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UN Hides As War Criminal Bosco Surfaces in April 4 Congolese Army Minutes

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, May 7, updated -- When it comes to working with war criminals, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is willing and even wants to be deceived. Bosco Ntaganda, indicted by the International Criminal Court, appears in minutes of an April 4 meeting of the Congolese Army, known by its French acronym FARDC.

  Four days later, the head of the MONUC mission, Alan Doss, received a Daily Report of “unconfirmed rumours of Bosco Ntaganda's designation as Deputy Commander of Operation Kimia II,” to which MONUC provided assistance. Click here to view the April 8, 2009 Daily Report.

What the UN did next is to ask the FARDC to tell them that Bosco was not a deputy commander. The UN has spend billions of dollars in the Congo, largely to the benefit of current president Joseph Kabila. His FARDC told the UN want they wanted to hear. But no explanation of the April 4 FARDC minutes, reproduced below, has been provided.

  A UN official involved in preparing MONUC's response, below, told Inner City Press that as long as Doss received assurances from FARDC, it doesn't matter what the leaked minutes show, or even if they are true: the UN”s hands are clean. These dubious assertions should be a topic of the UN Security Council's African trip later this month, along with proposals to send Bosco Ntanganda's previous boss, Laurent Nkunda, from Rwanda into exile in a country other than the DRC.

   On April 9, the day after Doss had gotten the Daily Report about Bosco's involvement in the FARDC's Operation Kimia II, Inner City Press asked Doss to confirm that MONUC had earlier received a request to help arrest Bosco. Doss confirmed that, among other things (click here for that story, and here for the request to MONUC about Bosco, and Doss' predessessor William Lacy Swing's response.) Doss said the request "has not been renewed," adding that MONUC will not work with Bosco. But see below.

UN's Alan Doss in the Congo, Bosco not shown

On April 29, Inner City Press asked UN Associate Spokesman Farhan Haq

Inner City Press: do you have a response to these reports that Bosco, the ICC indictee for war crimes, was described as a deputy coordinator in the Congolese Army action against the FDLR, and also, therefore, calling into question the UN statement that it doesn’t work with indicted war criminals.

Associate Spokesperson: Yes, we’re aware of those reports. At the same time, the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, has not seen the documents that were referred to in the media reports that allegedly showed that Jean Bosco Ntaganda was part of the joint operation. Actually, on the contrary, the DRC authorities have shown MONUC relevant documents defining the operation’s command structure, which does not make any mention of Mr. Ntaganda. MONUC has clearly stated that it will not conduct or support joint operations in which Jean Bosco Ntaganda plays a part. This has been communicated directly to the DRC Minister of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff, who in turn have assured MONUC that Mr. Ntanganda is not a part of any joint operation’s command structure. MONUC leadership continues to engage with our Congolese interlocutors on this matter.

Inner City Press: Even when you actually see this document, what will the UN do if it turns out he was the deputy commander of that operation?

Associate Spokesperson: Well, as I just said, we continue to engage with our Congolese interlocutors. But I’ve told you exactly the precise assurances that we’ve been given by the Government of the DRC on this. And as for the hypothetical question, we’ll cross that bridge if that is a reality.

Well, now it is a reality. The April 4 FARDC minutes, obtained by Inner City Press, show in paragraph (d) Bosco Ntaganda taking the floor, and described him as deputy commander:

REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO

FORCES ARMEES

OPERATION KIMIA II

COORDINATION

RAPPORT DE LA REUNION TENUE PAR LE COORD DE L’ OPS KIMIA II

EN DATE DU 04/04/2009

1. Ordre du jour :

a) Remerciements

b) Message du Comd Suprême

c) Directives du Coord des Ops

d) Divers.

2. Développement

a. Le Coord a remercié le Pers de l’EM de l’accueil lui réservé lors de

son arrivée et de l’enthousiasme manifesté à son endroit lors de la remise

et reprise avec le ChefEM FT ce 03 Avril 2009.

b. Message du Comd Suprême

Le Coord a transmis à l’assistance les directives du Comd Suprême sur le profil que doivent afficher les Mil des FARDC notamment ceux œuvrant dans les provinces du NORD et du SUD KIVU.

- Eviter tout esprit rétrograde ; NE PAS revenir aux mêmes méfaits qui

provoquent souvent les rebellions.

- Travailler plus pour l’intérêt de la population et ce défi doit à tout

prix être relevé ; Ainsi nous devons nous atteler à gagner la confiance de

la Pop à laquelle nous devons beaucoup de respect. A ce sujet, le Comd

Suprême est strict. Les viols, pillages, tortures et autres traitements

dégradants infligés à la Pop doivent cesser a renchéri le Coord.

- Enfin, indigné par les jugements portés contre les FARDC dans les médias face au phénomène FDLR, le Comd Suprême nous lance un défi. NE doutant nullement des capacités des FARDC à combattre efficacement les FDLR, il attend les résultats probants et fera régulièrement lui-même l’évaluation de la Sit.

- Les Comd d’unités doivent privilégier l’intérêt des Tp et éviter le détournement des moyens mis à leur disposition

c). Instructions du Coord des Ops

(1) Continuité dans le travail entamé par le Comd des Ops conjointes et

le Chef EM FT.

- Traquer et détruire les FDLR dans tous leurs retranchements dans le

NORD KIVU

- Attaquer et détruire toutes les Positions FDLR dans le SUD KIVU.

(2) La chaîne Log est à revoir en vue de s’assurer que les moyens

arrivent au soldat.

(3) Eviter la bureaucratie et se trouver plus sur terrain pour mieux

Suivre l’évolution des Ops.

(4) Respecter la voie hiérarchique, tous les rapports doivent passer à

priori par le Coord des Ops.

(5) NE PAS garder des tourments dans les cœurs mais se confier

toujours à l’autorité

(6) Les planifications des Ops devront se faire en Coord avec la MONUC

sans toutefois retarder leur exécution.

(7) Respecter la Pop Civil.

(8) Mener des actions qui nous permettront de gagner la confiance de la

Pop, celle-ci pourra ainsi se dissocier des FDLR.

d) Prenant la parole à son tour, le GenBde BOSCO NTAGANDA, Coord Adjt, a soulevé les problèmes Log qui ont été à la base du retard qu’ont connu les Ops après celles menées conjointement par les FARDC et RDF. Ce qui a permis aux FDLR de se réorganiser et mener quelques Acn contre nos Tp.

e) Pour terminer le Coord a exhorté les Offr à travailler avec assudité

afin que la Nation Congolaise en général, le Gov et le Comd Suprême

en particulier NE soit PAS déçus et que la paix soient totalement

rétablie.

 These minutes, and MONUC's response to them, should be a topic of the UN Security Council's African trip later this month, along with proposals to send Bosco Ntanganda's previous boss, Laurent Nkunda, from Rwanda into exile in a country other than the DRC. Watch this site.

Update of 12:55 p.m. -- at Friday's UN noon briefing, after publication of the article above, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe to respond to the April 4 FARDC minutes listing Bosco Ntaganda as Deputy Coordinator, including whether the UN disputes the authenticity of the minutes. Ms. Okabe said she had nothing to say on the topic. Minutes later, her Office sent Inner City Press the following statement:

From: unspokesperson-donotreply@un.org
To: matthew.lee@innercitypress.com
Sent: 5/8/2009 12:39:54 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Your question on Ntaganda

In reference to your question about Jean-Bosco Ntaganda, we have the following:

MONUC has not seen the documents referenced in the media report allegedly showing that Mr. Ntanganda is a part of the joint operation. On the contrary, the DRC authorities have shown MONUC relevant documents defining the operation's command structure, which does not make any mention of Mr. Ntanganda. MONUC has clearly stated that it will not conduct or support joint operations in which Jean Bosco Ntaganda plays a part. This has been communicated directly to the DRC Minister of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff, who in turn have assured MONUC that Mr. Ntanganda is not a part of any joint operation’s command structure. MONUC leadership continues to engage with our Congolese interlocutors on this matter.

  Better talk fast, with these Congolese interlocutors... Inner City Press is e-mailing the FARDC minutes to MONUC, which claims not to have seen them. Watch this site.

 Click here for an Inner City Press YouTube channel video, mostly UN Headquarters footage, about civilian deaths in Sri Lanka.

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