Long-awaited on the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Emmanuel Macron, visiting Kinshasa, did not clearly condemn Rwanda on Saturday, as the Congolese asked him to do, but issued firm warnings, including including in Kigali.
The DRC “must not be the spoils of war, the open looting (of the country) must stop. Neither looting, nor balkanization, nor war!”, Hammered the French president, during a press conference with his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi.
The latter had just deplored the “unjust and barbaric aggression” of which his country considers itself to be a victim.
The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebellion, which since 2022 has seized large swaths of territory in the province of North Kivu, a region rich in minerals. UN experts have corroborated this support and several Western chancelleries have denounced it, although Kigali denies it.
The French Foreign Ministry also condemned this support, but Kinshasa expects concrete measures against Kigali from Paris.
Emmanuel Macron did not announce any sanctions, but called on everyone to “take responsibility, including Rwanda”.
“What we expect from Rwanda and the others (actors) is to commit and respect the appointments that they give themselves under the supervision of the mediators and if they do not respect, then yes, it there may be sanctions, I say it very clearly”, he also underlined.
The French president had attempted a mission of good offices last September, playing the facilitators for a meeting between Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
But the rebellion has since resumed its progress, while Emmanuel Macron finds himself accused of bias in favor of Paul Kagame, with whom he made a reconciliation after the dark years following the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994 and accusations of involvement in this bloodbath brought against France.
The French president “is not welcome in the DRCongo”, warned citizen movements on the eve of his visit to Kinshasa.
Several dozen young people who, brandishing Russian flags, had already demonstrated in Kinshasa on Wednesday against his arrival, gathered again on Saturday with the intention of marching towards one of the sites of his visit. They were quickly dispersed by the police and their leaders arrested.
During his discussions with Angolan Presidents Joao Lourenço and Congolese President Tshisekedi, as well as with Paul Kagame, Emmanuel Macron said he noted that all had “provided clear support” for a ceasefire next Tuesday, as planned in a de-escalation plan. The M23 representatives who went to see President Lourenço also committed themselves to this point, he insisted.
Ceasefires have been announced several times but have never been respected. “I ask to see, especially in terms of sanctions,” said Felix Tshisekedi.
Emmanuel Macron also mentioned the establishment, with the support of France, of a humanitarian air bridge towards Goma, the capital of North Kivu, announced the same morning by the European Union.
The DRC was the fourth and final leg of a tour of Central Africa, which also took him to Gabon for a forest summit, Angola and Congo-Brazzavile.
Throughout his journey, Emmanuel Macron delivered a single message: France, a former colonial power increasingly contested on the continent, wants to develop a new relationship with Africa, made of “humility” and “responsible and balanced” partnerships.
During his visit to Kinshasa, he notably met Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, who was responsible for the discovery of the Ebola virus.
A partnership has also been concluded for the mapping and sustainable management of the mining resources that abound in the Congolese subsoil.
“So many regional powers, so many rebel groups are in a situation of predation of these resources (…) They come to pick your pockets to end their month”, pointed out the French president.
Agreements have also been concluded for the opening of a Ecole 42, a benchmark French brand for the training of IT developers, the installation of fiber optics in remote areas of eastern DRC and the electrification of a city in the center of the country.
“France is coming back in force in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we just hope that it’s not just a flash in the pan and that it will be a real new start”, launched Félix Tshisekedi.
03/04/2023 20:11:20 – Kinshasa (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
