Lumumba Assass

NKUNDA SAFE LIKE LUMUMBA?

Nkunda Nat Geo

Today, February 3, 2009 [and again on January 14, 2010]  I'm asking for proof, from the Rwandan authorities, that Nkunda really IS safe, in a safe-house, as they so-announced after arresting him nearly two weeks ago [one year ago]  - on January 22, 2009 - and since which time there has been no mention of what is happening to Nkunda. See KAGAME HELPING NKUNDA NOT & NKUNDA ON JOURNALISTS & GORILLAS

It fills me with fear because I'm seeing parallels between what is happening to Nkunda and what happened to Patrice Lumumba, the first-ever prime minister when Congo got independence in 1960.

If the world recalls, Lumumba was arrested and put in a "safe house" (his own Prime Ministerial residence) and the only thing that kept him safe was he was protected by some loyal Congolese troops guarding outside the gates.

But Lumumba couldn't tolerate living under "house arrest" and he escaped - and the rest is horrible, nightmarish, typical African evil treachery. In other words, Lumumba was captured, beaten to a pulp, tortured, shot to death, hacked to pieces and then tossed into a vat of acid. See CONGO IS LUMUMBA LAND and LUMUMBA-LIKE LAURENT NKUNDA & JFK CRIED FOR CONGO

So I'm sure the authorities in Rwanda - who say they are holding Nkunda in a safe house - can understand why some people require assurance and proof that he isn't in the bowels of the Ministry of Love (Torture).

Again, I request that someone, somewhere be allowed to visit Nkunda and video and interview him for his comments on what is going on now.

Have we stooped so low as a civilization of human beings on this planet that such a major international event as the arrest of such a major player in such a major country as the Congo goes unreported on as though nothing has happened?

At least for Lumumba people knew where he was and the head of the United Nations was working toward his release (although he, too, later died of unnatural causes, ie his plane crashed). ~ Jackie Jura

Nkunda talks about Lumumba:
"...Leadership can change Congo. But not a leader. You can be such kind of leader.
But if your people is not educated, you are going to be seen like you are the enemy of the people like in 1961.
Lumumba was killed by Congolese because he was saying that Belgium didn't develop Congo.
And other Congolese thought that he's not normal. And Congolese killed Lumumba.
If Congo will change, it will not come from me or from another,
but from an understanding, a new spirit for Congolese.
That's why I think that we have to go by educating our people.
If we educate our people, then they will choose good leaders.
And this leadership will bring Congo, in my dream...."
See NKUNDA SAY CONGO OWNS RESOURCES


Rwanda military court postpones Nkunda release hearing, NewsAfrica, May 11, 2010
A military court in Rwanda Tuesday postponed the hearing of a plea seeking the release of Laurent Nkunda, a former rebel chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of his lawyers said. "The court pushed the date back to June 11 to leave time to find an interpreter to facilitate the hearing," Aime Bokanga told AFP. Nkunda's other defence counsel, the Canadian lawyer Stephan Bourgon, does not understand the local Kinyarwanda language that the military court has chosen for the proceedings, Bokanga explained. Nkunda has been held since January 2009. His lawyers say General James Kabarebe, the former Rwandan army chief of staff who was appointed defence minister last month, is responsible for the "arrest and illegal detention" of their client. In late March Rwanda's supreme court ruled that given Kabarebe's military status it was not competent to hear the plea. Nkunda was arrested in Gisenyi on January 22, 2009, when he was head of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) movement, according to people close to him. In October 2008, Nkunda's men routed the DR Congolese army in Nord-Kivu province and threatened to take the strategic provincial capital, Goma, near the border with Rwanda. But after a shift in alliances, the Congolese and Rwandan armies in January 2009 launched an unprecedented joint operation targeting Rwandan Hutu rebels in eastern DR Congo which also resulted in Nkunda's arrest.

No hearing for Nkunda, News 24, Mar 26, 2010
Kigali - Rwanda's supreme court ruled on Friday it is not competent to hear a plea seeking the release of Laurent Nkunda, a former rebel chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo, held since January 2009. "The court ruled it is not competent and sent the case back to a military tribunal," Aime Bokanga, one of Nkunda's lawyers told AFP. The court's argument is based on the military status of General James Kabarebe, Rwanda's chief of defence staff, designated as the person responsible for Nkunda's detention. Neither Kabarebe nor Nkunda was present in court Friday. "For us it's a disappointment. The supreme court could have taken cognisance of this case," Bokanga said. "It didn't take into account the human aspects of the case. Our client has been held without trial for more than a year. But we hope that the military courts will rule on the case since it has been sent back to them by the highest court in the land." Nkunda's lawyers in December complained to the supreme court that their client's continued detention, first in Gisenyi, a town in northwestern Rwanda on the border with DR Congo, and then in Kigali, was "illegal". Nkunda was arrested in Gisenyi on January 22 2009, when he was head of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) movement, according to people close to him. In October 2008, Nkunda's men routed the DR Congolese army in Nord-Kivu province and threatened to take the strategic provincial capital, Goma, near the border with Rwanda. But after a shift in alliances, the Congolese and Rwandan armies in January 2009 launched an unprecedented joint operation targeting Rwandan Hutu rebels in eastern DR Congo which also resulted in Nkunda's arrest.

Nkunda Safe Like Lumumba?, CNDP, Jan 15, 2010

Rwanda again postpones Nkunda's hearing (didn't appear in court, remains in detention). AFP, Jan 14, 2010

Rwanda Court to hear Nkunda case Wednesday (show Commonwealth its human rights credentials) & Nkunda petition to ask why he was arrested (Army Chief Staff Kabarebe to be on witness stand) & Nkunda family awaits Rwanda Supreme Court (held illegaly one year; not seen in public since).Invest/SaveRw/VOA, Jan 12-13, 2010

Hearing of General Nkunda detention case set for January 13, 2010, RwandaNewsAgency, Dec 11, 2009
Kigali: The Supreme Court has accepted to hear the case filed by Congolese General Laurent Nkunda after all other lower courts threw out applications in which he is challenging his "illegal" detention, RNA reports. General Nkunda's lawyer met with the President of the Supreme Court Justice Aloysie Cyanzayire on Wednesday. Following the closed-door meeting, Justice Cyanzayire was clearly under pressure to act because the Supreme Court was the only remaining place the petitioners would go – thereby leaving the credibility of the court at stake. A while later, the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court confirmed that the hearing sought on November 30 will take place on 13 January 2010 – which General Nkunda’s Canadian lawyer Mr. Stéphane Bourgon criticized. The Supreme Court argument was that the judiciary would be going to recess. "It is really surprising that an application seeking the release of a person alleged to be detained unlawfully cannot be heard urgently – judicial recess or not – since any violation of the fundamental right to freedom and liberty deserves to be heard without delay," said Bourgon. "Nonetheless, we are very satisfied that on 13 January 2010, we will have the opportunity to argue NKUNDA's case before the highest court of Rwanda. "The controversial General Nkunda – who until January was accused of causing massive havoc and suffering in eastern DRC, has now been detained in Kigali for more than 10 months without being permitted to meet with his lawyer. A case was filed in Gisenyi where Nkunda was being detained at first but the court there threw out his application on grounds it had no jurisdiction to hear the case. When he was moved to Kigali sometime later, and his wife allowed seeing him, the attorney sought out other avenues. Mr. Bourgon has also petitioned President Kagame. But like other senior government officials, Mr. Kagame described Nkunda as a guest of Rwanda. He told DRC counterpart Joseph Kabila that the two countries should look forward and not backwards. In recent months, General Nkunda's has lowered her tone compared to when she was all over the media claiming her husband had been kidnapped. For the attorney Mr. Bourgon, who tried the High Military Court, which declined to accept the application at first, the campaign is not about to end. The attorney says he is going to take advantages of this Supreme Court hearing. "We will do everything to ensure the attendance of a maximum number of international observers, whether from non governmental organizations interested in human rights issues and or States,” he said.

NKUNDA'S VISION FOR CONGO

Nkunda lawyers still not heard from Kagame (to discuss solution to this deadlock). CNDP, Oct 4, 2009

NKUNDA SEEKING KAGAME MEETING (illegally detained in Rwanda)

The Judicial Saga of Laurent Nkunda Continues in Rwanda. CNDP-Congo.org, Sep 26, 2009

New Motion Seeking the Release of Laurent Nkunda. CNDP-Congo.org, Sep 23, 2009

Kagame can no longer play ostrich & hide (legally Rwanda must allow lawyer see Nkunda). CNDP, Mar 12, 2009

Rwanda court dismisses Nkunda case (wife & lawyer vow to continue battle). APA, Mar 11, 2009

Rwanda court refuses to free Congolese rebel chief Nkunda. AFP, Mar 11, 2009
KIGALI — A Rwandan court on Wednesday refused to release Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda following his dramatic capture in a joint operation in January. "The request made by the accused defence lawyer has no basis," ruled a lower court in the capital Kigali. Nkunda's lawyer said he would appeal the decision. Nkunda's Canadian lawyer Stephane Bourgon had demanded an "immediate and unconditional" release of the Tutsi rebel leader arrested on January 22. The arrest came after the Rwandan and Democratic Republic of Congo armies launched a surprise raid against Rwandan Hutu rebels in eastern Congo. Nkunda's arrest in Rwanda was a dramatic turnaround, with Kigali accused only weeks earlier by the Democratic Republic of Congo of backing the cashiered Congolese general. He had claimed to be protecting local Tutsis from Rwandan rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), some of whom participated in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. The joint Rwanda-DR Congo raid targeted the FDLR.

Rwandan court to decide fate of Congolese rebel leader Nkunda, by Peter Clottey, VOA, Mar 10, 2009
A Rwandan court is expected to rule today (Wednesday) on possibly releasing Democratic Republic of Congo renegade army general Laurent Nkunda after he was arrested crossing the Congo border into Rwanda. Nkunda's attorney contends that Kigali has flouted its constitution by remanding the former rebel leader in prison for at least 45 days without putting him on trial. Kinshasa has indicted the former rebel leader for war crimes after leading the National Congress for People's Defense (CNDP) rebel forces that often clashed with the national army in restive North Kivu province. There are ongoing negotiations between Kigali and Kinshasa over a possible extradition of the renegade army general. Jean Bosco Gasasira is the editor of Umuvugizi Independent Newspaper. He tells reporter Peter Clottey that both Congolese and Rwandese are anxiously waiting for the count's decision. "Today the court is going to make a judgment or a decision on a suit filed by the attorney of General Laurent Nkunda who says his client was illegally arrested. He also said that it was illegal for the rebel leader to be on Rwanda's soils, adding that he (Nkunda) has been arrested for over 45 days. The lawyer also said the Rwandan authorities have so far failed to inform the rebel leader's family about his whereabouts or his condition after his arrest. So he called on Rwanda to immediately release the rebel leader or put him to justice," Gasasira noted. He said the renegade general's attorney forcefully contends that ongoing negotiations between Kigali and Kinshasa over the extradition of Nkunda have no basis in law. "Nkunda's lawyer, who usually deals with international cases, was saying that whatever Kigali and Kinshasa have been discussing is supposed to be diplomatic, which should stay that way and not be brought into the courtroom," he said. Gasasira said the rebel leader's attorney argued that since the Democratic Republic of Congo still has the death penalty on its statute books, Nkunda should not be extradited there. "He was saying that since Kigali has suspended the death penalty, the rebel leader should be either prosecuted there or sent somewhere else, saying that the Democratic Republic of Congo has so far not suspended the death sentence, which the attorney said once found guilty the rebel leader will be put to death. He therefore called on Kigali to withhold Kinshasa's request to extradite the former rebel leader to Congo," Gasasira pointed out. He said Rwandan authorities have been economical about the whereabouts of the rebel leader. "It is like a cat and mouse game in the courtroom because the lawyers representing the Rwanda government were saying that they don't know and are not competent enough to talk about where the rebel leader is. Nkunda's lawyer, on the other hand, told the court as well as the media that he had tried all he could, including the Rwandan authorities, about his client's whereabouts, but they all claimed they don't know where the rebel leader is being held," he said. Gasasira said Nkunda's attorney claims he and the rebel leader's family have so far been prevented from having access to Nkunda. "The lawyer also said that Kigali has so far refused to let the rebel leader's family have access to him, adding that the only information they have is after President Paul Kagame said in a recent press conference that the rebel leader is in Kigali's custody and that the Rwanda's foreign minister also says Nkunda is in Rwanda," he said.

Congo rebel Nkunda's wife seeks his release in Rwanda: lawyer. AFP, Mar 7, 2009
Kinshasa — The wife of detained Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has filed legal papers in Rwanda demanding his release, her lawyer Stephane Bourgon said Friday. Speaking to AFP, Bourgon said Nkunda is being held by the Rwandan authorities "on no legal basis, in a secret location, with no access to his wife or family, and denied the basic right of access to a lawyer's services". He added that, despite contacts in recent days with the armed forces, prosecutors, police, justice ministry and foreign ministry, he was unable to learn more about Nkunda's situation. The request for Nkunda's release was filed with the civil court in Kigali after it was refused by the clerk of the military tribunal in the Rwandan capital, added Bourgon, a Canadian expert on international law. Nkunda, who had led the Tutsi rebel group the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), was arrested by Rwandan forces on January 22. His arrest in Rwanda was a dramatic turnaround, with Kigali accused only weeks earlier by Democratic Republic of Congo of backing the cashiered Congolese general. Nkunda had claimed to be protecting local Tutsis from Rwandan rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), some of whom participated in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. He accused Kinshasa and pro-government Mai Mai militia of backing the Rwandan rebels, while the Congolese authorities in turn accused Kigali of backing Nkunda. Nkunda's wife is worried by rumours that her husband will be extradited to Congo, Bourgon said, adding: "We are exploiting all means possible to block his extradition because he will not get a just and fair trial in Kinshasa." "What's more, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a country where the death penalty remains in place."

Kagame to decide Nkunda's fate within two weeks. Daily Nation, Mar 6, 2009
Kigali - Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has said all his soldiers left Northern Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week. Addressing a monthly press conference on Tuesday in Kigali, President Kagame also dispelled fears that Rwanda forces’ pullout, would renew anxiety and instability in the region. He said that the prospects for peace were quite high. President Kagame also said that a decision on Gen Laurent Nkunda’s fate will be made within two weeks. He said dialogue was still going on between Rwanda and Kinshasa. Gen Nkunda, the former leader of the defunct National Congress for People’s Defence (CNDP), was arrested by RDF in January, days after Rwanda had sent troops to North Kivu to fight the rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). FDLR is a Hutu militia group of Rwandan origin, which crossed into Congo after the 1994 genocide. Gen Nkunda is under house-rest in Gisenyi, Rwanda. Rwanda and DRC last Monday signed a final joint report which included details of Umoja Wetu, the joint operation against the FDRL rebels. The report was signed in Goma by Gen John Numbi, who represented DRC and Brig. Gen. Jerome Ngendahimana for Rwanda.

Kabila's Congo Security Forces facing probe (killed 500 people & detained 1,000 more; many tortured during past 2 years). IWPR, Mar 6, 2009

Rwanda to hand over General Nkunda, by Martin Tindiwensi, New Times, Feb 8, 2009
Kigali — The Rwandan government has agreed to hand over the former head of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) General Laurent Nkunda to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This was one of the resolutions of a meeting of both countries which took place Friday at Serena Kivu Sun Hotel in Gisenyi. Nkunda was arrested last month by Rwandan authorities. Although the actual date for handing over Nkunda was not set, Rwandan foreign Minister Rosemary Museminari told reporters that a technical team will be set up to discus modalities of the transfer. "You all know that Nkunda is Congolese, he will have by all means to go back to his country, when and how he will be delivered to the Kinshasa authorities will be determined by the committee which will be set up soon by both parties to discuss the issue" she explained. Asked if the DRC government will not persecute General Nkunda for his rebellious action in North Kivu region since 2004, DRC foreign affairs minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba said Nkunda will not be mistreated unless if he is victimized by law," he promised....

With Nkunda in hand, Kigali can have its cake and eat it, by Charles Onyango-Obbo, Kenya East African, Feb 7, 2009
When, recently, Rwanda detained the Kivu-based rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda, nearly everyone else was caught by surprise — and confused. Nkunda, whose National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) was making rapid advances in eastern Congo, was seen as Rwanda’s man. And, indeed, Rwanda had been the only country to acknowledge that Nkunda had a cause, although it consistently denied that it was arming his forces. However, in a move that caught the UN peacekeeping force Monuc by surprise, Rwandan troops entered Congo and, together with the Congolese army, they launched operations against remnants of the Interahamwe and ex-Rwanda Armed Forces (FAR) — which committed the 1994 genocide, and the CNDP. According to the official account, a cornered Nkunda tried to flee through Rwanda, where he was arrested. Now speculation is centring on whether Rwanda will hand Nkunda over to the Congolese authorities, on exactly where he is, and what caused Rwanda to turn on him. Nkunda is probably still in Gisenyi in northern Rwanda. He is definitely not in some prison, but is being watched. Rwanda made common cause with Nkunda when his political agenda was limited largely to stopping the killings of the Banyamulenge — the Tutsi of Congo. Rwanda, therefore, is unlikely to hand Nkunda to Congo, because it would be seen as a political victory for the anti-Kigali forces in the DRC. Nkunda’s problems began when, flushed with military success, he became overly ambitious and threatened to march on Kinshasa... This writer has it on fairly good authority that beyond allowing joint military action with Rwanda, the Kabila government has also given Kigali a long-term role in some kind of “security buffer” in eastern DRC. Nkunda will probably be re-inserted in this security zone, where the Rwandese would continue to keep him on a short leash. It would also be a good deal for Nkunda, give Kabila peace of mind, and allow Kigali to have its cake and eat it.

Mystery deepens as Nkunda chapter is 'closed', by Josh Kron, East African, Feb 7, 2009
Calling “the chapter on Nkunda closed,” the last Rwandan public official communicating to the outside world about the excommunicated Congolese rebel under their custody said today it was going off the radar. After promising new information, the Rwandan military has instead fallen silent, this time they say for good, in regard to apprehension of General Laurent Nkunda, leader of the dominant rebel group, the National Congress for the People’s Defence (CNDP). This chapter may have closed, but this is a story still unfolding. The Congolese government, upon whose soil Nkunda, a Congolese citizen, launched a bloody rebellion in 2008, has publicly called on its neighbour and supposed co-partner in arresting him to hand him over to Kinshasa. But Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies even receiving official requests. Late on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Rwandan army said “things were being discussed,” and that they would “talk soon.” By Thursday morning, events had turned pointedly, with Rwanda Defence Force spokesperson Major Jill Rutaremara, stating that nothing more on the subject would be said. “It is not my business any more,” said Mr Rutaremara. “The chapter with Nkunda is closed, we will be speaking about it no more.” Nkunda, who worked alongside, but not necessarily under, the Rwandan government and military in the late 1990s in Congo as part of the Rally for Congolese Democracy, was said to still be supported by the Rwandan government in a December 2008 United Nations report. Though strongly denying the accusation, the government of Rwanda has repeatedly turned down opportunities to defuse the growing sense that intimate associations exist. Multiple sources in the Rwandan city of Gisenyi have said Nkunda has been spotted moving freely around town, though he may not be allowed to leave the city. Rwanda Defence Force spokesperson Maj Rutaremara has said Nkunda’s “movements are limited,” and that he is in fact in Gisenyi, opposite the Congolese city of Goma the Tutsi general once threatened. Now, Nkunda has been “pushed out of business in Congo,” according to one source remaining anonymous in Kigali, but is enjoying his days in Rwanda, peacefully and comfortably. “He’s the type of person who will hurt you if you hurt him.” So instead of treating him like other criminals who cross borders armed and illegally, a general soft-spoken consensus among many Rwandans is that his life is more “precious” than that. His days are said to be spent at around the Lake Kivu city, and one source spotted Nkunda at the La Corniche café. But this has not been independently confirmed.

What has been independently confirmed is that the Rwandan government has fallen into a game of political “hot potato,” passing responsibility for the arrest from ministry to ministry, with the military, under whose authority Nkunda supposedly remains, deferring virtually all questions to either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Justice. But senior officials in those ministries have hung up telephones in the middle of conversations, calling upon journalists “to stop harassing” them. All signs now point to a small and highly concentrated nexus of the country’s elite, most likely between the executive and military, deciding Nkunda’s fate, going beyond normal legal protocol and verging into the realm of the highly political. Nkunda resides in a legal limbo — in protective — if not disciplinary custody — of a country that spoke volumes to disassociate itself from the Tutsi rebel, only to see silence over his arrest all but confirm a relationship. The Rwandan army, although arresting a resistant and armed Nkunda after “illegally crossing borders,” has refused to give him a legal classification and says that “he is not being punished.” “He is a human being,” Maj Rutaremara says. “Why punish him?” Other human beings, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, derivative forces of Hutu extremists that committed genocide in Rwanda against a million Tutsi and other moderates, are being rounded up by the Rwandan military in the Congo every day. Thousands upon thousands are disarming and returning. Thursday’s edition of Rwandan daily The New Times declared victory against the FDLR in its editorial. “The hey day of the insurgents is over.” Photographs of former Hutu rebels are paraded across the newspapers, accompanying headlines such as “region steadily stabilises.” And Nkunda, the enemy of Rwanda’s enemy, is silently swept under the rug, and officials are forbidden to speak on the subject, in the hope that all will be forgotten.

Rebel leader Nkunda will return to Congo, AFP, Feb 7, 2009
KIGALI — Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, currently under house arrest in Rwanda, will eventually be sent back to his country, Rwandan Foreign Minister Rosemary Museminali said Saturday. "General Nkunda is Congolese and will eventually have to return to his country Congo," she told AFP. Museminali said the date and the conditions of Nkunda's return to the Democratic Republic of Congo were being discussed "by a team comprising representatives from both parties." Congolese President Joseph Kabila announced a week earlier that the process to extradite the leader of the National Congress for the Defence of the People was under way. Nkunda was captured last month, two days into an unprecedented joint Rwandan-Congolese military operation in the eastern DRC officially targeted at Rwandan Hutu rebels. On Friday, Museminali and her Congolese counterpart Tambwe Mwamba concluded a four-day meeting in northern Rwanda to assess progress made in the operation.

12 days after General Nkunda's arrest, doubts and disbelief reign in Rwanda. Kenya Nation, Feb 4, 2009
Kigali - Quietude has descended over Kigali, and confusion and suspicion has spread. Twelve days after the arrest and subsequent disappearance of popular Congolese rebel Laurent Nkunda at the hands of Rwandan authorities, little light has been shed on the future – or present condition – of the embattled General. And, people are beginning to wonder if he’s been arrested at all. Nkunda maintains a Che Guevara-like popularity in Rwanda, where Hutu extremists slaughtered one million Tutsi and other Hutu moderates in the 1994 Genocide. “He’s been protecting his people in the Congo…” said popular Reggae musician Natty Dread. “I’m sad to see him arrested.” Mr. Nkunda’s National Congress for the People's Defence (CNDP) claimed to be protecting the Banyamulenge, a group of mostly Congolese Tutsi threatened by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), derivative forces of the extremists responsible for the genocide in Rwanda. That mission has gained Nkunda an almost legendary status among some here, but others are happy to see him arrested.... A recent article in The New Times called the arrest proof that a UN report accusing Rwanda of backing the CNDP was false. But confusion and surprise has quickly manifested itself into suspicion here in Rwanda, where a normally media-shy government has gone into verbal lockdown.... The Rwandan army, who reportedly apprehended him, has not helped its own cause by shutting down all major conduits of information for the media. Other than offering snippets of information, not a single photograph, audio or video recording, or any other literature of proof of Nkunda’s arrest has been provided. As the days drag on, and international media interest in the case begins to wane, scepticism in Kigali residents only grows. To most, the uninterrupted silence is evidence of a long-suspected intimate relationship between Mr. Nkunda and the Kagame administration. “Can they give him to the Congo? No. If they give him to the Congo they will kill him,” says Charles Kabonero, editor of the best-selling newspaper in Rwanda. According to Major Rutaremara, Nkunda has been given no official legal status in relation to his arrest. He is “not being punished,” according to the spokesperson, although Nkunda reportedly both resisted arrest and crossed over an international border illegally and armed. But Rataremara has also said “arrest does not mean imprisonment,” a line he has repeated. He also says Nkunda is “staying some place decent,” and though his movements are limited, he isn’t necessarily being guarded closely. Amenities such as television have also been alluded to.... The last official word has Nkunda in Gisenyi, just across from the Congolese city of Goma he threatened last October, but multiple journalists in Rwanda are beginning to suspect he has not been arrested at all, and remains in the Congo. Others believe he is living in a home he is suspected to own in Gisenyi, or another property of his in Kigali itself near the Kanombe military barracks. Sources close to Nkunda says that he is still in possession of a cellular phone and that he has seen members of his family, including his son, Allan. This has not been independently verified. Congo has now twice called on Rwanda to extradite Nkunda, a Congolese citizen, back to Congolese soil where he can await justice for crimes committed against Congolese. But Permanent Secretary of Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rugira Amandin denies receiving an official request. The Ministry of Justice and Office of the President have kept lips well sealed, offering virtually zero information about Nkunda, who Rwanda used to work tirelessly to disassociate itself from. Signs continue to point to a small group, possibly less than five people in total, in control of decision making. Interviews have since indicated that pertinent ministries are not taking a leading role in the processing of the case, and journalists say the Ministry of Defence’s refusal to place formal classification on the General hints at a well-orchestrated artistry of legal limbo as parties involved stall to determine the balance of allegiances and practicality.

WHO WAS JUDAS TO NKUNDA? (reader Sharangabo says Ntaganda is a puppet put on by a foreign country to undermine Nkunda & Congo's journey toward freedom)

Has ruthless rebel turned partner for peace?. Globe & Mail, Feb 3, 2009

Note to readers: In one Canada's major national newspapers - linked above - there's a hit-piece/peace on Nkunda so full of Orwellian opposites of the truth that I paused half-way through to go see who wrote the sleeze, wondering if it was one of their writers who've spent months in Rwanda teaching journalism courses to university students there.

But lo and behold, when I looked at the top of the page, I saw that it was Geoffrey York, one of the Ministry of Truth (Lies) most "established" writers - whose been on assignment all over the world for years - and who recently just came back from China where he'd been Globe & Mail's correspondent for SEVEN years - and had now been assigned to..... AFRICA.

I'd learned this in the last piece he wrote as correspondent from Red China (during which time his pieces over the years have been pro-China all the way, although a discerning reader can get many truthful facts reading between the lines and arrive at their own conclusions about the latest of China's and Canada's - and everywhere else in the world's - joint enterprises), for example: CHINA DRILLING IRAQ'S OIL and CHINESE TAKE-OVER

I remember that when I read that York was finished reporting from China - and would now be reporting from Africa as his next assignment - chills ran down my spine at the thought of what spin he'd be spinning from there.

CHINA'S NEW EMPIRE, by Geoffrey York, Globe & Mail, Jan 2, 2009 (...As he completes nearly seven years as The Globe and Mail's Beijing bureau chief, Geoffrey York says the most striking change is the boom in Chinese trade, aid and influence around the world, especially in places the West has neglected or rejected....Geoffrey York has been The Globe and Mail's Beijing bureau chief since May, 2002. In 2009, he will begin reporting from Africa.)

I said to myself, "how appropriate that 'their' man in Canada (ie China's man in Canada) would now be working for them in Africa soft-soaping their atrocities over there in between telling us the facts about their take-over over there. See CHINA PUTS ON AFRICAN MASK

But never in my wildest nightmare did I imagine that the first victim to fall to China's man in Africa would be Congo's fighter-for-freedom, Laurent Nkunda.

But when I went on and finished reading the hatchet job York was doing on Nkunda - and recognized the blatant lies, for example the alleged massacre at Kiwanja that York blames on Nkunda's CNDP (because I'd read the truth just days before from Nkunda's own words) - I felt genuine fear for the safety of Nkunda.

With York so blatantly pushing the demonization of Nkunda (even though he barely mentions his name) it re-inforced in me the belief that China is behind the arrest of Nkunda - he being the most outspoken critic of their plans for the Congo. See CONGO 500-POUND GORILLA CHINA & NKUNDA SAY CONGO OWNS RESOURCES

Now I'm panicking, wondering if Nkunda is actually in their hands - ie, if Rwanda handed him over to the Chinese who have an embassy in Kigali and funded the new multi-million-dollar Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. ~ Jackie Jura

Note 2 to readers: In the excerpt below, the time frame is when Nkunda is head of the CNDP (as he still is) and Ntaganda was merely chief-of-staff in CNDP and hadn't yet fronted the imaginary coup of Nkunda, it having never happened except in Ntaganda's words and the coverage he was given in the mainstream media to back him.

Globe & Mail's lies on Kiwanja: ("...Mr. Ntaganda was involved in a massacre of civilians as recently as Nov. 4 in the town of Kiwanja in eastern Congo, according to Human Rights Watch. It says an estimated 150 civilians were killed by rebel forces [CNDP implied] under Mr. Ntaganda's command - one of the worst massacres in the region in years....)

General Nkunda's truth on Kiwanja (...Kiwanja was liberated by CNDP at 28 October. We did in Kiwanja one week without any killing, any rape, any loot. One week after the government with Mai-Mais, FDLR, re-attacked Kiwanja and they occupied Kiwanja for 24 hours. My forces were back from Kiwanja and in only 24 hours 74 people were killed. And before we came back to Kiwanja, the Governor of Goma, in the morning, announced that in Kiwanja there is massacres. And I was asking myself "Who is doing" because when I heard on the radio that there is massacres in Kiwanja I called my guys on the ground, "Where are you" and they said "We are in Rutshuru". "Ah, we are in Rutshuru, there is no our foces in Kiwanja?" He said, "No". "Now the Governor is telling there is massacres, who is doing now?" And he said, "No, we are not in Kiwanja". And we were back to Kiwanja in the afternoon of 29th...we were back 24 hours after. And some people were killed in the crossfire. That we can testify because Mai Mai they don't know how to shoot. They shoot wherever they want. And they were killing. When they were going, they were shooting. When they were retreating, they were shooting. And we saw that even the Hutu community in Rutshuru wrote a letter about that, and they give it to Chief [Bushanzo?] saying "We were not killed by CNDP". Do you have a copy of that letter? ....Yeah, we have a copy. We have a copy of the president of the Hutu community in Rutshuru saying, "We were not killed by CNDP and if it were not for CNDP we would not be in Rutshuru today". And this letter is there, and the number of phone is there, and if you want we can bring you to Rutshuru and ask the leaders, the local leader. That's the truth, and if you want you can go Kiwanja, to Rutshuru, and we are going to meet the president of the Hutu community. They said we killed them but he will state about what I am telling you and that's the truth....)

KNOW NKUNDA CONGO

Jackie Jura
~ an independent researcher monitoring local, national and international events ~

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