By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo – Rebels have killed two park rangers and a soldier in an attack at the Democratic Republic of Congo’s famous Virunga National Park last Friday.

The attack, which took place at Mwiga Bay near the park’s Lake Edward, also claimed the lives of five rebels.

A statement from the park management reported that three soldiers and two rebels were wounded during the conflict. The injured rebels were taken into custody and confined in a hospital in Vitshumbi, the statement added.

The Virunga park, which employs park rangers from the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, has seen a dramatic increase in the presence of armed militias since the civil war outbreak in May this year. These rebel forces, including the “March 23 Movement” (M23), decided to set up their own bases in the park. This has led to a growing number of fighting between rebel groups and the army in the area. As a result, park staff have usually been caught in the crossfire and have been vulnerable to assaults from militia men. Reports show that the number of park rangers has decreased from 1,000 to 271.

According to the park’s chief warden, Emmanuel de Merode, “the civil war has brought an influx of militias into the park, intent on poaching and attacking the local population. This is bringing overwhelming pressures on our small team of rangers whose duty it is to protect the wildlife and the people living in and around the park. Once again, we are deeply shocked and saddened by the deaths of our colleagues.”

To protect the park staff, the government has deployed 200 soldiers, including 48 recruits trained by retired Belgian Special Forces, into Virunga.

The spokesperson for the Congolese Army, Col. Hamuli, speculated that Friday’s attack may have been perpetrated mainly by M23 “to destabilize [the army’s] positions from the inside of the territory [and] to show that Rwanda and Uganda are not supporting them. He also suggested that seizing parts of Virunga park may be a ploy of the M23 to “take back their traditional fiefdom in Masisi.”

The United Nations Security Council has issued a statement condemning the Friday attack.The Security Council also condemned “any attempts by the M23 to establish a parallel administration and to undermine State authority.”

The Virunga National Park, largely known for its endangered mountain gorillas, was created under Belgian rule in 1925 and named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

For further information, please see:

AFP – Eight killed in attack at DR Congo wildlife reserve – 27 October 2012

Wildlife Extra – Rebel attack on Virunga National Park ranger patrol kills three in DR Congo –  27 October 2012

BBC News – Virunga National Park: DR Congo rangers killed – 26 October 2012

Environment News Service – Eight Dead in Attack on Virunga National Park Rangers – 25 October 2012

The Washington Post – Congo M23 rebels attack army in North Kivu province to gain more territory; army pushes back – 19 October 2012

Huffington Post – Africa’s oldest park threatened by rebels, now oil – 5 October 2012

Global Animal – Virunga National Park Loses Defense In Congo War – 17 September 2012

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—The South African President, Jacob Zuma now intends to drop a four-year-old lawsuit that claimed about $600,000 in damages from a political cartoonist who depicted the President poised to rape “Lady Justice.” The defendant in the case was The Sunday Times—who also said that it had reached an agreement with Zuma and Zuma’s lawyers for the end of the suit and all other claims.

The Presidency noted that “in depicting President Zuma as a would-be rapist, the cartoon sought to play a discredited and legally disproved accusations made against him in 2006. The newspaper and the cartoonist wanted to perpetuate an image of the President as a sexual deviant, despite a court law rejecting the allegations against him and clearing his name.”

The cartoon, considered to be both “hurtful and defamatory,” was printed at a time when Zuma was not yet president. At the time, he was also fighting graft charges, which later were withdrawn, and two years later he was acquitted of raping a family friend. Even though he was acquitted, he admitted to having unprotected sex with a woman who he knew was HIV-positive.

The President’s office, in a statement to the press and the people said “The President…would like to avoid setting a legal precedent that may have the effect of limiting the public exercise of free speech, with the unforeseen consequences this may have on our media, public commentators and citizens.” The office, however, still believes that the cartoon was and is an affront to the dignity of the President.

Dropping the lawsuit will send an important signal showing that the President respects the right of the media to criticize his conduct. Zuma noted that racial and cultural prejudice and bigotry could not be exclusively handled through the court system. Zuma, however, is also suing several other newspapers and a radio broadcaster for about 50 million rand.

Jonathan Shapiro, the cartoonist involved in the suit, is known to write controversial cartoons. He told the Sunday Times that he had mixed feelings about the case being dropped because he believed that he would have won “hands down.”

“This is a vindication of what I was saying in the cartoon and it’s a vindication of the Sunday Times for publishing it,” Shapiro said.

For further information, please see:

Associated Press – South Africa’s Zuma Drops Lawsuit Over Rape Cartoon – 28 October 2012

The Australian – South Africa’s Zuma Drops Lawsuit Over Cartoon – 28 October 2012

Global Post – Zuma Drops Rape Cartoon Lawsuit Against Shapiro – 28 October 2012

Reuters – South Africa’s Zuma Drops Suit Over Rape Cartoon – 28 October 2012