The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has criticized the international community for failing to address the underlying causes of the conflict in the resistive eastern DR Congo. He pointed out the systemic persecution of the Congolese Tutsi community mostly in eastern part of the vast country where they have endured hate speech, discrimination and persecution. Thousands have been killed and others forced into refuge. Minister Nduhungirehe's made the observation on Tuesday evening while reacting on numerous statements issued by different countries and international organisations condemning the recent takeover of Masisi territory by the M23 rebel group. Most of those statements accuse once again Rwanda of supporting the M23, with a biased and simplistic language, mentionning the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC, Nduhungirehe posted in an X post (formerly Twitter). However, he added, it is disappointing to note that none of those statements recall facts. The facts According to Nduhungirehe, many parts of Masisi territory are/were in the hands of the FDLR génocidaires, which is a foreign force that is occupying a Congolese territory. FDLR is a militia group composed of perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the same group has been behind the suffering of the Congolese Tutsi community for the past 30 years. And at no time, he added, have those countries condemned the endemic violation of the integrity of Congolese lands belonging to Congolese communities, including the Congolese Tutsi. It's as if a Rwandan genocidal force is more legitimate on DRC soil than a Congolese community that the former tries to exterminate. Reacting on the issue of the European mercenaries, Nduhungirehe pointed out that former were deployed in the same region to support, in blatant violation of the international law, a military coalition that includes the FARDC, the FDLR génocidaires, the CMC Nyatura, the Wazalendo criminal militia and the Burundian forces. This, he said, is yet to be addressed. Even the European Union and its member States, where those mercenaries come from, continue to remain silent and inactive on the criminal activities of those mercenaries. The EU statement, issued after the fall of Masisi, fails to to address the underlying causes of the conflict in the Eastern DR Congo, according to Nduhungirehe. Yet, Congolese communities of Rwandan heritage exist for more than a century in DRC because of colonial borders artificially drawn by current EU member States, the same that never miss an opportunity to accuse a movement defending these communities. He stressed that none of the statements mention the need for direct political talks between the Government of DRC and the M23, which should address the root causes of this crisis, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the conflict. Indeed, the conflict in eastern DRC cannot be resolved through quick fixes, nice pictures and handshakes, the infantilization of the DRC leadership or through the usual accusations and blame game by the international community Only a serious approach, taking into consideration the current persecution of the Congolese Tutsi and the security threats against Rwanda (as demonstrated by President Tshisekedi's bellicose rhetoric) could significantly contribute to the restoration of peace in Eastern DRC and in the Great Lakes region. Over the past weekend, M23 rebels captured the key town of Masisi in one of the five main territories of eastern DR Congo’s North Kivu Province which spans approximately 59,483 square kilometres. Masisi town is the capital of Masisi territory. It is located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the North Kivu provincial capital, Goma. Last week, the rebels captured the nearby town of Katale and, according to media reports, the rebels continue to advance, seizing swathes of territory from a vast government coalition comprising local Wazalendo militia, European mercenaries, Burundian army forces, and troops from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
