‘Kinyarwanda speakers and the question of identity in the region’

Editor, I wish to respond to Frank Tanganika’s article, ‘Kinyarwanda speakers and the question of identity in the region’, which was published in The New Times of last Saturday, in which he sought to dismissed Andrew Mwenda’s suggestion that Rwanda should be concerned by the harassment of Kinyarwanda speakers in the eastern DRC. I beg to differ.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Editor,I wish to respond to Frank Tanganika’s article, ‘Kinyarwanda speakers and the question of identity in the region’, which was published in The New Times of last Saturday, in which he sought to dismissed Andrew Mwenda’s suggestion that Rwanda should be concerned by the harassment of Kinyarwanda speakers in the eastern DRC. I beg to differ.I don’t think Mwenda is wrong to identify Congolese in eastern DRC with Rwanda. Kigali should not sit back and see Congo government and allied militias wipe out Tutsi communities in North Kivu province – just because of their identity. Neither should the world keep quite. Take it or not, Rwanda is affected by the instability in DRC and no one should be killed, abused or targeted in any way simply because of their identity.HenryEditor,I wish to respond to Frank Tanganika’s article, ‘Kinyarwanda speakers and the question of identity in the region’, which was published in The New Times of last Saturday, in which he sought to dismissed Andrew Mwenda’s suggestion that Rwanda should be concerned by the harassment of Kinyarwanda speakers in the eastern DRC. I beg to differ.I don’t think Mwenda is wrong to identify Congolese in eastern DRC with Rwanda. Kigali should not sit back and see Congo government and allied militias wipe out Tutsi communities in North Kivu province – just because of their identity. Neither should the world keep quite. Take it or not, Rwanda is affected by the instability in DRC and no one should be killed, abused or targeted in any way simply because of their identity.Henry