Blog Posts in Punishment
Sudan Is Still Up to No Good
.jpeg "Sudanese President Bashir")
This post originally appeared today on Foreign Policy.
The Lord's Resistance Army has come to Darfur, Sudan, and that is not good news for anyone. The Lord's Resistance Army is a vicious militia led by self-proclaimed messiah Joseph Kony, and though he does not appear to be with the contingent that has moved into Darfur, Kony is widely and rightly regarded as one of the most heinous war criminals still on the loose in the entire world.
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has long operated as a hybrid between a cult and a rebel army. Kony and the LRA originally sprang up in northern Uganda and waged a brutal campaign trying to overthrow that country's government. Millions of Ugandans fled the fighting, and the LRA engaged in virtually every depravity known in warfare. The LRA's ranks have been swelled with kidnapped child soldiers, girls are regularly treated as sex slaves, and innocent civilians are maimed and killed in a fashion too brutal to describe.
In recent years, Kony and his forces have fallen on harder times, though their brutality has not diminished. Dislodged from northern Uganda, Kony and his troops first fled into northeastern Congo and
then the Central African Republic. However, the Ugandan army -- with quiet assistance from the United States -- has remained in dogged pursuit of Kony and his forces. The LRA is a relatively small force these days, probably numbering less than 1,000 hard-core fighters who remain loyal to Kony, but it is still causing mayhem and suffering well disproportionate to its size. Kony and his men have killed around 2,000 civilians in the last year and driven another 450,000 from their homes. Although the Ugandan offensive against Kony has suffered some significant missteps along the way, it has put increasing pressure on the LRA.
Just this week, the Enough Project learned from multiple, credible sources in the field that elements of the LRA had crossed into Darfur. These forces appear to be seeking safe haven under the protection of the Sudanese military, and Sudan's notorious president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, has been a longtime LRA patron, so this does not come as a surprise. Clearly, Kony and his deputies believe that Sudan is one of the few places left where the Ugandan army will not pursue them, and they are likely increasingly desperate.
The even larger story is what all of this says about Sudan and Bashir at a time when U.S. diplomacy has been geared to striking a new tone in the relationship. Although Bashir has been eager to portray himself as willing to repair relations with the world after last year's International Criminal Court indictment, and the United States in particular, giving safe haven to the LRA is yet another slap at Darfuris, at Washington, and at fundamental human decency. The evidence clearly suggests that advance LRA scouts coordinated with Sudanese armed forces well in advance of the LRA's arrival in Darfur, and it seems implausible that local Sudanese armed forces commanders would welcome the group in Darfur without seeking approval from Khartoum, including Bashir. There are also suggestions that the LRA has received direct logistical support from the Sudanese army since arriving in Darfur.
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Photo: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
Technorati Tags: Senate Passes LRA Bill, As LRA Finds Safe Haven in Sudan
The Senate bill aimed at devising a strategy for stopping the brutal, 24-year insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Army passed last night with a record 65 co-sponsors. After weeks of uncertainty when Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn (R) put a hold on the bill, the victory for anti-LRA activists – a contingent of whom camped out in front of Coburn’s office for 11 days – is particularly poignant.
In a statement issued by lead co-sponsors and longtime champions on the LRA issue, Senators Feingold (D-WI), Brownback (R-KS), and Inhofe (R-OK) noted the delay in passing the bill but were enthusiastic about the outcome. Feingold said:
“The passage of this bill sends a message that the United States will no longer stand by and watch the Lord’s Resistance Army terrorize innocent civilians across central Africa, kidnap thousands of children and force them to become child soldiers. This legislation also sends a clear signal that the United States is committed to working with regional stakeholders to change the conditions that have allowed this war to persist for so long."
Brownback expressed his gratitude to Senate colleagues for appreciating the importance and urgency of the bill, and Inhofe called last night’s affirmative vote a “victory for the countless lives destroyed at the hands of [LRA leader] Joseph Kony.”
But even as Enough, along with advocacy partners Resolve Uganda and Invisible Children, celebrate this progress in Congress, new alarming reports have emerged that a dangerous contingent of the LRA has made its way to Darfur. Based on field research and analysis, Enough confirmed today that a group of LRA fighters have found safe haven in areas of Darfur controlled by the Sudanese government. This development – signaling renewed collusion between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and LRA leader Joseph Kony, both wanted war criminals – demands investigation by U.S. policymakers and the international community.
Enough Co-founder John Prendergast reacted to the news in a press release issued this morning:
"The Khartoum regime's principal tool of war during its 21-year reign has been support for marauding militias such as the Janjaweed, the Murahaliin, and the Lord's Resistance Army," said Enough Co-founder John Prendergast. “Facing no consequences for this destructive method of governing, it is unsurprising that the regime is again providing safe haven for the LRA. Absent a cost for this, we will likely see the LRA unleashed again later this year to destabilize the referendum in southern Sudan."
Amid news of the passage of the Senate LRA bill and revelations about the insurgency spreading to Darfur, Enough’s LRA researcher Ledio Cakaj published his latest report documenting abuses by both the LRA and the Congolese army on civilians in northeastern Congo. It’s a damning look at how civilians bear the brunt of the violence from both sides, while the U.N. mission remains relatively futile when it comes to protecting civilians. The report is a sobering reminder of what’s likely in store for the already traumatized people of Darfur as the LRA continues its march north. It is also a compelling case for why last night’s passage of the Senate LRA bill couldn’t have come soon enough. Now we must focus attention on pushing the companion bill through the House.
Anti-LRA Activists Celebrate as Senator Lifts Hold on Bill
After 262 hours protesting on the streets of Oklahoma City, activists focused on ending the senseless violence perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army claimed a victory yesterday when Senator Coburn (R-OK) signaled he would remove his hold on a popular, bipartisan bill.
The Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 (S. 1067) calls on the Obama administration to devise a strategy for addressing the 24-year insurgency led by Joseph Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The legislation also request that a modest amount of funding be allocated to rehabilitating child soldiers from the LRA ranks and rebuilding communities in northern Uganda. Senator Coburn, who has made it his policy to oppose legislation that raises the national deficit, objected to this final piece, which amounted to $40 million (the equivalent of 25 cents per U.S. taxpayer).
Senator Coburn spoke to activists and Resolve Uganda yesterday afternoon to formalize a compromise proposed by two of the bill’s leading co-sponsors, Senator Feingold (D-WI) and Senator Inhofe (R-OK).
In Capitol Hill-speak, the bill’s authorization of appropriations was replaced with Sense of Congress language, which basically conveys the message to the Senate Appropriations committee that the Senate strongly recommends allocating the requested funding. While this written request doesn’t bind the Appropriations Committee to provide the funds, backing from the bill’s 64 co-sponsors (more than any other piece of legislation on sub-Saharan Africa since 1973) makes the priority clear.
The bill will now be sent to the Senate floor for final passage, so barring any unforeseen objections from other senators, expect another victory for the anti-LRA movement in the next day or two.
The Hold Out campaign in Oklahoma City, led by Resolve Uganda and Invisible Children, lasted 11 days, generating lots of local news coverage and thousands of phone calls to the senator’s office. Check out the local news coverage of the victory:
A Warlord-Turned-Colonel and the Deplorable Status Quo in Congo
The United Nations Mission in the Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC, is once again facing public criticism. An article in today’s Washington Post shows how MONUC’s support for the Congolese army’s operations against rebel groups in eastern Congo continues to support some of the army’s most abusive commanders.
The U.N. faced withering criticism last year for its support role in operation Kimia II, which led to more than 1,000 civilians killed and 900,000 displaced. Pressure from human rights groups and activists was instrumental in forcing the U.N. to include greater safeguards to prevent support for abusive units.
As of this past November, senior MONUC officials, including its head Alan Doss, have been adamant that they are doing their due diligence in hand-picking which Congolese army commanders to support and blacklisting those responsible for attacks on civilians. But as the stark testimonies in today’s article by the Post’s Stephanie McCrummen reveal, things are not exactly going according to plan.
McCrummen follows the story of a Congolese army lieutenant colonel named Innocent Zimurinda. In October, Zimurinda’s name appeared on a list of problematic army commanders (beginning on page 276) compiled by the U.N. group of experts, tying him to massacres, executions, gang rapes, and recruitment of child soldiers. Yet, according to Zimurinda and his officers, U.N. support continued through December and January. “Anytime we ask [MONUC] to supply us, they supply,” one of Zimurinda’s officers told McCrummen.
A MONUC spokesman acknowledged that while the U.N.’s support to Zimurinda officially ended in November, provisions “in the pipeline” may have continued to flow to his units while the U.N. sorted out legal issues related to the case. In a rare interview with the Washington Post, Zimurinda commented on his ties to MONUC: "We cannot say we are happy with the level of support,” he said. “But anyway, we want to say 'thank you' to the U.N."
The support to Zimurinda is occurring within the context of operation Amani Leo, the new name for joint Congolese/United Nations military operations against the rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR. According to MONUC, Amani Leo (Swahili for “peace today”) puts much greater emphasis on civilian protection than the maligned Kimia II. Yet despite the rebranding, little change has been seen on the ground. Military operations supported by the U.N. continue to endanger civilian lives and FARDC commanders, like Zimurinda, with known abuses in the past continue to operate.
Last week, 50 Congolese human rights and civil society organizations and Human Rights Watch logged a complaint about Colonel Zimurinda with General Amuli Bahigwa, the top ranking Congolese army commander for operations in the eastern region. The four-page complaint detailed abuses committed by troops under Zimurinda’s command since 2007 and called for an immediate investigation into the allegations. Responding to a question in a press conference last week, likely spurred on by the organizations’ complaint, Under-Secretary for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy said:
“We have made clear to the Congolese Government officials…that MONUC does not support units with which Mr. Zimulinda is involved; in the same manner, Mr. Bosco Ntanganda [sic] is not in the chain of command of operations we support.”
Amid the many questions raised in McCrummen’s piece today – in particular, Zimurinda’s evasion of a question about backing from Rwanda raises red flags – what’s clear is that a thorough investigation into Zimurinda’s ties is overdue. The U.N. Group of Experts already laid the foundation; it shouldn’t require being called out by the Washington Post to motivate Congolese authorities to follow up.
Photo: Mugunga camp in North Kivu province (Enough/Laura Heaton)
New Report Spotlights UN’s Failings in World’s Resource Wars
“The will and the capacity of the United Nations and Member States to deal with natural resource-fuelled conflicts is weak.” This is the opening sentence to a new report released by Global Witness detailing the challenges posed by resource-fueled conflicts to the United Nation’s peace efforts around the world. With case studies of Angola, Cambodia, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan, the report is a commendable effort to compare and contrast international efforts in a range of settings where natural resources can make the difference between war and peace.
The ongoing crisis in eastern Congo, a war fueled by the international trade in conflict minerals is a strong focus of the report. The failings of the U.N. and Member States in creating a “coherent and committed international approach” to conflicts such as that in the Congo are highlighted throughout the report. But, with each page turn, there is new reason to believe the international community can do far more to address one of the world’s deadliest conflicts. Specifically, Global Witness states that “de-linking armed violence and natural resource exploitation is critical to resolving conflict and re-launching development and democracy,” given the following two conclusions reached by academics and policy experts:
1. The governance of natural resources, who accesses them and why is the primary problem with such resources.
2. Economic activity, particularly when connected to natural resources, can be a driver of conflict.
The broad range of recommendations cover virtually every aspect of U.N. and Member States’ involvement in natural resource-driven conflicts, spanning from enhancing the role of peacemakers, peacekeepers, and peacebuilders, to strengthening U.N. initiatives such as by creating a high level panel to address self-financing wars, to enhancing Member State support of pre-existing operations in countries like Congo. The focus on the role of sanctions, and the role of the private sector in funneling conflict minerals into the global economy, illustrates the vital importance of initiatives such as the Conflict Minerals Trade Act.
The conclusion of the Global Witness report highlights the critical need for more vigorous involvement by the international community in resolving the conflict in Congo:
Many years after the U.N. first began to recognize the links between natural resources and conflict, international capacity to deal with them remains weak and fragmented. There is no more troubling illustration of these weaknesses than the collective failure to deal with the role of the international minerals trade in stoking an incredibly violent war in the Congo. In short, lessons have not been learned.
Photo: Tin ore mined in eastern Congo (Grassroots Reconciliation Group/Sasha Lezhnev)
