For years, the Tshisekedi regime in Kinshasa has tried to distort reality around the FDLR. That stance suffered a serious setback this week, in Washington DC.
During a hearing held on Thursday by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Sarah Troutman spoke with clarity about the genocidal rebel group of FDLR.
“The FDLR is a legitimate threat,” she said.
She went further, stressing that the United States is pressing the Congolese government to act. Neutralizing the FDLR, she emphasized, is “absolutely essential,” and Washington expects to see concrete steps taken.
This statement directly contradicts the rhetoric promoted by the Tshisekedi regime, which has repeatedly downplayed, excused, or redirected responsibility for the presence of the FDLR on Congolese soil.
Only recently, the regime’s mouthpiece, Patrick Muyaya, claimed that the FDLR exists “solely because of Rwanda’s will.”
This is an old lie, which ignores a reality that is well-documented and increasingly impossible to hide. The FDLR is deeply embedded within the security architecture of the Tshisekedi regime. Elements of the group have operated alongside state forces, including units linked to the Republican Guard.
More damaging still is a recent scandal involving CMC Nyatura, an FDLR proxy militia. Leaked information revealed that the group receives as much as eight million dollars every month through channels connected to the Tshisekedi regime. This revelation alone demolishes the claim that the Tshisekedi regime is a victim rather than a sponsor of these forces.
The FDLR survives in the DRC because Congolese authorities have allowed it to survive. For more than two decades, successive governments in Kinshasa have refused to implement over twenty UN Security Council resolutions calling for the neutralization of this genocidal militia. Each delay has carried a cost, paid in regional instability and human suffering.
By derailing this essential step, the Tshisekedi regime continues to place the entire Great Lakes region at risk. As long as the FDLR remains armed, financed, and protected, it will remain a threat not only to Rwanda but to DRC itself and its neighbors.
The United States has now said out loud what many have known for years. The problem is a lack of political will. Neutralizing the FDLR is a responsibility long ignored, and one that can no longer be avoided.
ellenkampire