Whether the Kinshasa regime finally decides to officially exit the Luanda and Nairobi peace mechanisms or to persist with its belligerent attitude, the M23 has achieved great milestones.
The M23 movement, which has been fighting for the rights of Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese citizens ( to live in their country without persecution) has managed to achieve what MONUSCO and FARDC failed to do in more than two decades.
In just one year, the M23 movement, against enormous odds, has managed to fight and weaken the biggest of the more than 130 armed groups entrenched in eastern DRC, including FDLR. At the beginning of last year, the Kinshasa regime kicked off a chilling ethnic cleansing campaign targeting Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese, especially the Tutsi communities living in North Kivu. Thanks to the M23’s swift response, many of the targeted communities were able to survive, and thousands were able to escape to areas under the control of the M23.
Ironically, the M23 resistance is not only from FARDC but also MONUCSO, who are supposed to be protecting all Congolese without bias. The UN mission has been in eastern DRC for more than two decades now, with the mandate to support the FARDC in the fight and neutralize all armed groups, and protect civilians. However, instead of fighting the armed groups, MONUSCO and FARDC have entered into an illegal partnership with some of the armed groups like FDLR to deal in the illicit trade in minerals. It is only natural that the evil triangle has been fighting tooth and nail against the M23 Movement because they see the rebels as an impediment to their illegal business deals.
Sadly, in their typical lethargic way of responding to crises in Africa, the international community has failed to objectively examine the situation to find a lasting solution. Instead, the global stakeholders have decided to only listen to what MONUSCO and the Kinshasa regime are telling them, oblivious to the fact that the two are partners covering up the truth to protect their illicit business deals. Due to this state of affairs, peace in eastern Congo will remain a mirage. With the international community manipulated and distracted, more Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese continue to be uprooted from their villages and their property confiscated by armed groups, including FDLR, who are supported by FARDC.
As some continue to put pressure on the M23 Movement to pull back from areas where they had captured since last year, more and more Congolese are facing imminent death- especially since some areas vacated by the movement are being taken over by armed groups including FDRL, Mai-Mai, Nyatura, CODECO, ACPLS, PARECO, NDCRENOVO, and mercenaries.