Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi called Thursday for young people to form “vigilance groups” in the face of M23 rebel activity in the east of the country.
Tshisekedi repeated in an address broadcast on national television that the M23 operated with “the support of Rwanda”, which he accused of harbouring “expansionist ambitions”.
A mostly Congolese Tutsi group, the M23 resumed fighting in late 2021 after lying dormant for years, accusing the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government of failing to honour an agreement to integrate its fighters into the army.
The group’s resurgence has destabilised regional relations in central Africa, with the DRC accusing its smaller neighbour Rwanda of backing the militia.
Tshisekedi said Rwanda had set its sights on “appropriating our minerals”.
“To do this, it is working to destabilise eastern Congo to create a lawless zone to satisfy its criminal appetites,” he said.
He added that diplomatic efforts to ease tensions have not led to “any tangible result”.
The conflict, he said, would require “sacrifice”, as well as “the engagement of all of (the nation’s) daughters and all of its sons”.
“In response to the strong demand from the youth, I invite them to organise themselves into vigilance groups with a view to propping up, accompanying and supporting our armed forces”.
Tshisekedi also renewed his call for young people to enlist in the army, while cautioning against “stigmatisation of Rwandophone communities”.
The M23 went back on the offensive in late October after several weeks of calm, grabbing multiple localities along an important road serving the strategic eastern city of Goma.
The DRC announced on Sunday that it was expelling Rwanda’s ambassador, while also recalling its own envoy from Kigali earlier this week.
Read the whole of this speech in kivuavenir.com
Congolese,
My very Dear Compatriots,
I solemnly address you today in an exceptional context related to the security situation in our country in eastern part. This context of aggression and occupation of territories in North Kivu is perpetrated by the terrorist group known as M23, with proven support in men and logistics from Rwanda.
As I write this address, our aggressors are occupying certain localities in the territory of Rutshuru, thus causing a humanitarian tragedy with more than 200,000 compatriots forced to flee the horrors of terrorism in the combat zones. They find themselves outside their homes without shelter, without food and without care. Precise instructions have been given to the Government for their assembly and management. Beyond these efforts, I call for a general outpouring of solidarity to lighten their burden.
Admittedly, this situation is not new, indeed, for several decades national and foreign armed groups have been scouring the East of our country, committing unspeakable atrocities against a background of illegal exploitation of our natural resources.
Thus, on the occasion of my accession, I had been led to make a commitment, before the Nation, to restore during my mandate peace and security where they are compromised and to consolidate them. where they exist.
No sooner said than done, I immediately and in good faith began to develop, in particular with all our 9 neighbouring countries, a close diplomacy with a view to establishing frank, transparent and win-win cooperation relations with them.
With Uganda, we have gone so far as to decide to pool our Armed Forces in order to fight together the nebulous ADF, a militia of Ugandan origin which however only operates in North Kivu, and also we have launched two transnational road construction projects. With Rwanda, a memorandum of understanding has been signed in the gold trade with a national company, an airline has been opened for the Rwandan National Company in our country and a non-double taxation agreement has been signed.
Despite, this country surprise us by reactivating the M23 terrorists. While it had been defeated by arms in 2013, the M23 will resurface by taking our Army by surprise, particularly in Bunagana, a city it has occupied since June 13, 2022. Indeed, under the false accusation of supporting the FARDC to the FDLR, Rwanda actually has expansionist desires with the main interest of appropriating our minerals and to do this, it is working to destabilize eastern Congo to create a zone of lawlessness in order to satisfy his criminal appetites.
To deal with this situation, we had two options: diplomacy or war. I resolved to favor the first option even if it meant coming to the second for lack of results.
The diplomatic option was therefore implemented.
This is an opportunity for us to recall that our commitment to the search for peace through peaceful means is in no way a sign of weakness, even less an admission of our country’s inability to follow a logic of total war against all those who continue to abuse our patience, but rather an expression of our culture of peace and our legendary identity as a hospitable people.
Thus, from June 20, 2022, I took part in the work of the 3rd Conclave of Heads of State Members of the East African Community (EAC) in Nairobi, Kenya, which had as its agenda the review of the security situation in the east of our country.
At the end of this forum, the leaders of the member countries of the East African Community (EAC) agreed on the deployment of a regional force to “impose” peace in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The summit called “for an immediate cessation of all hostilities in eastern DRC” and called on all armed groups, both foreign and local, “to lay down their arms immediately and unconditionally, and to commit in the political process.
On July 6, 2022, I agreed to meet the President of Rwanda again, this time in Luanda under the aegis of President João Lourenço, under cover of the International Conference of African Great Lakes Regions. A roadmap emerged which stipulates among other objectives: To normalize political and diplomatic relations between the DRC and Rwanda. And, to achieve this, the first action taken: cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of the M23 from the positions occupied in accordance with the final Nairobi communiqué.
Once again no progress on the ground of peace expected by our population has been observed.
The latest diplomatic activity to date was the meeting with President Paul Kagame around French President Emmanuel Macron, and at the initiative of the latter on the side-lines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Here too, for the most part, the principle of an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional withdrawal of the M23 from the positions it occupies was enacted. Still without tangible results on the ground.
My dear compatriots,
As you can see, despite our investment and the efforts made in this regard, peace and security are not there.
Guarantor of independence, national unity and territorial integrity, I reiterate my constitutional commitment to defend the Fatherland until the supreme sacrifice.
My Dear Compatriots,
Never doubt that together, thoughtful and committed, we can change the world.
To you our valiant soldiers,
You who have made the commitment to serve under the flag, I invite you here to the high sense of patriotism at this particularly exceptional time in our history, to defend our country, to protect the integrity of its territory and to ensure the security Congolese men and women against any aggression or attack wherever it comes from.
To you my dear compatriots,
The war imposed on us by our neighbors demands sacrifices from each of us. It’s time to silence our political differences to defend all together, our motherland.
Our history and our common march have constantly demonstrated that far from collapsing, our Nation and its People have always taken up this kind of challenge and we have always emerged victorious.
Let us all remain united and united behind our defence and security forces.
The current situation, far from affecting us, is just one more test that we will overcome to further strengthen our unity.
Beyond any political, ideological, religious and tribal divide, the defence of the Motherland is the only objective that must unite us at this time. The country is calling us, the Nation needs the commitment of all its daughters and sons.
I call on you not to give in to xenophobic remarks and other speeches of hatred or stigmatization of the Rwandophone communities which the enslaver uses to blackmail. Any act going in this direction will be severely punished.
In response to the strong demand from young people, I invite them to organize themselves into a vigilance group, with a view to supporting, accompanying and supporting our defence and security forces in the performance of their lofty mission.
This is an opportunity to warn all traitors and other bad apples who serve the interests of the enemy, they will be exposed to the rigor of the law, having the just punishment that this kind of behaviour deserves.
In addition, while renewing my appeal to our young people who have the vocation to enlist massively in our Armed Forces, I reiterate the instruction given to the Chief of the General Staff to accelerate for this purpose the establishment recruitment centres throughout the twenty-six provinces of our country.
Dear compatriots;
Together, we must be aware that no one but ourselves will come to save our nation and this requires all-out mobilization from each of us.
God Bless the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Thank you.
Kivu-Avenir Redaction
