DR Congo: " Venomous verbs of ruthless candour plagiarise assassins fervour "

Congo DRC News alleges I have translated this from French using Google Translate and then attempted to clean up the result ( against what most people would call good
judgement ). Congo DRC News is an M23 Facebook page. 

All translation mistakes are mine. 

Official Statement of Management of the Movement of March 23. 

We are totally distressed, dismayed, frustrated after new reports of 

summary execution of prisoners of war by the department military Intelligence 

DRC in Kinshasa. 

These are serious allegations. The problem is that they are being made by Bertrand Bisiimwa who is the head of what remains of M23. To call the management of M23 pathological lairs would be being generous.

The executions occurred between the months of July and August 2014. Those executed were soldiers from the National Congress for the Defense of the People, Acronym CNDP, which were integrated into the Government Army to seal the Peace Agreement signed March 23, 2009 between the CNDP and the DRC Government. They were part of the hundred military personnel who were arrested in Goma, Masisi and Beni between May 2012 and August 2013 for the suspicion of belonging to the Movement of March 23. 

The CNDP was the predecessor organisation to M23. The M23 acronym comes from the failure of the integration of the CNDP in the Congolese army ( FARDC ). I don't think it would be unreasonable for the Government of the DR Congo to hold suspicions about former CNDP rebels having connections with M23. Acting on those suspicions without proof and one must assume without judicial process would fall into the category of war crimes. The question remains did it actually happen ?

There are soldiers whose situation remains unknown. They were sent to Kinshasa and kept in different jails with no accessible services under the jurisdiction of FARDC Military Intelligence and subjected to atrocious torture and constant degrading treatment seriously damaging their health.

None of those fitting this category appear to be named. The dead can wait if there are soldiers fitting this designation they should be named, that they haven't been makes me very suspicious. 

Ten of them were summarily executed between the months of 

July and August 2014, They are: 

1 Basanganira Donatien 

2 Mahoro Faustin 

3 Nzirasanaho Emmanuel 

4 Hakizimana Richard 

5 BISENGIMANA Martin 

6 Kivamussa Simpenzwe, 

7 Hakizimana Fidel 

8 Bonane, 

9 Aliete Ndibindela, 

10 Molisho Safari. 

Under international criminal law, the execution of prisoners War is described as
war crime. Nations committing war crimes are liable to appropriate jurisdictions. 

I have had to clean up this a lot to make any sense of it. I assume the point Bisiimwa is trying to make is that the DR Congo government may be accountable to the Hague for these executions if they happened, or they happened without due process. 

Therefore, we are strongly concerned about the fate of other Prisoners of war on the list submitted to the Government for release. Their fate remains unanswered, eight months after signing. ( Nairobi agreement )

As for the " signing "

" So we have three documents; according to the United Nations, Banda and Museveni signed one set, we appear to have photographic evidence to back this up. Then we have Bertrand Bisimwa signing something that that says M23 is finished as a military force, something I would have thought was fairly self evident.  At the same time the government of the DR Congo is signing a third set of papers that seem to bear no relationship with the previous two sets of documents and making matters even worse this is all just speculation on my part as I have not been able to track down the text of any of the documents."

We have as far as I can see no mutually agreed document signed by M23 and Kinshasa. Those who are alleged to have been executed do not fall into the prisoners of war category they according to this article are former CNDP members who had joined the Congolese Army. The failure of Bisiimwa to distinguish again adds huge credibility questions to this report.

Statements of Nairobi. 

It is the same with respect to members Movement of 23 March who returned to the country in response to the many  messages initiated by DR Congo. Despite the Government  commitment to the amnesty. those who returned have been arrested in their homes by the security services and placed in detention without any judicial process. 

As far as I am aware the Congolese Government hasn't encouraged any of the M23 rebels to return. Bisiimwa's credibility as usual is stretched beyond breaking point. The Nairobi agreement is meaningless. M23 have in effect accepted an unconditional surrender and unconditional means just that.

In the city of Goma, we were able to identify 19 cases including 14 at the Central Prison Munzenze: NDAMWENGE BYENDA Daniel KAMBALE MBUSA Felix KAKULE TASI Mark Rwamanywa HABIPFURA, BIAITU FESTO, SEMPEZWE on, SENGIYUMVA Samuel BAHATI Bahari Roger Kalimunda Gerard Kazimoto Desire hamuli RWAMAKUBA Kaigo, Bonane BINEY, BAKUNZI Steve KAYEMBE Ally; 5 to Dungeon the National Agency for Information, ANR acronym Kabasha Olivier Bwira Eugene, Murhula Patrick jeanjacques PRINCE Andrew and SIBOMANA. 

I think we in New Zealand can assume our future head of state is not in gaol in Goma.

We recall that about 100 prisoners of war from CNDP, beneficiaries of the Amnesty agreement of 2009 that the DRC government had asserted to have released and transported in planes to the East are so far still missing. The subject was discussed at the talks in Kampala without agreement. Kinshasa has been criticized for not having delivered the prisoners to the Leadership of the CNDP as stipulated in the agreement.

Five years is a long time.

We denounce and condemn these acts of murder. We just to request from the 

ICGLR and SADC international inquiry to get to some light on this issue 

with similar facts have always legitimized specifications movements 

insurgency. 

Allegations without evidence sums this up. M23 need to provide some hard evidence. I think it reasonable that should the DR Congo government face ICC action over these allegations of war crimes then the M23 should also be held to account for the many Crimes Against Humanity that they are accused of.

Made in Kampala, August 17, 2014 

The President of the Movement of March 23.

DR Congo: " Forever kissing frogs that think they're princes "

All Africa reports

Africa: Sustained Engagement a 'Paradigm Shift' Boosting Peace Prospects for Great Lakes and Congo

                                                                        Russ Feingold visits the DRC

Washington, DC — I walked into the State Department just over a year ago to take on my new role of U.S. Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes Region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Part of my eagerness in accepting the job came from the recognition that we were entering a period of unprecedented international commitment to and partnership with Africa, including the Great Lakes Region.

Lets remember that Feingold does seem to view the Great Lakes Region with rose coloured spectacles. 

" Russell Feingold, US special envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa, said the deal needed to raise the issue of amnesty and reintegration of rebels ( M23 ) into the army to ensure its durability."

Now you could argue that with regard to amnesty and M23's reintegration into the Congolese Army ( FARDC ) that America if not the international community with demands such as that was very much advocating for a continuation of the statuesque. It was a bloody stupid statement and given how things played out, a statement I suspect he regrets making. American exploitation of Congolese resources through the offices of Rwandan President Paul Kagame is not partnership.

Having worked on Africa for over 18 years in the U.S. Senate, on too many occasions I watched the international community swoop into parts of Africa in times of dire crisis, only to swoop back out after the first sign of progress or failure. Today, I believe we are witnessing a paradigm shift in how the international community, and the United States in particular, engages with Africa.

Really. A paradigm shift ? The Intervention ( Africa ) Brigade was an initiative of The International Conference for the Great Lakes Region ( ICGLR ) and specifically ironically proposed by Rwanda and Uganda both nations were some what horrified to discover that there was no room for their troops in the brigade. The Intervention Brigade has been one of the game changers for the region and the US and the International Community had bugger all to do with it.

" It takes a lot for a Kiwi to feel sorry for France but I must say I am starting to think they are getting an unjustifiably hard time. Let us remember the Intervention Brigade concept grew out of a meeting of the ICGLR ( International Conference Great Lakes Region ) and was put forward by Rwanda and Uganda under the Africa Brigade monicker. The ICGLR loved the idea and then decided that the Brigade would be more effective as part of MONUSCO much to Rwanda's horror, how fucking ironic is that. Rwanda was given enough rope and promptly hung themselves. "

The increased commitment of the United States and the international community is already bearing fruit in the Great Lakes. When I was appointed, Secretary Kerry's marching orders were to do everything I could to help the region end the armed rebellion by the M23 rebel group. The tide had begun to turn against the M23 in early to mid-2013, after the international community and the region increased the military and diplomatic pressure on all parties. A key element of that push was the establishment of the UN's intervention brigade within the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC and the negotiation of the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework, signed by 13 African countries.

Historical revisionism ? The US and the International Community ( excluding African Nations ) had very little to do with the " ..tide turning..." As I point out above Feingold was initially so out of touch with reality he suggested M23 should be reintegrated into FARDC.

These steps helped pave the way for a resolution to the rebellion. In addition to military pressure, the end to the rebellion was achieved via the Kampala Dialogue, facilitated by Uganda, with the active participation of a team of international envoys that included the outgoing UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Mary Robinson, and me. In December, the Nairobi Declarations were finally signed by the DRC and the M23, representing the political resolution to a long-running rebellion.

And so we descend into farce. The Kampala talks were a joke, in the end the DRC Government and M23 signed different documents and it occurred in Nairobi ( these were Kampala talks ) after the military defeat of M23. Lets not pretend that the Rwandan backed M23 reached a political agreement with the DR Congo Government.

" I am of the opinion that Kinshasa are just going through the motions at the Kampala peace talks and so it would now seem are M23. The real issue is that there is nothing for either side to talk about. This much vaunted political solution has failed yet again, neither side is participating in good faith that leaves a military solution on the table. " 

At that point, we could have declared victory and gone home. Instead, we increased our efforts to help the region fully implement the Nairobi Declarations and the Framework, with the vital goal of achieving sustainable peace and prosperity in the region.

Who could have declared victory ? The US, the International Community ? Lets not bloody well lie to ourselves, we had very little to do with it. The progress that has been made has been made by African Nations not by the West or the US. Is this another colonialism ? Yes. Have we gone home ? I suspect we have.

One of the Framework's core objectives is to eradicate all armed groups. The international community and the region, including the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, currently under the effective chairmanship of Angola, are now demonstrating unprecedented commitment to once and for all neutralize the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group whose members include individuals responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

" ...all armed groups " That is how we will be judged.

The FDLR has been active in eastern DRC for years, destroying communities, committing heinous abuses, including sexual violence and the illegal recruitment and use of child soldiers, and causing mass-displacement – without any accountability.

It would seem that like M23 the FDLR will not face any accountability. That is a political reality I hate but the alternatives are worse.

" When it come to crimes against humanity I am very much in the " never forgive , never forget " school. However much this goes against the grain it is probably the only workable solution and the alternatives are far worse."

Again, we are seeing progress, although with much work still to be done. Earlier this year, the FDLR committed to voluntarily demobilize, in part to avoid military action by the DRC military and the UN. Regional governments have since announced a six-month timeline for the FDLR to fully demobilize. This process must be credible and irreversible, and the timeline cannot be an excuse for six more months of predatory behavior or false promises to demobilize by the FDLR.

I think the FDLR will demobilise. It boils down to death or surrender. Let's not forget though, that we in the West had fuck all to do with it.

It's up to all of us in the international community to remain engaged and to help the region ensure that the Nairobi Declarations are implemented and the M23 is permanently demobilized, and that the FDLR is finally and fully neutralized and its leadership held accountable.

Just how are you going to hold the FDLR accountable ? The M23 leadership has not been held to account. They are in Rwanda and Uganda. Feingold would do better to stop talking shit designed for Western consumption. The best we can do at the moment is to stop the killing and yes that is far more important than locking up the genociders in the Hague. The dead will wait for the living.  

Mary Robinson made an enormous commitment to progress in the Great Lakes. While the world will welcome and greatly benefit from her leadership in her new role as UN Special Envoy on Climate Change, she will be missed in Africa.

A separate blog. No she did not and neither have you. She will achieve nothing in her new role. She will not be missed. She did very little and has moved on to a job in which she will achieve less. I am very disappointed with the former Irish politician. We can handle global warming, you had a job to do and you fucked up, you left before you had done it. Mary Robinson you are a lite weight.

To continue building on her work, the UN Secretary General recently announced the appointment of Said Djinnit, former Special Representative of the Secretary General for West Africa, to succeed Robinson. Ambassador Djinnit's appointment is a reassuring and welcomed sign of the UN's sustained commitment to the Great Lakes.

He couldn't be worse.

When President Obama welcomes African heads of state to Washington on August 6, it will represent more than a one-off meeting. It will affirm deepened and sustained U.S.-Africa economic, democratic and security cooperation. It is this type of expanded commitment and cooperation which has allowed us to support marked progress in addressing the conflict in the Great Lakes region.

Yawn.

Russell D. Feingold became U.S. Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes Region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on July 18, 2013. Throughout his 18 years in the United States Senate (1993 to 2011), he served on and led the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa.

He is starting to understand the job. I would leave him and hope.

DR Congo: " I trust you trust in me to mistrust you "

DW TV Germany reports

DRC ready for 'declaration' on M23 rebel defeat

After pulling out of peace talks, the Democratic Republic of Congo has said it is ready to sign a document formalizing the defeat of the M23 rebels. It accuses mediator Uganda of taking sides.

                         M23 rebel fighters who had surrendered to the Ugandan government under guard in Kisoro district

The Democratic Republic of Congo is now prepared to sign a "declaration" reflecting the defeat of M23 rebels, even though it has withdrawn from Uganda-hosted peace talks.

Given that Kinshasa has won on the ground and that is all that actually matters if M23 will not sign an agreement that complies exactly with Congolese requirements then not signing anything is a sensible position.

The DRC and M23 rebels had been due to conclude a deal on Monday (11.11.2013) but Congolese negotiators said they would not sign an agreement with a group their UN-backed army had just defeated.

I am starting to wonder why the Congolese government is going to all this effort. Uganda have made it clear that they will not hand over the rebel leadership I blogged a few days ago about  Alex Engwete's suspicions with regard to Ugandan plans for the said M23 leadership. It is time for Kinshasa to play hardball. Kinshasa should only sign an unconditional surrender with M23 and that should include a requirement that the military and political leadership of M23 should be handed over to the International Criminal Court, that is probably a dead rat that Kinshasa could stomach as a compromise to the leadership of M23 being handed over to the custody of the DR Congo.

The DRC said it wanted a simple declaration from the rebels that they would not take up arms again. It also accused Ugandan mediators of taking sides.

M23 seem to want this agreement and I am guessing they want it to make some sort of political capital and resurrect if only in their own eyes a legitimacy they have never had. Whilst M23 have never had a very firm grasp on reality one might have thought it would have dawned upon them that the only losers in this ongoing debacle are the defeated members of their former movement. Any chance however slim, of a rank and file integration into the Congolese Armed Forces ( FARDC ) must surely be gone.

Uganda have played their hand very badly. In the realpolitik world they would have been far more sensible to hand the leadership over to the ICC. Failure has a price, regardless of the behaviour of the Ugandan mediators the international perception of the Ugandan role can only be interpreted as being pro M23. As more details emerge of M23's criminal brutality Uganda will share with Rwanda the ignominy of having supported them. Something Uganda had to date largely avoided.

"We will not sign anything that is contradictory to our national interests" said DRC government spokesman Lambert Mende.

The M23 said the document arranging the terms for an end to its 20 month uprising had been agreed upon days in advance.

Quite clearly it was not agreed to, further more M23 either comply with Kinshasa's instructions and do as they are told, or shut the fuck up. They have no ability to alter the situation, that this still has not dawned on them leads me to believe the Congolese charge that Uganda has been taking sides. When M23 fled across the border into Uganda the situation on the ground in Kampala changed from peace talks to surrender that Uganda has not used its good offices to make this clear to M23 strikes me as an act of unforgivable incompetence.    

Uganda denies taking sides

Uganda rejected charges of bias in favor of M23, saying the DRC had made no formal complaint in ten months of mediation.

"Thus we take this accusation by Mr Mende as unfair, unfounded, false and unhelpful to the peace process in Congo," Ofwono Opondo, a spokesman for Uganda's government, told a news conference in Kampala.

"...unfair, unfounded, false and unhelpful to the peace process in Congo,"

It doesn't matter whether if it is fair or unfair, true or false Uganda have failed to publicly recognise that the peace process ended with M23 defeat and furthermore compounded that failure by failing to make that reality clear to M23. Kinshasa holds all the cards and Uganda has stuffed up.

U.N. experts have accused both Uganda and Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels.

Both countries deny the charges.

Uganda will be seen as a M23 backer regardless of the current reality of that situation by granting asylum to the M23 leadership. The scale of this cock up is astonishing, Uganda needs to wash its hands of the M23 leadership and hand them to the ICC . Then and only then will they be able to regain a share of the moral high ground. I will say it again, failure always has a price and Uganda will pay that price for shielding the M23 leadership from the consequences of their failure.

Gaius Kowene, DW's Goma correspondent, said people in the city were very happy that the DRC government did not sign the peace agreement. "People think there are traps in that agreement. That's why they want the government to make sure that they don't sign anything that might harm the country later," he said.

Uganda could learn from that. It is clear that Lambert Mende understands the concept of realpolitik.

Goma, a city of one million people and capital of North Kivu province, was seized by the rebels on 20 November, 2012. They departed ten days later.

M23 seem to be unaware that they are no longer in a position of power or influence. Again Uganda had the role of educating them of this fact and have failed to do so.

The fall of Goma led to a revamping of the DRC's army and the strengthening of the UN force and its mandate in Congo. When peace talks faltered, rebels were driven from all the remaining towns they occupied in recent weeks.

FARDC have gone from being a joke to a respectable military force something that doesn't seem to have dawned on the political leadership of the region. 

“It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.”
Philip K. Dick

Uganda seems to be taking Philip Dick's advice

Uganda is holding Sultani Makenga, M23's military commander, and several other rebels who fled the government offensive.

DRC government spokesman Mende complained that Uganda had not handed Makenga over to Congolese authorities, as agreed under a regional agreement signed in Addis Ababa earlier this year.

As I said above I think the Congolese government would accept a ICC compromise and that should be Uganda's next diplomatic play.

The head of M23's political wing Bertrand Bisimwa told DW the DRC government was "trying to get rid of M23, to sideline it, rather dealing with the causes of the conflict."

Who cares ? Bertrand Bisimwa is irrelevant, and the Congolese government has got rid of M23.

Uganda: Saving Sultani Makenga and other batshit crazy stuff.

New Vision ( Uganda ) reports

'Congo peace deal signing for Monday'

                                                               Sultani Makenga

RUGWERERO - The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the defeated M23 rebels will Monday sign a peace deal, Kinshasa and Kampala said, with Uganda adding it will not send the fleeing insurgents back across the border.

A small problem, well actually a huge problem. 

“In the discussions we held in Kampala, it was made absolutely clear there’d be no amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity including sexual violence, the recruiting of child soldiers, large scale human rights abuses, not to mention acts of genocide, no-one will grant amnesty for these kinds of crimes,” he said.

Top of the list of those wanted for war crimes is the M23’s military chief. Sultani Makenga is now being held in Uganda after giving himself up.

It would seem Uganda has already granted amnesty to Makenga.

The March 23 Movement (M23) on Tuesday ended its 18-month insurgency after a resounding defeat at the hands of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since then the majority of its fighters have fled across the border into Uganda.

"The agreement is ready and we are expecting everybody to return Monday to sign it," Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told AFP of the deal.

"The signature will take place on Monday," DRC Foreign Affairs Minister Raymond Tshibanda N'Tunga Mulongo said while on a visit to Paris.

I can see no reason why the government of the DR Congo would bother to turn up. They have victory if Uganda is planning to help the M23 leadership escape justice so be it. Let Uganda explain itself to the world.

The M23 have not confirmed Monday's meeting but with no more military power as leverage they have little choice in the matter.

M23 will be there but that is because they are now creatures of Museveni's will, rather than a function of their reduced military power. Kinshasa on the other hand holds all the cards and if Museveni is planning to control the outcome as I have said I can see no reason for the Congolese to show.

"The agreement will detail how each case will be handled. There are those that are under US and UN sanctions, those who want to be reintegrated in the army, and those who simply want to go home," Opondo said.

You can't have it both ways. Either the M23 leadership will face the consequences of their criminality or they will be given political asylum in Uganda. Uganda could and should allow rank and file M23 members an easy out, but for the leadership there can be no deals agreed to by Kinshasa.

The peace talks, which started in December, had made little headway until the DRC army started to get the upper hand militarily in recent weeks.

The peace talks made no headway whatsoever. The Congolese Government had no possible dividend by agreeing to a peace settlement when it became obvious that M23 were going to fail in the field. I have no idea why this lie is being perpetuated, one can only assume it is a face saving effort on the part of Uganda.

One of the major stumbling blocks had been the fate of around 100 M23 officers who have taken part in a series of rebellions over the past 15 years and that Kinshasa did not want to see reincorporated into its army.

Kinshasa would have to be batshit crazy to allow any members of M23 to join the Congolese Army. I very much doubt this will be on the agenda. This solution has been tried several times in the past and appears to have failed every time I can see no reason why it would work this time.

Opondo said that the United Nations and the African Union, which backed the peace process, would attend Monday's ceremony.

Really. They backed the peace process ?

Uganda says it will not hand over rebels

He also confirmed that the military chief of the M23, a group formed 18 months ago, and which both Rwanda and Uganda have been accused of backing, is on Ugandan territory.

"Yes, Sultani Makenga is with us," he told AFP, refusing to reveal the rebel chief's whereabouts.

Uganda will not hand over M23 rebels who fled after being defeated, the spokesman for the army and the defence ministry said.

Yes. In Westminster political speak one might describe that as a very courageous decision, the Global Post reports.

" The chief of the former insurgents and his fellow M23 commanders have been branded "among the worst perpetrators of human rights violations in the DRC, or in the world for that matter," by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

"Many of them may have been responsible for war crimes," she said in June last year, calling for them to face justice.

Makenga is accused of participating in several massacres, mutilations, abductions and sexual violence, sometimes on children, and is on both UN and US sanctions lists."

If Uganda wish to play with fire they should expect to get burnt.

"They are not prisoners; they are soldiers running away from a war so we are receiving them and helping them because it is our responsibility," Colonel Paddy Ankunda told AFP, adding that Uganda had also welcomed fleeing soldiers from the DRC's national army earlier in the year.

Hmm... the United States is in a sanctions mindframe at the moment, as I said a very brave decision to provide sanctuary for Makenga.

Ugandan officers said Thursday that some 1,500 M23 insurgents had crossed over and surrendered.

"They will not be handed over to DRC," Ankunda said.

I suspect it might be in Uganda's interests to think about a plan B.The Hague  particularly the ICC might be worth some contemplation. 

In Rugwerero village in the Uganda's southwestern Kisoro district the men and some women from the M23, disarmed but still in uniform, were washing their clothes in a compound belonging to Uganda's wildlife authority, an AFP photographer said.

He said the fleeing fighters were calm until they saw some Tanzanian and South African officers from the UN brigade arriving and started throwing stones at them.

M23 confirming their reputation as the clowns of the Congo.

Ankunda said that fighters who refused to return home after the peace agreement would be handed over to the UN refugee agency, who would screen them and decide if they were eligible for refugee status.

How fucking unfair is that. M23 has created thousands of refugees, all most all of them I suspect are awaiting official UN refugee status and resettlement. This should not be an option for the M23 rebels, at some point natural justice must come into play, this result would contemptuously laugh in the face of justice by any standard.

"The government security forces screen the rebels when they cross the border and ... make sure they are not mixing with civilian refugees," Lucy Beck, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency told AFP from southwestern Uganda, where the fleeing rebels have taken refuge.

Civilian refugees had started leaving a UN transit camp to head back home, she said.

Something that is worth remembering when you read about Uganda granting the M23 leadership a way out.

"UNHCR is not considering repatriation of the refugees as it is not considered safe, even without M23," Beck went on, citing the myriad of other armed groups operating in the east of the DR Congo.

She said the agency was still hosting some 20,000 civilian refugees from DR Congo who fled earlier this year and that the majority of those had fled armed groups other than the M23.

Uganda might want to think about the message it is sending those armed groups by assisting the M23 leadership avoid justice.

A further 95 men from the M23, all wounded, sought refuge in neighbouring Rwanda, where they are receiving medical treatment, according to the local Red Cross.

Analysts have cast doubt on the figure of 1,500, saying that the entire M23 force numbered only around 1,000 men at the end of October.

They have suggested that the figure given by Uganda may include insurgents' family members.

DR Congo: It isn't over 'till...

Yahoo News reports

Congo rebels expect 'major breakthroughs' in peace talks

                         Rena Abandi ( second left ) leads the the M23 delegation into negotiations 19/10/13

Kinshasa (AFP) - Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said on Saturday they are heading toward "major breakthroughs" with the Kinshasa government in peace talks in Uganda.

Under Uganda's mediation, "major breakthroughs are about to be obtained in Kampala since the heavy involvement of the international community in the dialogue" between the two sides, the M23 movement said in a statement.

At a guess no. The M23 press release on the subject.  Official Communique No. 060/M23/2013 

" At During the session this Friday, October 18, 2013, the Movement of March 23, has made ​​major concessions on its political demands to make possible the signing of a peace agreement in Kampala in a few hours. By this act, the Movement wishes to demonstrate its determination to contribute to the rapid advent of a lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo." 

I have no idea what concessions M23 has made but, and I stress the  " but " M23 have nothing real to concede other than capitulation. This last week has seen some of the most batshit crazy public announcements, interviews, open letters etc. by M23 that I really am starting to wonder if the group has any cohesive leadership left.

Lambert Mende, a minister and Congolese government spokesman, was more circumspect, telling AFP that "breakthroughs will be measured against the final agreement," if one were signed.

"There has been some reconciliation," Mende said in Kinshasa, but stressed that although the M23 could "sign today", that would "not be the end of the problem."

That should probably be considered a conciliatory statement by Mende. The reality from the Congolese perspective is that there is no concessions that they are able to make that will be acceptable to the wider Congolese population and specifically their citizens in the eastern DR Congo. M23 would have the world believe that they enjoy widespread support in the east, they don't and other than an unconditional surrender M23 have no more cards. 

" When you are down to your last choice make sure it is a good one " as the old saying goes for the military leadership in the field the best they can hope for is an escape to Rwanda, but I doubt that this option will be allowed if it is within the capacity of the Congolese government or for that matter MONUSCO to prevent it. That leaves the Bosco Ntaganda option , or alternatively  to put it bluntly watching the grass grow from below it.

In contrast, the rebels referred to the "remarkable presence" of US special envoy to the Great Lakes Russ Feingold and the UN special envoy Mary Robinson as well as Martin Kobler, the head of the UN mission to the DRC, and representatives of the European Union and African Union.

There is no dividend for America, The European Union, The African Union or the United Nations in saving M23. Rwanda it seems may have reached the conclusion that M23 have become an expendable embarrassment the political leadership may find asylum there but in the world of Realpolitik even that might now be a step Kigame is unwilling to take. I suggested back in September Rwanda would react they have not.

"We reiterate our call for Rwanda to cease any and all support to the M23 and to respect DRC’s territorial integrity, consistent with U.N. Security Council resolutions," said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.

The peace talks are cover and neither side is taking them seriously however this is a major movement in policy from the US. Rwanda is being further isolated. I would expect a Rwandan reaction soon.

Publicly accusing a U.S. ally of backing M23 rebels is a bold move for the Obama administration, said Sarah Margon at Human Rights Watch.

"They've told the Rwandans we're putting you on notice," she said. "But what next? And so if the Rwandans don't stop, what will the U.S. be willing to do?"

During talks on Friday, "the M23 made major concessions on its political demands in order to make possible the signing of the peace agreement in Kampala in the coming hours," the group said.

"By this act, our movement wishes to demonstrate its determination to contribute to the rapid establishment of a lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo," it said.

It is Sunday morning in Kampala as I type and there has been no peace agreement signed ( or if there has it is yet to be announced ) so hours have become days. 

The M23 controls an area of around 700 square kilometres (270 square miles) in the east of the DRC, bordering Rwanda and Uganda.

700 square kilometers as of when ? M23 are not only running out of time they are running out of space.

The group was founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal.

Complaining the deal was never fully implemented, they mutinied in April 2012, turning their guns on their former comrades and launching the latest rebellion to ravage DR Congo's mineral-rich and conflict-prone east.

The United Nations regularly accuses Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the M23, something both countries deny.

Mende affirmed that Rwanda had a key role in the outcome of rebels' future in the country, and said "the principal player could always restart this crisis. It is Rwanda's attitude that is the deciding factor."

Which is the reason why I doubt an agreement can be made. Allowing the leadership of M23 an out amounts to a postponement, that is in no ones interest but Rwanda and M23. The world has grown tired of Rwanda's lies and cynical behaviour and if the Congolese government wants to send a message they have the opportunity to do so. In blood.

The negotiations in Kampala had reportedly stumbled over the question of an amnesty for the rebels and their reintegration in the army. Backed by the international community, the government in Kinshasa has said there will be no impunity for the main rebel leaders.

Kinshasa's best option may well be to send the rebel leadership to the ICC, that could prove to be very embarrassing to Rwanda and while most in the eastern DR Congo will see it as justice denied ( and they would be right ) I doubt the regime of Kagame would be quite so enthusiastic about fomenting further insurrections in the DR Congo whilst the ICC publicly washes their laundry while the world looks on.

DR Congo: Dr Antoinette Kankindi is an idiot

Congo DRC News reports ( This is a M23 site )


BAD FAITH FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

                                     MONUSCO UN Peacekeepers In congo In in action.Are This ( sic ) guys peace keepers really?

By Dr Antoinette KANKINDI (Mushakipager)

So Kinshasa and M23 went to Kampala, and we know as a fact of experience that Kinshasa is not about to negotiate. And we also know where the stubbornness is coming from: Kabila’s support from the so called international community. This is no speculation. We do not need to speculate anymore from the moment we saw the UN forces fighting M23 with the FDLR. Ladsous saw in that the best way of defeating M23. However, we also know M23 was not defeated since they retreated freely to allow CIGRL to push for political solutions. Now one wonders why, if we need political solutions, it is not the UN department for Political Affairs that takes the lead. When it comes to the Kivu, you wouldn’t even know that that department exists due to the huge activism and presence of Mr. Ladsous department. This is France at its best, changing definitively the narrative on the Kivu political problems: they want them to appear as Rwandan problems, and in so doing, exonerate Kinshasa of any responsibility as well as giving themselves to pick a fight with Rwanda using the genocidaires. This discourse will be sung again at the UN general assembly this year.

 

Well my first reaction is that Dr Antoinette Kankindi is an idiot if she thinks she can get away with this sort of historical revisionism when the events she refers to are still fresh in the memories of those involved. 

Both M23 and Kinshasa went the Kampala talks with anything but good faith, both had an hidden unspoken agenda. Kinshasa went for the sake of appearances and M23 to buy time for Rwanda to reinforce them with both weapons and personnel. 

It isn't so much that the International Community supports Kinshasa rather the International Community is sick to the death of Rwandan support for M23, Rwandan lies and infact the Rwandan regime. MONUSCO and the Intervention Brigade ( Africa Brigade ) have as part of their updated mandate, the suppression of armed groups and to protect the territorial integrity of the DR Congo. M23 clearly fits into the category of an armed group and there can be no doubt it is a huge threat to the territorial integrity of the DR Congo. 

As for the statement M23 " retreated freely to allow CIGRL to push for political solutions." they didn't, they were routed, we also seem to have a bit of a problem with the timing. President Museveni called the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region ( ICGLR ) around September 1, the annihilation of M23 preceded this by a good week, it was infact one of the main reasons for calling the emergency meeting of ICGLR. I think we can safely call bullshit on that particular attempt to rewrite history by Antoinette Kankindi. 

It is funny how the international community suddenly becomes just France. I think that that rather overstates French hegemony. Could I suggest the author removes her head from her arse and checks out the US State Department's position. 

On the other hand, I am not interested in it really. I was even shocked to hear that M23 would be willing to disarm if FDLR are also disarmed.  Absurd, because for one the political problems of the Kivu imply the FDLR too, but they are first and foremost a problem of development, which the FDLR have made worse with the increase of IDPs to add to refugees and the looting of local resources, for example. So, of course FDLR are absolutely unacceptable. But even if they were to be disarmed, our local political problems will still stand. And they are the same in Kamina or Isiro, Mbanza-ngungu or Mwene Ditu, Kalemie or Lisala, etc…The bad faith of the international community I want to deal with is that they have tried hard to transform the conflict, only to avoid what they fear most: that the Kivu seeks its own autonomy. And mind you I know the usual voices will accuse me of balkanization inclinations, haha. Autonomy does not mean total independence, a clarification for people with narrow views on political action.

As I mentioned above the extended mandate of MONUSCO is quite unequivocal it requires the suppression of all armed groups and that includes the FDLR. Reading this rubbish one could be forgiven for thinking that M23 have not created one refugee or one Internally Displaced Person. It is of course yet another lie. M23 have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and created thousands of refugees.

Autonomy means in the M23 context either a client state of Rwanda or the Rwandan annexation of the DR Congo's eastern provinces. The International Community does not support this and the people of the Eastern DR Congo don't either. The only way that Rwandan ambitions in the DR Congo could be realised is by a plebiscite of the community and an unequivocal vote to support such a development. That is never going to happen. Democracy means having the support of the majority. "...a clarification for people with narrow views on political action."

 

However, our people should understand two things: 1) that the solution to our problems starts from that autonomy; 2) That such autonomy simply means that participatory political action works better from the local level, so does production which creates economic growth. We must all understand this and it is valid not only for the provinces in the DRC but for the whole of sub-saharan Africa. Local politically well structured governance also limits the levels of corruption as it is likely to respond to the needs of the people rather than power politics. It is for these two reasons that I am convinced of the need to keep the DRC as a country but with a greater autonomy of each of its provinces, beginning from the Kivu that never tire to fight for the freedom of our people. But then this will require more transparency  even on the part of the International Community in its dealing with a country endowed with strong local politics and strong local economy. For the starters, the zillion of NGOs such IC promotes will be the first casualties,  next the whole cooperation discourse will need a redefining. How can our vultures of the IC allow that? You understand why they are obsessed with portraying the DRC problems as Rwandan??? We will be observing what is “NOT” happening in Kampala.

Ok autonomy does not mean " total independence " but it does mean " participatory political action at a local level. "  Fortunately  Charly Kasereka reported on some autonomy recently in Goma, my best efforts at translating it from French are here. It would seem that the participatory political action at a local level was fairly much united by a desire to see M23 stopped permanently. In fact if anything it was a call for the government to engage more not for further disengagement. As for the economic growth argument again Chary Kasereka gives us a few helpful observations on the M23 autonomists contribution to the economy of Goma. 

Currently, there is not much for sale in the Goma markets, and everything has become very expensive: corn, green beans, milk, all basic food products… Before, a 100 kg bag of cassava cost between 25 to 30 US dollars; today, this amount costs in the 45 to 50 dollar range [35 to 40 euros]. And, for instance, a kg of green beans, which used to cost half a dollar, now costs almost a full dollar [0,80 euros]. These basic food products have nearly doubled in price! In a city where the population is already very poor...."

"...When the rebels took Rutshuru in early July, the M23 rebels put up numerous roadblocks and now undertake lengthy inspections of each trucks’ contents. On his last trip, he was taxed about 350 dollars [285 euros] for his cassava cargo. Before the rebels came, he used to pay at most only 50 dollars [40 euros] in taxes. ..."

In other words the woman is an economic ignoramus " strong local politics and strong local economy " I really haven't got a clue what she is talking about but the economy of Goma is totally reliant on the " zillions of NGO's " I am guessing here but it sounds like they are the vultures she is referring to guys like Médecins Sans Frontières who are working there butts of to provide medical services unlike those saints of M23 who are raping and killing at the behest of Dr Antoinette Kankindi. Finally yes I do understand why the International Community are portraying the problem as the fault of Rwanda and Rwanda can fix that very quickly by stopping interfering in the eastern DR Congo.