Motto Fight

KAGAME STRATEGY OF PEACE

President Kagame said that the window for peaceful repatriation and other options
to end the rebels' menace remain open.
He said the government's policy was not annihilation but rather
peaceful coexistencee and reconciliation of all Rwandans.

To Orwell Today,

Hi Jackie,

Greetings from Tanzania.

I am writing just to share some ideas with readers of your blog about developments in the Great Lakes region.

Congo is in turmoil, the situation is complicated. Nkunda is battling gov't forces and there are indications Kagame is partly involved. I just wish Kagame was not involved because he is gradually gaining credibility in East Africa as a serious leader leading an incorruptible country. Just a few days ago there were articles in the Tanzanian media with top journalists commending him for being a model in the region. I personally like Kagame and I wish God continues to give him vision to steer that country to great heights. Kagame should not squander this goodwill by putting his hand in the Congolese mess.

Mark Doyle of BBC said Kagame is a commander-in-chief of the strongest army in the region, which I agree. He defeated Mobutu, Kabila sr, Museveni in Kisangani and managed to prevail against a combined force of Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Chadi, when they came to aid Kabila sr. So, the Rwanda army has the capability to guard its borders against rag tag FDLR interahamwe in the Congo and doesn't need to cross into Congo.

Congolese people have no medicare, no basic sanitation and when they die NGOs say they die because of the war, they say Kagame imposed war. ICG said 3 million have died. Kagame should not be associated with it.

As for Nkunda, let him fight alone, or choose to dialogue peace with Kabila.

-Richard Kabakama

Greetings Richard,

Thank you for your much-valued input from one of Rwanda's next-door neighbours in the Great Lakes area - Tanzania - bordering one of the greatest lakes of all - Lake Victoria.

From what I've read I don't believe Kagame is involved with Nkunda at all, nor do I think Kagame will take Rwanda into the Congo unless it is the absolute last resort and is in everyone's best interests (if war ever can be, which it can't be, but sometimes it's unavoidable).

Yes it's true that the FDLR are a rag-tag group of interahamwe who on their own don't have a chance against Nkunda OR Kagame but Kagame said last week that if they get backing and support they CAN pose a serious threat to the Great Lakes region. That is why Congo's president Kabila agreed to use his army to fight against the FDLR in his country but instead he reversed his promised policy and is now fighting WITH the FDLR, and that is the root of the problem.

I don't think there's anyone on the planet who wants war less than Kagame, especially with all the success Rwanda is reaping through peace. Many countries - like the Congo - are based on economies that exist only through plunder and war. Their leaders don't have strategy for anything else. They are either benefiting materialistically from looting their nations or they are staying in power through "the barrel of a gun". Leaders like that actually profit from war - it keeps them in power and it keeps their backers rich supplying weapons and it keeps those who feed off war - international "humanitarian aid" agencies busily employed.

Take the United Nations, for example, which since its formation in 1945 has existed solely to benefit from the chaos of war, ie getting massive funding to "run to the rescue" in every country - either to prevent war (which it never does), or fight in the war (which it didn't do in Rwanda, instead stood by watching) or it is there to feed and shelter the victims and perpetrators of war. In other words, the UN exists because of and for war, all the while pretending to be working for "peace", personifying the Orwellian Big Brother's "War is Peace" slogan, ie the UN being Big Brother and their peace being the war in the Congo and everywhere else their peacekeepers roam.

Earlier this week, in a press conference, Kagame said "Those who create peace can even keep it better".

I think he knows what he's talking about, seeing as how he was the mastermind behind the creation of the peace Rwanda is experiencing now, and he has the highest motivation for keeping that peace.

What Kagame has succeeded in accomplishing for Rwanda is mind-boggling. People from other nations of Africa - who visit Rwanda - are amazed by its progress which usually surpasses that of their own nations which have greater resources than Rwanda and yet are suffering poverty through corruption and war.

It's a vicious rumour that Kagame has been helping Nkunda, and Nkunda himself has stated many times that Rwanda is NOT helping him. Nkunda says he receives support from his own political party, the CNDP of the Congo, not from the RPF of Rwanda.

Yes, Rwanda is now sending troops to guard its border - as reported in the news yesterday - but that is only as a precaution against the FDLR - backed by the Congo army or even the UN - coming against it. In other words, it's defensive, not offensive.

President Kennedy, America's most peace-keeping president ever - who lived up to his words - said in his famous "Strategy of Peace" speech:

"The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough -- more than enough -- of war and hate and oppression".

You could substitute those words for Kagame speaking about Rwanda.

I'm sure Kagame won't be getting involved in the Congo quagmire again unless it is absolutely unavoidable to keep the peace in Rwanda.

Amahoro,
Jackie Jura

PS - I recall our previous email exchange RWANDA VIEW FROM TANZANIA

Rwanda may send troops to Congo (Nkunda only force against FDLR Hutus who did 1994 genocide). Guardian, Sep 17, 2007
Rwanda has made a thinly veiled threat to send its troops back into eastern Congo after accusing the government in Kinshasa of collaborating with genocidal Hutu extremists on its border. The Rwandan government said a Congolese army assault against a renegade Tutsi general, Laurent Nkunda, is helping to strengthen Hutu rebels who have been armed by Kinshasa and are fighting alongside government troops. It has also accused the UN and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of a lack of political will to solve the problem of Hutu extremism that continues to destabilise the region and fuels conflict that costs thousands of civilian lives each month through disease and hunger. Gen Nkunda says he is fighting to protect Tutsis from attacks by the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), which is led by Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda. Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame, said that if Congo wants to pursue Gen Nkunda it must also confront the Hutu rebels who control about 20% of the two provinces that border Rwanda and say they are intent on overthrowing the Tutsi-led administration in Kigali. "On this issue of the FDLR we have a certain bottom line," Mr Kagame told a press conference. "The bottom line is they cannot stay. They cannot destabilise our country, they cannot be allowed to destabilise in any way our security for our people. So we will do what we have within our means to deal with that. No question about it."...Mr Murigande questioned why the world's largest UN peacekeeping force was backing the Congolese government's assault against Gen Nkunda by ferrying troops and ammunition, without pursuing the FDLR. He accused UN soldiers and officials of being in league with the Hutu rebels after revelations that some were involved in gold smuggling from mines controlled by the insurgents.

Rwanda not aiding us – Gen. Nkunda. New Times, Sep 16, 2007
MASISI-DRC: Close to 2000 Hutus of the Democratic Force for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) forces have already camped in the volcanic mountains of Virunga National Park, plotting an attack on Rwandan territory. An intelligence network of the renegade Congolese Tutsi rebel General Laurent Nkunda revealed that two FDLR battalions crossed Masisi territory into Rutsuru territory on the Virunga Park on the Congolese side on Wednesday, September 12. “The Matsakos battalion moved from Buleusa to Rutsuru and the Bahamas battalion has moved from Pinga to Rutsuru too,” Major Freddy Kambale Matsongani said in an exclusive interview with The New Times in Masisi territory on Friday. However, Maj. Matsongani said the FDLR are still on the DRC side but would soon cross the mountain to the Rwandan side. Army Spokesperson Major Jill Rutaremara expressed concern, but failed to add any more comment by press time. “They are well equipped and ready to attack any time,” Maj. Matsongani asserted, adding that the battalions have small and big arms like RPGs, PMGs and SMGs.

There is a fresh outbreak of fighting between the Congolese army and fighters loyal to Gen. Nkunda. Gen. Nkunda insists his insurgency is not about overthrowing Joseph Kabila’s regime, but about holding the government responsible for its failure to deal with the Rwandan Hutu rebels who fled to DR Congo after the 1994 Genocide. “Instead, Kabila has created alliances with the FDLR to attack Congolese Tutsis, and our point is legitimate,” he said, adding, “We cannot allow these FDLR to continue causing insecurity and killing innocent Tutsi,” Gen Nkunda said.

Although reports finger-point Rwanda for supporting Nkunda, he has strongly refuted all this, saying his party is a political movement and that is where he gets his support. He told The New Times at his base in Masisi that when he was a soldier in government, he was mobilising and recruiting soldiers from FRDC. “Some of them were being fed and getting salaries from the government but they had a cause to fight,” the General noted. “We are a movement; we have families and friends, and that is how we mobilise for the support of our troops,” he said, adding, “When there is security, the population contributes to the maintenance of our troops.”

About reports of Rwanda’s support, he said, “Those are allegations and observers very well know that we don’t get any support from Rwanda.” But he went ahead to explain that, “Many people think we get support from Rwanda because Rwanda was our ally when I was in RCD [Rwanda-backed Rally for Democracy] but today I am in CNDP [Congo-backed National Congress for People's Defence] and the situation is different.” The government in Kigali is instead supporting the peace process in Kinshasa because of the presence of RCD but not CNDP. “We are not Kigali allies and we are not supported by Kigali at all.”

When the government called for integration, he gave 6000 of his soldiers. But he says he withdrew his troops because the government broke the agreements of the integration. “But we are still ready to integrate.” President Joseph Kabila on Thursday announced he wants Nkunda to return to the army or face disarmament by force. “We must establish the authority of the state in the east using all possible means,” Kabila said.

Seated in his tent in Gitchanga town in Masisi listening to the announcement from Kinshasa, Nkunda reacted by telling reporters, “We have got a ceasefire agreement from the UN; we are observing the ceasefire but we cannot lay down arms. “We are not surrendering. We are soldiers. We want to serve in the government army and if someone wants to serve as a soldier, you cannot disarm him. We are going to join the government with our arms.”

Gen. Nkunda exhibited tens of prisoners of war to many reporters who went to interview him. Six of them were FDLR and the rest were government soldiers. “I am going to hand them over to MONUC tomorrow,” he said on Wednesday night. Last month he said he had handed over 50 prisoners, but MONUC has denied receiving any such people. Nkunda accuses MONUC for releasing them, saying some of the 50 who were handed over were released. “We have rearrested some of those we handed over.” Maj. Rutaremara also said Rwanda has not received any prisoners. He added that if there was no official hand-over signing between Nkunda and MONUC, then the truth cannot be clearly established.

NKUNDA & INTORE HEROES and CONGO WOLVES ON NKUNDA and UN PEACEKEEPING NOT KEEPINGPEACE and RWANDA'S SILENT FRIENDS and KABILA-CHINA-GORILLAS-NKUNDA and CONGO WRONG ON NKUNDA and LUMUMBA-LIKE LAURENT NKUNDA

GOMA'S LUMUMBA VOLCANO and CONGO IS LUMUMBA LAND and JFK CRIED FOR CONGO and JFK'S PEACE FOR ALL TIME

RWANDA'S GOOD MAN KAGAME and HOW KAGAME BECAME LEADER

2.Big Brother and 12.Ministry of Peace (War) and 11.Ministry of Plenty (Starvation)

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

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