Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

Rwandan Rebel Leader Murwanashyaka Directing Troops Strategy From Phone In Germany

By Ayinde O. Chase
Gantdaily.com
October 21, 2009

Berlin, Germany (AHN) - An international arrest warrant has been issued for Ignace Murwanashyaka the head of the Hutu militia and mastermind behind the ongoing violence in the eastern Congo. According to reports, Murwanashyaka lives in Germany under refugee status and is able to direct his troops via phone.

Murwanashyaka, a Rwandan national, is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, of using child soldiers and heading a criminal organization. Murwanashyaka's power and control stems from his position as leader of the FDLR, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.

However, legal efforts to over turn his status as a refugee are slow moving. Lawmakers and government officials are thoroughly aware of who they have living and walking the streets of Mannheim.

Despite a 2008 arrest warrant, German officials have said that they will not extradite him because they consider the Rwandan legal system incapable of holding a fair trial.

In a Deutsche Welle report a former major who worked under Murwanashyaka gives critical insight into how the FDLR operation is run said the FDLR was divided into a political and a military wing and that Murwanashyaka not only is the head of the political wing but ultimately also holds the command over the military side, with the top general among the fighters, Sylvestre Mudacumura being a good friend.

The United Nations even has documented proof of Murwanashyaka's phone calls to rebel leaders in eastern Congo.

Another former FDLR rebel named General Paul Rwarakabije reportedly said that in 2003 he spoke to Murwanashyaka every three days if the situation was difficult. Otherwise he and the military leader spoke once a week to discuss strategies.

The FDLR is an armed group operating in the DRC made up of ex-Rwandese Armed Forces, Interahamwe, and other Hutu extremists, including those responsible for the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The FDLR has been blamed as the root cause of instability in the eastern DRC, and its activities pose a grave threat to the entire Great Lakes region.

Despite current peace within the country of Rwanda across the mountainous border inside the Democratic Republic of Congo Hutu forces and militia continue their bloody insurgency and have made nearly 2 million people refugees.

Rwanda's leading public prosecutor, Martin Ngoga, reportedly doesn't care where Murwanashyaka faces trial, whether it be Germany or Rwanda. He is working toward working past legal loopholes and diplomatic stall tactics to achieve justice.

Over the last 15 years the FDLR has been operating from Congo which borders Rwanda and have been engaged in a bloody war against the Tutsi government in Rwanda. The FDLR has now grown to be synonymous with accusations of genocide and war crimes. In 1994 Rwanda was the site of more than 800,000 deaths making it one of the worst genocides in history. Over the course of 3 months hundreds of thousands of Tutsi were brutally slain by the army and Hutu militias.

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posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 9:37 PM