Citizens meeting in Nairobi for the third Inter-Congolese dialogue this week have been asked to embrace forgiveness as the search for lasting peace in the war-torn eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo kicks off.
“Though the pain from the atrocities committed against you may be too much in the last 20 years as lives have been lost, animals stolen, and minerals stolen by foreign nations who are happy to spur conflict as they steal your minerals leaving your children unable to go to school and your mothers unable to give birth in hospital, let us embrace a forgiving heart and agree to unite to bring lasting peace to the region,” former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is leading the East African Community (EAC)-Nairobi Peace talks, said.
The talks have brought together armed groups, civil society groups, women and youth groups, survivors of the conflict, and government representatives led by DRC President Felix Tshisekedi’s Special Envoy, Prof Serge Tshibangu.
The groups are represented by about 350 participants, over 50 of whom represent armed groups fighting in eastern DRC.
Mr Kenyatta assured the participants that the talks will not delve into discussions over DRC’s territorial sovereignty.
“The Republic of DRC belongs to the Congolese and we are not here to discuss how an inch of your territory shall be cut off. Ours (the Nairobi Process) is to find ways you can co-exist with one another and resolve conflicts that arise between you without taking up arms against one another,” he said.
The Luanda Process, which is inter-linked with the Nairobi Process, is trying to resolve the external conflict between DRC and Rwanda.
“We believe we shall find solutions from both processes so that you can live in peace at home, refugees and internally displaced persons can go back to their homes, and all arms in the hands of armed groups shall be silenced and surrendered to the government,” he said.
In the last Luanda meeting held last week, EAC member states ordered the March 23 (M23) and other foreign groups operating in eastern DRC to ease hostilities, lay down their arms, and leave the country unconditionally.
The M23 was particularly asked to leave Banagana, Rutshuru, and Kiwanja, but it is yet to do so and that is why they are not among the armed groups attending the Nairobi peace process.
“Until that is done, the M23 cannot be part of these discussions. The process happening here only involves armed groups that have agreed to lay down their arms and ease hostilities,” said Mr Kenyatta.
However, Prof Tshibangu said about six per cent of the M23 group has shown up in Nairobi and reiterated that the Congolese government shall not negotiate with groups that have deliberately declined to take part in the process.
“There will be no amnesty for these people. There will be no forum for us to discuss with foreign armed groups. They should lay down their arms and go to their homes. There shall be no negotiations with them. Military action shall be deployed against them,” he said, adding that DRC has plans to absorb other ex-combatants into the army known by its French acronym FARDC after the due recruitment process has been followed.
“The amnesty will, however, not be automatic to all armed groups that lay down their arms as some will have to go through the transitional justice process and be held accountable for their atrocities,” he said.
The dialogues are meant to create mechanisms for bringing back peace in eastern DRC, where more than 120 armed groups are fighting.
They kicked off on Monday with a resolution by EAC Heads of State to deploy military action against armed groups that defy calls to ease hostilities, create channels for voluntary repatriation of internally displaced persons and refugees hosted in neighboring countries in addition to a call for the unconditional departure of foreign armed groups from DRC territories.
Ministry of Health personnel have been seconded to the weeklong event to offer counselling to the victims as they come face to face with some of the persons behind the crimes committed against them. BY DAILY NATION