DR Congo: Burundi’s attempt to join peace negotiations is criticized by AFC/M23
Burundi’s bid to join the current peace procedures aimed at settling the conflict in eastern DR Congo has drawn harsh criticism from the AFC/M23 movement, which has called the initiative a “trap” that would thwart attempts toward a settlement.
At the invitation of the Kinshasa government, Burundi has a number of battalions in eastern DR Congo. According to reports, the Banyamulenge population in the Minembwe highlands, who are still isolated from food, markets, and medical supplies, is facing an increasingly dire humanitarian scenario as a result of the deployment of six to seven battalions in South Kivu alone.
At the 9th International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on November 15, Burundi’s foreign affairs minister Edouard Bizimana told delegates that his nation ought to be a part of both the Washington-facilitated talks between Rwanda and the Congolese government and the AFC/M23-Kinshasa dialogue mediated by Qatar.
He maintained that Burundi’s engagement is justified due to the country’s hosting of over 100,000 Congolese refugees.
Burundi’s stance was condemned by AFC/M23 in a statement issued on November 16 as “victimhood speech” that concealed “geopolitical greed.”
The statement released by the rebel movement said, “What he [the Burundian minister] does not say is why these Congolese are fleeing, or who is hunting them down all the way to Minembwe, where more than ten Burundian battalions operate as military subcontractors for Kinshasa.”
“Because it thrives on the chaos in the Congo, Burundi wants to invite itself to the peace agreements of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
Burundi’s involvement, the movement said, would make peace “impossible.”
“That would end the peace process in Doha before it even started.”
As Kinshasa’s allies, including the Wazalendo, the FDLR, and now Burundi, want to sit around the peace agreements, AFC/M23 cautioned that Burundi’s intentions amount to a deadly trap for Kinshasa.
Burundi believes Kinshasa is worn out, weak, and unable to manage its own military, not to mention its poisonous ties. Gitega thus moves its pieces.
AFC/M23 demanded that the movement and the Congolese government be the only parties involved in the Doha process.
Only two major parties exist. The rest is nothing more than political mercenaries, parasites, and interference. Peace will not be feasible if all of the “allies” are permitted entry.
“The road to peace will become an insurmountable maze if Burundi and other opportunistic partners get involved in this process. According to the rebel movement’s statement, “a peace deal cannot turn into a marketplace where all self-declared allies come to demand a seat, a reward, or a veto right.”
