The petition was delivered to the White House in January. | Donovan Slack/POLITICO By ROBIN WRIGHT and JD STIER | 3/26/13 4:42 AM EDT
On March 18, one of the world’s worst warlords, Bosco Ntaganda, turned himself in to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda. Ntaganda, also known as “The Terminator,” is the leader of several brutal armed groups and army units, including the M23, that have terrorized eastern Congo for over a decade. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As we write this, Ntaganda is being transferred to The Hague, and a hesitant celebration has spread throughout a region home to the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II.
Further good news came on March 18 when the United Nations announced the appointment of Mary Robinson as the secretary-general’s special envoy to the region, delivering the highest level of diplomatic gravitas to broker a peace deal between the government of Congo, the M23 rebel group and regional governments. These events present a historic opportunity to secure lasting peace for the people of eastern Congo, and an urgent opportunity for the U.S. government to take action...........
FULL ARTICLE: Opinion: U.S. must act on Congo now - Robin Wright and JD Stier - POLITICO.com
Thank you Politico.com for this news. Yes Bosco Ntaganda was wanted by the ICC, he should answer those allegations. He never been a leader of M23(FYI),he was a right hand of Kabila all the way to his flee(2nd try to over-take M23 financed by Kabila). Two points i wanted to say:
ReplyDelete1. Why not those FDLR who committed the genocide in Rwanda 1994, then came to DRC(Zaire) and kept doing the same killings, rapes, looting and many more crimes against humanity?Those MAI MAI who are doing the same crimes as FDLR and FARDC, all of these had happened since 1994 until now? Those who speak Kinyarwanda have been victims for a long time, it is time for them to get their basic rights in DRC.
2. Now M23 and Kinshasa government are in peace talks in Kampala Uganda, the AU,UN,and the region's countries support this effort, but you hear the UNSC and Kinshasa having other resolution to impose war on M23, this kind of double sword is not healthy at all, Congolese people deserve peace,the UNSC should focus on FDLR,MAI MAI but not M23 because M23 has made its territories safe, schools are open and the population is happy than ever. Thank you.By Graben Peace DRC KIVU
Thanks for your comment, grabenpeace. I agree with you that efforts have to be made to rein in ALL militias in the Congo. How many are there? Some 20 or so? The focus has been on M23 lately because they have been the most visible, and on Bosco because he was the nastiest of the current warlords. I wouldn't say he controlled M23 because M23 was two factions, not one, and Bosco clearly ran one of them. Call them the bad apples perhaps, largely fled to Rwanda now and disintegrating as a force, so I hope the Makenga faction really can pursue a peaceful agreement now.
DeleteThe UN has just voted to give MONUSCO an offensive brigade with the mandate to finally take on militias, any and all militias, not just confront M23, so we have to underscore to them and the world that the FDLR and some of the Mai Mai are as gruesome as or even worse than Ntaganda was. MONUSCO so far has been a toothless lion, so let us see if they will go after groups like the FDLR now when they attack civilians now that they have some teeth.
I am also hopeful that the appointment of former Irish President Mary Robinson as special UN envoy to the region will usher in positive change. She is a pretty tough cookie who will, I believe, fight for human rights for all Congolese. I will be watching her closely.