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DRC: Protests against regional force, an excuse to attack Tutsi in Goma
In
front of the President of Kenya, William Ruto, the President of the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, reprimanded the Commander of the East African Community
Regional Forces (EACRF), Maj Gen Jeff Nyagah, for not ‘responding’ to the need
of the population, which according to Tshisekedi, is to fight the M23 rebels.
Tshisekedi
reprimanded, or actually threatened, the Kenyan General on Saturday, February
4, a few minutes after EAC leaders wrapped up a meeting aimed at finding a
solution to the eastern DRC conflict.
The
Congolese leader is bitter that regional colleagues prefer a diplomatic
approach, which he did not care to show when confronting Gen Nyagah, to
resolving decades-long conflicts in his country’s east where more than 130
armed groups continue to cause chaos.
Following
Tshisekedi’s remarks, on Monday, the emboldened civil society in Goma, the
capital of North Kivu province which borders Rwanda, organized protests and
invited the population to rally against the regional forces led by the Kenyan
General. Previous incidents have shown that Congolese government officials are
often behind such protests, going as far as paying the protestors.
However, when the protestors stormed the streets of Goma on February 6, they did not protest before the EAC regional force’s headquarters. Instead, they attacked the properties of Congolese Tutsi communities, looted and destroyed them.
The riots
led to the death of a member of the Congolese National Police because he was a
Tutsi. His body, in police uniform, was left on the streets of Goma for the
whole day.
On
the second day of the protests, several churches frequented by the Tutsi were
demolished and one collapsed when protestors were on the roof of the church. Kinshasa
did not condemn nor call off these violent crimes against the Congolese Tutsi,
under the guise of a demonstration.
Between
November 8 and 9, 1938, in what was known as the November Progrom in Nazi
Germany, more than 1,400 synagogues across Germany and Austria were torched. Jewish-owned
shops and businesses were plundered and destroyed.
This
was done in order to prepare the Holocaust. What is happening in DRC is exactly
what happened to the Jews. Tutsi men and women are being rounded and humiliated
in public. Many have been killed and continued being killed, just like the case
of the police officer killed in Goma.
Demonstrations
in Goma, by attacking the Tutsi and their properties, aim at causing serious
bodily or mental harm to members of the Tutsi community.
Whenever
people want to commit genocide they look for excuses. The Congolese Tutsi are
not the problem in DRC.
The
impunity of these protests in Goma motivated the people to attack a MONUSCO convoy
on the evening of February 7 and set four vehicles on fire. It is reported that
four of MONUSCO’s personnel and five civilians lost their lives.
Following
his threats to the EAC Commander Force, President Tshisekedi is responsible of
what happened in Goma on February 6 and 7.
He
chose chaos instead of implementing the Luanda and Nairobi agreements.
