{"id":309517,"date":"2025-12-15T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=309517"},"modified":"2025-12-09T06:34:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T06:34:29","slug":"trump-kagame-tshisekedi-the-donald-j-trump-institute-for-peace-a-peace-deal-short-on-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/12\/trump-kagame-tshisekedi-the-donald-j-trump-institute-for-peace-a-peace-deal-short-on-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump, Kagame, Tshisekedi & the Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace: A Peace Deal Short on Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

7 Dec 2025\u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0Let\u2019s start with the basics.<\/p>\n

We are told this is \u201cone of the deadliest and longest-running wars on the planet.\u201d<\/em> Millions dead, villages erased, women raped on an industrial scale, more than seven million displaced. In human terms, it\u2019s a catastrophe. In geopolitical terms, it\u2019s a resource hub with a body count.<\/p>\n

Enter Washington.<\/p>\n

Paul Kagame and F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi are summoned to the United States to co-sign a \u201chistoric peace agreement\u201d for eastern Congo<\/strong>\u2014while, at that very moment, artillery fire continues in South Kivu. Think of it as a ceasefire that forgot to tell the guns.<\/p>\n

The scene unfolds not in Goma, Bukavu, or Kinshasa, but in a building in Washington that has been christened, with all the modesty we expect, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace<\/strong>. Because nothing says \u201cpeace\u201d like stamping your own name on the fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n

The Photo, Not the Peace<\/strong><\/p>\n

The choreography is simple: Trump in the middle, beaming, Kagame on one side, icy. Tshisekedi on the other, frozen. Two pens, two signatures, zero handshake.<\/p>\n

No handshakes, no warmth, not even a forced grin. Just body language so stiff it could have been carved in granite. The only hand both men eagerly shake is Trump\u2019s.<\/p>\n

If you watched it on TV, you saw what you were meant to see: \u201cHistoric agreement ends decades of violence.\u201d<\/em> If you looked beyond the camera angle, you saw what it really was:<\/p>\n

A photo-op dressed up as a peace process<\/strong>, staged to present Trump as the man who can \u201cbring enemies together\u201d and, coincidentally, secure access to critical minerals.<\/p>\n

The war on the ground? Still burning. But the optics? Perfect.<\/p>\n

A Peace Agreement That Forgot the War<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s review the absurdity. The main armed group tearing up eastern Congo right now \u2014 M23 and its latest avatars \u2014 is not even a signatory to this peace accord<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t recognize it. They don\u2019t feel bound by it. They are busy advancing, shelling, and entrenching themselves.<\/p>\n

Imagine signing a \u201chistoric agreement\u201d to end World War II without involving Germany or Japan. That\u2019s roughly the intellectual level we\u2019re dealing with here.<\/p>\n

On paper, Congo commits to neutralizing the FDLR, an old Rwandan Hutu militia, some of whose founders were linked to the 1994 genocide. Rwanda, in return, promises to withdraw troops from Congolese territory. Beautiful symmetry. Except:<\/p>\n

The FDLR has been hunted, scattered and weakened for decades. Even Western and UN reports admit they are no longer a strategic threat<\/strong> to Rwanda. Meanwhile, Rwandan troops and Rwanda-backed rebels have been documented by the UN<\/strong> as operating inside Congo, exploiting mines and terrorizing civilians.<\/p>\n

So the agreement dedicates pages to a decaying, politically convenient enemy, while glossing over the very real, very current occupation and pillage. This isn\u2019t a peace plan.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a laundering machine<\/strong>: Laundering Rwanda\u2019s role.
\nLaundering decades of foreign complicity. Laundering access to Congo\u2019s minerals.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore Than 10,000 Dead\u201d: When Arithmetic Becomes Propaganda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump proudly announces this war has killed \u201cmore than 10,000\u201d people.<\/p>\n

Ten thousand.<\/p>\n

In a conflict where estimates of the dead run into the millions<\/strong>, where entire regions have been turned into graveyards, the American president casually downsizes the horror to something numerically manageable. A rounding error in the global ledger.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a mistake. It\u2019s a narrative.<\/p>\n

If you admit there are millions of victims, you might have to talk about: Responsibility, International complicity, The role of American policy since the 1990s. The price of cheap electronics and \u201cgreen\u201d technologies.<\/p>\n

But if it\u2019s \u201cjust\u201d 10,000?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s tragic, of course, but manageable.
\nIt becomes a solvable crisis with a neat ceremony, a flag backdrop, and a commemorative plaque at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Real Text Is Written in the Periodic Table<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be blunt:<\/p>\n

This \u201cpeace agreement\u201d is not primarily about peace<\/strong>. It\u2019s about cobalt, coltan, copper, gold, niobium, beryllium, and other rare minerals<\/strong> buried under Congolese soil.<\/p>\n

The same minerals that: Power smartphones and laptops. Feed the AI industry. Run electric cars and \u201cclean energy\u201d fantasies. Sustain aerospace and military technologies.<\/p>\n

China already holds dominant positions in many of Congo\u2019s mining projects, processing or owning a vast share of the cobalt and copper chain. That\u2019s the backdrop. Trump\u2019s urgency to \u201csolve\u201d Congo is not driven by tears over Congolese suffering. It is driven by the fear of losing the resource race<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So what does this deal actually do? It formalizes<\/strong> what was long informal: external control over Congo\u2019s wealth. It offers the United States a clearer, more open, more direct stake in extracting those minerals. It gives Rwanda de facto recognition as a key player and logistical hub\u2014even as it is never named as an aggressor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In other words, what Clinton did in the shadows through proxies, Trump seeks to do legally, on paper, with signatures<\/strong>. Congratulations, Congo:
\nyour destruction just acquired a legal framework.<\/p>\n

Congo: Rich Enough to Be Pillaged, Not Enough to Be Respected<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the cruel paradox at the heart of this story: If Congo were poor, nobody would care. Because Congo is rich, everyone cares\u2014but not about Congolese lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Congo is treated as a geological supermarket with 120 million human inconveniences walking on top of it. The state is infiltrated.
\nThe army is sabotaged.<\/p>\n

The political class is divided between those who collaborate directly or indirectly with foreign interests, and those patriots who have ideas, reports, intelligence, strategies\u2026 but can\u2019t get within shouting distance of the president.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, both Rwandan proxies and foreign mining lobbies push for \u201cmanageable chaos\u201d<\/strong>: Not open apocalypse \u2014 that scares investors.<\/p>\n

But just enough<\/em> violence to keep the state weak, the population terrorized, and the territories negotiable.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need Congo stable. You just need it open and disarmed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Trump the \u201cPeacemaker\u201d: A Role Written in Dollar Signs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is Trump \u201csincere\u201d about peace? In a way, yes \u2014 as long as you understand what he means by peace: Peace is when American interests are secured<\/strong>, peace is when China doesn\u2019t have a monopoly<\/strong> and peace is when the war is low-intensity enough not to hit the headlines<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t hide it. He literally says: \u201cWe\u2019re going to make a lot of money.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He\u2019s not a hypocrite. He\u2019s a salesman.<\/p>\n

He has simply rebranded resource capture as peace diplomacy<\/strong>: Stage a ceremony, bring two African presidents who can barely look at each other. Surround them with other African leaders and sponsors (Qatar, Emirates, etc.) to act as \u201cwitnesses\u201d and \u201cguarantors\u201d. Call it \u201chistoric\u201dand lock in economic arrangements in parallel.<\/p>\n

Job done. If some committee in Oslo decides this performance deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, that\u2019s a bonus feature.<\/p>\n

The Great Absentees: Europe and the African Union<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two actors are spectacularly missing from the scene. The EU, France, Belgium \u2014 all historically involved in Congo \u2014 are essentially sidelined. The same Europe that: pumps aid money into the region, lectures the world on human rights, and outsources its raw materials vulnerability\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026now watches from a distance while the US and China carve up access to Congo\u2019s resources. Europe\u2019s Congo \u201cpolicy\u201d has been reduced to: funding peacekeeping missions that never keep the peace, signing off on traceability schemes that manage to make Rwandan blood minerals look clean, and pretending this is all very complicated.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, <\/strong>the African Union, that glorious defender of sovereignty, is conspicuously toothless<\/strong>: Silent while one African state occupies and bleeds another;absent while non-African powers run the negotiations; more comfortable with platitudes about \u201cAfrican solutions\u201d than with facing a member state that blatantly violates borders.<\/p>\n

The message to Congo is simple: You are on your own.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless, of course, someone needs your minerals. Then you are very popular.<\/p>\n

And the Congolese?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amid all this, what about the Congolese themselves?<\/p>\n

They are not in the room when the real deals are made, not named as victims in any meaningful way, not offered justice \u2014 no tribunal for the millions killed, no compensated, not protected, not prioritized.<\/p>\n

There is no serious plan for: demilitarizing the region in a way that actually dislodges foreign-backed forces; holding Rwanda (and its accomplices) accountable; rebuilding communities destroyed by decades of war and displacement; giving Congolese people power over their own resources.<\/p>\n

Instead, they get: a ceremony, a few speeches, a promise of \u201cvisible results very soon\u201d, and continued bombardments in South Kivu the next morning.<\/p>\n

So What Was Really Signed in Washington?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not a peace accord. A framework for managed chaos<\/strong>. A chaos low enough not to disturb markets. A chaos high enough to keep the Congolese state weak. A chaos flexible enough to be dialed up or down like the volume on a TV remote, depending on who needs leverage.<\/p>\n

Trump didn\u2019t end a war. Kagame didn\u2019t renounce expansion. Tshisekedi didn\u2019t regain control over his territory.<\/p>\n

What they all did \u2014 each \u00e0 sa mani\u00e8re \u2014 was participate in a spectacle<\/strong>: Trump gets to play the peacemaker. Kagame gets continued room to maneuver. Tshisekedi gets to say he\u2019s not a warmonger. The mining lobbies get what they want.<\/p>\n

And the Congolese? They get an upgraded version of what they already had: Pillage with paperwork.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the end, this is the real logic at work: The dead in Congo are negotiable. The minerals are not. The world has decided that some wars must be stopped at all costs, and others can be moderated<\/strong> as long as the ore keeps flowing. This \u201cpeace deal\u201d is not the end of a tragedy.
\nIt is a change of set design.<\/p>\n

The stage is the same. The actors are the same.
\nThe script \u2014 proxy war, extraction, denial, silence \u2014 is the same.<\/p>\n

Only the branding has improved: Now, exploitation comes with a ribbon on it, signed at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>____________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ra\u00efs Neza Boneza is the author of fiction as well as non-fiction, poetry books and articles. He was born in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Former Za\u00efre). He is also an activist and peace practitioner. Ra\u00efs is a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Media Service<\/em><\/a> Editorial Committee and a convener of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment<\/em><\/a> for Central and African Great Lakes. He uses his work to promote artistic expressions as a means to deal with conflicts and maintaining mental wellbeing, spiritual growth and healing. Ra\u00efs has travelled extensively in Africa and around the world as a lecturer, educator and consultant for various NGOs and institutions. His work is premised on art, healing, solidarity, peace, conflict transformation and human dignity issues and works also as freelance journalist. You can reach him at <\/em>rais.boneza@gmail.com<\/em><\/a> – <\/em>http:\/\/www.raisnezaboneza.no<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 substack.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

7 Dec 2025\u00a0–\u00a0Let\u2019s start with the basics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":309518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[119],"class_list":["post-309517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcend-members","tag-peace"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309519,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309517\/revisions\/309519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}