Making use of the past: the Rwandophone question and the ‘Balkanisation of the Congo’

Abstract

Since the end of the second Congo war (1998–2003), the eastern Congolese provinces of North and South Kivu have remained in a state of neither war nor peace. With the re-emergence of rebellion in mid 2012, tensions have again risen between self-styled ‘native’ or ‘autochthon’ groups, and populations of both Congolese Hutu and Tutsi, often called ‘Rwandophones’. Whereas the former groups fear a looming ‘Rwandophone rise’, which will supposedly usher in Congo's ‘Balkanisation’, Rwandophone Hutu and especially Tutsi are afraid of marginalisation and renewed persecution. This article historicises the powerful meaning and tenacity of current fears of the ‘other’ that stand behind prevalent identity-markers and concepts such as ‘Rwandophone’ and ‘Balkanisation’, and which continue to fuel the present Kivutien identity conflict. In this regard, the period from c.1990 to 1996 was especially formative in the emergence of conflicting identities and the concurrent radicalisation of Congo's political discourse. From the vantage point of Kinshasa's press, this article reconstructs how the use of selective memories, claims about and mythico-historical visions of the past were instrumental in shaping Rwandophone identity formation.

[L'utilisation du passé : la question Rwandophone et la ‘Balkanisation du Congo’]. Depuis la fin de la deuxième guerre du Congo (1998–2003), les provinces de l'est du Congo, Nord-Kivu et Sud-Kivu, sont restées dans un état ni de guerre, ni de paix. Avec la réémergence de la rébellion à partir de la moitié de l'année 2012, des tensions sont de nouveau apparues entre des soi-disant groupes 'd'autochtones' ou 'd'indigènes' et des populations congolaises tant Hutu que Tutsi, souvent appelés ‘Rwandophones'. Alors que les groupes dits ‘autochtones’ craignent une ‘une montée imminente des Rwandophones’, laquelle conduirait vraisemblablement à une 'Balkanisation' du Congo, les populations dites ‘Rwandophone’, Hutu et en particulier Tutsi, craignent une marginalisation et une nouvelle persécution. Cet article retrace la puissante signification et la ténacité des peurs actuelles 'de l'autre' qui s'appuient sur des marqueurs d'identité existants et des concepts tels que la ‘Rwandophonie’ et la ‘Balkanisation', lesquels continuent d'alimenter le présent conflit d'identité dans les Kivu. À ce propos, la période de 1990 à 1996 était particulièrement décisive dans l'émergence d'identités opposées et de radicalisation simultanée du discours politique du Congo. Du point de vue de la presse de Kinshasa, cet article reconstruit la manière dont l'utilisation des souvenirs sélectifs, les revendications et les visions mythico-historiques du passé ont contribué à la structuration de la formation identitaire des Rwandophones.

Mots-clés : Congo ; identité ; Rwandophones ; Rwanda ; Balkanisation ; Kivus

Keywords:

• Congo
• identity
• Rwandophone
• Rwanda
• Balkanisation
• Kivus

Notes

UN Group of Experts, Final report of the Group of Experts on the DRC submitted in accordance with Paragraph 5 of Security Council Resolution 1952 (2010), 2 December 2011 (S/2011/738).

Because the terminological vocabulary of the region is highly politicised, intricate and constantly shifting, it is necessary to define the concepts and terms employed in this article. The terms ‘Kinyarwanda speakers’ or ‘Rwandophones’ are used herein to refer collectively to the different population groupings of Rwandan origin living primarily in eastern Congo, except when it is necessary to denote specific subgroups, for example the Banyamulenge (which will be discussed later in the text), or Hutu and Tutsi. For the period before 1994, this article also uses the term ‘Banyarwanda’ (the term will be discussed at a later stage) to describe the Hutu and Tutsi communities of North Kivu. A final note of caution is necessary with regard to the use of the term ‘autochthon’. ‘Autochthon’ is used throughout this article in the sense of a self-styled label, which has been and continues to be used by a variety of eastern Congolese communities (e.g. Nande, Hunde, Bembe etc.) to emphasise their perceived claim to a ‘native’ or ‘indigenous’ status over that of the Rwandophone populations in particular. The history of a region dominated by migratory flows and the intermingling of different population groups over centuries of course renders impossible any historically accurate claim to autochthony or primeval ‘first-comer’ status. The concept of autochthony is discussed later in the text.

For a detailed treatment please see Lars-Christopher Huening (2012).

The interviews were conducted with former and current journalists from Le Potentiel, La Référence Plus, Le Soft, L'Avenir, Le Phare, Le Palmarès, the Zairian state news agency (AZAP), and media professionals from the Catholic University of Congo, University of Kinshasa, Institut Facultaire des Sciences de l'Information et de la Communication, Journalistes en Danger, SYFIA-Grands Lacs, L'Observatoire congolais des médias, Haute Autorité des Médias.

Interview with Professor Aimé Kayembe, 22 June 2010, Kinshasa.

Use of the term ‘editorial line’ has been avoided, because editorial policies regarding the nationality question of the Rwandophones did not exist in this period. What is called the ‘positioning’ of the newspapers arises from the historical analysis of each newspaper's discursive trajectory.

For a more elaborate analysis that encompasses ‘Rwandophone’ and ‘autochthon’ publications in Kinshasa's press as well as for a more detailed discussion of the methodological rationale used in this research, see Huening (2012).

Interview with Tshidibi Ngondavi, 6 July 2010, Kinshasa.

Interview with Didier Kebongo, 24 June 2010, Kinshasa.