International
Open letter to African Union Commission Chairperson
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