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Katrina Manson / Reuters / REUTERS
Indicted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda poses for a photograph during an interview with Reuters in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Oct. 5, 2010.
A Congolese warlord known as "the Terminator" who is accused of murder, rape and other atrocities arrived at the International Criminal Court's jail in the Netherlands early on Saturday, the court said.
Bosco Ntaganda, who walked off the street and gave himself up at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali in a surprise move on Monday, was flown in a private jet from the Rwandan capital to The Hague after being handed over to the court's custody.
After a 15-year career that spanned a series of Rwandan-backed rebellions in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, he will appear in court on Tuesday for the first hearing in a process that could lead to him being put on trial for war crimes.
Ntaganda was most recently a commander in the M23 rebel movement, but his position weakened after the group split in two.
His removal from the conflict creates an opportunity to secure a peace agreement to end the year-old rebellion in a region dogged by conflicts.
Ntaganda's surrender was the first time an ICC suspect had voluntarily handed themselves over to be in the court's custody.
He asked stunned U.S. officials at the embassy to be transferred to the court, where he will face charges of recruiting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution, sexual slavery and rape during the 2002-3 conflict in northeastern Congo's gold mining Ituri district.
His whereabouts had been unknown after hundreds of his fighters fled into Rwanda or surrendered to U.N. peacekeepers last weekend following their defeat by a rival faction of M23 rebels in the mineral-rich eastern Congo.
"Bosco thought his choice was the ICC or probable death," said Jason Stearns of the Rift Valley Institute.
Victory for victims
Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said Ntaganda flew out of Kigali in the custody of ICC officials following cooperation between the Rwandan, U.S. and Dutch governments.
A Reuters witness had seen a blacked-out U.S. Embassy vehicle under police escort drive along the perimeter of Kigali international airport. Shortly after, a private jet took off.
His first courtroom appearance, to confirm his identity, will be on Tuesday morning, the court said in a statement.
With an arrest warrant hanging over him, Ntaganda and his backers were seen as an obstacle to peace between the M23 and the Congolese government that the rival faction had shown signs of warming to.
"Bosco's arrest won't bring peace to the eastern Congo, but Bosco's arrest does spell a victory in the battle against impunity and the dismantling of one of the barriers to a peace process in the country," Stearns said.
The trial of Rwandan-born Ntaganda could prove an embarrassment to the Rwandan government, which has denied charges by a United Nations panel that it backs the M23 rebels.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda might seek to add additional charges related to rebellions that followed the alleged Ituri crimes, analysts said.
Wars in Congo have killed about five million people in the past decade and a half, and many eastern areas are still afflicted by violence from a number of rebel groups despite a decade-long U.N. peacekeeping mission.
"Bosco Ntaganda's arrival in The Hague will be a major victory for victims of atrocities in eastern Congo," said Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner, international justice advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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Ugah, bugah; this guy is one of hundreds. Until the West gets serious about bringing order to the Congo, nothing will change. But, should we? Legitimate point for debate.
Dick Cheney?
... it's about time
American war mongers killed tens of thousands of civilian Iraqi, Pakistani, Afghani, and Yemeni and yet, escape Hague's war crime tribunal. During the Vietnam War, American military and political leaders authorized the slaughter of nearly one million Vietnamese civilians. American war lovers fabricated WMD and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident to launch massive US military forces in Iraq and Vietnam, respectively. Their current ruse is the use of Al Queda and Global War on Terrorism for further military action around the world.
American propaganda preach to the rest of the world about human rights, justice, and liberty when the American war criminals are hailed as dignitaries at home.
The trial of an African war lord in a European court is not about justice, but merely the continuation of European military and political domination of African for the continent's natural resources. The French invasion of Mali to preserve its gold mining holdings under the guise of 'anti-terrorism-Al Queda' is the most recent example of the exploitation of Africa and its people.
It must be George Wmd Bush.
Seriously; millions killed in the Congo in the past 10 years, and it seems nobody gives a crap. I don't get it.
Maybe they don't have any oil.
GoletaMonitor:
Might is Right. To the Victor the right to rewrite history. You get it?
When America's military might can no longer protect America's war criminals, they will be extradicted to a war crime tribunal somewhere in the world. And true history will be written about the American war mongers' killing of millions of civilian Vietnamese, Iraqi, Yemeni, Afghani, and Pakistani and the destruction of their nations. The remnant native American is too few in number to even remember the European invasion and slaughter in North America under the guise of 'Manifest Destiny' while American history books carefully avoid mentioning the rape, scalp and plunder.
Africa is too big. Too costly, too many trees, bugs, diseases, etc....
When is Bush and Chaney going to turn themselves over to the Hague? Bush Chaney did a lot worse things than this crackpot could even think of. Bush, Chaney go to the Hague, you have plenty of War Crimes on your dirty hands.
Prosecute not only Bush and Cheney, but the rest of the war mongering- profiteer gangs in the Chief of Staff, Pentagon and Military Industrial Complex.
War crimes suspect 'the Terminator' arrives at The Hague
'the Terminator'? Arnold Schwarzenegger?
the U.S. has too many WAR CRIMINALS that is why the U.S. refuses to sign on to the ICC! if they did warrant's would be sent out for their arrest! the U.S. has NEVER handed over a high level politician for trial, and we are always reading about other foreigners being extradited to the U.S.. could it be that if you don't give who we want, you will not receive any more candy?
".....could it be that if you don't give who (sic) we want, you will not receive any more candy?"
Not candy. Rather, American war monger-profiteers will find Al-Queda leaders and terrorists in your nation's capitol; send in Drones, park a few nuke carriers off your coast; and announce another round of "Shock and Awe" if you don't turn over the named individuals.
Look what happen to the Talibans when they claimed they don't have in possession the Osama Bin Laden.
Hey Pig
It was voted on before going to Iraq so all those that voted for going just as "liable" as Bush/Cheney? Even the democrats that voted for going?
And Bush- Cheney- Blair- Rumsfeld- Patraeus continue to walk free? US EU imperialism.
Bosco finally realized that his 'aides' were about to do away with him and split his wealth, so he decided he'd rather die in prison than be carved up and fed to the crocodiles.
"Bosco thought his choice was the ICC or probable death,"
Too bad the ICC has maximum of a life sentence. Sounds as if this guy deserves a little bit more than that.