Résumé
The FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), Rwandan militias from the ex-FAR and Interahamwe, are today, after almost 14 years of presence in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, firmly rooted in society and Kivu's economy and behave like a state within a state. This is the main finding of the new Pole Institute report “The Goma Conference and the question of the FDLR in North and South Kivu” published today June 18, 2008. The report presents, enriches and synthesizes the presentations and debates of the day “ open doors” on the FDLR that Pole Institute organized on March 11, 2008.
The multiple attempts to pacify the Kivu provinces and to apply the Goma agreement between the Congolese belligerents of January 2008 and the Nairobi communiqué between the governments of the DRC and Rwanda of November 2007 (attempts piloted and supervised by the international community) come up against a profound ignorance of local realities on the ground. There is very little data on how armed groups operate and the lives of people under their control. The FDLR are generally considered by the international community as a ghost that is much talked about as a problem to be eradicated but which is not seen as an actor with survival strategies and well-established local alliances. Understanding the way in which the FDLR ensure their power over the populations in the regions of Kivu that they control is essential to build possible solutions.
This report therefore presents the assessments of actors in the field on the forced cohabitation of Congolese populations with the FDLR. In Rutshuru territory they started families with the local Congolese Hutu population. In Walikale territory they have driven out traditional authorities and play an important role in trade circuits. In several territories of South Kivu they collect taxes, sometimes in partnership with the authorities, and have set up parallel administrations. They are major economic and political actors with a strong military apparatus.
It is in relation to the local experiences of the populations that appropriate solutions must be found to solve the FDLR problem. This report strives to provide basic elements that can be used for a better informed debate to arrive at solutions integrating the experience of the Kivutians.
