Gorilla Protection

This a major breakthrough. Honore Mashagiro has been arrested for allegedly masterminding the mass killing of Mountain Gorillas in June and July Last year. He was in a position of great responsibility, and allegedly used his authority to promote the destruction of forest for charcoal to make money. This threatened the gorilla habitat, so when the rangers tried to protect the forest, he allegedly orchestrated the gorilla massacres to discourage them. Many of you will remember those terrible days when we discovered the burned remains of Safari, and the the bodies of the rest of the Rugendo family, including Senkwekwe, the silverback.

Senkekwe, shortly after the Massacre in July last year

The charges against Mashagiro were brought against him by the state, through ICCN, the wildlife authority, and is testimony that the rule of law can be brought into effect, even when it concerns powerful people. It is definitely a moment of hope for all of us, but obviously we await the outcome of a trial before saying any more.

Results like this take time, but it is so important never to give up. We don’t yet have all the details, but will update you in the coming days.

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This is Emmanuel. I’ve copied an extract from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report on the political and humanitarian situation in the area in which we work. OCHA do a fantastic job at keeping all of us informed on the wider political situation.  Infact, we collaborated with them in December and January on how to best supply the Refugee camps (called Internally Displaced Peoples’ Camps - IDPs) with fuelwood and charcoal.

Long ago, like many other conservationists like us in eastern Congo, we switched from being biologists to being political analysts and negotiators. We did this out of necessity because that is what conservation has become in such turbulant times. The animals can look after themselves if you leave them alone - it’s the human context that needs attention. So reports and feedback from organisations like OCHA are a lifeline if we are to understand the turmoil in which we operate.

I’ve copied this one in because there are a few developments that may prove to be important in determining the success of our efforts in Virunga. Some are positive. Others are very worrying. My comments are in brackets in italics

SECURITY AND POLITICAL CONTEXT

• Thanks to the national and international facilitation the CNDP and the Mayi Mayi returned in the Goma Peace Process. On 8-9 March all the signatories of the “Actes d’engagement” and the facilitators met in Goma to settle the Mixed Technical Commission on Peace and Security.

(CNDP is Laurent Nkunda’s movement. They are more centrally organised, so they are capable of making decisions. It’s an important step that they are re-engaging in the peace process, although there is still a very long way to go. And, as experience has shown, militias don’t always stick to a peace agreement, especially as there are some insurmountable obstacles to overcome, namely the disarmament issue (Nkunda’s men do not want to disarm without guarantees for the safety of their kin), and reintegration into the national army (Nkunda’s men will never leave their homeland in North Kivu).

• Clashes between FDLR and CNDP, as well as between FDLR and Mayi-Mayi were reported north of Bunagana in Rutshuru territory.

• Fighting between FDLR and PARECO were reported in Kashebere (20 km west Masisi). Rivalry about area control would be the cause of these clashes.

• Reports of fighting between FDLR and PARECO in Luofu region (south Lubero) on 10 March.

(this fighting is further west, and doesn’t directly affect the gorilla sector, but shows how widespread the conflict has become, making it increasingly difficult to come to a quick settlement - the longer it lasts and the more it spreads, the harder it will be to resolve. Unfortunately there are no real winners in this war. Everyone loses, but some lose more than others, especially the poor and the vulnerable).

• No security incidents towards humanitarian workers were reported this week. However, humanitarian partners are still confronted to governmental administrative bothersome, as well as to road barriers and illegal taxes that slow down their activities.

(I hope that’s not our Charcoal road barriers that they’re referring to!!)

(the following is a sobering reading on the suffering of the people of North Kivu. Many of them still live in internally displaced camps in the most attrocious conditions. Our efforts to provide fuelwood and charcoal was a small gesture, but the scale of the suffering is overwhelming)

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
Alarming situations / Early warning

• Protection – Sexual violence: an alarming number of sexual violence victims is reported in itchanga area (east Masisi). Since beginning of 2008 more than 350 cases were notified and taken in harge by a local and an international NGO in this locality. An average of 15 new cases per day is reported. An urgent sensitization for the struggle against sexual violence has to be run in this area.

• Protection – Exactions: while the security in the Masisi area IDPs sites is relatively good, securityround the sites has to be improved. The majority of IDPs in this area leave theirs sites during the day to work in the fields around where they are exposed to exactions from armed groups as well as from ivilians. UNHCR and OCHA in Masisi advocated with MONUC for an increase in the number of foot atrols in this area.

• Health – Child mortality rate: a very preoccupying child mortality rate is reported in the Masisi hospital due to a poor quality of health services. The INGO working in the area is helping governmental health staff to improve the quality of services. 13 deaths were notified in the nutritional centre and 10 other in the paediatric service in February.

• Health – Cholera: while the cholera situation in Rutshuru town clearly improved (more than 100 cases eported from 18-24 February and only 8 the week after), the number of cases in three IDPS camps north Rutshuru are not decreasing. About 25 cases per week are notified and taken care by INGO MERLIN. The Goma IDPs camps are also facing an alarming number of cholera cases. Lacks of jerrycans and soaps are reported to be one of the main causes of this situation.

• Food security: due to the suspension of WFP distribution (except for nutritional programmes) in Rutshuru territory as well as in the Kitchanga-Kirolirwe area (Masisi territory) further to the security incidents the UN Agency faced in both localities, lack of food is damagingly felt by IDPs. A WFP food assessment should be done next week in both localities of Kitchanga and Kirolirwe in order to resume food distribution.

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