For the last 6 months the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has witnessed a resurgence of violence including mass killings and rapes as well large numbers of refugees fleeing. The violence is blamed on a variety of militias, particularly the M23’s. However, the real power behind the Congo violence is the DRC’s bad neighbor Rwanda which is seeking the vast mineral wealth and economic potential of its remote provinces.

The international community and the Congolese church officials have appealed to the Rwandan government to stop the atrocities wreaked on the east of the vast country by the M23 rebel group and other militias, which they accused Rwanda of backing for economic gain.

The crimes against humanity inflicted on the Congolese people by the Rwandan proxy M23 was revealed by both the Congolese and Human Rights Groups at a press conference at United Nations headquarters sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Moderator of the National Church of Christ in Congo, Bishop Dieudonné Mbaya Tshiakany described some of the horrors suffered by civilians in eastern DRC. He said massacres were taking place and families were being harmed by “sadistic” practices such as forcing boys to rape their own sisters in front of their parents.

More than one million women had been brutally raped, he said and asked “how can we continue to pray, how can we continue to preach peace in an environment such as this?”

Mbaya said a recent report by UN experts had established that the M23 was being armed by Rwanda, and introduced a petition he said would be submitted to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council. The petition calls for the UN to condemn the “invasion” by Rwanda; for individuals who have been identified as perpetrators of rape, massacres and looting of minerals to be brought to justice; and for Rwanda to be punished for what he said was a breach of the UN Charter. In my recent article where is the big fish? It is inconceivable that the UN sanctioned Makenga without sanctioning Kagame and his top Generals who are in fact the men handling the mantel of death in Congo.

In response to a question on Rwanda’s involvement, the bishop said Rwanda was not only behind the M23 movement, but “behind all these different rebel or militia groups in DRC”, and said this was an “economic game” to gain access to coltan, diamonds and other minerals in which DRC is rich.

The eastern DRC – particularly its provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu – have been plagued by violence over the past few months. As already mentioned above one of the key actors is a group of renegade soldiers known as the 23 March Movement (M23) under the command of the indicted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda who is shielded by the Kigali government.
The agent of hell in Congo, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame should be charged with aiding war crimes.
There is no doubt that Kagame is personally behind all the massacres of innocent children and women in Congo through his proxy M23. Just recently US told President Kagame that, what happened to the former Liberian President Charles Taylor could happen to him if he continues to support this notorious rebel group that has caused terrible suffering to the Congolese people.
As Charles never set foot in Sierra Leone so is President Kagame in Congo with his continued denial that he is not behind the conflict despite overwhelming evidence by the UN Experts report. The US Criminal Justice official Rapp, who previously served as chief prosecutor at the Rwanda genocide tribunal and later initiated the prosecution of Taylor over his crimes as president of Liberia in supporting rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone, said Rwandan support for M23 and other armed groups “has to stop” because it “maintains the lawlessness and at the end of the day enables the ongoing commission of atrocities”.
“There is a line that one can cross under international law where you can be held responsible for aiding a group in a way that makes possible their commission of atrocities,” he said.
“Charles Taylor never set foot in Sierra Leone, and aided and abetted, and was convicted of aiding and abetting, the Revolutionary United Front with assistance that was substantial and, the judges said, without which the RUF could not have committed the atrocities to the extent they did commit them. Because of that evidence, Charles Taylor was convicted and sentenced to 50 years.”
This is the time that the International community should act and tell Mr Kagame that enough is enough. He should stop immediately his satanic acts in Congo. How many more people should die in order for the International community to listen to the cries of innocent children who are recruited in the rebel ranks and women who are raped on a daily basis?
Jacqueline Umurungi
Brussels.