In what one would call dereliction of duty, the Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has contemptuously undermined regional peace mechanisms that aim at bringing peace in the Eastern part of the country. Tshisekedi maintains his incitement against sections of Congo population (Tutsi citizens) that has led to thousands of deaths and exodus of millions to refuge in neighboring countries.
The International Community that has chosen to embolden Tshisekedi to flout resolutions of regional peace initiatives ought to realize that the only viable solution to perpetual instability in DRC lies in political dialogue between his government and the M23 movement.
The Congolese leader still falsely maintains that M23 are “terrorists” whom he won’t sit on the same table with. Nonetheless, this is a group of brave Congolese men and women who took up arms to defend themselves and their rights after successive regimes marginalized and persecuted them because of their ethnicity and language; this cause is legitimate enough to propel M23 to the negotiating table. Tshisekedi will deny them their rights but sensitivity of the matter will push him to accept them, it’s just a matter of time.
The Congolese Revolutionary Movement-M23 yet again reaffirmed its commitment towards finding a lasting solution to perennial insecurity in the conflict-hit Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The call was made by the movement leadership in their Mombasa meeting with former Kenyan President and EAC led peace initiative facilitator- Uhuru Kenyatta.
M23 reiterated its willingness and goodwill to an orderly withdrawal and adherence to a strick ceasefire as stipulated in both Nairobi and Luanda Peace Processes; however on condition that national and foreign forces stop attacking them. We have seen incidents where the Congolese army together with allied illegal armed militias, the likes of FDLR, Nyatura, Mai-Mai, APCLS, PARECO attacked M23 positions killing innocent civilians and looting property which contravenes the provisions of regional peace initiatives.
In their quest to maintain the crisis in the Eastern Congo for the reasons only known to themselves, Tshisekedi and his henchmen have been sabotaging the peace initiatives by violating ceasefire and shunning political dialogue with M23. This added to a host of attacks on areas under M23 control in which hundreds of civilians were killed and blamed on M23 to taint its image globally so as to delegitimize its cause, Kishishe massacres is a case in point.
The fact that the EAC facilitator agrees to meet M23 cements the regional block’s posture on the DRC crisis which is solving the problem political not through use of arms like Tshisekedi and some foreign actors believe. The meeting leaves Tshisekedi at the cross roads, he either hold dialogue with M23 movement or bless himself for an extended battle.