Did Blinken’s visit meet DRC’s expectations?

Prior to his visit to Rwanda, from August 10-11, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a two-day visit as well.

The DRC government had a long wish list for the US diplomat, which included holding Rwandan leaders accountable for their alleged support to M23 rebels.

The allegation was backed by an unpublished but leaked UN group of expert report, claiming to have solid evidence of the presence of, and military operations conducted by the Rwandan army in Rutshuru territory, North Kivu Province, between November 2021 and July 2022. This was brought up by the Congolese Foreign Affairs Minister, Christophe Lutundula, during a joint press conference with Blinken. Kinshasa was pushing for the report to be published in its entirety so as to pin Rwanda.

All these claims were raised with Blinken despite all the ongoing regional efforts to quell the flare-up of violence across eastern DRC. The Nairobi and Luanda peace initiatives gave a clear roadmap of how peace can be attained in the region, including an immediate defeat of the FDLR militia and its splinter groups – CNRD, FLN, RUD-Urunana, and FPPH-Abajyarugamba. The latter genocidal militia are the major causes of insecurity in DRC and are the causers of tensions between Rwanda and DRC.

However, what the DRC has failed to acknowledge is the fact that the terrorist genocidaires, FDLR, responsible for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, are being integrated into the DRC army, to fight its war against M23.

The path to peace provided by the Nairobi and Luanda initiatives encompasses fighting the hate speech in DRC which increased in the recent past targeting Rwanda, Congolese Tutsi and Rwandophones. Fueled by genocide ideology, the hate speech in DRC is not only used by security organs and ordinary citizens. It has gone as far as being used for political campaigns by government officials, as a way of gaining popularity, something the DRC has failed to address for the past three decades.

For years, the DRC has never failed to find new accusations against Rwanda. A few years ago, some Congolese spoilers accused Kigali of seeking to occupy its resource-rich east. Blame shifting without resolving issues at home is a game DRC has mastered.

Kinshasa always seeks international support for its struggles with security issues in the eastern part of the country, which speaks volumes about its lack of confidence to own and solve its own problems. Worse still, the Congolese always look at Western powers as their saviour.

Kinshasa did not get its victory after the departure of the US Secretary of State from Rwanda, and the region. The DRC government had expected the US to ‘punish’ Rwanda, based on the allegation of Kigali’s support of the M23. Kinshasa expected the Washington to impose visa restrictions, and economic sanctions, among others, on Kigali. Nothing happened. For DRC, this should come as a wakeup call. Congolese authorities need to address their internal governance crisis, without blaming their glaring failures on others or expecting the US to come to their rescue.