Thread by @gateteviews

Why were #DRC leaders quick to accuse #Rwanda upon the first attack of #M23?

#Thread.

Upon accession to power, President Tshisekedi wanted to be seen as tackling the protracted armed conflict in Eastern #DRC. So he declared a "State of Emergency" in North Kivu and Ituri.

State of emergency means the region is run by the army, most civil rights are suspended.

State of emergency also means a hefty budget sent to Eastern DRC and managed by the army.

Problem: According to a parliament audit, of the $74M released from state coffers, only $23M (32%) can be accounted for, most of it (2/3) vanished in thin air.

https://twitter.com/NgbaKambale/status/1539266764734976003?s=20&t=ktfIS4JdH7cd-BfQbPYZzQ

One year later, there remains over 132 armed groups in Eastern DRC, 56 troops' contributing countries in MONUSCO, 3 of whom are FIB.

The State of emergency has been a spectacular failure at best, a gravy train for the army and political hierarchy to swindle state funds at worst!

That is not all, according to an "incident monitoring thinktank" manned by international researchers in Eastern DRC, the Congolese army FARDC is one of the most violent against civilians, at times its killings surpass Ugandan islamists ADF-Nalu.

Link here:kivusecurity.org/about/project

#M23 however, is reported by the same think tank to be the least violent of all armed groups in eastern DRC.

Why isn't the population marching against those acts? Why isn't the justice system investigating the embezzlement? Why aren't any army generals, politicians jailed?

Because all are complicit! See, killings of innocent civilians in Kivu do not pose a political threat to Kinshasa.

The status quo makes the fortunes of all parties involved:
- It makes army generals and kinshasa politicians richer, - justifies the protracted presence of MONUSCO in Eastern DRC,
- fuels political rhetoric in Kinshasa and
- will justify the postponement of elections next year.

Why is accusing Rwanda a diversion?

Congolese share memes and hashtags, but to this date, no one has produced evidence of #Rwanda's support to #M23.

MONUSCO, Extended Joint Verification Mechanism, independent researchers have all confirmed that there is no such involvement.

What is Rwanda's alleged interest in destabilising #DRC?

Congolese believe that Rwanda wants to exploit congolese minerals.

Here are the facts:
70% of congo minerals belong to international firms from China to Kazakhstan, through Switzerland, Canada and South Africa.

In this video, the CEO of the "GECAMINES", The Congolese national commodity trading and mining company explains how they seeded 70% mineral rights to five multinationals.

The 30% remaining are exploited by Chinese in complicity with Kinshasa politicians.

In this video, land owners and workers decry horrific working conditions by their boss, Joyce, "concubine of Mr. Kabund" deputy speaker of parliament who came personally.

https://twitter.com/gateteviews/status/1535534676445650945?s=20&t=pgQXOaBJp51PYju0jFWWrQ

Congolese believe underground minerals, like humans, stopped at the border wt Rwanda and couldn't get a visa..

Rwanda's mineral exports is transparent, accessible to the public and to international experts. Minerals are tagged, compliant wt international traceability standards.

But what of #M23? Who are they? What are they fighting for?

The Congolese do not differentiate Rwandans from Congolese who speak Kinyarwanda.

In reality, when borders were being traced in Berlin conference(1884), they didn't care about cultural or historical realities.

Congolese of kinyarwanda expression are located in Masisi, Rutchuru, Jomba, Byura, Minembwe, Bibwe, Goma, etc. There are others who look Tutsi but are of Ugandan affiliation: the "Hema" in Ituri.

They live on their ancestral land for centuries, much before the creation of Congo

Following the genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda, defeated perpetrators fled to DRC and continued killing Tutsi from there. Congolese Tutsi were killed in thousands, causing most to flee their ancestral land in DRC and seek refuge in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and overseas.

Those who fled to Burundi were Banyamulenge (Tutsi from South Kivu), and those who fled to Rwanda and Uganda were Tutsi from North Kivu, Masisi, Rutchuru, etc., we account for more than 300K refugees.

Those who fled to Burundi were further massacred: On August 13, 2004 a Hutu extremist group, the National Forces of Liberation (FNL-Palipehutu) attacked a Refugee Camp in #Gatumba, just outside Bujumbura and killed over 150 Banyamulenge refugees and wounded hundreds more.

As we speak, there are almost no more banyamulenge in Minembwe.

In a past thread I talked about the massacre of Banyamulenge. To this date, no one has been brought to Justice.

Here:

https://twitter.com/gateteviews/status/956109041238978560?s=20&t=wdRGD-Lo-WYeADVxg7ga6A

Now, are #M23 Banyamulenge? NO!

#M23 are children of Tutsi from North Kivu, while Banyamulenge are Tutsi from South Kivu.

What are #M23 demands? They want their community that is languishing in Refugee camps in Rwanda and Uganda for 10 years to be allowed to go back home to DRC

Are these legitimate demands? The answer is YES.

Now where it gets complicated is that the DRC cannot ensure their security, in fact national army, the FARDC has been one of their tormentors, stealing their cows, killing and raping them.

So M23 is asking to be integrated in the national army to protect it's community until all militias are defeated and the army reformed.

In the past, former Tutsi rebels were integrated in the FARDC, deployed to regions far from Kivu. They were all killed by congolese government.

Ten years ago when the M23 were defeated by a joint Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi's Force (FIB), Talks ensued with Tshisekedi government in Addis-Ababa and Nairobi and a "Frame Agreement" was signed to repatriate.

10 years later, it has never been implemented.

Today, M23 is demanding just that; the implementation of the frame agreement to which the DRC government adhered; nothing more, nothing less. And for that they are ready to lay down arms and relinquish all seized territories.

#M23 should be supported, it shouldn't be fought.

As research shows, they do not kill civilians, unlike other armed groups; but the DRC government and MONUSCO hate them most, because they OCCUPY TERRITORIES, which embarrass them and pose political problems in Kinshasa.

Ordinarily, MONUSCO and FARDC do not mind if a militia kills people or exploit minerals, in fact they are happy to partake and collaborate with them.

But when a small armed group seizes territory, the mandate of MONUSCO is questioned and the incapacity of #FATSHIBETON revealed.

So Rwanda then appears to be an easy scapegoat:

Why does accusing #Rwanda work in Congo?

Because there is an old grudge of the humiliation suffered from the two defeats against Rwandan army.

In truth #FATSHIBETON is innocent, Congo, Zaire then DRC has never had an army since independence in 1960.

The first UN Peacekeeping mission in Congo, called ONUC was there from 1960-1964

The only UN Secretary General assassinated, Swedish Dag Hammarskjöld, was in Congo in 1961

As most people have noticed during my twitter spaces, congolese believe in fantasy, rather than reality. And that's exactly what their politicians feed them.

With no army background whatsoever, Mobutu their former president was able to appoint himself "Marechal" (Admiral).

Each time there was an internal rebellion, he would seek support of foreign armies, Chad, Libya...

Essentially, wars in Zaire were always fought between Mercenaries (Schramme, Bob Dennard), UN troops and foreign armies. Zairians never partook.

But at each occasion Mobutu would mysteriously raise in ranks and ramp up myths about his invincibility and that of his chimeric army. Zairians never questioned him.

He would still money, with all his associates; they didn't question him. Policemen would racket civilians daily.

The leaders that followed did the same, enriched themselves. The population continued to live in abject poverty and misery.

Basically, beyond slogans and songs, no congolese leader has ever behaved, well, congolese. They consider DRC as a reservoir for primitive accumulation.

The Congo started off as an untenable violent project. both its people and its wealth were considered to be the personal property of a horrible, genocidaire Belgian King Leopold.

Upon independence it's visionary leader Lumumba was killed and a CIA puppet Mobutu installed...

Mobutu was there to serve western interests in the Cold War, against Communist Angola, Zambia and Mozambique (Frontline States). He was known by all Pan-African freedom-fighters as a reactionary buffon. He collaborated with Apartheid South Africa and the Genocide regime in Rwanda

Today DRC problems aren't Rwanda,Uganda, UN, M23 or Tshisekedi simply because they can't be

DRC problems are global. DRC problems are enshrined in its very existence. As a State project it has failed

And the unfortunate people located in or around it have suffered as a result..