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Congo-Kinshasa: UN Official in Bitter Exchange With Rebel Sympathizers
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Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)
31 December 2007
Posted to the web 31 December 2007
Kigali
The spokesman of the UN Mission in DR Congo (MONUC) and Radio Okapi are at the centre of a bitter row with people who seem to be sympathetic to dissident Gen Laurent Nkunda following allegations that the rebels are forcefully recruiting children, RNA reports.
In a posting online, one, Mr. Frank Ndahiriwe demands why MONUC spokesman Kamal Saiki has not come forward with evidence to support his assertions. The UN official answers back that he is not prepared to engage in a discussion with people he does not know and that this would be his last message.
According to Mr. Ndahiriwe, the MONUC force that Mr. Saiki calls 'peacemaker' and UN funded Radio Okapi have just looked on as DRC government radio propagates hate messages again Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese.
Campaigners have also said the DRC radio has been branding the Banyamulenge as 'Tutsi' to make them look Rwandan - and calling on other communities to 'annihilate' them.
The MONUC spokesman denies that the UN mission is taking on a 'passive' role as the government promotes hate through its media. 'We have always denounced and condemned (such acts), and will continue to do that, on all forms of incitement to hate and intolerance'.
The UN official maintains that his allegations of forceful recruitment of children by Gen Nkunda are based on information that has been 'proved, verified and confirmed by our' child protection teams on the ground.
Gen Nkunda's party the CNDP says these accusations are meant to 'denigrate' their movement ahead of the government organized conference in January - claim also emphasized by Mr. Frank Ndahiriwe. Mr. Saiki denies his assertions are meant for this particular reason.
He says the first time the allegations were raised, the issues of the conference had not even come up. The MONUC official says the comments were not targeted at just CNDP, but all armed groups, including the government army known as the FARDC.
Bible verse or slogan?
Another source of controversy is a signature at the end of all messages by Mr. Saiki that reads '"Blessed are the Peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9)'. The bitter Mr. Frank Ndahiriwe calls this a 'slogan' for the UN media diplomat.
The bible verse, according to Mr. Ndahiriwe, resembles closely to a slogan that prejudices the 'victimized minority' than an evangelical practice.
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I am surprised you characterize a biblical verse as a "slogan", the UN official writes adding, I leave you the responsibility to distort a sacred text (and) do not want to engage in this sterile controversy - more so that everybody has the right to their belief.
Meanwhile, last week, the UN Security Council decided to "extend the mandate and capacity of MONUC (the French acronym for the sprawling UN mission)" until December 31, 2008.
Until then, MONUC should continue to field "up to 17,030 military personnel, 760 military observers, 391 police personnel and six formed police units comprising up to 125 personnel each", Resolution 1794 said.
WHERE IS THE VICTIMIZED MINORITY ? BY WHO? THESE TUTSIS KNOW HOW TO MANIPULATE ESPECIALLY WHITE MEN,ANYWAY YOUCAME TO KONGO AS REFUGEES,WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK TO RWANDA YOUR COUNTRY THERE ARE NOW TUTSIS RULING ,NO HUTUS SO GO BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG INSTEAD OF CREATING DIFFICULT TO PEOPLE WHO GAVE YOU ASYLUM. YOU CAN LOOK FOR NATIONALITY BY FORCE OR ANYTHING BY FORCE.YOU JUST ARE VERY SATANIC,DEVILIOUS PEOPLE NO GRATITUDE ,YOU DESERVE TO BE EXPELLED ONLY.
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| Copyright © 2007 Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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