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The March 23 movement, known as the M23, was created by the ethnic Tutsi former rebels who had been incorporated into the army under a 2009 peace deal. The movement was launched in April 2012 when they mutinied, claiming that Kinshasa was failing to keep its side of the bargain.
On April 12, 2012, Bosco Ntaganda, the former leader who is currently awaiting trial at the Hague by the ICC, and 300 loyal troops defected from the DRC army and clashed with government forces claiming that President Joseph Kabila cheated in the DRC elections. In the light of the group’s current defeat at the hands of the Congolese Army (FARDC) and the UN intervention brigade, the M23 ceases to exist as a politico-military movement. The defeat of the M23 has now finally resulted in its leader Bertrand Bisimwa issuing a statement to end the rebellion and henceforth use political means to resolve its grievances. Now, other rebel groups such as FDLR (Hutu Rwanda), the LRA (Ugandan origin) and the Allied Democratic Forces (Uganda) are next possible targets for the Congolese army.
Whether or not the defeat is a turning point is still unclear. However, underlying issues need to be addressed seriously such as discussing the grievances of M23, the prevalence of other militia outfits, and the urgent need for more thorough Security Sector Reform (SSR) and credible Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR).
The announcement by the Rwandan government that the DRC based Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) were moving into positions abandoned by the M23, has led to Kigali’s minority Tutsi-led government to see them as a continuing threat to Rwanda’s security as they are descendants of the Rwandan Hutu extremist groups that carried out the 1994 genocide killing some 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. This partly explains their alleged support for the M23-a Tutsi dominated outfit, and their desire to maintain a strategic presence in North Kivu for both security and economic reasons. Rwanda and Uganda deny persistent Congolese and UN allegations that the neighbours are backing the rebel group. UN and Kinshasa have repeatedly described the M23 as a Rwandan puppet and even accused it of sending troops into the battlefield.
The majority of the rebel fighters have fled across the border into Uganda and the Ugandan government is not considering them as prisoners, hence is not willing to return them. UNHRC estimates state that some 800,000 people have fled their homes since the insurgency began in early 2012. The recent fighting has forced about 10,000 civilians to flee across the border into Uganda, Rwanda’s neighbour to the north.
The introduction of the UN intervention brigade was the unique aspect of this conflict. A practice of mixing fighting troops along with peacekeepers was used to fight the M23 in a joint operation with the Congolese army. The heavily armed 3000 strong intervention brigade joined 17,000 peacekeepers already deployed to fight the rebels. The methods to go on the offensive instead of being defensive and retaliating only when civilians were used. Countries such as India had expressed concern, as the intervention brigade was part of the peacekeeping unit and also wears the same uniform. This would mean that during operations, peacekeepers who are not in combat roles become vulnerable to retaliatory strikes, abductions etc. South Africa’s Rooivalk helicopters were also used for the first time in the final assault on M23 positions. This provided a platform to test their firepower in actual combat. It now remains to be seen how much enthusiasm the UN intervention brigade will put in going after other rebel groups.
The joint operation can be said to be the first critical military success for both FARDC and MONUSCO. Politically, President Kabila re-emerges, strengthened, following an upcoming government reshuffle and alleged attempts to alter the Constitution allowing him a third mandate in the 2016 elections. As for the much needed reform in SSR and DDR, not much has been achieved through the recent events. Also, the swift victory may even camouflage upcoming risks in terms of creating security voids if they are not able to stabilize the now "liberated" and other unstable areas. M23 is just the latest in a series of ethnic-Tutsi led militias that have operated in the hills close to the borders with Rwanda and Uganda. There are about 50 different armed groups ranging from rebel like formations to ragtag militias and almost anything in between and the stakes remain clearly high and volatile. They often make money by controlling the trade in the region’s minerals such as gold, tin and coltan.
The currently fragile situation demands continued international attention especially from the emerging economies. This should be a shift from the traditional approach to seek attention from US and Europe, as emerging countries such as India are one of the largest troop contributors to the MONUSCO mission and would be able to offer new alternatives from a different perspective. Land, mineral resource and identity issues, as well as political dialogue and reconciliation-not only from the top down, but also bottom up, are imperative to peace building in DRC.
Peace talk fails: What next for DR Congo
The collapse of talks is the latest blow for the mineral-rich east border zone with Rwanda and Uganda. The Congolese government delegation rejected the peace deal citing Kampala’s support for the insurgents as the reason and dashing hopes for a definitive end to the bloody insurgency that had plagued eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The stalemate could re-ignite tensions not only with the rebels but also with Uganda which was trying to mediate an end to the conflict. Uganda is currently accommodating injured fighters and one of the important M23 leaders, Sultani Makenga. Congo’s accusations against Uganda show the deep mistrust in the region, a barrier standing in the way of long term peace despite the defeat of the M23’s 18 month insurgency. Uganda has refused to relinquish Congolese rebels in custody and accused the DRC delegation of hampering the peace process by introducing last minute demands and delaying tactics. With the long term negotiations being officially called off, the fear of the conflict spilling over into the wider regional context still looms large as the parties to the conflict fail to come into an agreement.
The peace process is significantly hampered by the Ugandan source’s claims that Kinshasa does not even want to sit in the same room with the rebels and does not consider them as equals. However, it is unlikely that President Kabila will back out of talks as a political deal would greatly boost his mandate in the upcoming 2016 elections.
The rebels and the Congolese, the Rwandan and the Ugandan delegations must come together to discuss specific grievances, demands and requests and finally come to an agreement in the wider interest of the DRC and its neighbours. The peace talks should be conducted with or without the representation of the UN and international community but with responsible representatives from all the parties who see the bigger picture of keeping the surrounding region and their sovereignty intact. It would be a good idea to take the matter of resolving peace in an informed, orderly and cautious manner and not to bow down to undue and heavy international pressure to sign a deal in haste. That would only be an appeasing tactic for the international community and merely cover up the underlying problems in the peace deal.
Maintaining the sovereignty of DRC, allowing its people to have rightful access to its mineral rich provinces, trade of natural resources as a form of acceptable business practice, identity issues and ethnic differences should form the core of the tri-lateral talks between DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. It is also important to address the issue of manipulative international regimes and their corporate exploitation of valuable resources like coltan, war crimes committed, displaced victims, the issue of rebel fighters seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries and their reintegration. The highest importance for the three sovereign countries is to break free from the shackles of international pressure, robustly maintain their national interests and mutually develop mechanisms and platforms to resolve their misunderstandings in an effort to harmonise and encourage the region towards better development and trade.
By Special Arrangement with : Observer Research Foundation (www.orfonline.org)