When You Watched the News Today Did You See Any of This ?

The Lord’s Resistance Army, once a Ugandan group, has driven tens of thousands from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan since it launched a campaign of terror at Christmas.

Also did you see any mention of The Nineteen Moroccans who Drowned off the coast of Spains’ Canary Islands Sunday ?

What about the More than 30,000 children that were taken as soldiers during the war, By the LRA.  Our Friend Christina works in Uganda with a relief organization, that helps some of these same refugees. it’s absolutely ridiculous that we are ignoring them,  for Octopussy..

What about an Update on Sudan and Darfur or the International Tribunals on the Genocide ?

Was There ANY news on those situations ?

NO – because the World is Fixated on one thing, The US and European Economies. I am sick to death of all this Elephant Poo everywhere.. Get Over It Already. We Had to deal with it for eight years and now it’s time to refocus on the Reality of whats’ really happening on the planet, everywhere.

Did We All Forget that there are others among us who are being Slaughtered like fowl on a daily basis ?  yet our dues are paid into an organization chartered with protecting all the citizens of every nation on the planet – and they ignore these catastrophic humanitarian situations ?  OHFN..

Why do We Accept It – Demand Your Full News, instead of Soundbytes that dumb down the reality of what’s really happening around us.

Call Your Local News Station and Tell Them You Want to SEE IT All

Not Just the Arguments going on in DC over the already passed stimulus bill; that fight is over. scrape up the cash, and get on with the get on..

Do Not Be Afraid To Remind the Local Media that they provide News for YOU – Not Just Advertising. if they refuse to comply, let them know in no uncertain terms that You Have A Choice, to Not Watch, or Purchase Their Papers. if their advertisers see a marked drop in profits, they’ll listen.

Responsible Media Begins With the Readers and Watchers. Thats’ All Of Us.

Here’s a few bits of important news you may well have missed, from the BBC, of course.

African migrants drowned at sea

The Canary Islands has long been a magnet for African migrants

Nineteen people, including an eight-year-old girl, drowned when a migrant boat capsized 20m (65ft) from shore in the Canary Islands, rescuers say.

Three people are still said to be missing after the boat, carrying mainly North African migrants, overturned off the eastern coast of Lanzarote. Local residents rescued six people from the vessel after Sunday’s accident. Emergency services recovered 14 more bodies from the sea, a day after five others were pulled out of the water.

Rescue helicopters have been scouring for any other survivors, but police say hopes are fading fast. ‘Screaming’ Anibal Betancourt, who took part in the rescue operation, told local radio they found survivors “clinging to the sinking boat and screaming”, reported the AFP news agency. Most of the migrants involved are said to be from Morocco. The Spanish Canary Islands off the north-western coast of Africa have in recent years attracted thousands of African migrants seeking a better life in Europe. But increased surveillance has meant the number of migrants reaching the Canary Islands has dropped from almost 32,000 in 2006 to about 9,000 in 2008.

Sudan and Darfur’s most active rebel group have reached a tentative deal, amid hopes it could lead to talks on a peace deal in the war-torn region.

Khartoum and the Justice and Equality Movement agreed to sign a declaration of good intentions on Tuesday. The deal – reached in Qatar – includes an end to attacks on more than two million people in refugee camps and an exchange of prisoners, diplomats say. However, other rebel groups are refusing to talk to the government.

The BBC’s Africa editor, Martin Plaut, says that much more needs to be done to achieve peace in the region. And hanging over any agreement is a proposed indictment from the International Criminal Court of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir for alleged crimes. ‘Intense pressure’ The agreement between the Sudanese government and the Jem rebels was announced by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, whose country has been mediating talks under way since last Tuesday.

The Jem is the most heavily armed rebel group in Darfur

“There has been great progress,” Sheikh Hamad told reporters in Doha. “The content of the agreement, which will be signed tomorrow [Tuesday], has the agreement of all parties,” he added. Once the agreement is signed, small teams of negotiators will continue talks, the BBC’s Africa editor says. He says that by reaching this deal now, the government in Khartoum is signalling that it is moving on peace – under intense pressure from the international community. A Jem spokesperson in London, Haroun Abdul Hami, told the BBC’s World Today programme that “we all endorse the peace process”. “Qatar will be the base of the negotiations and also we are going to endorse the role of… the neighbouring countries of Sudan,” Mr Hami continued. “But the most important point is to stop the harassment of our people in the IDP [Internally Displaced People's] camps in addition to [urging] the government not to impede the humanitarian aid to our people.” Speaking to the BBC in New York, the Sudanese envoy to the UN described the agreement as “a very remarkable progress”. “It touches also on issues like security and safety of the IDPs and civilians, about which detailed discussions will be resumed in two weeks time,” Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad said. He rejected any suggestion that Sudan was trying to deflect attention away from the proposed ICC indictment of President Omar al-Bashir. Key town

Last week Sudan’s army said it had captured the strategic Darfur town of Muhajiriya after three weeks of clashes with rebels. Thirty people were reported dead in that fighting, and a Jem rebel commander said his forces had withdrawn voluntarily to spare civilians from government air attacks. The United Nations says at least 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have been displaced since the conflict began six years ago. Fighting started after African groups complaining of discrimination at the hands of Sudan’s Arab-dominated government launched a rebellion. The government admits mobilising “self-defence militias” in response, though it denies links to the Janjaweed, which has been accused of trying to “cleanse” black Africans from large swathes of territory. The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force, Unamid, remains at only about half its planned strength of 26,000, a year after the UN took joint control of the mission.

Mr Kony is said to relish recognition – and free food and cash at peace talks

The Lord’s Resistance Army, once a Ugandan group, has driven tens of thousands from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan since it launched a campaign of terror at Christmas. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates that by the end of January 130,000 Congolese and at least 10,000 Sudanese had been forced to flee. In addition, the UNHCR reports that an LRA attack on the Congolese town of Aba, population 100,000, resulted in almost the entire population evacuating the town. It believes that 5,000 have already crossed into Sudan at the town of Lasu.

This pattern of attacks, all along a 300km (186-mile) stretch of the Sudan-Congo border, follows a co-ordinated offensive against the LRA late in 2008. On 14 December the forces of three countries ­- Uganda, Sudan and Congo -­ attacked LRA bases in Congo.

The LRA had guns, but they did not use them – they used machetes and swords Isador Bashima Survivor

It was an attempt to kill as many of the LRA as possible and shatter the movement’s command structure. But the operation was hampered by poor co-ordination and the dense forests in this region -­ ideal cover for guerrilla forces. Renewed brutality According to Capt Deo Akiiki of the Ugandan Army, these operations resulted in almost 50 fighters being captured and more than 150 killed.

LRA rebels often mutilate their victims, cutting off lips, ears and noses

The LRA responded as it had done in March 2002, when the Ugandan army launched a massive military offensive, named Operation Iron Fist, against the LRA bases in South Sudan, with the agreement of the government in Khartoum. In 2002 LRA leader Joseph Kony split up his forces, before bringing them together again and crossing back into Uganda to carry out attacks on civilians on a scale and a brutality not seen since 1995 to 1996. In December 2008 the LRA repeated this tactic, dividing into small units,­ some as few as five or six men. These units launched a series of attacks on an unprecedented scale in towns and villages across northern Congo and South Sudan. The UN and humanitarian agencies estimate the rebels have slaughtered some 900 civilians since Christmas. Villages along the border are now empty as people have fled before the LRA atrocities, which have included tying groups of women together before smashing their skulls and killing babies with heated machetes. ‘Strategic slaughter’ One man who witnessed a Christmas Day massacre by the LRA at a Catholic church in Doroma, a town on the border of DR Congo, recalls how the rebels pounced as worshippers gathered for a festive dinner. “The LRA had guns, but they did not use them,” Isador Bashima said. “They used machetes and swords.

The LRA are believed to be scattered across a much greater area now

“I went with my aunt and uncle. Both of them were killed. “When I saw the enemies surround us I automatically ran and escaped. I was really very sorry, but I could not stand any longer.” The LRA attacks on ordinary civilians are not simply random acts of brutality, but form part of a concerted strategy. Firstly, the LRA is too weak to directly stand up to the armies now confronting it. Reports suggest the rebels may have as few as 1,000 trained soldiers, with the rest made up of children who have been forced into the movement. Attacking villages proves the LRA is still a viable organisation and puts pressure on Sudan and Congo to return to the negotiating table. But there is a second – possibly more important – ­reason for the killings. It ties up soldiers in attempting to defend the civilians, reducing the number pursuing Kony and his men across the vast area in which they are operating. ‘Clandestine support’ According to UN humanitarian envoy John Holmes, the LRA has scattered across 15,000 square miles (40,000 sq km) of dense forests and plains, five times the area they operated in before the offensive.

Tens of thousands have been displaced by the bloodshed

This includes parts of the Central African Republic. The border area is now heavily militarised -­ Congolese on one side and the Sudanese on the other. They are supported by two brigades of Ugandan troops, around 6,000 strong, which have helicopters at their disposal. But the government of this region believes the LRA is only able to continue its offensive with outside support. The deputy governor of the South Sudanese state of Western Equatoria, Col Joseph Ngere, told the BBC that in his view elements in the Sudanese government in Khartoum were supporting the LRA, as they had in the past. “He had Khartoum’s government support in the 1980s,” said Col Ngere. “And I think that continues.”

Kony changes the course of any discussion very rapidly, he is suspicious of everyone Col Joseph Ngere

“There are elements that still, clandestinely support the Kony movement. I don’t have evidence, but this is my belief.” What sort of man is Joseph Kony? Col Ngere was on the South Sudanese team negotiating with the LRA over nearly two years, and is one of only a handful of people who know the elusive rebel leader. “Kony is a cool person and looks like a normal human being,” Col Ngere said. “When you meet him there is nothing about him that makes you think he is a murderer.

South Sudan signed a peace deal with the North in 2005 after 22 years of war

“But his mind is destabilised. He is not consistent, and changes the course of any discussion very rapidly. He is suspicious of everyone. “Kony thinks that the strategy of killing civilians will put pressure on the government of South Sudan reopen peace talks. “He has much to gain from this strategy. During the talks Kony gets free food and money. His wives and children are transported from Uganda to come and see him. He gets recognition. That is what he wants.” The view that Khartoum’s hand is behind the LRA attacks is shared by many South Sudanese troops – an indication of the deep mistrust between North and South Sudan. The one force in the area that is not involved in this conflict is the United Nations Mission in Sudan (Unmis). Its mission is to support the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the North-South war. But the head of Southern Sudanese forces in Western Equatoria, Brig Gen Deng Rok Dit, is critical of the Unmis role. “Kony is a regional problem and an international problem. He is a terrorist,” says the brigadier. “Unmis is not helping us at all. They are not even giving us intelligence. Nothing.”

LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY ATTACKS DECEMBER 2007 – JANUARY 2009 Number of villages attacked: 74 Attacked once: 47 Attacked twice: 9 Attacked three times: 5 Attacked eight times: 1 (Duru)

Amid the tall grass where boys are playing football, the remains of destroyed brick houses still stand. These are the relics of a local five-year civil war in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that saw some 60,000 people lose their lives.

It was us that chose to fight along side him. We did so willingly, we were scared of him so we joined him Bahati

We are in the outskirts of Bunia, in Ituri district, and the hunting ground of former warlord Thomas Lubanga, the first person to stand trial at the International Criminal Court in the Hague (ICC). The boys playing football were all child combatants, operating under Mr Lubanga’s command. As head of the UPC – a militia made up of the Hema ethnic group – his ragtag army fought ethnic battles over gold and mining rights with the “rival” Lendu community. It was one of the bloodiest conflicts DR Congo has ever seen and more than 30,000 child soldiers were fighters during the war, taken on by all sides. Bahati, one of the boys kicking the ball, was just 11 when he was recruited by the rebels. He was given an Uzi machine gun and taught to fight. He rose through the ranks to become Mr Lubanga’s personal bodyguard. And he earned more then than he does now. It has kept him loyal.

“It wasn’t all bad. I could get money from vehicle checkpoints and free food, and I could get as many girls as I wanted,” he smiled. “But on the battlefield I saw friends die. I still have nightmares.” Like many other ex-combatants, Bahati has mixed views about whether his former master should stand trial. Five years on from when he was forced to fight, his priority is getting a job and something to eat. “He was very good to his militia, very disciplined,” Bahati says of Thomas Lubanga. “But it was us that chose to fight alongside him. We did so willingly, we were scared of him so we joined him.” Signal sent It is a logic that is a strong currency here, where survival often overshadows issues of justice.

Mongbwalu’s gold mines have attracted numerous armed groups

Yet in a country cursed by its mineral wealth, human rights groups warn that impunity will continue unless those who committed war crimes are held to account. That is why the proceedings of the ICC trial are being carried on national TV and relayed to people across Ituri, and why radio stations will be devoting their day’s coverage to the event. There are huge banners right across Bunia advertising the trial. But in the town of Mongbwalu, a key battleground for Mr Lubanga’s men, they will be digging for gold instead. The place is packed with gold mines – men armed with buckets and shovels dig in search of wealth. But unlike in wartime, when slave labour was rife, now they keep what they find. Few had any idea the former warlord was standing trial. Many seem not to care. But there is a strong sense that the ICC is only seeing one side of the coin. Certainly that is the view in the village of Saio, another flashpoint during the war. Many are angry here that DR Congo’s neighbours are not in the dock. Bakamba, one of the residents, feels Mr Lubanga should face up to his alleged crimes. “But what about Uganda and Rwanda, which at different times backed Congo’s various rebel groups, in exchange for a share of the wealth? No-one seems to be going after them,” he says.

So long as government rewards warlords and doesn’t punish them then impunity will continue Anneke Van Woudenberg Human Rights Watch

The ICC may face enormous constraints, but Anneke Van Woudenberg from Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the Lubanga trial is crucial. She backs the views of children’s charities who warn that the trial could have far-reaching implications for the use of child soldiers worldwide. “The work of the ICC is important because it sends the signal that this is coming to an end. “It will only try a handful of cases – it’s up to the Congolese justice system to try the rest – but it’s a start.” But she admits a lack of political will has hampered the judicial process. “So long as government rewards warlords and doesn’t punish them then impunity will continue.” Sipping coffee That point strikes a chord with many people in eastern DR Congo.

Bosco Ntaganda may have bought himself time by switching sides

Not least because another former warlord, indicted by the ICC, has reinvented himself as a peacemaker and is still at large. Despite arrest warrants being issued, he is sipping coffee at a hotel in the city of Goma. It is an extraordinary state of affairs. Bosco Ntaganda has been charged by the ICC with war crimes. He worked under Mr Lubanga – the man who is in the dock at the ICC – in Ituri. Now, he has switched sides and become the chief of staff of the Tutsi CNDP rebel group, active in a separate conflict further south which is still continuing. By agreeing in recent weeks to lend his troops to a huge military operation to bring peace to the troubled region, he seems to have bought himself more time. It is hard to dismiss the notion of a political deal. Peace will always come first, confessed a senior figure in the Congolese administration. That is why bringing alleged war criminals to trial, will demand time and political commitment.

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it, about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

Popular Posts

• Kwame still a busta.. regardless of what he does
• Dudus Ratted Out - Snitches and Bitches pullin Switches;
• TI - From the mouth of a BadBwoy
• Let the Cards fall where they may Mr. Holder
• RIP Mrs. Eunice Johnson - Fashion will never be the same without you mama