Congo forever shaking hands with the devil

When it comes to media reports on the ongoing Great Lakes crisis in Africa, Rwanda can’t seem to catch a break. While the jury is still out, the media has it all figured out; no matter what, blame Rwanda! But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The media’s negative attitude towards Rwanda is but a mere reflection of those who profit the most from conflict and instability. The very same organizations that claim to want to solve problems are the ones creating them in the first place. This can be best illustrated in the most recent turn of events. June 11th 2014. Word gets out that an exchange of gunfire had been heard near the border of Rwanda and the DRC. Major news outlets break the news and quote the officials. According to Rwanda government, the RDF responded to an attack of FARDC elements that illegally crossed the border for the umpteenth time and fired upon them. After all, for the past 11 months, Rwanda has handed over 12 Congolese soldiers arrested on Rwandan soil for trespassing- or on a recon mission- via the EJVM. “Not so…” says Congo, after claims of Rwandan casualties later retracted, “Rwanda abducted our soldiers and executed them in cold blood...” In the face of such expected conflicting accounts, Rwanda took it upon itself to request the ICGLR Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) to shed light on what really transpired on that fateful day. How naïve of them, one would now argue in hindsight, given the damning report recently ‘leaked’ to the likes of the BBC, putting the blame squarely on Rwanda. By the way, these institutions really need to get that leakage problem fixed… seriously, get a plumber or something! Sounds like a joke, but I am dead serious. There is not a single report on the Great Lakes crisis that has not magically found itself on the news desks of the most prominent mouthpieces of the Anti-Rwanda movement. But why always give ‘carte blanche’ to the DRC… and why the constant demonization of Rwanda? Possibly because the former is their biggest source of revenue while the latter pulled the rug under their feet by trying to actually resolve these issues permanently. If not for a clear disdain of Rwanda and its current leadership, how else would we explain that a border dispute we never heard of before and never filed with the African Union finds it way on such a report, with only Google Earth as a supporting document! Topographical maps clearly show the hill of Kanyesheja II on Rwandan territory. Leaking such a document without the required signatures of all parties involved clearly speaks of malicious intent. All of this comes just weeks after what was meant to be a milestone in resolving the real dispute between Rwanda and Congo Kinshasa turned out to be yet another disappointing masquerade. The armed and dangerous motley crew dubbed ‘FDLR’, composed mainly of genocidairs on the run and their indoctrinated youths, remains a thorn in Rwanda’s side and presents a potential threat to its stability. Since April of this year, less than two hundred of them have laid down their old and rusty weapons under the supervision of the Southern Africa Development community (SADC), but no senior members were amongst them. The Congolese Government reportedly granted them a grace period to complete the disarmament while remaining unclear on the intended course of action in case of non-compliance. The very same Congolese Government that turned around and lobbied via its UN friend and under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous, to temporarily lift the travel ban on FDLR commanders to allow them to attend a one day meeting in Italy organized by the Sant Egidio Catholic Community and meet with senior UN special envoys led by Mary Robinson. It is quite obvious for anyone willing to connect the dots that elements favorable to the rehabilitation of the FDLR as a means to destabilize Rwanda have found themselves in strategic positions to do just that. It is equally clear that their ill-will towards the Land of a Thousand Hills is a desperate effort to protect the goose that lays golden eggs, namely the DRC. And to that end, they would stop at nothing…not even attempting to rehabilitate the genocidairs responsible for the worst crime against humanity of the 20th centenary in the very country they wronged…so much for never again! The writer is a media specialist on the Great Lakes Region