Indeed, despite having the population of Gomo on tenderhooks a year ago, there is some evidence to suggest that Nkunda isn't necessarily the worst of a bad lot. Of course, with the ICC already having a warrant out for Ntanga when he deposed Nkunda early in 2009 we were warned and now we have Colonel Zimulinda, a relative of Ntanga's, committing heinous crimes in the east of the Congo, including in the North Kivu region. This is the same Zimulanda that Nkunda had under house arrest for the Kiwanja Massacre of 2008. Interesting, however, is the reaction from Kinshasa this time and the DR Congo's Information Minister Lambert Mende said the authorities were "aware of the massacre" but would not arrest Zimulinda because they feared the consequences would be too great.Well, yes they would be, after all, both Ntanga and Zimulinda are wearing FARDC uniforms.
It would appear that those uniforms are offering the war criminals, Ntanga and Zimulinda, no little protection and, indeed, it would appear that they are now getting some very useful help in carrying out their raping and pillaging, with the UN force (MONUC) ferrying them about from village to village, while naively proclaiming that the potential of the Hutu FDLR and Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army to pursue their rather unsavoury activities has been seriously curtailed. Well, maybe it has, maybe, nevertheless, what we now have is a motley mob running around with the blessings of Kinshasa and the UN, slaughtering at will and pursuing their own "little" ethnic cleansing with a sense of impunity.
Of course, the western media will be selling this as progress, Kagame in Kigali will be becoming an increasingly important stakeholder in North Kivu as Kabila it appears, as already bitten the bullet and decided to share the cake in return for what? Well, maybe either in return for becoming "president for life" of the "New Democratic Republic of the Congo", a rump stripped of most of its weatlhy eastern regions, or in return for his receiving some high office in some Rwandan-Congolese federation. The mind boggles and, in the meantime the UN and the West continue to support mass murderers.
No comments:
Post a Comment