The Prime Minister, Judith Suminwa, visited displaced persons in Goma Thursday as part of a mission in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where a mortar shell killed 35 people in May, according to authorities. She was clear: the DRC will not negotiate with neighboring Rwanda.
Hundreds turned out to the Cepac camp, west of Goma, in the Community of Pentecostal Churches in Southern Africa to welcome the Prime Minister Suminwa, flanked by a host of his government members and the military governor, under tight security.
Speaking to the desperate displaced persons, Suminwa condemned life in the camp and promised a definitive solution. “What you are living is unacceptable, and nobody can be happy in such conditions. Under the instructions of the Head of State, we shall take our responsibilities as a government,” she assured, our correspondent in Goma, Héritier Baraka reports.
One of the people in the camp, Mwamini Karungu, hailed from Masisi and explained the suffering they were undergoing in the camp, Requesting to be assisted to go back home. “I am happy that the Prime Minister came; she said important things. She ensured us that she will follow up so that we can go back home,” she said.
The head of the camp, Janvier Luanda, emphasized that the Government has to take charge and take care of the displaced. “Medical care must be free here because we have been suffering when we go to hospitals. Many patients at the camps are left unattended due to lack of resources,” he lamented.
On May 3rd, a mortar shell struck the camp, killing at least 35 people according to Congolese authorities and 15 according to officials from the camp. It then swung to the accusation that the deployment is backed by Rwanda, a claim Kinshasa has held sway to. Prime Minister Suminwa said this during a press briefing, as tensions between the DRC and Rwanda continued to escalate. “I think the head of state has been clear: we will not negotiate with those who aggress us,” she said. “Diplomatic channels must compel the aggressor to stop,” she added, as fighting continued in the region.
In Kinshasa, the new Foreign Minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, had her first meeting with the diplomatic corps. She deplored the “Rwandan aggression against the DRC,” calling for “strong actions and targeted sanctions” against Kigali, since the DRC “expects more than verbal condemnations from UN Security Council members,” she insisted.
The President of Angola, João Lourenço, who began an official four-day visit to Côte d’Ivoire, announced the current negotiations to set up a meeting “very soon” between the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, and the Congolese head of state, Félix Tshisekedi, aiming at bringing peace to eastern DRC.
Speaking to the media, President Lourenço – who is mediating the crisis in eastern DRC – reassured that out of the crisis through his commitment to negotiation. Also, there have been plans since early this year for such a meeting between the two leaders but have not materialized yet.
This level of diplomatic engagement is what proves the incrementing complexity and urgency of the conflict in eastern DRC, with regional and international players reaching out in search of peaceful resolution.