While Rwanda President Paul Kagame has agreed in principal to meet his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart Fèlix Tshisekedi, the latter remains unsure over the subject of dialogue.
Angola President João Lourenço, the mediator appointed by the African Union (AU), met both Tshisekedi and Kagame in Luanda and held talks to find a solution to end the tensions between the two nations.
Last week, Angola announced that it had gotten Kagame’s assurance to meet Tshisekedi and discuss possible solutions and DR Congo’s decision is now being awaited.
Tshisekedi is still pondering over meeting his Rwandan counterpart with the Congolese community still divided about the possibility of this proposed meeting.
“We cannot negotiate from a position of weakness. We risk losing in this meeting,” said Jules Kayembe, a supporter of the Common Front for Congo (FCC) and a keen admirer of former president Joseph Kabila Kabange.
“I remind you that Tshisekedi had maintained that he would only speak with Kagame in hell,” he added.
On the other hand, Acajou Muangi thinks that it is not bad to negotiate with Paul Kagame, but it will first be necessary for the M23 and the Rwandan army to leave all the territories they currently occupy in eastern DRC before holding talks.
Another opinion maintains that, to favor peace and stop the hemorrhage in North Kivu which already has resulted in millions of deaths, “Félix is obliged to speak with Rwanda in any situation because the hypocrisy of the international community which supports Kagame in this war of aggression is no longer to be hidden.”
Meanwhile, it should also be noted that the DRC political players are also divided on this matters as opposition finds it “ridiculous” that Tshisekedi negotiates with an enemy of the Congo while the ruling Sacred Union of the Nation remain on the edge.
