South Kivu: a sanctuary for the rebellion of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

The rebellion of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is the most recent in a series of rebellions that aimed to fight the post-genocide Rwandan regime from bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The FDLR is a politico-military movement, which allegedly aims to initiate a national dialogue in order to change the Rwandan regime and to secure the return of FDLR combatants and Rwandan refugees under fair conditions, by military means. Between 3.000 and 4.000 FDLR troops are deployed throughout South Kivu, where they create pockets of insecurity. The Rwandan government considers the FDLR combatants as ex-FAR/Interahamwe genocidal forces, which threaten the Rwandan population, as they allegedly aim to complete the genocide. Indeed, an ominous "Hutu culture" is in the making in South Kivu, as the Hutu ethnicity plays a key function in the FDLR's discourse, depicting post-genocide Rwanda as skewed in favour of Tutsi, and as inequitable and insecure for Hutu. The genocide is downplayed and it is replaced by feelings of injustice and victimisation of Rwandan Hutu by their ethnic "rivals," validating the Rwandan government's fears of the continuation of hate ideologies. Nevertheless, the FDLR is a greater threat to the population of South Kivu than to Rwanda. The FDLR does not occupy land in Rwanda but controls territory in South Kivu. In many parts of the province, the rebellion is very violent and has deeply wounded its social and demographic character. The scale of FDLR crimes denies the rebels their alleged "right to self-defence" and goes beyond the stated objectives of the rebellion. Over the long years in exile, and in its aim to survive amid a volatile region, the FDLR has lost much of its ideological impetus and has ultimately become a fragmented movement lingering in eastern Congo.