David Baroudski’s Book, Laurent Nkundabatware, is available on ZNet as a free download.
(1) Can you tell ZNet, please, what your new book, Laurent Nkundabatware, his Rwandan Allies, and the ex-ANC Mutiny: Chronic Barriers to Lasting Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is is about? What is it trying to communicate?
1. Who General Laurent Nkundabatware (the most prominent ‘rebel’ in Congo-Zaire) is and what his army has done.
2. To provide a comprehensive examination of the situation in the Kivu provinces of the Congo following the Sun City Final Act to the present day.
3. How Rwanda continues to overtly and covertly infiltrate the Congo and is the cause of the region’s instability.
4. To demonstrate the U.S. role in putting the current Rwanda regime in power, in backing the Rwandan army and Laurent Kabila to topple Mobutu for personal geopolitical gain, and how the U.S. directly contributes to the suffering in the Great Lakes region today.
5. To demonstrate the multitude of areas that must be addressed in order to secure peace for the region.
These are the macrotopics, while there are numerous smaller topics.
(2) Can you tell ZNet something about writing the book? Where does the content come from? What went into making the book what it is?
It is a book I was compelled to write as an addition to complete the main theme in my previous story “Update on the Congo.” On a more personal level, it is something I wanted to write because of what I experienced when I was in Rwanda. This story also aspires to be a tribute to the living and deceased victims of violence in the region by conveying what they have gone through. It is also written to honor certain African people I met along the way.
(3) What are your hopes for the book? What do you hope it will contribute or achieve, politically? Given the effort and aspirations you have for the book, what will you deem to be a success? What would leave you happy about the whole undertaking? What would leave you wondering if it was worth all the time and effort?
If my book can somehow contribute to a permanent resolution to any of the major themes (problems) I covered in it, I will be pleased. I also hope the African people who read the book feel it does justice to their experiences and their history. Their opinions matter more than anyone else’s to me.
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