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So back to the initial question: Can a neutral force save the Kivus? Perhaps, although it would be a further militarization of an already militarized approach to the conflict in the region. But more to the point, it is far from sure than such a force will ever materialize. |
Sunday, July 15, 2012 |
Monday, July 9, 2012 |
Guest blog: So how do we help the Congo? |
This is a guest post in response to my recent blog titled "So how do we help the Congo?" It is co-authored by Pieter Vanholder, the national director of the Life and Peace Institute in the Congo, along with Deo Buuma, the executive secretary of Action pour la Paix et la Concorde (APC). |
Le travail en RD Congo du Life & Peace Institute (LPI) et de ses partenaires, tels qu'Action pour la Paix et la Concorde (APC), a été assez largement commenté à l'occasion de la publication d'un Op-Ed de la politiste Séverine Autesserre paru dans le New York Times et l'International Herald Tribune datés du 22 juin – ch... |
Actions locales mais diagnostic global |
Premièrement, il nous paraît important de différencier le travail d'identification des « causes du conflit » et le niveau d'action choisi par les ONG de transformation de conflit. Nous pensons qu'il est possible d'« agir localement » avec les communautés des Nord et Sud-Kivu mais de « penser globalement », c'est-à-dire... |
Séverine Autesserre a mis en avant les dimensions locales de l'action de LPI et APC (bien qu'il ne s'agisse pas du seul aspect de notre travail, cf. infra), en particulier l'enquête de terrain comprenant près de 800 entretiens dans 18 localités qui a permis de documenter la question des conflits fonciers et des dynamiq... |
Une part très importante de notre travail se fait donc auprès d'éleveurs, agriculteurs, petits propriétaires terriens, paysans sans terres, femmes des zones rurales, chefs coutumiers ou encore réfugiés (en somme, le « track 3 » identifié par le théoricien John-Paul Lederach), sur des thématiques et dynamiques principa... |
Pour preuve, cette courte analyse de contexte extraite d'une communication présentée début avril dernier par LPI lors d'un panel à l'International Studies Association Annual Convention (version non définitive). La question foncière y est identifiée comme un facteur structurel parmi d'autres : |
« The main structural factor explaining the Congolese conflict is the generalised system of political patronage that the DRC has inherited from the pre-colonial period, which was exacerbated during the colonial period and is still reinforced with the lack of democratic process since the independence period. (…) |
With this specific organisation of political power in DRC comes a series of other structural factors, such as the ethnic aspect of competitive politics, which empties much of the democratic process of any real debate or exchange of ideas in favour of simply promoting members of its own community. The manipulatio... |
Another structural factor, linked to the above elements, concerns the problem of land across the country and more precisely the duality, if not opposition, between the modern official legal system and its traditional, but often un-official, counterpart. This duality in standards of land management has created a ... |
A final structural factor that mainly arises from the legacy of the above-described system of governance is the general deterioration of the national and regional political system since the 1960’s. This deterioration is primarily characterised by violent and reoccurring ethnically defined conflicts in the Great ... |
Next to these structural factors, several secondary causes to the conflict can be identified, such as the presence of a multitude of national and international armed groups, the enormous mineral wealth in DRC, a series of unsuccessful military attempts to solve the conflict, the presence of a large amount of cou... |
LPI et APC ont donc effectivement choisi les communautés comme un des « points d'entrée » possible dans le processus de transformation des conflits de l'Est du Congo : en misant sur les acteurs de la société civile congolaise, nous espérons atteindre également, sous certaines conditions, une partie plus large de la soc... |
La deuxième précision que nous souhaitions apporter concerne la place de ces actions locales dans le travail de LPI. L'accent mis par S. Autesserre et J. Stearns sur le caractère très local de l'approche développée par LPI et APC (résumé sous l'étiquette « local reconciliation work ») ne doit pas occulter une autre par... |
Au-delà de l'approche communautaire |
Recherche après recherche, LPI constate que les questions traitées dans les cadres de dialogue et de concertation soutenus par l'Institut ont des ressorts sous-régionaux. Pour ne citer que deux exemples : la question de la transhumance bovine à Fizi et Uvira, citée en exemple par S. Autesserre, ne saurait être comprise... |
C'est notamment pour cette raison que LPI, dans son travail d'accompagnement technique et financier, encourage ses partenaires à identifier et travailler avec les « acteurs délocalisés » dans toutes leurs recherches : politiciens, militaires, réfugiés, opérateurs économiques, membres de la société civile, députés ou en... |
Nous pensons que ce travail peut encore être rendu plus efficace s'il se double d'une stratégie efficace de plaidoyer à destination de ces acteurs nationaux et internationaux. C'est la raison pour laquelle LPI compte ouvrir avant la fin 2012 une antenne à Kinshasa. À travers elle, nous espérons un rapprochement avec le... |
Reste la question des groupes armés. J. Stearns souligne à juste titre comment l'approche de transformation de conflit « par la base » est limitée au fur et à mesure que les groupes armés s'autonomisent des revendications de leurs milieux d'appartenance, si besoin, en s'insérant dans des réseaux économiques et politiqu... |
LPI a débuté ce travail dès 2003 avec la publication d'un travail de recherche d'Hélène Morvan sur la cohabitation des populations civiles avec les combattants maï-mai dans la région de Bunyakiri (rapport disponible au téléchargement ici). La démarche a été poursuivie en 2007-2008 à travers la recherche-action-particip... |
La recherche sur Fizi et Uvira se focalisait également en grande partie sur le phénomène des groupes armés – d'où le titre de l'ouvrage auquel elle a donné lieu : "Au-delà des groupes armés : conflits locaux et connexions sous-régionales. L'exemple de Fizi et Uvira (Sud-Kivu)". Elle a conduit les chercheurs de LPI et s... |
Acteurs politiques nationaux et internationaux, leaders de groupes armés : on le voit, même si LPI et ses partenaires, dont APC, ne prétendent pas maîtriser parfaitement les complexes jeux et enjeux politiques, économiques et militaires à l'échelle de la sous-région, notre travail n'entend pas se réduire au dialogue in... |
En somme, nous pensons que comprendre les dynamiques locales de violences ne doit pas conduire à ignorer qu'une partie du décor est planté par d'autres – un « cadre imposé » par un certain nombre de politiciens, diplomates, législateurs, businessmen. Mais nous pensons également qu'à l'inverse, examiner le cadre posé pa... |
M23 beats a tactical retreat, troubles in Goma |
[Blogging will be slow this week, as I am teaching in Bujumbura.] |
As readers will know, a lot has happened in recent days. M23 launched a major offensive, taking the strategic border town of Bunagana, as well as Rutshuru, the territorial capital. This advance was an embarrassment for the Congolese army, as 600 of their soldiers fled to Uganda and their commander of the military regio... |
Mayala, along with another senior Congolese officer, is now reported to be on his way out after over six years as the head of the military region. The Congolese government, meanwhile, has repeated its accusation of Rwandan involvement in M23, saying that whole battalions of Rwandan troops took place this offensive. |
Now, the M23 has beat a tactical retreat from the towns it captured, in some places reportedly leaving police forces loyal to them behind. One of their officers told me that this was because some Congolese officers were trying to organize a massacre of the local population there and stick them with the blame; the army ... |
In Goma, in the meantime, fear and anger spread as people worried about a possible attack on town. In a few places this resulted in xenophobic outpourings. A group of youths at the Université de Goma began attacking Tutsi students, throwing stones at them and calling them names. Police reportedly had to intervene and e... |
The M23 has accused Governor Julien Paluku of being behind this; the victimization of Tutsi has been one of their main justifications for leaving the army and starting a new rebellion. Governor Paluku's people have retorted that M23 is cynically paying people to harass Tutsi, so as to have a pretext for their rebellion... |
Sunday, July 1, 2012 |
Fact-checking the M23 rebellion |
Life or Art? |
Two local bands put divergent spins on their metal theater |
Few bands have the support cushions to fall back on that Opiate does. They are managed by Bob Chiappardi, president and founder of Concrete Marketing, who has worked with artists such as Linkin Park, Staind, and Papa Roach. Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Charles Clouser has co-produced Opiate's recordings, which in turn h... |
"We were all so young," says Mallin. "Right out of high school, when we decided to join together from several other bands, we talked to our parents and told them this is what we wanted to do and this is what we need to do it. And they've been super." In a short span of time, the group quickly got the knack of generatin... |
Kaufman's father owned some real estate at Seventh Street and Van Buren and allowed the fledgling band to rehearse in an unused building near what used to be Union Hall. When a dot-com company had an idea to renovate that old venue into the Web Theater, their day-to-day proximity to the Opiate guys led them to become f... |
Eddie Kelly of BLESSEDBETHYNAME and a friend in darkness. |
Emily Piraino |
Eddie Kelly of BLESSEDBETHYNAME and a friend in darkness. |
"So it's apparently not our turn": Opiate holds out for a break. |
Mark Weiss |
Kaufman gives due credit to their friends from the performing arts world. "All the fire-breathers, dancers, human suspension artists, people on stilts, strippers, those people are all our friends, and combined with the facilities at the Web, it helped make our show seem like a huge lavish production." |
In 2000, the guys assembled songs on Pro Tools that became the self-released New Machines and the Wasted Life and enlisted bassist Ryan Head in time for their first live shows. Made without any preconceived notions of what the industry might like to hear from young mad lads, the album featured a zany vocal delivery fro... |
Far from being offended, a few well-placed people with neckties loved the sounds Opiate made with its new machines and teamed them up with producer Ed Stasium for three tracks, which made up the balance of the Seven EP the band sold at shows and over the Internet. In time, Epic, Atlantic, DreamWorks, Columbia and WindU... |
It's Monday night rehearsal in Opiate's new rehearsal digs, an industrial park on the Tempe/Mesa border. It's an idyllic setup – a former recording studio with a makeshift loft above a control room where Underwood sleeps nightly. It's also loud as hell. |
Tonight's run-through of the set mostly consists of the tracks featured on the group's recent Goodbye EP, which includes remixes by Clouser and some killer new tunes, like "The Carried," which opens with backward hi-hats and kicks in with "Sweet Emotion"-style authority. Underwood's baritone has doubly expanded in rang... |
When it's over, Kaufman complains that "it sounds like shit because our sound guy isn't here." It's hard to know if he's serious. If BLESSEDBETHYNAME seems like a one-man Behind the Music special, then Opiate for the Masses is tortured-artist music without the torture. Each band member has more gear in his corner of th... |
"Bands like us and BLESSEDBETHYNAME, I don't think we sound like industrial bands. We've got a lot of aspects of metal and industrial in our band, which a lot of people feel is a past trend, which might resurface some other time," says Kaufman. "Right now a lot of other types of retro bands are showing up at the top of... |
"So it's apparently not our turn." |
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Remembering: 1. Remembering |
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1. Remembering |
The windows faced west, toward Minas Tirith. Which was well and good, except that it meant no morning sunlight to roust a sleeper out of bed. Over the years Faramir had become accustomed to waking without benefit of the sun to aid him. Éowyn always woke with the dawn whether she saw the light or no. Usually she nudged ... |
He swung his legs off the bed and walked over to throw open the shutters, the stone floor cool on his feet. The sky was lightening to a cloudless blue and it looked to be a glorious day. Abruptly Faramir decided that he would hurry through his duties this morning, putting some matters off until tomorrow, and take the a... |
Shortly before midday he was in the stables, swinging up into the saddle, with a parcel of bread and cheese and a wineskin slung across his back. He rode through the Emyn Arnen and down into the flatter lands edging the Anduin. The sun was warm on his head and he stopped to eat his nooning on a rise of ground, under a ... |
Faramir leaned back comfortably against the trunk of the tree, remembering. The land then had been fair but wild, under threat from the east, and it was the Pelennor across the Anduin which had supplied Minas Tirith with her grain and other crops. He remembered going berrying with his brother Boromir in the thickets ne... |
One memory led to another. Faramir’s plans to inspect the tillage of his lands faded as he mused. He recalled time spent with Boromir in Dol Amroth, visiting their uncle Imrahil, who looked so solemn but had a wicked sense of humor behind his stern visage. Faramir had never ceased to be amazed that his brother-in-law É... |
The sun slipped down the sky as Faramir sat looking back over his life. At last the light in his eyes recalled him to himself, and he untied the reins of his horse from the tree branch and rode slowly home. He had just ordered the gates to be closed for the night when a rider was seen cantering along the darkening road... |
My Faramir – Anwen has borne a son, a healthy child for all that he came to greet his parents three weeks before his time. Elboron has named him Boromir. I will return to you in a fortnight. Love, Éowyn. |
Succinct and to the point as always, his wife. Faramir smiled and told the messenger to join the household for supper, but he himself went up to his rooms to put the scrap of parchment carefully away in a box of lebethron inlaid with horn. He looked out of the westward window once again, at the stars now gleaming again... |
Story Information |
Author: Celandine Brandybuck |
Status: Reviewed |
Completion: Complete |
Era: 4th Age |
Genre: General |
Rating: General |
Last Updated: 03/24/05 |
Original Post: 02/20/04 |
Go to Remembering overview |
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Two women have been sentenced for their role in attempting tohelp the man who shot and killed a Twinsburg police officer in 2008. |
The girlfriend of Ashford Thompson, Danielle Roberson, has been sentenced to six months house arrest and given two years probation. She was with Thompson the night of July 13, 2008 when he shot Officer Josh Miktarian to deathwith the officer's gun after being pulled over for loud music. |
The two then fled to Thompson's sister's home in Bedford Heights where Roberson attempted to remove the handcuffs Miktarian had placed on Thompson and the sister, Bridget Robinson, tamperedwith the gun used in the shooting. Both also lied to police regarding Thompson. |
The sister, Bridget Robinson, has been sentenced to two years probation. |
Roberson and Robinson were arrested on May 1, 2012. They each pleaded guilty to attempted obstruction of justice in January. |
Ashford Thompson was convicted in 2010 and is currently on death row for the murder of Officer Miktarian. He is appealing. |
Officer Miktarian left behind a wife and an infant daughter at the time of his death. His wife, Holly, a former Oakwood police officer addressed the court before sentencing for Roberson and Robinson. |
In a tearful statement in a courtroom filled with fellow-officers, she detailed how the women's actions destroyed both her life and that of her daughter.Speaking of Danielle Roberson she said: "Ultimately I blame you for distracting my husband. he was in the middle of an arrest doing his job. You got out of that car an... |
Miktarian told the court she also blamed Roberson for not attempting to help her husband after he was shot. |
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