IV. LOCAL CONTEXT - ARMED POLITICAL GROUPSProxies Pursuing Their Own Interests
The Hema, Lendu, and other ethnic groups that serve as proxies for governments and rebel movements also seek to set agendas that serve their own interests. They are skilled at playing off the various outside rivals and change sides as their interests dictate. They adapt rapidly to developments on the national scene, working on the basis of the enemy of my enemy is my friend-at least for the moment. Who is Who - Armed Political Groups in Ituri (May 2003) RCD-ML: Congolese Rally for Democracy- Liberation Movement
MLC: Movement for the Liberation of Congo
RCD-National: Congolese Rally for Democracy - National
UPC: Union of Congolese Patriots (predominately Hema/Gegere party)
FIPI: Front for Integration and Peace in Ituri (platform of three ethnic-based parties)
Who is Who - Armed Political Groups in Ituri (May 2003), continued PUSIC: Party for Unity and Safeguarding of the Integrity of Congo (Hema dissatisfied with the UPC)
FPDC: Popular Force for Democracy in Congo (Alur and Lugbara political party)
FNI: Front for National Integration (Lendu political party)
FRPI: Patriotic Force of Resistance in Ituri (Ngiti political party)
FAPC: People's Armed Forces of Congo (mixed)
The actions of the Hema Chief Kahwa Mandro illustrate the readiness of local actors to change allegiances. Initially supported by Uganda, Chief Kahwa and some other Hema noticed a decline in this backing and decided that the Ugandan Army was not doing enough to protect them against the Lendu. Chief Kahwa Mandro explained to Human Rights Watch researchers: In August 2000, I was fighting the Lendu in Ituri. But I was accused of being with the Rwandans and the Ugandan rebels, the ADF, so the Ugandans also started to fight with me. I decided I should go and talk to President Museveni which I did in August. He decided that my cause was noble. Our group came for training to Uganda on August 28, 2000. I was in Uganda for 6 months at Kyakwanzi training camp where 705 of us were trained. After Sun City the Lendu started to be armed by Mbusa [RCD-ML] and so we decided we had to get rid of him. Then Lubanga was arrested by the Ugandans. We didn't understand this. I stayed in Bunia while Governor Molondo planned a genocide against us.76 I started training about 3,000 fighters in Mandro with the financial help of the Hema community. We collected guns from small attacks. We had been negotiating with Uganda for three years and they had been responsible for so many deaths. No one was aware of our problem. In June 2002 I decided to go to Rwanda to find help for our defense. They had lived through a genocide so they knew what it was like. They understood me and provided us with weapons and logistics. I discussed the situation with James Kabarebe. Initially this support was good and I thought Rwanda understood my situation, but they profited from it to create another situation. They wanted Ituri to be their rear base to attack Uganda. They continue to send arms including missiles and ammunition for tanks when we don't even have tanks. They are even sending troops. They are recruiting young soldiers and putting fear into them. They come in with small planes to airstrips like Mongbwalu, Aru, Boga and Bule. I know they do this as I used to go myself on small planes from Kigali to Ituri.77 After becoming disillusioned with Rwandan support and the policy direction of Lubanga's UPC, Chief Kahwa felt threatened. He separated from Lubanga's group and re-established links with the Ugandans. He continued: I was on the list of people to be eliminated by the UPC. When Museveni found out about this, he sent a plane to come and get me. He encouraged me to talk to the Lendu in Kpandruma so we could stop fighting. I started a political party, PUSIC, and then became part of the FIPI coalition which wants peace in Ituri and includes Lendu plus others. I talked to President Kabila in Dar es Salaam where I told him he must stop supporting the Lendu. They were killing us. He understood. I am going to attack Bunia again and will take it, even if I die. The Ugandan army is informed of our plans but I don't count on them for help.78 Assistance from external actors may prompt dissidents in a group to hive off and form their own organization, as Chief Kahwa did. However, external actors can also promote coalitions, including those across ethnic lines, like the FIPI group which included Hema, Lendu, and Alur political groups. The increase in the number of combatant groups in and around Bunia has been matched by increased flow of arms to Ituri as outside actors attempt to ensure victory for their local allies. This greater availability of arms contributed to more casualties in Ituri including civilians.79 In addition to being better armed than in the past, Hema, Lendu, and Ngiti militia groups also appear to be better organized and trained and to function with a more structured military hierarchy. The Hema - Lendu Conflict
At no point in the documented history of Ituri has the violence attained the levels seen since 1999. The broader war in Congo has undoubtedly sparked the greater violence of the current conflict. This conflict began in June 1999 when a small number of Hema allegedly attempted to bribe local authorities into modifying land ownership registers in their favor in the area of Walendu Pitsu, part of the Djugu district of Ituri. They reportedly used the false papers to evict Lendu inhabitants from the land, or so some local Lendu believed. These Lendu decided to retaliate. In the absence of a strong local authority, the incident quickly turned into a confrontation between the two communities. Ugandan interference aggravated the situation. Brig. Gen. James Kazini, then in charge of the Ugandan army in DRC, named Adele Lotsove Mugisa, a Hema, Provisional Governor of the districts of Ituri and Haut Uele81, formerly part of Orientale Province.82 Although the proposal to create such a unit had been backed by some politicians in the area, it was the decree of the Ugandan general that altered administrative boundaries, effectively creating a new "province." In his letter setting up the new post of governor, General Kazini gave full assurances of Ugandan support for the endeavor.83 This important decision, coinciding with the local land dispute, created the impression that the Ugandan army was siding with the Hema landholders. By 2003 the original dispute had expanded in numbers of people and area touched by the violence. Groups like the Nande, Bira, and Alur previously not associated with either of the contenders have now been forced to choose sides. Rumor, Propaganda and Prejudice
Some Lendu and Ngiti allied with them sought to whip up anger against Rwanda, Uganda, and their local allies. The Ngiti armed group FRPI published a pamphlet charging that Presidents Kagame and Museveni sought to establish a Hima88-Tutsi empire. They claimed that the Hema, backed by Uganda and Rwanda, would carry out "ethnic purification" and eliminate the Lendu peoples (including the Ngiti) in Ituri. They urged "fierce resistance" against external aggressors and those groups complicit with them.89 In November 2002, a Lendu group, the LORI Cultural Association stressed the historical grievances of their people and called on "all Lendu to resist aggression and all forms of domination that have been a part of Lendu history."90 In a January 2002 communiqué, Lendu Chief Longbe Tschabi Linga complained about the marginalization and subordination of his community. He went on to "denounce the alliance of death between the UPC and RCD-Goma" that have resulted in the "Hema proudly singing about the extermination of the Lendu."91 71 The Hema ethnic group is divided in two sub-groups: the Gegere, also known as the Hema from the north, who speak Kilendu and the Hema, also know as Hema from the south, who speak Kihema. There are increasing divisions between these two groups. This reports refers to the Hema for both groups and differentiates Gegere only when their views are different. 72 The Lendu ethnic group is also divided into two sub-groups: Lendu who originate from the northern areas of Ituri and the Ngiti who come from the south. In general they consider themselves as brothers and have similar political views. 73 In the local language this is expressed as "the Bakuyakuya". 74 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, Bunia, May 2003. 75 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, Kampala, May 2003. 76 See below for conflict between Governor Molondo and Hema. 77 Human Rights Watch interview, Chief Kahwa Mandro, Kampala, February 22, 2003 79 Different estimates exist of the number of people killed in Ituri, none of which is based on a systematic survey. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) cited 50,000 dead in its Integrated Regional Information Network report on Ituri, December 2002. 80 Tensions were high in 1962, 1965, 1975, 1983, 1984, 1997. 81 Governor Lotsove eventually let the Haute Uele district go its own way after it rebelled against her leadership; she retained control over Kibali-Ituri, commonly known as Ituri. 82 Ugandan High Command, Brig. Gen. James Kazini to Madame Lotsove, June 18, 1999, reference OPN/SH/C/6A. 84 See Johan Pottier, Re-Imagining Rwanda: Conflict, Survival and Disinformation in the Late Twentieth Century; Cambridge University Press, 2002. 85 Human Rights Watch interview with Hema leaders including Dr Dhejju Maruka, Professor Karimagi Pilo, Mr Philemon, and Mr Kiza, Bunia, February 13, 2003. 86 Jean Baptiste Dhetchuvi, open letter, Ituri - What Future?, September 1, 2002. 88 Hima are an ethnic group in Uganda often said to be related to Tutsi of Rwanda; Museveni is said to have had a Hima among his ancestors. 89 Patriotic Force of Resistance in Ituri (FRPI), Manifesto of Resistance, January 2003. 90 LORI Cultural Association, Declaration of the Lendu Community, November 16, 2002. 91 Chief Longbe Tchabi Linga and the Editorial Committee, SOS of the Lendu Community in Kpandruma, January 22, 2003. |