MESSAGE FROM DR. MUKWEGE TO THE CONGOLESE POPULATION

June 20, 2022

My dear compatriots,

The hour is serious. This Sunday, June 19, we met with several religious leaders of the Church of Christ in Congo to share our concerns about the security situation that currently prevails in our country since the umpteenth aggression of Rwanda through the M23 group.

This situation anguishes our population and risks weakening the peaceful cohabitation between our respective peoples.

After the martyrdom of Beni, the blood of our children, our brothers and our parents is flowing again in North Kivu. Our daughters, our sisters and our mothers risk the ordeal of humiliation and rape.

In this tragedy, I understand the bitterness and anger of our population. However, we urge them not to fall into the trap of the enemies of peace. Let us not fall into the trap of blind revenge and hunting peaceful citizens on the basis of their language or physical appearance. Such an act is a crime just as reprehensible as the aggression against us.

Dear compatriots,

Let us not give a pretext to the criminals who attack us. Let us not confuse peaceful men and women with the regimes that equip the M23 terrorists with both weapons and soldiers who have been sowing death and desolation in the region for more than a quarter of a century.

Let us learn from the recent history of the African Great Lakes region. Our anger must not cause us to lose our cool.

Let us resist the sirens of xenophobia. Let us not give in to the discourse of hatred of the other. The history of humanity has shown that revenge, hatred, rejection and insults bring humanity down.

Also, any message of hate, any call to violence is condemnable. It should be denounced and can in no case be shared on social networks.

The administrative and judicial authorities of our country should prosecute people who by their extremist messages incite hatred and violence. Violence is unacceptable. Violence can only beget violence.

Let us support the Congolese Armed Forces who every day defend the integrity of our territory and protect our people with bravery.

Let us ask the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations to condemn without further delay and without equivocation the aggression of our country by Rwanda.

To the leaders of the Commonwealth currently gathered at the Kigali Summit, to show clear-sightedness and to prevent a new drama in the DR Congo. We call on them to help bring peace to the Congo. We call on them not to let this opportunity pass, otherwise the blood of the innocent will flow again. It is a political choice to be made. It is a historical responsibility to assume.

Dear compatriots,

The defense of national unity, the integrity of our territory and peaceful coexistence with our neighbors were the dreams of the Fathers of our country’s independence; they remain a sacred duty of our generation and of the generations to come.

Let us remain vigilant and advocates of non-violence.

Let us stand firm, Justice and Peace will triumph.

Dr. Denis Mukwege

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate