President Paul Kagame said that in the year 2023, Rwanda looks forward to peace and security in the region, where countries can consolidate development gains and make faster progress.

Kagame shared the insight while delivering his annual end-of-year address to the nation, hours before Kigali ushered in the new year.

In a televised address, the Head of State commended the resilience displayed by Rwandans during the past year.

"We turned the corner on some difficult challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, we launched the second phase of the economic recovery fund, to continue supporting Rwandan businesses, and our economy grew even stronger in the third quarter of the year,” he said.

Economy grew 10 per cent in the third quarter.

With the participation of all Rwandans, Kagame said, we also hosted a successful Commonwealth of Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) among other important events.

"We did all this bearing in mind the security of our country and every Rwandan played their role.”

Excellent diplomatic relations despite new odds

Rwanda has excellent diplomatic relationships with neighbouring countries in the region, and a lot has been achieved together, according to the head of state.

"But new challenges also arose, which require our attention. Particularly the DR Congo.”

"All of us in the region, and our international partners need to work together to implement the lasting solutions which have been evading us for the last two and a half decades,” Kagame added.

Reacting on the established frameworks such as the Luanda and Nairobi processes, Kagame commended the initiatives being undertaken particularly by Angola President Joao Lourenco as well as Burundian President, Evariste Ndayishimiye.

"I thank these leaders as well as the heads of state of the East African Community for the crucial work they are undertaking, which Rwanda fully supports.

"We also commend them for agreeing to deploy a force to help stabilize eastern Congo.”

However, he pointed out, these efforts will not bear fruit unless the unhelpful approach of the international community changes significantly.

Kagame asserted that it is disappointing that the international community pays lip service to peace and ends up complicating matters, which undermines the regional processes.

"After spending tons of billions on peacekeeping over the last two decades, the security situation in Eastern Congo is worse than ever.”

DR Congo conflict not Rwanda’s problem

To explain this failure, Kagame said that some in the international community blame Rwanda, even though they know very well that the true responsibility lies primarily with the government of DR Congo and external actors who refuse to address the root causes of the problem.

"This is a very expensive lie, which makes no logical sense,” he said.

"They speak the truth only in whispers, afraid to displease the Congolese government, and compromise their own interests, but in fact they embolden leaders of the DRC to take more and more drastic steps to consolidate its populist base in the process, hurting their own people.”

Kagame also highlighted that despite the repeated documents by the UN Group of experts indicating the collaboration between the Congolese army and terror outfit FDLR among other militias, notwithstanding the alarming rise in hate speech, these items are virtually ignored, as if they are of no consequence.

"This attitude is shocking, but not surprising given what Rwandans know and saw in our region in the 1990s. We have had enough of this hypocrisy; it is high time that the unwarranted vilification of Rwanda stopped.”

Rwanda directly affected

Of course Rwanda is directly affected when the remnants of the militias that committed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi become auxiliary forces of the DR Congo army, and conduct attacks across our border.

"No country can accept this. Rwanda will never accept this as normal and will always respond appropriately because our security and stability are paramount.”

"We could not have learned better from our history.”

The tensions come at a time when there are more than 100 armed groups flourishing in eastern Congo including Genocidaire militia like the FDLR.

These groups create constant insecurity for civilians in DR Congo as well as in Rwanda.

"The reason this situation prevails is unwillingness or inability to govern its (DR Congo) territory.”

Kagame also questioned, should Rwanda be the one to bear the dysfunction of this immense country?

"The situation of Congolese refugees whose very right to a nationality is denied by their own country is a case in point. It is not just a question of hate speech, but of active persecution over decades.”

Rwanda is among the countries in East Africa which have hosted hundreds of thousands of Congolese refugees, for decades.

As it stands more than 70,000 refugees are registered in Rwanda alone, with numbers increasing daily.

Just recently more than 100 Congolese refugees moved into Rwanda after they were forced to flee from their home country.

"Yet the international community effectively pretends that these people do not exist, or that they don't know what causes them to be refugees in the first place.”

In Rwanda, Kagame said, the policy seems to be for them to remain indefinitely, which he said only serves to whitewash the lie that they are actually Rwandans who deserved to be expelled.

"This is an international problem and it requires an international solution.”

"Rwanda will not accept to bear the burden of DRC’ responsibilities. We have enough burdens of our own to bear and we shall do so as effectively as we can.”

Rwanda remains safe and secure

The conditions for Congolese refugees to return home in safety and dignity must be established, and Rwanda will not stop them from going home in any way they choose.

Kagame likened the latter with Burundian refugees who are in the country.

"We also have Burundian refugees in Rwanda, and their government is making efforts to reassure these refugees that it is safe to return to their country including visiting the refugee camps and as a result many have returned.”

This is the right thing to do, he said, it shows that this problem can be solved, if the political can be found.

"At the same time it is important to expose the so-called Africa experts and policy makers wherever they come, who have peddled lies and created confusion about Rwanda and this region.”

"I want to assure Rwandans that our country will continue to be safe and secure in 2023. There is no doubt about that.”

With continued implementation of the decisions of the regional Luanda and Nairobi processes, Kagame said he believed that it is possible to address this issue bearing in mind that DR Congo is Rwanda’s neighbor, with whom they continue to live side by side.

Rwandans will keep working towards that, he said.

"Let us keep this spirit in 2023, and the year ahead. We also take this opportunity to wish our brothers and sisters in the region a very happy new year.”