A draft UN report says crimes by the Rwandan army and allied rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo could be classified as genocide.
The report, seen by the BBC, details the investigation into the conflict in DR Congo from 1993 to 2003.
It says tens of thousands of ethnic Hutus, including women, children and the elderly, were killed by the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan army.
Rwanda’s justice minister has dismissed the claims as “rubbish”.
Not rubbish at all. This is one of the terrible neglected horrors of the past 15 years — a neglect, I am afraid, in which the churches (including the Anglican churches) are deeply complicit. See:
http://www.anglicancommunioninstitute.com/2009/02/the-eastern-congo-and-the-failure-of-christian-witness/
It is almost beyond belief that the West generally, and Western Christians particularly, have closed their eyes to what has been going on in this region. This is the most deadly conflict in the world since WW II, yet most Americans are unaware that it is even happening. About the only time that conflict in Africa appears in the U.S. media is in stories about the threat it poses to gorillas. Without minimizing that threat, surely millions of dead human beings deserve some mention.
For a country its size, Rwanda is very well armed and very aggressive. Congo is a time bomb, with Nigeria not far behind. Zimbabwe has effectively shut down the local Anglican province. Archbishop Orombi is quoted elsewhere today arguing that a pending bill before the Ugandan parliament that provides the death penalty for homosexuals goes too far. Armed forces and political movements elsewhere in Africa–both official and unofficial–are also operating with a disrespect for human life (much less human rights) that is right up there with the worst of the mid-20th century dictatorships. Yet nobody seems to have even heard about the threats.
Dale, as you well know the world (not only the west) has a well established history of ignoring genocides. What do you suggest that would be effective?