President Paul Kagame has said Rwanda cannot continue to be blamed for DR Congo’s problems, especially the insecurity in the east of the country.
In an interview with Radio10 and Royal FM on Monday, April 1, Kagame said Rwanda had "for too long” been blamed for its neighbour’s problems, adding that it was time for the Congolese people to take stock of "their own governance issues.”
"The problem in eastern Congo originates from Congo and its leadership,” he said. "Sometimes, people put Congo’s burden on Rwanda’s shoulders. DR Congo’s burden should be carried by the Congolese people and their leaders and not by Rwandans or Rwandan leaders. For too long, we have been made to carry Congo’s burden; enough is enough.”
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"We have our own problems which we need to solve; we cannot carry another country’s burden. In Congo, the problem is multifaceted, and there is a lot of geopolitics,” he said, adding that certain countries were ready to do whatever the Congolese leaders wanted just "not to lose Congo,” to China or Russia.
"I don’t have a problem with anyone getting anything from Congo, but if you want to take resources from Congo why do they have to make me carry Congo’s problems. The problem should be simple,” he said.
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The president noted that DR Congo had "its own governance issues” in addition to the persecution of its Kinyarwanda-speaking communities, especially the Tutsi, and the presence of the FDLR, which is supported by the Congolese government.
"On the question of the rights of the Congolese Rwandophones, they shouldn’t beg for their rights. They deserve to be given their rights and if they don’t get it, that will result in wars, which we see today. How else could it be resolved? You cannot make people refugees in the countries neighbouring Congo, here in Rwanda, in Uganda and Burundi, while others are killed and chased from their properties.
"It is up to Congo’s leaders to find solutions for their problems. No one will do that for them, not even the UN,” Kagame said.
Genocide in DR Congo
As Rwanda prepares for the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Kagame has expressed his concern that persecution and killings of the Tutsi in eastern DR Congo mirrored the Rwandan tragedy.
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The Rwandan President said the targeted killings are perpetrated by the FDLR, a militia linked to the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which is supported by Congolese leaders.
"In 2024, we remember what happened in Rwanda, but in the region, there is a similar situation, when you look at the people being killed in eastern Congo, the more than 100,000 refugees we have here who fled persecution and killings because they are Tutsi,” Kagame said.
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He denounced the support given to the FDLR by the Congolese government and the resurgence of ethnic-driven politics in the Great Lakes Region.
"The perpetrators of the Genocide in Rwanda, who fled in 1994, have since collaborated with the governments in Congo. And what they are doing today amounts to a genocide,” Kagame noted.
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"What you have in eastern Congo is the FDLR, the Congolese government and Burundi, which joined them recently,” said the Rwandan leader, reiterating that the region had not learnt lessons from the Rwandan experience.
"However,” he said, "primitivity is not a problem only in Africa. Even in developed countries, when their politics is driven by racism it appears like they are still [primitive], yet you would think they had developed in terms of thinking and politics. I call it primitivity because that is how I see it. No one has ever benefited from that.”