EngRegional
Rwanda not at war with DRC
Rwandan President Paul Kagame (left), Angolan President Joao Lourenco (centre), and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi (right) pose for a photograph in Luanda.
After
the ministers of foreign affairs of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) met in Angolan Capital Luanda, several statements from foreign
governments, organizations and media, seemed to suggest that Rwanda and DRC had
signed a ceasefire agreement yet there is no war between the two neighbouring
countries.
The
conflict and war in eastern DRC is between the Congolese government and a rebel
group known as M23 which formed an alliance with other armed groups to form
Congo River Alliance, known by its French name Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC).
When
the M23 rebels resurfaced in March 2022 after more than a decade of dormancy,
Kinshasa blamed Kigali for supporting the rebellion, an accusation that Rwanda
has persistently denied, pointing out that the matter is a Congolese internal
problem that requires the Congolese government to focus on by addressing the
root causes of the conflict.
Since
2022, under the leadership of President Felix Tshisekedi, there have been
frosty relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, which resulted in Kinshasa
expelling Rwanda’s ambassador in the country and cancellation of RwandaAir
flights to DRC. RwandAir is the national airline of Rwanda.
Rwanda’s
biggest concern in the war in eastern DRC is that the Congolese government
incorporated FDLR, a genocidal militia formed by the masterminds of the 1994
genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, into the Congolese national army, FARDC.
Kinshasa armed the genocidal militia and their joint objective is to attack
Rwanda and complete the genocide that the génocidaires often say was half done
in 1994 because all the Tutsi were not killed.
Kinshasa
and foreign voices tend to think that FDLR does not pose a threat to Rwanda
since their numbers are not big enough. The biggest threat here is not the
numbers but the genocide ideology which has been spread in DRC and other parts
of the Great Lakes region, more so with an intent to attack Rwanda.
The
threat by FDLR against Rwanda is an existential threat that cannot be taken
lightly.
Secondly,
DRC president Felix Tshisekedi in his campaign rallies for a second term of
office in December 2023 publicly announced that he was going to attack Rwanda;
again a threat that Rwanda cannot ignore and sleep thinking that all is well.
It
should be recalled that the Angola-mediated negotiations between Rwanda and
DRC, known as the Luanda Process, were initiated in mid-2022, after the two countries’ relations turned
sour with Kinshasa blaming Rwanda for
supporting M23 rebels, an accusation that was denied while Kigali also accused
Kinshasa of supporting and arming the
genocidal militia.
The
July 30 communiqué signed in Luanda, between the foreign ministers of Rwanda
and DRC with the mediation of their Angolan counterpart was about easing
tension between Rwanda and DRC. The warring sides who are to hold the ceasefire
are the Congolese army and its large coalition and the AFC.
As a
neighbor and an interested party in the peaceful resolution of the eastern DRC
conflict, indeed Rwanda welcomes a ceasefire between the warring sides.
The
July 30 meeting between Rwanda and DRC came up following a recommendation by
the July 6-8 East African Community (EAC) ministers of foreign affairs retreat
in Zanzibar, Tanzania, that discussed the security crisis in eastern DRC.
It is
also important to note that the ceasefire will only be meaningful if it is
aimed at finding lasting solutions to the root causes of the decade’s long
conflict in eastern DRC as well as dis-arming and expelling FDLR from DRC soil.
The
communiqué issued after the July 30 meeting of foreign ministers of Rwanda, DRC
and Angola recommended that intelligence experts from the three countries meet
on August 7 to examine a proposed plan by the DRC government on the
“neutralization of the FDLR.”
Kinshasa has, in the past, handled the FDLR issue with double language. Observers hope that this time sincerity will be important in tackling the issue for lasting peace to prevail in DRC.
