witness_text_clean.txt

My name is Marcus BRODY. I am 15 years old. In late 2002, I can’t remember exactly when, there was a lot of fighting in Goma, where I was living with my cousins.  My parents and sisters were already killed by the Rebels.  They had attacked our village one night with guns and grenades.I went to a rally in Goma where several Government commanders spoke and said that the President and the DCP were defending Congo.  I remember one of the commanders who spoke was Chief KOBONO, because everyone cheered when he got up to speak.  There were many soldiers at the rally, about the same as the number of children in my school .  Each family had to contribute, a cow or a goat or a child.  I was around ten years old then.  My aunt said I should go, since my family was dead because of the Rebels.  I followed the DCP soldiers. There were many soldiers at the rally, about the same as the number of children in my school .  Each family had to contribute, a cow or a goat or a child.  I was around ten years old then.  My aunt said I should go, since my family was dead because of the Rebels.  I followed the DCP soldiers.The DCP soldiers took me to a training camp called Kalemie, which was a few miles outside of my village.  A number of us, men and children, were transported there in a green “stout” (open back truck).  The camp was very big, with many soldiers and lots of guns.  I think that some of the trainers were from another country because sometimes they spoke in a language I did not really understand.  The training was hard at first, but I was good at running and shooting, so the commanders knew I would make a good soldier.  They did not give us guns to keep at first, but we learnt how to clean and use them properly.  There were lots of new recruits all the time, children as well as men.  There were girls as well.  Most of the children were around my age, but some were younger, as young as seven years old.  Many of the girls were wives of the commanders.  The commanders called them their wives, but the girls did not talk about it much.  A good wife spends the entire night with her man.  The commanders laughed and said that if we boys learned to be good fighters, we would have many wives too.  I did not really take them seriously as I was just a boy.The commanders also offered us marijuana to smoke.  They said it would help us to relax.  I did not smoke, but many of the other boys and girls smoked with the commanders.  When the boys smoked, they seemed to go calm.The commander of the camp was BAGOR.  We all knew him by name.I remember he or maybe another commander spoke to the soldiers and recruits one time after the evening meal.  He said that we should kill all Rebels, that they were the enemy.  He said that the purpose of all our hard training was to prepare us for fighting the Rebels, who were taking our land and trying to kill us.  He said the enemy had already killed many of our family members, and we were entitled to revenge.  He kept saying that they were the “enemy.”  We should kill all of them, men, women and children, and destroy their villages.  It was our duty, what we were meant to do.The President, Ule MATOBO GOBO,visited the camp one time.  He arrived in a green jeep with several other commanders.  We received special instructions in preparation for his visit.  Other members of the militia taught us what to do.  If the President came to the camp, you had to lift your gun, holding the base in your hand and putting the barrel on your shoulder, march in front of him with your legs good and straight.  I had practiced this salute many times before the President arrived, and my commander told me afterwards that my salute was one of the best in my group.The President spoke to the regular soldiers, who were in uniform, as well as the children and new adult recruits.  We were all assembled in a big hut in the middle of the camp.  There were many of us who were brought in to hear the President speak, the whole camp.  There were many other children in the crowd, boys and girls, most of whom were my age.The President spent all morning talking to the soldiers and recruits.  He told us that we were here to become a trained army that would bring peace to Congo.  He said our enemies were all those who were opposed to peace.  He said that after the fighting was done we would be able to go back to school, get other training.  This fighting, he said, was for the good of Congo in the end.  The soldiers in the crowd cheered loudly at the end of the speech.  I too was moved by the President’s speech and wanted to fight to protect my peopleThe President said that when we were done with our training, we would each receive a gun.  At that time, I had not yet received my own gun.
WITNESS 2
Well, I will answer your question about the Mandro training centre. When we got to Mandro, the leader was Mr Mugisa Muleke he was the one who supervised the  training centre in Mandro. That is where all the recruits were. But he reported to Mr Ntaganda. There was also a number of instructors, former commanders such as  Abelanga, Mutegaji. There were many instructors who worked together, one taking over from another. I didn't know all their names. There were many instructors. I didn't know exactly how they divided up the work, but each one of them had a particular component of training to give. Some taught how to handle weapons, others taught guerilla warfare and strategy. I know that all the instructors were at the same level, but their superior was Muleke and he reported to Bosco Ntaganda. That is what I learned once I had got to the training centre. With regards to the war operations he was chief of general staff and he was responsible for the operations. He planned the war, he determined the arms which had to go to the war, all these soldiers who had to go to war as well. He was the person who was responsible, nobody else