The arrest of at least 26 activists and others in Kinshasa on March 15, 2015, raises serious concerns of a broader crackdown on free expression before the 2016 Democratic Republic of Congo presidential elections, Human Rights Watch said today.
The arrests, including of foreign journalists and a United States diplomat, followed a news conference by the pro-democracy youth movement Filimbi, organized with support from the US embassy in Kinshasa.
On March 17, 2015, the authorities arrested and roughed up at least 10 Congolese activists in the eastern city of Goma during a peaceful protest outside the office of Congo’s National Intelligence Agency (Agence Nationale de Renseignements, ANR), calling for the release of those arrested in Kinshasa. ANR agents beat a Belgian woman bystander who was later hospitalized, and briefly detained a Belgian journalist.
“The Congolese government’s detention of pro-democracy activists is the latest alarming sign of a crackdown on peaceful protest ahead of next year’s presidential elections,” said Ida Sawyer, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Congolese authorities should immediately release those detained if they haven’t been charged with a credible offense and ensure access to their lawyers and families.”
Human Rights Watch called on United Nations Security Council members, who are due to discuss the situation in Congo on March 19, to publicly press Congolese authorities to immediately release all those detained for their peaceful activities and speech.
Among those arrested on March 15 were Congolese activists, musicians, journalists, technicians, and bystanders; youth leaders and activists from Senegal and Burkina Faso; a US diplomat; two French journalists; and the French director of a production company. The US and French citizens and two Congolese were released after several hours. The others remain detained, possibly by the intelligence agency. They have not been brought before a judge, officially charged with offenses, or had access to their lawyers or families, raising concerns for their safety.
Following the news conference at the Eloko Makasi music studio, men in military police uniform arrived at about 4 p.m. and began arresting people. Witnesses said that the officers at first targeted foreigners. They then began arresting Congolese as well, including those who were preparing the concert stage, and bystanders. The security forces were very rough with several Congolese and West Africans, witnesses said, banging the head of a Senegalese activist against the door of a pickup truck and beating others.
The security forces also took computers and other documents and materials from the hall and destroyed banners.
The military police drove those arrested away in at least three unmarked, white pickup trucks. The US and French citizens were taken to the headquarters of the ANR in Kinshasa, where they were interrogated by senior intelligence officials, then released after several hours. It is not known where the Congolese, Senegalese, and Burkinabe citizens are being detained.
Communications Minister Lambert Mende told journalists that the activists from Senegal and Burkina Faso were “promoting violence through a form of training … coaching of certain youth groups close to a certain opposition to use violent means against other groups or against the institutions of the republic.”
Several Congolese pro-democracy organizations had organized a workshop to introduce Filimbi (“whistle” in Swahili), a new Congolese youth movement. The workshop’s objectives were to promote civic engagement and youth mobilization, and to discuss how Congolese youth can organize in a peaceful and responsible manner to fulfill their duties as citizens.
Youth leaders and activists from Senegal and Burkina Faso came to Kinshasa for the workshop to share their experiences. The Senegalese were members of Y’en a Marre, a group involved in protests against former President Abdoulaye Wade’s controversial bid for a third term in 2012. Those from Burkina Faso were part of Balai Citoyen, a group that participated in protests against former President Blaise Compaoré’s attempt to change the constitution to extend his 27-year term.
“Y’en a Marre and Balai Citoyen are well respected organizations that have worked to promote responsible, civic engagement by youth in West Africa,” Sawyer said. “They came to Kinshasa to share their experiences with Congolese youth, including the importance of peaceful means for youth to engage in the political process.”
Filimbi worked in partnership with Eloko Makasi, a socially conscious music and video production company based in Kinshasa’s Masina neighborhood. Musicians who participated in the workshop went to the Eloko Makasi studio on March 14, 2015, to create a song based on what was discussed at the workshop to encourage Congolese youth to be involved in the democratic process and to promote a free, transparent, and peaceful electoral process.
In a March 16 statement, the US embassy in Kinshasa said the Filimbi workshop was one of many activities the US government supports that involve youth and civil society. “These well-known, well-regarded, non-partisan youth groups as well as the organizers of the weekend’s events intended to promote Congolese youth participation in the political process and encourage young people to express their views about issues of concern to them,” the statement said. “DRC government officials and ruling coalition parties were invited to and some were present during the event.”
Under Congo’s constitution, presidents may serve only two consecutive terms. President Joseph Kabila’s second term ends in 2016. While presidential elections are not scheduled until November 2016, political tensions have been rising across the country. In January 2015, at least 40 people were killed when security forces brutally repressed demonstrations in Kinshasa and other cities to protest proposed changes to Congo’s electoral law that would have delayed elections and enabled Kabila to prolong his term. Numerous political party and civil society leaders have been arrested after speaking out against proposed changes to the constitution or Congo’s electoral system.
“These latest arrests signal a worrying clampdown on freedom of expression and assembly in Congo – fundamental elements of a free, transparent, and peaceful electoral process,” Sawyer said. “Youth leaders, musicians, and activists should be able to meet, discuss, and learn without fear of arrest.”
Source: Human Rights Watch
Showing posts with label DRC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DRC. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Africa: The Landgrabbers - the New Fight Over Who Owns the Earth
In his recent book, Fred Pearce examines the dynamics behind large-scale land acquisitions and their social, environmental and developmental effects.
"Buy land. They are not making it anymore."
This statement uttered more than one hundred years ago by Mark Twain still holds a sad and powerful truth and makes a telling start for Fred Pearce's account in The Landgrabbers: The New Fight Over Who Owns the Earth about the struggle over the Earth's most precious resources: land and water.
In the book, the reader is taken on a whirlwind tour around the globe to witness, through Pearce's eyes, a new kind of colonialism driven not by countries, but by powerful private capitalists.
We encounter figures such as George Soros and Richard Branson; we learn about the effects of the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia; we find out why President Robert Mugabe's land seizures in Zimbabwe were not so bad after all for small-scale farmers; and we see how the global financial crisis and the intricate mechanisms of stock market speculations in commodities exacerbate the problem.
Pearce's passion and outrage about the selling off of communal resources shines through the book.
Each chapter is dedicated to a certain country, where protagonists change, yet the storyline stays the same: governments around the globe grant large concessions to wily investors in the hope of advancing their economies but displace and disadvantage large parts of their own population in the process.
As Mike Ogg, an agriculture specialist from Swaziland, told Think Africa Press: "I fundamentally believe that agriculture can lead development in Africa. The quandary is: How do you create a win-win situation where investors and the community benefit?"
Pearce's dystopia
Pearce presents a bleak picture of increasingly prevalent 'land grabs' by corporations for agriculture or resource exploitation as well as by well-meaning environmentalists for so-called "green grabs".
This is, Pearce argues, encircling the last remaining habitats of indigenous peoples and the landless poor, destroying their past and forever altering their future.
Pearce mixes this narrative with historical references to imperialism and colonialism giving the impression of a continuous cycle of exploitation. But his greatest achievement in the book is to give those exploited a voice.
He recounts their stories in numerous interviews, as well as talking to those involved in the land acquisitions and a variety of experts.
Pearce concludes that the bulk of the blame rests with foreign buyers though it is crucial to recognise that most deals are also pursued by respective governments which may give out large land concessions, tax breaks and other incentives to draw foreign capital into their country in the first place. And politicians are not only accomplices, but often also carve out deals in return for money or land for themselves.
This is enabled by an environment in which laws are either non-existent or easily circumvented. As Graziano da Silva, director-general of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, notes: "It appears to be like the Wild West and we need a sheriff and law in place."
Proposing solutions
Although Pearce does not go so far as to propose possible solutions, there is a range of opinion and ideas as to how to begin to tackle the problem.
Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, has suggested that when national governments are unable or unwilling to devise regulations, the international community should step in to monitor whether the rights of land users are being respected. Oxfam's recent report 'Our Land, Our Lives' highlights the pivotal role of the World Bank as an advisor to governments in reforming their laws.
But this is easier said than done. As a representative from USAID in Dar es Salaam admitted to Think Africa Press, "Land tenure, we know, is at the heart of many problems as it is difficult for poor people to feed themselves with limited and insecure access to land, but we are not touching this subject, because it's too contentious and complicated".
Another way the negative impacts of large-scale land acquisitions could be mitigated is through emerging sustainability standards.
The World Bank and its private sector funding arm, the International Finance Corporation, have strict regulations regarding social and environmental sustainability. These include standards on development-induced displacement and there are growing calls for wider implementation of such regulations.
An example of a private sector-driven initiative is Bonsucro, a certification scheme which aims to ensure companies involved in the production of sugar and ethanol from sugarcane meet environmental, social and business standards.
With consumers believed to be increasingly concerned about the impacts of the goods they buy, the Bonsucro certification is meant to reassure buyers that companies are acting in sustainable ways and taking account of human rights and pollution control.
Moving forwards
Pearce acknowledges these developments in his last chapter where he analyses some of the attempts at solutions though he does not put forward his own. Nevertheless, Pearce's book is a worthwhile read. His writing style is highly engaging and reveals the duplicity of investors and interest groups.
He not only presents complicated and contentious issues such as the correlation of Wall Street speculations and rising food prices in an accessible manner, but also masterfully interweaves stories and issues across countries and continents achieving a well-researched, logical and informative account.
Although Pearce's focus lies on the problems at hand rather than solutions, the book certainly contributes to a growing awareness about the issues and will hopefully inspire others to find suitable ways to move forwards.
Katharina Neureiter holds an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics specialising in African colonial history and war cultures. She is currently working as a consultant in East Africa and blogs at hearabout.wordpress.com.
Source: All Africa
"Buy land. They are not making it anymore."
This statement uttered more than one hundred years ago by Mark Twain still holds a sad and powerful truth and makes a telling start for Fred Pearce's account in The Landgrabbers: The New Fight Over Who Owns the Earth about the struggle over the Earth's most precious resources: land and water.
In the book, the reader is taken on a whirlwind tour around the globe to witness, through Pearce's eyes, a new kind of colonialism driven not by countries, but by powerful private capitalists.
We encounter figures such as George Soros and Richard Branson; we learn about the effects of the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia; we find out why President Robert Mugabe's land seizures in Zimbabwe were not so bad after all for small-scale farmers; and we see how the global financial crisis and the intricate mechanisms of stock market speculations in commodities exacerbate the problem.
Pearce's passion and outrage about the selling off of communal resources shines through the book.
Each chapter is dedicated to a certain country, where protagonists change, yet the storyline stays the same: governments around the globe grant large concessions to wily investors in the hope of advancing their economies but displace and disadvantage large parts of their own population in the process.
As Mike Ogg, an agriculture specialist from Swaziland, told Think Africa Press: "I fundamentally believe that agriculture can lead development in Africa. The quandary is: How do you create a win-win situation where investors and the community benefit?"
Pearce's dystopia
Pearce presents a bleak picture of increasingly prevalent 'land grabs' by corporations for agriculture or resource exploitation as well as by well-meaning environmentalists for so-called "green grabs".
This is, Pearce argues, encircling the last remaining habitats of indigenous peoples and the landless poor, destroying their past and forever altering their future.
Pearce mixes this narrative with historical references to imperialism and colonialism giving the impression of a continuous cycle of exploitation. But his greatest achievement in the book is to give those exploited a voice.
He recounts their stories in numerous interviews, as well as talking to those involved in the land acquisitions and a variety of experts.
Pearce concludes that the bulk of the blame rests with foreign buyers though it is crucial to recognise that most deals are also pursued by respective governments which may give out large land concessions, tax breaks and other incentives to draw foreign capital into their country in the first place. And politicians are not only accomplices, but often also carve out deals in return for money or land for themselves.
This is enabled by an environment in which laws are either non-existent or easily circumvented. As Graziano da Silva, director-general of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, notes: "It appears to be like the Wild West and we need a sheriff and law in place."
Proposing solutions
Although Pearce does not go so far as to propose possible solutions, there is a range of opinion and ideas as to how to begin to tackle the problem.
Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, has suggested that when national governments are unable or unwilling to devise regulations, the international community should step in to monitor whether the rights of land users are being respected. Oxfam's recent report 'Our Land, Our Lives' highlights the pivotal role of the World Bank as an advisor to governments in reforming their laws.
But this is easier said than done. As a representative from USAID in Dar es Salaam admitted to Think Africa Press, "Land tenure, we know, is at the heart of many problems as it is difficult for poor people to feed themselves with limited and insecure access to land, but we are not touching this subject, because it's too contentious and complicated".
Another way the negative impacts of large-scale land acquisitions could be mitigated is through emerging sustainability standards.
The World Bank and its private sector funding arm, the International Finance Corporation, have strict regulations regarding social and environmental sustainability. These include standards on development-induced displacement and there are growing calls for wider implementation of such regulations.
An example of a private sector-driven initiative is Bonsucro, a certification scheme which aims to ensure companies involved in the production of sugar and ethanol from sugarcane meet environmental, social and business standards.
With consumers believed to be increasingly concerned about the impacts of the goods they buy, the Bonsucro certification is meant to reassure buyers that companies are acting in sustainable ways and taking account of human rights and pollution control.
Moving forwards
Pearce acknowledges these developments in his last chapter where he analyses some of the attempts at solutions though he does not put forward his own. Nevertheless, Pearce's book is a worthwhile read. His writing style is highly engaging and reveals the duplicity of investors and interest groups.
He not only presents complicated and contentious issues such as the correlation of Wall Street speculations and rising food prices in an accessible manner, but also masterfully interweaves stories and issues across countries and continents achieving a well-researched, logical and informative account.
Although Pearce's focus lies on the problems at hand rather than solutions, the book certainly contributes to a growing awareness about the issues and will hopefully inspire others to find suitable ways to move forwards.
Katharina Neureiter holds an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics specialising in African colonial history and war cultures. She is currently working as a consultant in East Africa and blogs at hearabout.wordpress.com.
Source: All Africa
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Uganda: Human Rights Defenders and Land Ownership
Northern Uganda is rising from the debris of a long conflict involving the rebel Lord's Resistance Movement. Many challenges remain especially on land issues. But human rights defenders are trying to help.
Lira Town, situated some 350km from Kampala to the north, is an area deeply affected by the Lord's Resistance Army conflict that wrecked Uganda from 1986 until the Juba talks (2006-2008), marking the beginning of the end for Joseph Kony and the rebels in Uganda.
It was the start of a peace process that ultimately led to the creation of South Sudan in 2011 and also marked the beginning of a decline of the LRA in northern Uganda, forcing them out of the bases they had been occupying in southern Sudan, last seen in the Eastern Congo or the Central African Republic.
These days there is a lot less urgency for those internally displaced who had fled rural villages to seek sanctuary in towns from the violence. Lira town now thrives with bustle of commercial trade in its compact town centre.
The most talked about issues I encountered focussed on one central problem that's on the rise right across Uganda: land ownership.
In discussion with the Deputy District Police Commander and the District Office of Prosecutions it emerged that land ownership or land disputes were behind nearly all of the criminal cases and violations of human rights in Lira district.
This may not come as a surprise when Uganda's population has risen tenfold to since independence in 1962. The issue has been exacerbated by the discovery of oil reserves in Hoima District and new cases of forced evictions and land grabbing are reported on an almost daily basis.
The throngs of men and women I witnessed seated outside the Lira courts pending hearings on land issues, particularly over ownership by people displaced during conflict, all seek to reclaim land they previously worked on.
The court system is simply unable to cope with the demands on it. The Officer of Prosecutions bemoaned the lack of human resources at his disposal.
The state is bound to provide lawyers to represent the deceased in any court case but its failure to pay lawyers for their work has led to many refusing to take up these positions, bringing the justice process to a grinding halt.
Faced with a flailing system, a number of individuals seek alternative solutions which are not always legal.
Mob justice - where citizens take the law into their own hands - is on the rise in Uganda and it may increase as land disputes keep happening and formal crime and punishment structures fail to address them.
Just as mob justice can never be a workable alternative, removing rights, such as the right to a fair trial in the process, the same could be said of a failing judicial system.
Lobbying for its reform and greater accountability from the authorities is where human rights defenders (HRDs) are concentrating their efforts in looking to overcome this huge challenge.
WHAT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER? AND WHY DO THEY MATTER?
A Human Rights Defender (HRD) was formalised as a concept at the international level by the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which guarantees every individual's right to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels.
In practice HRDs extend from individuals, such as lawyers and social workers, to organisations that work on issues relating to human rights and even to instruments of the state.
In fact the chief HRDs in Ugandan society, at least in theory, are the police, prison service and judiciary, as they are mandated by the Constitution to protect and promote human rights. However they are often involved in abuses in the Ugandan case.
The key message for governments is that HRDs are legitimate actors, working in the interests of the state to promote and protect fundamental freedoms that all citizens should be entitled to.
The state should recognise this and create an enabling environment for their work, which includes protection where required and facilitation where it is mandated to so
The case studies that follow are based on interviews with men, women and persons with disabilities that I encountered, outlining just some of the challenges and success stories of HRDs in Lira.
CASE STUDY 1: LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS
Semmy Apili, sharing her experience during a training workshop, said she won a court case and regained her land because of the will her late husband was able to write.
Even on issues such as HIV and AIDS the issue of land could not be avoided. Martin Ongune, Project Coordinator at the Lira Development Network for People Living with HIV Aids (LIDFOPHAN), remarked upon the need for support in 'will writing' in order to support the families of victims:
'There is a need here for legal advisers to assist the poorer members of society in writing wills. It will ensure a degree of security for families who may lose relatives because of HIV and AIDS.
We would also welcome training that would empower members of the community with these skills and enable a more sustainable solution.'
The organisation has, through its own networks, over 8,000 members and it works not only to provide support to victims of HIV and AIDS but also to the families of those victims. Ensuring that livelihoods can be guaranteed is an important part of this support process and while there is a need, the challenge of bringing about that change remains.
CASE STUDY 2: PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Uganda suffered both physical and mental trauma; issues that still need to be addressed. In meeting with Joseph Kasungo at the Freidis Rehabilitation and Disability Centre I encountered anger at the lack of support that directly targeted the issue of disability.
He remained frustrated that it continues to be something of a side issue, incorporated into other projects or initiatives but not given the priority that it should be. Social stigma remains attached to disability in Uganda and mental health issues are seen as human weakness rather than health issues that require treatment.
The Centre has the facilities to tackle these issues, with a fully equipped clinic and on-site psychologist, but its major challenge is reintegrating people back into society as equals.
CASE STUDY 3: EMPOWERING WOMEN
Diana Oroma of Women's Peace Initiative (WPI) passionately outlined the challenges facing women in Lira District but suggested that progress was being made.
Her organisation has played a key role in encouraging women to seek medical attention to be treated for victims of sexual abuse. In 2010 over 600 women were treated by a WPI initiative. Fifty of these women had such serious afflictions they required surgery.
There is no shortage of challenges facing the women who do come forward for treatment:
The stigma attached to being sexually violated or raped can often led to exclusion or people being ostracised from the community.
Cultural issues with regards to relationships between men and women are problematic. A lack of education about female sexual health, inclusive of men, means that cultural norms of women being the bearer of children remain strong and this can impact on recovery after treatment.
Women Peace Clubs have been set up by WPI in an effort to change the attitudes of the community. They have been successful in utilising women who have been treated talk to come and tell other women about their positive experiences.
Efforts have also been made to engage men in the education process. Progress, however, is slow as Diana outlined an example of a man coming to a workshop and agreeing that he would show more respect for his wife's sexual health. Yet a week later WPI learned that the woman had been heavily beaten by her husband for bringing shame upon him and their family.
This kind of example shows that changing (and challenging!) attitudes will be a gradual task, but initiatives being run by WPCs are the kind of projects best suited to bring about that change.
Where to from here for human rights defenders: some reflections on the local, national and international dimensions
At the local government level in Lira officials are working with civil society groups (such as the Lira NGO Forum) to enhance and protect human rights. Disputes over land and an ill-equipped judiciary for dealing with complaints being brought to its door, however, are challenges facing all Ugandan HRDs rather than just in Lira.
While some freedoms are being afforded to Ugandans there are still restrictions being placed on journalists in carrying out their work, women are still often regarded as second class citizens and rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Ugandans are almost non-existence.
In recent weeks a number of members of parliament have come out in support of the retrogressive Anti-Homosexuality Bill, touted by the Speaker of Parliament as a "Christmas gift" to Ugandans, which would make engaging in homosexual activities punishable by death. This is incredibly worrying for human rights standards and protections in Uganda.
Parliamentarians are voting on this bill in the coming days before 15th December, despite that Uganda holds a seat on the UN Human Rights Council until the end of 2013.
In her remarks addressing the UN Assembly in New York, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Margaret Sekaggya, emphasized the constraints faced by defenders of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights due to criminalization of same-sex relations in over 75 countries worldwide, as well as recent legislative moves to purportedly curb promotion of homosexuality.
Although the recent decision of Malawi to suspend its anti-gay legislation is a small ray of hope it should be recognised and applauded as a step forward. www.developmenteducation.ie will be following these stories more closely in the months ahead.
Lastly, the creation of a Human Right Committee, made up of members of the Uganda parliament and tasked with the monitoring and evaluation of the government's compliance with human rights standards and protections is a very positive step. In theory, this should support the promotion and protection of those working to protect and stimulate human rights at the community level too.
Overall then, this is a refreshing turn for Ugandans struggling for a better life and looking to hold their politicians and public officials to a higher standard.
Throughout my field visits in Lira and elsewhere I have found the enthusiasm and commitment to such values remains undiminished. There are, of course, many challenges left but changes in attitudes at the community level are being observed.
This is welcome as the region gradually turns it focus away from a past ravaged by conflict to one embracing social and economic growth and development.
- Jamie Hitchen currently lives and works in Kampala, Uganda. Having obtained a Masters in African Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) he now works for the Human Rights Centre Uganda (www.hrcug.org). This article was first published by Irish global education website www.developmentEducation.ie
Source: All Africa
Lira Town, situated some 350km from Kampala to the north, is an area deeply affected by the Lord's Resistance Army conflict that wrecked Uganda from 1986 until the Juba talks (2006-2008), marking the beginning of the end for Joseph Kony and the rebels in Uganda.
It was the start of a peace process that ultimately led to the creation of South Sudan in 2011 and also marked the beginning of a decline of the LRA in northern Uganda, forcing them out of the bases they had been occupying in southern Sudan, last seen in the Eastern Congo or the Central African Republic.
These days there is a lot less urgency for those internally displaced who had fled rural villages to seek sanctuary in towns from the violence. Lira town now thrives with bustle of commercial trade in its compact town centre.
The most talked about issues I encountered focussed on one central problem that's on the rise right across Uganda: land ownership.
In discussion with the Deputy District Police Commander and the District Office of Prosecutions it emerged that land ownership or land disputes were behind nearly all of the criminal cases and violations of human rights in Lira district.
This may not come as a surprise when Uganda's population has risen tenfold to since independence in 1962. The issue has been exacerbated by the discovery of oil reserves in Hoima District and new cases of forced evictions and land grabbing are reported on an almost daily basis.
The throngs of men and women I witnessed seated outside the Lira courts pending hearings on land issues, particularly over ownership by people displaced during conflict, all seek to reclaim land they previously worked on.
The court system is simply unable to cope with the demands on it. The Officer of Prosecutions bemoaned the lack of human resources at his disposal.
The state is bound to provide lawyers to represent the deceased in any court case but its failure to pay lawyers for their work has led to many refusing to take up these positions, bringing the justice process to a grinding halt.
Faced with a flailing system, a number of individuals seek alternative solutions which are not always legal.
Mob justice - where citizens take the law into their own hands - is on the rise in Uganda and it may increase as land disputes keep happening and formal crime and punishment structures fail to address them.
Just as mob justice can never be a workable alternative, removing rights, such as the right to a fair trial in the process, the same could be said of a failing judicial system.
Lobbying for its reform and greater accountability from the authorities is where human rights defenders (HRDs) are concentrating their efforts in looking to overcome this huge challenge.
WHAT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER? AND WHY DO THEY MATTER?
A Human Rights Defender (HRD) was formalised as a concept at the international level by the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which guarantees every individual's right to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels.
In practice HRDs extend from individuals, such as lawyers and social workers, to organisations that work on issues relating to human rights and even to instruments of the state.
In fact the chief HRDs in Ugandan society, at least in theory, are the police, prison service and judiciary, as they are mandated by the Constitution to protect and promote human rights. However they are often involved in abuses in the Ugandan case.
The key message for governments is that HRDs are legitimate actors, working in the interests of the state to promote and protect fundamental freedoms that all citizens should be entitled to.
The state should recognise this and create an enabling environment for their work, which includes protection where required and facilitation where it is mandated to so
The case studies that follow are based on interviews with men, women and persons with disabilities that I encountered, outlining just some of the challenges and success stories of HRDs in Lira.
CASE STUDY 1: LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS
Semmy Apili, sharing her experience during a training workshop, said she won a court case and regained her land because of the will her late husband was able to write.
Even on issues such as HIV and AIDS the issue of land could not be avoided. Martin Ongune, Project Coordinator at the Lira Development Network for People Living with HIV Aids (LIDFOPHAN), remarked upon the need for support in 'will writing' in order to support the families of victims:
'There is a need here for legal advisers to assist the poorer members of society in writing wills. It will ensure a degree of security for families who may lose relatives because of HIV and AIDS.
We would also welcome training that would empower members of the community with these skills and enable a more sustainable solution.'
The organisation has, through its own networks, over 8,000 members and it works not only to provide support to victims of HIV and AIDS but also to the families of those victims. Ensuring that livelihoods can be guaranteed is an important part of this support process and while there is a need, the challenge of bringing about that change remains.
CASE STUDY 2: PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Uganda suffered both physical and mental trauma; issues that still need to be addressed. In meeting with Joseph Kasungo at the Freidis Rehabilitation and Disability Centre I encountered anger at the lack of support that directly targeted the issue of disability.
He remained frustrated that it continues to be something of a side issue, incorporated into other projects or initiatives but not given the priority that it should be. Social stigma remains attached to disability in Uganda and mental health issues are seen as human weakness rather than health issues that require treatment.
The Centre has the facilities to tackle these issues, with a fully equipped clinic and on-site psychologist, but its major challenge is reintegrating people back into society as equals.
CASE STUDY 3: EMPOWERING WOMEN
Diana Oroma of Women's Peace Initiative (WPI) passionately outlined the challenges facing women in Lira District but suggested that progress was being made.
Her organisation has played a key role in encouraging women to seek medical attention to be treated for victims of sexual abuse. In 2010 over 600 women were treated by a WPI initiative. Fifty of these women had such serious afflictions they required surgery.
There is no shortage of challenges facing the women who do come forward for treatment:
The stigma attached to being sexually violated or raped can often led to exclusion or people being ostracised from the community.
Cultural issues with regards to relationships between men and women are problematic. A lack of education about female sexual health, inclusive of men, means that cultural norms of women being the bearer of children remain strong and this can impact on recovery after treatment.
Women Peace Clubs have been set up by WPI in an effort to change the attitudes of the community. They have been successful in utilising women who have been treated talk to come and tell other women about their positive experiences.
Efforts have also been made to engage men in the education process. Progress, however, is slow as Diana outlined an example of a man coming to a workshop and agreeing that he would show more respect for his wife's sexual health. Yet a week later WPI learned that the woman had been heavily beaten by her husband for bringing shame upon him and their family.
This kind of example shows that changing (and challenging!) attitudes will be a gradual task, but initiatives being run by WPCs are the kind of projects best suited to bring about that change.
Where to from here for human rights defenders: some reflections on the local, national and international dimensions
At the local government level in Lira officials are working with civil society groups (such as the Lira NGO Forum) to enhance and protect human rights. Disputes over land and an ill-equipped judiciary for dealing with complaints being brought to its door, however, are challenges facing all Ugandan HRDs rather than just in Lira.
While some freedoms are being afforded to Ugandans there are still restrictions being placed on journalists in carrying out their work, women are still often regarded as second class citizens and rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Ugandans are almost non-existence.
In recent weeks a number of members of parliament have come out in support of the retrogressive Anti-Homosexuality Bill, touted by the Speaker of Parliament as a "Christmas gift" to Ugandans, which would make engaging in homosexual activities punishable by death. This is incredibly worrying for human rights standards and protections in Uganda.
Parliamentarians are voting on this bill in the coming days before 15th December, despite that Uganda holds a seat on the UN Human Rights Council until the end of 2013.
In her remarks addressing the UN Assembly in New York, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Margaret Sekaggya, emphasized the constraints faced by defenders of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights due to criminalization of same-sex relations in over 75 countries worldwide, as well as recent legislative moves to purportedly curb promotion of homosexuality.
Although the recent decision of Malawi to suspend its anti-gay legislation is a small ray of hope it should be recognised and applauded as a step forward. www.developmenteducation.ie will be following these stories more closely in the months ahead.
Lastly, the creation of a Human Right Committee, made up of members of the Uganda parliament and tasked with the monitoring and evaluation of the government's compliance with human rights standards and protections is a very positive step. In theory, this should support the promotion and protection of those working to protect and stimulate human rights at the community level too.
Overall then, this is a refreshing turn for Ugandans struggling for a better life and looking to hold their politicians and public officials to a higher standard.
Throughout my field visits in Lira and elsewhere I have found the enthusiasm and commitment to such values remains undiminished. There are, of course, many challenges left but changes in attitudes at the community level are being observed.
This is welcome as the region gradually turns it focus away from a past ravaged by conflict to one embracing social and economic growth and development.
- Jamie Hitchen currently lives and works in Kampala, Uganda. Having obtained a Masters in African Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) he now works for the Human Rights Centre Uganda (www.hrcug.org). This article was first published by Irish global education website www.developmentEducation.ie
Source: All Africa
Monday, November 26, 2012
Congo Slips Into Chaos Again as Rebels Gain
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — The lights are out in most of Goma. There is little water. The prison is an empty, garbage-strewn wasteland with its rusty front gate swinging wide open and a three-foot hole punched through the back wall, letting loose 1,200 killers, rapists, rogue soldiers and other criminals.
Now, rebel fighters are going house to house arresting people, many of whom have not been seen again by their families.
“You say the littlest thing and they disappear you,” said an unemployed man named Luke.
In the past week, the rebels have been unstoppable, steamrolling through one town after another, seizing this provincial capital, and eviscerating a dysfunctional Congolese Army whose drunken soldiers stumble around with rocket-propelled grenades and whose chief of staff was suspended for selling crates of ammunition to elephant poachers.
Riots are exploding across the country — in Bukavu, Butembo, Bunia, Kisangani and Kinshasa, the capital, a thousand miles away. Mobs are pouring into streets, burning down government buildings and demanding the ouster of Congo’s weak and widely despised president, Joseph Kabila.
Once again, chaos is courting Congo. And one pressing question is, why — after all the billions of dollars spent on peacekeepers, the recent legislation passed on Capitol Hill to cut the link between the illicit mineral trade and insurrection, and all the aid money and diplomatic capital — is this vast nation in the heart of Africa descending to where it was more than 10 years ago when foreign armies and marauding rebels carved it into fiefs?
“We haven’t really touched the root cause,” said Aloys Tegera, a director for the Pole Institute, a research institute in Goma.
He said Congo’s chronic instability is rooted in very local tensions over land, power and identity, especially along the Rwandan and Ugandan borders. “But no one wants to touch this because it’s too complicated,” he added.
The most realistic solution, said another Congo analyst, is not a formal peace process driven by diplomats but “a peace among all the dons, like Don Corleone imposed in New York.”
Congo’s problems have been festering for years, wounds that never quite scabbed over.
But last week there was new urgency after hundreds of rebel fighters, wearing rubber swamp boots and with belt-fed machine guns slung across their backs, marched into Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province and one of the country’s most important cities.
The rebels, called the M23, are a heavily armed paradox. On one hand, they are ruthless. Human rights groups have documented how they have slaughtered civilians, pulling confused villagers out of their huts in the middle of the night and shooting them in the head.
On the other hand, the M23 are able administrators — seemingly far better than the Congolese government, evidenced by a visit in recent days to their stronghold, Rutshuru, a small town about 45 miles from Goma.
In Rutshuru, there are none of those ubiquitous plastic bags twisted in the trees, like in so many other parts of Congo. The gravel roads have been swept clean and the government offices are spotless. Hand-painted signs read: “M23 Stop Corruption.” The rebels even have green thumbs, planting thousands of trees in recent months to fight soil erosion.
“We are not a rebellion,” said Benjamin Mbonimpa, an electrical engineer, a bush fighter and now a top rebel administrator. “We are a revolution.”
Their aims, he said, were to overthrow the government and set up a more equitable, decentralized political system. This is why the rebels have balked at negotiating with Mr. Kabila, though this weekend several rebels said that the pressure was increasing on them to compromise, especially coming from Western countries.
On Sunday, rebel forces and government troops were still squared off, just a few miles apart, down the road from Goma.
The M23 rebels are widely believed to be covertly supported by Rwanda, which has a long history of meddling in Congo, its neighbor blessed with gold, diamonds and other glittering mineral riches. The Rwandan government strenuously denies supplying weapons to the M23 or trying to annex eastern Congo. Rwanda has often denied any clandestine involvement in this country, only to have the denials later exposed as lies.
Many people in Goma don’t like the fact that the M23 is so closely linked to Rwanda, with Rwandan-speaking soldiers strutting around this city as if they own it — which they do right now. But the venom toward Joseph Kabila seems even greater.
The lights are now out in most of the city, the prison is empty, water is scarce and the rebels are going door to door arresting people.
“He treats us like street kids,” said Kalimbiro Kambere, a police officer who makes only $50 a month, despite 37 years in service. “No one wants to fight for him.”
Few countries in the world have been as disastrously ruled as Congo. Western interference has not helped — from the 1880s when King Leopold II of Belgium turned Congo into an enormous labor camp to produce as much rubber and ivory as possible, to the violence in the Goma area today, which may have been set into motion by a miscalculation on the part of Western ambassadors.
Last November, Mr. Kabila ran for re-election. He was widely unpopular, suspected of hoarding millions if not billions of dollars from mineral deals and leaving the bridges, roads, hospitals and schools a fiasco.
During the election, his agents were caught red-handed stuffing ballot boxes, and his soldiers gunned down opposition supporters who protested. But Western diplomats, though expressing unhappiness, did not press the case.
Several Congolese and Western rights advocates and analysts said that the diplomatic corps then urged Mr. Kabila to arrest Bosco Ntaganda, a Rwandan-speaking army general nicknamed the Terminator, who had been a commander in several brutal rebel groups and was wanted for years by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.
“Kabila miscalculated,” Mr. Tegera said. “And so did the West. They pressured him.”
In March, as Mr. Kabila began to move against Mr. Ntaganda and threatened to dislodge the Rwandan-speaking rebels who had been incorporated into the national army, they mutinied. They were far more powerful than the government expected, and United Nations officials said the rebels quickly drew reinforcements from Rwanda. They seized town after town, culminating in Goma, where power lines were cut in the fighting, casting it into darkness. At each battle, the government army unraveled.
The bodies of government soldiers now litter the roads around Goma, someone’s father or son rotting in the bush, eye sockets and mouth sizzling with flies. Villagers trudge past, looking away. For them, misery is a familiar face.
On Friday, Alfonse Kiburura stood in front of his twig and tarp hut in a camp for displaced people. The rains are falling hard now, every day. His family curls up on a floor of cold, wet mud.
This was the second time this year that the Kibururas have had to pick up everything they own, throw it over their heads and dash down the road away from the combat. Mr. Kiburura said that as soon as his 5-year-old son, Destin, heard gunfire, the boy knew what to do.
“This isn’t the first time he’s heard gunshots,” he said. “He’s heard them many times before.”
Source: New York Times
Now, rebel fighters are going house to house arresting people, many of whom have not been seen again by their families.
“You say the littlest thing and they disappear you,” said an unemployed man named Luke.
In the past week, the rebels have been unstoppable, steamrolling through one town after another, seizing this provincial capital, and eviscerating a dysfunctional Congolese Army whose drunken soldiers stumble around with rocket-propelled grenades and whose chief of staff was suspended for selling crates of ammunition to elephant poachers.
Riots are exploding across the country — in Bukavu, Butembo, Bunia, Kisangani and Kinshasa, the capital, a thousand miles away. Mobs are pouring into streets, burning down government buildings and demanding the ouster of Congo’s weak and widely despised president, Joseph Kabila.
Once again, chaos is courting Congo. And one pressing question is, why — after all the billions of dollars spent on peacekeepers, the recent legislation passed on Capitol Hill to cut the link between the illicit mineral trade and insurrection, and all the aid money and diplomatic capital — is this vast nation in the heart of Africa descending to where it was more than 10 years ago when foreign armies and marauding rebels carved it into fiefs?
“We haven’t really touched the root cause,” said Aloys Tegera, a director for the Pole Institute, a research institute in Goma.
He said Congo’s chronic instability is rooted in very local tensions over land, power and identity, especially along the Rwandan and Ugandan borders. “But no one wants to touch this because it’s too complicated,” he added.
The most realistic solution, said another Congo analyst, is not a formal peace process driven by diplomats but “a peace among all the dons, like Don Corleone imposed in New York.”
Congo’s problems have been festering for years, wounds that never quite scabbed over.
But last week there was new urgency after hundreds of rebel fighters, wearing rubber swamp boots and with belt-fed machine guns slung across their backs, marched into Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province and one of the country’s most important cities.
The rebels, called the M23, are a heavily armed paradox. On one hand, they are ruthless. Human rights groups have documented how they have slaughtered civilians, pulling confused villagers out of their huts in the middle of the night and shooting them in the head.
On the other hand, the M23 are able administrators — seemingly far better than the Congolese government, evidenced by a visit in recent days to their stronghold, Rutshuru, a small town about 45 miles from Goma.
In Rutshuru, there are none of those ubiquitous plastic bags twisted in the trees, like in so many other parts of Congo. The gravel roads have been swept clean and the government offices are spotless. Hand-painted signs read: “M23 Stop Corruption.” The rebels even have green thumbs, planting thousands of trees in recent months to fight soil erosion.
“We are not a rebellion,” said Benjamin Mbonimpa, an electrical engineer, a bush fighter and now a top rebel administrator. “We are a revolution.”
Their aims, he said, were to overthrow the government and set up a more equitable, decentralized political system. This is why the rebels have balked at negotiating with Mr. Kabila, though this weekend several rebels said that the pressure was increasing on them to compromise, especially coming from Western countries.
On Sunday, rebel forces and government troops were still squared off, just a few miles apart, down the road from Goma.
The M23 rebels are widely believed to be covertly supported by Rwanda, which has a long history of meddling in Congo, its neighbor blessed with gold, diamonds and other glittering mineral riches. The Rwandan government strenuously denies supplying weapons to the M23 or trying to annex eastern Congo. Rwanda has often denied any clandestine involvement in this country, only to have the denials later exposed as lies.
Many people in Goma don’t like the fact that the M23 is so closely linked to Rwanda, with Rwandan-speaking soldiers strutting around this city as if they own it — which they do right now. But the venom toward Joseph Kabila seems even greater.
The lights are now out in most of the city, the prison is empty, water is scarce and the rebels are going door to door arresting people.
“He treats us like street kids,” said Kalimbiro Kambere, a police officer who makes only $50 a month, despite 37 years in service. “No one wants to fight for him.”
Few countries in the world have been as disastrously ruled as Congo. Western interference has not helped — from the 1880s when King Leopold II of Belgium turned Congo into an enormous labor camp to produce as much rubber and ivory as possible, to the violence in the Goma area today, which may have been set into motion by a miscalculation on the part of Western ambassadors.
Last November, Mr. Kabila ran for re-election. He was widely unpopular, suspected of hoarding millions if not billions of dollars from mineral deals and leaving the bridges, roads, hospitals and schools a fiasco.
During the election, his agents were caught red-handed stuffing ballot boxes, and his soldiers gunned down opposition supporters who protested. But Western diplomats, though expressing unhappiness, did not press the case.
Several Congolese and Western rights advocates and analysts said that the diplomatic corps then urged Mr. Kabila to arrest Bosco Ntaganda, a Rwandan-speaking army general nicknamed the Terminator, who had been a commander in several brutal rebel groups and was wanted for years by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.
“Kabila miscalculated,” Mr. Tegera said. “And so did the West. They pressured him.”
In March, as Mr. Kabila began to move against Mr. Ntaganda and threatened to dislodge the Rwandan-speaking rebels who had been incorporated into the national army, they mutinied. They were far more powerful than the government expected, and United Nations officials said the rebels quickly drew reinforcements from Rwanda. They seized town after town, culminating in Goma, where power lines were cut in the fighting, casting it into darkness. At each battle, the government army unraveled.
The bodies of government soldiers now litter the roads around Goma, someone’s father or son rotting in the bush, eye sockets and mouth sizzling with flies. Villagers trudge past, looking away. For them, misery is a familiar face.
On Friday, Alfonse Kiburura stood in front of his twig and tarp hut in a camp for displaced people. The rains are falling hard now, every day. His family curls up on a floor of cold, wet mud.
This was the second time this year that the Kibururas have had to pick up everything they own, throw it over their heads and dash down the road away from the combat. Mr. Kiburura said that as soon as his 5-year-old son, Destin, heard gunfire, the boy knew what to do.
“This isn’t the first time he’s heard gunshots,” he said. “He’s heard them many times before.”
Source: New York Times
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
DR Congo: US Should Urge Rwanda to End M23 Support
The United States government should publicly support sanctions against Rwandan officials backing the armed group M23, which has been responsible for widespread war crimes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. M23 rebels, whose commanders have been implicated in serious abuses, captured the city of Goma on November 20, 2012.
“The US government’s silence on Rwandan military support to the M23 rebels can no longer be justified given the overwhelming evidence of Rwanda’s role and the imminent threat to civilians around Goma,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “The US government should support urgent sanctions against Rwandan officials who are backing M23 fighters responsible for serious abuses.”
Rwandan military support for the M23 rebels has been evident in their offensive that began on November 15, Human Rights Watch said. Several civilians living near the Rwandan border told Human Rights Watch that they saw hundreds of Rwandan army soldiers crossing the border from Rwanda into Congo at Njerima hill, Kasizi, and Kabuhanga in apparent support of M23 fighters. Human Rights Watch has also documented several incidents in which Rwandan and Congolese soldiers fired across the border from either side between November 16 and 20.
A draft of the final report of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo, soon to be published, alleges that the Rwandan government has provided “direct military support to M23 rebels” and that the “M23’s de facto chain of command includes General Bosco Ntaganda and culminates with the Rwandan Minister of Defense General James Kabarebe.” Ntaganda is on the UN sanctions list and is sought on arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Human Rights Watch has independently established that the Rwandan army has regularly provided significant military support to the M23, including overseeing operational planning, providing weapons and ammunition, recruiting at least 600 people in Rwanda to fight for the M23, training new recruits, and deploying Rwandan army troops to eastern Congo in direct support of M23 rebels.
Over the past seven months, Human Rights Watch has documented widespread war crimes by M23 rebels in eastern Congo, including summary executions, rapes, and forced recruitment, including of children. Rwandan officials may be complicit in war crimes through their military assistance to M23 forces throughout this period, Human Rights Watch said.
The draft UN Group of Experts’ report says that, “Rwandan officials coordinated the creation of the rebel movement as well as its major military operations” and “provided military support to M23 through permanent troop reinforcement and clandestine support by RDF [Rwandan Defence Forces] special units.” The Group of Experts found that “RDF commanders operated alongside M23 and provided logistical support during the July 2012 operations which enabled the capture of Bunagana, Rutshuru, Kiwanja and Rumangabo.” During these operations, “the rebels killed one [UN] peacekeeper at Bunagana and fired on the [UN peacekeeping] base at Kiwanja,” the report states.
The Group of Experts also documented support to the M23 by commanders of the Ugandan People’s Defence Force. While stating that “Rwandan officials exercise overall command and strategic planning for M23,” they note that “senior Government of Uganda officials have also provided support to M23 in the form of direct troop reinforcement in DRC territory, weapons deliveries, [and] technical assistance.”
“The fall of Goma to the M23 magnifies the security risks to civilians in eastern Congo,” Malinowski said. “As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US should press for sanctions that target not only the M23 but the foreign officials backing their atrocities.”
The Group of Experts has recommended individual sanctions against several Rwandan and Ugandan officials named in its report.
The M23’s latest offensive began on November 15 with M23 rebels fighting UN peacekeepers and Congolese army forces as the rebels progressed toward Goma. By the early afternoon of November 20, after heavy fighting in and around Goma, the M23 had taken control of key areas of Goma. Congolese army soldiers had fled the town, while UN peacekeepers were still present.
Human Rights Watch has received reports of at least 11 civilians killed and dozens of others wounded during the fighting in and around Goma since November 15. An estimated 80,000 people are newly displaced in the area around Goma, including an estimated 60,000 who were in a displacement camp about 10 kilometers outside Goma, according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs.
“The US should endorse all measures that would enable UN sanctions against Rwandan officials who are assisting the M23,” Malinowski said. “All parties to the conflict should take urgent measures to protect civilians and stop abuses.”
Background on the M23
The M23 is largely made up of soldiers who took part in a mutiny from the Congolese army between late March and May 2012. Many were previously members of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a former Rwanda-backed rebel group that integrated into the Congolese army in January 2009. Bosco Ntaganda, who was then a general in the Congolese army, initially led the mutiny. In May, Col. Sultani Makenga, a former colleague of Ntaganda in the CNDP, announced he was beginning a separate mutiny. In the days that followed, Ntaganda and his forces joined Makenga. The new armed group called itself the M23. The M23 claimed the mutiny was to protest the Congolese government’s failure to fully implement the March 23, 2009 peace agreement (hence the name M23), which had integrated them into the Congolese army.
Some of the M23’s senior commanders have well-known histories of serious abuses, committed over the past decade in eastern Congo as they moved from one armed group to another. They have been responsible for ethnic massacres, recruitment of children, mass rape, killings, abductions, and torture. Before the mutinies, at least five of the M23 leaders were on a UN black list of people with whom the UN would not collaborate due to their human rights records.
Ntaganda has been wanted by the International Criminal Court since 2006 for recruiting and using child soldiers in Ituri district in northeastern Congo in 2002 and 2003. In July, the court issued a second warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity, namely murder, persecution based on ethnic grounds, rape, sexual slavery, and pillaging, also in connection with his activities in Ituri.
Human Rights Watch has documented numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity by troops under Ntaganda’s command, as well as by other M23 commanders, including Col. Makenga, Col. Innocent Zimurinda, Col. Baudouin Ngaruye, and Col. Innocent Kayna.
On November 12, 2012, the UN Security Council added Makenga to its list of individuals under sanctions, including an asset freeze and a travel ban. On November 13, the US imposed sanctions on Makenga, which includes an asset freeze and forbids American citizens from undertaking any transactions with him.
Source: Human Rights Watch
“The US government’s silence on Rwandan military support to the M23 rebels can no longer be justified given the overwhelming evidence of Rwanda’s role and the imminent threat to civilians around Goma,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “The US government should support urgent sanctions against Rwandan officials who are backing M23 fighters responsible for serious abuses.”
Rwandan military support for the M23 rebels has been evident in their offensive that began on November 15, Human Rights Watch said. Several civilians living near the Rwandan border told Human Rights Watch that they saw hundreds of Rwandan army soldiers crossing the border from Rwanda into Congo at Njerima hill, Kasizi, and Kabuhanga in apparent support of M23 fighters. Human Rights Watch has also documented several incidents in which Rwandan and Congolese soldiers fired across the border from either side between November 16 and 20.
A draft of the final report of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo, soon to be published, alleges that the Rwandan government has provided “direct military support to M23 rebels” and that the “M23’s de facto chain of command includes General Bosco Ntaganda and culminates with the Rwandan Minister of Defense General James Kabarebe.” Ntaganda is on the UN sanctions list and is sought on arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Human Rights Watch has independently established that the Rwandan army has regularly provided significant military support to the M23, including overseeing operational planning, providing weapons and ammunition, recruiting at least 600 people in Rwanda to fight for the M23, training new recruits, and deploying Rwandan army troops to eastern Congo in direct support of M23 rebels.
Over the past seven months, Human Rights Watch has documented widespread war crimes by M23 rebels in eastern Congo, including summary executions, rapes, and forced recruitment, including of children. Rwandan officials may be complicit in war crimes through their military assistance to M23 forces throughout this period, Human Rights Watch said.
The draft UN Group of Experts’ report says that, “Rwandan officials coordinated the creation of the rebel movement as well as its major military operations” and “provided military support to M23 through permanent troop reinforcement and clandestine support by RDF [Rwandan Defence Forces] special units.” The Group of Experts found that “RDF commanders operated alongside M23 and provided logistical support during the July 2012 operations which enabled the capture of Bunagana, Rutshuru, Kiwanja and Rumangabo.” During these operations, “the rebels killed one [UN] peacekeeper at Bunagana and fired on the [UN peacekeeping] base at Kiwanja,” the report states.
The Group of Experts also documented support to the M23 by commanders of the Ugandan People’s Defence Force. While stating that “Rwandan officials exercise overall command and strategic planning for M23,” they note that “senior Government of Uganda officials have also provided support to M23 in the form of direct troop reinforcement in DRC territory, weapons deliveries, [and] technical assistance.”
“The fall of Goma to the M23 magnifies the security risks to civilians in eastern Congo,” Malinowski said. “As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US should press for sanctions that target not only the M23 but the foreign officials backing their atrocities.”
The Group of Experts has recommended individual sanctions against several Rwandan and Ugandan officials named in its report.
The M23’s latest offensive began on November 15 with M23 rebels fighting UN peacekeepers and Congolese army forces as the rebels progressed toward Goma. By the early afternoon of November 20, after heavy fighting in and around Goma, the M23 had taken control of key areas of Goma. Congolese army soldiers had fled the town, while UN peacekeepers were still present.
Human Rights Watch has received reports of at least 11 civilians killed and dozens of others wounded during the fighting in and around Goma since November 15. An estimated 80,000 people are newly displaced in the area around Goma, including an estimated 60,000 who were in a displacement camp about 10 kilometers outside Goma, according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs.
“The US should endorse all measures that would enable UN sanctions against Rwandan officials who are assisting the M23,” Malinowski said. “All parties to the conflict should take urgent measures to protect civilians and stop abuses.”
Background on the M23
The M23 is largely made up of soldiers who took part in a mutiny from the Congolese army between late March and May 2012. Many were previously members of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a former Rwanda-backed rebel group that integrated into the Congolese army in January 2009. Bosco Ntaganda, who was then a general in the Congolese army, initially led the mutiny. In May, Col. Sultani Makenga, a former colleague of Ntaganda in the CNDP, announced he was beginning a separate mutiny. In the days that followed, Ntaganda and his forces joined Makenga. The new armed group called itself the M23. The M23 claimed the mutiny was to protest the Congolese government’s failure to fully implement the March 23, 2009 peace agreement (hence the name M23), which had integrated them into the Congolese army.
Some of the M23’s senior commanders have well-known histories of serious abuses, committed over the past decade in eastern Congo as they moved from one armed group to another. They have been responsible for ethnic massacres, recruitment of children, mass rape, killings, abductions, and torture. Before the mutinies, at least five of the M23 leaders were on a UN black list of people with whom the UN would not collaborate due to their human rights records.
Ntaganda has been wanted by the International Criminal Court since 2006 for recruiting and using child soldiers in Ituri district in northeastern Congo in 2002 and 2003. In July, the court issued a second warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity, namely murder, persecution based on ethnic grounds, rape, sexual slavery, and pillaging, also in connection with his activities in Ituri.
Human Rights Watch has documented numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity by troops under Ntaganda’s command, as well as by other M23 commanders, including Col. Makenga, Col. Innocent Zimurinda, Col. Baudouin Ngaruye, and Col. Innocent Kayna.
On November 12, 2012, the UN Security Council added Makenga to its list of individuals under sanctions, including an asset freeze and a travel ban. On November 13, the US imposed sanctions on Makenga, which includes an asset freeze and forbids American citizens from undertaking any transactions with him.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Widespread human rights abuses committed by Congo rebels
Rebels in eastern DRC who allegedly are receiving support from neighbouring Rwanda have committed widespread war crimes including dozens of rapes and killings, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Tuesday. Congo’s eastern hills — haunted by armed groups for nearly two decades — have seen six months of bloody clashes after hundreds of soldiers defected from the army, sparking a conflict that has forced at least 220 000 people to flee their homes.
United Nations experts say that Rwandan officials have provided logistical support and troops to the uprising, known as M23, although Kigali strongly rejects the claims. Allegations of widespread human rights abuses by M23 come as efforts to find a solution to the crisis appear to be stalling, with the UN’s peacekeeping head saying the deployment of a neutral force to tackle the rebels remains “only a concept”.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Tuesday that at least 33 of M23’s own fighters had been executed for trying to desert, while 15 civilians also had been deliberately killed in rebel held territories since June.
“The M23 rebels are committing a horrific trail of new atrocities in eastern Congo,” Anneke van Woudenberg, HRW’s senior Africa researcher, said.
The rights group said it had based its research on nearly 200 interviews and had uncovered evidence of at least 46 women and girls who had been raped.
One victim said that M23 fighters had burst into her home, beaten her son to death and repeatedly raped her before dousing her legs in petrol and setting her ablaze, the rights group said.
M23 did not respond to telephone calls and messages requesting comments on Monday night, but HRW said that M23’s leader, Colonel Sultani Makenga, denied allegations of human rights abuses, including widespread forced recruitment.
“We recruit our brothers, not by force, but because they want to help us... That’s their decision,” Makenga is quoted as saying.
HRW also said that at least 600 men and boys have been forcibly or unlawfully recruited in neighbouring Rwanda, with recruitment continuing after allegations of Rwandan complicity were published in an interim UN report in June.
“The United Nations Security Council should sanction M23 leaders, as well as Rwandan officials who are helping them, for serious rights abuses,” van Woudenberg said.
NO NEUTRAL FORCE YET
Rwanda’s leaders have denied any involvement in the M23 rebellion, and have accused the U.N. team behind the report of bias, but that has not stopped several international partners, including the United States and Sweden, from suspending aid to Kigali.
A recent lull in fighting has seen opinions as to the real situation on the ground diverging, with the UK restarting some of its blocked budget support, saying that Rwanda was constructively engaged in the search for a solution.
But in his message to regional leaders at a conference over the weekend, UN secretary General Ban Ki Moon said that the humanitarian situation remained dire, and that he was “deeply concerned by continuing reports of external support to the M23.”
The regional meeting in Kampala, which Rwandan president Paul Kagame did not attend, failed to hammer out the details of a proposed neutral force to police the border between Congo and Rwanda, despite an offer of troops from Tanzania.
On Monday the U.N. under secretary general in charge of peacekeeping poured cold water on the idea of the world body providing direct backing for a neutral force, which has been agreed in principle by both Kinshasa and Kigali.
“I think the concept needs to be fleshed out... I would not think that the security council would be in a position to make a determination just on an idea,” Herve Ladsous told journalists at a press conference in Kinshasa.
Source: Times Live
United Nations experts say that Rwandan officials have provided logistical support and troops to the uprising, known as M23, although Kigali strongly rejects the claims. Allegations of widespread human rights abuses by M23 come as efforts to find a solution to the crisis appear to be stalling, with the UN’s peacekeeping head saying the deployment of a neutral force to tackle the rebels remains “only a concept”.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Tuesday that at least 33 of M23’s own fighters had been executed for trying to desert, while 15 civilians also had been deliberately killed in rebel held territories since June.
“The M23 rebels are committing a horrific trail of new atrocities in eastern Congo,” Anneke van Woudenberg, HRW’s senior Africa researcher, said.
The rights group said it had based its research on nearly 200 interviews and had uncovered evidence of at least 46 women and girls who had been raped.
One victim said that M23 fighters had burst into her home, beaten her son to death and repeatedly raped her before dousing her legs in petrol and setting her ablaze, the rights group said.
M23 did not respond to telephone calls and messages requesting comments on Monday night, but HRW said that M23’s leader, Colonel Sultani Makenga, denied allegations of human rights abuses, including widespread forced recruitment.
“We recruit our brothers, not by force, but because they want to help us... That’s their decision,” Makenga is quoted as saying.
HRW also said that at least 600 men and boys have been forcibly or unlawfully recruited in neighbouring Rwanda, with recruitment continuing after allegations of Rwandan complicity were published in an interim UN report in June.
“The United Nations Security Council should sanction M23 leaders, as well as Rwandan officials who are helping them, for serious rights abuses,” van Woudenberg said.
NO NEUTRAL FORCE YET
Rwanda’s leaders have denied any involvement in the M23 rebellion, and have accused the U.N. team behind the report of bias, but that has not stopped several international partners, including the United States and Sweden, from suspending aid to Kigali.
A recent lull in fighting has seen opinions as to the real situation on the ground diverging, with the UK restarting some of its blocked budget support, saying that Rwanda was constructively engaged in the search for a solution.
But in his message to regional leaders at a conference over the weekend, UN secretary General Ban Ki Moon said that the humanitarian situation remained dire, and that he was “deeply concerned by continuing reports of external support to the M23.”
The regional meeting in Kampala, which Rwandan president Paul Kagame did not attend, failed to hammer out the details of a proposed neutral force to police the border between Congo and Rwanda, despite an offer of troops from Tanzania.
On Monday the U.N. under secretary general in charge of peacekeeping poured cold water on the idea of the world body providing direct backing for a neutral force, which has been agreed in principle by both Kinshasa and Kigali.
“I think the concept needs to be fleshed out... I would not think that the security council would be in a position to make a determination just on an idea,” Herve Ladsous told journalists at a press conference in Kinshasa.
Source: Times Live
Thursday, August 2, 2012
US threatens Rwandan President Kagame over support for Congolese rebels
Last week the US Office of Global Justice warned the administration of Rwandan President Paul Kagame that it could face prosecution on war crimes charges if it continues to support M23, a rebel militia operating near Goma in Eastern Congo’s Kivu province.
Stephen Rapp, the chief of the US Office of Global Justice, the entity responsible for the prosecution of war crimes, told the Guardian last week that “the Rwandan leadership may be subjected to charges of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity” for arming the M23 militia.
Following Rapp's statements, the Obama administration declared that it would end part of its military aid program to Rwanda, after a UN report was published outlining Rwanda's current leadership's active involvement in supporting the M23 rebels. The Obama administration had been accused of refusing to release the report to conceal Rwanda's involvement. The report has been leaked to the media, however.
In an emailed statement, US State Department spokeswoman Helen Fuller Renner said: “The United States government is deeply concerned about the evidence that Rwanda is implicated in the provision of support to Congolese rebel groups, including M23. We will not obligate $200,000 in Fiscal Year 2012 Foreign Military Financing funds that were intended to support a Rwandan academy for non-commissioned officers. These funds will be reallocated for programming in another country.”
The M23 force is led by Rwandan-born General Bosco Ntaganda, a former member of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA)—the military arm of Kagame’s movement, which took power during the 1994 civil war and genocide in Rwanda. He then allegedly joined the military wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), a Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed militia active during the Congo wars of the early 2000s.
Nicknamed the “Terminator”, Ntaganda has been sought by the International Criminal Court since 2006 for crimes against humanity, including the procurement of child soldiers.
In April, Ntaganda led soldiers in a “mutiny” against US-backed forces in the Congolese army. Made up of a former rebel militia in the Congo, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), the rebels now call themselves M23, or March 23 Movement, taken after their March 23, 2009 peace agreement with the Congolese government. The mutiny reportedly occurred due to dissatisfaction among the troops with the Congolese army and with low pay.
The rebels have conquered several towns in Eastern Congo near the Ugandan border. It is expected that the militia will take the provincial capital of Goma.
Washington’s hypocrisy is on full display, given that the US has supported the Kagame regime for nearly two decades since it came to power—despite widely publicized allegations that it committed war crimes during its invasion of Rwanda in 1994 and incursions into the Congo. The sudden claim of US outrage at Rwanda's support for rebels accused of committing atrocities in Southern Congo is entirely cynical.
Rwanda has a history of carrying out Washington's bidding in the region, including by deploying its military forces in Darfur, Sudan, supposedly to support US “peacekeeping” efforts. Rwanda has received explicit US support and praise under several US presidents, including Obama. The US has extensively funded its Rwandan proxy, including providing military aid for armaments and training.
The sudden about-face of the US stance towards its Rwandan proxy must be viewed in the context of the broader intervention by Washington and its allies in Africa—including the ouster last year of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and particularly the NATO war in Libya.
Rwanda's support of Ntaganda and M23 has become no longer “convenient” for Washington. What this development shows is how quickly the US can turn on a former ally. As with the US-backed military aggression which resulted in aggression against Libya and the murder of Gaddafi, Kagame faces the threat of regime change.
Washington’s criticisms of Kagame come amid an escalating assertion of US imperialist interests in Central Africa. As the World Socialist Web Site reported last October, Washington deployed “special operations” troops to the region, under the false pretext of “neutralizing Joseph Kony” the leader of the Ugandan rebel group Lord's Resistance Army, a militia accused of war crimes.
A major goal of US operations in Africa is to block the spreading influence of China, which has made significant economic inroads on the continent. Washington’s criticisms of Rwanda have come amid escalating concerns over Rwandan economic ties with China. (See: “Tensions emerge between Rwanda and Western backers”)
US State Department cables released by Wikileaks show that Washington has been keeping a close watch on Rwanda-China economic ties.
Referring to meetings by Rwandan officials with a Chinese delegation, the cables took note of Rwanda's economic agreements with China and loans from Beijing for the construction of buildings to house the Office of Foreign Affairs and to finance a railway project. China also agreed to consider funding the construction of a new stadium, a women's center, and a Confucius Institute. Rwanda requested the delegation for duty-free access to Chinese markets, and Rwandan rice cultivation and road projects were discussed.
As Rwanda is a transportation gateway for the Congo’s vast resources to the global market, it goes without saying that China's “control by investment” of a railway project traversing Rwanda through to a port in on the East coast of Tanzania would raise concerns in Washington.
Source: World Socialist Web
Stephen Rapp, the chief of the US Office of Global Justice, the entity responsible for the prosecution of war crimes, told the Guardian last week that “the Rwandan leadership may be subjected to charges of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity” for arming the M23 militia.
Following Rapp's statements, the Obama administration declared that it would end part of its military aid program to Rwanda, after a UN report was published outlining Rwanda's current leadership's active involvement in supporting the M23 rebels. The Obama administration had been accused of refusing to release the report to conceal Rwanda's involvement. The report has been leaked to the media, however.
In an emailed statement, US State Department spokeswoman Helen Fuller Renner said: “The United States government is deeply concerned about the evidence that Rwanda is implicated in the provision of support to Congolese rebel groups, including M23. We will not obligate $200,000 in Fiscal Year 2012 Foreign Military Financing funds that were intended to support a Rwandan academy for non-commissioned officers. These funds will be reallocated for programming in another country.”
The M23 force is led by Rwandan-born General Bosco Ntaganda, a former member of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA)—the military arm of Kagame’s movement, which took power during the 1994 civil war and genocide in Rwanda. He then allegedly joined the military wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), a Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed militia active during the Congo wars of the early 2000s.
Nicknamed the “Terminator”, Ntaganda has been sought by the International Criminal Court since 2006 for crimes against humanity, including the procurement of child soldiers.
In April, Ntaganda led soldiers in a “mutiny” against US-backed forces in the Congolese army. Made up of a former rebel militia in the Congo, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), the rebels now call themselves M23, or March 23 Movement, taken after their March 23, 2009 peace agreement with the Congolese government. The mutiny reportedly occurred due to dissatisfaction among the troops with the Congolese army and with low pay.
The rebels have conquered several towns in Eastern Congo near the Ugandan border. It is expected that the militia will take the provincial capital of Goma.
Washington’s hypocrisy is on full display, given that the US has supported the Kagame regime for nearly two decades since it came to power—despite widely publicized allegations that it committed war crimes during its invasion of Rwanda in 1994 and incursions into the Congo. The sudden claim of US outrage at Rwanda's support for rebels accused of committing atrocities in Southern Congo is entirely cynical.
Rwanda has a history of carrying out Washington's bidding in the region, including by deploying its military forces in Darfur, Sudan, supposedly to support US “peacekeeping” efforts. Rwanda has received explicit US support and praise under several US presidents, including Obama. The US has extensively funded its Rwandan proxy, including providing military aid for armaments and training.
The sudden about-face of the US stance towards its Rwandan proxy must be viewed in the context of the broader intervention by Washington and its allies in Africa—including the ouster last year of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and particularly the NATO war in Libya.
Rwanda's support of Ntaganda and M23 has become no longer “convenient” for Washington. What this development shows is how quickly the US can turn on a former ally. As with the US-backed military aggression which resulted in aggression against Libya and the murder of Gaddafi, Kagame faces the threat of regime change.
Washington’s criticisms of Kagame come amid an escalating assertion of US imperialist interests in Central Africa. As the World Socialist Web Site reported last October, Washington deployed “special operations” troops to the region, under the false pretext of “neutralizing Joseph Kony” the leader of the Ugandan rebel group Lord's Resistance Army, a militia accused of war crimes.
A major goal of US operations in Africa is to block the spreading influence of China, which has made significant economic inroads on the continent. Washington’s criticisms of Rwanda have come amid escalating concerns over Rwandan economic ties with China. (See: “Tensions emerge between Rwanda and Western backers”)
US State Department cables released by Wikileaks show that Washington has been keeping a close watch on Rwanda-China economic ties.
Referring to meetings by Rwandan officials with a Chinese delegation, the cables took note of Rwanda's economic agreements with China and loans from Beijing for the construction of buildings to house the Office of Foreign Affairs and to finance a railway project. China also agreed to consider funding the construction of a new stadium, a women's center, and a Confucius Institute. Rwanda requested the delegation for duty-free access to Chinese markets, and Rwandan rice cultivation and road projects were discussed.
As Rwanda is a transportation gateway for the Congo’s vast resources to the global market, it goes without saying that China's “control by investment” of a railway project traversing Rwanda through to a port in on the East coast of Tanzania would raise concerns in Washington.
Source: World Socialist Web
Saturday, July 21, 2012
British firm linked to Congo's illicit mineral trade
The continuing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being fuelled by western companies who are buying the country's minerals without properly checking their origins, a new report alleges today.
Global Witness says the Congolese army and other armed groups in the east of the country control much of the mining and trade in tin ore (cassiterite), coltan, wolframite – often using forced labour.
The report argues the trade is prolonging the 12-year conflict there, which has seen mass killings and rape. About 100,000 people have been driven from their homes in the past few months alone.
"As long as the warring parties can fund themselves through international trade, they will continue to be able to inflict widespread violence on the population," said Patrick Alley, the director of Global Witness.
The report calls for UN sanctions against foreign firms that buy the minerals from intermediaries without exploring who was profiting from their purchase. Many of the firms accused are Belgian but Global Witness also calls for UN sanctions against a British firm, the London-based Amalgamated Metal Corporation (AMC), whose subsidiary, Thaisarco, buys tin ore in eastern Congo.
Global Witness acknowledges that Thaisarco purchases minerals from legal, government-authorised brokers, but argues the firm should do more to find out who is supplying those brokers. It points to a UN resolution calling for sanctions, including the freezing of assets of individuals or companies helping Congolese armed groups through the trade in natural resources.
The report alleges Thaisarco's main supplier in the South Kivu region, the centre of the conflict, gets its tin ore from mines controlled by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), one of the main warring factions. Its leaders include Rwandan Hutus involved in the 1994 genocide.
AMC has denied any wrongdoing, saying it has always followed UN guidance in its trade in the region and is in the process of implementing more thorough measures aimed at increasing the transparency of the tin trade.
"Both AMC and Thaisarco have always sought to comply with the requirements and recommendations of the UN in respect of minerals originating in the DRC. In accordance with this, Thaisarco purchases DRC minerals subject to a recently enhanced, formal and detailed due diligence programme which ultimately is aimed at providing transparency throughout the supply chain," the statement said.
The new industry-wide measures, know as the Tin Supply Chain Initiative, were launched on 1 July, after the Global Witness report was completed.
"The Supply Chain Initiative has traceability of the minerals as its key objective in order to ensure that the trade does not benefit renegade or rebel groups," AMC said. The foreign office issued a statement yesterday recognising that illegally traded minerals were "one of the factors in the instability in eastern DRC".
Source: The Guardian
Global Witness says the Congolese army and other armed groups in the east of the country control much of the mining and trade in tin ore (cassiterite), coltan, wolframite – often using forced labour.
The report argues the trade is prolonging the 12-year conflict there, which has seen mass killings and rape. About 100,000 people have been driven from their homes in the past few months alone.
"As long as the warring parties can fund themselves through international trade, they will continue to be able to inflict widespread violence on the population," said Patrick Alley, the director of Global Witness.
The report calls for UN sanctions against foreign firms that buy the minerals from intermediaries without exploring who was profiting from their purchase. Many of the firms accused are Belgian but Global Witness also calls for UN sanctions against a British firm, the London-based Amalgamated Metal Corporation (AMC), whose subsidiary, Thaisarco, buys tin ore in eastern Congo.
Global Witness acknowledges that Thaisarco purchases minerals from legal, government-authorised brokers, but argues the firm should do more to find out who is supplying those brokers. It points to a UN resolution calling for sanctions, including the freezing of assets of individuals or companies helping Congolese armed groups through the trade in natural resources.
The report alleges Thaisarco's main supplier in the South Kivu region, the centre of the conflict, gets its tin ore from mines controlled by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), one of the main warring factions. Its leaders include Rwandan Hutus involved in the 1994 genocide.
AMC has denied any wrongdoing, saying it has always followed UN guidance in its trade in the region and is in the process of implementing more thorough measures aimed at increasing the transparency of the tin trade.
"Both AMC and Thaisarco have always sought to comply with the requirements and recommendations of the UN in respect of minerals originating in the DRC. In accordance with this, Thaisarco purchases DRC minerals subject to a recently enhanced, formal and detailed due diligence programme which ultimately is aimed at providing transparency throughout the supply chain," the statement said.
The new industry-wide measures, know as the Tin Supply Chain Initiative, were launched on 1 July, after the Global Witness report was completed.
"The Supply Chain Initiative has traceability of the minerals as its key objective in order to ensure that the trade does not benefit renegade or rebel groups," AMC said. The foreign office issued a statement yesterday recognising that illegally traded minerals were "one of the factors in the instability in eastern DRC".
Source: The Guardian
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Zanu PF ministers protect diamond barons
Two senior Zanu PF politburo members, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa and his Indigenisation counterpart Saviour Kasukuwere, have been linked to Israeli and Russian underworld gold and diamond dealers who were recently deported after a raid on their hideout in Harare’s Glen Lorne suburb. The incident helped to shed light on activities in the underworld of diamond and other precious mineral dealings, as well as the nexus between politics and dirty business. For some time there have been reports that senior Zanu PF officials, including ministers and politburo members, are minting money in criminal underworld deals involving mainly diamonds and gold. The situation deteriorated after the discovery of alluvial diamonds in Chiadzwa.
Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s alleged links to the gangland dealers were discovered during a raid last month on a hideout located at Number 57 Follyjon Crescent by crack units drawn from the police, immigration, Central Intelligence Organisation and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. The swoop on the house — believed to be owned by Thamer Al Shanfari, the former chairman of Cayman Islands - based mining company Oryx Natural Resources (ONR) — on January 3 led to the arrest of a Russian national, Alexander Filegon alias Alexander Filatov, and an Israeli, Mike Raslan, who were said to be diamond and gold dealers. Filegon and Raslan were later deported.
It was during the raid at Number 57 Follyjon – a popular rendezvous for hardened dealers frequented by Zanu PF ministers and politburo members – that Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s names cropped up. Security agents who were part of the raid said Filegon and Raslan were unshaken by the raid despite the serious allegations levelled against them, boasting they were well-connected and nothing would happen to them.
“During the raid one of the major issues of interest was that Raslan and Filegon appeared unperturbed by the swoop by security units and the subsequent searches despite the seriousness of the allegations,” one of the security agents involved told the Zimbabwe Independent this week. “In fact, Raslan boasted that he is well-connected within the Zanu PF top hierarchy and alleged that he has been involved in a mining joint-venture with the first family in the DRC. He proceeded to show his political connections by summoning ministers Didymus Mutasa and Saviour Kasukuwere to witness the raid and the ministers came.”
Wealthy dealers in Zimbabwe of all shades often claim without producing evidence that they are working with or for the first family either to get protection or intimidate their business partners and clients. Their allegations have been denied. Security agents conducting the searches said they ignored the ministers as they proceeded to ransack the premises but a furious Mutasa sprung into action by blocking the exit gate and delayed the team’s departure after conducting the raid.
Another security agent involved in the raid said: “It was clear the ministers and those dealers were working in cahoots because Mutasa, visibly angry, even blocked the exit gate and delayed the security team’s exit from the premises after the end of the search,” the security agent said. Although no diamonds or cash were discovered at the premises, Filegon, who was accused of violating immigration laws and working in the country as a “geological consultant” at Benson mine in Mutoko on a tourist visa, and Raslan were both arrested and later deported.
Francis Mabika, an Assistant Regional Immigration Officer, yesterday confirmed the pair had been deported. Mutasa also confirmed visiting the house during the raid but denied trying to protect Filegon and Raslan. “Was there an announcement that there would be a raid? I was just visiting the place and I was unaware that there would be a raid,” he said. Mutasa said allegations that he came to the house after being called by Raslan were “absolutely nonsense” adding, “I don’t do things like that.”
Kasukuwere said he had gone to the house for a meeting with South African businessmen to explain the indigenisation policy and not to rescue Raslan and Filegon. He said he did not know the two but was there at the invitation of Shanfari, whom he said was a major investor in the country. “We were there for a separate meeting. We had a prior business meeting. I don’t interfere with the law. I don’t know the two you are talking about. I was there to see the owner of the house,” Kasukuwere said. “There were some South African businesspeople, who wanted to understand the business climate in the country and the issue of indigenisation. Some are interested in investing in Zimbabwe. By the time we got there, they were refusing to open the gate for officials and I told them to open it and cooperate.”
In 2008, Shanfari was put on the United States government sanctions list because of his links to President Robert Mugabe and ONR, but he issued a statement denying the links and said he resigned from the company in 2002. Shanfari was also mentioned in a report produced by a panel of United Nations experts titled the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and other forms of wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, dated October 8, 2002. The report alleged that ONR represented covert Zimbabwean military financial interests in negotiations with state mining companies in the DRC. The report also alleged ONR and Shanfari were engaged in the illegal trafficking of blood diamonds from the DRC and were financing Zanu PF during elections.
The raid at the house was led by a senior immigration official, Evans Siziba, after whistle blowers revealed the two were dealing in diamonds and had stashed about US$400 000 at the premises while trading in illegal diamonds and gold. There were also allegations they had smuggled two Toyota Fortunes and a Toyota Hilux into the country without paying duty. Detectives from the Minerals and Border Control Unit impounded the vehicles on February 1.
Source: Nehanda Radio
Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s alleged links to the gangland dealers were discovered during a raid last month on a hideout located at Number 57 Follyjon Crescent by crack units drawn from the police, immigration, Central Intelligence Organisation and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. The swoop on the house — believed to be owned by Thamer Al Shanfari, the former chairman of Cayman Islands - based mining company Oryx Natural Resources (ONR) — on January 3 led to the arrest of a Russian national, Alexander Filegon alias Alexander Filatov, and an Israeli, Mike Raslan, who were said to be diamond and gold dealers. Filegon and Raslan were later deported.
It was during the raid at Number 57 Follyjon – a popular rendezvous for hardened dealers frequented by Zanu PF ministers and politburo members – that Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s names cropped up. Security agents who were part of the raid said Filegon and Raslan were unshaken by the raid despite the serious allegations levelled against them, boasting they were well-connected and nothing would happen to them.
“During the raid one of the major issues of interest was that Raslan and Filegon appeared unperturbed by the swoop by security units and the subsequent searches despite the seriousness of the allegations,” one of the security agents involved told the Zimbabwe Independent this week. “In fact, Raslan boasted that he is well-connected within the Zanu PF top hierarchy and alleged that he has been involved in a mining joint-venture with the first family in the DRC. He proceeded to show his political connections by summoning ministers Didymus Mutasa and Saviour Kasukuwere to witness the raid and the ministers came.”
Wealthy dealers in Zimbabwe of all shades often claim without producing evidence that they are working with or for the first family either to get protection or intimidate their business partners and clients. Their allegations have been denied. Security agents conducting the searches said they ignored the ministers as they proceeded to ransack the premises but a furious Mutasa sprung into action by blocking the exit gate and delayed the team’s departure after conducting the raid.
Another security agent involved in the raid said: “It was clear the ministers and those dealers were working in cahoots because Mutasa, visibly angry, even blocked the exit gate and delayed the security team’s exit from the premises after the end of the search,” the security agent said. Although no diamonds or cash were discovered at the premises, Filegon, who was accused of violating immigration laws and working in the country as a “geological consultant” at Benson mine in Mutoko on a tourist visa, and Raslan were both arrested and later deported.
Francis Mabika, an Assistant Regional Immigration Officer, yesterday confirmed the pair had been deported. Mutasa also confirmed visiting the house during the raid but denied trying to protect Filegon and Raslan. “Was there an announcement that there would be a raid? I was just visiting the place and I was unaware that there would be a raid,” he said. Mutasa said allegations that he came to the house after being called by Raslan were “absolutely nonsense” adding, “I don’t do things like that.”
Kasukuwere said he had gone to the house for a meeting with South African businessmen to explain the indigenisation policy and not to rescue Raslan and Filegon. He said he did not know the two but was there at the invitation of Shanfari, whom he said was a major investor in the country. “We were there for a separate meeting. We had a prior business meeting. I don’t interfere with the law. I don’t know the two you are talking about. I was there to see the owner of the house,” Kasukuwere said. “There were some South African businesspeople, who wanted to understand the business climate in the country and the issue of indigenisation. Some are interested in investing in Zimbabwe. By the time we got there, they were refusing to open the gate for officials and I told them to open it and cooperate.”
In 2008, Shanfari was put on the United States government sanctions list because of his links to President Robert Mugabe and ONR, but he issued a statement denying the links and said he resigned from the company in 2002. Shanfari was also mentioned in a report produced by a panel of United Nations experts titled the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and other forms of wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, dated October 8, 2002. The report alleged that ONR represented covert Zimbabwean military financial interests in negotiations with state mining companies in the DRC. The report also alleged ONR and Shanfari were engaged in the illegal trafficking of blood diamonds from the DRC and were financing Zanu PF during elections.
The raid at the house was led by a senior immigration official, Evans Siziba, after whistle blowers revealed the two were dealing in diamonds and had stashed about US$400 000 at the premises while trading in illegal diamonds and gold. There were also allegations they had smuggled two Toyota Fortunes and a Toyota Hilux into the country without paying duty. Detectives from the Minerals and Border Control Unit impounded the vehicles on February 1.
Source: Nehanda Radio
Monday, April 2, 2012
Observers condemn irregularities in DRC vote count
The Democratic Republic of Congo's November elections were marred by irregularities, raising questions over the legitimacy of the results, electoral observers charged on Sunday. The mission comprising four non-government groups which deployed 2 700 observers during the tallying of votes following November 28's ballot said in a report that the electoral process was opaque and incomplete, and included some cases of forgery of results.
The disputed legislative polls in Africa's second largest country were held on the same day as the presidential election, which saw President Joseph Kabila fight off rigging accusations to eventually secure a second term. Kabila's opponent Etienne Tshisekedi has rejected the results and pronounced himself president-elect. Besides the opposition's outcry, the international community has denounced the elections as flawed. The country's electoral commission said that the release of full legislative vote results that had been due on January 13 has now been postponed until January 26.
No oversight
The mission of observers noted that in a "number of constituencies", the tally was not signed off by party representatives and candidates or simply handed over to candidates, a clear violation of electoral law.
"In several constituencies, the [counting] process began without witnesses and observers. And when they were admitted, they did not stay to the end of the process ... They were not allowed to verify if the data conformed with the published results," it said. Transmission of results from counting centres to compilation centres also had to be "authorised by the electoral commission and in particular, its president", said the mission.
"This leads one to wonder if there is censorship by the electoral commission's office which can decide who can be declared elected and who cannot," said the mission.
"There is a question-mark over the legitimacy of the results," it added.
Foreign experts from two US groups have since January 5 been working with Congolese electoral officials on the legislative ballot's counting process in a bid to enhance the results' credibility and assuage fears of civil unrest.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The disputed legislative polls in Africa's second largest country were held on the same day as the presidential election, which saw President Joseph Kabila fight off rigging accusations to eventually secure a second term. Kabila's opponent Etienne Tshisekedi has rejected the results and pronounced himself president-elect. Besides the opposition's outcry, the international community has denounced the elections as flawed. The country's electoral commission said that the release of full legislative vote results that had been due on January 13 has now been postponed until January 26.
No oversight
The mission of observers noted that in a "number of constituencies", the tally was not signed off by party representatives and candidates or simply handed over to candidates, a clear violation of electoral law.
"In several constituencies, the [counting] process began without witnesses and observers. And when they were admitted, they did not stay to the end of the process ... They were not allowed to verify if the data conformed with the published results," it said. Transmission of results from counting centres to compilation centres also had to be "authorised by the electoral commission and in particular, its president", said the mission.
"This leads one to wonder if there is censorship by the electoral commission's office which can decide who can be declared elected and who cannot," said the mission.
"There is a question-mark over the legitimacy of the results," it added.
Foreign experts from two US groups have since January 5 been working with Congolese electoral officials on the legislative ballot's counting process in a bid to enhance the results' credibility and assuage fears of civil unrest.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, March 23, 2012
African Union to Make Push Against Rebels
The African Union announced Friday that it would launch a new regional military operation against the Lord’s Resistance Army, the vicious Ugandan rebel group that has been terrorizing parts of central Africa for more than 20 years. The operation, which aims to bring together 5,000 troops from four African countries each victimized by the Lord’s Resistance Army and its leader, Joseph Kony, will tap from troops already deployed to fight the group. But officials said the force will be more cohesive and disciplined.
“We’re on a mission,” an African Union envoy, Francisco Madeira, told reporters on Friday. “We need to stop Kony.”
The announcement came a few weeks after a YouTube video from an American advocacy organization went viral on the Internet and brought unprecedented attention to Mr. Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for a range of unspeakable atrocities. The announcement also came a few days after a bipartisan group in Congress introduced a resolution condemning Mr. Kony and supporting a regional military effort from the four most victimized nations. The armies of those nations — Uganda, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of the Congo — have been fighting the L.R.A. since last year under a loosely organized effort. But some soldiers in those armies have resentments toward one another that have overshadowed their common goal of eradicating Mr. Kony’s group and arresting him.
The new operation announced Friday could offer a new beginning. Uganda said it would reallocate 1,500 of its troops currently fighting the L.R.A. in the Central African Republic under the new African Union operation, to be headed by Uganda, but it remained unclear how new troops would be brought in from the other nations, when they would arrive, and whether they would all be under a single military command. Headquarters for the operation will be in South Sudan, the world’s youngest and possibly most cash-hungry nation, and will include offices and administration.
The United States, which has participated in special operations against the rebel group in the past, last year sent 100 troops to Uganda and operational field locations to act a special advisers to the national forces, and reiterated its support on Friday for the regional military operation and its own “multi-year strategy.”
The African Union said Friday that its operation had been months in the planning, and would not stop until Mr. Kony was captured. The Lord’s Resistance Army has been murdering, mutilating and kidnapping children across East and Central Africa for decades, and has been the focus of numerous military operations, but while their atrocities were well known, the group did not come under their current widespread global scrutiny until the YouTube video. Uganda, which has complained of being drowned-out of the L.R.A. conversation since the video gained worldwide attention, was quick to distinguish the new effort, though it may not result in much change on the ground.
“The video excites those who have ignored African issues, otherwise it’s a joke,” said a Ugandan military spokesman, Col. Felix Kulayigye. “It is now A.U. that is in charge,” Colonel Kulayigye said, referring to the African Union. “The L.R.A. has always been there, it must be dead once and for all.”
Source: New York Times
“We’re on a mission,” an African Union envoy, Francisco Madeira, told reporters on Friday. “We need to stop Kony.”
The announcement came a few weeks after a YouTube video from an American advocacy organization went viral on the Internet and brought unprecedented attention to Mr. Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for a range of unspeakable atrocities. The announcement also came a few days after a bipartisan group in Congress introduced a resolution condemning Mr. Kony and supporting a regional military effort from the four most victimized nations. The armies of those nations — Uganda, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of the Congo — have been fighting the L.R.A. since last year under a loosely organized effort. But some soldiers in those armies have resentments toward one another that have overshadowed their common goal of eradicating Mr. Kony’s group and arresting him.
The new operation announced Friday could offer a new beginning. Uganda said it would reallocate 1,500 of its troops currently fighting the L.R.A. in the Central African Republic under the new African Union operation, to be headed by Uganda, but it remained unclear how new troops would be brought in from the other nations, when they would arrive, and whether they would all be under a single military command. Headquarters for the operation will be in South Sudan, the world’s youngest and possibly most cash-hungry nation, and will include offices and administration.
The United States, which has participated in special operations against the rebel group in the past, last year sent 100 troops to Uganda and operational field locations to act a special advisers to the national forces, and reiterated its support on Friday for the regional military operation and its own “multi-year strategy.”
The African Union said Friday that its operation had been months in the planning, and would not stop until Mr. Kony was captured. The Lord’s Resistance Army has been murdering, mutilating and kidnapping children across East and Central Africa for decades, and has been the focus of numerous military operations, but while their atrocities were well known, the group did not come under their current widespread global scrutiny until the YouTube video. Uganda, which has complained of being drowned-out of the L.R.A. conversation since the video gained worldwide attention, was quick to distinguish the new effort, though it may not result in much change on the ground.
“The video excites those who have ignored African issues, otherwise it’s a joke,” said a Ugandan military spokesman, Col. Felix Kulayigye. “It is now A.U. that is in charge,” Colonel Kulayigye said, referring to the African Union. “The L.R.A. has always been there, it must be dead once and for all.”
Source: New York Times
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Congo: Security Forces Killed 33 in Election Season, U.N. Says
Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo committed serious human rights violations, including killings, torture and arbitrary arrests, during the period around national elections last year, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.
The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in Congo found that at least 33 people were killed in the capital, Kinshasa, by security forces in November and December, and that at least 83 were wounded. More than 265 were arrested, the report said. “We have heard multiple accounts of Republican Guards shooting live ammunition into crowds and of the torture of arbitrarily detained individuals,” said the United Nations’ top human rights official, Navi Pillay. The report said the government opened an investigation into the violations in December.
Source: New York Times
The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in Congo found that at least 33 people were killed in the capital, Kinshasa, by security forces in November and December, and that at least 83 were wounded. More than 265 were arrested, the report said. “We have heard multiple accounts of Republican Guards shooting live ammunition into crowds and of the torture of arbitrarily detained individuals,” said the United Nations’ top human rights official, Navi Pillay. The report said the government opened an investigation into the violations in December.
Source: New York Times
Monday, March 19, 2012
Use of ‘Conflict Minerals’ Gets More Scrutiny From U.S.
An iPhone can do a lot of things. But can it arm Congolese rebels? That is the question being debated by a battalion of lobbyists from electronics makers, mining companies and international aid organizations that has descended on the Securities and Exchange Commission in recent months seeking to influence the drafting of a Dodd-Frank regulation that has nothing to do with the financial crisis. Tacked onto the end of that encyclopedic digest of financial reform is an odd provision. It requires publicly traded companies whose products use certain minerals commonly mined in strife-torn areas of Central Africa to report to shareholders and the S.E.C. whether their mineral supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The measure is aimed at cutting off the brutal militia groups that have often taken over the mining and sale of so-called conflict minerals to finance their military aims. Just about every company affected by the law says they support it, but many business groups have also been pushing aggressively to put wiggle room in the restrictions, calling for lengthy phase-in periods, exemptions for minimal use of the minerals and loose definitions of what types of uses are covered.
Nearly every consumer product that includes electronic parts uses a derivative of one of the four minerals: columbite-tantalite, which when refined is used in palm-size cellphones and giant turbines; cassiterite, an important source of the tin used in coffee cans and circuit boards; wolframite, used to produce tungsten for light bulbs and machine tools; and gold, commonly used as an electronic conductor (and, of course, jewelry). Given their broad application, the minerals have been a primary target of humanitarian groups concerned about genocide, sexual violence, child soldiers and other issues that have been common outgrowths of conflicts in Central Africa. “We don’t think you need to have people being killed in order to have these metals in our cellphones,” said Corinna Gilfillan, who heads the United States office of Global Witness, which has worked on the issue for several years.
But manufacturers question the effectiveness — not to mention the practicality and expense — of tracing every scrap of refined metal back to its original hole in the ground. “The challenge is that conflict minerals are a symptom,” said Rick Goss, vice president for environment and sustainability at the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group. “The entrenched powers in these countries have plenty of other means to raise money. Simply cutting off one source of revenue to a warlord or military rulers is not going to stop the genocide.”
The Dodd-Frank law on conflict minerals is already having an effect in Eastern Congo, damping or halting production at many mines even before the disclosure regulations for companies are in place. “It is causing, I would say, a sort of embargo on traders and diggers in Eastern Congo,” Serge Tshamala, an official at the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “The longer it takes the S.E.C. to come up with guidelines, the worse it is for our people.” Mr. Tshamala and other Congo government officials met with the agency’s staff members in June, urging them to speed completion of the regulations.
The agency is moving slowly, however. The Dodd-Frank law set an April 2011 deadline for completion of the rules. After proposing regulations in December 2010, the agency took comments for 30 days, and received so many suggestions that it extended the period by a month. After missing the April deadline, the agency in October conducted a roundtable for its commissioners to hear directly from manufacturers, mining companies, advocacy groups and institutional investors. This month, Mary L. Schapiro, the agency’s chairwoman, said the agency hoped to complete the process “in the next couple of months.”
The commission already has decided to include a phase-in period to allow companies time to build networks to trace their mineral supply. But an exemption for use of trace amounts of the metals is unlikely, Ms. Shapiro said. As Bennett Freeman, a senior vice president for sustainability research and policy at Calvert Investments put it during the roundtable last year, a very small amount of gold is used as a conductor in a cellphone, “but when one takes into account the fact that there were 1.6 billion cellphones sold globally last year, that adds up to be a very significant volume of that particular metal.”
Still undecided — and the subject of more than 100 meetings between lobbyists and S.E.C. officials since the rule was proposed — is just how the commission will decide who is covered by the conflict minerals requirement. The law says that the minerals must be “necessary to the functionality or production of a product manufactured by” a company. Simple as it seems, that definition gives rise to a tangle of questions. Is mining “manufacturing”? Is a coffee can made with tin “necessary to the functionality” of the coffee being sold?
The hair-splitting answers to those questions will be the basis on which the law could be challenged in court, and it is that prospect that accounts for much of the agency’s deliberate progress in fashioning the rules. Administrative law requires an agency like the S.E.C. to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of rules. Last year, a federal appeals court cited insufficient cost-benefit research in striking down one of the agency’s new regulations, and S.E.C. insiders say that decision has the agency operating in perpetual fear of a repeat occurrence.
There is little agreement on what it will cost companies to comply. The agency estimates companies will have to spend $71 million to comply with its regulations. The National Association of Manufacturers estimates the regulations will cost $9 billion to $16 billion. Whatever the answer, part of the burden would fall on a given company’s supply chain — companies, that is, that are very likely not to be covered by the regulation’s reporting requirements, which cover only publicly traded companies.
Irma Villarreal, chief securities counsel for Kraft Foods, said during the S.E.C. roundtable that Kraft produced 40,000 distinct products and used 100,000 suppliers, creating a Herculean task of auditing supply chains for conflict minerals. Nonprofit groups that support the new regulation say a growing number of companies — Intel, Motorola and Hewlett-Packard among them, according to the Enough Project, a nongovernmental organization that works against genocide and crimes against humanity — have already made significant steps to inspect and adjust their supply lines to avoid tainted sources of conflict minerals. “Our hope,” said Darren Fenwick, a senior manager of government affairs for the Enough Project, “is that the rule is strong enough that companies in industries that aren’t doing anything will start to feel the pressure in their supply chains.”
Source: New York Times
The measure is aimed at cutting off the brutal militia groups that have often taken over the mining and sale of so-called conflict minerals to finance their military aims. Just about every company affected by the law says they support it, but many business groups have also been pushing aggressively to put wiggle room in the restrictions, calling for lengthy phase-in periods, exemptions for minimal use of the minerals and loose definitions of what types of uses are covered.
Nearly every consumer product that includes electronic parts uses a derivative of one of the four minerals: columbite-tantalite, which when refined is used in palm-size cellphones and giant turbines; cassiterite, an important source of the tin used in coffee cans and circuit boards; wolframite, used to produce tungsten for light bulbs and machine tools; and gold, commonly used as an electronic conductor (and, of course, jewelry). Given their broad application, the minerals have been a primary target of humanitarian groups concerned about genocide, sexual violence, child soldiers and other issues that have been common outgrowths of conflicts in Central Africa. “We don’t think you need to have people being killed in order to have these metals in our cellphones,” said Corinna Gilfillan, who heads the United States office of Global Witness, which has worked on the issue for several years.
But manufacturers question the effectiveness — not to mention the practicality and expense — of tracing every scrap of refined metal back to its original hole in the ground. “The challenge is that conflict minerals are a symptom,” said Rick Goss, vice president for environment and sustainability at the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group. “The entrenched powers in these countries have plenty of other means to raise money. Simply cutting off one source of revenue to a warlord or military rulers is not going to stop the genocide.”
The Dodd-Frank law on conflict minerals is already having an effect in Eastern Congo, damping or halting production at many mines even before the disclosure regulations for companies are in place. “It is causing, I would say, a sort of embargo on traders and diggers in Eastern Congo,” Serge Tshamala, an official at the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “The longer it takes the S.E.C. to come up with guidelines, the worse it is for our people.” Mr. Tshamala and other Congo government officials met with the agency’s staff members in June, urging them to speed completion of the regulations.
The agency is moving slowly, however. The Dodd-Frank law set an April 2011 deadline for completion of the rules. After proposing regulations in December 2010, the agency took comments for 30 days, and received so many suggestions that it extended the period by a month. After missing the April deadline, the agency in October conducted a roundtable for its commissioners to hear directly from manufacturers, mining companies, advocacy groups and institutional investors. This month, Mary L. Schapiro, the agency’s chairwoman, said the agency hoped to complete the process “in the next couple of months.”
The commission already has decided to include a phase-in period to allow companies time to build networks to trace their mineral supply. But an exemption for use of trace amounts of the metals is unlikely, Ms. Shapiro said. As Bennett Freeman, a senior vice president for sustainability research and policy at Calvert Investments put it during the roundtable last year, a very small amount of gold is used as a conductor in a cellphone, “but when one takes into account the fact that there were 1.6 billion cellphones sold globally last year, that adds up to be a very significant volume of that particular metal.”
Still undecided — and the subject of more than 100 meetings between lobbyists and S.E.C. officials since the rule was proposed — is just how the commission will decide who is covered by the conflict minerals requirement. The law says that the minerals must be “necessary to the functionality or production of a product manufactured by” a company. Simple as it seems, that definition gives rise to a tangle of questions. Is mining “manufacturing”? Is a coffee can made with tin “necessary to the functionality” of the coffee being sold?
The hair-splitting answers to those questions will be the basis on which the law could be challenged in court, and it is that prospect that accounts for much of the agency’s deliberate progress in fashioning the rules. Administrative law requires an agency like the S.E.C. to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of rules. Last year, a federal appeals court cited insufficient cost-benefit research in striking down one of the agency’s new regulations, and S.E.C. insiders say that decision has the agency operating in perpetual fear of a repeat occurrence.
There is little agreement on what it will cost companies to comply. The agency estimates companies will have to spend $71 million to comply with its regulations. The National Association of Manufacturers estimates the regulations will cost $9 billion to $16 billion. Whatever the answer, part of the burden would fall on a given company’s supply chain — companies, that is, that are very likely not to be covered by the regulation’s reporting requirements, which cover only publicly traded companies.
Irma Villarreal, chief securities counsel for Kraft Foods, said during the S.E.C. roundtable that Kraft produced 40,000 distinct products and used 100,000 suppliers, creating a Herculean task of auditing supply chains for conflict minerals. Nonprofit groups that support the new regulation say a growing number of companies — Intel, Motorola and Hewlett-Packard among them, according to the Enough Project, a nongovernmental organization that works against genocide and crimes against humanity — have already made significant steps to inspect and adjust their supply lines to avoid tainted sources of conflict minerals. “Our hope,” said Darren Fenwick, a senior manager of government affairs for the Enough Project, “is that the rule is strong enough that companies in industries that aren’t doing anything will start to feel the pressure in their supply chains.”
Source: New York Times
Friday, March 16, 2012
Congo fixer wins success-fee claim against Vodacom
Vodacom has been been ordered to pay a politically connected fixer $21-million (R159-million) this week by a court in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but the episode could end up costing the mobile operator almost twice that amount. On the phone from Kinshasa this week, Moto Mabanga, the South African based fixer who was awarded the money by the court, said he reserved the right to go after the $19.6-million (R149-million) he felt he was still owed.
The Mail & Guardian initially reported on the dispute between Mabanga’s company, Namemco Energy, and Vodacom in August 2010. At the time, Mabanga, who consulted in the DRC for Vodacom, was suing the mobile conglomerate for R396-million in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. The amount related to consulting work Mabanga did for Vodacom in the DRC between May 6 and July 31 2007 and September 12 2007 and August 31 2008. The disputed amount of $40.8-million relates to a “success fee” that Mabanga claimed was negotiated between himself and Vodacom.
According to the consultancy agreements between Vodacom and Namemco Energy, Mabanga was tasked with advising Vodacom on economic, sociopolitical and security conditions in the DRC, providing advice and assistance on “government relations issues” in the the country, advising and assisting in the relationship between Vodacom and its DRC partner, Congolese Wireless Network (CWN), ensuring that Vodacom’s DRC staff were safe and not harassed or obstructed from doing their jobs, identifying parties interested in buying CWN’s 49% shareholding in Vodacom Congo and securing visas for Vodacom staff to enter the DRC.
This week Mabanga said he had had to change his course of action, switching his legal challenge from South Africa to the DRC, after he heard about a year ago that Vodacom was seeking to sell off its business interest in the DRC. “If it had sold its 51% in Vodacom DRC, it would have been difficult for me to recoup the money I was owed,” said Mabanga. “So we went to court in the DRC to attach 5% of its shareholding in Vodacom DRC.”
In April last year, the high court in Kinshasa ruled that Vodacom had to provisionally place shares to the value of $40.8-million in an escrow account. In January this year, the court in Kinshasa awarded a reduced claim of $21-million to Mabanga, against which Vodacom lodged an appeal for a stay of execution. The appeal was dismissed this week, paving the way for Vodacom to pay Mabanga the $21-million.
Asked to comment, Richard Boorman, Vodacom’s head of corporate affairs, said: “We have not yet received the full judgment on the ... matter. Once we have the relevant documentation, we will decide on an appropriate course of action.” When the initial judgment was handed down in January, Vodacom released a statement that it would object to a ruling by a DRC court, a move that Mabanga insists shows the company’s lack of respect for the DRC’s judicial system.
The Vodacom statement issued by Boorman at the time said: “We would clearly have material objections to any judgment by a Democratic Republic of Congo court in which a monetary award was granted to Namemco while the contractual dispute is currently being heard in court in South Africa, which has jurisdiction on the issue.”
Vodacom’s objections stemmed from the fact that its contract with Namemco Energy stipulated that any dispute would be decided under South African law.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The Mail & Guardian initially reported on the dispute between Mabanga’s company, Namemco Energy, and Vodacom in August 2010. At the time, Mabanga, who consulted in the DRC for Vodacom, was suing the mobile conglomerate for R396-million in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. The amount related to consulting work Mabanga did for Vodacom in the DRC between May 6 and July 31 2007 and September 12 2007 and August 31 2008. The disputed amount of $40.8-million relates to a “success fee” that Mabanga claimed was negotiated between himself and Vodacom.
According to the consultancy agreements between Vodacom and Namemco Energy, Mabanga was tasked with advising Vodacom on economic, sociopolitical and security conditions in the DRC, providing advice and assistance on “government relations issues” in the the country, advising and assisting in the relationship between Vodacom and its DRC partner, Congolese Wireless Network (CWN), ensuring that Vodacom’s DRC staff were safe and not harassed or obstructed from doing their jobs, identifying parties interested in buying CWN’s 49% shareholding in Vodacom Congo and securing visas for Vodacom staff to enter the DRC.
This week Mabanga said he had had to change his course of action, switching his legal challenge from South Africa to the DRC, after he heard about a year ago that Vodacom was seeking to sell off its business interest in the DRC. “If it had sold its 51% in Vodacom DRC, it would have been difficult for me to recoup the money I was owed,” said Mabanga. “So we went to court in the DRC to attach 5% of its shareholding in Vodacom DRC.”
In April last year, the high court in Kinshasa ruled that Vodacom had to provisionally place shares to the value of $40.8-million in an escrow account. In January this year, the court in Kinshasa awarded a reduced claim of $21-million to Mabanga, against which Vodacom lodged an appeal for a stay of execution. The appeal was dismissed this week, paving the way for Vodacom to pay Mabanga the $21-million.
Asked to comment, Richard Boorman, Vodacom’s head of corporate affairs, said: “We have not yet received the full judgment on the ... matter. Once we have the relevant documentation, we will decide on an appropriate course of action.” When the initial judgment was handed down in January, Vodacom released a statement that it would object to a ruling by a DRC court, a move that Mabanga insists shows the company’s lack of respect for the DRC’s judicial system.
The Vodacom statement issued by Boorman at the time said: “We would clearly have material objections to any judgment by a Democratic Republic of Congo court in which a monetary award was granted to Namemco while the contractual dispute is currently being heard in court in South Africa, which has jurisdiction on the issue.”
Vodacom’s objections stemmed from the fact that its contract with Namemco Energy stipulated that any dispute would be decided under South African law.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Congolese Warlord Convicted, in First for International Court
Thomas Lubanga, a rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was found guilty on Wednesday of recruiting and enlisting boys and girls under the age of 15 and using them in war, in the first ruling by the International Criminal Court since it began its work 10 years ago.
The decision, which came after a halting, arduous three-year trial, firmly establishes as an international crime the use of children in war — a practice that still enslaves tens of thousands of the young. The ruling adds to the rush of attention to another suspect wanted by the court, Joseph Kony, the leader of the dwindling Lord’s Resistance Army, which for years turned abducted children into soldiers as it marauded through at least four central African countries. But it also underscores some of the failings and limits of the prosecution’s approach. The rebels under Mr. Lubanga’s command were known to have pillaged, raped and killed many civilians in enemy villages, but prosecutors said when he was handed to The Hague in 2006 that the best evidence they had was about child recruiting. The judges strongly reprimanded the prosecution on Wednesday, saying it had been negligent and had delegated investigations to unreliable paid go-betweens who had encouraged witnesses to give false testimony. Two of the three judges wrote dissenting opinions, which were not immediately released.
In a packed courtroom, Mr. Lubanga, 51, dressed in an elegant white ceremonial robe, looked down as the presiding judge, Adrian Fulford of Britain, said that the evidence had confirmed that he and fellow fighters had enlisted boys and girls, sometimes by force; put them through harsh training; punished them; deployed them in fighting; and subjected girls to sexual violence. Mr. Lubanga, who held a degree in psychology and once worked as a teacher and trader, went on to lead a rebel group in the Ituri region, where the local press reported that he asked every family to contribute a cow, money or a child to his militia. He told the court that he was only the political leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots and had discouraged deploying children. But the judges found that in 2002 and 2003, during a brutal ethnic conflict in the northeast of Congo, Mr. Lubanga also led his group’s military wing, provided weapons, ammunition, food and uniforms and made speeches in the Ituri region “encouraging children to join the army.” Videos presented in court showed Mr. Lubanga in training camps in the presence of uniformed children. Although the conflict in Ituri, fueled by rivalries for power and control over mineral riches, dated to the 1990s, the court’s jurisdiction only went into effect in 2002.
In the coming weeks, the court is expected to issue its sentence of Mr. Lubanga and hold hearings on reparations for his victims. He has 30 days to appeal the court’s verdict. The verdict was welcomed by human rights groups.
Navi Pillay, the South African who is the United Nations human rights commissioner, said that “for many years, and on a daily basis, we have been documenting gross violations of human rights of the sort perpetrated by Lubanga against the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” She said that the Lubanga verdict represented the coming of age of the court and that it sent “a strong signal against impunity for such grave breaches of international law that will reverberate well beyond the D.R.C.”
The United Nations estimates that tens of thousands of boys and girls, some only 8 years old, are involved in numerous conflicts in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Roméo Dallaire, the former Canadian general who commanded the outnumbered United Nations force in Rwanda during the genocide, turned his focus afterward to halting the use of child soldiers. Now a Canadian senator, he said recently that more than 250,000 children, about 40 percent of them girls, are used as messengers, bodyguards, soldiers or sex slaves in conflicts in more than 30 countries.
Some lawyers believe that the ruling dealing with the gravity of sending children into war could help change legal attitudes, if not practices, worldwide. In recent years, other international courts, including those that tried war crimes in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, have addressed similar crimes. But the International Criminal Court, an independent institution now joined by 120 nations, with its broad mandate and scope, carries a particular weight. Still, in Congo, there was some skepticism that the ruling would be able to stop militias from recruiting children. “Over the last 20 years, various militia have conscripted children,” said Aloys Tegera of the Pole Institute, a research group based in the eastern Congolese city of Goma. “Any new militia born will do exactly the same.” He called it a “hope” that the Lubanga verdict would “become a deterrent for warlordism still rampant in the Kivus,” referring to ravaged provinces in the east, and that the court’s critics regard it as a “political instrument.” Even supporters of the court have been ambivalent or critical about the prosecution’s handling of the case. Intense confrontations between prosecutors and judges took place in court as the two sides sought to control the trial. Several times the case came close to imploding.
On two occasions, Mr. Fulford, an experienced British judge, called a halt to the proceedings and ordered Mr. Lubanga released. He said the prosecution’s errors in dealing with evidence and its refusal to follow orders from the bench were making a fair trial impossible. Both times, appeals judges ordered the trial resumed and the errors corrected. Defense lawyers produced evidence that several witnesses, presented as former child soldiers, had given evidence that had been fabricated with the help of researchers for the prosecution
International treaties that prohibit recruiting children have set the age of conscription or other involvement in hostilities at 18, three years older than the limit used by the judges at the court in The Hague. Some activists hope that drafters of future peace treaties will be prompted to recognize the special plight of underage soldiers, perhaps making provisions to start the difficult process to help them rejoin civilian society. Several programs are already under way in Africa. Social workers say that even if children have enlisted willingly, looking for food, status or protection, they are often still damaged by war-time violence and drugs.
Source: New York Times
The decision, which came after a halting, arduous three-year trial, firmly establishes as an international crime the use of children in war — a practice that still enslaves tens of thousands of the young. The ruling adds to the rush of attention to another suspect wanted by the court, Joseph Kony, the leader of the dwindling Lord’s Resistance Army, which for years turned abducted children into soldiers as it marauded through at least four central African countries. But it also underscores some of the failings and limits of the prosecution’s approach. The rebels under Mr. Lubanga’s command were known to have pillaged, raped and killed many civilians in enemy villages, but prosecutors said when he was handed to The Hague in 2006 that the best evidence they had was about child recruiting. The judges strongly reprimanded the prosecution on Wednesday, saying it had been negligent and had delegated investigations to unreliable paid go-betweens who had encouraged witnesses to give false testimony. Two of the three judges wrote dissenting opinions, which were not immediately released.
In a packed courtroom, Mr. Lubanga, 51, dressed in an elegant white ceremonial robe, looked down as the presiding judge, Adrian Fulford of Britain, said that the evidence had confirmed that he and fellow fighters had enlisted boys and girls, sometimes by force; put them through harsh training; punished them; deployed them in fighting; and subjected girls to sexual violence. Mr. Lubanga, who held a degree in psychology and once worked as a teacher and trader, went on to lead a rebel group in the Ituri region, where the local press reported that he asked every family to contribute a cow, money or a child to his militia. He told the court that he was only the political leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots and had discouraged deploying children. But the judges found that in 2002 and 2003, during a brutal ethnic conflict in the northeast of Congo, Mr. Lubanga also led his group’s military wing, provided weapons, ammunition, food and uniforms and made speeches in the Ituri region “encouraging children to join the army.” Videos presented in court showed Mr. Lubanga in training camps in the presence of uniformed children. Although the conflict in Ituri, fueled by rivalries for power and control over mineral riches, dated to the 1990s, the court’s jurisdiction only went into effect in 2002.
In the coming weeks, the court is expected to issue its sentence of Mr. Lubanga and hold hearings on reparations for his victims. He has 30 days to appeal the court’s verdict. The verdict was welcomed by human rights groups.
Navi Pillay, the South African who is the United Nations human rights commissioner, said that “for many years, and on a daily basis, we have been documenting gross violations of human rights of the sort perpetrated by Lubanga against the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” She said that the Lubanga verdict represented the coming of age of the court and that it sent “a strong signal against impunity for such grave breaches of international law that will reverberate well beyond the D.R.C.”
The United Nations estimates that tens of thousands of boys and girls, some only 8 years old, are involved in numerous conflicts in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Roméo Dallaire, the former Canadian general who commanded the outnumbered United Nations force in Rwanda during the genocide, turned his focus afterward to halting the use of child soldiers. Now a Canadian senator, he said recently that more than 250,000 children, about 40 percent of them girls, are used as messengers, bodyguards, soldiers or sex slaves in conflicts in more than 30 countries.
Some lawyers believe that the ruling dealing with the gravity of sending children into war could help change legal attitudes, if not practices, worldwide. In recent years, other international courts, including those that tried war crimes in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, have addressed similar crimes. But the International Criminal Court, an independent institution now joined by 120 nations, with its broad mandate and scope, carries a particular weight. Still, in Congo, there was some skepticism that the ruling would be able to stop militias from recruiting children. “Over the last 20 years, various militia have conscripted children,” said Aloys Tegera of the Pole Institute, a research group based in the eastern Congolese city of Goma. “Any new militia born will do exactly the same.” He called it a “hope” that the Lubanga verdict would “become a deterrent for warlordism still rampant in the Kivus,” referring to ravaged provinces in the east, and that the court’s critics regard it as a “political instrument.” Even supporters of the court have been ambivalent or critical about the prosecution’s handling of the case. Intense confrontations between prosecutors and judges took place in court as the two sides sought to control the trial. Several times the case came close to imploding.
On two occasions, Mr. Fulford, an experienced British judge, called a halt to the proceedings and ordered Mr. Lubanga released. He said the prosecution’s errors in dealing with evidence and its refusal to follow orders from the bench were making a fair trial impossible. Both times, appeals judges ordered the trial resumed and the errors corrected. Defense lawyers produced evidence that several witnesses, presented as former child soldiers, had given evidence that had been fabricated with the help of researchers for the prosecution
International treaties that prohibit recruiting children have set the age of conscription or other involvement in hostilities at 18, three years older than the limit used by the judges at the court in The Hague. Some activists hope that drafters of future peace treaties will be prompted to recognize the special plight of underage soldiers, perhaps making provisions to start the difficult process to help them rejoin civilian society. Several programs are already under way in Africa. Social workers say that even if children have enlisted willingly, looking for food, status or protection, they are often still damaged by war-time violence and drugs.
Source: New York Times
Monday, March 12, 2012
Congo Republic: Mass Funeral for Victims of Explosion
One week after an explosion at an arms depot and barracks complex killed at least 246 people in the capital, Brazzaville, more than 100 were buried in a mass funeral. Officials said that only 159 bodies could be identified in time for the ceremony. The explosion was caused by a fire in the barracks that set off a lethal rain of grenades, mortar rounds, shells and rockets. The arms depot had not been moved away from the neighborhood despite an earlier government promise to do so after a less deadly explosion in 2009.
Source: New York Times
Source: New York Times
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Senior Congo diplomats claim asylum in UK
Three senior diplomats have resigned from their posts at the Congolese embassy in London and claimed asylum in the UK, accusing their own government of presiding over a "climate of terror". Baby Kazadi Moussonzo, first secretary to the ambassador, Mamie Yaya Efunga, another first secretary, and Kabengele Mamba, second secretary, had between them notched up 14 years' service at the central London embassy. They resigned earlier this month and have issued a lengthy statement denouncing the government that had employed them. They accused it of presiding over a "climate of terror". They claimed the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was guilty of abductions, arrests and assassinations as well as turning the police and Republican Guard into a private militia.
Congo's incumbent president, Joseph Kabila, was re-elected last November but controversy surrounded the results with opposition politicians claiming the ballot was rigged. The Carter Centre, which observed the election, said the results "lacked credibility". Human Rights Watch reported that at least 24 people were killed by police in the aftermath of the disputed vote. The three diplomats said in their statement that there had been substantial election fraud and ballot box stuffing.
The Metropolitan police made 139 arrests last December during a demonstration organised by Congolese people living in the UK who added their voices to those who argued that the outcome of the election was flawed. Anti-Kabila demonstrations have also taken place in South Africa, most recently at the international Mining Indaba in Cape Town earlier this month.
"We had many concerns about the situation in Congo and that is why we resigned. We were accused by the Congolese government of taking part in the London demonstration against the government last December but this is not true," said Moussonzo. "The government said that because we were involved in this demonstration we were being recalled to Congo.
"We believed that our lives would be in danger if we returned to our country in these circumstances and so we had to resign and claim asylum here in the UK."
A spokesperson for the Congolese embassy in London said the embassy was not commenting on the resignations.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Congo's incumbent president, Joseph Kabila, was re-elected last November but controversy surrounded the results with opposition politicians claiming the ballot was rigged. The Carter Centre, which observed the election, said the results "lacked credibility". Human Rights Watch reported that at least 24 people were killed by police in the aftermath of the disputed vote. The three diplomats said in their statement that there had been substantial election fraud and ballot box stuffing.
The Metropolitan police made 139 arrests last December during a demonstration organised by Congolese people living in the UK who added their voices to those who argued that the outcome of the election was flawed. Anti-Kabila demonstrations have also taken place in South Africa, most recently at the international Mining Indaba in Cape Town earlier this month.
"We had many concerns about the situation in Congo and that is why we resigned. We were accused by the Congolese government of taking part in the London demonstration against the government last December but this is not true," said Moussonzo. "The government said that because we were involved in this demonstration we were being recalled to Congo.
"We believed that our lives would be in danger if we returned to our country in these circumstances and so we had to resign and claim asylum here in the UK."
A spokesperson for the Congolese embassy in London said the embassy was not commenting on the resignations.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Anti-Joseph Kabila protesters urge DRC boycott at Indaba
Congolese protesters opposed to the DRC's Joseph Kabila are picketing on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, calling on investors to steer clear of the country's mineral resources. Congolese protesters who dispute the recent re-election of Joseph Kabila as president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) picketed on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Wednesday, calling on investors to steer clear of the country's mineral resources. They also claimed that South Africa had only endorsed Kabila's re-election because prominent South Africans had business interests in the countries' mining sector. Chanting in French and Kikongo, approximately 30 protesters cradled placards and the DRC's flags while they toyi-toyi'd along Coen Steytler avenue outside the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
"Kabila is a killer and rapist"; "Help save the DRC"; and "DRC in deep political crisis -- Illegal delegation as Indaba," read some of the placards. The protests form part of a larger campaign by DRC citizens residing in South Africa who believe the presidential elections in December were illegitimate and fixed in favour of incumbent president Joseph Kabila.
"There is no government representative of the people at the moment in the DRC. Kabila stole the elections and is stealing the wealth of our country -- he must go," Iko Ikotela from Kinshasa told the Mail & Guardian.
Most of those protesting outside the Indaba say opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi is the rightful leader of the country and was defeated by Kabila only "through fraud". As part of their remonstrations, the protesters are encouraging investors to steer clear of the country's mineral sector, which they believe is "tainted".
"Hey! Please don't invest in the DRC -- you are supporting a murderer and a rapist and buying blood diamonds -- don't do it," shouted one Protester to a bemused looking delegate as he exited the Indaba.
Besides diamonds, other primary minerals mined in the country include cobalt, gold and copper. Despite widespread international condemnation, the South African government ratified Kabila's victory in late December. Ikotela alleges the support from the South African government is solely based on business interests in the DRC, held by prominent South African politicians.
"Your President Zuma and his cronies have mines up in DRC, that's why you are supporting Kabila," he told the M&G.
Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj dismissed claims of Zuma's business concerns in the DRC as "far-fetched" and would not comment any further on the matter. While there is no overt evidence to suggest President Zuma is involved in any business concerns -- mining or otherwise -- in the DRC, his nephew Khulubuse Zuma is involved in the country's mineral and energy sector. In response to the protests, the DRC's minerals and energy delegation at the Indaba have set up an emergency number for the country's representatives to contact should picketers threaten them.
"They have been a little aggressive but nothing too hectic. If I think it is bad I will use the number," Alessaine Kwatanga, a businessman in Lubumbashi told the M&G.
Indaba organisers have described the protests as "unfortunate" but say they recognise the rights of DRC citizens to protest against their government and leaders.
"The right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the South African Constitution. The Mining Indaba would like to apologise to our delegates and anyone who might have been inconvenienced," read a statement released on Wednesday.
Source: Mail & Guardian
"Kabila is a killer and rapist"; "Help save the DRC"; and "DRC in deep political crisis -- Illegal delegation as Indaba," read some of the placards. The protests form part of a larger campaign by DRC citizens residing in South Africa who believe the presidential elections in December were illegitimate and fixed in favour of incumbent president Joseph Kabila.
"There is no government representative of the people at the moment in the DRC. Kabila stole the elections and is stealing the wealth of our country -- he must go," Iko Ikotela from Kinshasa told the Mail & Guardian.
Most of those protesting outside the Indaba say opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi is the rightful leader of the country and was defeated by Kabila only "through fraud". As part of their remonstrations, the protesters are encouraging investors to steer clear of the country's mineral sector, which they believe is "tainted".
"Hey! Please don't invest in the DRC -- you are supporting a murderer and a rapist and buying blood diamonds -- don't do it," shouted one Protester to a bemused looking delegate as he exited the Indaba.
Besides diamonds, other primary minerals mined in the country include cobalt, gold and copper. Despite widespread international condemnation, the South African government ratified Kabila's victory in late December. Ikotela alleges the support from the South African government is solely based on business interests in the DRC, held by prominent South African politicians.
"Your President Zuma and his cronies have mines up in DRC, that's why you are supporting Kabila," he told the M&G.
Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj dismissed claims of Zuma's business concerns in the DRC as "far-fetched" and would not comment any further on the matter. While there is no overt evidence to suggest President Zuma is involved in any business concerns -- mining or otherwise -- in the DRC, his nephew Khulubuse Zuma is involved in the country's mineral and energy sector. In response to the protests, the DRC's minerals and energy delegation at the Indaba have set up an emergency number for the country's representatives to contact should picketers threaten them.
"They have been a little aggressive but nothing too hectic. If I think it is bad I will use the number," Alessaine Kwatanga, a businessman in Lubumbashi told the M&G.
Indaba organisers have described the protests as "unfortunate" but say they recognise the rights of DRC citizens to protest against their government and leaders.
"The right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the South African Constitution. The Mining Indaba would like to apologise to our delegates and anyone who might have been inconvenienced," read a statement released on Wednesday.
Source: Mail & Guardian
DRC election protest goes viral
Congolese protesters opposed to the DRC's Joseph Kabila are picketing on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, calling on investors to steer clear of the country's mineral resources. Congolese protesters who dispute the recent re-election of Joseph Kabila as president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) picketed on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Wednesday, calling on investors to steer clear of the country's mineral resources.
They also claimed that South Africa had only endorsed Kabila's re-election because prominent South Africans had business interests in the countries' mining sector. Chanting in French and Kikongo, approximately 30 protesters cradled placards and the DRC's flags while they toyi-toyi'd along Coen Steytler avenue outside the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
"Kabila is a killer and rapist"; "Help save the DRC"; and "DRC in deep political crisis -- Illegal delegation as Indaba," read some of the placards.
The protests form part of a larger campaign by DRC citizens residing in South Africa who believe the presidential elections in December were illegitimate and fixed in favour of incumbent president Joseph Kabila.
'Kabila stole the elections and is stealing the wealth'
"There is no government representative of the people at the moment in the DRC. Kabila stole the elections and is stealing the wealth of our country -- he must go," Iko Ikotela from Kinshasa told the Mail & Guardian.
Most of those protesting outside the Indaba say opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi is the rightful leader of the country and was defeated by Kabila only "through fraud".
As part of their remonstrations, the protesters are encouraging investors to steer clear of the country's mineral sector, which they believe is "tainted".
"Hey! Please don't invest in the DRC -- you are supporting a murderer and a rapist and buying blood diamonds -- don't do it," shouted one Protester to a bemused looking delegate as he exited the Indaba.
Besides diamonds, other primary minerals mined in the country include cobalt, gold and copper.
Despite widespread international condemnation, the South African government ratified Kabila's victory in late December.
'Zuma and his cronies have mines in the DRC'
Ikotela alleges the support from the South African government is solely based on business interests in the DRC, held by prominent South African politicians.
"Your President Zuma and his cronies have mines up in DRC, that's why you are supporting Kabila," he told the M&G.
Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj dismissed claims of Zuma's business concerns in the DRC as "far-fetched" and would not comment any further on the matter.
While there is no overt evidence to suggest President Zuma is involved in any business concerns -- mining or otherwise -- in the DRC, his nephew Khulubuse Zuma is involved in the country's mineral and energy sector.
Emergency number
In response to the protests, the DRC's minerals and energy delegation at the Indaba have set up an emergency number for the country's representatives to contact should picketers threaten them.
"They have been a little aggressive but nothing too hectic. If I think it is bad I will use the number," Alessaine Kwatanga, a businessman in Lubumbashi told the M&G.
Indaba organisers have described the protests as "unfortunate" but say they recognise the rights of DRC citizens to protest against their government and leaders.
"The right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the South African Constitution. The Mining Indaba would like to apologise to our delegates and anyone who might have been inconvenienced," read a statement released on Wednesday.
They also claimed that South Africa had only endorsed Kabila's re-election because prominent South Africans had business interests in the countries' mining sector. Chanting in French and Kikongo, approximately 30 protesters cradled placards and the DRC's flags while they toyi-toyi'd along Coen Steytler avenue outside the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
"Kabila is a killer and rapist"; "Help save the DRC"; and "DRC in deep political crisis -- Illegal delegation as Indaba," read some of the placards.
The protests form part of a larger campaign by DRC citizens residing in South Africa who believe the presidential elections in December were illegitimate and fixed in favour of incumbent president Joseph Kabila.
'Kabila stole the elections and is stealing the wealth'
"There is no government representative of the people at the moment in the DRC. Kabila stole the elections and is stealing the wealth of our country -- he must go," Iko Ikotela from Kinshasa told the Mail & Guardian.
Most of those protesting outside the Indaba say opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi is the rightful leader of the country and was defeated by Kabila only "through fraud".
As part of their remonstrations, the protesters are encouraging investors to steer clear of the country's mineral sector, which they believe is "tainted".
"Hey! Please don't invest in the DRC -- you are supporting a murderer and a rapist and buying blood diamonds -- don't do it," shouted one Protester to a bemused looking delegate as he exited the Indaba.
Besides diamonds, other primary minerals mined in the country include cobalt, gold and copper.
Despite widespread international condemnation, the South African government ratified Kabila's victory in late December.
'Zuma and his cronies have mines in the DRC'
Ikotela alleges the support from the South African government is solely based on business interests in the DRC, held by prominent South African politicians.
"Your President Zuma and his cronies have mines up in DRC, that's why you are supporting Kabila," he told the M&G.
Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj dismissed claims of Zuma's business concerns in the DRC as "far-fetched" and would not comment any further on the matter.
While there is no overt evidence to suggest President Zuma is involved in any business concerns -- mining or otherwise -- in the DRC, his nephew Khulubuse Zuma is involved in the country's mineral and energy sector.
Emergency number
In response to the protests, the DRC's minerals and energy delegation at the Indaba have set up an emergency number for the country's representatives to contact should picketers threaten them.
"They have been a little aggressive but nothing too hectic. If I think it is bad I will use the number," Alessaine Kwatanga, a businessman in Lubumbashi told the M&G.
Indaba organisers have described the protests as "unfortunate" but say they recognise the rights of DRC citizens to protest against their government and leaders.
"The right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the South African Constitution. The Mining Indaba would like to apologise to our delegates and anyone who might have been inconvenienced," read a statement released on Wednesday.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Congolese nationals claim intimidation during raids
Shouts of "Zombie Ndoki! Zombie Ndoki!" (Zombie is a witch) rang out on Friday morning outside the Hillbrow Police Station as a Congolese national, identified as Zombie Fabrice by a frenzied crowd of about 50 people, drove into the building's underground parking. An imposing man wearing a Mobutu Sese Seko-like chapeau and a large medallion with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila's face, Zombie -- flanked by police and bodyguards -- walked slowly from his car into the bowels of the police station for a meeting.
The crowd of Congolese nationals made mostly of women whose husbands and brothers were arrested during a police raid in the Johannesburg suburb of Yeoville on Thursday afternoon, blamed Zombie for the arrests. Family of the 150 people arrested, many of whom chose to remain anonymous for fear of intimidation, alleged that Zombie had instigated the latest round of arrests by bribing police officers. Many said this was the sixth raid of its kind since the November presidential elections in the DRC. Chris Katango, a political refugee and chairperson of the Congolese Youth League, said: "Zombie is working for Kabila and he is here to make sure that our protest against the fraudulent election result in November is oppressed."
"Zombie was there on Thursday, pointing out people to be arrested by the police -- they are working for him," he added.
Living in fear
Large sections of Johannesburg's Congolese community have staged protests since the DRC's polls that many have claimed were flawed. Supporters of Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) leader Etienne Tshisekedi have argued that incumbent Kabila had defrauded the man known as Moses of the presidency. Tshisekedi supporters were adamant that the South African government and police were working for the Kabila regime in trying to quell ongoing protests. Theresa Farida, a Congolese national whose brother, Trindon, had been arrested in Thursday's raid said: "[President Jacob] Zuma is working with Kabila to make sure that our voices are silenced because the South Africans want to protect their mining interests in Congo. We can't fight in the Congo because if we say anything we are silenced, or people disappear. We have run away to South Africa but we can't protest here too. I want to go back to my country but I want to go back to a country where there [is] freedom and not fear."
"My brother was just drinking in the bar when the police came in and took him away -- tell me, how is drinking in a bar dangerous?" said Farida.
An employee of Kin Malebu, a popular Congolese eatery on Rockey Street in Yeoville -- who asked not to be named -- described Thursday's events: "At about 4pm the police just surrounded Times Square and the area around it and started beating people up and making arrests. They came into our restaurant too, looking for people."
Laurentine Borese, a 24-year-old, said she was walking to an internet café with her husband, Hugo Wanaldo, when they were accosted by police: "I was going to make a fax when the police came, they arrested my husband -- but not before beating me," she said, lifting her shirt to show the sjambok welts on her arms and back. Police spokesperson Captain Dennis Adriao confirmed that 150 people had been arrested and said more arrests could happen over the weekend. He said those detained had been charged with assault and intimidation and would appear in the Hillbrow Magistrate's Court on Monday.
He refused to comment on any possible relationship between Zombie and police and denied police were being used to quell anti-Kabila sentiment in Johannesburg. Adriao said: "A special task team had been set up to investigate the ongoing political violence because there have been many cases of assault and intimidation opened since November.
"The arrests made came after the team's investigations which included examining footage of several incidents of this nature ... We have not taken sides, we have allowed both groups to protest peacefully but when they get out of hand and destroy property or turn violent we step in," said Adriao.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The crowd of Congolese nationals made mostly of women whose husbands and brothers were arrested during a police raid in the Johannesburg suburb of Yeoville on Thursday afternoon, blamed Zombie for the arrests. Family of the 150 people arrested, many of whom chose to remain anonymous for fear of intimidation, alleged that Zombie had instigated the latest round of arrests by bribing police officers. Many said this was the sixth raid of its kind since the November presidential elections in the DRC. Chris Katango, a political refugee and chairperson of the Congolese Youth League, said: "Zombie is working for Kabila and he is here to make sure that our protest against the fraudulent election result in November is oppressed."
"Zombie was there on Thursday, pointing out people to be arrested by the police -- they are working for him," he added.
Living in fear
Large sections of Johannesburg's Congolese community have staged protests since the DRC's polls that many have claimed were flawed. Supporters of Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) leader Etienne Tshisekedi have argued that incumbent Kabila had defrauded the man known as Moses of the presidency. Tshisekedi supporters were adamant that the South African government and police were working for the Kabila regime in trying to quell ongoing protests. Theresa Farida, a Congolese national whose brother, Trindon, had been arrested in Thursday's raid said: "[President Jacob] Zuma is working with Kabila to make sure that our voices are silenced because the South Africans want to protect their mining interests in Congo. We can't fight in the Congo because if we say anything we are silenced, or people disappear. We have run away to South Africa but we can't protest here too. I want to go back to my country but I want to go back to a country where there [is] freedom and not fear."
"My brother was just drinking in the bar when the police came in and took him away -- tell me, how is drinking in a bar dangerous?" said Farida.
An employee of Kin Malebu, a popular Congolese eatery on Rockey Street in Yeoville -- who asked not to be named -- described Thursday's events: "At about 4pm the police just surrounded Times Square and the area around it and started beating people up and making arrests. They came into our restaurant too, looking for people."
Laurentine Borese, a 24-year-old, said she was walking to an internet café with her husband, Hugo Wanaldo, when they were accosted by police: "I was going to make a fax when the police came, they arrested my husband -- but not before beating me," she said, lifting her shirt to show the sjambok welts on her arms and back. Police spokesperson Captain Dennis Adriao confirmed that 150 people had been arrested and said more arrests could happen over the weekend. He said those detained had been charged with assault and intimidation and would appear in the Hillbrow Magistrate's Court on Monday.
He refused to comment on any possible relationship between Zombie and police and denied police were being used to quell anti-Kabila sentiment in Johannesburg. Adriao said: "A special task team had been set up to investigate the ongoing political violence because there have been many cases of assault and intimidation opened since November.
"The arrests made came after the team's investigations which included examining footage of several incidents of this nature ... We have not taken sides, we have allowed both groups to protest peacefully but when they get out of hand and destroy property or turn violent we step in," said Adriao.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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