http://blog.lesoir.be/colette-braeckman/2013/06/23/goma-tousse-tremble-et-espere-quand-meme/

Goma tousse, tremble et espère quand même

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Ecrasée de chaleur en cette fin de saison des pluies, Goma tousse, tremble et espère. Seuls quelques grands axes sont de temps en temps aspergés par des camions citernes et la poussière est partout, qui prend à la gorge et s'ajoute à l'action des gaz toxiques d'origine volcanique, les «mazuku ». Pour justifier l'incurie des pouvoirs publics et l'absence de travaux routiers, le gouverneur du Nord Kivu, Justin Paluku, évoque les guerres à répétition et le pillage de la ville par les hommes du M23 lors de leur brève occupation de Goma en novembre 2013, où tous les engins de voirie avaient été emportés. Mais aux yeux des citoyens, cela n'explique pas tout : « les autorités font de la politique, et ne songent pas au développement » explique une assistante sociale. A l'Institut don Bosco, Monica, la directrice italienne, nous montre les pièces supplémentaires allouées aux orphelins ; des gosses fripés comme de petites grenouilles sont recroquevillés dans des lits cages, d'autres bambins courent dans les couloirs. « Ils sont de plus en plus nombreux » dit Monica, « car dans les camps de déplacés, les mères meurent en accouchant. Nous venons de chercher des familles d'accueil pour 25 gosses que nous avons été obligés de refuser, faute de place… »
Envahie par les déplacés, suffoquant dans la poussière, Goma, plus que jamais, subit une atmosphère de guerre. A 18 heures, un couvre feu non déclaré éteint toute activité, les motos taxis cessent de circuler et chacun se presse vers son domicile. Les hommes en uniforme sont partout : plusieurs bataillons de l'armée congolaise gardent les entrées de la ville, les Casques bleus multiplient les patrouilles et surtout, les nouveaux venus de la Brigade d'intervention africaine sont dévisagés avec curiosité.
D'ici quelques semaines en effet, 3000 hommes, fournis par la Tanzanie, l'Afrique du Sud et le Malawi, seront intégrés aux forces de la Monusco (Mission des Nations unies au Congo). Fait nouveau : leur mandat prévoit l' « intervention », pour imposer la paix, par la force s'il le faut. Mille deux cents soldats tanzaniens sont déjà à pied d'œuvre : ils patrouillent très ostensiblement sur la route reliant Goma à Sake et s'entretiennent en swahili avec les déplacés de guerre toujours parqués dans des camps de fortune. Le nouveau commandant de la Monusco qui dirigera les opérations est un Brésilien, le général Carlo Alberto dos Santos Cruz et il revient d'Haïti où il a rétabli le calme dans le bidonville de Cité Soleil. A Goma, il n'a pas mâché ses mots « s'il le faut, nous ne mobiliserons pas seulement la Brigade d'intervention, mais toutes les forces de la Monusco… »
En principe, une trentaine de groupes armés devraient être pris pour cibles par cette mission qui a pour objectif de pacifier pour de bon le Nord Kivu. Mais en réalité, deux groupes sont visés en priorité : les FDLR (Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda) des combattants hutus que tous les observateurs assurent être en perte de vitesse, et le M23, ces militaires mutins qui assurent vouloir protéger la communauté des tutsis congolais et sont en lien avec le Rwanda.
Un fonctionnaire chargé du désarmement nous l'assure : « depuis l'éclatement du mouvement début 2013, où 600 combattants se sont réfugiés au Rwanda, le M23 est en perte de vitesse, les défections sont quotidiennes. » L'un des officiers rebelles, rencontré par hasard alors qu'il se promène en civil, nous confirme cette désaffection : « j'ai quitté le mouvement car je ne comprenais plus les buts de cette guerre, j'allais finir par tuer mes frères dans le camp d'en face, sans savoir pourquoi…Si on combat en affirmant défendre seulement une ethnie, (ndlr. les Tutsis congolais) on met cette dernière en péril… »
Cependant, parallèlement aux défections, les recrutements se poursuivent eux aussi. Le fonctionnaire est formel : « le 16 avril dernier, nous avons ramené à la frontière un jeune Rwandais qui affirmait avoir été recruté de force à Kibumba, pour faire partie du M23. Il est rentré chez lui, et puis il a été renvoyé chez les rebelles …Malgré les accords signés à Addis Abeba, par lesquels les chefs d'Etat de la région se sont engagés à ne plus soutenir les mouvements armés dans les pays voisins, le Rwanda n'a pas cessé d'envoyer de nouvelles recrues au M23 qui les forme pendant un mois dans le camp de Rumangabo… »
Même son de cloche auprès d'un officier des FARDC que nous retrouvons à la sortie nord de la ville, adossé à sa jeep. De récents succès lui ont remonté le moral : « en mai dernier, à la veille de l'arrivée de Ban Ki-moon à Goma, non seulement nous avons bloqué l'offensive du M23, mais à Mutaho, nous lui avons infligé une sérieuse défaite et un officier rwandais a été laissé sur le champ de bataille…» Sûr de lui, il ajoute : « nous aurions pu les poursuivre et les défaire, mais l'ordre d'arrêter est venu de Kinshasa… » Et de conclure : « les succès obtenus s'expliquent aussi par le fait que nos bataillons ne sont pas des « unités intégrées », dans lesquelles se retrouvent d'anciens rebelles qui ont gardé des liens avec le camp d'en face… Il n'y a pas de traîtres parmi nous.».
L'action du M23 n'est pas seulement militaire (un obus est tombé la semaine dernière dans un quartier populaire), l'aéroport de Goma est cerné par les batteries du M23, ce qui inquiète beaucoup les Sud Africains qui doivent déployer des hélicoptères de combat. Elle est aussi psychologique : la ville est envahie par des rumeurs d'arrestations arbitraires, à tout moment des jeunes gens abordent les soldats tanzaniens pour leur promettre un «bain de sang », des lettres sont envoyées en Afrique du Sud, rappelant les 38 soldats sud africains qui ont trouvé la mort en défendant Bangui contre les rebelles de la Seleka…
Face à cette campagne d'intoxication, les Tanzaniens se refusent à toute déclaration, les Sud Africains se préparent à déployer des forces spéciales (dont le matériel devra transiter par Kigali…) et le général Cruz rappelle, à l'instar de l'envoyée spéciale de l'ONU Mary Robinson que » la solution sera d'abord politique ». Mais quelle politique ? A Kampala, les émissaires du M23 et du gouvernement se font toujours face dans une négociation qui ressemble plus à une tentative de gagner du temps, avant le début d'opérations militaires que les habitants de Goma à la fois redoutent et espèrent à la fois…

http://therisingcontinent.wordpress.com/2013/06/21/the-false-narrative-on-rape-in-the-congo/#more-4005

The false narrative on rape in the Congo

 

Dr Denis Mukwege – Director of Panzi Hospital [Bukavu - Eastern Congo - DRC]

Until the last year attempt of assassination on his person, Dr Denis Mukwege, director of the Panzi hospital, had become a symbol figure for the struggle that Congolese women of the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo face for almost two decades. They are being regularly raped in the thousands by holds of men in uniforms. On September 25, 2012 at aUN General Assembly side event on sexual violence, he stated that

"Today, thanks to the report by the UN Group of Experts, the Mapping Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, and many other credible reports, no one can continue to hide behind the argument of the complexity of the crisis. We know now the motivations behind this crisis and its different actors. What is missing is the political will."

Thus the doctor's work had made him understand that he had to do more than repair women bodies but primarily also seek how to address the root causes of their suffering. Such approach took him around the world advocating that the international community needed to wake up to the inhumanity being experienced by Congolese women for so long without being effectively ended.

Since his return to Bukavu early this year, Dr Mukwege has gone just about being only a gynecological surgeon as he has mainly professionally been. Considered his previous performance in raising awareness on Congo's situation of which rape is one aspect, he has almost become a shadow of what he was a year or so before. There is a certain opinion which finds that he is today hostage of the new condition that that attempt of assassination has mentally created in his subconscious. He cannot any more speak out as he did before that incident without some worry. There were then risks, but until then he hadn't encountered them.

As a paradox, on the front of the plight of these women, advocacy regarding their affliction has been hijacked by disparate western voices particularly in government and other circles in London, Brussels and Paris which are distorting the nature of what is being done to them as individuals, their families, communities and the entire region.

BK Kumbi, Congolese historian and activist explains what has been happening.

"For quite some time there is a speech that is created on the issue of rape in the Congo, which suggests that it is a femicide. This is highly dangerous in that it portrays the man figure and especially the Congolese man into an atavistic rapist. This extreme focus on the body of the Congolese women is not intended to defend it but is part of a broader discourse on the savagery of black African populations. In doing so, it totally confuses the reading of the real issues involved in the death of the Congolese people. This kind of speech says nothing of those who allow these rapes to be possible."

Those propagating such narrative count on particular patterns: the supposed short lived memory of events on the part of the victims and their non sophisticated reading sometime not spanning long periods that characterizes African victims of external forces interested in exploiting their resources. Their trick also often or simply takes advantage of them as subjects for their foreign policies.

Such understanding goes in the same line of thoughts that BK Kumbi highlights

"Today efforts are made to present a simple and effective storytelling where wicked and brutal Congolese men are raping women because they hate them. As a result, we put to oblivion all issues of the relationship between rape and minerals, the relationship between rape and land grabbing, the relationship between rape and ethnic cleansing. The rape of women, children and now men in the region of the Kivu-DRC, are aggravating factors of the qualification of the crime of genocide." 

Separating the rape of Congolese women from other related issues that explains why such crime is committed and for so long is done purposely. It is a technique which has worked in the past for covering up the truth. However given the central aspect of the problem, BK Kumbi finds that it could be the right ground to even bring on board the entire humanity for it to see the whole picture of what has been going on in DRC.

"The issue of rape in the Congo is part of the struggle we must wage to free Congo. This applies to all the Congolese people and the rest of the world because in doing so we defend the honor of women, girls and we recognize the ordeal they went through, but we also defend the Congolese man who is not a sub-animal without sense and reason. We simply defend human dignity and the right that humanity has to see, one day, the crime that was perpetrated against it be recognized in its entirety and be punished."

Overall those who are promoting this decried narrative of women's rape in the DRC are advocates of a certain status quo in the region. Their interests would risk being jeopardized if their comparative global power lost its strong connections with the exploitation of the Congolese minerals and other resources.

If we recall exactly the core message of Dr. Mukwege was that it was futile to try solving the symptoms of one illness if one does not address its root causes. In the case of Eastern Congo, to only speak of rapes of women, girls and even men like in the vacuum or pointing deliberately to the wrong enablers, without looking at Rwanda and Uganda, is missing the point and wasting resources of different sorts. Unfortunately that is what those who silenced or scared him off last year have somehow achieved so far.

http://therisingcontinent.wordpress.com/2013/06/21/the-false-narrative-on-rape-in-the-congo/#more-4005

The false narrative on rape in the Congo

 

Dr Denis Mukwege – Director of Panzi Hospital [Bukavu - Eastern Congo - DRC]

Until the last year attempt of assassination on his person, Dr Denis Mukwege, director of the Panzi hospital, had become a symbol figure for the struggle that Congolese women of the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo face for almost two decades. They are being regularly raped in the thousands by holds of men in uniforms. On September 25, 2012 at aUN General Assembly side event on sexual violence, he stated that

"Today, thanks to the report by the UN Group of Experts, the Mapping Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, and many other credible reports, no one can continue to hide behind the argument of the complexity of the crisis. We know now the motivations behind this crisis and its different actors. What is missing is the political will."

Thus the doctor's work had made him understand that he had to do more than repair women bodies but primarily also seek how to address the root causes of their suffering. Such approach took him around the world advocating that the international community needed to wake up to the inhumanity being experienced by Congolese women for so long without being effectively ended.

Since his return to Bukavu early this year, Dr Mukwege has gone just about being only a gynecological surgeon as he has mainly professionally been. Considered his previous performance in raising awareness on Congo's situation of which rape is one aspect, he has almost become a shadow of what he was a year or so before. There is a certain opinion which finds that he is today hostage of the new condition that that attempt of assassination has mentally created in his subconscious. He cannot any more speak out as he did before that incident without some worry. There were then risks, but until then he hadn't encountered them.

As a paradox, on the front of the plight of these women, advocacy regarding their affliction has been hijacked by disparate western voices particularly in government and other circles in London, Brussels and Paris which are distorting the nature of what is being done to them as individuals, their families, communities and the entire region.

BK Kumbi, Congolese historian and activist explains what has been happening.

"For quite some time there is a speech that is created on the issue of rape in the Congo, which suggests that it is a femicide. This is highly dangerous in that it portrays the man figure and especially the Congolese man into an atavistic rapist. This extreme focus on the body of the Congolese women is not intended to defend it but is part of a broader discourse on the savagery of black African populations. In doing so, it totally confuses the reading of the real issues involved in the death of the Congolese people. This kind of speech says nothing of those who allow these rapes to be possible."

Those propagating such narrative count on particular patterns: the supposed short lived memory of events on the part of the victims and their non sophisticated reading sometime not spanning long periods that characterizes African victims of external forces interested in exploiting their resources. Their trick also often or simply takes advantage of them as subjects for their foreign policies.

Such understanding goes in the same line of thoughts that BK Kumbi highlights

"Today efforts are made to present a simple and effective storytelling where wicked and brutal Congolese men are raping women because they hate them. As a result, we put to oblivion all issues of the relationship between rape and minerals, the relationship between rape and land grabbing, the relationship between rape and ethnic cleansing. The rape of women, children and now men in the region of the Kivu-DRC, are aggravating factors of the qualification of the crime of genocide." 

Separating the rape of Congolese women from other related issues that explains why such crime is committed and for so long is done purposely. It is a technique which has worked in the past for covering up the truth. However given the central aspect of the problem, BK Kumbi finds that it could be the right ground to even bring on board the entire humanity for it to see the whole picture of what has been going on in DRC.

"The issue of rape in the Congo is part of the struggle we must wage to free Congo. This applies to all the Congolese people and the rest of the world because in doing so we defend the honor of women, girls and we recognize the ordeal they went through, but we also defend the Congolese man who is not a sub-animal without sense and reason. We simply defend human dignity and the right that humanity has to see, one day, the crime that was perpetrated against it be recognized in its entirety and be punished."

Overall those who are promoting this decried narrative of women's rape in the DRC are advocates of a certain status quo in the region. Their interests would risk being jeopardized if their comparative global power lost its strong connections with the exploitation of the Congolese minerals and other resources.

If we recall exactly the core message of Dr. Mukwege was that it was futile to try solving the symptoms of one illness if one does not address its root causes. In the case of Eastern Congo, to only speak of rapes of women, girls and even men like in the vacuum or pointing deliberately to the wrong enablers, without looking at Rwanda and Uganda, is missing the point and wasting resources of different sorts. Unfortunately that is what those who silenced or scared him off last year have somehow achieved so far.

http://www.inyenyerinews.org/amakuru-2/the-reasons-behind-changes-in-rwandan-forces/

The reasons behind changes in Rwandan Forces

June 23, 2013 by Rwema IT Webmaster Leave a Comment

 

Lt. Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba has been promoted to a full general and appointed RDF Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

Gen. Nyamvumba, who has just returned from a tour of duty in Sudan where he was chief of the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), replaces Lt. Gen. Charles Kayonga. According to the officers we spoke to just after the meeting, they stated that it appears that the motive behind these changes lies in the preparation of the war which is hidden behind the M23, supported by Rwanda, in the DRC. One of the officers explained that, Tanzania and South African forces are prepared to disarm the rebels in DRC. This may trigger the war between a number of countries in the Great Lakes Region including our Rwanda which is the cause of the whole instability in the region.

In 1998 when Rwanda fought with Uganda in Kisangani DRC it was Patrick Nyamvumba with Ruvusha who fought that war and killed a number of Ugandan forces. Patrick Nyamvumba, a former body guard to Major Chris Bunyenyezi who later became an instructor after the death of his boss, proved to be a good commander towards the end of the 1994 war, also built his name in the DRC while fighting the Ugandans. Contrarily to Charles Kayonga who was transferred to the High command during the war after falsely reporting to be injured; he was actually fit yet suffered anxiety from the stress of being on the front lines. He spent most of his time as a body guard to Paul Kagame and later sent to CND where he was behind Jacob Tumwine and Kwikiriza, who later won the Kigali battle to promote Kayonga's name until he became the CDF.

Now, Kagame has realised that the time has come for  another war and so it's time for preparations rather than showing up in uniforms. Gen Patrick Nyamvumba is prepared to fight the war against the whole region to save Paul Kagame's nose, but even though he is appointed, his wife is in Canada after running away from the country due to intimidations from Kagame's wife who is determined to implement and teach the officials wives how to live life. This is something that Nyamvumba's wife has repeatedly declined and told her to take care of her family and let the Nyamvumba's alone. We will have to wait and see if Gen Patrick Nyamvumba will be able to bring his wife back home.

The only challenges may be that Patrick Nyamvumbe, like his predecessor, he has no time to get to know the soldiers he is leading and will have to rely on Gen Kamanzi Mushyo.

Another position created by the president is Inspector General of the army, given to Brig. Gen. Jack Nziza, former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence, who was also promoted to the rank of Maj. Gen. and assumes the new duties of Inspector General of the Rwanda Defense Forces. This position has came late as Jack Nziza has been fully functional in deadly missions even when his position in the army was an existent, Jah bless Jack.

He will be replaced in the ministry by newly-promoted Col. Joseph Rutabana.

Also promoted to the rank of Major General is Brig. Gen. Richard Rutatina. With no post and a medical Doctor who had promised the world to do no harm prior to his graduation, but was used to inject poisonous injections to most of his senior commanders just to clear the route and install Kagame in power.

Colonel Fred Muziraguharara has been posted to the National Intelligence Security Services as director general responsible for finance and administration

What worries the whole nation is the transfer of Dan Munyuza from army to police. Dan Munyuza well known on the international level for killings of colleagues as well as civilians has been transferred to the Rwandan National Police. Promoted to the rank of deputy commissioner general of police, will work hand in hand with the head of police Commissioner Gasana Rurayi to track down the opposition supporters.

The new appointments take immediate effect.

Filed Under: AMAKURU

http://www.inyenyerinews.org/amakuru-2/the-reasons-behind-changes-in-rwandan-forces/

The reasons behind changes in Rwandan Forces

June 23, 2013 by Rwema IT Webmaster Leave a Comment

 

Lt. Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba has been promoted to a full general and appointed RDF Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

Gen. Nyamvumba, who has just returned from a tour of duty in Sudan where he was chief of the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), replaces Lt. Gen. Charles Kayonga. According to the officers we spoke to just after the meeting, they stated that it appears that the motive behind these changes lies in the preparation of the war which is hidden behind the M23, supported by Rwanda, in the DRC. One of the officers explained that, Tanzania and South African forces are prepared to disarm the rebels in DRC. This may trigger the war between a number of countries in the Great Lakes Region including our Rwanda which is the cause of the whole instability in the region.

In 1998 when Rwanda fought with Uganda in Kisangani DRC it was Patrick Nyamvumba with Ruvusha who fought that war and killed a number of Ugandan forces. Patrick Nyamvumba, a former body guard to Major Chris Bunyenyezi who later became an instructor after the death of his boss, proved to be a good commander towards the end of the 1994 war, also built his name in the DRC while fighting the Ugandans. Contrarily to Charles Kayonga who was transferred to the High command during the war after falsely reporting to be injured; he was actually fit yet suffered anxiety from the stress of being on the front lines. He spent most of his time as a body guard to Paul Kagame and later sent to CND where he was behind Jacob Tumwine and Kwikiriza, who later won the Kigali battle to promote Kayonga's name until he became the CDF.

Now, Kagame has realised that the time has come for  another war and so it's time for preparations rather than showing up in uniforms. Gen Patrick Nyamvumba is prepared to fight the war against the whole region to save Paul Kagame's nose, but even though he is appointed, his wife is in Canada after running away from the country due to intimidations from Kagame's wife who is determined to implement and teach the officials wives how to live life. This is something that Nyamvumba's wife has repeatedly declined and told her to take care of her family and let the Nyamvumba's alone. We will have to wait and see if Gen Patrick Nyamvumba will be able to bring his wife back home.

The only challenges may be that Patrick Nyamvumbe, like his predecessor, he has no time to get to know the soldiers he is leading and will have to rely on Gen Kamanzi Mushyo.

Another position created by the president is Inspector General of the army, given to Brig. Gen. Jack Nziza, former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence, who was also promoted to the rank of Maj. Gen. and assumes the new duties of Inspector General of the Rwanda Defense Forces. This position has came late as Jack Nziza has been fully functional in deadly missions even when his position in the army was an existent, Jah bless Jack.

He will be replaced in the ministry by newly-promoted Col. Joseph Rutabana.

Also promoted to the rank of Major General is Brig. Gen. Richard Rutatina. With no post and a medical Doctor who had promised the world to do no harm prior to his graduation, but was used to inject poisonous injections to most of his senior commanders just to clear the route and install Kagame in power.

Colonel Fred Muziraguharara has been posted to the National Intelligence Security Services as director general responsible for finance and administration

What worries the whole nation is the transfer of Dan Munyuza from army to police. Dan Munyuza well known on the international level for killings of colleagues as well as civilians has been transferred to the Rwandan National Police. Promoted to the rank of deputy commissioner general of police, will work hand in hand with the head of police Commissioner Gasana Rurayi to track down the opposition supporters.

The new appointments take immediate effect.

Filed Under: AMAKURU