Goma, November 16th, 2022 (CPA).- The Facilitator Uhuru Kenyatta, who arrived Tuesday afternoon in Goma in Nord Kivu, deplored the suffering of the displaced Congolese populations and the humanitarian disaster caused by this unjust conflict imposed on the ground floor.
“What I saw was a disaster. What I have seen will be a humanitarian disaster if we are not careful. This war must be stopped immediately,” he declared, shocked by the magnitude of the situation and the humanitarian crisis that the population of Nord Kivu is suffering.
The Facilitator was sickened to see columns of displaced people, estimated at 38,440 people including children, fleeing the atrocities committed by Rwandan-backed M23 terrorists in Rutshuru territory.
Uhuru Kenyatta appealed to the DRC’s partners to « help this country avoid a greater humanitarian catastrophe », before reiterating his invitation to the armed groups to lay down their arms to enter the political process of the Nairobi talks.
Three neighbouring countries called upon to negotiate with their armed groups operating in the DRC.
Moreover, during the consultations held on Monday in Kinshasa by the Facilitator for the Nairobi process, Uhuru Kenyatta, the delegation of the living forces of Sud Kivu called on Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda to negotiate with their armed groups operating in the DRC, learned CPA.
« Rwanda must negotiate with the FDLR, CNRD and M23, Burundi must negotiate with the FNL, RED TABARA and Uganda must negotiate with the ADF », she recommended in particular to the former President, on behalf of the provinces affected by the activism of these negative forces which sow terror and desolation in the country.
“This is one of the paths to take to pacify the DRC,” added the delegation.
The living forces of Sud Kivu also pleaded for the facilitation to prohibit the Rwandan government from interfering in the internal affairs of the DRC, « under the pretext of claiming to be the protector of Congolese communities of Rwandophone expression ».
They then called for the establishment of a transitional justice policy based on an inclusive, fair and balanced approach as well as for the advocacy of the facilitation for « the lifting of the embargo on the purchase of arms which strikes unfairly the DRC”.
After meeting the day before with MONUSCO staff, the Facilitator for the Nairobi peace process met representatives of civil society in Ituri, Nord Kivu and Sud Kivu, but also members from the office of the National Assembly ale and the Senate, the government as well as the diplomatic corps accredited in the DRC.
The contours of Uhuru Kenyata’s mission
During a press briefing held at the end of the consultations with these different actors involved in the Nairobi process, Uhuru Kenyatta fixed the opinion on the contours of his mission.
« I did not come here with a particular mentality to impose the diktat on what must be done, » he said, indicating that he came rather to « listen to the different actors so as to facilitate things for the return of peace in eastern DRC ».
To each other, he expressed the requirements imposed by the mandate assigned to him, namely to strive to bring the stakeholders to recognize the legal and legitimate government of the DRC, under the leadership of President Félix Tshisekedi, to respect the Constitution of the country as well as the sovereignty and integrity of its territory.
He also said that he had heard a lot from the parties involved and that it is on this basis that the facilitation intends to evolve from now on.
« We want to have peace and mutual trust with all the neighbours of the DRC, » he said.
“The objective of these meetings was to have the same understanding on the facilitation of the EAC, the expectations of each other as well as the means of advancing this Nairobi process with a view to lasting peace in the DRC and within the Great Lakes region,” recalled the facilitator.
These exchanges also enabled him to pave the way for Nairobi III, the third meeting of the peace talks scheduled soon in the Kenyan capital, it is said. ACP/
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/WIU3CEVLLFLMXCHBPIDICCY2SU.jpg "Les sikhs du Canada sont reconnaissants – et effrayés – après les allégations de Trudeau sur l’Inde")
