It is, in principle, today, March 7, 2023, that a ceasefire comes into force in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In any case, this is what the M23 rebel movement has committed itself to, according to a press release from the Angolan Presidency published on March 3. A commitment which is the result of the mediation efforts of Angola which was mandated by the Heads of State and Government of the region gathered at a mini-summit on February 17 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This, to maintain dialogue with the leadership of the rebel movement, in coordination with the facilitator of the Community of Central African States (EAC), former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta. The information is all the more to be taken seriously since during the final stage of his African tour which took him to the DRC, on March 4, the French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, also mentioned the question of this ceasefire being negotiated for this March 7, with his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi.
This is not the first time that a ceasefire and even a withdrawal of the M23 has been announced in the eastern part of the DRC
It was during a press conference held in Kinshasa. The question that can then be asked is whether this time will be the right one, for a lasting cessation of hostilities on the ground, in order to give dialogue and peace a chance. The question is all the more justified since this is not the first time that a ceasefire and even a withdrawal of the M23 has been announced in the eastern part of the DRC without this being able to be effective on the ground. This was, for example, already the case last November, when a mini-summit organized in Luanda between President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame who was represented by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Biruta , had decided on an immediate truce of hostilities from November 25, followed by the withdrawal of the M23 rebels “from the occupied areas” and “their withdrawal to their initial positions”, under penalty of seeing the East African regional force come into action by using force to coerce them. The rest, we know. Not feeling concerned by the said ceasefire for having been kept away from the said summit, the M23 continued to stiffen its neck and keep its positions, which no force, including the regional force, has until there succeeded in dislodging him. This is why we hope that all the parties will engage in this process, which is the basis of all hopes of appeasement after long months of belligerence, if the Angolan mediation, in agreement with the facilitation of the former Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, manages to engage Kinshasa in negotiations with the M23. Anything that will allow to maintain the hope of a way out of the crisis for the greatest happiness of the populations who suffer the martyrdom of these fights and other killings, and who no longer know to which… protector to dedicate themselves.
A possible offer of dialogue is an opportunity to be seized
This is all the more necessary since we do not see how Kinshasa, which nevertheless refuses to negotiate with the rebels of the M23 whom it qualifies as “terrorists”, could avoid opening a dialogue with the latter after the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) failed to get them to join the ranks. No more than the UN force of MONUSCO has succeeded in doing so, let alone the regional force of the EAC which is still in the process of mobilizing its troops. Suffice to say that a possible offer of dialogue is an opportunity to be seized, especially since the M23 has never ceased to affirm that it was “always ready for a direct dialogue with the Congolese government to resolve the root causes of the conflict”. And everything suggests that from Kinshasa to Kigali, which is singled out for its supposed or real support for the M23, everyone would benefit from supporting the process aimed at permanently silencing the guns, so that it can be completed. In any case, it is in no one’s interest for this process to be derailed. Because that would only exacerbate the crisis between the warring parties as well as the tensions between the DRC and Rwanda which, in the eyes of Kinshasa, is not far from wearing the hat today for all the misfortunes of the ground floor. In any event, any war, it is said, always ends around a negotiating table. And in this case, everything suggests that the sooner the Congolese belligerents will go to dialogue, the better it will be.
” The country ”