Amid
Cover Up of
FARDC Rapes in
Minova, UN
Quick to Clear
FDLR in
Masisi
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 2 --
Since the 126
rapes by the
Congolese Army
and
Police in late
November in
Minova, the UN
has claimed it
cannot say
which Army
units were
there, pending
an
investigation.
Inner City
Press asked
which Army
units the UN
works with.
Top
Peacekeeper Herve
Ladsous
refused to
answer,
and had his spokesman seize the UN
Television
microphone.
Video here.
Between
Christmas
and New Year,
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's top
spokespeople
several times
for an update
on Minova, and
on the
implementation
of Ban's
claimed Human
Rights Due
Diligence
Policy. Each
time it was
said that the
investigation
continues.
But
on January 2,
the UN mission
in the Congo
MONUSCO issued
a press
release
containing
conclusions,
not about the
events in
Minova in
November, but
about a probe
it conducted
in Masisi from
December 21
to 24, to
shoot down
rumors about
the Hutu FDLR
rebels.
So
when the UN
wants to
quickly look
into something
and make a
public
announcement,
for example to
clear the
FDLR, it can
and does. But
it
continues to
delay issuing
any finding
about the
rapes
committed by
its partners
in the FARDC.
This is
shameful.
MONUSCO's
January
2 press
release
was to dispute
"the following
persistent
rumors:
that
4,000 FDLR
members
accompanied by
their
dependents
arrived at
Kazibake
through
Zambia; that
two
white-colored
helicopters
with no UN
logo flew over
the space
between Nyange
and
Lwama on 13
December; that
a there is a
new commander
of the
Democratic
Forces for the
Liberation of
Rwanda (FDLR),
in Kivuye and
his name is
Bakota; that
weapons and
ammunitions
were supplied
to
FDLR by means
of Government
military
aircrafts."
MONUSCO
says,
"At the end of
the mission,
the team
concluded that
those
allegations
were all
unfounded,"
but goes on to
emphasize that
"it has
carried out
several joint
operations
with the
Congolese
army in order
to reduce the
capacity of
the armed
groups
including
FDLR, to cause
trouble."
But
WHICH units of
the Congolese
army has
MONUSCO worked
with? Which
were
in Minova
during the
mass rapes in
late November?
And how will
the UN
explain the
difference in
speed of the
two inquiries
and (one)
announcement?
Watch this
site.
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