Blame game diverts attention from the real issues affecting DRC

The United States government on Saturday announced it had withdrawn $200,000 initially earmarked to support a Rwandan military academy, amidst allegations Kigali was backing the M23 rebels in the Eastern DRC.The development came just a week after the Heads of State from the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), including Presidents Joseph Kabila of DRC and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, signed a pact that laid out measures to jointly tackle security issues in Eastern DRC.The ICGLR mechanism, backed by the African Union, provided for deployment of a neutral international force, alongside the existing UN Stabilising Mission in the Congo (MONUSCO), which would help disarm armed groups in the area, including M23 and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR); as well as monitor the Rwanda-DRC border.Another meeting is planned early next month to determine the technical requirements for the deployment of the proposed force, while the regional body has also offered to organise an open dialogue on the root causes of the problems in the Congo with a view of finding lasting solution.In the meantime, the mutinous group has not made much progress on the ground in the recent days, and has made its own calls for peaceful resolution to the renewed crisis.In this context, therefore, it would be assumed that the international community would support ICGLR in these noble efforts without escalating rhetoric.Washington’s move sends out a negative message, suggesting that Rwanda is backing the mutineers despite lack of credible evidence.Such actions are likely to divert attention from the real issues in the Congo, only heaping blame on a neighbour who has otherwise demonstrated good intentions to help address the crisis, through bilateral or multilateral mechanisms.It is critical the international community demonstrates goodwill to help Congo address its own problems by genuinely working with its leaders and other regional players to find a sustainable solution.

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Blame game diverts attention from the real issues affecting DRC