DR Congo: " Just a revolutionary with a pseudonym "

Red Pepper ( Uganda ) reports

M7, Kabila Agree On DRC Peace Deal

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni (R) and his DRC counterpart in a warm handshake after the meeting. PPU PHOTO.

Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) counterpart, Joseph Kabila have agreed that the DRC-M23 Peace Talks also known as the Kampala Dialogue, should be brought to a conclusion as soon as possible.

I actually had reached the obviously incorrect conclusion that the DR Congo -  M23 talks had concluded. In fact my opinion was that  Lambert Mende who seems to have orchestrated the DR Congo side of things had done rather well  at avoiding the whole peace agreement fiasco.

" All in all I rather suspect Lambert Mende has out thought and out maneuvered everyone and with the added bonus of making all the VIP's in Kampala look like a bunch of clowns. Take a bow that man. "  

The decision was reached Monday in a meeting between the two heads of state held at Entebbe state house. It came after the peace talks stalled in October as a result of disagreements between the rebels and government negotiators.

What on earth is the point of restarting them. They are history, the only winner from this will be Museveni and the DR Congo don't owe him any favours given his protection of the M23 leadership from not only Congolese justice but from the ICC as well.

President Museveni is the Chairman of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) that urged the two sides to resolve their differences peacefully.

That was not possible and the result was M23 were defeated. Defeat as I have said many times involves a surrender and terms dictated by the winner not a bloody peace agreement.

A communiqué issued by the Presidential Press Unit says that the two presidents agreed that the conclusion of the talks would facilitate the return of the M23 ex-fighters to their country and also pave way for the demobilization process.

I would hope that the DR Congo makes it conditional that the leadership of the ex-M23 fighters will also return and face the charges that the DR Congo government has indicted them for, an acceptable alternative might as I have also suggested be the handing over to the ICC of the accused criminals.

According to the statement, this would also make it possible for Congolese Refugees living in neighboring countries to return home. The statement indicates President Kabila’s re-affirmation to rid the Eastern DRC of all militia including the FDLR and the remains of the Ugandan rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces-ADF.

A peace agreement with M23 in no way would mean it was safe for refugees to return, a peace agreement with a spent force is a waste of everyone's time I very much doubt there would be a huge enthusiasm on the part of the defeated M23 rebels to return.

Monday’s meeting between the two leaders came as the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Mary Robinson concludes a week-long mission of the region that was aimed at boosting peace efforts.

At Monday’s meeting, the two presidents also talked about ways of cooperating through the revival of the Joint Permanent Commission which will look into infrastructure as well as border disputes.

Uganda is host to over 170,000 Congolese refugees, with an estimated 10,000 that fled into Uganda in November following clashes between government forces and M23 rebels, according to UNHCR. This recent round of fighting saw the M23 being defeated by the joint effort of the Congolese government forces and the UN Brigade Force.

If there is one thing that Uganda deserves praise for it would be its treatment of refugees.

In late 2012, a leaked report by the UN Security Council’s Group of Experts accused Uganda of supporting the M23 rebels, an accusation the Uganda government denied.

The denial lacks credibility. Particularly give Uganda's support of the M23 leadership.

Hat Tip Alex Engwete who gives an on the ground perspective on the issue from Kinshasa.

DR Congo. M23 learning from Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf ( Comical Ali or Baghdad Bob )

Congo DRC News provides some more drivel ( This is an M23 affiliated site and as such it specialises in drivel ). The original piece is in French but with the assistance of Goggle Translate I have attempted to clean it up. Any TRANSLATION mistakes are mine. 

            The helpless Kabila 

by Marius Kisombe

                                                                                               Joseph Kabila

It is always wise to learn from ones own mistakes and those of others.
This unfortunately  does not seem to be the opinion of the man in whom the Congolese have entrusted their destiny. Even their "national dialogue" process failed to move Kabila and his majority to a more responsible and objective view of the situation in the country.

I assume by the country the M23 fools mean the eastern DR Congo. I am no fan of Kabila but I share the view that advocates M23 should be disarmed and its leadership brought to justice for the indiscriminate rape and killings they have inflicted on the people of the eastern DR Congo.

While the UN is the true architect of the fictitious victory they boast over the M23 rebels, the rebels realized that military victory is not possible or appropriate solution to the crisis,  Kabila and his government as well as civil society in their pay continue to advocate war and make a show of reconcilation. 

That would be the fictitious victory that saw the M23 rebels routed and forced to retreat. The New York Times reports.

" Government troops occupied strategic hills overlooking the eastern city of Goma on Friday after rebel fighters withdrew. The development was the government’s most significant military success in a year. Congolese troops have been buoyed by the intervention of a new United Nations brigade fighting alongside them to drive back the rebels, known as the M23. The rebels said they had left the hills voluntarily to permit an independent investigation into shelling that killed civilians in Goma and the town of Gisenyi, across the border in Rwanda. But the Congolese Army disagreed. “They did not leave by choice — they were confronted with the power of the army,” said Lt. Col. Olivier Hamuli, a spokesman for Congo’s armed forces."

As for a military victory not being possible well on this M23 are correct it is not possible for M23 to win there only sensible option is unconditional surrender. I also agree that the Congolese government are doing little more than going through the motions with regard to the reconciliation peace talks in Kampala, I just happen to think that the Government are fools for even attending. They should have pressed home their attack and killed off M23 rather than giving them breathing space to regroup. A military victory is still very much a possibility for the Congolese armed forces and MONUSCO.

Neither the exorbitant number of soldiers killed on the front or the humanitarian disaster resulting from the resumption of the war seem to divert Kabila and majority off the suicidal path on which they are committed. 
But the lesson, the United Nations have certainly drawn from the mistake they made ​​to engage in the war on the side of regime that is hated and incompetent. There is no doubt that the United Nations would never set up this famous brigade if they had known that it would fight instead of FARDC or if they were aware of the determination of the M23 to defend themselves and defend the cause of his fight to the end.

I have seen estimates on the M23 casualties that suggest between 100 to 200 rebels killed as for FARDC and MONUSCO casualties the exorbitant number is 11. The civilians all died at the hands of M23.

" The latest fighting, which began last Wednesday, has so far claimed the lives of one UN peacekeeper and at least 10 Congolese soldiers and 14 civilians. They  were killed by shelling on either side of the Congo-Rwanda border."

I am not at all sure what humanitarian disaster is being referred to maybe it is this one.

" GOMA — Residents of Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are optimistic that the withdrawal of M23 rebels from positions outside the city could bring an end to fighting in the area. The situation is still volatile, as tensions with neighboring Rwanda remain high.

Days after the shelling stopped, the Virunga market in Goma is starting to shuffle back to life.

It’s Sunday - a typically slow day - but many of the shops here are open. Women are folding colorful fabrics, and customers are walking through rows of used blue jeans hanging from wooden posts."

As for the Intervention ( Africa ) Brigade fighting instead of FARDC well M23 should have been aware that the FARDC forces they are facing this time are a little different from the incompetent fools who went before them. Jason Stearns of the Congo Siasa blog explains.   

" In addition, the army is now giving more prominence to the commando battalions, the 321 and 322 trained by the Belgians (a third is currently being trained in Kindu), the 391 trained by the Americans, and one by the Chinese (on the northern front line in Tongo). During the operations last year, these battalions had been mismanaged by the military hierarchy, which dismantled them, sent them to areas where there was little to do, and "sabotaged them by sending them into battle without supplies or knowledge of the terrain," according to one Belgian trainer." 

After the clashes against the M23 where they recognize that they have lost fifty-nine men in their ranks and a lot of resources, the United Nations is better than Kabila, at including the facts.

Well not 59 but one Tanzanian soldier. When you are engaged in telling outrageous lies it would be wise not criticise Kabila for not having a clear grasp on the facts.

In the conflict in Kivu, there is the M23 which has serious reasons to fight.Given the poverty in which they live, the FARDC have never had the morale to fight. And less still for those who were lucky to get away alive from the recent fighting and those who have had access to real casualty figures.

That is interesting. The Congolese army is providing M23 with the real actual casualty figures and deceiving the world and indeed their own people with false figures. Just how stupid do M23 think we are ? 

As the United Nations passed resolution 2098 on the basis of false information, and plunged  into the heart of a conflict they do not understand. But now they have realized that Kabila wants war and it is for them to fight in his place and kill Congolese whose legitimate claims are recognized by all and who want a dialogue to resolve the crisis. Convinced by the seriousness of the claims of M23 and its commitment to a negotiated solution. The United Nations finds that supporting Kabila, they support war, violence, cruelty and a breach of commitments ... In short, as the guarantor organization of world peace, their position is unsustainable.

Well no. The UN had the correct information, I would think after all the time MONUSCO has been deployed the UN has a fairly good understanding of what they face hence Resolution 2098, that authorises them to kill M23 and other armed groups. I think Kabila would accept an M23 unconditional surrender but M23's pay master Kagame ( President of Rwanda ) will not, so you ( M23 ) are going to die for Rwandan imperial ambitions.

"...violence, cruelty and a breach of commitments "  not to mention rape, murder, recruitment  kidnapping of children, stealing etc, it is an accurate description of M23.

DR Congo: The USA has had enough of Rwandan lies.

Voice of America reports

African Leaders Grapple with Fighting in Eastern Congo

                                                                                           M23 Rebels

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said rebels in Eastern Congo are carrying out "appalling" attacks against civilians. African heads of state met at the United Nations to discuss the conflict, which the United States said Rwanda is fueling by backing those rebels.

Which is a vastly different take on the events in the DR Congo from the reports being put out by Congo DRC News ( A M23 / Rwandan propaganda site ). 

Fighters from Congo's M23 rebellion are the biggest challenge to government troops and U.N. peacekeepers in the eastern Kivu provinces.

Ban Ki-moon said earlier this week that rebel attacks include violence against women and children.

"The extent of violence and human suffering in eastern DRC is overwhelming. I deplore the recent military activities of the M23 and the other armed groups in eastern DRC," he said.

If ever there was ever a time for MONUSCO and the Intervention Brigade to keep up the pressure on M23 it is now. They have an international mandate to resolve the rebel issue and M23 may have the honour of being the first group to be resolved. 

African leaders meeting at the United Nations are backing peace talks in Uganda.

But the talks are complicated by persistent reports of Rwandan support for the rebels.

"We reiterate our call for Rwanda to cease any and all support to the M23 and to respect DRC’s territorial integrity, consistent with U.N. Security Council resolutions," said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.

The peace talks are cover and neither side is taking them seriously however this is a major movement in policy from the US. Rwanda is being further isolated. I would expect a Rwandan reaction soon.

Publicly accusing a U.S. ally of backing M23 rebels is a bold move for the Obama administration, said Sarah Margon at Human Rights Watch.

"They've told the Rwandans we're putting you on notice," she said. "But what next? And so if the Rwandans don't stop, what will the U.S. be willing to do?"

Rwanda won't stop that is a given. The US needs to give effective support to MONUSCO and the Intervention Brigade because along with the Congolese army FARDC this issue is going to come to a head soon. The US must prevent a Rwandan invasion of the Eastern DR Congo. The consequences of such an invasion must be the inditing of the administration of Kagame and the military leadership of the country with charges of Crimes Against Humanity.  

Rwandan President Paul Kagame denies involvement and says the international community shouldn't focus on M23 rebels when there are so many other groups contributing to instability in Eastern Congo.

Kagame is a liar. Fortunately the international community has grown sick of his lies and are now focusing their attention not only on his murderous thugs M23 but they have started to look at the Rwandan regime.   

The peace talks in Kampala have focused on other armed groups as well.

What ? My understanding is the " talks " are between M23 and the Congolese government. One of the M23 demands is that the Congolese government disarm the Rwandan rebels FDLR but that is really a bit of a side issue to the side issue that the talks have already become. The FDLR's turn will come and that is a legitimate concern of Rwanda's but it is an issue for them and the Congolese government to thrash out.  
In an interview with VOA, U.S. Special Envoy Russ Feingold said that is the only way forward.

"Whatever happens with the Kampala talks, the framework and the peace process involving the countries in the region goes on and will deal with the root and fundamental problems, not just the issue of M23," he said.

I suspect that is an admission by Envoy Feingold that the Kampala talks are degenerating into a farce.
But the immediate goal of stopping the fighting is still about M23, says Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa.

"M23 should put an end to all military activities and stop war and threats of overthrowing the lawful government of the DRC," he said.

Uganda seems to be distancing itself from M23 infact they have often seemed to have been ambivalent at best when it comes to M23. I suspect they are rather better than Rwanda at judging the mood of the international community.

President Joseph Kabila's troops are moving to re-establish central authority over eastern Congo. But Margon says it's a challenge.

"Without Rwanda ceasing to provide support for the M23, many of the other elements whether it be the upcoming elections in Congo, Congo's extension of governing authority in the east, regional development are not going to be able to happen," said Margon.

As Rwanda continues to support M23 there are very few options available and that has been obvious for some time. The solution is the destruction of M23 and the most effect way to achieve that is not finding a political solution but pursuing the military solution to its conclusion and that is the unconditional surrender of M23 or the unconditional surrender of any surviving members of M23 after they lose on the battlefield. I suspect that that is starting to dawn on them.

Rebels were integrated into Congo's military under an earlier attempt at reconciliation. This time around, Congolese officials say the worst of the M23 leaders will not be granted amnesty in a new peace deal.

I doubt that the government will allow integration this time. It was a failure last time and there is clear evidence that the government of the DR Congo is attempting to sort out the indiscipline of FARDC and professionalise the force, there is no way they want the armed forces saddled with former rebels who at any time may defect and cause another insurrection on the orders of President Kagame.

DR Congo: ICGLR predictable opts for Batshit Crazy

New Vision ( Uganda ) reports

Leaders resolve to resume Congo peace talks

By Raymond Baguma

Left-right: DR Congo Ambassador to Uganda Charles Okoto, N Tshishim and Defence chief Didier Etumba listen to vice Prime minister Luba Tambo during the morning session of the International Conference of Great Lakes Region held at Speke Resort in Munyonyo, Kampala on September 5, 2013. PHOTO/Kennedy Oryema

Regional leaders have directed that peace negotiations between the M23 rebels and the Government of Congo should resume as a way of ending fighting in eastern DR Congo.

This was in a declaration made at the end of an emergency meeting called by President Yoweri Museveni in his capacity as the chairperson of the regional body, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).

The meeting was attended by the four other regional Presidents Joseph Kabila (DR Congo), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania). Also present were Mary Robinson the UN special envoy to the Great Lakes region and Dlamini Zuma the chairperson of the African Union Commission.

I have no idea why Kabila bothered to attend this meeting. The way I read this situation is that there is no peace deal possible with M23.  The original negotiations included a provision for the M23  rebels to rejoin ( or join in the case of new M23 recruits I would guess ) the Congolese armed forces. There is no way that is going to happen now.  Alex Engwete in Kinshasa reports.

Gov. Paluku said:

"What we don't want to hear in Goma [coming from Kampala] is anything that has to do with ceasefire, anything that has to do with cessation of hostilities!"

Adding:

"We've seen in the past how, each time there have been summits of Heads of state, they were asking to either the M23 or to the [DRC] government that each one keep positions they were holding. 

"I believe it's no longer today the business of a summit, be it of heads of state, to consecrate the de facto balkanization [of the DRC] by asking to the the [DRC] to leave to the M23 a given territory.

"We must ensure that the Kampala summit would force the M23 to lay down weapons and to have them let go of the areas they're occupying.

"We shouldn't be doing as if we mostly care about the M23 whereas we should be caring instead about the population that's suffering in IDPs' camps so as to truly be in line with the will of the people of North Kivu."

That sums up I suspect the feelings not only of the people of Goma but the entire Congolese population. 

The Presidents directed that the peace negotiations should resume within the three days after their Heads of State summit, and conclude within a maximum period of 14 days.

I am anticipating no change in Kinshasa position with regard to negotiations. There position may actually become more entrenched as it should given the situation on the ground. Kinshasa should actually be demanding an unconditional surrender by M23.  

They however stopped short of calling for a ceasefire to the fighting; and said that the region and the UN combat force will continue ‘exerting pressure’ on M23 and all other negative forces operating in DCR to ensure they stop war.

Some of the other negative groups operating in DRC include the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA); as well as Burundian dissident group National Force of Liberation (FNL) and Rwandan Interahamwe Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

President Museveni invited other regional leaders to Kampala where they held a meeting to discuss the security situation following renewed fighting in the restive eastern DRC.

Remember this is the ICGLR not the UN Security Council. In short it none of the ICGLR bloody business. The force the Intervention Brigade and MONUSCO are in the DR Congo at the invitation of Kinshasa. The ICGLR is welcome to have an opinion but to think for even half a second that they have granted the force permission to continue to operate is a delusion. Mind you the makeup of the organisation is fairly deluded so perhaps that is no surprise. 

In his remarks, Museveni said, “Although fighting in Goma is more talked about, there are many areas of eastern Congo near our border which are infested by terrorist groups either from outside Congo or from within Congo. Next to our border (Uganda) for many years ADF has been terrorising people.”

Museveni added, “The dialogue has been going on in Kampala for many months. They have held discussion. A few parts were remaining...and with the dialogue we had today between the facilitator and President Kabila, if they are carried forward, we can get M23 to come out peacefully so that the UN intervention brigade deals with other forces.”

I very much doubt that. There is no dividend for the DR Congo in simply letting M23 get away with its crimes against humanity. Justice in this case must be seen to be done. The citizens of the Eastern DR Congo deserve nothing less than the destruction of M23. I agree that the other groups need to be tackled but what message is being sent to them if M23 is given a " get out of gaol " pass at this stage ? The choice for M23 is unconditional surrender or destruction. Anything less would be a failure and a failure that politically Kabila can't allow.    

Museveni also said that continental peace and stability has in the past been established in countries where African has worked together with the international community, citing past cases of South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, and Guinea Bissau.

Not quite sure why South Africa is on that list and if Zimbabwe is being held up as an example then I am very afraid of Museveni's objectives in the Eastern DR Congo.

Robinson said, “The events of the last few days put to the test the commitments made by signatory countries under the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region.”

The agreement was signed on 24 February this year in Addis Ababa by leaders of 11 African countries of some of which include DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Burundi, Congo, Angola and Tanzania and pledged not to interfere in the affairs of their neighbours.

The leaders also condemned the recent bombings in the areas of Munigi and Goma in DRC which led the civilian injuries and deaths, including the deaths of a senior UN officer attached to the intervention brigade. The Presidents condemned bombings initiated from DRC into Rwanda which caused deaths of Rwandan nationals.

They directed the region’s Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) to investigate the two bombing incidents and report to the chairperson of the committee of ministers of defence as soon as the investigations are complete.

Also, the UN Stabilisation Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) will have a representation on the EJVM and is expected to provide logistical support to facilitate the EJVM carry out its mandate.

They called on the international community to respond to the humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo and provide urgent assistance including relief aid in form of food, medicine and accommodation to the displaced people.

ICGLR as well as the South African Development Community (SADC) are to jointly organise a summit aimed to find a lasting solution to the DRC conflicts.

That the international community needs to be " called on " speaks volumes. We should have been there long ago.

DR Congo: Why is this a catastrophe ?

DW ( Germany ) Reports

David Zounmenou:"M23 rebel group in DRC weakened by leadership problems"

The UN special envoy to the Great Lakes region, Mary Robinson is visiting the volatile eastern region of the DRC, as fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese troops backed by UN forces continues.

Her one week visit will also take her to neighboring Uganda and Rwanda. The top UN official is responsible for trying to implement a framework agreement, signed in February, to bring about peace in North and South Kivu.

DW: What is it that she possibly can achieve with this visit?

David Zounmenou: The visit is very important given the escalation of violence in the region. The visit will certainly call on various actors to show restraint and put an end to the violence and probably reinvigorate the negotiation process which will help to avoid the kind of catastrophic scenario that we are now foreseeing.

It must be me. I can't see the situation as it is at the moment in Goma, as a catastrophe unless we are looking at it from the perspective of M23. I personally don't give a toss what happens to those murderous bastards. This is exactly the scenario that the UN Security Council envisaged when it authorised the Intervention Brigade ( Africa Brigade ). Voice of America reports: 

GOMA — Residents of Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are optimistic that the withdrawal of M23 rebels from positions outside the city could bring an end to fighting in the area. The situation is still volatile, as tensions with neighboring Rwanda remain high.

Days after the shelling stopped, the Virunga market in Goma is starting to shuffle back to life.

It’s Sunday - a typically slow day - but many of the shops here are open. Women are folding colorful fabrics, and customers are walking through rows of used blue jeans hanging from wooden posts.

Should a war break out with Rwanda then it might be fair to describe it as a catastrophe. That said Rwanda has to confronted about its ongoing human rights violations in the DR Congo. It is the worlds job to keep the situation under control, we owe the people of Goma that at the very least.  

   

How much influence does she have on the region, will she be able to achieve what she hopes to achieve?

The region has been in the spotlight for a few months now. I think everybody knows what is at stake if nothing is done and that is the reason why the UN has stepped up the game by consolidating the mandate of its peacekeeping mission and by warning the regional actors that have been involved in the conflict to stop providing the support to rebel fighters in the area. So I think she stands a chance to speak to various actors and to call them back to negotiations.

I have no objection to a talk fest but that is all it can be. There is no accommodation possible with M23 they have three choices unconditional surrender, withdrawal to Rwanda or death. Rwanda will not respond to carrots so it must be the stick.  The Intervention Brigade and MONUSCO is part Mary Robinson's stick. Good to see it being used so effectively.  

Shouldn't she have visited the region before the situation escalated?

I think the UN has always been visiting the region. Ban Ki Moon accompanied by the World Bank chief has recently visited Congo to see what was happening on the ground. But there has also been a difficult political process of negotiations unfolding in Kampala. It seems to me the government in Kinshasa didn't give the process the full attention and political commitment it deserves because Kinshasa believes that the M23 organization is at its weakest point for two reasons: Firstly, because the support from Rwanda has dried up probably because of the outcry of the UN group of experts' report and secondly, the leadership issue within the M23 group itself, the sanctions, the departure of Bosco Ntaganda and the dismissal of the political head Bishop Jean Marie Runiga. So all these factors gave Kinshasa the impression that they can step up the game and defeat the group once and for all.

I am skeptical about support from Rwanda having dried up. Jason Stearns at Congo Siasa blogs: 

The most recent fighting appears to have triggered renewed Rwandan support to the rebels, according to UN and diplomatic sources. According to one such source, the M23 launched an attack on FARDC positions in the night of August 22/23, leading UN military observers to believe that the M23 had night-vision equipment. The UN mission has also reported to the Security Council that Rwanda has provided such support. A diplomat told me that his country, a Security Council member, had also confirmed Rwandan support to the M23 in the recent fighting and had spoken with authorities in Kigali about this. According to the same source, most important donors in Kigali were on the same page in this regard.

I have no doubt Kinshasa sees this as an opportunity to rid the Eastern DR Congo of the M23 cancer. I suspect it might be more than just an impression from their perspective. I agree with their thinking.

Where does the current situation leave the Peace, Security and cooperation agreement signed in February 2013? Is it dead or there's still hope that it can be implemented?

I think the agreement still stands and still holds and I think we can still hope for sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region. This is because the agreement signed did give the responsibility to the various actors involved in the conflict. It is up to countries supporting the groups fighting in the DRC to stop doing so and for the Congolese local authorities to undertake political reforms as per the agreement. I think it's time for a political dialogue that will help all countries in the region to avoid a deplorable situation.

Not so sure about that. It will I suspect depend on what happens at the ICGLR meeting this week. I think that Kabila's attendance at the meeting is a mistake and he should have sent if any one a junior official.  

The UN has constantly accused Uganda and Rwanda for supporting the M23, what sort of welcome should she expect from these two countries?

It will be tough and extremely difficult but you also have to understand that Rwanda feels a bit isolated currently and has a limited margin of maneuver. So it will be an opportunity for them to give the other side of the story.

That is hilarious. Rwanda really needs another opportunity to lie.

David Zounmenou is a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa

DR Congo: This American ' road map ' to peace won't work without some new cartography.

All Africa reports

Congo-Kinshasa: Bringing Peace to the Congo - a Blueprint for Special Envoy Feingold

                                        Congolese allies protest M23 in front of the White House by Joseph Mbangu

The clashes in the eastern Congo over the past week have once again brought into sharp focus the enduring conflict between the M23 rebels and the Congolese military as well as the role of the recently-deployed United Nations intervention brigade. As the new United States special envoy for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Senator Russ Feingold, embarks on his first trip to the region, it is imperative that he takes steps now to engage in the economic and commercial issues that are at the heart of the conflict.

I am having a huge amount of difficulty swallowing this as I imagine many of the Congolese people. But lets start with a little bit of accuracy. Senator Russ Feingold, is no longer a US senator, another point worth bearing in mind is that this conflict I agree is on one level very much about economic and commercial interests and to date Rwanda has been ruthlessly exploiting the resources of the Eastern DR Congo with until very recently the if not the direct support, then at least a tacit approval of the United States.

To be successful in the herculean task of helping end the world's deadliest war since World War II, Feingold would do well to learn from one of the most effective U.S. special envoy missions of our time, George Mitchell, during his tenure as President Bill Clinton's envoy to Northern Ireland. While many people remember Mitchell as having brokered peace in Northern Ireland, few recall his strategic approach: to focus on economics first, in order to build trust and lay the foundation for tackling the tough security issues.

I actually agree with an economic approach and think despite the historical revisionism that I feel is implied the authors are on the right track. So we have an idea but as yet no mechanism. If we want to rebuild security and I mean physical and economic then the west must be prepared to invest in the people of the region at a micro level. I am no Northern Ireland expert but I imagine the Irish investment was made at a macro level because however hard  " The Troubles " were, there is absolutely no comparison to be made between Northern Ireland and the Eastern DR Congo. The issues of education, infrastructure and  just the ability of the Congolese government to interact with its citizens are far more complex. Add in that the British and Irish governments were both actively supporting the process and we have a very different situation. ( The Government of Rwanda is doing all it can to derail the process ). 

A decade after his tenure, Mitchell described the key to achieving sustainable peace in Northern Ireland: "I stress the economy. ... These and other conflict situations... all have an important economic underpinning. I've come to believe that you have to deal with political and security measures, but you have to include economics right at the very top. You need economic growth, you need job creation, you need opportunity for people... if you want to reduce the likelihood of conflict. That isn't guaranteed stability... but without it, it's very difficult to obtain."

Agreed, but it is verging on the insulting for the authors to prescribe this cure and then treat it as job done. Mitchell is describing Ireland not the DR Congo. His prescription needs to be adapted to local conditions. 

A critical part of Clinton and Mitchell's strategic vision for the Northern Ireland peace process was economics, and they stuck by it patiently until it bore fruit. It was predicated on creating jobs, revenue and commercial opportunities in order to reduce violent tension between the two sides and incentives for peace and alternatives to conflict. Despite the violence at the time, Mitchell organized a White House investment conference on Northern Ireland in 1995, building on the recommendations of business leaders from Northern Ireland, Ireland, and the U.S., who believed there was far greater economic potential from peace than from war. The conference sparked the first meeting between Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and Northern Ireland Secretary of State Patrick Mayhew, senior leaders from the opposing sides of the conflict.

The senior players in the Great Lakes Region have met many times. It is fine to say that Gerry Adams met with Patrick Mayhew but remember that Kabila and Kagame not to mention Museveni meet several times a year. It is also worth remembering Rwanda's absolute refusal to meet with the FDLR and abuse of Tanzanian President Kikwete. I have no doubt that the region has far more to gain through peace but it is an option Rwanda refuses to entertain.  

“Those who think that Rwanda today should sit down at the negotiating table with FDLR simply don’t know what they are talking about,” she said adding that it is unfortunate that the rebel group has sympathisers in the region, including President Kikwete himself, should he not retract his comments.

The U.S. then contributed $100 million to a development fund for Northern Ireland and businesses set up cooperative bodies to facilitate cross-border trade, job creation, and infrastructure improvements.

There is a similar major opportunity with the war in eastern Congo today, and Special Envoy Feingold should follow the Clinton-Mitchell playbook.

I disagree, the situation on the ground is far different. In Ireland there was hatred but there was also business, effective courts and taxation authorities, checks and balances and no ingrained culture of corruption. The approach as I have said must be at a micro level. Obama / Feingold need to rewrite the Clinton / Mitchell playbook. 

There are critical security issues that must be dealt with, such as ensuring that the new UN Intervention Brigade contributes to the solution rather than exacerbates it. But the potential benefits to all parties of an economically prosperous eastern Congo would provide a major incentive for constructive negotiations, and commercial and economic issues can and should be addressed concurrently.

What a load of drivel. The authors obviously have no concept of the role of, or the situation faced by not only the Intervention Brigade ( Africa Brigade ) but MONUSCO as a whole. The role of the Africa Brigade is to stop the depredations of armed groups principally M23 and the FDLR, but a variety of others as well. That will necessarily exacerbate the situation with Rwanda for example. But it should happen regardless and the world should be making it very clear to Rwanda the price of sabotaging the efforts of the Intervention Brigade. I would hope the other international organisation such as the Commonwealth and Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie are involved in applying pressure to the regional players to force compliance.

For too many years, elites in Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda have exploited eastern Congo's mineral wealth, prolonging the war. But calculations are starting to change. Armed groups' profits from three out of four conflict minerals are down by an estimated 65 percent. Ten percent of the mines in the region have been validated as conflict-free and regional governments have signed up to a comprehensive minerals certification process. In a major development, local business leaders who had previously trafficked minerals for weapons for armed groups, last year refused to support the M23 rebels. As John Kanyoni, a leading exporter of minerals from North Kivu, said, "As long as there is conflict there, no one [internationally] will be purchasing minerals." In short, significant progress has been made in the commercial and economic sphere despite the conflict.

In short, no there has not. Yes there has been progress in reducing the amount of illegal minerals exported but that did nothing to slow down the flow of arms. One could argue it increased them in fact. Where did M23 develop an ability to conduct night operations ? Who gave them night vision equipment ? Not selling minerals means that the wealth is not realised today but there is no new wealth being created to replace the mineral receipts, and there is now no trickle down from the illegal exports.  

Feingold can take advantage of this momentum in three ways. Firstly, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has already announced an unprecedented U.S. $1 billion initiative for new projects that would help provide a "peace dividend" for the region. The U.S. should work with the World Bank to accelerate the implementation of the package. Priority should be given to investments in roads, agriculture and energy projects, and small and medium enterprises.

I agree. This can only be done at a macro level and these projects take time and are very prone to corruption, backhanders and embezzlement. We are dealing with kleptocracies so we need to have some checks and balances in place to make sure that not only we, but more importantly the people of the The Great Lakes Region also see the results of this investment.  

Second, Feingold should help speed up the mineral certification process in the region, so that Congo and neighboring countries, especially Rwanda and Uganda, can begin selling "peace minerals," people on the ground can benefit commercially, and companies can source from the region in good conscience, in fulfillment of the Dodd-Frank legislation, which discourages American companies from trading in conflict minerals. Some Congolese miners have already seen wages double at conflict-free mines, but this must be replicated at other mines.

Rwanda has minerals to sell ? Well that is good news that geologists will be pleased to hear, although I suspect that they will be somewhat mystified to learn about it. The minerals the authors refer to were stolen from the Eastern DR Congo. Could I suggest they have a look at the dramatic fall in Rwandan mineral receipts since the embargo and their expulsion from the Eastern DR Congo. 

Feingold should also urge Presidents Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda to enhance the credibility of the Regional Certification Mechanism of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, so that it provides proper verification of conflict-free minerals by the end of 2013. A transparent, certifiably conflict-free mineral sector will help to attract more investment and unlock wealth-creation opportunities that are sustainable, peace-generating and contribute to greater regional trade.

I hope Feingold has something very potent to urge with. Something like a warrant from the Hague. This is dreamland stuff far removed from the realpolitik of the region. Feingold should certainly emphasis economic opportunities but not for Rwanda to export minerals they don't have.

Finally, Senator Feingold should work with the U.S. Public-Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade to organize an investment conference that brings together potential investors with leaders from the Great Lakes region to identify opportunities for conflict-free, transparent investment. A successful investment conference would be a win-win-win for people living in eastern Congo, companies looking to invest, and regional governments seeking legitimate revenue streams to replace foreign aid.

That idea has potential for the DR Congo alone. If this is an exercise in reducing foreign aid then at least be honest about it and lets call it western greed and selfishness. We need to increase the amount of aid and the accountability for that aid not reduce it. We need to get that aid to the people, first to provide them with security then to rebuild, then to reestablish their lives and finally to build up the regions economies.

There have been many U.S. envoys appointed over the years to tackle the seemingly impossible conflict in Congo, but Feingold now has a unique opportunity to leave a lasting legacy. If he can draw on the successful lessons of George Mitchell, incorporating the economic agenda from the beginning, Feingold can help the Great Lakes region join the other countries in Africa that have begun to experience impressive economic growth and opportunity.

I agree that he ( Feingold ) along with quite a few others working on the issues associated with the Great Lakes Region can make a real difference this time. Here is again the rub, America has contributed hugely to the situation in the DR Congo. It is little wonder previous envoys have failed, they were meant to and like the authors of this article they were either too blind or too loyal to Washington to do the job properly. I have no doubt this is an American ' shift the blame ' propaganda piece. America can be part of the solution and Feingold is probably the right man for the job, but to be part of that solution America needs to acknowledge its complicity in the past and its ability to collaborate with others for the good of the people of the region, not the regions political leaders or American corporate greed. 

Witney Schneidman is Senior International Advisor on Africa at Covington & Burling LLP, a Nonresident Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs. Sasha Lezhnev is Senior Policy Advisor at the Enough Project and author of Crafting Peace: Strategies to Deal with Warlords in Collapsing States.

Both should know a damn site better than to have produced this half useful roadmap, to use the American vernacular. It is at least a start I will concede. 

DR Congo: Chantal Faida requests Presidential consideration and justice.

Chantal Faida blogs  (  I have used Goggle to translate and have attempted to clean up the copy. Any errors are mine ) Some background info. from Charly on the haste of the conviction.

The Supreme Court has sat on Monday 12 August to consider offenses the accused had allegedly committed.The accused felt he had not had enough time to prepare his defense. The hearing resumed on Tuesday evening and the verdict was guilty. 

Charly Kasereka

OPEN LETTER TO JOSEPH KABILA ABOUT THE CONVICTION OF DEPUTY MUHINDO NZANGI

                                           MP Muhindo in front of the Supreme Court of Justice. Rights third Photos
Mr President of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Subject: My Indignation about the arrest of the deputy Nzangi Butondo elected representative of Goma.

Mr. President,

As a courtesy normally I  would  begin this letter with the formula introductory protocol known to all: "I have the honor." However, the intensity my anger makes me come straight to the point. Moreover, how is it possible to express the honor when we are stabbed in the back by those who are supposed to protect us?


Indeed, Mr. President, your intelligence and security forces inflicted this nightmare and took from us, our venerable and honorable national representative Nzangi Butondo, the elected MP for Goma, a member of MSR (Social Movement Renewal) party and part of your majority. Sunday, August 11, 2013 around midnight after his comments on a string of local political issues. He was forcibly transported by the first available plane to Kinshasa. An elected representative treated with no respect. I think some details of the workings of a democracy escape you. The law is clear on this subject, the alleged offender is innocent until their conviction.

In your opinion, is saying publicly that you are the Supreme Commander of the Congolese army, a disclosure of a state secret vital to the defense of the Republic. Or is it a threat to the internal and external security of the nation? It is known to all that you are the Supreme Commander. Saying so does not, in our humble opinion, constitute grounds for arrest.

I'm sure you have too much business on your table to answer my letter, but I would just like to say to you, as a loyal daughter of Goma, it would be unforgivable to me remain silent about a verdict some people are already call immoral, corrupt, rotten, vile and perverted. It is a disgrace the Congolese justice system has ruined its reputation by rushing through this case at indecent speed. I send you this letter because you are, in this case, the only one with the power to correct this mistake for a person that you yourself know does excellent work for people he represents in the lower house of 

parliament . There is no need to remind you he is part of your majority and therefore, you are welcome to react quickly because it is the integrity of your cohesion policy for the people which is now in doubt and seriousness of your concern for the well being of the Congolese population in general and the people of North Kivu in particular.


Sentencing MP Muhindo Nzangi to three years in prison amounts to sawing off a branch on which you rely. This sentence further weakens, if possible, your gravitas as the supreme head of the presidential majority because we believe that now the image of the majority is dirty and tarnished. An African proverb says, "family ties are worth more than anything else in the world because we share the same blood. ". To paraphrase the saying, it is clear that you share the same political blood or point of view as all members of the majority. All parts of the human body or a political party (because that's what it is), are essential. When the finger is ill, the whole body suffers with it and the body needs to be healthy before undertaking anything. Do not treat a disease as benign, it is not and this is not unique to humans.


This country, your country, my country, our country, the DRC has serious and multifaceted problems and we need serious people to confront and resolve them. I firmly believe that MP Muhindo Nzangi part of a group of politicians who will help you in finding solutions to difficult problems of repeated wars raging in the sub-region of the Great Lakes. Concerned about the future of his country, he was right to criticize the mistakes that have become habitual in the conduct of the war raging in the east of the country, which is his native land. Constructive criticism makes us stronger. This is an emergency, we must act. 

Pending a favorable outcome, give as President of the Republic, a presidential pardon to the prisoner Muhindo Nzangi show your magnanimity so that no one can call the Congo undemocratic.

Written in Goma on 16.08.2013
Chantal Faida Mulenga-Byuma
Campaigner for change