YOU GOT IT WRONG MR. SECRETARY-GENERAL: TYRANNY IS THE GREATEST PEACETIME CHALLENGE IN UN HISTORY

Dear Mr. Secretary-General,

You got it wrong this time. Diseases have come and gone in human history, some on their own while others successfully tackled by bright scientists. However, the world has failed to apply the basic tool to eradicate tyranny, especially in Africa: quarantine those mad men I have often degraded as the "mad basenjis of Africa" or "little devils in human shape" or "little devils coated in human skin" who continue to violate human rights and pose a serious and constant threat to the mental health, public health, and public safety of hundreds of millions of Africans. From Kigali, Kampala, etc., those mad basenjis are not ready to relinquish power and there's a reason behind it: they fear the International Criminal Court.  

While it's important for the UN to focus on that disease, the United Nations must invest resources to wipe out tyranny in Africa. Steps may include member-nations boycotting speeches by African dictators, limiting access to international funds for countries run by dictators, and promoting democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.

Again and again, tyranny has proven to be the greatest challenge in human history. Let's give scientists the means they need and let's focus on the real threat to human race: tyranny.

P.S. I originally published this comment on 9/23/2014 @ the Foreign Policy Magazine http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/09/19/who_head_ebola_greatest_peacetime_challenge_in_un_history

P.S. II: People are listening. Check out this Washington Post link:

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/president-obama-embraces-democracy-promotion-once-again/2014/09/24/88e84d8c-4403-11e4-b47c-f5889e061e5f_story.html?hpid=z4

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE OTHER EBOLA: THE EBOLA OF TYRANNY IN AFRICA

The Ebola of dictatorship has ravaged Africa for over 50 years, from the time Africans gained independence. That Ebola has killed millions over the years. Just think of more than 5,000,000 Congolese who died of preventable diseases since the two unnameable little devils in human shape who rule over Rwanda and Uganda sent troops to loot the Congo and rape its women. No question: that Ebola is both deadlier and scarier. I have spent several years telling the world that dictators are a real threat to world security and that humanity must design comprehensive strategies  to eradicate all forms of tyranny. 

The other Ebola has also mutated since the time of Idi Amin Dada, Habyarimana, Mobutu, etc. Dictators have shed their skins and have become dictocrats, meaning dictators fraudulently elected through pseudo-democracy. They still represent a threat to public safety, public health, and mental health of hundreds of millions of Africans who've been reduced to silence, unable to speak up their mind to preserve their lives, unable to live decent lives. They change their countries' constitutions to remain on power and escape trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for all the crimes they have committed. 

It is time to help Africans get rid of the other Ebola, the Ebola of dictatorship and corruption. That virus is a serious threat  to lives of millions of Africans, who, like rest of the world, long for dignity and respect for human lives. 

P.S I published this comment on 9/9/2014 at the Foreign Policy Magazine: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/09/05/we_could_have_stopped_this_ebola_virus_world_health_organization

 

RECENT EXECUTIVE ORDER ON THE DRC FROM THE WHITE HOUSE

As a law enforcement scholar and a Criminal Justice college professor, I applaud the Government of the United States in this pulling-levers initiative. We all know that a relatively small number of political and military leaders in Rwanda and Uganda (and to some extent Burundi) have been responsible for a disproportionate number of crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 17 years, including the death of over 5,000,000 Congolese. The United Nations have issued tons of reports on those crime against humanity.

There is no need for a magnifier, in other words this is no brainer to identify by names those individuals targeted in the lines of this Executive Order.  The message conveyed is no different from the way we deal with hardcore criminals. We send a direct and explicit message telling them we know who they are, their modus operandi (and for those dictators, where they have put their illegal monies). We make it clear that if they persist in their animalistic and antisocial behavior they will be subject to certain and swift punishment. If they stop their criminal behavior, then we can provide them with some sorts of social services (including food) or extend for a short while the international welfare program funded by compassionate foreign taxpayers.

Those stupid wars in the Congo MUST stop now. Those responsible for crimes against humanity in the Congo must respond before the civilized world.

Text of the Executive Order:

For Immediate Release

July 08, 2014

Executive Order -- Regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo

EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

TAKING ADDITIONAL STEPS TO ADDRESS THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE CONFLICT IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act

(50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, in order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency with respect to the situation in or in relation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared in Executive Order 13413 of October 27, 2006, in view of multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions including, most recently, Resolution 2136 of January 30, 2014, and in light of the continuation of activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the surrounding region, including operations by armed groups, widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, obstruction of humanitarian operations, and exploitation of natural resources to finance persons engaged in these activities, hereby order:

Section 1.  Subsection (a) of section 1 of Executive Order 13413 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(a)  All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in:

(i) the persons listed in the Annex to this order; and

(ii) any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(A) to be a political or military leader of a foreign armed group operating in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo that impedes the disarmament, demobilization, voluntary repatriation, resettlement, or reintegration of combatants;

(B) to be a political or military leader of a Congolese armed group that impedes the disarmament, demobilization, voluntary repatriation, resettlement, or reintegration of combatants;

(C) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, any of the following in or in relation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

(1) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

(2) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

(3) the targeting of women, children, or any civilians through the commission of acts of violence (including killing, maiming, torture, or rape or other sexual violence), abduction, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or through conduct that would constitute a serious abuse or violation of human rights or a violation of international humanitarian law;

(4) the use or recruitment of children by armed groups or armed forces in the context of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

(5) the obstruction of the delivery or distribution of, or access to, humanitarian assistance;

(6) attacks against United Nations missions, international security presences, or other peacekeeping operations; or

(7) support to persons, including armed groups, involved in activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo or that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, through the illicit trade in natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

(D) except where intended for the authorized support of humanitarian activities or the authorized use by or support of peacekeeping, international, or government forces, to have directly or indirectly supplied, sold, or transferred to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or been the recipient in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of, arms and related materiel, including military aircraft and equipment, or advice, training, or assistance, including financing and financial assistance, related to military activities;

(E) to be a leader of (i) an entity, including any armed group, that has, or whose members have, engaged in any of the activities described in subsections (a)(ii)(A) through (a)(ii)(D) of this section or (ii) an entity whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;

(F) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of (i) any of the activities described in subsections (a)(ii)(A) through (a)(ii)(D) of this section or (ii) any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or

(G) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order."

Sec. 2.  New subsection (d) is hereby added to section 1 of Executive Order 13413 to read as follows:

"(d)  The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the effective date of this order."

Sec. 3.  Section 2 of Executive Order 13413 is hereby amended to read as follows:

 "Sec. 2.  (a)  Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b)  Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited."

Sec. 4.  The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the UNPA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order and Executive Order 13413, as amended by this order.  The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with applicable law.

Sec. 5.  All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order and Executive Order 13413, as amended by this order.

Sec. 6.  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

BARACK OBAMA

 

Recent Executive Order on the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Other links to identify some of the individuals targeted by this Executive Order:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/794496.stm

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/16/world/rwanda-and-uganda-battling-to-control-key-city-in-congo.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/11/28/f-vp-macinnes-rae-congo.html?cmp=rss

http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2012/843
www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/CD/DRC_MAPPING_REPORT_FINAL_EN.pdf (This is a United Nations report documenting crimes committed by the leaders of Rwanda and Uganda and others in the D.R. Congo between 1993 and 2003)

This comment was also posted on the Foreign Policy Magazine at:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/07/10/will_congos_rebels_finally_come_in_from_the_cold_fdlr_m23

NEW CONGO DEFENSE ARCHITECTURE: ELECTRIC D FENCE + UN COMBAT FORCE + FOL BASES + DRONES

I’ve repeated it several times: to end those stupid wars in eastern Congo, the supply chain for bloody minerals from the Congo (coltan, diamonds, gold, tin, etc.) and other goods (coffee, tea, timber, etc.) must be disrupted at all cost. Once full disruption is achieved, it will preserve the lives of millions of Congolese, who have suffered at the hands of the armies of Rwanda and Uganda and the rebels these two countries have sponsored for two decades in eastern Congo. I understand much will come out from The Hague when Bosco Ntaganda finally decides to sing…

I congratulate the governments of Tanzania and Mozambique for joining the combat brigade to put a closure to the suffering in eastern Congo. I urge the South African government to learn from its mistakes in Bangui and to carry out its military intervention in eastern DRC with no strings attached, I mean with no economic gain in mind to fund the ANC and its caciques.

As the UN combat force disarms and destroys rebel groups in the DRC, the construction of the Electric D-Fence must proceed until the Congo borders with Rwanda and Uganda are completely sealed off. On the other hand, the military bases at Kamina and Kisangani shall be used for drone reconnaissance flights and for UN military planes and helicopters to engage those criminals in uniform also known as rebels. They will also serve as forward-location bases (FOL) to track, ground, or gun down any plane illegally landing or taking off from eastern DRC.

Any decent human being will agree with me that the choir at the United Nations International Criminal Court will not be complete until all those M-23 leaders and their Rwanda-and-Uganda backers are arrested and brought to justice. The UN combat force shall also be tasked with searching and arresting those criminals. It is a shared understanding among decent human beings worldwide that African “Hitlers”, also known as African dictators and tyrants, are a threat to world peace and security. Therefore, it is a moral obligation of the civilized world to eradicate tyranny from East Africa and Central Africa to preserve the human species that still dwell in that part of the world.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21972193

 

 

SMART BORDERS FOR EASTERN CONGO: WHY CONGO NEEDS AN ELECTRIC D-FENCE

Some would roll their eyes because they care more about the last mountain gorillas in eastern Congo and less about the millions of human beings who daily see hordes of criminals in uniform cross the border from Rwanda and Uganda to rape and kill Congolese and loot Congo’s natural resources. Now, I must put it straightforward: Congo needs an electric D-fence on the east for homeland security purposes as long as those who sponsor atrocities in eastern Congo remain on power in Rwanda and Uganda.

This is no rocket science here. Many developed countries still use them nowadays to protect their lands against the invasion of illegal workers and terrorists. So, doesn’t it make more sense for the Congo to have such a deterrent tool to protect its civilian population against atrocities committed by the Rwandan and Ugandan armies and their sponsored rebel groups inside the Congo?

What are other advantages of a Congo D-Fence? (1) It will cut the supply of troops, weapons, and ammunition from Rwanda and Uganda; (2) It will cripple the economies of Rwanda and Uganda, which are based, to some extent, on the looting of Congo’s natural resources via those childish and stupid wars; (3) It will force the international community to be proactively engaged in protecting the lives of millions of human lives in eastern Congo and punish those responsible of atrocities against human dignity.

As I stated earlier, this is a temporary fix to the problem in eastern Congo until the exogenous root cause of violence in eastern Congo has been removed. In the meantime, any trade with Rwanda and Uganda would be through lakes. Again, for those who still don’t get it: Congo does not exist to bail out the economies of Rwanda and Uganda, PERIOD.

Congo’s D-Fence shall be modeled after the border security fence along the Israel-Egypt border (see below). There will be only three differences:  (1) a double fence; (2) besides barbed wire, surveillance cameras, and radar, sound devices will be used to ward off animals such as those mountain gorillas and other species the rest of the world seems to care much more about than about human lives; (3) instead of bare soil (below), we've got abundant vegetation in eastern Congo.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/2013/03/18/villagers-say-rwandan-troops-crossed-into-congo/BqHvLDBzhF0QMQSBYdDNNP/story.html

 

DICTATORSHIP IN UGANDA, RWANDA, BURUNDI, AND THE CONGO: THE PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE # 1

I have repeated it many times on this blog, on the Foreign Policy Magazine, and other forums: dictators, including African Hitlers are a real threat to world security. At this point, only the most stubborn dummies in foreign policy will cling to the myths of useful dictators, benevolent dictators, or needed dictators.

Take the case of Kagame and Museveni, the dictators of Rwanda and Uganda. It has been well documented that not only have these African Hitlers looted minerals and other riches of the Congo in the last 17 years, but they are directly responsible for the death of over 4,000,000 Congolese through direct invasion of the Congo and the material support of criminals in uniform, a.k.a. rebels inside the Congo during the same period of time. Don't those stupid wars sponsored by Rwanda and Uganda in the Congo create a public safety issue for the Congolese? Again, only those who never passed Foreign Policy 101 would think that the Rwanda-and-Uganda backed wars in the Congo have created safe haven for the Congolese! Unfortunately, such stubborn dummies are still found around the world!

I have advocated for a comprehensive solution to the dictatorship problem in Africa's Great Lakes region, and I am pleased that the international community is slowly waking up to face the crude reality of tyranny in this part of the world. There is no decent human being in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the DRC who is happy with dictatorship in those countries. Only corrupt, immoral, and fossilized minds endorse dictatorships and see them as the solution to human struggle for decent living and full realization of human potential.

Dictatorship does not provide room for accountability. Dictators and tyrants are free to loot, kill, and violate national laws, and even international laws as in the case of Kagame's and Museveni's killings and lootings in the Congo. This public safety issue must be addressed urgently. The comprehensive solution to the tyranny problem in the Great Lakes region will require foreign donors to use wisdom in how foreign taxpayers' monies are spent. Therefore, I've always endorsed any intitiative aimed at stopping the flow of monies and other monetarizable resources to countries run by dictators. If the international community is seriously interested in ending tyranny in the Great Lakes region and eliminating the specific public safety risk posed by African Hitlers, now is the time for effective financial sanctions against tyrants. Otherwise, African dictators will continue to prey on their own people and on foreign taxpayers.

BREAKING A VICIOUS PATTERN OF VIOLENCE IN AFRICA'S GREAT LAKES REGION

Foreign Affairs 101 Quiz 1: What do Paul Kagame, Yoweri Museveni, and Joseph Kabila have in common? They’re all former armed rebels turned statesmen and dictators! It is that vicious pattern of rebels turning into statesmen that must be terminated in the Great Lakes region and Central Africa! This is the most urgent public safety concern to be addressed.

Foreign Affairs 101 Quiz 2: What do M23 and other DRC rebel leaders seek? Answer: statesmanship.

Foreign Affairs 101 Quiz 3: What do Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Uganda”s Yoweri Museveni seek through their DRC proxies, a.k.a rebels? Continue to plunder Congo’s natural resources (coltan, diamonds, gold, tin, coffee, tea, timber, etc.) and kill any Congolese who oppose them.

Foreign Affairs 101 Quiz 4: How about a power-sharing agreement between Joseph Kabila and M23? We’ve seen that before; it means bringing more criminals in uniform to Kinshasa remotely controlled by Rwanda and Uganda, a public safety issue! They would add to the existing bands of criminals, mostly thieves, already in Kinshasa!

On December 15, 2012, I wrote on this blog:

“Imagine telling the cops to walk their beats and not to intervene as long as the criminals do not endanger people's lives. This equates to giving the green light or carte blanche to criminals to commit all types of crimes and walk free as long as they do not cause any wound to the civilian population. It is like telling them that they can steal, loot, enslave, rape, and do all unimaginable atrocities provided they do not cause any wound to their victims! Unfortunately, this has been the mandate the United Nations gave to its largest mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo! In the DRC, those criminals are the Rwanda-and-Uganda backed rebels whose atrocities have been well documented and publicized enough in recent months throughout the world.

As a criminologist and law enforcement expert, I strongly believe that any United Nations military or paramilitary force must be tasked with enforcing international law through the use of all tools to force belligerent groups to comply with civilized codes of conduct. Therefore, I urge the United Nations to strengthen its 19,000 troops in the Congo so that they can respond with fire any time criminals in uniform, also known as rebels and their foreign backers, violate decent norms of conduct (…)"

Foreign Affairs 101 Quiz 5: What has the United Nations come up with on January 25, 2013?

Answer from Reuters: “U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will recommend to the U.N. Security Council that a peace enforcement unit be deployed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to take on the M23 rebels and other armed groups, a senior U.N. official said on Friday.

The intervention unit of a few thousand troops would aim to prevent armed groups from expanding territory in the resource-rich region by overpowering and disarming them. The unit would be contained within the existing U.N. force, known as MONUSCO.

"It is not simply peacekeeping, this is peace enforcement. It's a much more robust stance," said the official, who declined to be named. "It will be a deterrent against the armed groups..."

http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE90O16I20130125?sp=true

NOW IT SEEMS THAT WORLD AFFAIRS KEY PLAYERS HAVE GOTTEN THE MESSAGE!