The Nobel Peace Prize denounces the two weights, two measures of Westerners in the face of the drama of the populations, in reference to the commitment to Ukraine.
Sommented by Christophe Châtelot
For thirteen months, the extreme east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has again been the scene of deadly fighting opposing local militias and the Congolese regular forces in the March 23 (M23), A rebellious group supported by Rwanda. Doctor Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, denounces the inaction and hypocrisy of the international community, as well as the corruption of the Congolese authorities in the face of this drama which has lasted for almost thirty years.
How do you explain the resurgence of deadly violence in eastern DRC since November 2021?
Because, in Congo, impunity is the norm. Our country looks like a jewelry without door or windows. Everyone can massacre populations with impunity, as in Kishishe [in the province of North Kivu, on November 29 and 30, where at least 131 people died], plunder our wealth, then sell them on the international market. Meanwhile, the whole world closes their eyes. This is what happens with the M23, a terrorist movement supported by Rwanda.
It is not new. The security and humanitarian crisis, which has been taking place for twenty-five years in eastern Congo, is the most neglected in the world. A crisis which, however, has already caused the death of more than 6 million people and moved 5.8 million others. A third of the population is hungry.
What does the Congolese state do?
In the east of the country, there are one hundred and twenty national or foreign armed groups. What is Kinshasa’s response? He calls outdoor armed forces [those sent by the member countries of the economic community of the States of Central Africa] which come with their own agenda to crunch their share of the cake. Result, it is again the civilian population that pays the tribute. It is dramatic, especially since the rest of the world looks without doing anything. The Congo lives in a situation of organized chaos, its population reduced in a form of modern slavery, in order to plunder its rare earths and its strategic ores. All this to meet the needs of new technologies and the energy transition.
In Luanda, Nairobi or New York, the diplomats try to find a way out of this crisis …
We are attacked by Rwanda. It is recognized. The French Ambassador to the United Nations described ” horror “ the kishishe massacre. But after ? What follow -up? Nothing. Unfortunately, we do not see the international community being moved as it does for Ukraine, where the aggressive country – Russia – is sanctioned, isolated. European policy towards the Great Lakes region is total inconsistency.
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