The M23 rebels are now in control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Western media love to call it the mineral rich city. This is the second time they do so in a little over ten years. The last time in 2013, they were forced to withdraw by a combination of force and promises. This time, that seems unlikely. They intend to stay and push even further. That intention has already been made clear by the announcement that they are setting up an administration of the city, like they have done in other areas of the province that they have taken. Some might describe the fall of Goma as a turning point in the conflict in eastern DR Congo. Whether that is the case or not, it is a significant event whose importance may go beyond the ongoing conflict. For now, however, we will restrict ourselves to the present. The fall of Goma exposes a number of things about the conflict, many of which are well-known but are either ignored, misrepresented or falsified. The world has been presented with the image of the M23 rebels as demons, or when permitted to be human as terrorists and murderers, rapists and looters, and criminals of every imaginable crime. This image has been spread by DR Congo authorities, western media and a number of foreign organisations, and repeated as true by various western governments. They also warned of a bloodbath if the rebels took the city. Their entry into Goma disproved all that. That image was proved false, the fabrication of the DR Congo government and the media. In the first place, there was no bloodbath as predicted (probably wished for) by the media and associated organisations. Instead, the rebels’ first action, even before they took the city, was a call to residents to remain calm, have no fear, for M23 were their liberators, not their tormentors.. Then the reception of the rebels by the local population and their subsequent actions showed a different image. There were scenes of joy and jubilation as they entered the city. Understandably, there was some disquiet in some places and a wait-and-see attitude in others, probably the result of government propaganda. This proved something else. They were among their own; they were not foreigners. The very notion of violence against their own was utter rubbish. The M23 exposed another lie, a stereotype image of African rebels that western media love to portray, of a ragtag group of fighters, high on drugs, violent and capable of the most unspeakable atrocities. To their shock, the M23 is no such. It turned out to be a disciplined, professional force in nearly every aspect. They have demonstrated that they are a formidable and efficient fighting force that has defeated a combined force made up of a coalition of the DR Congo national army (FARDC), the misnamed Wazalendo armed groups, FDLR the Rwandan genocidal militia, Burundian forces, European mercenaries and Southern African troops. One could add to this the UN peacekeeping force (MONUSCO) which supplied logistics and intelligence and in some cases actual combat on the FARDC side. Then the manner in which they have treated the defeated enemy, with dignity and decency is not according to type as ordained by western media. They have supervised their orderly surrender and disarming and provided safe passage to UN staff and mercenaries to the Rwandan border and their onward journey to Kigali. The foreign media will not report all this, of course. Perhaps it is too much for them to process. But more likely it is because it goes against their chosen narrative and they will try to put a spin on it. Such a professional fighting force cannot be rebels. It is the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF). Foreign troops welcomed with such joy? Come on. Think of another lie. The ongoing conflict in eastern DR Congo, particularly the fall of Goma, has exposed the utter incompetence of the country’s political and authorities. They cannot address their domestic political problems. Instead they externalise them and blame them on outsiders, in this case Rwanda. The best they can do is organise violent demonstrations against foreign missions in Kinshasa. Incredibly, even for this, Rwanda is responsible. The humiliating defeat of all these forces has a very important lesson. You cannot outsource your national defence. It is an extremely risky business. Nor can you externalise your internal political problems and blame them on outsiders or expect them to solve them for you. That betrays extreme incompetence. It is a lesson the DR Congo authorities have refused to grasp and even now will still refuse to take. There is probably a good reason for this. They have no incentive to do so. The West makes excuses for them and refuses to hold them accountable for their actions or inaction. In all the pronouncements since the fall of Goma, all the big powers of the west have heaped blame on M23 and Rwanda. Not a mention of the DR Congo government’s responsibility. Not a word about European mercenaries. Or the FDLR. Or Burundi. Or MONUSCO’s partisan role. Nothing. The fall of Goma does not mean that the conflict has ended. But it presents an opportunity for a diplomatic path to a political resolution. The M23 rebels have all along said this is their preferred option. The question is, will DR Congo take it? Indications are that they are likely to maintain their intransigence and push for a military solution despite the humiliating setback. They are emboldened by the noises they are hearing from western capitals. We can expect a lot of pressure on Rwanda and President Paul Kagame. Some analysts suggest that this is because Rwanda is supposed to be more understanding, more reasonable, the only adult in the room so to speak. That means the other fellows are not worth talking to. In other words Rwanda is a victim of its own reasonableness. That may be so, but placing all hopes for a resolution on Rwanda’s ability to understand is simply inadequate. They must also understand that Rwanda has security concerns that must be addressed. The FDLR has to be dealt with so that they do continue to be a threat to Rwanda’s security and also cease to spread anti-Tutsi hate against Congolese citizens. Still, there will be a flurry of diplomatic efforts. Already the East African Community convened a meeting on the matter. There does not seem to be much optimism about the outcome. We can expect calls for a resumption of the Luanda and Nairobi processes. Whether the obstacles to these have been removed is not clear. Still, Goma provides an excellent opportunity for resolution that should not be missed. The ball is in DR Congo’s court and perhaps the West should put pressure on President Tshisekedi to play ball.
