M23

M23

The conflict in Congo 2022

 

From

Karl Glanz

 

 

These guys are looking good with the truth and the firstborn in the company of God. And you will win whenever you fight for your truth... When the truth is revealed, the lie will avoid it... Courage Les Lions de Sarambwe... (Dr. Ally Rugaravu)

 

introduction

After the change of power in January 2019, former President Kabila continues to pull the strings. The new President Tshisekedi, who only came to power by manipulating the election results, is trying to emancipate himself from Kabila and work towards political reforms.

In January 2019, the new Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi was sworn in. This represented the first peaceful takeover of power since Congo gained independence. However, there are doubts about the integrity of the process and the outcome of the elections. The December 30, 2018 election was preceded by two years of uncertainty, protests and instability. Former President Joseph Kabila should have officially resigned at the end of his term on December 19, 2016. However, he had made repeated attempts to change the constitution in his favor in order to be able to run for another term. These attempts repeatedly led to massive protests by the opposition in Kinshasa and other larger cities.

Kabila finally gave in to popular pressure, as well as regional organizations and international donors, and appointed Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary as his successor. Shadary ran for the party alliance "Front commun pour le Congo" (FCC), in which Kabila's "Parti du People pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie" (PPRD) is also represented. The most important opponents were Félix Tshisekedi from the coalition party "Cap pour le Changement" (CACH) and the popular Martin Fayulu from the opposition party "Engagement pour la citoyenneté et le développement" (ECiDé).

Election observers from home and abroad see the election as rigged. The Council of Churches of Congo (Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo - CENCO) and election results leaked to the media confirmed Fayulu as the winner. But the National Electoral Commission (Commission electorale national et independante - CENI) announced Tshisekedi as the victor.

Nevertheless, the population accepted the result with a mixture of resignation and hope. After years of conflict over Kabila's retention of power, the fact that it was not Kabila himself or his chosen successor, but another candidate who took over the presidency, was probably the decisive factor.

Congo is now run by a coalition between Kabila's FCC and Tshisekedi's CACH. By all appearances, Tshisekedi's appointment was a coup by Kabila, who wanted to secure control of the legislature, the security sector and revenues from the country's economic resources by participating in the coalition even after his departure. He now seems to have succeeded: Kabila's party alliance FCC controls 340 of the 500 seats in the national parliament as well as large parts of the governing coalition. The Republican Guard also remains under Kabila's control.

But as it turns out, Tshisekedi is anything but a puppet of Kabila. Within the limits of his office, he works towards reforms and the liberalization of the country. He allowed the political parties to resume their work without restrictions. Political prisoners were released, and the powers of the feared security service, the Agence Nationale de Renseignements (ANR), were restricted. Tshisekedi also pledged to introduce free primary education and improve the healthcare system. The new President has also managed to strengthen relations with international donors such as the International Monetary Fund and the governments in Brussels, Paris and Washington.

This policy is met with resistance in the governing coalition, which is still dominated by Kabila's FCC. According to the constitution, the president is forced to come to terms with the majority in parliament and the prime minister appointed by it. Between President Tshisekedi and Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga there are repeated disputes about the direction of the policy.

More than five million people are said to have fallen victim to the nearly 30-year civil war in eastern Congo.

This situation is made more difficult by the consequences of the corona pandemic. In addition to the health risks for the population, the pandemic also poses a threat to the resource extraction on which Congo is so dependent. For example, copper prices fell 25% early in the pandemic, costing the country $5 billion in lost revenue.

One of Tshisekedi's campaign promises was to improve security in eastern Congo as well. In particular, he has worked to improve relations with political neighbors Rwanda and Angola, which is key to regional stability in the Great Lakes region. To this end, the three states signed a peace and security agreement.

Ex-President Kabila, who is protected from possible prosecution as a "senator for life," has no interest in these measures being successful. On the one hand, he, his family and political allies benefit from illegal economic activities in eastern Congo, which are made possible by the instability. On the other hand, with a view to the next elections, he and his supporters want to prevent Tshisekedis from gaining further popularity.

Meanwhile, especially in the east and south of the country, non-state groups are still active

Violent groups, such as the Mai-Mai militias in the east, militias in Ituri or Kamuina Nsapu in Karzai, are fighting for control of valuable resources in the region.

Bertrand Bisimwa said of this conflict: "The historical causes of our struggle have been the same for several decades. The country's poor governance, in which the ruling political elite has installed a system of plunder and robbery and impoverishes ordinary citizens. The general insecurity, causes by armed groups fabricated by the leaders to illegally exploit the resources The genocidal ideology promoted by those responsible for the1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwandahas also been spread among the Congolese population. The government's refusal to take appropriate measures to ensure the safe return of our refugees to the country, which it denies them citizenship on the pretext of being foreigners.

The Rwandophone compatriots suffer from discrimination, hate speech and xenophobia. This has gotten so much worse that in the meantime, for example, in the province of Maniema, the Rwandophones are no longer just killed, but their meat is also served as food. Congolese officials, politicians, army and police officials and civil society actors are openly calling on people to take up arms to kill Rwandophones. Their addresses are published on TV channels and social networks, and the population is encouraged to attack them in their homes.

"The ongoing human rights abuses in eastern DRC, including attacks on civilians because of their ethnicity or their perceived affiliation with warring factions, must stop. Our collective obligation not to forget past atrocities is an obligation to prevent their repetition," stressed Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General for the Prevention of Genocide.

The statement notes that there are indicators of the content of the dissemination of hate speech and the lack of institutional mechanisms.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the current violence is mainly due to the refugee crisis, which led to the flight of many people involved in the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.

They formed armed groups, including the FDLR, which is still very active in eastern DRC.

The statement further called for DR Congo to address the root causes of the violence and learn from the past.

The human rights abuses currently taking place in DR Congo, including attacks on civilians because of their ethnicity or affiliation with warring factions, must stop.

The collective obligation not to forget the atrocities of the past is an obligation to prevent their repetition.

The Special Adviser reiterated her joint statement of June 17, 2022, with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michèle Bachelet.

They expressed particular concern at the increasing escalation of hate speech and discriminatory hostilities, particularly against Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese.

She notes with horror that this hate speech is being emanated from political figures, community leaders, civil society actors and members of the diaspora.

 

 

The beginning

 

Kenya's President William Ruto announced the deployment of troops to eastern DRC in a joint regional operation against a rebel offensive. Kenya deployed more than 900 military personnel to the DRC to join a new regional force tasked with calming deadly tensions fueled by armed groups. The Kenyan armed forces will be based in Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC. The East African Community regional force, agreed by heads of state in June and led by a Kenyan commander, also has two battalions from Uganda, two from Burundi and one from South Sudan.

Armed groups in eastern DRC have stepped up attacks, reviving old hostilities and sparking a surge in tensions with neighboring Rwanda.

Since the end of October, violence between the army and the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has escalated again. The grouping emerged as a successor organization to the so-called National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP).

The CNDP, which consists mostly of members of the Tutsi minority, had already fought against government troops and militias from the rival Hutu ethnic group around 15 years ago. The Congolese army had actually defeated the rebels of the M23 movement in 2013.

The M23 Rebellion was an armed conflict in North Kivu, DR Congo between the March 23 Movement and government forces. The rebellion was part of ongoing fighting in the region following the formal end of the Second Congo War in 2003. It erupted in 2012 and lasted until 2013, when a peace deal was struck between 11 African nations and M23 troops in Uganda surrendered.

Who are these rebels?

It's a rebel group called the M23. The name derives from the date. The March 23 Movement, abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is a rebel military group based in the eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), mainly operating in the North Kivu province. The rebels were active in North Kivu province, fighting government forces in Rutshuru and Masisi areas.

M23 is a revolutionary movement in Congo that fights:

1. For the survival of Tutsis killed by FDLR,

2. Against injustice, insecurity and bad governance of the Tshisekedi regime

3. For the repatriation of refugees

"What happens to every Tutsi in DR Congo. Hatred, tribalism and xenophobia are flaws that need to be eradicated in this country. The devil has taken over our country.

We need courageous men to make a difference." (Bertrand Bisimwa)

The Congolese must realize that they have been bewitched by a genocidal ideology instilled by the fdlr and other extremists. They need a father of the nation who sees things differently if not an anti-Tutsi genocide and is not carried out.

The 2012-13 M23 rebellion against the DRC government resulted in large numbers of people being displaced. On November 20, 2012, M23 took control of Goma, a provincial capital with a population of one million people, but was ordered by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region to evacuate it, as the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo finally agreed to negotiate with them. In late 2012, Congolese forces along with UN forces retook control of Goma and M23 announced a ceasefire and said it wanted to resume peace talks.

In 2017, the M23 commander and around 100-200 of his supporters fled Uganda to continue their insurgency and set up camp at Mount Mikeno in the border area between Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo. The operations of this splinter group remained marginal and unsupported by the rest of M23. In March 2022, the group launched an offensive from its outlying bases; these first attacks accomplished little. However, after failed peace talks in April 2022, Bisimwa's M23 faction joined the offensive. In May 2022, M23 fighters launched their most sustained attack since the start of their new offensive, overrunning a Congolese army base in Rumangabo. On June 13, the rebels captured the important frontier town of Bunagana.

The M23 leadership argued that parts of their movement had restarted the insurgency because the terms of the 2013 peace agreement were not being honored by the DRC government. The rebels also argued that they were trying to protect Kivu's Tutsi minority from attacks by Hutu militants such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

he was accused of treason for “financial embezzlement, division, ethnic hatred, fraud and political immaturity”. A faction of M23 loyal to him, including M23 founder Bosco Ntaganda, has clashed with Sultani Makenga supporters) and Bertrand Bisimwa's "Revolutionary Army of the Congo" (Bertrand Bisimwa is a Congolese rebel and human rights activist. He is the president of the M23 movement, also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army. Bisimwa is a lawyer by training). In addition, Makengas (Colonel Sultani Makenga , born in in Rutshuru, Zaire, is the military chief of the M23 movement. Makenga is an ethnic Tutsi and grew up in South Kivu] He fought during the Rwandan Civil War for the Rwanda Patriotic Front group de facto separate from the other M23 forces which were still mainly based in Uganda. Subsequent investigations organized by the United Nations Security Council indicated that Makenga's return to an insurgency had initiated the gradual rearmament and recovery of M23s, with Bisimwa's "Revolutionary Army of the Congo" joining these efforts in late 2021 by reorganizing their remaining fighters and new recruited collaboration with Makenga. The headquarters of the restored M23 are believed to be at Mount Sabyinyo. Subsequent investigations organized by the United Nations Security Council indicated that Makenga's return to an insurgency had initiated the gradual rearmament and recovery of M23s, with Bisimwa's "Revolutionary Army of the Congo" joining these efforts in late 2021 by reorganizing their remaining fighters and new recruited collaboration with Makenga. The headquarters of the restored M23 are believed to be at Mount Sabyinyo. Subsequent investigations organized by the United Nations Security Council indicated that Makenga's return to an insurgency had initiated the gradual rearmament and recovery of M23s, with Bisimwa's "Revolutionary Army of the Congo" joining these efforts in late 2021 by reorganizing their remaining fighters and new recruited collaboration with Makenga. The headquarters of the restored M23 are believed to be at Mount Sabyinyo. by reorganizing their remaining fighters and recruiting new ones working with Makenga. The headquarters of the restored M23 are believed to be at Mount Sabyinyo. by reorganizing their remaining fighters and recruiting new ones working with Makenga. The headquarters of the restored M23 are believed to be at Mount Sabyinyo.

As of 2022, M23 was just one of 120 armed groups operating in eastern DRC. Before March 2022, the Congolese government made attempts to strengthen its position against the resurgent M23 by sending more troops. However, such measures weakened its presence in other areas, such as those affected by the Allied Democratic Forces insurgency.

 

The DRC government has said it will not negotiate with the M23 rebel group after the group said it was ready to negotiate. DRC spokesman Patrick Muyaya said it was clear the government would not negotiate with the M23 group. M23 is a terrorist group and the Kinshasa government cannot cooperate with such a group. The DRC's position comes as the East African Community prepares to deploy a joint army into parts of North and South Kivu Kivu, east of the DRC, in the war against rebel groups in that area, including the Group M23. The group's spokesman, Major Willy Ngoma, said they will not lay down their arms. We like the dialogue. But if the Congolese government does not want dialogue and we are ready to fight now, then we will fight totally to defend ourselves and we will fight very well. We will follow them wherever they go, lest they destroy our peace. We will take away their weapons," said M23 rebel spokesman Major Willy Ngoma. M23 have said they will not leave Bunagana earlier this year, the M23 group, which controls the town of Bunagana, which lies on the border with Uganda, has said it is protecting the Tutsi community from attacks by the FDLR group of protects Hutu militants accused of 1994 Rwandan genocide Forces to be led by Kenyan soldiers Major Ngoma told Sauti ya America,

The rebels have seized two major cities in eastern Congo after fierce fighting, doubling their territory, which they now control, civil society leaders and residents have said. Clashes between the Congolese army and M23 rebels intensified near the Rutshuru and Kiwanja districts, with gunfire erupting in the early hours. Shells hit residential areas. When the militia arrived, the Congolese soldiers fled and the UN blue helmets stayed in their barracks. John Banyene, the country's civil society president, told the Associated Press news agency that the rebels now control central Rutshuru and Kiwanja, areas 70 kilometers from the state's capital Goma.

There is unrest on the streets of Goma. People are furious over a war they say was started by rebels from the M23 movement, one of more than 120 armed groups operating across the region. Thousands of anti-Rwanda protesters marched through the eastern DRC city of Goma as M23 rebels tightened their grip on the surrounding countryside. In this situation, Kenya is sending troops that are certainly not welcome in Goma. The protesters demanded weapons to fight against Rwanda and slogans against Uganda, which some also accuse of supporting the M23.

Deputy Chief of Defense Forces Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu said if the East African Community (EAC) Regional Forces decided to be stationed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it would take them less than 24 hours to capture the M23 rebels defeat . Lt-Gen Elwelu made the comments during a meeting with a European Union delegation led by EU External Action Service Senior Adviser on Emerging Threats in the Great Lakes, Horn of Africa and Western Indian Ocean, Mr Charles Stuart, at the Department for Defense and

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: Karl Glanz
Bildmaterialien: M23
Cover: Karl Glanz
Lektorat: Karl Glanz
Korrektorat: Karl Glanz
Übersetzung: Karl Glanz
Satz: Bookrix
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 08.02.2023
ISBN: 978-3-7554-3102-2

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Widmung:
This book is dedicated to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.