Many Malagasy bloggers/twitterers followed the exchange on the UN webcast and reacted instantly via twitter as the crisis in Madagascar took another improbable turn.
As Rajoelina was about to take the stage, Malagasy blogger Aliotsy noted:

Congo's rep just called on member states (SADC or UN?) to walk out on Rajoelina if he speaks. http://www.un.org/webcast/ #Madagascar #fb

Rashaja is a bit perplexed:

situation is quite funny actually…total mess, total confusion. President of Session and advisor not experienced enough? #UN #Madagascar

Samganegie adds (fr):

président de l'assemblé est même sorti de sa tribune, et ses assistant sont completement paumés !!#madagascar

Streetrover bemoans the state of politics in Madagascar:

Rajoelina shunned at the UN, its ambassador @ UN publicly named in an internatnl bribery scheme on the same day! #madagascar needs a break!

HairyT and Solofo agree that it was a low point in Madagascar's history:

RT @solofo: What a shame for #Madagascar . I don't care about #Rajoelina/ RT Pdt Prevented from Taking Floor at #UN

The pro-government blog Madagate weighs in on the incident (fr):

Ce moment irritant dans l’histoire de Madagascar fait déjà partie du passé. Car cette crise aura une fin, quoi qu’il puisse arriver. Pour le moment, la majorité des Malgaches de Madagascar commence à la vivre très mal car ils se perdent en conjectures.

In the meantime, Unrest has once again broken in the aftermath of the UN fiasco. Investgasy posted on twitter today:

#Madagascar: shootings in Anosy (Tana) right now, armed 4×4 are everywhere

. The report was later confirmed by Reuters, reporting tear gas launching and wanring shots fired at demonstrators.

Finally Jentilisa reports that young reservists of the army who fought by Rajoelina's side early in the crisis are now demanding that Rajoelina keep his promises (mg):

..ny rezervista tanora, nitolona tamin'ny andron'ny TGV, hidina an-dalambe izy ireo hitondra sora-baventy satria tsy tanteraka ny fampanantenana natao tamin'izy ireo, toy ny hanomezana asa ho azy ireo tahaka ny hoe fampidirana azy ho miaramila ary hotsinjovina manokana ny rezervista nanohana ny tolona.

Take for example this video on Congolese rappers, and how street children are taking to music as a way to escape the violence. The video was uploaded by YouTube user mikayali and was featured on the Free Uganda blog. In it, young rappers speak about how the people are fed up by the violence, teachers haven't been paid for years and are in strike, and children will grow up in the streets, with no education and no jobs available to them. So they turn to rap as a way to focus their anger about the situation they live in, to speak out about the issues like death and hunger, but with a bit of humor, they say, so the message gets across in a positive manner, with no violence or brutality and in the local language, Lingala,  since there are many who don't speak French or English. The video audio is in French with English subtitles.

It is this will to survive, live and hope to thrive that also inspires many of those who travel to Congo to become advocates for the situation, and try to spread the word about the conflict, and send out the message to make the world care. Such is the case with Emily Troutman, who made the following video: Why Congo Matters. She writes:

After spending a month in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I find myself speaking most often about the numbers: 5.4 million dead, 2,000 rapes per month, 17,000 UN soldiers, a war that started 15 years ago (or more?)….

And suddenly, the conflict seems impossibly huge, unsolvable, tragic, and remote. It is easy to forget that numbers are symbols, representing real people who take up an actual, physical space; who walk the down the dirt roads at sunset and carry water from the river, just as they did when I was there…

…For a number to be useful, it should have a beating heart and a face. It should collect names and remind us of something in ourselves. A number should challenge us to unravel it, to give it a smell (the earthy jungle undergrowth), a color (the black volcanic dust), a taste (papaya), and a sound (the 'snap' of a green bean).

Why Congo Matters from Emily Troutman on Vimeo.

So what to do about our gadgets and how they fund violence in a country already ravaged by war? Enough project joined YouTube to organize a contest where through videos, people could demand companies to provide transparent audits as to how they are obtaining their minerals and make sure they are “conflict free”. As they explained on the site:

“Much of the violence in eastern Congo is driven by armed groups competing to dominate the illicit minerals trade,” said Enough Project Executive Director John Norris. “These are the same minerals that ultimately end up in our personal electronics devices such as mobile phones, laptops and digital cameras. It seems only fitting that we can use something like YouTube and the huge creativity of its users to help end the scourge of conflict minerals.” Enough has called on electronic companies to pledge that they will certify their products are ‘conflict free’ and subject their supply chains to transparent audits.

The winner for the Come Clean 4 Congo contest was chosen just a few days ago, and will be present at the Hollywood Film Festival at the end of October. His name is Matthew Smith from the USA and he was also inspired by a recent visit to the Congo, where he and his team learned about the conflict and then decided to participate in the contest with Life Should be Free.

You can view other participants' entries by following this link and clicking on “gallery”.

Throughout the conflict women have been brutalized by rape and sexual violence. An estimated 200,000 women and girls have been assaulted over the past 12 years, with more than 18,000 cases reported between January and September 2008. This past May, the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee held a hearing to address how rape is being used as a weapon of war in the DRC.

Often this rape takes on extremely violent forms and can cause injuries to a woman's reproductive organs. For instance, it can cause a health condition called vaginal fistula, which happens when the wall between a woman's vagina and the bladder and/or rectum tears. Also called traumatic fistula when caused by sexual violence, it's hard to know how many women in the DRC have this condition. But it's been estimated that thousands of Congolese girls and women have been impacted, and one assessment of six DRC provinces found that out of 432 fistula cases, around14 percent were because of trauma.

Jim Bliss, blogging on The Quiet Road, elaborates on the situation. He says:

“In the rest of the world the condition [fistula] generally occurs due to serious complications during childbirth. Most gynecologists and obstetricians will go their entire career without ever encountering a single case. In DRC, however, there’s an epidemic. And it’s not down to an increase in complicated births.

Many of the militias in DRC have adopted a deliberate policy of terror through mass rape…However rape – even violent rape – does not as a rule cause fistula. No, instead the militiamen, having already gang-raped the woman (often a huge number of times over a period of weeks or months) will deliberately inflict major damage to her genitals before sending her back to her village. More often than not this is achieved by carefully shooting the woman’s vagina at point-blank range…Knives, broken glass or just sharp sticks are [also] used to cause as much damage as possible. Girls as young as 12 months have been subjected to this violence.”

Medical complications for women with fistula can include being permanently incontinent, infertility, miscarriages, and other health problems. On top of this, women with fistula often face stigma because of their status as a rape victim, as well as their chronic incontinence.

Many wounded women are unable to get treatment, but there are some medical centers that treat rape-related injuries, including fistula. One such center is the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, which was created in 1999. Surgeons at the hospital performed 540 fistula repairs in 2005, 80 percent of which were due to sexual violence. In this video, a psychologist at the Panzi Hospital shows what life is like for women seeking treatment for traumatic fistula.

Endre Vestvik visited the hospital and took a series of photos of women and girls being treated for fistula. This is a photo of 4-year-old Vitonsi, who is preparing for fistula surgery. She was raped by soldiers when trying to cross the river with her pregnant mom and her sister.

Gypsy Girl Chronicles also went to Panzi Hospital and describes her experience:

“Doctors here specialize in fistula operation and women travel here from far and wide for a cure. I met one woman here who was raped and tortured at the age of 17 during the height of the war. She has been at the hospital, away from her family for over 6 years now enduring one operation after another. She said that she did not feel human anymore and had no future.”

A hospital in Goma is also working to treat women who have fistula. This video shows a young woman with the condition being taken to the DOCS Hospital, where other women are recovering from treatment.

Despite the positive work being done by these hospitals, Emin Pasha, blogging on Congo Resources, felt highly discouraged after learning more about sexual violence in the DRC.

“Little is being done about the problem, despite the fact that rape in eastern Congo has become such a well-known and well-publicized problem. Research on the topic remains preliminary; there are still only a handful of clinics and hospitals addressing the needs of the women; police and local authorities still don't have any capacity or willingness to protect the population; and overall it appears that the problem is getting worse not better.”

Still, Brad MacIntosh, blogging on A wide-angle view of the DRC conflict, says his visit to the Panzi Hospital in June gave him a glimmer of hope.

“It is hard to describe all the emotions as I walked through the open corridors of the hospital complex on a warm and sunny day. I headed towards the operating theatres and found that the second building is now fully operational. This operating theater is for surgical repair of women who have survived rape. Surgeries are performed by the head fistula surgeon, a gentle and wise doctor named Dr Yunga who I met previously. Beyond this building is a beautiful courtyard where survivors of rape have a place to call their own, where they have workshops, sing, cook and learn skills…I have seen evidence of remarkable progress at Panzi Hospital. Layers of progress in fact, which leads me to conclude it is a place of immense potential and optimism in city that has seen too much despair.”

Photo of Waiting for Treatment by Endre Vestvik (cyclopsr) on Flickr.

Independence Day was celebrated all throughout the country, but it was in the eastern city of Goma (the capital of North Kivu province) that the official festivities took place with the participation of President Joseph Kabila, as well as the presidents of a number of other countries. Here are a few bloggers' reactions to this historic anniversary, celebrated in a city that not long ago was a war zone.

Photo by Patrick Butsapu

Colette Braeckman [FR], a Belgian journalist specializing in Central Africa, wrote about holding the celebrations in Goma:

Voici moins d’un an, qui aurait cru que l’indépendance du 30 juin, date mythique s’il en est, serait célébrée à Goma ? A l’époque, le chef rebelle Laurent Nkunda recevait toutes les télévisions du monde et devenait une star médiatique, entrant en concurrence avec les deux chefs d’Etat des pays concernés, le président Kabila et son homologue rwandais le président Kagame.

A l’époque, la peur régnait dans de vastes zones du Nord Kivu, à la merci d’attaques du CNDP […]

For Dawn Hurley, an American expat in Goma who blogs at From Congo, the choice was risky:

It is not the most logical place to invite hot shots of all sorts to celebrate this grand holiday. It is an unruly city on the very edge the country. But it precisely this reputation as the Wild west (or rather Wild East) of Congo, that has led the President to choose to celebrate here.

For Colette Braeckman, celebrating the Independence in Goma has a strong significance:

Malgré les peurs des uns, les critiques des autres, il faut reconnaître que célébrer l’indépendance à Goma, hier terrorisée, assiégée et qui se sentait oubliée de Kinshasa, est un symbole fort. Le symbole d’un pays qui a entamé sa reconstruction et récupéré son contrôle sur toutes ses provinces, […] le symbole d’un géant convalescent, qui vacille encore un peu, mais qui, de manière décidée, s’est remis debout…

Dawn of From Congo also commented on the works happening around the city in preparation for the official festivities:

So for the past month Goma has been a giant dust bowl. The roads of Goma, which are perpetually in a ridiculous state of disrepair, have been dug up, marked off, and attacked with a variety of roadwork tools. Road workers have appeared out of nowhere and worked day and night over the past month, to turn Goma into a presentable city.

Boubol, the Goma correspondent for the popular Congoblog [FR], also wrote about Goma's makeover for the celebration (including some photos of the works):

« Je n’ai jamais vécu une telle situation à Goma, qui donne l’impression de se trouver dans une cité industrielle » s’exclame Mzee Paul, un sexagénaire, rencontré le long du boulevard Kanyamuhanga. Ce tronçon, sur lequel s’effectuera le défilé, revêt une nouvelle couche de bitume. C’est depuis la dernière éruption survenue en 2002 qu’il était dénué.

Nombreux sont le badauds qui passent leurs temps admirer les pylônes qui poussent depuis peu sur les routes de la capitale touristique. Au total, 600 réverbères éclaireront Goma d’ici le 30 juin, à en croire un des superviseurs des travaux: « La ville de Goma sera la ville la plus éclairée, après la ville de Kinshasa qui compte seulement 300 pylônes en bon état » a-t-il ajouté.

Photo by Yvez Zihundula

However, Boboul wonders about the long-term permanence of the makeover:

S’ils se réjouissent en voyant ces travaux, les habitants de Goma ne se font pas d’illusion. Il faut attendre de voir s’il s’agit bien d’un élan de reconstruction ou si ce n’est qu’un embelissement temporaire, le temps de la fête.

Apparently the Independence festivities included some fireworks, which some people mistook for shooting as shown by this story at From Congo:

Argentine and Mapendo (two of the SHONA women) spent last night trying to decide where to hide. They heard shooting and assumed the town was being attacked. […]

In fact it was fireworks. Yesterday was Independence Day in Congo and a fireworks display ran for at least half an hour last night. I couldn't see the fireworks from my house, and apparently Argentine and Mapendo couldn't see them from their hiding spots. But we could all hear the explosions, and I have to say that it was as long and impressive sounding a display as I have ever heard.

I, for one, am not suprised the a fireworks display in a region which is still a war-zone, would scare the living daylights out of people. They announced it on the radio beforehand but many people, like Argentine and Mapendo, didn't hear the warnings and were left to assume the worst.

Goma-based journalist Yves Zihindula [FR], who also noted the impressive works happening in his city, offers a bit of a pessimistic reflection about the Congo after 49 years of indepence:

Ceux qui ont vécu les années après le 30 juin 1960, parlent des bonnes choses du Congo et disent par exemple qu’un zaïre (monnaie locale de l’époque) équivalait à plus d’un dollar américain. Normal qu’un jeune de mon âge ait difficile à les comprendre. Pas de système d’éducation fiable, pas d’eau potable, pas d’électricité, pas de routes dans la plupart des localités… voilà ce que nous vivons depuis notre enfance.

49 ans après l’indépendance, quel bilan faire ? Qu’est ce qu’il faut que je réponde ? Je n’ai rien vécu jusque là. J’attends vivre… et ferais un bilan le moment venu.

In a similar vein, Espérance-Francois Bulayumi at Mbokamosika [FR] wonders:

Devrions-nous organiser ce mardi 30 juin 2009 une fête pompeuse pour célébrer la journée commémorative du 30 juin dans la situation où se trouve le pays actuellement?

John Passou offered this reflection at the blog Aujourd'hui c'est Aujourd'hui [FR]:

L’indépendance du Congo est à reconquérir. Corriger aujourd’hui les vices du régime Mobutu, ce n’est pas, comme d’aucuns s’imaginent, l’œuvre d’un jour. Ce doit être l’œuvre d’une politique de longue haleine, habile et circonspecte. La domination néocoloniale a plongé la société congolaise dans un pourrissement tel qu’il nous faudra des années pour la purifier.

Cédric Kalonji, Congolese journalist and manager of Congoblog “Ba Leki”, frequently reports on the situation of the disabled and disadvantaged in his country in an effort to not only highlight the difficulties they face, but also to highlight the tenacity and entrepreneurship of such individuals in the face of hardship.

Writing about the situation of Mariam Mapoyi, Congoblog reports this disabled woman from Lubanga as stating:

“Je fais tout ce que je peux pour assurer le minimum pour mes enfants mais ce n’est pas évident … Je me lève tous les matins vers 6 heures et je prends la pirogue pour traverser de ce côté (rive droite du fleuve) pour mendier auprès de commerçants, hommes d’affaires ou autres autorités politiques. Mes enfants m’accompagnent parce qu’ils doivent pousser mon vélo et manger avec moi ce qu’on me donne”

Congoblog goes on to add to her testimony:

Ce que cette dame ne dit pas, c’est qu’aucun de ses trois enfants ne va à l’école. Ils ne savent ni lire ni écrire. Elle a bien conscience du fait qu’un avenir sombre les attend mais elle sait aussi qu’elle n’a aucune marge de manœuvre dans ce pays où les parents doivent payer les études de leurs enfants, l’état ayant démissionné de cette charge depuis des décennies. Et pourtant, les textes de la Constitution de notre chère république stipulent que l’école primaire est gratuite et obligatoire.

However, Mariam, and many like her, are not ready to give up hope, and are taking active steps towards escaping the cycle of begging to become independent. Mariam has enrolled in a training centre in Kisangani where she is learning how to sew. During her training she will have to continue to beg, but she hopes that once she has finished lessons she will be able to get hold of a sewing machine, in order to become self-sufficient and even earn enough to send her children to school.

In a country where employment opportunities are at best limited, -and where, the law does not mandate accessibility to buildings or government services, further narrowing the possibilities for people like Mariam,- learning sewing and other forms of craftsmanship are a means for disabled Congolese to earn an independent living without having to rely on the charity of others.

Earlier this year ITNewsAfrica detailed the success of a group of disabled women who have created a sustainable arts and crafts business, which they have named Shona Crafts.

Shona crafts was established in Goma with the aid of American Dawn Hurley, and has since become a stable and successful source of revenue for the women involved.
These women create and sell a range of handmade clothes, bags and other items through their website. Their products, of which 100% of the profit goes directly to the women, have been an immediate success in the USA, where they have sold over 100 products on ebay alone. Their success is a remarkable example of how the internet can be harnessed to reach out to different continents and have immediate, positive effects for all involved.

In recent years, more efforts have gradually been put into training and education centres similar to Shona crafts. In August 2008, the first training centre for deaf-mutes, called Espoir des sourds (Deaf Hope) was established in Kisangani. This centre provides sewing and carpentry workshops for deaf-mutes living in Kisangani, and in addition to this incorporates a computer training program into their studies.
Institutions such as this equip individuals with skills that allow them to provide for themselves and integrate into society. Indeed, instead of being seen as a burden, which, according to Ernst Mukuli, reporting at Syfia-Grands-Lacs, is so often the case,

le regard de la société change depuis qu'ils apprennent un métier.

The students at Espoir des sourds have been reported to have been making the most of what the internet has to offer by connecting with other deaf-mutes and deaf-mute organisations and support groups throughout the world via the local cybercafes in Kisangani.

In March 2009 Handicap International UK was granted nearly £500,000 for an inclusive education project in the DRC. This money will go towards a 3-year project which aims to increase accessibility to primary education for disabled children. This will be through increasing the enrollment of disabled children in mainstream state primary schools, and through training teachers in new training methods adapted to the needs of disabled children. Handicap International UK also aims to submit three new educational policies on the rights of disabled children to education to the Ministry of Education.

In addition to the pursuit of training and education, a number of disabled Congolese have found innovative ways of earning a living without depending on begging.
Since the 1970's disabled people have been exempt from paying tax in the DRC. This has led to many disabled entrepreneurs making inventive use of their mobility bikes. Congoblog reports :

Leur activité consiste à prendre sur leurs chaises roulantes des marchandises (farine, huile, poissons ou viande) et de les faire traverser de part et d’autre. Les commerçants privilégient les handicapés pour faire traverser leurs marchandises parce que ces derniers ne paient pas de taxes. Leurs effets ne sont pas fouillés et ils n’ont besoin d’aucun document pour traverser la frontière.

The tradesmen pay less than they would otherwise for the transportation of their goods, and the entrepreneurs can work independently, and are making a decent wage out of their work.

Congoblog adds:

Manque à gagner pour le trésor public mais moyen de survie pour les handicapés qui trouvent dans cette activité les revenus leur permettant de subvenir à leur besoins. « Nous préférons venir travailler ici plutôt que d’aller passer nos journées à quémander en ville », lâche fièrement Patrick. Ses compères et lui-même ont bien compris qu’il valait mieux se débrouiller, plutôt que d’attendre un hypothétique redressement de la situation politique et économique du pays.

The two most senior members of Staff Benda Bilili, a group of paraplegic Congolese musicians from Kinshasa met whilst transporting merchandise between Kinshasa and Brazzaville.

Marseille-based music blog KoToNTeeJ outlines the content of the groups songs:

Coco Ngambali, l’auteur principal du groupe et champion de bras de fer, explique qu’à travers leurs chansons, ils jouent le rôle de journalistes, parlent à ceux qui vivent et dorment dans la rue sur des cartons.

Staff Benda Bilili practice in the zoological gardens of Kinshasa and play at both local bars and expat clubs, and are a true success story. They have overcome all barriers and are currently leaders of the World Music Chart Europe. Staff Benda Bilili have been signed up to the Crammed Discs label, and are anticipating a European tour.

While examples such as Shona Crafts and Staff Benda Bilili demonstrate success gained from hard work and committment, they also have an element of luck involved in their creation. One cannot forget that for the majority no matter how much effort is put in they will still face a life of hardship and handicap.

As Congoblog remarks:

Si déjà la vie est dure pour les personnes valides, pas besoin de s’interroger longtemps sur le sort de ceux qui vivent avec un handicap. Et bien sûr, on ne peut rien demander à l’état, absent, démissionnaire et irresponsable.

On April 23rd, Republican senator Sam Brownback introduced the Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009 , cosponsored by senators Russ Feingold and Dick Durbin, which would require American companies mining coltan, cassiterite, and wolframite to report annually to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency that regulates American financial markets, “to disclose the country of origin of the minerals to the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the minerals are from DRC or neighboring countries, companies would have to also disclose the mine of origin.”

According to a release on Senator Brownback's website, the act “calls on the United States to support multilateral efforts to investigate, monitor, and stop activities involving natural resources that contribute to illegally armed groups and human rights violations in eastern Congo.”

Engwete is hopes this oversight will result in real changes on the ground:

Espérons qu’après la signature de cette loi par Obama on ne verra plus des bandits transformer l’autoroute de Walikale en aérodrome de fortune.

Il y a un mois, un reportage de TV5MONDE avait établi que des éléments armés pillaient systématiquement la cassitérite à Walikale avec la complicité de Kinshasa. Pis, ces éléments armés avaient réduit à l’esclavage les villageois creuseurs de ce minerais en leur imposant des taxes fantaisistes, des droits de péage, des « droits d’entrée » dans les mines artisanales et des prix arbitraires du kilo du minerais extrait — et ce, au nez et à la barbe du chef de division des mines terré à Goma.

The suspect was accosted and arrested as he disembarked from a plane at Goma International Airport where the rangers had been waiting for his arrival from Walikale in the interior of the country and close to gorilla habitat. Eastern Lowland Gorillas are only found in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The baby gorilla, which had been hidden under a pile of clothes in a bag was weak, dehydrated and suffering from over-heating after spending long hours in the poorly ventilated bag.

This video shows the sequence of events just before and after the trafficker was arrested.

The Gorilla Protection blog says that this is evidence that there is indeed a market for gorilla babies and talks of an incidence where “we (WildlifeDirect) were approached by someone commissioned by a rich citizen of a middle eastern country, who wanted to know how to go about purchasing a baby gorilla.”

Emmanuel de Merode confirms that this market exists and that it is a very lucrative one at that. He is quoted in a blog post at Gorilla.cd saying:

Our work has revealed a significant upsurge in the trafficking of baby gorillas in recent months, possibly as a result of the war last year. Investigations have yet to reveal where these animals are being sent and who is buying them, but on the ground sources tell us that a baby gorilla can fetch up to $20,000

This arrest was the culmination of three months of investigation into this racket. The Gorilla Protection blog rejoiced at the news and hoped that “justice will be served and the baby gorilla returns to it’s natural habitat.”

Refugees International, a Washington based advocacy organization specialized on refugee issues, released a report in March on the situation in the Kivus. Their conclusions about the joint RDF-FARDC military operation against the FDLR were:

The attempted military solution to the FDLR appears far from having succeeded in crippling the rebel group, despite the recent disarmament of over 400 combatants by MONUC. Instead, the operations led to serious consequences for the Congolese in North and South Kivu, including significant new displacements.

The blog Stop the War in North Kivu commented on the report:

Not many organizations say publicly that the joint military operation has not been a success. I agree 100% with their analysis.

Refugees International also makes the point on the importance of dialogue as the only path for a durable solution to the FDLR presence in the DRC. Eurac expressed the same opinion a few weeks ago. Military solutions to political problems are, in most of the cases, a recipe for disaster.

The FDLR is a militia formed by the defeated Hutu refugees in the DR Congo, that allegedly counts among its ranks some members of the Interahamwe that carried out the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. According to the Wikipedia, during the 1998-2003 war it received extensive backing from the Congolese government who used the FDLR as a proxy force against the foreign armies operating in the country, in particular the Rwandan Patriotic Army and Rwanda-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy. Following several days of talks with Congolese government representatives held in Rome, in March 2005 the FDLR announced that they were abandoning their armed struggle and returning to Rwanda as a political party. However, the Rwandan government stated that any returning genocidaires would face justice, most probably through the gacaca court system.

Mattew Hugo of the blog Why won't they just go home questions Rwanda's position regarding the FDLR:

Historically, the Rwandan government has sought to implicate the entirety of the FDLR in the genocide. In 2004, the International Crisis Group estimated that the number of genocidaires amongst the rebels was roughly ten percent, with the vast majority having been small children in 1994. However in 2008, the Rwandan government provided the Congolese government with a list of suspected FDLR genocidaires containing 6,974 names, coincidentally the common estimate for the total number of rebels.

Stop the War in North Kivu quotes an article written by Nicolás Dorronsoro for the IECAH (Instituto de Estudios sobre Conflictos y Accion Humanitaria) [Es], that explains how political negotiation with the FDLR is taboo in Rwanda (translation from Spanish by Stop the War in North Kivu):

Desde que la ofensiva diplomática de los Estados Unidos y el Reino Unido propiciara el acercamiento entre la RDC y Ruanda, el único discurso con respecto al FDLR ha sido el del abandono inmediato de las armas y la completa derrota militar. Nadie osa hablar de la posibilidad de una negociación, por limitada que sea, con este grupo. Esto resulta sorprendente si tenemos en cuenta que el país al que los integrantes del FDLR aspiran a volver adolece de un extraordinario déficit democrático.

El pasado 19 de marzo, la experta norteamericana Ruth Wedgwood afirmaba ante el Comité de Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas que, a día de hoy, formar un partido político en Ruanda parece virtualmente imposible. Wedgwood hizo una reflexión interesante: recordó que las facciones hutu responsables del genocidio habían sido capaces de fomentar la masacre precisamente porque habían alimentado el miedo de que la población hutu sería oprimida y marginada. Lamentablemente, y con independencia de su indudable desarrollo económico, ese temido escenario se asemeja a la realidad actual de Ruanda, según muchos expertos. Filip Reyntjens, catedrático de la universidad de Amberes y uno de los mayores expertos en la región de los Grandes Lagos, afirmaba recientemente que no sólo las últimas elecciones locales ruandesas fueron manipuladas, sino incluso el informe mismo de los observadores electorales de la UE, que las consideró como válidas. Dado este déficit democrático, organizaciones como el European Network for Central Africa (EURAC), han abogado por una negociación política con el FDLR. Sin embargo, la cuestión continúa siendo tabú.

Congolese diaspora blogger Colored Opinions, quoted a former Force Commander of MONUC (UN peacekeeping in the DRC) that was also advocating for a political solution to the FDLR problem:

Former MONUC Force Commander, General Patrick Cammaert, was interviewed recently on dutch tv concerning the war in Congo. He said: “The problems have to be solved politicallly. That is true also concerning the genocidal hutus. President Kagame is strongly (involved) in that. The president of Rwanda sees the genocide-hutus as a threat to his country, I don't agree with that, I don't think that those genocide-hutus represent a threat to his country at all […]”

A young FDLR combatant wishing to demobilize speaking with Amani from South Kivu (picture by Steve Hege)

Matthew Hugo, who has worked in the Great Lakes region for a few years, illustrates the taboo that the FDLR issue is in Rwanda and the difficulties of the return and reintegration programs of FDLR combattants, with the story of former FDLR General Seraphin Bizimungu, known as Amani Amahoro, that he followed first-hand:

I first met Gen. Amani while I was conducting research on Rwandan refugees in 2005. He was the widely celebrated leader of an internal mutiny within the FDLR. Just five months prior, the FDLR’s political leadership surprisingly declared that they would unilaterally disarm and return en masse to Rwanda.

[…]
Amani emerged with the support of the Congolese government, and promised to lead the return movement despite the lack of security guarantees. In a press conference, he accused the group’s leadership of sabotaging the historic opportunity to remove themselves from the military equation of the region. The pretext of the rebel threat is what permitted the Rwandan government to continue to wage a proxy war against the Congo according to him.

By all accounts, including the Rwandan government itself, Amani was not suspected of any participation in the genocide and was widely considered a political moderate. During an interview I had with him, he claimed that fighting non-violently for political opening from within Rwanda was the only path to truly sustainable peace for the region.

[…] in December [2005] Amani fulfilled his promise and returned to Rwanda with over 150 loyal soldiers, one of the largest groups of ex-combatants since the inception of the UN’s demobilization and repatriation program (DDRRR). […]

Following his departure, Gen. Amani was rapidly transformed into the poster child of the UN’s sensitization efforts to promote future desertion amongst the FDLR. He was featured prominently in numerous pamphlets distributed to rebels throughout remote mountains and jungles as the quintessential example of how warmly Rwanda welcomed its brethren who chose to return home.

[…]
So compelling was Amani’s message that when I began working with DDRRR, I frequently put FDLR combatants in touch with him directly by Satellite phone from isolated areas of the Congolese jungle. His personal testimony was often enough to put to rest their fears of reprisals and incarcerations in Rwanda which were widely shared amongst the young rebels. Amani always sounded quite eager to respond to these calls and he often reiterated to the FDLR that real political change could only be achieved from within Rwanda.

And so compelling was Amani's message that, according to Matthew Hugo, Amani was featured in numerous DDRRR pamphlets distributed to rebels throughout remote mountains and jungles “as the quintessential example of how warmly Rwanda welcomed its brethren who chose to return home” and became “the poster child of the UN’s sensitization efforts to promote future desertion amongst the FDLR”. However, and in spite of the good example Amani set, genocide charges were brought against him in late 2008 and he was then summoned before the traditional Gacaca courts conducted by village elders. On January 22nd, two days after the Rwandan army began its joint military operations against the FDLR in the eastern Congo, the Gacaca elders condemned Amani to life in prison.

Matthew Hugo concludes his story expressing frustration at the seemingly permanent stalemate on the FDLR issue:

Thanks to this strategy of associating all political opposition with the genocide, the RPF’s Ugandan clique has managed to systematically tighten their stranglehold over power in Kigali. Not only did informal EU electoral observer reports suggest that they might have won as much as 98% of the vote in recent local elections, but even the U.S.’s legal expert on the UN Human Rights Committee stated that it is “virtually impossible to set up a political party in Rwanda“.

Nevertheless, despite resounding support for peace processes with the ruthless rebel groups in the region like the LRA and the FNL, the mere notion of political dialogue between Rwanda and the FDLR remains utterly inconceivable.

The blog Mo’dernity, Mo’problems recently commented on an article written by the director of Human Rights Watch on the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide:

In memory of the Rwanda genocide, Ken Roth keeps up the quality of Human Rights Watch Rwanda analysis after Allison Des Forge’s passing and writes:

[…] “The best way to prevent another genocide is to insist that Kagame stop manipulating the last one”.

As memories of the genocide turn 15, it seems like Rwanda is facing a tumultuous media anniversary. Recent coverage of the anniversary have attacked the ways in which the current Rwandan administration abuses the genocide as a form of political repression and a justification of warmongering.

le blog aboumashimango [Fr], a Rwandese diaspora blogger, calls for an end to civil and political rights violations in Rwanda :

Le génocide des Tutsi et massacres des Hutus démocrates (opposants politiques, défenseurs des droits de l'homme, journalistes… et populations civiles innocentes) de 1994 trouvent leur racines dans l'histoire politico-ethnique du pays, la fracture sociale, l'angoisse et la terreur, ainsi que la mauvaise gestion politique de la question ethnique. A cela s'ajoute l'absence de l'espace démocratique et de la culture des droits de l'homme.

[…] En ces moments où nous commémorons le 15ème anniversaire de Génocide des Tutsi et massacres des Hutus démocrates, j'appelle à la conscience de la Communauté internationale de faire preuve de courage pour mettre fin à des situations des violations flagrantes des droits civils et politiques que connaît le Rwanda, notamment le droit d'avoir une justice équitable…

He also talked about how good help is hard to find; many bloggers have blasted him for it.  Kabila blames corruption on Mobutu's legacy and the ineptitude of his own officials, rather than taking responsibility for his government's problems:

Q: Do you have the right people to help you?

A: (Long pause) Mobutu led this country for over 37 years. He created a political class and he created a mentality and we haven't done away with that. The old ways are bad - corruption, misrule, mismanagement and all that. Our biggest mistake is that we have not found enough time to train and form our own cadres. You don't need a thousand people to transform a country. No, you need 3,4, 10, 15 people with the necessary convictions, determined and resolute. Do I have those 15 people? Probably 5, 6, 7, not yet 15.

On Forum Réalisance [Fr] Musengeshi Katata writes that Joseph Kabila he has injured every Congolese who had read the interview:

Tous les professeurs d´université, les officiers d´armée, les instituteurs, les techniciens, les ingénieurs, les médecins, les banquiers, les ouvriers qualifiés, de parents éduquant leurs enfants, de ministres, d´avocats, de députés…etc qui travaillent chaque jour à bâtir l´avenir une nation ; tous ces gens se réduisaient à une équipe de 15 initiés ? Renversant. Est-ce bien un chef d´état qui parlait ou n´était-ce rien d´autre qu´un mauvais entraîneur d´une équipe de rugby ou de football ?

Apparemment ce président en mal de résultat positif veut faire passer, et cela plait beaucoup aux occidentaux en ces moments incertains de crise, son peuple comme un ramassis de crétins et d´incapables.

C´est à se demander : dans ce cas, que fait-il encore au pouvoir, que diable, si personne ne lui fait confiance et qu´apparemment il ne sait pas choisir les hommes qu´il faut pour obtenir des résultats satisfaisants à sa politique?

Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2002 (Wikipedia)

Congoliberte thinks that if Kabila really believes there are only seven people in his government worth their salt, it's time to clean house:

Apparemment, il est obligé de ne s’appuyer que sur 6 à 7 personnes, c’est-à-dire moins de 10, dans un pays qui revendique déjà 70 millions d’habitants, pour faire bouger les choses. C’est grave…

…Congolaises et Congolais cherchent à savoir la raison d’être d’un cabinet présidentiel composé de plusieurs dizaines de conseillers, d’un gouvernement de près de 60 membres, d’un Parlement de 500 députés et 120 sénateurs…

…Des talents et patriotes cachés, qui se comptent certainement par milliers, rongent leurs freins à l’ombre de ceux qui ont pris le pays en otage. Les Congolaises et Congolais attendent de lui un travail urgent de nettoyage des « écuries »…Pourquoi n’innoverait-il pas à mettant en place un cabinet présidentiel de moins de 10 conseillers et un gouvernement de moins de 15 ministres ?…C’est maintenant ou jamais, que le choix de l’excellence s’impose à lui.

Mouvement Libération du Congo - Diaspora thinks Kabila's statements about the dearth of competent officials rings colonial:

Pour ceux et celles d'entre nous qui savent que « les crimes organisés en Afrique centrale » ont bénéficié des services anglo-saxons, il est possible que Joseph soit en train d'envoyer un signal fort à ses « parrains » pour expliquer sa méthode de travail.

A la lecture de la réponse de Joseph Kabila à New York Times, on se croirait en présence d'un Karel De Gucht, Ministre des affaires étrangères Belge, affirmant qu'il n'a pas trouvé au Congo, autour de Kabila, des hommes politiques dignes de ce nom. Quand on connaît toutes les misères que les propos de De Gucht ont suscité et qu'on entend le même discours de la bouche du « raïs », on se dit: « ça sent mauvais ». Face à l'échec patent d'une politique fondée sur l'exclusion, la violence, la corruption et le mensonge, Joseph trouve vite des boucs émissaires: Mobutu, les mobutistes et la mentalité mobutiste. Cette interview aurait été convaincante si Joseph pouvait citer trois ou quatre mesures phares prises pendant ses 7 ans de règne pour un bonheur congolais partagé. Il n'y a en pas eues.

Some bloggers also debated statements Kabila made about Rwanda, with which relations have been tense.  Among other things, Rwanda has so far refused to extradite Laurent Nkunda, former head of a pro-Tutsi rebel group which operated in eastern Congo.  Kabila told the New York Times reporter:

“What are Rwanda's interests in the Congo? I like to believe that they are the same. But if there is a hidden agenda, and Rwanda's interest is more or less controlling the mining concessions and all that, illegally, and if they have a hand in each and everything that goes on in North and South Kivu, then we're still a long way from trust. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt, once again, probably for the last time”

The Mushaki Pager wonders what made Kabila take such a strong stance:

Très peu diplomatique. Veut-il fâcher les autorités rwandaises ? A-t-il fait un deal avec la France lui permettant d’utiliser un langage aussi provocateur envers ses alliés rwandais dont le président disait encore tout récemment que l’amitié avec Kinshasa était solide ?

Afrique des Grands Lacs posts a French translation of the interview and writes:

Mr. Kabila a encore affirme que le Rwanda va extrader Laurent Nkunda et que celui-ci fera face a la justice congolaise. Cependant, on peut se demander de quelle marge de manoeuvre dispose Kabila pour obtenir de Kagame l’extradition de Nkunda…

Je suis ebahi que Kabila declare qu’il n’y a pas de mandat d’arret a l’encontre de Nkunda. Cette grave contradiction dans une meme interview est un signe clair que Kabila ne travaille pas pour l’extradition de Nkunda. Si le Chef de l’Etat lui-meme “oublie” un mandat d’arret international lance par la justice de son pays, comment voulez-vous que ce mandat ait un effet?

On Forum Réalisance [Fr], Katata criticizes the general merit of the interview, in particular what he thinks is Kabila's lack of substance.  He blames Western media bias:

Il est tout de même surprenant qu´un président élu puisse avoir si peu de substance dans son interview dans un journal aussi important que le New York Times.

Beaucoup diront : cela a à voir avec les questions qui lui ont été posées et ce que poursuivait le journaliste dans cette Interview. Et ici je reconnaîtrai que c´est plausible : il s´agissait plus de faire une quelconque publicité à un président africain dont on voulait se rallier la sympathie, qu´à éprouver sa maturité logique ou sa compétence politique. Après tout, les américains se font une idée précise de l´Afrique : celle d´un continent de pauvres, de défaillants et d´incapables dont on avait besoin pour se sentir encore plus fort dans sa richesse et sa puissante politique, militaire et économique. Un grand continent de mendiants auxquels on octroyait périodiquement une aide surfaite, dont on résolvait tant bien que mal les problèmes qu´il ne savait résoudre lui-même.

Pillage systématique la nuit de dimanche à ce lundi, dans le quartier Mbogho de la cité de Kirumba, à plus de 200 km au Nord de Goma. 21 maisons ont été pillées par les hommes en arme et en tenue militaire, rapportent à radiookapi.net des sources administratives sur place.

D’autre part, dans la cité de Kayna, à plus de 150 km au Nord de Goma, dans le territoire de Lubero, les paysans ne se rendent plus dans leurs champs, depuis 2 semaines en raison des tracasseries des militaires FARDC. Des autorités administratives dans les 2 cités indiquent que, depuis plusieurs jours, les militaires vivent au dos de la population au motif qu'ils ne sont payés depuis 3 mois.

On Alex Engwete's blog, several discussed the story.

Wavre criticizes the army's lack of bravery and predation of the people they are supposed to protect:

Il nous faut reformer notre armee de fond en comble. Un nouvel esprit civique, un sens du devoir, un respect et une sympathie pour la population.Un soldat n'est pas une race etrangere qu'un civil, ni le protecteur automatique d'un pouvoir aussi inepte soit-il. Retablir la solde des soldats est essentiel et indispensable.Mais est-ce que nos dirigeants le veuillent vraiment???J'en doute grandement, car nos dirigeants trop souvent se garantissent le pouvoir grace a cette horde de sauvages affames et indisciplines, commandees par des officiers souvent incompetents, mercantiles,peureux et affairistes.

Sans une armee bien entretenue et disciplinee, nous n'aurons qu'une democratie de nom et tout a fait de facade. et malgre notre immense avantage numerique,nos “soldats” continueront a deguerpir au premier coup de feu face a une quelconque petite armee organisee.

For years, the people living in eastern Congo have been at the mercy of a countless number of armies, militias, and rebel groups.  Gangoueus explains:

Il n'est pas bon d'être né à l'est de la RDC. A quel saint vont se nouer les populations de ces régions? Quand ce ne sont pas les rwandais qui les rançonnent, ce sont les ougandais et si ce ne sont pas les ougandais, ce sont les rebelles de Nkunda ou d'un autre chef milicien. Sinon, c'est l'armée congolaise qui les maltraite. On fait comment?

Matabeleland:

On feint d'être surpris par ces agissements, alors que tout le monde le sait que dépuis des lustres, je dirai dépuis la fin de la force publique la RDC n'a jamais eu d'armée, nos militaires ont toujours pris pour cible la population qu'ils sont censés protéger.

bakunde defends the FARDC, invoking the service of Katanga's :

Et quand vous avez parlé des FARDC voleurs tour à tour vous palerez de quoi après? Hormis l'évocation de menus larcins commis par l'ensemble de 100000 soldats congolais quel sera le sujet de la prochaine conversation? Il es triste qu'un pays aussi vaste que le Congo ne susscite qu'un seul point de discusssion de votre part depuis plus de deux ans. C'est tout ce que vous savez du Congo. Tiens les gendarmes Katangais qui sont restés des années en Angola n'ont jamais fait parler d'eux sauf lorsqu'ils comùbattaient…

OURAGAN responds:

pauvre BAKUNDE plaindre les congolais qui veulent que leur armée soit exemplaire ,digne et forte …vous espérez que tout les congolais soit complaisant et indulgent comme vous ceux qui profitent du système désastreux et humiliant pour les congolais donnez nous les raisons d'être fier de vos 100 000 milles FADRC humiliés sur tout les terrains des opérations militaires ou de leur missions de rétablir l'ordre préférant les pillages et les viols a ce jour il n'y a pas de raisons d'être fier de cette armée de votre pouvoir

Alex Engwete, responding to bakunde, believes there is Katanga's police are not to be praised:

…Je connais donc intimement les anciens Gendarmes Katangais. Ce régiment était dirigé par le sanguinaire Colonel Tshimpola, l’assassin du Colonel Tshatshi. C’étaient des pillards et des tueurs — tout comme les autres soldats congolais. Sur ma rue à Pumuzika, à Kisangani, deux de ces tueurs — je me rappelle encore le nom de l’un d’entre eux : le Sergent Venant — ont abattu le père de mon copain, père d’une famille nombreuse, qui s’entêtait de ne pas leur céder son vélo Raleigh… Alors, ne raconte pas des bobards sur les Gendarmes Katangais…

Le Colonel Tshimpola avait lâchement assassiné le Colonel Tshatshi à Kisangani.  Le Colonel Tshatshi, commandant du 3ème Groupement de l’ANC, s’était rendu au bureau du Colonel Tshimpola pour lui demander d’ordonner à ses hommes de déposer les armes en vue de commencer le processus d’intégration de ses hommes dans l’Armée Nationale Congolaise à Kitona. Le Colonel Tshatshi s’était déplacé sans gardes du corps, sans armes, avec son chauffeur. Ivre de chanvre, le Colonel Tshimpola l’a froidement abattu, dans son bureau, avant de sortir pour tuer le chauffeur ! Vers 10 h du matin ! Alors, ne nous parle pas des gendarmes katangais comme s’ils avaient l’éthique des samouraïs !

bakunde responds to Alex, writing, “the heroes of our enemies are not our heroes.”

@Alex, Vous pouvez défendre vos positions sans être excessif. Ce soldat valeureux nommé Tshimpola Colonel des forces armées congolaises est un héros pour les siens,pour les katangais et pour ses frères d'armes de part et d'autre.