Africa We Want

DRC: Congo For Dummies…… But How More Stupid Can Those Become ?

The war in North-Kivu is still at full swing and as usual the M23 continue to wipe the floor with the FARDC and their Hutu extremist allies FDLR and Nyatura. Marc Hoogsteyns, Kivu Press Agency

In the meanwhile, the international community is putting a lot of pressure on both Kigali and Kinshasa but most of the country watchers do not seem to believe that diplomacy can solve this problem at short notice, especially not because some of the protagonists have blocked themselves in their own narratives.

Instead of looking at this conflict as an internal Congolese affair Kinshasa keeps on pointing its finger at Kigali to support the M23 rebellion but the Rwandan government keeps on denying this. Another reason why this conflict is so difficult to stop is the fact that nobody seems to understand the grass roots of it, the demographical (ethical) complexity and the history of this region and the bigger geo-political stage on which it is also taking place.

To cut this explanation short we are now confronted with a situation in which the current government in Kinshasa has become the most instable factor in this whole process: it set a whole hatred campaign in motion, it labeled people who were just reclaiming the rights they were promised nearly ten years ago as terrorists and admitting that error by starting to negotiate again with the M23 would expose fully its own weakness.

And that weakness could than be exploited fully by other populist politicians who have even more darker agendas than those who are running the show in Kinshasa now. Add to that that the Congo of today is only a country that exists on paper; more than 70 % of its territory is left ungoverned, corruption is thrive, its army and its police forces are a joke and its political scene is dominated by selfish predators who want to maintain this anarchy in place to protect their monkey business activities.

To do this more than 100 private militias are roaming the country to create chaos and to protect their interests. Congo is one of the richest countries in the world for its minerals but the bulk of the population is living is sheer poverty. Everybody is aware of these facts but the whole discussion is currently focusing on the M23 debacle.

Terrorists

So far nobody has been able to prove that Rwanda is fully behind the M23 rebellion, most of the analyses about this topic are falling into the trap to categorize the Congolese Hutu- and Tutsi population under a Rwandan roof, they forget that the M23 withdrew into Uganda in 2013 after having been promised a number of guarantees of which the protection of Bagogwe community in North-Kivu and the re-integration of the M23 fighters were the most important elements.

In the meanwhile, the Bagogwe community in the province had dwindled from approx. 200.000 to only 10.000 souls over the years and the central government had started labeling them as terrorists when questions were asked about when the problem should or could be discussed. Even the biggest Congo dummy could see that this situation soon would cause another crash.

The M23 finally returned to the battle field to put pressure on the government in Kinshasa and the ease with which they walked over the Congolese army let many observers believe that they were receiving aid from Rwanda. The war against this battle hardened and well-motivated rebel force soon became an easy excuse for the politically bankrupt government in Kinshasa to cover up other mall practices.

In the past we regularly published updates about all this and all the details to beef up this reality can already be found on this blog. In fact, the M23 never planned to march on Goma and they still do not plan to do this now. They only asked and still ask to be listened to.

In the meanwhile, the international community is putting a lot of pressure on both Kigali and Kinshasa but most of the country watchers do not seem to believe that diplomacy can solve this problem at short notice, especially not because some of the protagonists have blocked themselves in their own narratives.

Instead of looking at this conflict as an internal Congolese affair Kinshasa keeps on pointing its finger at Kigali to support the M23 rebellion but the Rwandan government keeps on denying this. Another reason why this conflict is so difficult to stop is the fact that nobody seems to understand the grass roots of it, the demographical (ethical) complexity and the history of this region and the bigger geo-political stage on which it is also taking place.

To cut this explanation short we are now confronted with a situation in which the current government in Kinshasa has become the most instable factor in this whole process: it set a whole hatred campaign in motion, it labeled people who were just reclaiming the rights they were promised nearly ten years ago as terrorists and admitting that error by starting to negotiate again with the M23 would expose fully its own weakness.

And that weakness could than be exploited fully by other populist politicians who have even more darker agendas than those who are running the show in Kinshasa now. Add to that that the Congo of today is only a country that exists on paper; more than 70 % of its territory is left ungoverned, corruption is thrive, its army and its police forces are a joke and its political scene is dominated by selfish predators who want to maintain this anarchy in place to protect their monkey business activities.

To do this more than 100 private militias are roaming the country to create chaos and to protect their interests. Congo is one of the richest countries in the world for its minerals but the bulk of the population is living is sheer poverty. Everybody is aware of these facts but the whole discussion is currently focusing on the M23 debacle.

Terrorists

So far nobody has been able to prove that Rwanda is fully behind the M23 rebellion, most of the analyses about this topic are falling into the trap to categorize the Congolese Hutu- and Tutsi population under a Rwandan roof, they forget that the M23 withdrew into Uganda in 2013 after having been promised a number of guarantees of which the protection of Bagogwe community in North-Kivu and the re-integration of the M23 fighters were the most important elements.

In the meanwhile, the Bagogwe community in the province had dwindled from approx. 200.000 to only 10.000 souls over the years and the central government had started labeling them as terrorists when questions were asked about when the problem should or could be discussed. Even the biggest Congo dummy could see that this situation soon would cause another crash.

The M23 finally returned to the battle field to put pressure on the government in Kinshasa and the ease with which they walked over the Congolese army let many observers believe that they were receiving aid from Rwanda. The war against this battle hardened and well-motivated rebel force soon became an easy excuse for the politically bankrupt government in Kinshasa to cover up other mall practices.

In the past we regularly published updates about all this and all the details to beef up this reality can already be found on this blog. In fact, the M23 never planned to march on Goma and they still do not plan to do this now. They only asked and still ask to be listened to.

Deadlock

Today the stalemate and the deadlock are total: Kinshasa has trapped itself in a narrative of contradictions, lies and hatred messages. Admitting that they were wrong and turning the clock back into a position in which they would be able to discuss the matter on equal terms with the M23 would expose this weakness big time.

Most of the observers who did not agree with us previously now have to admit that the political leadership in Kinshasa has become a liability and a danger for itself, one that lacks the understanding of its own acts, one that tried to provoke a bigger international war in the Kivu’s to cover up its mistakes and one that might resort to even bigger provocations to do that in the following days or weeks.

M23 will not agree on terms is which they will continue to be labeled as terrorists. The Tutsi community in the African Great Lakes Region will not tolerate any longer that the FDLR – the descendants of those who organized the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda – are being re-equipped to do most of the fighting for the Congolese army.

By admitting that their whole M23 approach was a big mistake Kinshasa will also have to admit that their total policy to resolve all the other wars in the east of the country have been an even bigger failure. Very soon President Tshisekedi is also facing new elections which he’ll probably lose as well. The ongoing peace efforts of Angola, Kenya and other African countries will probably have only a limited influence on this mad man policy.

The newly arrived Kenyan army will probably also think twice before engaging itself as the new military handy man of the FARDC. This situation is very serious: president Tshisekedi is blocked in the corner of a boxing ring; he’s dizzied and groggy and he’s not able any longer to see where the blows come from. His only chance to get out of that situation without officially loosing the fight might be to jump on the jury or the and hope that the audience will start to fight as well. Poor Congo! Only looking at Rwanda to solve this mess would be intellectually incorrect……………

Author: MANZI
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