Rwandan rebel leader wanted by ICC for alleged war crimes arrested in France

A Rwandan rebel leader was arrested in France today on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last year.

The ICC, to which the situation in the DRC was referred by that country’s Government in 2004, said there are reasonable grounds to believe that Callixte Mbarushimana, the first senior leader arrested by the ICC for massive crimes in the DRC’s Kivu provinces, is criminally responsible for 11 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape, attacks against civilians, destruction of property, inhuman treatment and persecution.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo thanked France for a smooth and efficient operation, describing the arrest 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.

“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,” he said.

As late as this past August, Mr. Mbarushimana’s Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda – Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FDLR-FCA) was involved in the commission of more than 300 rapes in North Kivu province, yet he blatantly continued to refute any allegation against his movement, the ICC said in a news release.

Since 2007, the 47-year-old Rwandan, has been Executive Secretary of the FDLR-FCA, and committed the alleged crimes in both North and South Kivu in conflicts with the Congolese and Rwandan militaries, at a time when the DRC army was sometimes operating in conjunction with the United Nations mission there.

“This is a very important signal to all perpetrators in the DRC that crimes of sexual violence are not tolerated and that the international community is fully committed to bringing these individuals to justice,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Margot Wallström said in a statement.

After last week’s arrest by the UN mission (MONUSCO) and Congolese forces of ‘Lieutenant Colonel’ Mayele of the Mai Mai Cheka rebel group, alleged to have directed the rape of over 300 people in Walikale, North Kivu, in July and August, “we hope to finally see the beginning of the end of impunity for crimes of sexual violence in the DRC,” she added, thanking France for its swift cooperation.

The arrest is the result of almost two years of investigations by France, Germany, DRC, Rwanda and the ICC, into the activities of the FDLR, the most recent incarnation of Rwandan rebel groups established by Rwandan Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide of Tutsis and Hutu moderates in Rwanda.

Fleeing to the DRC, they regrouped, organized and launched attacks on Rwanda, with the goal of removing its new government through violence. “Their activities contributed to triggering the two Congo wars, 1996-2002, which resulted in an estimated 4 million victims, the largest number of civilian casualties since the Second World War,” the ICC said. “Since then, the FDLR has continued to commit horrific crimes against the civilian population.

“In 2009, the FDLR leadership decided to attack civilians in the North and South Kivu provinces in order to create a massive humanitarian catastrophe; the FDLR then tried to blackmail the international community and to extort concessions of political power, in exchange for ending the atrocities. As a result of this deadly blackmail, victims were killed, raped, and forcibly displaced, and entire villages were razed to the ground.”

Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said the arrest could be an opportunity to finally demobilize the group led by those responsible for the genocide. “Their leaders are gone. This is a good day for the victims. This is a good day for justice,” he added. “But there is still a lot to do to break the cycle of impunity in the DRC.

“Callixte Mbarushimana is in custody. But another commander sought by the ICC for massive crimes, Bosco Ntaganda, is still at large in Goma [North Kivu’s capital] and his forces roam the Kivus killing and raping. He must be next.”

Mr. Mbarushimana’s case is the fourth on atrocities in the DRC before the ICC.