Like Kony, Bosco has commanded the abduction of children in broad daylight, rape, and systematic massacres. Evidence against him includes videotape of his 2008 command of the door-to-door execution of 150 villagers.
There is one key difference between the two war criminals. Kony’s precise whereabouts are unknown, and he has proven elusive for many, many years. He is hiding out and running scared in one of the most remote regions of the world. Today, it is not even certain what country Kony is in, much less his precise location.
Bosco, on the other hand, lives openly in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, nesting comfortably in a luxury villa. The provincial capital serves as a major hub for the largest United Nations peacekeeping operation in the world. While the US military aids in the search for Joseph Kony in remote forests, Bosco Ntaganda eats dinner in Goma’s finest restaurants, sometimes surrounded by United Nations soldiers. Diplomats walk the same streets and spend evenings gazing across Lake Kivu’s same serene waters as this indicted war criminal.
It is relatively easy to grasp why Joseph Kony remains free. It is much more difficult to comprehend why, six years after his indictment, Bosco is permitted to live in luxury in a major Congolese city.
How can this be? Bosco serves as a senior commander in the Congolese Armed Forces. Congolese government officials say, absurdly, that they cannot arrest Bosco because he is important to keeping peace in volatile eastern Congo. Perhaps the real issue is that the feckless, corrupt, and predatory Congolese Army and its other security forces have no serious military capacity (other than Bosco’s own troops). Hence, even if the Congolese government decided to arrest Bosco, it wouldn’t be able to neutralize him and his thousands of dedicated, heavily armed, professional fighters.
Also, in a complicated set of relationships, Bosco is linked to the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. Kagame remains concerned that some of his former allies and enemies could come together in a military alliance in eastern Congo, and sees Bosco as his first line of defense against this contingency.
Western and United Nations diplomats publicly ‘tut tut’ the pity it is that Bosco still goes free. When pressed, they suggest that they are helpless, that the sovereign Congolese government has the responsibility to arrest Bosco. If the Congolese won’t do it, these diplomats lament, the rest of the world is powerless.
Are we to believe that the U.S. government is concerned and committed enough about brutal war criminals in central Africa to send 100 of our soldiers as advisors in the effort to get Kony, yet does not have sufficient diplomatic tools to find a way to pick up Bosco – perhaps as he dines in one of Goma’s lakefront watering holes– and transport him to await trial in The Hague? This nonsensical situation must come to an end. We cannot tolerate Bosco going free literally in the midst of thousands of United Nations troops.
Yes, international diplomacy is required to convince the Congolese and Rwandan governments that Bosco must be arrested. But, to date, international diplomats have meekly accepted the argument that Bosco is key to central African stability. Instead, they must insist on finding a way to arrest him.
Invisible Children’s viral video has generated huge interest in the case of Joseph Kony. Their campaign calls for Kony to be captured this year. If the U.S. and others in the international community were really committed to tracking down and punishing war criminals, Bosco could be captured tomorrow. It is time for the U.S. and others to commit to putting Bosco behind bars. In Bosco’s case, “soon” should mean that he finds himself in prison within months, long before the end of 2012.
Tony Gambino has worked on the Congo for more than 30 years. He directed the USAID Mission in the Congo from 2001-2004 and has focused on the DRC in positions with the U.S. Government and for a wide variety of private organizations.
Lisa Shannon is author of the book A Thousand Sisters, and founder of Run for Congo Women and the new organization, A Thousand Sisters.
Source: http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/bosco-2012-while-we-hunt-kony-another-indicted-war-criminal-lives-a-life-of-leisure/, March 14, 2012, 4:43 pm
Author:TONY GAMBINO and LISA SHANNON
There is one key difference between the two war criminals. Kony’s precise whereabouts are unknown, and he has proven elusive for many, many years. He is hiding out and running scared in one of the most remote regions of the world. Today, it is not even certain what country Kony is in, much less his precise location.
Bosco, on the other hand, lives openly in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, nesting comfortably in a luxury villa. The provincial capital serves as a major hub for the largest United Nations peacekeeping operation in the world. While the US military aids in the search for Joseph Kony in remote forests, Bosco Ntaganda eats dinner in Goma’s finest restaurants, sometimes surrounded by United Nations soldiers. Diplomats walk the same streets and spend evenings gazing across Lake Kivu’s same serene waters as this indicted war criminal.
It is relatively easy to grasp why Joseph Kony remains free. It is much more difficult to comprehend why, six years after his indictment, Bosco is permitted to live in luxury in a major Congolese city.
How can this be? Bosco serves as a senior commander in the Congolese Armed Forces. Congolese government officials say, absurdly, that they cannot arrest Bosco because he is important to keeping peace in volatile eastern Congo. Perhaps the real issue is that the feckless, corrupt, and predatory Congolese Army and its other security forces have no serious military capacity (other than Bosco’s own troops). Hence, even if the Congolese government decided to arrest Bosco, it wouldn’t be able to neutralize him and his thousands of dedicated, heavily armed, professional fighters.
Also, in a complicated set of relationships, Bosco is linked to the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. Kagame remains concerned that some of his former allies and enemies could come together in a military alliance in eastern Congo, and sees Bosco as his first line of defense against this contingency.
Western and United Nations diplomats publicly ‘tut tut’ the pity it is that Bosco still goes free. When pressed, they suggest that they are helpless, that the sovereign Congolese government has the responsibility to arrest Bosco. If the Congolese won’t do it, these diplomats lament, the rest of the world is powerless.
Are we to believe that the U.S. government is concerned and committed enough about brutal war criminals in central Africa to send 100 of our soldiers as advisors in the effort to get Kony, yet does not have sufficient diplomatic tools to find a way to pick up Bosco – perhaps as he dines in one of Goma’s lakefront watering holes– and transport him to await trial in The Hague? This nonsensical situation must come to an end. We cannot tolerate Bosco going free literally in the midst of thousands of United Nations troops.
Yes, international diplomacy is required to convince the Congolese and Rwandan governments that Bosco must be arrested. But, to date, international diplomats have meekly accepted the argument that Bosco is key to central African stability. Instead, they must insist on finding a way to arrest him.
Invisible Children’s viral video has generated huge interest in the case of Joseph Kony. Their campaign calls for Kony to be captured this year. If the U.S. and others in the international community were really committed to tracking down and punishing war criminals, Bosco could be captured tomorrow. It is time for the U.S. and others to commit to putting Bosco behind bars. In Bosco’s case, “soon” should mean that he finds himself in prison within months, long before the end of 2012.
Tony Gambino has worked on the Congo for more than 30 years. He directed the USAID Mission in the Congo from 2001-2004 and has focused on the DRC in positions with the U.S. Government and for a wide variety of private organizations.
Lisa Shannon is author of the book A Thousand Sisters, and founder of Run for Congo Women and the new organization, A Thousand Sisters.
Source: http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/bosco-2012-while-we-hunt-kony-another-indicted-war-criminal-lives-a-life-of-leisure/, March 14, 2012, 4:43 pm
Author:TONY GAMBINO and LISA SHANNON
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