Dutch decision to suspend aid unfortunate, minister

Foreign Affairs minister Rosemary Museminali Sunday described the Netherlands’ decision to suspend financial aid to Rwanda as unfortunate. Her remarks come after a Dutch paper De Volkskrant, reported the Netherlands decision on Friday. The Dutch move is based on allegations in a recently released UN report that claims Rwanda supports the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a rebel movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). “Yes, they (the Dutch) communicated, and it is unfortunate and disappointing that this report that has not been corroborated, not proved to be true,” the minister said. “We have just received the communication and we will be responding to it as soon as possible.” The government has previously dismissed the report by a United Nations Group of Experts alleging that it was helping CNDP in its war against the DR Congo government. In an earlier interview, the minister pointed out that the report was full of false allegations and it would only serve to undermine bilateral efforts underway to bring peace to the region. Ends