At the opening of the World Conference on Climate Change (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, Congolese ruler Felix Tshisekedi once again turned an international platform into a stage for his favorite act: blaming Rwanda.
Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of waging an “ecological war” against the DRC, claiming that Rwanda is responsible for the destruction of forests, protected areas, and national parks in eastern DRC.
This imaginary accusation, recycled at every climate summit, is always an attempt to deflect attention from his own mismanagement and complicity in environmental degradation.
What Tshisekedi will not admit is that the real ecological tragedy in DRC stems from his partnership with the genocidal militia FDLR. Under his rule, these genocidaires have been rewarded with free access to Virunga National Park in exchange for their loyalty and collaboration with Kinshasa.
As a result, Virunga has become the FDLR’s stronghold and cash machine. Illegal charcoal production and timber trafficking have ravaged the park, generating an estimated $15 million per year. The profits are shared between FDLR commanders and Tshisekedi’s close entourage, turning DRC’s oldest national park into a crime scene of environmental destruction.
This is the truth Tshisekedi conceals behind his rhetoric. He knows that dismantling the FDLR (a demand he continually ignores) would expose his regime’s complicity in Virunga’s destruction. So, he does what he does best: shift the blame.
At COP30, Tshisekedi didn’t speak as a leader concerned about the planet; he performed as a political illusionist, turning his own ecological crimes into Rwanda’s supposed evils.
And that is Tshisekedi’s dark art, the clownery of blame, this time masquerading as “environmental concern.”
If ridicule could kill…
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