Intense clashes resumed between M23 rebels and a coalition of government forces, local militias known as Wazalendo and the Burundian army.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government has sought to block opposition parties from attending the second African Peace and Security Dialogue hosted by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, which began on Wednesday and runs until Saturday.
The passport of Jean-Claude Kibala, leader of the Social Movement for Renewal, was confiscated on Tuesday at Ndjili International Airport, preventing him from leaving for South Africa.
“I failed to travel because my passport was taken away by the directorate general of migration at the airport,” he told the Mail & Guardian.
In a statement, former prime minister Matata Ponyo Mapon, who leads the Leadership and Governance for Development party, said his delegation failed to get passports to travel for the conference.
“Despite our full willingness and commitment to actively participate in these discussions, our delegates were unfortunately unable to obtain travel documents. This situation, which is completely beyond our control, makes it materially impossible for us to be physically present at these meetings in South Africa,” he said.
Jean-Marc Kabund, of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, said he had been denied a visa to South Africa.
But the Congo River Alliance (AFC) — a coalition of Congolese insurgent groups including the March 23 Movement (M23), most of whose leaders face treason charges from Kinshasa — said it was attending the dialogue. The coalition controls the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, where it established a government in February.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka told the M&G that the rebel group would participate in the peace conference because “our problems cannot be solved by conflict. It’s a political issue, and guns are not the solution.”
Asked about Kinshasa’s misgivings on the event, Kanyuka said it was further proof that DRC President Felix Tshisekedi was not interested in a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
“Why can’t the government come and share its views with everyone? It’s because they don’t want a lasting settlement,” he said.
The DRC government, through its spokesperson Patrick Muyaya, labelled the foundation’s efforts as “ill-timed” and accused the former South African president of favouring Rwanda. Tshisekedi has repeatedly accused the M23 of acting as a proxy for Rwanda.
Foundation spokesperson Anga Jamela only confirmed that the dialogue will go ahead.
From the foundation’s initial announcement, the dialogue will specifically look at the crises in the Great Lakes Region and the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.
Congolese opposition leader Martin Fayulu, who confirmed his attendance on Monday, said key elements of the programme, such as participants, themes and protocol arrangements, lacked clarity. He raised his concerns with the foundation’s chief executive, Max Boqwana.
The three-day conference aims to provide a platform for dialogue among the diverse stakeholders in the DRC’s protracted crisis. Key themes will include the issues confronting the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the escalating security crisis in eastern DRC. A meeting is also scheduled between Congolese actors to delve into “the root causes of the ongoing conflict”.
Despite the DRC’s official boycott, the conference appears to have garnered interest from other influential figures, including former presidents Joseph Kabila and Martin Fayulu, as well as opposition leader Moïse Katumbi.
Addressing his Union Sacrée coalition on Saturday, Tshisekedi rejected any dialogue held outside the DRC’s borders.
“Congolese do not need a facilitator,” he asserted, expressing support for a national dialogue but “without Congolese subservient to foreign countries.”
Peace talks mediated by Qatar failed to reach a deal by August 8.
On Monday, AFC coordinator Corneille Nangaa accused the DRC government during a media briefing of “successive violations of the ceasefire, which are hindering the principle agreement, and endangering the population”.
Nangaa warned that M23 would “silence the guns at the source”, a statement that suggests a renewed surge of heavy fighting in the Kivu region.
The region remains highly volatile following the premature withdrawal of SADC’s peacekeeping mission earlier this year — eight months before the official end of its mandate.
Intense clashes have since resumed between M23 rebels and a coalition of government forces, local militias known as Wazalendo and the Burundian army.