo agreed Sunday to an international force to neutralise rebels in eastern DR Congo, as the African Union said it was ready to send peacekeepers there.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame told AFP both sides had agreed "in principle" to accept the force.

He was speaking after his first face-to-face meeting with DR Congo President Joseph Kabila since a UN report in June accused Rwanda of supporting Congolese rebels. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the African Union biannual summit.

Earlier Sunday, AU Commission chairman Jean Ping had told leaders the bloc was ready to contribute to a "regional force to put an end to the activities of armed groups" in DR Congo.

Continue reading

Est de la RDC: accord de principe Kinshasa-Kigali sur une force neutre.

AFP

15/07/12

 

ADDIS ABEBA – Les présidents de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et du Rwanda ont accepté dimanche le principe de la mise sur pied d'une force internationale neutre afin d'éradiquer les rébellions actives dans l'est de la RDC et de surveiller leur frontière commune, a annoncé le président rwandais Paul Kagame à l'AFP.

Continue reading

Presidents Kagame, Kabila Discuss Kivu Crisis.

Igihe

07/15/12

 

kagame__kabila.jpgRwanda’s President Paul Kagame has a private meeting with President Joseph Kabila of DRC this afternoon in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.  Details of their discussions are underway. However, it was expected that the two presidents would discuss the ongoing crisis in eastern part of DRC.

President Kagame arrived today in Addis Ababa for the 19th Session of the African Union Assembly taking place from 15-16 July 2012 under the theme “Boosting Intra African Trade and which aims to build upon the commitment of all nations to achieve integration, economic growth and development.  President Kagame will participate in a closed session for the voting of the Chairman of the AU Commission and in a session for the heads of state of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region following the meetings of foreign ministers of ICGLR.

 

Continue reading

“What Kind of Peace Are the Congo UN Peacemakers Keeping?”

Georgianne Nienaber

o7/15/12

 

Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind." ~~ George Orwell

Early on Thursday, July 12, 2012, the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) joined with the Congolese army (FARDC) and sent five Mi24 and Mi25 Soviet helicopters flown by Ukrainian pilots to bomb positions north of the provincial capitol of Goma. The goal was to conduct a joint operation with FARDC in opposition to the M23 rebel movement. MONUSCO was flexing its muscle in order to escape accusations of incompetence. In thirteen years, 20,000 troops with a budget of 1.4 billion USD  have been unable to protect the civilian population of eastern DRC, and the mission has been under increased scrutiny since its mandate came up for renewal in June.

 

Continue reading