Bosco Ntaganda has never been Congolese
- Ntaganda’s surrender: Let’s not forget a few things.
- Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda hands himself in in Rwanda
- Fugitive M23 leader Ntaganda surrenders
For years, the war-crimes fugitive known as “The Terminator” was so
supremely confident that he played tennis at a luxury hotel near the
Congo-Rwanda border, flaunting his freedom while United Nations
peacekeepers drove past.
So it was perhaps in keeping with his
style that the fugitive, Bosco Ntaganda, chose the moment of his
surrender. Rather than suffering an undignified arrest, he walked
through the gates of the U.S. embassy in Rwanda’s capital on Monday,
announced his surrender and demanded to be taken to the International
Criminal Court in The Hague.
Kigali – The Rwandan rebel Bosco Ntaganda, wanted by the International Criminal
Court for a string of alleged atrocities, has surrendered to the US
embassy in Kigali, US and Rwandan officials said Monday.
permanent independent war crimes court, said US State Department
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
the US embassy in Kigali this morning. He specifically asked to be
transferred to the ICC in The Hague,” she told reporters in Washington.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo that the rebel general had
“presented himself” at the US embassy in Rwanda’s capital.
Nuland said that Washington was in contact with
the ICC and the Rwandan government, adding that the United States
“strongly (supports) the ICC and their investigation on the atrocities
committed in the DRC”.
Sunday that Ntaganda had fled to neighbouring Rwanda, which has been
accused by Kinshasa and the United Nations of masterminding, arming and
even commanding M23 rebels in resource-rich east of the vast country.
Terminator” and widely seen as the instigator of the M23 group’s
rebellion against Kinshasa last year, is wanted by the ICC on charges of
war crimes and crimes against humanity including rape, murder and
recruiting child soldiers.
signatories to The Hague-based ICC’s founding document, the Rome
Statute, and therefore would not be obliged to hand Ntaganda over to the
tribunal.
make the necessary arrangements for the transfer of Ntaganda to The
Hague,” he said, adding that “nothing prevents a state which is not a
signatory of the Rome Statute from cooperating with the court on a
voluntary basis.”
army mutineers — and Congolese forces in the eastern province of North
Kivu has displaced 500,000 people since last May, according to the UN
refugee agency.
Ntaganda had entered Rwanda, but said that 600 fighters from the M23 had
crossed into the country, including its former political leader
Jean-Marie Runiga.
supporting Rwandan rebel groups thought to include perpetrators of the
1994 genocide, signed a deal aimed at ending the crisis along with other
regional countries last month.
The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a “time”, yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverine
