AFC/M23 slams Burundi’s bid to join peace talks
The AFC/M23 movement has strongly criticised Burundi’s request to join the ongoing peace processes aimed at resolving the crisis in eastern DR Congo, describing the initiative as a “trap” that would undermine efforts toward a settlement.
Burundi maintains several battalions in eastern DR Congo at the invitation of the Kinshasa government. In South Kivu alone, six to seven battalions are deployed, and these are reportedly linked to a worsening humanitarian situation for the Banyamulenge community in the Minembwe highlands, who remain cut off from food, markets, and medical supplies.
Burundi’s foreign affairs minister, Edouard Bizimana, told delegates at the 9th International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on November 15, that his country should be included in the Qatar-mediated dialogue between AFC/M23 and Kinshasa, as well as the Washington-facilitated discussions between Rwanda and the Congolese government.
He argued that Burundi’s hosting of more than 100,000 Congolese refugees justifies its involvement.
In a statement released on November 16, AFC/M23 denounced Burundi’s position as “victimhood speech” masking “geopolitical greed.”
“What he [Burundi minister] does not say is why these Congolese are fleeing, or who is hunting them down all the way to Minembwe, where more than ten Burundian battalions operate as military subcontractors for Kinshasa,” the rebel movement's statement read.
“Burundi wants to invite itself to the peace agreements of DR Congo because it feeds off Congolese chaos.”
The movement warned that Burundi’s participation would make peace “impossible.”
“That would be the end of Doha (peace process) before it even begins.”
AFC/M23 warned that Burundi’s ambitions amount to a terrible trap for Kinshasa as its allies including the Wazalendo, the FDLR, and now Burundi, all want to sit around the peace agreements.
“Burundi senses that Kinshasa is weakened, exhausted, incapable of controlling its own armed forces, let alone its toxic alliances. So Gitega advances its pawns.”
AFC/M23 insisted that the Doha process must remain exclusively between the movement and the Congolese government.
“There are only two main parties. Everything else is just interference, parasites, and political mercenaries. If all the ‘allies’ are allowed in, peace will become impossible.”
“If Burundi and other opportunistic partners impose themselves in this process, then the path to peace will turn into an unmanageable labyrinth. A peace agreement cannot become a marketplace where every self-proclaimed ally comes to demand a seat, a reward, or a veto right," the rebel movement's statement read.
