As we go into the second week since an ultimatum for the FDLR to disarm elapsed, the threat to forcibly disarm them has remain a dead letter. Monusco’s guns remain silent. Instead, what we are seeing are obvious signs that those mandated to go after the militia group have not made it their priority. Several tweets on Monusco’s Twitter handle refer to the FDLR in business terms, not as high value targets that have to be eliminated. The tweets refer to the few members of the militia groups as “clients”, but without the inverted commas. The philosophy behind the appellation is not lost in translation but an indication of the subtler attempts to sanitise a militia group linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It is very easy to assume – rightly or not – that one does not antagonise “clients”, they would rather have them on their side. The international community should lean on Monusco to honour its mandate or close shop altogether. The time of putting the threats into action has long past, what is needed is concrete action. The Congolese civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence for the last two decades deserve no less.
