In the midst of ongoing tensions regarding the conflict in eastern DRC, President Félix Tshisekedi has expressed his willingness to engage in discussions with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who is accused of backing the M23 rebels in North Kivu. However, Tshisekedi firmly stated in an interview with Top Congo FM that he would not meet with the rebel groups operating within his country.
“As long as I hold the presidency of the DRC, I will never allow a delegation from the March 23 Movement (M23) or the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) to negotiate in front of me. I have expressed a desire to talk with Rwanda, not to negotiate,” Tshisekedi declared on Tuesday, August 6, while in Brussels, Belgium, for medical reasons.
The Congolese leader emphasized that the primary purpose of engaging with his Rwandan counterpart would be to seek accountability for Rwanda’s actions in the DRC. He recalled that during the era of the Republic of Zaire, his country had aided Rwanda by opening its eastern borders to people fleeing the mid-1990s genocide that resulted in over 800,000 deaths.
Three decades later, Tshisekedi lamented that “the hell that began in Rwanda has now reached us, leaving us to our fate.” He accused the regime in Kigali of exploiting the situation, noting that the eastern DRC is rich in minerals and agricultural resources, which it seeks to claim. “For this, we say never; there is nothing to negotiate,” he asserted firmly, urging Rwandan soldiers to withdraw from Congolese territory.
Reelected for a second term at the end of 2023, Tshisekedi described the conflict in eastern DRC as a “war of conquest over resource-rich territories,” where a large impoverished population resides despite the abundance of rare minerals. He reassured his fellow citizens that the Congolese armed forces would persist in defending the nation’s integrity, declaring that any attempts at the balkanization of the country were “not possible.”
While President Paul Kagame has denied allegations of supporting rebels in eastern DRC, a report by UN experts released on July 8 confirmed increasing evidence of Rwanda’s backing for the M23 and Uganda’s involvement with this rebel group.
ODL/ac/lb/abj/APA