D.R. Congo: Rwandan troops fighting alongside rebels to capture the city of Goma

http://www.afjn.org/focus-campaigns/promote-peace-d-r-congo/29-news/1157-dr-congo-rwandan-troops-fighting-alongside-rebels-to-capture-the-city-of-goma-.html

D.R. Congo: Rwandan troops fighting alongside rebels to capture the city of Goma

 

Posted May 22, 2013

Despite the international pressure, President Kagame remains defiant. For a month now, North Kivu civil society and others have reported increased crossings of Rwandan soldiers into DRC to help M23 and have called on the international community to take appropriate measures. They have identified among many Colonel Bingira, a Rwanda military officer who is currently commanding Rwandan and M23 troops. 

 

The same source reported that Rwanda has put Mr. Laurent Nkunda back in the game, whose presence was reported at a high level meeting between M23 leadership and newly arrived Rwandan troops in Rumangabo military base on May 11, 2013. Laurent Nkunda is the former leader of this same rebel movement when it was called the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). He currently lives with impunity across the border in Rwanda where he continues to play a key role in the M23 rebellion. Advocacy groups have asked the Rwandan government to hand him over to DRC's authorities or send exile him far from the region. The current M23 leader is Nkunda's brother in-law.

 

Physical and economic terror reigns in M23 controlled areas. The rebels rape, kill, loot, and forcefully recruit soldiers, even children. Communities may be forced into monthly or weekly extortion taxes, be forced to endure checkpoints on roads and in markets, or have family members kidnapped for ransom.  

 

After months of calm while the governments negotiated with M23 leadership, the rebels have resumed hostilities in an effort to take the city of Goma before the UN combat battalion begins its mission. Under UN Resolution 2098, this battalion has an offensive mandate to once and for all dismantle the multiple rebel groups in DRC. Soldiers from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania compose the battalion; some soldiers are already in DRC.

 

On Tuesday, May 21, in Gisenyi, the Rwandan border city to Goma, General  Ruvusha, a Rwandan officer, chaired a meeting with M23 leadership and committed to send 2 additional battalions to help capture the city of Goma as quickly as possible. The evening of Wednesday May 22, M23 started shelling the city of Goma.   

Obama to Skip Uganda, Rwanda In Africa Tour

http://chimpreports.com/index.php/news/politics/10171-obama-skips-uganda-rwanda-in-africa-tour.html


Obama Skips Uganda, Rwanda In Africa Tour
President Barack Obama has skipped Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda in his second tour of Africa.
By Micheal Nteza 15 hours 18 minutes ago
President Barack Obama

The White House briefing shows that Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama look forward to traveling to Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania from June 26 - July 3.

"The President will reinforce the importance that the United States places on our deep and growing ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including through expanding economic growth, investment, and trade; strengthening democratic institutions; and investing in the next generation of African leaders," the statement issued on May 20 reads in part.

It remains unclear why Obama chose to bypass the three East African nations, considering their role in supporting the US anti-terrorism projects in the country.

Uganda and Kenya have sacrificed lives of thousands of its own soldiers to combat Al Qaeda-sponsored terrorism in Somalia. The country is now realizing peace.

Nevertheless, it appears Obama could have decided not to visit Uganda due to the State's poor human rights record.

Police on Monday sealed off the premises of two newspapers, Daily Monitor and Red Pepper as they searched for a letter authored by exiled Coordinator of Intelligence Organs, Gen David Tinyefuza.

Tinyefuza had called for investigations into reports of planned assassinations of military officers opposed to the idea of Brig Kainerugaba Muhoozi succeeding his father, President Yoweri Museveni.

Government vehemently denied the allegations and threatened to arrest Tinyefuza for spreading harmful propaganda.

The US President avoided Kenya probably because President Uhuru Kenyatta is facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.

Regarding Rwanda, the US has in the past accused Kigali of supporting the M23 rebellion in Eastern Congo.

Rwanda denies the charge, insisting they do not benefit from a chaotic neighbor.

President Paul Kagame has on several occasions said the rebellion in DRC was sparked off by the poor leadership in Kinshasha.

Meanwhile, Obama will meet with a wide array of leaders from government, business, and civil society, including youth, to discuss US' strategic partnerships on bilateral and global issues.

"The trip will underscore the President's commitment to broadening and deepening cooperation between the United States and the people of sub-Saharan Africa to advance regional and global peace and prosperity," read the White House statement.

President Obama Delivers the Commencement Address at Morehouse College | The White House

http://m.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/05/19/president-obama-delivers-commencement-address-morehouse-college

President Obama Delivers the Commencement Address at Morehouse College

May 19, 2013 at 04:33 PM EDT

President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the commencement ceremony at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., May 19, 2013.

Today, President Obama delivered the commencement address to the 2013 graduates of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA.

"It is one of the great honors of my life to be able to address this gathering here today," President Obama told the graduates. He spoke about Morehouse's history, and " the unique sense of purpose that this place has always infused -- the conviction that this is a training ground not only for individual success, but for leadership that can change the world."

"Your generation is uniquely poised for success unlike any generation of African Americans that came before it," President Obama said.

But that doesn't mean we don't have work -- because if we're honest with ourselves, we know that too few of our brothers have the opportunities that you've had here at Morehouse.  In troubled neighborhoods all across this country -- many of them heavily African American -- too few of our citizens have role models to guide them.  Communities just a couple miles from my house in Chicago, communities just a couple miles from here -- they're places where jobs are still too scarce and wages are still too low; where schools are underfunded and violence is pervasive; where too many of our men spend their youth not behind a desk in a classroom, but hanging out on the streets or brooding behind a jail cell. 

My job, as President, is to advocate for policies that generate more opportunity for everybody -- policies that strengthen the middle class and give more people the chance to climb their way into the middle class.  Policies that create more good jobs and reduce poverty, and educate more children, and give more families the security of health care, and protect more of our children from the horrors of gun violence.  That's my job. Those are matters of public policy, and it is important for all of us -- black, white and brown -- to advocate for an America where everybody has got a fair shot in life. Not just some. Not just a few. 

Graduates react as President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the commencement ceremony at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., May 19, 2013.

"But along with collective responsibilities, we have individual responsibilities," the President said.  "As Morehouse Men, you now wield something even more powerful than the diploma you're about to collect -- and that's the power of your example. So what I ask of you today is the same thing I ask of every graduating class I address:  Use that power for something larger than yourself." 

So, yes, go get that law degree. But if you do, ask yourself if the only option is to defend the rich and the powerful, or if you can also find some time to defend the powerless. Sure, go get your MBA, or start that business.  We need black businesses out there.  But ask yourselves what broader purpose your business might serve, in putting people to work, or transforming a neighborhood.  The most successful CEOs I know didn't start out intent just on making money -- rather, they had a vision of how their product or service would change things, and the money followed. 

Some of you may be headed to medical school to become doctors.  But make sure you heal folks in underserved communities who really need it, too.  For generations, certain groups in this country -- especially African Americans -- have been desperate in need of access to quality, affordable health care.  And as a society, we're finally beginning to change that. 

"And finally, as you do these things, do them not just for yourself, but don't even do them just for the African American community. I want you to set your sights higher," President Obama said. "It's not just the African American community that needs you. The country needs you. The world needs you." 

Success may not come quickly or easily.  But if you strive to do what's right, if you work harder and dream bigger, if you set an example in your own lives and do your part to help meet the challenges of our time, then I'm confident that, together, we will continue the never-ending task of perfecting our union.

Watch President Obama's full address below

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