Diplomatic efforts are ongoing to put an end to the conflict in eastern DRC. What should have been a major breakthrough, Congolese government meeting the M23 rebel group in the first direct negotiations, has now been on hold. At the last minute, the M23 has pulled out. One of the reasons given is the new EU sanctions against several Rwandan officials over Rwanda’s alleged support for the M23 armed group. But DR Congo says it will attend peace talks in Luanda on Tuesday despite the snub.
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Read more about this story in our article: https://f24.my/B1WF.y
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Ion Africa here on France24. I'm Clarisse Fortuné and these are the headlines.
00:09A meeting that should have been a breakthrough will not take place.
00:13M23 rebel group says it will not attend Tuesday's peace talks with the DR Congo government.
00:21A last-minute decision that comes after the EU imposed sanctions on the M23 group leader
00:27and on Rwanda army commanders. Almost at the same time, Kigali cut diplomatic ties with Belgium.
00:35So these are the state of current affairs that might inspire the writers of tomorrow.
00:40Paris hosted the largest African book fair in Europe, bringing together hundreds of authors,
00:46including an 11-year-old writer whose tales have already been published.
00:54We start with the diplomatic efforts to put an end to the conflict in eastern DRC.
01:00What should have been a major breakthrough, Congolese government meeting the M23 rebel group
01:05in the first direct negotiations, has now been on hold. At the last minute, the M23 has pulled out,
01:12but DR Congo says it will attend Rwanda peace talks on Tuesday despite the snub.
01:18Emmeline Nixon in Kinshasa has more.
01:22It was supposed to be a momentous step, potentially pausing the fighting in eastern DRC.
01:28The Congolese government had agreed to meet representatives from the M23 rebel group
01:33in Angola's capital, Rwanda, for face-to-face talks on Tuesday.
01:37Congo had for years refused to negotiate directly with the M23, which is supported by thousands of Rwandan troops,
01:44arguing that it must instead negotiate with the rebel's masters, Rwanda.
01:49The government eventually agreed to talks after M23 and Rwandan forces captured eastern Congo's two largest cities
01:56in a violent offensive that started in January.
01:59The M23 has repeated since it launched its campaign in 2021 that it wants direct negotiations,
02:05and it initially agreed to the talks on Tuesday, but on Monday evening it pulled out,
02:10citing international sanctions as undermining efforts to solve the conflict.
02:14On Monday, the European Union sanctioned nine people for their role in sustaining conflict
02:19and minerals trafficking in eastern Congo, including the president of the M23
02:24and three senior Rwandan military commanders.
02:27African and Western diplomats hoped that direct talks might at least pause the devastating fighting in eastern Congo,
02:34which has continued in the province of North Kivu in recent weeks.
02:38The prospect of the fighting coming to an end now appears dim.
02:43And one of the reasons given by the M23 that prompted the boycott
02:47is the EU's new sanctions against several Rwandan officials over Rwanda's alleged support of the M23 armed group.
02:54Almost at the same time, Kigali cut diplomatic ties with Belgium, its former colonial power from 1920 to 1962.
03:03Rwanda had already suspended Belgian development aid programs on its territory back in February.
03:09Our correspondent in Kigali, Juliette Montilly, tells us more.
03:14Belgian diplomats have been given 48 hours to leave Rwanda,
03:18marking a complete breakdown in diplomatic ties between the two countries.
03:23In a statement that signals the height of tensions between Kigali and Brussels,
03:28Rwanda's foreign ministry accuses Belgium of unfairly siding with Kinshasa.
03:34Speaking at a rally in Kigali yesterday,
03:37President Paul Kagame had already lashed out at Belgium,
03:41blaming it for spearheading international condemnations against Rwanda
03:46over its alleged support for the M23 offensive in eastern DRC.
03:51But this latest statement goes even further.
03:54It points to Belgium's colonial past, accusing it of fostering ethnic extremism,
03:59which, according to Kigali, not only led to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis,
04:05but continues to fuel instability in the region today.
04:09The decision comes just as the European Union announces fresh sanctions
04:14targeting Congolese officials linked to M23,
04:18as well as three senior Rwandan military officers and the head of Rwanda Mines Board.
04:24For his part, Belgium's foreign minister, Maxime Prévost,
04:27has responded on X, calling the move disproportionate,
04:31and saying he regrets the decision.
04:34And yet diplomatic efforts had already started this Monday.
04:37Zimbabwe hosted a joint meeting with the East African Community
04:41and the Southern African Development Community
04:44to discuss the escalating conflict in eastern DRC.
04:47The meeting follows the recent SADC military's decision to end its mission there.
04:52Sharon Mizengio attended the event in Harare.
04:57The Eastern African Community and SADC joint meeting called for the immediate ceasefire
05:03and said that the peace talks on the 18th of March are the only way that will bring peace to the DRC.
05:09The joint meeting also noted the rise of the humanitarian crisis in the DRC
05:15and called for intervention from the international community.
05:19It is important that we have an immediate ceasefire
05:23and that all parties converging at the table for talks
05:26are the only potent option to bring sustainable peace in the DRC.
05:31There was also noted talks about the withdrawal of the troops.
05:36The date of the withdrawal of the troops wasn't mentioned,
05:39but there was talks for cooperation and support to avoid any further damage.
05:47I would like to really call for cooperation and support
05:50as this first withdrawal of SADC mission commences.
05:55We would not want to leave a vacuum that generates even more problems.
06:02The joint meeting ended with calls for peace
06:05and agent calls to address the humanitarian crisis in the DRC.
06:11And in other news and in another case of tough diplomacy.
06:15This time in Washington, over the weekend,
06:17South Africa's ambassador to the US was expelled
06:20after he called President Donald Trump's administration supremacist.
06:24Ibrahim Rasool was given 72 hours to pack up and leave the US.
06:29The expulsion is among a long list of spots
06:31leading to the deteriorating relationship between the two countries.
06:35Tom Kennedy has more from Cape Town.
06:38So what caused Ibrahim Rasool to be expelled from the US
06:41were these comments that he made during a webinar
06:44with the South African think tank
06:46where he accused Donald Trump of supremacism
06:49and said that the MAGA movement was a response
06:51to a declining number of white voters in the US.
06:54But this is really just the straw that broke the camel's back.
06:57There are reports that Rasool has been excluded
07:00over the last weeks from meeting with his US counterparts
07:03and this is really just a symbol of a deteriorating relationship
07:07between South Africa and the US.
07:09The US has been highly critical of South Africa's ICJ case
07:13against Israel and its ties with Iran.
07:16On top of that, it's boycotted G20 meetings
07:19criticising the themes of climate resilience and diversity.
07:24And on top of that, Washington has also been highly critical
07:28of a newly signed expropriation law
07:30which it says is racist against white farmers.
07:33Now, the reactions in South Africa have been mixed.
07:36The EFF and PAC, the Pan-African parties here,
07:39have been highly critical of the US
07:41saying that South Africa should not let itself be bullied by Donald Trump
07:45whereas President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken a more measured approach.
07:49He said this is merely a hiccup
07:51and that his priority is to re-strengthen ties with the US.
07:56Now, it's up to his government to find a replacement for Rasool
08:00who's expected to return to Cape Town on Friday.
08:04And a quick note about the big voice
08:06reused to silence the radio voice of America
08:09after 83 years of service.
08:11Trump's administration began mass layoffs.
08:14VOA, which is funded by the American Congress,
08:17which is a weekly global audience of more than 350 million people
08:22on multiple platforms, TV, radio, and digital.
08:26On the continent, the service reaches more than 25 million.
08:30Radio Free Europe and Asia with Radio Marti are also impacted.
08:38And a bit of sport.
08:40Sebastian Coe is one of the frontrunners
08:42among the seven candidates in the election
08:45to succeed Thomas Bach as leader of the Olympic movement.
08:49The vote takes place next Thursday in Costa Navarino, that's in Greece.
08:53The president of World Athletics talked to Selina Sykes
08:56about the importance of Africa in the Olympic world.
09:01You couldn't do my job without recognising
09:04the importance to us of Africa.
09:07Track and field is a religion in many parts of Africa
09:11and we need to build on that.
09:13And I see the Olympic movement
09:15and the potential of growth in the Olympic movement
09:18being critical that we get our policies in Africa correct.
09:21And it's not just about sitting there saying,
09:24well, we hope one day to stage a World Championships
09:28or an Olympic Games.
09:29You need a proper glide path, you need a proper programme,
09:32you need proper planning, and you need steering groups to do this.
09:36And that will be one of the first objectives if I become president.
09:40Africa is critical to the growth of Olympic sport.
09:45And after sport, a bit of culture this weekend.
09:47So the fourth edition of the Salon du Livre Africain,
09:51the African Book Fair, the largest in Europe.
09:54Hundreds of authors and publishers who travelled
09:56to meet their international public.
09:58Clémence Valère and Aurélie Coumin were among them.
10:03Passionate encounters between African authors, publishers
10:07and their international fans.
10:10Over the weekend, thousands of people flocked to this hall
10:15either to meet the minds behind the works
10:18or to discover new reads.
10:22As a publisher, we find it hard to be distributed
10:25among the diaspora in Europe.
10:27And so this fair, I'd say, really puts the spotlight on our books.
10:33For many, the fair is also an opportunity
10:36to showcase African writing and literature.
10:40It puts Africa and African books a little more centre stage.
10:44We tend to think that other people write for us,
10:46but that's not true.
10:48I'm really proud to be here today.
10:51This year, Cameroon is the guest of honour.
10:54A number of Cameroonian authors, publishers and organisations
10:57answered the call.
10:59Cameroon is the source of my imagination.
11:01All my books are about Cameroon, about Cameroonians
11:04and about the way in which we are part of both
11:07our personal and national history.
11:10It is also the place where authors receive the famous Grand Prix Afrique,
11:14formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Afrique Noire.
11:17This year, Cameroonian author Hemley Boom
11:20is the lucky laureate for the second time.
11:30Another prize was awarded for Christian Eboulé's historical novel
11:33Charles' Testament, which retraces the life of a Gabonese soldier
11:37killed by German troops during World War II.
11:42And one of my favourites among the writers,
11:45the youngest author, Mariam Mboh.
11:48She's 11 years old and her storybook is already published.
11:54I am the author of the book Mboh's Fairy Tales.
11:57which I wrote when I was exactly nine years old.
12:00I came here not only to take part in the book fair
12:03but also to sell my book.
12:10And remember her name, Mariam Mboh.
12:12She concludes our edition of Eye on Africa.
12:15More news coming up.