Museveni is a war criminal

Museveni is a war criminal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0OTmBN0xjU&noredirect=1

 

Indict Museveni for war crimes – says Lawyer

Indict Museveni for war crimes – says Lawyer

By George Murumba

30^th April 2012:

Gen. Yoweri Museveni: Is he a war criminal?

A top Ugandan consultant in international criminal and humanitarian law has called on The Hague based International Criminal Court [ICC] to investigate and indict President Yoweri Museveni for war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the president's alleged support for Congolese warlords Thomas Lubanga and Jean Bemba, as well as for alleged war crimes committed against civilians in northern Uganda.

In his reaction to the conviction of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, Dr Obote Odora exclusively told Uganda Correspondent that the Judgement in Charles Taylor's case "…provides guidelines and thresholds…for assessing the participation of the Uganda People Defence Forces (UPDF) and its leadership in the conduct of armed conflicts in northern Uganda and in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC]."

In his lengthy argument for Museveni's indictment, Dr Odora said there are credible reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group, Office of the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs, among others, implicating the UPDF, its military and political leaders in serious human rights abuses in northern Uganda and the DRC.

"…The UPDF and its leadership have committed atrocities in northern Uganda alongside the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and its leadership. The victims of the massacres, of rape, other sexual violence and torture in northern Uganda are deserving of justice." Odora said.

Dr Odora alleges further that on the orders of the UPDF's Commander-in-Chief President Yoweri Museveni, at least two million civilians in northern Uganda were herded into 'protected' camps guarded by the UPDF. Within the confines of the camps, Odora alleges, "…women and girls were raped, young boys kidnapped by…the LRA, and children died of malnutrition because of the UPDF's deliberate policy" of denying medicine to the sick.

All these acts and omissions, Odora says, "…go beyond mere aiding and abetting.  With specific reference to the UPDF's involvement in the DRC, Dr Odora said there is credible evidence in the public domain which suggests that "…the UPDF and its leadership provided to convicted war criminal Thomas Lubanga arms, ammunitions, communication equipment and financial support."

He also claimed that senior UPDF officers, with the knowledge and approval of the UPDF Commander-in-Chief, "…assisted and supported the recruitment and deployment of child soldiers for Thomas Lubanga's forces and also fought alongside Lubanga in the DRC."

Dr Odora further argued that until the leadership of the UPDF are investigated and prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Taylor's judgement, while it reinforces the theory that Heads of State are held accountable for war crimes and other serious international crimes will only remain a pipe dream.

"…Taylor's judgement tells us that with leadership comes not just power and authority, but also responsibility and accountability. To reinforce the Taylor precedent, it would be helpful for the ICC to investigates and indict the UPDF Commander-in-Chief for crimes committed in northern Uganda and the DRC." the international criminal law consultant said.

The government of Uganda has however, on numerous occasions, vehemently denied any criminal liability.  It has also argued that President Museveni cannot be held liable for crimes allegedly committed before the Rome Statute that created the ICC came into force in 2002.

Read Dr Odora's full analysis our opinions section under the title: Lessons for Uganda from Taylor's conviction.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.

http://www.ugandacorrespondent.com/articles/2012/04/indict-museveni-for-war-crimes-says-lawyer/

ICC needs to probe Uganda role in DRC

While renegade leader Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, top the list of Ugandans due for trial at the International Criminal Court, ICC, some suggest that the ICC needs to look more closely at Uganda's role in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.

Friday, 20 March 2009, by Wairagala Wakabi, IWPR Hague reporter

Indeed, it is becoming increasingly possible that Ugandans could eventually appear at The Hague over their country's well documented involvement in the Ituri region of DRC – between 1996 and 2003 – if not as defendants, then as witnesses. Since the trial of accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga began in late January, Uganda has repeatedly been mentioned as having allegedly sponsored, trained and armed his militia, and in so doing made it possible for Lubanga to commit the crimes for which he is charged.

When they entered Congo in the mid-Nineties, Ugandan troops occupied much of the Ituri region, reportedly controlling it through proxy militias such as those associated with Lubanga. Early on, Uganda and Rwanda teamed up to back former DRC president Laurent Kabila, who overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko's regime. Uganda then, it is claimed, proceeded to help itself to resources in Ituri, which is well documented in United Nations and Human Rights Watch reports, systematically removing some of the region's gold, diamonds and timber.

For that, a UN panel implicated several Ugandan military commanders, many of whom have very close ties to the upper echelons of the Ugandan government. For the alleged plunder, Uganda has been ordered by the International Court of Justice to pay compensation, which remains undetermined and unpaid. Perhaps the Office of The Prosecutor at the ICC should take a keener interest in Uganda's past activities in Ituri. According to testimony, Ugandan commanders helped Lubanga establish his group, train his fighters, and obtain arms.

Now the alleged Ugandan protégé is at The Hague facing war crimes accusations related to the conscription and use of child soldiers. While the Ugandan army has been mentioned by a number of witnesses in Lubanga's trial, the most explicit connections were in a video recorded in 2003 and screened at the trial in February. It showed Lubanga accusing Ugandan troops of arming child soldiers in various Congolese militia groups.

In the video, Lubanga said Ugandans had plundered Congo's resources and encouraged conflict between different Congolese ethnic groups. Lubanga is not the only alleged former protégé of Ugandan commanders currently facing international justice. Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose rebel forces at one time held nearly one third of Congolese territory, is another. Uganda allegedly worked closely with Bemba. It is claimed they armed his Movement for Congolese Liberation, MLC, trained his fighters, and provided troops to fight alongside his group.

As a militia leader, Bemba now stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, torture, murder, and pillaging. These alleged crimes were not committed in the DRC or during actions that involved Ugandans, but in the Central African Republic in late 2002 and early 2003. While much of the alleged Ugandan connection to the events in Ituri occurred before the ICC's mandate took effect in July 2002, Uganda did not formally withdraw until a year later in 2003. Though well documented, there has been an obvious reluctance by the ICC, in particular the prosecutor's office, to explore and expose what appears to be Uganda's critical role there.

Despite that reluctance, it is conceivable, however, that based on existing UN reports and the accumulating weight of testimony at the ICC, some Ugandans in the army could be investigated, charged, or called as witnesses at the ICC over their alleged involvement with Bemba and Lubanga. As Lubanga's attorney, Jean-Marie Biju-Duval, argued at the start of his client's trial, government leaders in Uganda and Rwanda who provided weapons and support to disparate Congolese militia groups are culpable in the crimes committed in that country.

But would Uganda be prepared to hand over officials indicted by the ICC? There has been a reluctance among some African countries to transfer suspects to The Hague. It is based on the idea that peace and reconciliation should be promoted, rather than a blind commitment to the principles of justice. This line of thinking is what Congolese authorities offer for their reluctance to hand over indicted militia leader Bosco Ntaganda. Ntaganda, Lubanga's former confidante, who has been charged with crimes similar to those faced by Lubanga. This thinking also reflects that of some African leaders who oppose the ICC arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. They say it complicates the delicate peace processes in Southern Sudan and Darfur.

Wairagala Wakabi, IWPR Hague reporter
This is an International War and Peace Reporting comment article. The views expressed in the article are not necessarily the views of IWPR. Wairagala Wakabi is a Ugandan journalist and IWPR contributor based in Sweden. The article has been edited and prepared for publication here by HRHF / Niels Jacob Harbitz.
http://www.iwpr.net

http://humanrightshouse.org/Articles/10441.html

 

Uganda must help to end DRC conflict

"It is, therefore, in Uganda's interest to take the lead in resolving this conflict. But Uganda can't play this role if it is tempted to become a protagonist, as some politicians have started alleging. Getting involved as a protagonist rather than peacemaker would only make a bad situation worse for Uganda"

http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19805:uganda-must-help-to-end-drc-conflict&catid=35:editorial&Itemid=61

 

Uganda in Eastern DRC: Fueling Political and Ethnic Strife

 

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,459d17822,45b61f6b2,3ae6a87e8,0,,,UGA.html

 

 

GREED & GUNS: Uganda's Role in the Rape of the Congo

GREED & GUNS:  Uganda's Role in the Rape of the Congo

This report deals specifically with the recent Ugandan involvement in the military, political and economic affairs of its' giant western neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo which has contributed to a pattern of serious human rights abuses of the Congolese people, reference needs to be made to the politics of Africa's Great Lakes Region over the previous decade or so. To corroborate evidence and gather additional information on Uganda's involvement in the Congolese conflict the authors of this report have visited Uganda and Ituri in November 2005. One of the authors of this report, Brian Johnson Thomas, attached himself to the nascent rebellion of

Laurent Desiree Kabila during the march from Bukavu to Goma in 1996 – a Long March that proceeded via Masisi and Kisangani to the final overthrow of President Mobutu Sese Seko in Kinshasa. Even at that early state it was clear that most of Kabila's military and political support came from Rwanda and Uganda – at that time operating in close harmony.

Indeed, one recalls that in late 1993 the then Major Paul Kagame of the Intelligence Section of U.P.D.F. Headquarters in Kampala was given "unpaid leave of absence" by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to begin the, ultimately successful, insurrection by the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The Ugandan government and political-military elite then looked favourably on Rwandan aspirations and, it seems, readily appreciated the security concerns of the new Rwandan regime which led Kigali to seek to aid in the removal of Mobutu as a necessary step in the removal of the threat to their western border posed by soldiers of the former Rwandan regime and Interahamwe militias in exile.

http://www.arte.tv/static/c1/armes/greedguns.pdf

DRC war may cost Uganda billions

Residents of Bunia were left destitute by the fighting over land and resources

Uganda is accused of massacring Congolese civilians

The International Court of Justice has ruled that Uganda must pay compensation to the Democratic Republic of Congo for looting during the 1998-2003 war.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4541126.stm

ICC Needs to Probe Uganda Role in DRC

http://iwpr.net/report-news/icc-needs-probe-uganda-role-drc

Instability in DRC 'benefits Rwanda and Uganda'

Instability in DRC 'benefits Rwanda and Uganda'

http://www.dw.de/instability-in-drc-benefits-rwanda-and-uganda/a-16312496

A UN panel of experts has renewed criticism of Rwanda and Uganda for allegedly supporting and arming M23 rebels in eastern DRC.

According to a new report by the UN Security Council's Group of Experts, Rwanda's defense minister is commanding a rebellion in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that is being armed by Rwanda and Uganda. The UN experts say Rwanda and Uganda both sent in troops to support the M23 rebels who are fighting Congolese government troops. For an asssessment of the latest allegations, DW has been talking to Marc-Andre Lagrange.

DW: Mr Lagrange, how credible are such allegations?

Marc-Andre Lagrange: The allegations of Rwanda supporting M23 rebels in northern Kivu are very credible. It's not only the panel of experts, it's many independent organisations, including the International Crisis Group, who recently published a report on the subject and who point out the role of Rwanda in this crisis. The involvement of Uganda seems to be more recent but is also credible.

The UN report names Rwanda's defense minister James Kabarebe

There have been allegations of Uganda supporting M23 since July 2012 but it seems more realistic that this support is more recent and is a consequence of the downsizing of Rwanda's support for M23 after several countries imposed sanctions on Rwanda.

Why would Rwanda, and Uganda for that matter (both of which deny these charges), be interested in supporting the M23 rebels?

First of all, Rwanda and Uganda cannot openly say they are supporting an armed group which is creating instability and insecurity, and which is committing crimes against humanity in a foreign country. This is just not possible.

Secondly, for Rwanda and Uganda there is a direct benefit in having instability in eastern Congo. As you may know, there is a lot of initiative to regulate mineral exports, especially those used for mobile phones and computers. There is an effort to have these exports labelled as 'conflict free'. So the day when there is no more conflict in northern Kivu, then Congo will be able to export large quantities of those minerals and this will impact on the Rwandan economy very strongly (for Uganda a little bit less). So there is a combination of economic and political interests in those denials.

How are Rwanda and Uganda helping the rebels?

According to reports from the UN and other organisations, Rwanda was first involved in organising the M23 mutiny at the end of March, when Kinshasa tried to arrest Bosco Ntaganda for war crimes.

DRC rebel leader John Bosco Ntaganda is wanted by the ICC

Ntaganda is the main figure of M23 and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for crimes against humanity. Secondly, Rwanda and Uganda have been providing logistical, human resources support. They have either allowed members of M23 to recruit on their territory or they have been supporting M23 directly with troops during combat. And finally there is evidence from the United Nations, and also independent organisations like Human Rights Watch, of Rwanda and Uganda supplying M23 with weapons.

According to the UN report, Rwanda has violated the arms embargo on the DRC. What do you think the consequences of that are going to be?

The logical thing is that after the UN experts publish their report and present it to the Security Council, then the main individuals who are identified, and where there is proof of their involvement, should be targeted by sanctions and the Rwandan government should either arrest them or remove them from their official functions and ensure there are no more violations of the embargo.

Marc-Andre Lagrange is an analyst with the International Crisis Group in Nairobi.

Interviewer: Mark Caldwell