Following the DR Congo government decision to expel Rwanda’s ambassador in Kinshasa, Vincent Karega, experts have said the move did not consider diplomatic procedures. The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels in the east of the country – allegations Kigali has long dismissed. Alain Mukuralinda, the deputy government spokesperson, said the DRC escalation of the diplomatic relations was not unpredictable, given the previous false allegations that Rwanda supports the M23. “We are not happy about the decision but it was predictable. There has been an escalation of activities and rhetoric aimed at sensationalising people,” Mukurarinda told the national broadcaster RBA on Sunday, October 30. Ambassador Karega’s expulsion was rushed, Joseph Mutaboba, Rwanda’s former ambassador to the United Nations, said, adding that he should have been summoned by the foreign ministry to explain what the Congolese accuses Kigali, which is common diplomatic practice. “Usually, before you expel an envoy, you summon them and tell them the issues at hand between two countries. But as far as I know so far, there was no such meeting. DRC’s minister of foreign affairs, who is also the vice prime minister, did not summon Karega.” Mukuralinda confirmed that not even a note verbale was written to Ambassador Karega, informing him about the issues. For Odette Nyiramirimo, a former member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the DRC government decision to expel the Rwandan envoy could block the possibility of diplomatic communication between the two countries. “With DRC expelling the Rwandan ambassador, it seems like they don't want to solve the problems through the established peaceful mechanisms. There have been dialogues in Luanda, Angola and in Kenya, and these should be respected,” Nyiramirimo told The New Times. Nobody, either the government or citizens, can be happy about the expulsion of the ambassador, leading to the deterioration of relations, Mukuralinda said, cautioning Rwandans on crossing into DR Congo due to hate speech against Rwanda and Kinyarwanda speaking communities. The government of Rwanda has condemned the collaboration between the Congolese army (FARDC) and the FDLR, a militia whose members are accused of genocide crimes in Rwanda. The anti-Rwanda sentiments are whipped up by Congolese military officers and circulated on social media in videos. Tom Ndahiro, a researcher specialising in genocide ideology, said the rhetoric reflects what happened during the lead-up to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “What is happening in Congo is a result of the collaboration with the people who committed terrible crimes in Rwanda,” Ndahiro said. What is the way forward? Ndahiro said that Congolese leaders lack political will to solve the insecurity in the east of the country, where some communities have been denied their rights as Congolese citizens. “The only thing that can guarantee a lasting solution is the political will of the Congolese leadership to solve their own problems. They need to first appreciate that their administration and rhetoric are the driving forces of the conflict,” he said. There have been different regional mechanisms to bring the conflict in eastern DRC to an end. These include the Nairobi peace process between the Congolese government and rebel groups and the Luanda Roadmap. “Rwanda will contribute to all peaceful means, negotiation and dialogue, whenever we will be requested to help find a solution. We need to have confidence in peaceful means because the other option would be war and that’s not what we want,” Mukuralinda said. Commenting on the way forward, Nyiramirimo said relations need to be normalised, because the expulsion of the ambassador could mean that DRC wants to cut diplomatic ties. “The Congolese government has the bigger responsibility in bringing peace to the region. But if they cannot come to that conclusion, then the African Union and the United Nations will have to tell the DRC to refrain from escalating the tensions and stop the false allegations against Rwanda,” she said. For Mutaboba, the diplomatic standoff could still be calmed. “Looking at the current situation, the only people who can discuss the issues and come to a conclusion are the two countries’ presidents,” Mutaboba said.
