DRC and internal opposition to foreign armies
Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Influential individuals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fear the “Balkanization” of areas hit hard by violence in eastern parts of the country. Hence, President Felix Tshisekedi will face increasing pressure unless military success is forthcoming.
The former prime minister Augustin Matata Ponyo, the Nobel winner Denis Mukwege, and the politician Martin Fayulu issued an important communique that denounced the role of foreign armies.
The communique said, “Instead of providing the country with an effective army, the government has prioritized externalizing national security, (placed in the hands of) foreign forces and, even worse, of countries which are behind the destabilization of this country.”
Voice of America reports, “The latest emergency is over a resurgent armed group called the M23, which has seized swathes of territory in North Kivu province since emerging from dormancy last year.”
The armed forces of the DRC face a plethora of different militias. Hence, Tshisekedi requested help from the East African Community (EAC) bloc of nations. However, internal discontent is aimed at Rwanda and Uganda. This concerns historical intrigues by regional nations in eastern parts of the DRC.
Opponents of Tshisekedi said that the current crisis is “the result of a blatant lack of leadership and governance by an irresponsible and repressive regime.”
France 24 reports, “According to the UN experts’ report, Rwanda’s military intervened to “reinforce” the M23 as well as to combat the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) — a descendant of Rwandan Hutu extremist groups that carried out the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.”
The situation remains extremely tense in the eastern parts of the country. Hence, internal political pressure on Tshisekedi and the involvement of regional nations at various levels (supporting – or intrigues) – highlight the problems facing this embattled country.
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