Honorable Chairperson,

 

Amb Moussa Faki Mahamat,

 

I am writing to you, first of all, to thank you for the great work you are doing for the prosperity and tranquility of the African continent.

 

I have been compelled to write to you this letter, because of the recent decision by the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) to endorse the deployment of troops from southern African nations (SADC), with an offensive mandate in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

 

Hon Chairperson, the decision is shocking to many of us, the Congolese Kinyarwanda speaking community, who live in DRC and in exile.

 

Allowing SADC troops to use force against M23 rebels, who are fighting against discrimination and existential threat of the Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese community, is to condone an ethnic cleansing agenda that has been going on where our people are subjected to inhuman torture, killing, cannibalism, lynching, hate speech, and other forms of injustice.

 

For decades, Congolese government officials within security organs and civil society have publicly incited the population against the Congolese Tutsi, calling us “foreigners who ought to be sent to their country,” meaning Rwanda.

 

The PSC decision is not only morally misdirected, but it is as well against international law and obligations that require it to protect communities under threat of ethnic cleansing.

 

Hon Chairperson, as a Congolese refugee living in exile, I also wish to point out that the decision by the PSC to endorse use of military force against a people who have genuine political concerns, is against the AU founding principles, and the Pan-Africanism spirit of unity among the African people.

 

It is an indication that the AU has sacrificed the Congolese Tutsi, whose decades-long political problem was well understood by respected African leaders such as Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, among others.

 

The history of eastern DRC is well documented indicating how Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese have been rejected as legitimate Congolese.

 

Hon Chairperson, you know very well that in 2013, the same SADC troops were involved in fighting the M23 rebels, and pushed the rebels out of the occupied territories.

 

However, more than a decade later, the same rebel group resurfaced. This is an indication that the AU Peace and Security Council is endorsing an option, which was tested and failed.

 

To expect that the latest SADC offensive will bring peace is only self-deception; SAMIDRC will not address the root causes of the conflict.

 

A political problem requires a political solution. This has been the position of East African Community leaders. It is only hypocritical for Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi to turn around and call M23 rebels terrorists, yet the DRC government signed an agreement with them in December 2013, that was not honored by Kinshasa.

 

SAMIDRC is fighting alongside a FARDC-led coalition of Rwandan genocidal forces, FDLR, ethnic-driven local armed groups allied to FDLR under the umbrella of Wazalendo, Burundian armed forces under a bilateral arrangement, as well as Eastern European and American mercenaries including ones associated with the former Blackwater, as reported by the United Nations Group of Experts on DRC in December 2023. 

 

It is irrational for the AU to overlook the use of mercenaries which was condemned by the Organization African Union (OUA).

 

It is also absurd to disregard the condemnation of Tshisekedi’s government and FARDC for working with genocidal forces, FDLR, to annihilate Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese.

 

For the PSC to declare its support for SADC to be involved in such a criminal military amalgamation is not only disappointing, but it also shows how the AU has lost direction when it comes to efforts meant to bring peace to eastern DRC.

 

Hon Chairperson, your leadership at the AU has been appreciated for a number of initiatives like the creation of the Continental Free Trade Area, and more, meant to improve the wellbeing of the African people. Your mandate should not end in a failure by dividing the Congolese people.

 

In December 2013, the Kinshasa government signed a peace deal with the M23 rebels in the Kenyan capital Nairobi that was not honored, resulting in the crisis today.

 

As far back as 1965, the then US Consul in Bukavu, André J Navez, informed his government with a detailed account on the killings and discrimination the Rwandophones in North Kivu Province were facing. 

 

Hon Chairman, your office should be better informed than the rest of the world on the persecution of the Congolese Tutsi since the 1960s until today.

 

On the other hand, the EAC position and advice to Tshisekedi on ending the crisis has been that of a political approach rather than military means.

 

The AU cannot support a military solution using SADC forces and at the same time claim to support the Angola declaration and the Nairobi peace process.

 

This is a contradiction that puts the AU in a shameful position when you are the chairperson.

 

Again, for the PSC to propose disarmament and cantonment of M23 rebels without any political dialogue to guarantee the protection of Congolese Tutsi, is like putting a cart before the horse. The proposal also does provide a solution for thousands of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese who are refugees in neighboring countries and abroad.

 

Hon Chairperson, under your guidance, the AU can do better by finding a lasting solution to the root causes of the conflict in eastern DRC rather than rushing for quick fixes that are politically motivated to appease the Kinshasa government.

 

Remember that it took the SPLA 28 years to liberate themselves from oppression.

 

The M23 are legitimate Congolese citizens, who have been denied their rights and have nowhere else to go, which is why they picked up arms to fight for their rights. They will stop only when their grievances are solved rather than being suppressed.

 

Hon Chairperson, I am confident that you can leave a better legacy of a united people of DRC than supporting to fight against a people facing an existential threat.

 

Concerned Congolese in exile,

 

Mayimuna Nsombe

 

Edmonton - USA