French police on Monday arrested Callixte Mbarushimana, a Rwandan rebel leader who was wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Congo.

Callixte Mbarushimana is leader of the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) – a group of rebels who have been on a rampage in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The French authorities arrested him in Paris following a secret arrest warrant by the war crimes court in The Hague. The 47-year-old Rwandan has the status of political refugee and has lived in France for several years. A French court must decide on Mr Mbarushimana’s transfer to The Hague.

Sexual violence

Mbarushimana is charged with 11 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes including killings, rape, persecution based on gender and extensive destruction of property committed by the FDLR during most of 2009.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo thanked France for a smooth and efficient operation. He described the arrest of Mbarushimana as a "crucial step in efforts to prosecute the massive sexual crimes committed in the DRC" where over 15,000 cases of sexual violence were reported in 2009 alone.

As late as August 2010, the FDLR was involved in the commission of more than 300 rapes in DRC’s North Kivu province, yet Mbarushimana blatantly continued to refute any allegation against his movement, the ICC says.

Ignace Murwanashyaka

Mbarushimana is the third key FDLR commander under arrest. In November last year, the German authorities arrested FDLR leader Ignace Murwanashyaka and his aide Straton Musoni on charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation and bearing command responsibility for war crimes and crimes against community committed by the FDLR troops in eastern Congo. The investigation in Germany is progressing and the German federal prosecutor is expected to issue a charging document by the end of 2010.

Monday’s arrest comes after two years of investigations conducted by France, Germany, DRC, Rwanda and the ICC, into the activities of the FDLR "We are grateful to the French authorities for executing the arrest warrant and we are thankful for the excellent cooperation of the many parties involved in the investigation, including France, Germany, the DRC and Rwanda. This is a clear example of positive complementarity in action," Ocampo said.

The arrest  follows an incriminating United Nations report about a decade (1993-2003) of atrocities in the DRC in the fight over its mineral wealth and political control in the Great Lakes Region.

Atrocities in Kivu

Mbarushimana is the first senior leader arrested by the ICC for the massive crimes committed in the Kivu provinces of the DRC. The FDLR, a group calling itself a "liberation force" is the most recent incarnation of Rwandan rebel groups established by former génocidaires – Interahamwe militia men – who fled to DRC after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

From the jungles in the DRC, they regrouped, organised and launched attacks on Rwanda, with the goal of removing its new RPF government. Their activities contributed to triggering the two Congo wars between 1996 and 2002, which resulted in an estimated five million victims, the largest number of civilian casualties since the Second World War.

Since then, the FDLR has continued to commit horrific crimes against the civilian population.

Crucial arrest

London-based Human Rights Watch praised the latest arrest, calling it "crucial."

"This is a strong signal that abusive commanders can be brought to justice, no matter where they live," HRW’s Anneke van Woudenberg said.

Ocampo said it was "a good day for the victims." He warned that there is still a lot to do to break the cycle of impunity in the DRC. He further stressed the importance of the arrest of another commander sought by the ICC for massive crimes in the DRC, Bosco Ntaganda. The former rebel is still at large in Goma but his forces keep roaming the Kivus killing and raping. "He must be next," Ocampo said.

Mbarushimana is the fourth person to be brought before the ICC in relations to the situation in the DRC. The other persons on trial are Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, all in relation to crimes committed in the Ituri region of DRC.

Justice efforts

UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO, in a joint effort with Congolese forces (FARDC), last week captured another rebel, Lieutenant Colonel Mayele. Mayele led the Mai Mai Cheka militia a coalition of rebel groups in eastern Congo. He was named in a UN report accusing his men of an attack on the town of Luvungi between 30 July and 3 August, raping at least 303 people.

The UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO, the world’s largest UN peacekeeping mission, was criticised for failing to prevent the mass rape, which took place just 30 km from a UN base.

http://www.rnw.nl/international-justice/article/france-arrests-rwandan-icc-war-crimes-suspect