Congo's
Tshibanda
Says
Doesn't Know
Hege, Denies
Mai Mai, Likes
Dodd Frank
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 31 --
The M23
mutineers in
Eastern Congo
were the
topic of a
press
conference
Friday
afternoon from
4 pm past 5 by
Congolese
minister Raymond
Tshibanda.
Despite the
length of the
session it was
difficult to
get
Tshibanda to
engage with
the specific
criticisms
against the
Group of
Experts report
on which he
relied.
As
the first
questions
after a 45
minute opening
statement by
Tshibanda,
Inner City
Press asked
him of
Rwanda's
critique of
the Group of
Experts report
and its the
Group's
coordinator Steve Hege,
who has
written that
the FDLR
militia is not
really a
threat to
Rwanda. Click
here for
Inner City
Press story.
Despite
relying
on Hege's
report,
Tshibanda
deferred on
this question,
saying
that he does
not know Hege
personally but
the Security
Council surely
"before
recruiting
him, did the
necessary
inquiries and
was
convinced."
This
has been
questioned by
Rwanda's
foreign
minister
Louise
Mushikiwabo,
on August 29
at the
UN: YouTube
here, Facebook click
here.
Then
Tshibanda said
that the
contents of
the report are
not
questioned.
But they are.
For example,
Janvier Saddat
or Saddam is
presented as
from Rwanda,
when in fact
he was
integrated
into the
Congolese army
FARDC in 2009.
Jack Nziza has
alibi
witnesses. But
Tshibanda's
presentation
listed Nziza,
as Jacques,
and asks for
sanctions on
him.
There
were other
factual
problems.
Inner City
Press has
asked the UN
about
its use of
MONUSCO
mission
aircraft to
flying FARDC
officials to
meet
with the Mai
Mai militia,
to recruit
them to fight
the M23. The
UN
had admitted
to flying, but
says it was
not involved
in the
meeting.
But
Tshibanda
simply denied
that FARDC
works with the
Mai Mai. What
was
the purpose of
the meeting
the UN flew
them to?
Tshibanda said
he
wouldn't
respond to
something he
didn't hear.
But his
answer, and
what the UN
has admitted,
do not seem
consistent.
In
non-M23 news,
Inner City
Press asked
Tshibanda for
the DRC
position
on the
conflict
mineral
provisions of
the Dodd Frank
law and the
SEC's new
rules. He said
the DRC likes
them. But they
only apply to
companies
under SEC
jurisdiction.
We'll have
more on this.
, 
