DRC: resigned reactions to the impotence of the UN and diplomacy in the face of M23

By RFI

Guterres' comments provoked strong reactions in the DRC. The UN secretary-general has claimed that MONUSCO peacekeepers are not capable of beating M23 fighters. In Kinshasa, political actors, activists and experts have reacted and see a kind of impotence of the UN, in addition to the weaknesses of the Congolese army on the ground.

                                                   

"The fact is that the United Nations is not capable of beating the M23. The truth is that the M23 today is a modern army, with heavy equipment that is more advanced than the equipment of MONUSCO," the UN Secretary-General told France 24 and RFI on Sunday 18 September.

In the entourage of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, we said they were disappointed but not surprised, given that these remarks have already been made by UN leaders in bilateral meetings between the UN and the Congolese authorities. For his part, MP Claudel André Lubaya believes that this is an illustration of the failure of Congolese diplomacy:

"The world tour has obviously not produced much. The government is solely responsible for this situation, since it has never deigned to reveal to the nation the content and contours of the economic and security agreements it has concluded in all opacity with our Rwandan and Ugandan neighbors. »

Claudel André Lubaya advocates the strengthening of the Congolese army to deal with this situation. For his part, Pierre Boisselet, a researcher at the Groupe d'étude sur le Congo (GEC), notes that Félix Tshisekedi's room for manoeuvre is quite narrow today. This is, from his point of view, the other lesson to be drawn from this media release of Antonio Guterres:

"The international community does not seem to be putting very much pressure on Kigali. It seems quite divided. We do not see a really strong initiative on that side. »

Pierre Boisselet believes that the talks advocated by Antonio Guterres are likely to encounter significant obstacles, given the context: "The idea of negotiating with the M23 or Rwanda also seems to me quite clogged, because it is a rather unpopular option in the DRC. It will be more and more difficult as the elections approach. »

Meanwhile, Felix Tshisekedi is taking advantage of his stay in New York, where the 77th United Nations General Assembly opens on Tuesday, September 20, to try to convince the Western powers to put more pressure on Rwanda.