In a recent Foreign Affairs piece, Michela Wrong presents a narrow-minded and biased depiction of the security situation in the Eastern DRC. Wrong launches a scathing attack on Rwandan President Paul Kagame, fueled by personal grudges dating back to the assassination of her former lover, Patrick Karegeya, co-founder of the anti-Rwanda terrorist group RNC.
Wrong start her article by claiming that Kagame’s support for the M23 rebellion is rooted in ethnic solidarity, insinuating that the group is predominantly composed of Tutsi ethnic groups. However, this assertion is baseless and problematic as it disregards the fact that the M23 is composed of former Congolese soldiers from various ethnic groups who defected from the army in response to the Kinshasa government’s failure to stop the FDLR’s ethnic-based violence against specific Congolese communities.
Furthermore, Wrong’s assertion that Eastern Congo was relatively quiet after the retreat of M23 in 2012 is misleading. President Tshisekedi himself imposed a state of siege in North Kivu, indicating that the situation on the ground was far from peaceful. Furthermore, a report written by two members of the Congolese Parliament revealed that the death toll in the DRC was increasing year on year, standing at 2,695 victims in 2019 and 4,428 in 2020 before the resurgence of M23. These figures suggest that there was no period of relative calm in the DRC as Wrong falsely claims.
Moreover, Wrong alleges that Kagame is using the resurgence for the M23 as a bargaining chip to remind regional leaders of his ability to destabilize the whole region if excluded from economic and development projects. This assertion is also inaccurate, as the UN Group of Experts has accused another regional leader of supporting the M23, therefore tying Kagame on M23 is another unfounded accusation from an agenda-driven observer- Wrong.
Lastly, Wrong’s assertion that Rwanda uses FDLR as a scapegoat is also untrue. The Congolese army- FARDC, has collaborated with the genocidal forces from the FDLR in attacks on Rwandan territory, resulting in the loss of innocent lives and destruction of property according to the latest UN Group of Experts. These attacks contradict Wrong’s claims.
Michela Wrong’s failure to consider these complexities and her narrow focus on President Kagame detracts from a comprehensive understanding of the DRC conflict. It is vital to recognize that the situation in the DRC is multifaceted, and any solution must address the root causes, rather than assigning simplistic blame. By disregarding the broader context of the conflict, Michela Wrong is failing the Congolese people, who need a thorough and nuanced approach to address the ongoing violence and instability in their country.
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