Congo militia leader holds firm

Recent fighting between Laurent Nkunda's Tutsi rebels and the Army has displaced 65,000.

from the October 1, 2007 edition

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No easy solutions

Speaking of the Congolese army, General Cammaert says, "The FARDC is in no position to carry out combat operations." And simply removing Nkunda as a charismatic leader won't solve the problem either, Cammaert adds. "You still have the problem of a minority that is ignored, and nobody is taking care of their needs. Nkunda says, 'I'll take care of it, because the government isn't taking care of it.' "

Just months ago, the problem of reintegrating Congo's many militias seemed to be improving. President Kabila pushed a program of brassage, in which militias would send troops to join an army led by commanders of all ethnic groups.

But the continued presence of rebel groups from outside Congo, including the Hutu FDLR, made many ethnic groups uneasy. When three Tutsi businessmen were murdered in December, Nkunda, himself a Tutsi, withdrew the 6,000 fighters he had sent for reintegration, and returned to the jungle to force the government to expel the FDLR before continuing demobilization.

The crisis has escalated in recent weeks during whigh fighting between Nkunda's men and government forces displaced 65,000 civilians .

Nkunda's demand to allow a Tutsi army to protect Tutsis is "impossible," says Sylvie Van den Wildenberg, a spokeswoman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC. "If we allow every soldier to defend his own people, we'll have 250 tribal armies."

During the current cease-fire negotiated by MONUC on Sept. 2, Nkunda has used the media to put forth his demands, a move that has roiled the Congolese government. A recent press trip into Nkunda territory, joined by this reporter, was met by lengthy detention, interrogation, and harassment by Congolese police, army, and army intelligence. "Nkunda is using the media for propaganda," one army intelligence commander fumed during a lengthy interrogation, in which the reporter's camera and recorder were confiscated (and later returned). "Nkunda is not a hero. He is a criminal. He is a terrorist."

In Kitchanga, Nkunda creates a very different impression. "I've known him since my childhood until now," says Katabana Mateene, a local chief who is not a Tutsi. "Since Nkunda came, my village is safe. Without him, we would have a very bad situation here."

Still, whatever the merits of his cause, UN officials say Nkunda's mobilization is not helpful.

"Nkunda says he should not be compared with the FDLR and I know what he means, because of what the Tutsi community suffered from the FDLR," says Ms. Van den Wildenberg, of the MONUC. "But the effect of his policies in the region are just as bad as any negative forces operating on Congolese soil."

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