A spokesperson of the M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo said peace talks with the government will be possible when “a conducive environment” is ensured. In an interview with Russian broadcaster RT, Kanyuka explained why the rebels, who are part of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), withdrew from the direct negotiations with Kinshasa that had been scheduled for Tuesday, March 18. These would have been the first direct talks since the M23 rebellion resurfaced in November 2021. “It is our organisation that has been calling for direct talks with the Congolese government to address the root causes of the conflict to establish lasting peace in our country and the government refused all the time,” Kanyuka said. ALSO READ: M23-DR Congo govt talks set for March 18 After a meeting with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi on March 11, Angolan President João Lourenço secured the talks between Kinshasa and the rebels, who have taken control two major cities in eastern DR Congo since January. The rebel group had agreed to the talks and travel preparations were advanced until Monday, when it said the negotiations were “impracticable” following European Union sanctions on some of its members. ALSO READ: M23 rebels seize Walikale, genocidal militia’s strongholds “For a week, the coalition of government forces had continued to attack heavily populated areas, killing and displacing many of our compatriots,” Kanyuka said. “On the eve of the long-awaited talks, we had sanctions coming from some international institutions, putting pressure on us and making the environment toxic for us to continue to discuss this conflict in the east of DR Congo. “That’s why our organisation decided to say it’s a bit too much. We need an environment which is good for us to discuss this matter of such importance.” He said he did not understand the reason why the EU chose to impose sanctions on AFC/M23 members on the eve of the talks. “Western countries should leave Africans alone to solve their problems ... and they should stop intervening and causing more chaos,” Kanyuka said. ALSO READ: Belgian politicians are leveraging DR Congo crisis to boost influence in UN, EU – former Belgian senator He added that the Congolese government had ignored various agreements meant to end the conflict, which has been recurring for nearly three decades. Kanyuka said there was a lack of political will from the Congolese government to end the conflict, in which M23 rebels fight to defend Congolese Tutsi communities who have suffered persecution for decades at the hands of Kinshasa-backed militias, such as the FDLR, which is linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. ALSO READ: Scholar tells how Burundi, FDLR connived in DR Congo village massacre “We are fighting to liberate our people from hate speech, xenophobia, apartheid, bad governance,” he said. “We need development... We have so many minerals and so much wealth under the soil of DR Congo and the population are not benefiting from them. We want to liberate our people from embezzlement of public funds and corruption.”
