This week kicked off with news of Congolese refugees living in Rwanda staging peaceful demonstrations, expressing their discontent over the ongoing killings targeting their compatriots back home. They are particularly irate over the continued persecution of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese, especially those of Tutsi origin, mainly in eastern DR Congo that has escalated in recent months and with no reproach to perpetrators. Demonstrations were held in Kigeme and Mahama refugee camps located in Nyamagabe and Kirehe districts respectively, where they demanded the international community to intervene and salvage the situation before it is too late. Many of the Congolese refugees have lived in Rwanda for over 20 years and part of their appeal was the return of peace in their native country so that they can repatriate and start rebuilding their lives. What is happening in DR Congo has all the hallmarks of a genocide in the making and unfortunately, these attacks against a particular people seem to have the blessings of national leadership. It started with open calls by national leaders – both within military and civilian ranks – for the attack on all Congolese of Tutsi origin. It then led to demonizing of this section of Congolese citizens and Rwandans living in DR Congo has degenerated into a full-scale onslaught on the targeted population mostly by security officers. As a consequence, several people have lost their lives in such unfortunate incidents, some caught on camera and populated across social media platforms. What is most unfortunate is the fact that such acts are taking place in full presence of UN peacekeepers under MONUSCO. Worse still, the worst perpetrators of such sordid acts seem to have formed an alliance of evil with the said peacekeepers. The same UN mission has not even made any attempt to call out their partners over these atrocities, which has only emboldened the perpetrators, and what we are witnessing is a country headed to a full-scale genocide. The fear by the Congolese Tutsi communities both in Rwanda and in DR Congo is exacerbated by the fact that the same people who committed the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda are the very people who have partnered with FARDC, the Congolese national forces, and lately MONUSCO, to fight M23, a group that was formed out of the necessity for self-determination of the Rwandophone community mainly resident in eastern DR Congo.
