The complexity of the DRC-Rwanda crisis

Kagame & Kabila

Mobhare Matinyi, Washington DC. The Citizen, Tanzania. Thursday, 02 August 2012 21:46 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Once again, the Great Lakes region, one of the most lethal regions around the world, is in the midst of another bloody conflict that started in April involving the incompetent army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) against the battle-hardened elements of the rebel organization from the eastern part of the country known as the M23.

The unrest, which includes indiscriminate and summary killings of innocent civilians, has so far managed to drive about half a million people, twice the population of Seychelles, and Sao Tome and Principe combined, from their homes in the DRC into Rwanda and Uganda, two places that aren’t that much hospitable for the Congolese refugees.

The international community led by the United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany have squarely placed blame over the crisis on Rwanda claiming that they have authentic reports from UN experts. The Western powers have gone as far as cutting aid to Kigali with the US suspending a planned $200 million in military aid, while the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany have suspended budget aid in the amount of $25 million, $6.1 million and $26 million respectively.

Rwanda is vehemently denying these allegations and strongly questions the authenticity of the report which says Kigali is helping the M23 with everything from fighters, weapons and supplies, to finances and logistics. President Paul Kagame has categorically and repeatedly told the world that the problem is not Rwanda, but the international community, which he characterizes as arrogant with officials who don’t listen no matter how hard someone tells them about the reality.

Speaking to his military commanders, Western diplomats and foreign military officials recently, Kagame accused the international community of starting the problems in the first place, and then blaming others when it failed to resolve them. Watching the video on YouTube, “President Kagame on M23”, one can see how angry, upset and disappointed Kagame was; he was almost at loss for words. When he spoke to Aljazeera in June, Kagame was equally critical of anyone who blames Rwanda and wondered how one could produce such a report without talking to Rwandan officials.

The eastern part of the DRC is burning and the acclaimed leader of the insurgency is Bosco Ntaganda, a Tutsi who fought with the Rwandan Patriotic Army to liberate Rwanda from the 1994 genocide organized by a Hutu-dominated government.  Ntaganda was a one-time Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo (FPLC) before heading the military wing of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).  He was integrated into the DRC army in 2009 as a Major General in a shoddy peace deal.

However, there was one big problem with that 2009 deal; the International Criminal Court (ICC) had already issued an arrest warrant for Ntaganda back in May 2008. Kinshasa kept quiet and Ntaganda remained in North Kivu, right at the DRC-Rwanda border while controlling several mines. When the big powers asked Rwanda to arrest Ntaganda, Kagame told them that, arresting any Congolese citizen was not Rwanda’s business.

Things changed in April when Ntaganda learned that the DRC President Joseph Kabila had ordered his arrest for some disciplinary matters, and that was when he launched a mutiny. Kagame told his commanders and Western diplomats that when he spoke to Kabila on how to resolve peace issues in the region, he was surprised to hear Kabila talking about arresting Ntaganda. However, the Congolese soldiers are totally incapable of fighting Ntaganda’s forces, and the best they can do is to run faster.

Some analysts like Herman Cohen, who served as the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1989 to 1993, believe that Rwanda is working with Ntaganda for economic reasons, a belief that has been around for a while.

Rwanda, dubbed the Singapore of Africa, amazes critics on how it manages its affairs with virtually no resources whatsoever as its visionary leader, Kagame, works hard to get rid of dependence on foreign aid. Unlike many African leaders who wander around the world capitals begging, Kagame detests foreign aid.

The independence of Kagame’s mind and his attitude to stand firm for his country, are what push some admirers of Rwanda to ponder the question: are these Western powers genuine about the DRC-Rwanda crisis or simply spurious?

Of course no African wants the Congolese to die, but the question is: since when did the Westerners feel sorry for the Congolese while in actuality their companies are the ones fueling bloody conflicts and plundering the country’s mineral resources?  

Certainly, although the current Great Lakes crisis, which apparently is happening in front of the largest UN peacekeeping forces, MONUC, is not that much easy to understand, but seriously, a true solution must be found right now.