Without the solid foundation of justice, any claim to sustainable peace remains a fleeting illusion a diplomatic mirage destined to vanish with the first breath of resentment. And without the deep anchoring of truth, no dialogue can claim sincerity; it becomes a hollow performance where words betray silence more than they illuminate it.
True peace is not forged through convenient forgetfulness or dishonest compromise. It is born from the rigorous demand for justice delivered, and truth acknowledged. Without these, the wounds of history will not heal they fester beneath the polished veneer of denial.
While the spotlight of international diplomacy turned to Doha, expected to host the much-anticipated in-depth negotiations between the Congolese government and the AFC/M23 coalition on Friday, August 8th, a chilling silence echoed across the Emirati tarmac.
This silence was not the absence of words it was the deafening refusal to acknowledge a basic human demand: the release of Congolese Tutsi arbitrarily imprisoned in Kinshasa, detained solely based on their ethnic identity.
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In a move of clear political and moral conviction, the Congo River Alliance (AFC/M23) refused to participate in a hollow peace process drained of substance. Their condition is unequivocal: no talks will proceed until all detainees civilian or presumed combatant are released. This is not a diplomatic whim, nor a stalling tactic. Any meaningful discussion must be built upon the very foundation. Peace cannot stand on injustice, humiliation, and the silent persecution of a segment of the Congolese people.
Arbitrary Detention as State Crime
For months now, hundreds of Congolese Tutsi mostly civilians, including traders, pastors, teachers, and displaced persons have languished in detention centers run by the National Intelligence Service. They have been held without clear charges, without due process, without access to family or legal counsel.
Their “crime”? Bearing a certain name, speaking a certain language, having a certain appearance, or allegedly being linked to the M23 rebellion. Their identity alone has become incriminating in a state that professes democratic values while enabling ethnic profiling as a political tool.
In Kinshasa, the regime speaks with a forked tongue: on one hand, it portrays itself as a victim of external aggression orchestrated from Kigali; on the other, it relentlessly pursues an ethnic profiling policy amounting to collective persecution. The Tutsi detainees are the most tragic symbol of this policy. Each day they remain imprisoned without trial or recourse deepens the open wounds of a community long relegated to the fringes of Congolese citizenship.
The Price of International Silence
This intolerable situation, reminiscent of the darkest chapters of political tribalism, has failed to stir meaningful outrage in Western capitals. International organizations, usually quick to condemn arbitrary arrests and ethnic discrimination, remain conspicuously silent. This silence is not neutral it enables impunity and sends the message that certain populations can be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
Worse still, this silence undermines the very spirit of the Doha negotiations. The framework of those talks rests on mutual trust and a willingness to address root causes of the conflict. Confidence-building measures were to precede the negotiations. The release of political prisoners including Tutsi was among them. By ignoring this prerequisite, the Kinshasa government violates an implicit commitment, showing that peace, for them, is a negotiable convenience, not a national priority.
A Non-Negotiable Condition
By linking its return to the negotiating table to the release of Congolese Tutsi prisoners, AFC/M23 is reiterating a fundamental principle of any negotiation: equality in dignity. How can we expect to build lasting peace when one party is dehumanized, stigmatized, and criminalized simply for its identity? Demanding their release is not a political stance it is a call for justice, for the full recognition of their citizenship and humanity.
This is not a tactic. It is not a posturing. It is a moral imperative. Without justice, there can be no authentic peace only delay, illusion, and eventual betrayal.
Doha: A Mirage of Peace without Substance
Kinshasa’s silence regarding the composition of its delegation to Doha reveals a deeper intent to derail or hollow out the negotiation process. But peace cannot be decreed through press releases or staged summits. It must be built, step by step, through concrete actions. Releasing the arbitrarily detained Congolese Tutsi is one such foundational step. Without it, any structure of reconciliation will collapse.
It is now up to the international community, the guarantors of the Doha process, the mediators, and Africa’s regional partners to demand an end to this discriminatory detention. Turning a blind eye today only guarantees deeper fractures tomorrow. History has shown that where impunity flourishes, hatred is reborn.
Free the Congolese Tutsi. Not because they are Tutsi but because they are Congolese. Because no one should be imprisoned for who they are. Because no dialogue can begin with the denial of the other’s basic rights. Because peace is not written with prison bars, but with bridges.
