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African Church Information Service ANALYSIS November 24, 2003 Posted to the web November 24, 2003 By Nernlor Gruduah Nairobi In the course of the two wars the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has undergone since 1996, there have been two genocide incidences , one under the glare of international community, and the other swept under the carpet. Nernlor Gruduah reports. Apart from its current peacekeeping role in the DRC, the United Nations (UN) appears to have forgotten a commitment it made to the people of Congo and Rwanda on the one hand, and the international community on the other. The UN had undertaken to investigate the disappearance of nearly 300,000 Rwandan refugees, allegedly killed by the Rwandan army during the first war, that brought Laurent Désiré Kabila to power in May 1997. Such an undertaking was obviously going to be difficult, given that Kabila was used as a face by both Rwanda and Uganda, to execute their dual objectives in the DRC. The first objective was to invade the country in pursuit of former Rwandan army personnel and the Interahamwe Hutu militia, who fled there after the infamous Rwandan genocide of 1994, in which up to 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered. These people were believed to have been behind the genocide. The second mission was to occupy the land, with the help of powerful external backers, notably the United States (US) and Britain, to extract its vast mineral resources. As a camouflage, Kabila's Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) sprung out of the blue to make the foreign invasion of DRC appear like a Congolese rebellion against Mobutu. A former guerrilla leader in the failed Katanga uprising, Kabila proved an opportunistic ready tool to be used as a puppet by the external aggressors. A planned UN investigation mission to DRC aborted after it was denied permission by Kabila, shortly after Rwanda and Uganda helped him overthrow long-serving president, Mobutu Sese Seko. Analysts suspect that Kabila's backers, who are said to be behind the massacre of the refugees, masterminded his refusal. The UN mission failed also because the Kabila-led government enjoyed enormous American support, for as long as he commanded the confidence of Washington's allies , Uganda and Rwanda. The US had ditched its long-time friend, Mobutu, when newly baptised confidants, presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, entered the stage. But the honeymoon between Kagame, Museveni and Kabila was short-lived as Kabila, under pressure from his own people resentful of the Rwandan presence, told Kagame that the job was complete and that it was time to leave DRC. This declaration, which was made in August 1998, infuriated Kagame, who instantaneously turned the guns against Kabila, using his (Kabila's) enemies and Rwandan exiles in DRC as a cover. The backlash of Kabila's decision saw the emergence , at the behest of Rwanda and Uganda , of rebel groups like the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD). To his former masters-turned enemies, Kabila had not only bitten too much than he could chew, but had also bitten the hand that fed him. Telling the Rwandan army to pack up and leave was unacceptable to Kagame. Kinshasa, DRC's capital, nearly fell in the ensuing assault by Rwandan and Ugandan troops as well as splinter rebel groups. The city, however, survived by a whisker, thanks to the intervention of Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia, to stamp out a pattern that was developing, where Rwanda and Uganda were bent on changing government at will in Kinshasa. Political analysts attribute Kabila's violent death in January 2001, when he was shot by his own bodyguard, to this fall-out. He was to be succeeded later by his son, Joseph Kabila, through whose leadership the country has finally formed a transitional government, after signing a peace accord with the rebel groups in April this year. The deal was brokered by South Africa. This development notwithstanding, does the UN's long silence over the failed investigation on the killing of 300,000 refugees mean that it is no longer worthwhile? These massacres were believed to have been an orchestrated move to effect a counter-genocide. The first wave targeted Rwandan Hutu refugees, mixed with former soldiers and Interahamwe militia fighters, largely blamed for the Rwandan genocide. The UN was forced to act by nearly forcibly repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees. At the time, journalists who visited the Kivu region of eastern DRC reported the existence of a number of mass graves. This is what prompted the UN to set up the investigation team. But then, the powerful hands working behind the scenes deliberately stalled the process. Observers note that under normal circumstances, Museveni and Kagame could pass for war criminals. Compared with former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, indicted for war crimes by a special court in Sierra Leone and now living in exile in Nigeria, the two men have played a more direct role. Taylor, under pressure from the US, is accused of supporting Sierra Leonean rebels in exchange for diamonds, whereas Museveni and Kagame sent their armies to DRC to maim, kill, rape and plunder. Ironically, though, every now and then, these two leaders dine with President George W. Bush at the White House. Could this explain why the genocide committed in DRC has not attracted international attention on the scale the Rwandan genocide did? The Mulindwas Communication Group "With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
