Lubero, Democratic Republic of Congo – in a historic peace agreement signed on Friday, the leaders of the DRC and Rwanda agreed to end a one -year war that has largely played in northern Kivu and the South Kivu provinces along the eastern edge of the DRC.
But people here say that the agreement is far from being guaranteed that violence in their region will end. In fact, many say that it is the Congolese people who will eventually lose once again, because the agreement allows the American government and American investors more access to the vast mineral stores of the DRC. The DRC is one of the main producers of cobalt, copper and coltan, essential materials for technology industry and energy transition.
“The DRC remains the loser,” explains hope Kitambala, political analyst and speaker at the Kirumba Higher Institute of Education. “The integrity of the territory remains at stake.”
The agreement also requires Rwanda and Rwanda to end support for non -state armed groups. But Congolese residents are skeptical about the fact that M23, the armed group supported by Rwanda, will cancel the areas they control, notably Goma, the capital of the province of North Kivu, or Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu Province. M23 exceeded these cities in January and February, respectively. The group is responsible for generalized atrocities in the two provinces – violence that has led to the displacement of at least 1.2 million people overall, as well as thousands of deaths This year only. Now he has set up parallel territorial administrations and local governments. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation is becoming more and more serious, with assassinations, multiple violations of human rights and growing looting daily. The region is among the most violent in the world; About 6 million people died Due to several conflicts since 1996.
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Global Press Journal has largely covered the conflict in eastern DRC for more than a decade. For more context, read our previous coverage.
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“We ask the signatories of this agreement to respect their commitments, otherwise peace will remain a dream in the Great Lakes region,” explains Muhindo Tafuteni, chief of civil society in the territory of Lubero north of Goma.
But others say that it is not already a reality. Thank you Kahindo, 27, a student, said that the members of the M23 came to her church after the signing of the agreement and said that people had to unite and avoid tribalism.
“Their language shows that they are not ready to leave,” she says.
The agreement notes that there are negotiations in progress in Doha, Qatar between the DRC and the AFC and M23. (AFC is an acronym of the Congo River Alliance, an armed group, while M23 represents the movement of March 23.) The calendar of these negotiations – and any detail about them – have not been made public.
A coalition of 80 Congolese organizations Known as the mobilization of the safeguarding of Congolese sovereignty and autonomy has excrupted the agreement, describing it as a “commercial contract among the powerful interests, formulated in terms of peace in order to sell it to the international community”.
The agreement has not been developed democratically, the coalition said in a statement to the Global Press Journal. He was “promoted, negotiated and concluded from top to bottom by interested politicians wishing to keep their power and their wealth,” said the press release.
A certain hope, but skepticism is widespread
Despite a widespread skepticism, some Congolese are full of hope.
Kabuyaya Matayo, 80, remembers the suffering of June 29, 2024, the day the M23 took control of Kirumba, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Goma. It was months before M23 took Goma and Bukavu. Then, the suffering got worse when people were killed in cold blood in the streets, repeating what had happened several times during the previous decades.
Now Matayo is glued to his radio so that you don’t miss any news.
“When I heard about this radio agreement, I told myself that peace would come back,” he said. “As America is involved in this, if it is not hypocrisy, the results will certainly be satisfactory. We have already suffered a lot. We are looking forward to seeing peace.”
Kavira Kihundu maintains the same hope, but underlines that the necessary peace cannot be measured by a simple agreement. A concrete end to violence will be the last measure of success, she says.
“We want these Rwandan soldiers who occupy our territories withdraw. If that happens, we will thank the American president, ”she says.
It is unlikely that it will happen, explains Mumbere Malolero, who, at the age of 71, had decades of violence in the hands of myriads of armed groups, many of whom also depended on Rwandan support.
M23 “will say that this agreement does not concern them,” she says.
“Since it was America that has been involved in this, if it is not hypocrisy, the results will certainly be satisfactory. We have already suffered a lot. We are looking forward to seeing peace.”
Solomon Kakule Kaniki, spokesperson for the International Circle for the Defense of Human Rights, Peace and the Environment, is also among skeptics.
“The agreement does not even mention the damage caused by Rwanda in this war, such as looting, rape and murder of civilians,” he said.
Kitambala, the political analyst, affirms that the agreement would be valid if it included measures such as the reorganization and coordination of the army, the efforts to end corruption, an economic integration plan and even more.
It is the terms related to mineral rights that concern the most many Congolese. This is an outrage, explains Kasereka Ndamasani, 36, a farmer, echoing the feelings of many people in the region.
For generations, people here have been stripped of minimal access to the advantages of hidden wealth in the hills.
“We, ordinary people, do not even benefit from the advantages of these minerals. Peace is enough for us, ”explains Ndamasani.
Meanwhile, M23 troops continue to patrol the streets.
“There is nothing to indicate that this armed group will retire,” said Kahambu Mulavi, a Kirumba resident.
The group has always promised that it is progressing in Kinshasa, the capital of the far west of the country, she said. “I will believe in this agreement when I see the troops go.”