It was in front of the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, that the Congolese President, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, gave his stand regarding the war in his country and all the speeches thereupon.
Félix spoke this Friday, February 16 during the extraordinary mini-summit on the situation in the East of the DRC. This mini-summit was convened by Angolan President Joao Lourenco on the sidelines of the 37th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa.
A stand long awaited by millions of Congolese.
● We will never negotiate with the M23.
● This war is not an invention of the DRC.
● One cannot claim to become protector of a community in a neighboring country.
● A war to continue the pillaging of my country and to bring happiness to Rwanda and its accomplices.
● I want peace but not at any price.
Mentioned vigorously President Tshisekedi at this meeting which is his first trip abroad after his re-election on December 20, 2023 and his investiture on January 20.
Call for dialogue
Like certain Western powers, the Angolan President, appointed mediator of this meeting, proposed a direct dialogue between his counterparts from Rwanda and the DRC in order to “end” the conflict between these two neighboring countries which are destabilizing the East.
It should be noted that out of 10 heads of state expected at this mini-summit, 6 were present. That is the President of Angola (Joao Lorenzo), the DRC (Félix Antoine Tshisekedi), Kenya (William Ruto), Rwanda (Paul Kagame) and South Africa (Cyril Ramaphosa). The other countries were represented by senior representatives.
Meanwhile, violence and fighting intensify between the M23 rebels supported by the Rwandan army and the FARDC in the province of North Kivu and more particularly around the strategic city of Goma.
Is the Congolese President about to declare war on Rwanda, his eternal aggressor? “Time will tell”, say the English.
Ahana Bryan
