The ‘good’ relations between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda attest to the old adage that in politics there is no permanent friend or enemy. Though we have not heard much from the two parties, it is clear that by reading between the lines, you will find out that they have decided to bury the hatchet and fight towards ending potential threats against their governments. We heard of the arrest of Laurent Nkunda, the integration of most rebel groups in the DRC army and so forth. These were the greatest threats the DRC was facing as a country, and it has much to benefit from the peace deal that sees them (rebels) disarmed and integrated into society. Conversely, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda are witnessing a beginning to an end of their long time terrorism, while using the eastern DRC territory. It was recently reported that Interahamwe rebels, have started to surrender because of the mounting pressure posed by the advancing joint military operation. One could ask himself why they are witnessing the new developments. What I see as the bottom line, is the priority the two countries have given to their mutual interest at the boarders. When one goes deep into the analysis as to whether the two countries need to continue the animosity, he or she gets a negative answer. “The two countries after finding the rebels not as allies but liabilities had to discard them,” said a BBC reporter. Though of course foreign journalists, in most cases, argue from a point of ignorance, this one had a point to make. I have argued before that DRC had no long-term profit or benefit in habouring FDLR, a group made of criminals. It is again true that though, a sensible person would not want to see the Banyamulenge persecuted, when peace is given priority, it must be embraced with open arms. Nonetheless, whatever development we are witnessing confirms my earlier plea for Africans to be given a chance to solve their own problems, in an article entitled, “Solving African problems with traditional herb.” The African herb is actually showing us some signs of ending chaos in the region. It is however very incorrect to exaggerate any developments for they tend to push us further astray. Unfortunately, this is what the foreign media through its so-called political experts in the Great Lakes Region, are doing.“Laurent Nkunda arrested after years of terrorising eastern Congo,” said a BBC news reporter recently. National Congress for Defence of the People (CNDP) was just a rebel group and not a terrorist. Terrorism connotes other extremes. It is therefore always wrong to blow whistles, beyond limits in fragile situations- a young peace deal is in its infancy. It is in the same line that I was flabbergasted by the recent comments by Mark Doyle, a BBC World Affairs Correspondent, who commented, “Rwanda has been described by some as the Israel of Africa.” “…However, the presence of Rwandan troops inside Congo is bound to spark controversy and could have a powerful impact across central Africa,” he adds. Though there may be some similarities between the Israel and Rwandan history, and more precisely the genocides, he pejoratively equates the two countries. These same people continue to try to draw such dichotomies by insisting on mentioning the so-called Rwandan ethnic groups. “Like the Israelis, the Tutsi have enemies on their borders, and now they have sent in their powerful army to deal with the ones who have bases in neighbouring DRC,” said Mark Doyle. Who tells him that Rwanda has enemies at its borders? Rwanda could be having enemies at one boarder, but not all boarders as the journalist would want the world to believe. You see he does not give a proper comparative analysis but a biased one. No wonder he contradicts himself quickly for obvious reasons- to be professionally safe, “…The parallels with Israel are not exact, of course,” he adds. Nonetheless, the DRC- Rwanda initiative is a positive development to all peace lovers and a big blow to all peace haters. When there is chaos; some groups, individuals, or countries tend to benefit from it, I am sure such people may be developing red eyes as they slowly but steadily foresee a peace in making in the Great Lakes region. And since there is no permanent enemy or friend in politics, we have to give the trend of events in the DRC a thumbs up. After all the people of DRC and Rwanda are not real enemies but have been torn apart by unprecedented political quagmire in their midst. mugitoni@yahoo.com
