By Patrick Mbeko
The death of the Italian ambassador (Rest In Peace) in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a reminder to what extent this part of the country is a powder keg, a real disaster. It has been going on for almost 23 years. The badly named international community acted as if nothing had happened. Only speeches. MONUC [then MONUSCO] did nothing; the regime of Joseph Kabila either; and that of Felix Tshisekedi, who had promised to set up his HQ in the region, do not even talk about it.
Part of the Republic, especially Grand-Kivu, is taken hostage by people without faith or law. In Kinshasa, champagne is slashed in the name of the Sacred Union. Even more, Félix Tshisekedi has chosen to strengthen his relations with the country which maintains desolation and death in eastern Congo. With his agreement, the Congolese security services are today infiltrated by the DMI (Department of Military Intelligence, the dreaded Rwandan military intelligence service) in the name of mutual cooperation which only benefits Rwanda , as few Congolese agents who refuse to betray their homeland complain.
Whose fault is it ? Can we ask Felix Tshisekedi to get the eastern Congo out of Rwandan control? NO. His power is an emanation of everything except the popular will. We cannot ask whoever plays the role of President of the Republic of the DRC to go against the interests of those who made him the president.
What worries me the most since the announcement of the death of the Italian ambassador is the safety of Dr. Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize 2018. For several months, his life has been threatened. His own country being unable to ensure his security, it is the peacekeepers of MONUSCO who take care of it. But nothing is guaranteed in this problematic corner of eastern Congo.
The assassination of the Italian ambassador, Luca Attanasio, who was attacked while in a United Nations convoy, sets a dangerous precedent; especially since the friends of Félix Tshisekedi who are in Kigali have not yet given up their plan to attempt the life of Doctor Mukwege, who now lives in recluse in his hospital in Panzi.
In addition, these people are capable of anything, including faking an attack which they could attribute to small groups they manipulate, including the notorious ADF rebels, who have become the false nose concealing various interests and Mephistophelic stratagems east of the Congo …
