Kinshasa, Friday 23rd February 2024: In his first prime-time appearance before the Congolese people since his re-election and swearing-in for a second term, President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday addressed the nation in a live televised press conference during which he handled inquiries from Congolese journalists on all matters, ranging from diplomacy to economy to security to sport.
The worsening security situation in the east of the country, however, took the lion’s share of the journalists’ attention, prompting clear and consistent condemnation of Rwandan aggression and theft of Congolese natural resources.
When asked if he was satisfied with the actions of the United Nations Security Council vis-à-vis Rwandan aggression, President Tshisekedi replied: “We will only be satisfied when the Security Council will impose sanctions on Rwanda. When Russia did the same thing, there was a fury of sanctions. For a case similar to that of Russia and Ukraine, why is there not a single sanction? To me, they can do better.”
He also conveyed his disappointment in a mineral logistics MOU signed between the EU and Rwanda, citing the fact that Rwanda is illegally mining and effectively stealing the natural resources of the DRC.
The President nonetheless spoke optimistically about ongoing mediation efforts, as he gave the nation an update on the many multilayer and bilateral talks that happened on the sidelines of last week’s African Union summit in Addis Ababa.
He praised the United States and France for setting an example by condemning the M23, as well as Angolan President João Lourenço, who will receive Tshisekedi next Tuesday, for serving as a mediator between the DRC and Rwanda.
“Rwanda must explain to me why they persist in massacring my compatriots and plundering our natural resources. We spent billions of dollars to get the DRC army to the level it is today. And we will continue to have such a strong army to dissuade adventurers like Paul Kagame from coming to play around in Congo … I want peace, but not at the price of humiliation … we seek definitive and durable peace … if we need to go to war [to ensure that the peace is definitive], we will be ready to do so.”
President Tshisekedi closed with an appeal to the hope for a peaceful resolution: “My priority for my people is peace … we need to bring displaced people back to their homes … we are determined to restore peace and will succeed in doing so.”
Earlier, the Chairperson of African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, called upon regional leaders, particularly those of DRC and Rwanda, to prioritize dialogue in the framework of the two African mechanisms led by President João Lourenço of Angola and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, with the goal of agreeing, in a collaborative and fraternal spirit, on a reasonable pathway to settle political differences, whatever their nature.
He said the integrity, security, sovereignty, and stability of all states in the region must necessarily be assured, and the lives of the civilian population completely protected.
According to Faki, there will not be any military solution to problems and disagreements within the African family.