After presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Felix Tshisekedi of DRC travelled to Luanda, Angola, and separately met President Joao Lourenco, Angolan Foreign Affairs Minister Tete Antonio, announced that the leaders of the Rwanda and DRC agreed, in principle, to hold a bilateral meeting.

The meeting will, as expected, focus on the frosty relations between the two countries and the war in eastern DRC. Tete further said that ministerial delegations from both sides will do the preparation work for the meeting.

President Lourenco, acting as the mediator appointed by the African Union, will facilitate the meeting between the two leaders, although no specific date was set. The development raised optimism among stakeholders and observers; with the hope that the decades long crisis in eastern DRC is finally coming to an end.

However, keen political observers believe that a mere blank cheque meeting between Kagame and Tshisekedi will not be different from others in the past, that ended with no tangible positive results.

If the meeting between the two heads of state is to be fruitful, there are certain issues that must be agreed upon by the ministerial delegations before the two presidents meet.

The root causes of the problems

Tshisekedi has, on several, occasions said that he will not talk to or negotiate with the M23 rebels, whom he claims are terrorists. He has also, ceaselessly, blamed Rwanda for allegedly being the cause of the conflict in eastern DRC. Tshisekedi claims that the government of Rwanda is supporting M23 rebels, an accusation Rwanda has repeatedly denied, and requested that the Congolese government should, instead, focus on addressing the root causes of the conflict.

The crisis in eastern DRC is older than President Kagame; and it results from the continuing discrimination and harassment of Congolese Banyarwanda. The latter have been denied their fundamental rights as legitimate Congolese citizens. The Congolese Tutsi have specifically been targeted by hate speech, killing, lynching, cannibalism and other inhumane acts.

This injustice is what prompted the M23 rebels to take up arms to fight against government forces. The rebels are fighting for their survival and protection of the Congolese Tutsi community.

In order for Kagame and Tshisekedi to have meaningful talks, Kinshasa must own up and acknowledge that the Congolese Tutsi are legitimate citizens whose rights that must be restored, unconditionally.

Kinshasa must accept that the problem in eastern DRC is an internal political problem that requires a political solution rather than military approach.

Tshisekedi should refrain from diverting attention that the problem is economic and therefore, Rwanda is fuelling the crisis because it is interested in his country’s mineral resources. If the problem in eastern DRC was simply about mineral resources,  then the Congolese government should be wise enough to look beyond Rwanda  and address its issues with the age old plunderers of Congolese resources.

The powerful Western companies, or countries, that have plundered -  and continue to plunder - Congolese natural resources are well known. Kinshasa should stop the denial. Scapegoating Rwanda, a resilient nation focused on its own development after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, will not help.

It is also cynical to insinuate that minerals are more important than the lives of Congolese Tusti who are facing an existential threat - the genocide ideology being spread by the FDLR militia group that the Congolese government harbours.

Rwanda’s concerns

An October 2022 Human Rights Watch report  noted that the Congolese army supplied arms and ammunitions to FDLR, a genocidal militia formed by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The FDLR is not only operating in eastern DRC but it is incorporated into the Congolese army.

Their aim is to attack Rwanda and ‘complete the genocide against the Tutsi,” as they say they never completed it in 1994. This constitutes an existential threat against the people of Rwanda, and is a serious threat to the region.

The FDLR has been integrated within DRC forces, FARDC, and the presidential guards. FDLR commanders have been given the responsibility to lead the Congolese militia known as Wazalendo. The buildup of FDLR and affiliated militia pause security threats to the territorial integrity of Rwanda, given the fact that their positions are close to the Rwandan border.

Apart from issuing statements distancing itself from FDLR, which is only done to hoodwink the international community, Tshisekedi should ensure that FDLR is denied sanctuary and support, followed by disarmament and repatriation to Rwanda.

Embrace Nairobi and Luanda Peace processes

The deployment of the East African Community regional force (EACRF) in eastern DRC had brought relative peace, but Tshisekedi did not allow them to stay long because they refused to fight M23 rebels. EAC leaders had prioritised a political solution, something that angered Tshisekedi.

Soon after EACRF's forced departure, Burundian and especially South African troops, started to make inloads and fight the M23. This was a clear indication that Tshisekedi had violated the peace process and opted for military confrontation.

The situation on the ground shows that FARDC and its coalition are losing more territories to the M23 rebels. People who fight for a just cause, as history has proven, do not easily give up, or get defeated. The question is how long it takes them to achieve their objective.

Tshisekedi must agree to abandon the senseless war option and return to a peaceful settlement of the conflict with his own people, and not with Kagame.

The question of Congolese refugees and displaced persons

By the end of 2023, it is estimated that nearly six million people have been displaced by the war in DRC, while more than one million refugees are scattered in neighboring countries. Rwanda alone hosts more than 75,000 Congolese refugees. The Congolese government has not shown any concern that the refugees are their citizens who need to return home and live decently.

The DRC is a vast country in sub-Saharan Africa occupying some 2.345 million square metres, and cannot fail to find safe places to settle their citizens. Refusal to repatriate them confirms that they are discriminated and unwanted in their own country. 

Tshisekedi must repatriate Congolese refugees and ensure their safety within their country.

Without setting parameters of the much anticipated talks between Kagame and Tshisekedi, under the facilitation of Lourenco, the meeting will only be a photo session with no tangible resolutions. The discrimination and persecution of Congolese Tutsi will rage on and the war will inevitably continue taking a toll on human suffering and loss of lives.