The Movement for Justice and Peace in the Congo (MJPC) and Human Rights Watch recently requested the UN peace keeping force in the Congo MONUC and the Congolese Government to arrest war criminal General Bosco Ntagandainstead of working with him. General Ntaganda is a war criminal wanted on a warrant by the International Criminal Court for massacres of hundreds and possibly thousands of innocent Congolese women, men, and children. Bosco Ntaganda also known as “Terminator” is accused of a number of war crimes, crimes against humanity, rape, and the use of child soldiers. Yet, the UN soldiers under MONUC who are in charge of ensuring civilian safety are working along this known war criminal. MONUC officials continue to lie to the world by claiming that the UN is not working with general Ntaganda. However, evidence is not on the UN’s side. MJPC is correct to demand this arrest.
General Ntaganda, currently a senior officer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s army has been seen smiling at the UN troops in Eastern Congo and is currently working along Monuc. Eastern Congo, especially the Kivu area is where Ntaganda has committed most of his recent heinous atrocities. The use of rape against women is one of the biggest weapon in Congo and is not surprising that the Congolese soldiers are currently the biggest perpetrators of this crime. Their present operation dubbed Kimia II is led by Bosco Ntaganda along with the UN. Ntaganda’s troops have mastered this despicable art of using rape. Also, mass massacres as in the case of Kiwanja perpetrated by Ntaganda and his troops are common in the Kivu area of the Congo.
Congolese Refugees Fleeing Ntaganda's Massacre in Kiwanja
It is criminal for the UN to work with a known war criminal instead of arresting him. It is irresponsible for the Congolese government to ignore arresting calls to ignore this war criminal. There is no reason why Ntaganda should be walking among the people whose mothers, sisters, brothers, fathers, relatives and neighbors he has murdered in cold blood. There is no reason why Bosco Ntaganda should be smiling at mothers whose sons he has abducted and trained to become his child soldiers. Bosco Ntaganda along with his Rwanda sponsors in the current Kigali government whom he fought for in Rwanda engaged in the use of child soldiers, rape of thousands of women, massacres of entire villages in Eastern Congo and all the UN can do is work with him. The Congolese people who have been ravaged by Rwandan president Paul Kagame’s troops or his proxies such as general Ntaganda; are made to watch one of these murderers who took away their dignity are promoted into top military posts.
There have been over 5 million, 5 million people killed since Paul Kagame and his Rwandan troops RPA/RDF crossed the border and invaded Congo in 1996. Most of these victims are babies, women, the elderly, and the disabled. Paul Kagame and his troops either directly fought or trained and used mass murderers like Bosco Ntaganda, Laurent Nkunda, and Thomas Lubanga to continue this conflict in the Congo. Meanwhile Rwanda, Uganda and some of the rebel groups operating in Eastern Congo continue to plunder Congo’s mineral and making illegal profit off of it. Reportedly, some of the UN troops who should be in charge of civilians’ safety are also taking part in illegal mining and trading. The death of one person is bad enough but how many more will it take before the UN and the Congolese government do the right thing and arrest these criminals? The least the UN can do for the Congo victims is arrest the criminals. MJPC and Human Rights watch are both correct in asking for his arrest to face charges by the ICC.
Human Rights First 