Russia Offers to Assist DRC to Bring Peace and Stability to the Great Lacs
by PD Lawton, 19 March 2023
President Felix Tshisekedi
There is a groundswell of pro-Russian sentiment in Africa as more and more African nations turn to Russia and China and away from the debt trap and double standards on offer from the Western mafia of Wall Street and the City of London.
For the Congolese, Russian intervention to assist militarily in the restoration of peace and stability in the east of DRC is welcomed. For months now, people in the capital Kinshasa, and provincial capitals of Bukavu and Goma, have demonstrated against Western exploitation, against Western backing of the Kagame regime and have held up placards saying `Putin Help Us`, `Russian Help Welcome` and placards showing photos of Presidents Tshisekedi and Putin together. The reason is simple: Russia delivers on its promises of security unlike UN peacekeeping missions and French security programs like Operation Barkhane in Mali.
Recently, the Elders of Congolese Royal dynasties and clans requested of President Tshisekedi`s government, that Russia intervenes in the east to end the war.
The Russian ambassador to Kinshasa, Alexey Sentebov, held a meeting on the 3 March attended by the Elders, in which he stated that Russia is available to assist DRC to restore peace in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri in the east. DRC territory is currently being occupied by both Rwandan and Ugandan military forces that are labelled M23 and ADF terrorist insurgencies.
It is only in the past few months that President Tshisekedi has broken the silence and called M23 by its real name: the Rwandan military. Up until that point, even the Congolese government used the misnomer of M23 Militia for the sake of political diplomacy. To avoid further open political dispute with its neighbors, the ADF are still referred to as militia, by government.
Ambassador Alexey Sentebov, said on 3 March that Russia is extending to DRC a win-win partnership in the new global order, an opportunity for DRC to exit from the West`s prison, by which he meant the prison of IMF debt-induced poverty and instability .
Burundian analyst, Christophe Ndayiragije, stated that” Africa is returning to the era of the 1960s when it was on the brink of economic transformation before our dreams were destroyed. It is a real shame for the West, how they can call exploitation, development. People see Russia, they cry : Russia, Russia come – because they are conscious of what the West are doing, of what is hidden, from Mali, to Burkina Faso, the Sahel, to the Great Lacs. It is really bad what the West does. “
There has been a resurgence in violence in North Kivu by the Rwandan military in the last year, leaving hundreds of civilians in rural areas murdered, mutilated and women and young girls raped. Tens of thousands continue to live in inadequate UN camps.
The resurgence in violence (as M23 had been previously pushed back from DRC territory), was sparked by the government`s implementing of Martial Law in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in 2020. This has resulted in, mostly, ending the decades-long black-market in gold, diamonds and rare earth minerals essential to the digital economy: coltan and lithium. The black-market for these resources is in Rwanda which has been conducting a policy of legalized crime, the main beneficiaries of which are the City of London and Wall Street traders. Rwanda is rewarded for its mercenary activities in DRC through EU military grants and continues to be the largest recipient of British foreign aid. Tony Blair has long-standing relations with Rwandan` President for Life`, Paul Kagame.
Without security and stability this region cannot achieve transformation to a prosperous economy for all. Indeed, the turmoil in DRC is affecting progress for the entire continent. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will never function optimally without trade flowing through the center of the continent, namely the Central African Republic and the DRC.
The African Integrated High Speed Railway Network ( AIHSRN) incorporates Eastern DRC on one of the key railway corridors. The Tanzanian section of the high speed electric train for both passengers and cargo will be complete in the very near future as Tanzania has already completed the line to Morogoro. The rail corridor is planned to go from Dar Es Salaam, across Tanzania, to Burundi, Rwanda and North Kivu and South Kivu from where it will traverse the entire DRC to finally link up to Pointe Noire in Congo Brazzaville. The qualitative changes that a high-speed railway will have on all economies, is immeasurable in terms of trade and the raising of the standard of living.
Therefore it is in the interests of every African that lasting peace is achieved so that Africa can take its rightful place in the world.