Southern Africa leaders denounce Kagame
By Dennis Otim
20th Aug 2012:
Denounced by peers
Southern African leaders have denounced Rwanda for backing rebel groups in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying Rwandan “interference” in the eastern Congo has threatened regional peace and stability.
The 15 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) decided to send a mission to Rwanda at its two-day annual summit, which concluded in the Mozambican capital Maputo on Saturday last week.
“…The summit noted with great concern that the security situation in the eastern part of DRC has deteriorated in the last three months causing displacement of people, loss of lives and property,” SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomao said in the final communique of the summit.
“This is being perpetrated by rebel groups with the assistance of Rwanda,” Salomao stated, adding that the summit “urged the latter (Rwanda) to cease immediately its interference that constitutes a threat to peace and stability not only to the DRC but also to the SADC region.”
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has in the past denied any reports of his country’s involvement in the Congo conflict – never mind that a UN Pannel of Experts report pointed out strong evidence of Rwanda’s involvement.
ICC urged to prosecute Kagame
On Friday last week, rights groups called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Rwandan President Paul Kagame for alleged war crimes for supporting the Congolese rebels. Rwandan and Congolese groups congregated outside the court in The Hague with banners reading “Kagame Assassin” and “Freedom for Congo”.
Florence Olara, spokeswoman for Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s office, acknowledged receipt of the request, saying “…we will analyse the information received as we do with all communications to the Prosecutor.”
She however added that, “…we receive hundreds of such communications every year from all types of sources relating to the situations we investigate as well as others and we treat all of them equally.”
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is already investigating members of the ‘March 23rd Movement’ or (M23) who are active in eastern Congo and alleged to have strong ties with the Rwandan government.
The M23 rebels defected from the Congolese army in April in protest over alleged mistreatment in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). They had previously been integrated into the Congolese army under a peace deal signed in 2009.
The mutiny is being led by General Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on a charge of recruiting child soldiers.
Since early May, over 220,000 civilians have fled their homes in the eastern Congo. Most of them have resettled inside Congo, but tens of thousands have crossed into neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. END. Login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories mid-week for our updates
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