At a regional summit held in the Burundian city of Bujumbura last week, a thorny issue was raised; that of involving the M23 rebel group in all processes aimed at restoring security in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The meeting, the Kinshasa regime once again pushed its narrative that the rebel group, which last year gained significant ground against the Congolese military and its allies, and overran several territories, should not be part of the talks. ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: EAC leaders emphasize regional force’s achievements, buy more time Interestingly, the talks were about the envisaged cantonment of M23 fighters, who are supposed to be put in one place as they wait to be integrated into the national military and be included in a reconciliation process. According to the Nairobi Process, the rebels are to be sent to the Rumangabo military camp in eastern DR Congo and the Bujumbura meeting, among others, agreed to dispatch a team to inspect the camp before the cantonment. ALSO READ: EAC defends regional force in DR Congo However, the rebel group had been excluded from participation in the pre-cantonment inspection of the military facility, prompting the Rwandan delegation led by Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente to ask that they be included in the processes. Since the beginning of the Nairobi Process and the Luanda talks, which essentially are meant to quell the insecurity situation that escalated last year with the resurgence of an insurrection by M23, Kinshasa has been keen on excluding the rebel group in the talks, branding them a terrorist group. On the other hand, M23 has shown goodwill to pursue a peaceful end to the conflict and went ahead and withdrew from areas they previously occupied in the spirit of the peace processes. Kinshasa on the other hand, has remained adamant and instead called on the regional force deployed to oversee the implementation of the peace process to militarily engage M23 in total disregard of the peace process. In fact, reports out of DR Congo have pointed to a state-instigated campaign to mobilise local militia groups to foment insecurity in areas vacated by M23. This then calls for regional leaders to directly look the Congolese leaders into the eyes and call them out for frustrating the process that could potentially bring peace that this restive region has not known for decades.
