Rwanda committed to peaceful resolution of Congo conflict - Biruta

Even though Rwanda cannot idly stand in case provocations by the DR Congo continue, it remains committed to the path of dialogue for peace, Dr Vincent Biruta, Minister of Foreign Affairs, stressed on Tuesday, May 31. The minister was briefing journalists about the current impasse between Rwanda and the DR Congo. Before addressing journalists, he had also met members of the diplomatic corps to brief them on the situation. In both meetings, Biruta stressed that Rwanda is not interested in a crisis, but is committed to peace, stability and the “economic development of our region” and wishes to continue working with the DR Congo bilaterally, and through other established regional initiatives. “The Congolese should understand this; our region has seen enough suffering and wars and we don’t want any more war. Rwanda wants, and is ready to have, good relations with Congo and all other countries,” Biruta said. But if the provocation from its neighbour go on, the Minister reiterated, Rwanda has both the right and responsibility to protect its citizens. “And we have the means or capacity to do that.” All hope is not lost especially as President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi have had phone conversations aimed at resolving the current impasse. The Chairperson of the Africa Union, Senegal President Macky Sall, on Monday, May 30, thanked both leaders for our telephone conversations” on Sunday and Monday, in the quest for a peaceful solution to the dispute between the DR Congo and Rwanda. Tensions escalated between the two neighbouring countries following the recent resurgence of the M23 rebellion in the DR Congo’s restive east, with the fighting between the Congolese army (FARDC) and the M23 rebels near the common border threatening to drag Rwanda into the conflict. On May 23, rockets from the Congolese side of the border, injured several people in parts of Musanze district, in Rwanda. The Congolese military and the terrorist FDLR militia, according to Kigali, also kidnapped two Rwandan soldiers who were patrolling along the common border. Kigali has requested Congolese authorities to release the two soldiers but, by press time, Tuesday, they had not yet been released. Rwanda has also stressed that it has no intention of being drawn into an intra-Congolese matter, but Kinshasa claims that the M23 rebels are supported by Kigali. Biruta reiterated the position he emphasised on May 28, while in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to attend an extraordinary Summit on countering terrorism and unconstitutional change of government in Africa. And he again appealed to Congolese authorities to observe good neighborliness, own up to her problems, and avoid apportioning blame where none exists. In Malabo, Biruta stressed that for close to 30 years now, there has been consistent collaboration between the FARDC and the FDLR, a genocidal armed group based in eastern DR Congo. The FDLR, which “harbors a long-term sinister plan to destabilize Rwanda,” comprises remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. After killing more than one million people 28 years ago, they fled into eastern DR Congo, where, the Minister said, they have been tolerated and preserved by Kinshasa. According to Kigali, over the years, Kinshasa sanitised the genocidal militia group to the extent that it is currently co-located, and fighting alongside the Congolese army. Rwanda has always noted that the FDLR and its various splinter groups pose a serious security threat, not only to Rwanda, but to the entire region. Hate speech, Genocide ideology Numerous videos and other material are circulating on social media spreading hate speech by Congolese nationals, something the Minister also said is uncalled for as well as very risky. Biruta said this is “a very disturbing factor that should be of global concern beyond our region” but there remains silence. The resurgence of anti-Rwanda hate speech and calls for Genocide, being encouraged by some officials and politicians in the DR Congo, are spreading through the population, the Minister noted. “Why is there silence on this issue? Are we going to say again that we didn’t know? This blatant resurgence of anti-Rwanda hate speech and Genocide ideology is being met with silence from the international community and this is dangerous.” On May 27, the ICGLR Secretariat expressed great concern about the attacks of the M23 rebels against the positions of the FARDC supported by MONUSCO in the territory of Rutshuru, North Kivu since the beginning of the week. The bloc’s Secretariat strongly condemned the attacks and called on the rebels to comply with the Nairobi Declaration signed in December 2013 and to participate unconditionally in the political process initiated by the regional Conclave of Heads of State on the DR Congo in Nairobi, Kenya on April 21.

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Rwanda committed to peaceful resolution of Congo conflict - Biruta