Why Rwanda is interested in peaceful DRC

The eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, mainly South and North Kivu provinces, share common borders with Rwanda. For close to three decades now, this Congolese region has suffered long-standing armed conflicts instigated by many local and foreign armed groups, now estimated to be more than 130. The insecurity they cause has had far-reaching consequences, with spill-over effects exported to neighbouring countries, especially Rwanda.

In tracing the well-documented genesis of the problem of insecurity in this part of the vast country, it is imperative to go as back as the early 1980s. However, for the Rwanda-DRC relations’ setbacks, we can take it from 1994. 

In the immediate aftermath of the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, Zaire, now DRC, welcomed and protected Rwanda’s genocidaires who had fled the country after they were defeated by the RPA, the armed wing of RPF-Inkotanyi.

These killers were not only offered state protection Kinshasa. They were also assisted to reorganize themselves and use the neighbouring country as a rear base to launch attacks on Rwandan territory. Thousands of innocent lives were lost during these insurgencies that mainly affected the northern and western regions of Rwanda.

Consecutive DRC governments, from Laurent Desire Kabila, his son Joseph Kabila, to the incumbent, Felix Tshisekedi, opted to sustain their collaboration with the genocidal force.  This is a leadership weakness that has led to loss of countless human lives in DRC, and also paved way to numerous illegal activities in the mineral rich region and it continues to prevail, uncensored by Congolese authorities. 

To Rwanda, the concern from this axis of evil is the worrying permeation of genocide ideology, imported from Rwanda in 1994 by the genocide perpetrators. Genocide ideology is, alarmingly, thriving in eastern DRC and targets Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese. 

In a situation akin to events of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, distressing videos of the ongoing killings of innocent Rwandophones in eastern DRC continue to circulate on social media.

A genocide is being perpetuated by Congolese security forces in collusion with the FDLR militia as the international community looks the other way. What is most worrying is how the world continues to show total indifference to the systematic killings of the Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese.

The M23 rebel group, largely made up of Congolese born in these areas, was created out of the need to protect themselves against the systematic targeting of their population.

Despite the long lasting security shortfalls in eastern DRC, there exist some binding realities that both Kigali and Kinshasa need to equally appreciate.  Rwanda and DRC are neighbours for life. This should stick in the minds of all. Peace and security in both countries is the only winning and workable factor to achieve their respective development aspirations. 

The contrary only worsens the situation and neither DRC nor Rwanda would benefit from lack of peace and security.

Permanent people to people interactions are a leaning that no government can stop. The inter-dependence between DRC and Rwanda is a fact that cannot be challenged by any leader and therefore, no country would afford to gain from the insecurity in eastern DRC. 

Contrary to the arguments of some protagonists of the conflict between the two countries, who aim at nourishing their hatred by coming up with theories to nurture conflicts between Kigali and Kinshasa, Rwanda has always been committed to joint efforts to bring about peace and security in the eastern part of the neighboring country.

Having lost over one million people during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Tshisekedi’s government should not expect that Rwanda could turn a blind eye when genocide ideology is roaming freely in DRC, particularly when such acts are backed with deliberate shelling of her territory.  

Rwanda and DRC are members of the EAC. For that additional factor, there is need to have a coherent objective to peace and security and thoughtful two-sided cooperation to achieve that objective.

The elimination of the genocidal threats and securing DRC is a win-win for both countries and the region at large. It should be the focus of all parties trying to intervene in the conflict in the country.