There have been terrible stories in the media about the treatment of women in Congo, including mass rapes.
You are in an area under CNDP control. Ask in the hospitals here. I cannot believe that women are raped here and then going to be treated in Goma or Bukavu [under FARDC control]. But if you go to Goma or Bukavu, you will see hospitals full of women who have been raped.
Also, the allegations that we have carried out brutal massacres are not true. They say that we massacre Hutu tribes. But the executive secretary of CNDP is a Hutu. In my area, 60 or 70 percent of people are Hutu. People say I used these soldiers to kill Hutu. This does not make sense.
What happened at Kiwanja?
Kiwanja was liberated by the CNDP on October 28, 2008. We were there for one week without any killing, any rape, any looting. One week later the government, along with Mai Mai [a pro-government militia], attacked Kiwanja and occupied it for 24 hours. My forces withdrew. And in those 24 hours, 74 people were killed.
The governor of Goma announced that there had been massacres in Kiwanja. When I heard this, I called my guys on the ground and said, “Who is doing this?” They said they did not know, that they were in Rutshuru. We went back to Kiwanja 24 hours later, and some people were killed in the crossfire. This happened because the Mai Mai do not know how to shoot; and they were shooting while they were retreating. The Hutu community in Rutshuru wrote a letter about this, saying they were not killed by CNDP. We can bring you to Kiwanja. You can meet the president of the Hutu community. He will confirm what I am telling you. The same scenario unfolded in Goma. When we were around Goma, my intelligence services informed me of a FARDC plan to kill people in Goma and to pin the blame on the CNDP. One of them was present at the meeting where this was planned. That is why I told my guys not to enter Goma.
I told MONUC [the UN mission in Congo] that I was going to withdraw from Goma for 12 Kilometres. That night, 64 people were killed. FARDC did not know that we had pulled back.
The other charge against you is that you ordered the destruction of refugee camps.
There were internally displaced people in Kiwanja. I went to the camp and I told the people: there are no houses here. You are in the rain. Please go back to your homes. I will take charge of your security. The following morning, I was accused of forcing people to leave. But I was asking people to go to their homes! And I was taking charge of their security, because MONUC was unable to do so. This is a crime? The journalists are not telling the story. Go to Rutshuru. You will find 90 percent of people in their houses. Compare the life of the people in CNDP territory with the life of those in the camps around Goma. Here, they are cultivating, they are in their homes. In the camps, every week about 100 people die from diseases. So who is the criminal? The one keeping people away from their homes or the one who brought them back home?
Can you explain the military ethic of your soldiers?
We have a military code of conduct – I can give you a copy. When we began this fight, I said to my guys, either we are fighting for what is right, or we will not do it. Rape will be punished by firing squad. And two weeks ago two officers were executed for this. They were drunk on the local beer, did not control themselves and raped. Looting by use of arms is also punishable by death. These are strong measures, I know.
Some people call this a war for minerals. Is it?
How can you fight for your own minerals? [Laughs] If this were about minerals, I would not be here.
What are the western interests here in Congo?
Minerals are being exploited by China, by Belgium, by South Africa and others. The Congolese people have never benefited from their own resources. You can see it for yourself, how can a country as rich as Congo be this way? There are no salaries, no roads, no infrastructure. It’s not a matter of these countries coming to exploit Congo, it’s a matter of the contracts our leadership arranges with them.
Have you spoken to Alan Doss [head of MONUC]?
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