Rebel Advances Fuel Riots In Congo
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-11-27/rebel-advances-fuel-riots-congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo is descending into chaos as rebels take over cities and the nation's army does nothing to stop them. Kojo explores the conflict in this severely poor African nation that has vast reserves of gold, diamonds and other minerals.
Guests
Laura Seay
Assistant Professor, Political Science, Morehouse College (Atlanta, Ga.)
Comments
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The Overlooked Questions
The program today overlooked what I think is key to this conflict: the depth of Rwanda's role and why the solution to the unrest in the region lies more in a Rwandan dialogue in Rwanda, and a very biased top US diplomat in New York.
From the State Department Daily Press Briefing, November 26, 2012 (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2012/11/201015.htm ):
MS. NULAND: [...]Assistant Secretary Carson out there working [on] this very hard this week. [...] clearly, MONUSCO was not able to do what it was mandated to do. So I think among the things we need to understand better is how this relatively modest group of rebels was able to grab and hold territory, so – and what might be needed in terms of security and stabilization going forward. [...] certainly, there’s a concern that we’re going to need an effective security force there, that that may require adjustments to the way we’re moving forward, but I just don’t want to predict where we’re going to go with this, but you’re not wrong that we are a major supporter of MONUSCO and it needs to be able to be effective in securing populations, which is not currently the case.
Dr Laura Seay seemed to depict a strong and disciplined M23 group facing a weak, rogue and undisciplined Congolese army. The latter is true, but then again the international community "imposed" this patched up army of former militia groups, among whom the most notorious rapists. Nevertheless, the news from the ground don't seem to support the claim of a more disciplined and strong M23. The Belgian newspaper "Le soir" reported that in previous days, "dozens of public vehicles were swept away: forty trucks that the European Union had given to the [provoncial] Dept of roads, cars offered by China for the Mayor's Office, thirty jeeps for Members of Parliament. These vehicles were taken to the North towards Kibumba Rushuru then, the rebel stronghold. Many witnesses have reported looting: "in trucks and jeeps were charged toilets and sinks, and storage of OFIDA (Customs) have been emptied by the rebels."'
Moreover, whenever the FARDC seem to have an upperhand, reports of support from across the border abound. Two Rwandan tanks have been reported, a couple of days ago, to have come across the border from Rwanda to support the M23, AllAfrica.com writes: "The physical closeness of events just serves to cement Kigali's guilt in the eyes of international observers. Goma's urban sprawl runs right up to the Rwandan border, and M23 soldiers reportedly swung by to gain some applause following their taking of the city."
So really, for us tax-payers, maybe beyond our $400 millions/a year for MONUSCO, the question boils down to this: "Both Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson and Special Envoy Barry Walkley have told Kigali explicitly to stop supporting M23. According to sources within the Obama administration, Rice has weighed in during these conversations, even when they do not directly relate to the United Nations." WHY? [Apparently Benghazi is not a stand alone!!!]
P.S.: "The invasion started on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 on two axes: one group of Rwandan troops went after the Goma airfield engaging the FARDC soldiers that guarded the airport and the Radio/TV station; the second group attacked the Goma City center.
FARDC troops, expecting the attacks to come from M23 rebels to the North of Goma were surprised when they were attacked from Lake Kivu on the South and South East. They fled westward to the town of Sake, abandoning weapons and injured FARDC soldiers.
After the bulk of invasion had been successfully completed by the RDF troops and the Rwandan Defense Forces captured Goma, the so-called M23 rebels showed up and made speeches to the population. To hide the presence of thousands of Rwandan troops, official leaders of M23 rebels declared that 2,000 FARDC troops had surrendered, with, curiously, less than 100 AK 47.
[...] The number of dead Rwandan soldiers seen by AfroAmerica Network sources in Kanombe, Kigali, Gisenyi, and Mukamira military camps is around 100, just for the Goma invasion alone. According to other sources who are following very closely what is going on on the ground, it appears that the morale of RDF soldiers is very low. Some of the commanders are even openly questioning the usefulness of the military operations. "
(http://www.afroamerica.net/AfricaGL/2012/11/25/kinshasa-how-rwandan-defe...)
Madam Assistant Professor Seay is telling the story with the usual westerners cliche about Africa where every conflicts has to be absolutely about ethnic and tribal issues when the war in DRC has nothing to do with that. Explaining that to her will probably be useless. But she is right when she said that the Congolese people, including the Congolese Tutsis do not support the M23 nor their friend, Kabila.