Doha is set to host the first direct negotiations between the M23 Movement and the Tshisekedi regime in just a week. Yet, the Congolese leadership continues to sabotage peace efforts.
The demonization of M23 also seemingly has become a central pillar of Tshisekedi’s strategy, making the upcoming talks an exercise in futility.
For years, the Tshisekedi regime has conveniently blamed M23 for its own governance failures, using the movement as a scapegoat to mask incompetence and a lack of political will. This was evident during the so-called roundtable on the appropriation of “GENOCOST,” where Congolese ruler cum warmonger Felix Tshisekedi astonishingly accused M23 of genocide! (Of course tying Rwanda to M23 in that fictional “genocide” of ten million people killed in eastern DR Congo.
Such wild, inflammatory propaganda aims to attack Rwanda (an old smear tactic) while attempting to water down, or trivialize, the 94 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
But the truth remains clear. The real perpetrators of mass killings in the DRC are the FDLR and successive Congolese regimes that have chosen greed and kleptocracy over national welfare. It was Mobutu’s leadership that welcomed the genocidaires of the FDLR, laying the groundwork for decades of instability. Instead of addressing these deep-seated issues, Kinshasa prefers to vilify M23 while ignoring its own complicity in the crisis.
Tshisekedi’s actions further expose his reluctance to embrace genuine peace. Despite the mid-March Extraordinary SADC meeting in Harare, where a decision was made for the total withdrawal of SAMIDRC forces from the DRC, Kinshasa continues to insist that the withdrawal is conditional upon M23’s departure from territories it rightfully occupies. This stance dismisses the reality that M23 is composed of Congolese citizens fighting for their rights and security in their own country.
In response, M23 has once again demonstrated its commitment to peace by facilitating the withdrawal of SAMIDRC forces. Yet, Kinshasa remains fixated on conflict, creating a powder keg that could easily reignite violence. By holding firm to its destructive rhetoric, the Tshisekedi regime seeks to crush M23’s aspirations rather than engage in meaningful dialogue.
As M23 prepares to participate in the Doha peace initiative, it does so with the knowledge that these talks may amount to nothing more than a parade for the international community. Tshisekedi and his inept regime have made it clear that their goal is not peace with M23 but eradication.
The Kinshasa regime is fundamentally unserious, and must always be regarded as unserious.