Since the end of last a month a continuous well orchestrated campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Hutu populations has been taking place in Eastern DRC, with the support of the UN and the involvement both Rwandese and Congolese armies, as well as militias that were created for the purpose of committing atrocities against civilians. One such militias is called Chandaila and it is directly sponsored by RDF and FARDC, with the Governor of North Kivu Julien Paluku as the main local coordinator for this group of tribesmen that were assembled and armed to attack Rwandese Hutu refugees and local hutu populations in order to drive them out.
Along with Mai Mai Tcheka, Chanadaila has been given free reign to target and kill every hutu in sight whether they be Rwandese or Congolese. Some analyst believe that this is an attempt to provoke a response from Rwandese refugees so that they can turn around and accuse these refugees of carrying out attacks against civilians.
There is also a sense that the main authors of the genocidal campaign against hutu refugees in the late 1990’s as per the UN Mapping report are trying to finish off the survivors as they have now become inconvenient witnesses. There seems to be a consensus within most of the International bodies that were involved in the former Zaire such as the UN, that they cannot pursue those who committed crimes back then, without incriminating themselves, therefore, they have decided to try and get rid of everyone who witnessed these crimes. This explains the silence by organizations such as Human rights watch, Amnesty International and several other organizations which despite having been made aware of crimes being committed against the hutu, chose to turn a blind eye or claim ignorance when confronted by such questions.
What has transpired in the last several weeks is that while the whole world media is focused on Syria and Paris, another catastrophe is taking place in the great lakes region and no one seems to notice.
In a recent television appearance former US diplomat Herman Cohen suggested that in order for Kabila to give up the idea of running for a third term he should be given immunity for crimes committed by his soldiers during the late 1996-1998 war against the former Zaire as documented in the UN mapping report. This is the same diplomat who suggested awhile ago that the hutus refugees in Eastern Congo should never be allowed to return to Rwanda, his argument being that they are good workers and they should be sent into the Kasai to work the fields.
Having worked tirelessly to make the word dehumanize the hutu by collectively referring to them as genocidaires, the international media even some humanitarian organizations seem to find it acceptable when any kind of crime is being committed against hutus, this explains the ease with which the government of Congo, is going about the business of massacring part of its own population, simply because those involved in this have some kind of assurance that they will be no consequences for their actions. Time will tell if they are right. As for the hutu populations in Eastern Congo, the World seems to have written them off. It is foreseeable that ten years from now, the UN will publish another report talking about a genocide that took place while the world looked away.
Louise MUKASINE
Duterimbere-Media.
