The government of Rwanda has dispelled reports that the country will not allow Congolese refugees from seeking refuge in the country. While officiating the swearing-in ceremony of the new Senate President Francois-Xavier Kalinda, President Kagame said that Rwanda is not going to bear the responsibility of increasing numbers of Congolese refugees while the world keeps a deaf ear to the real security threats in the Eastern Congo. Also read: Security situation in DR Congo is not Rwanda’s problem- Kagame The Government Spokesperson, Yolande Makolo clarified that Rwanda has no intention to expel or ban refugees as it is being reported. “We always welcome people fleeing insecurity, persecution, and violence. We are asking for the international community to take responsibility for finding a durable solution for this forgotten group of refugees from the DRC,” she tweeted. She emphasized that nothing will change until the international community and the Congolese government stop evading responsibility and begin tackling the true causes of the crisis. “Blaming Rwanda fails citizens on both sides of the border, feeds hate speech and persecution, causing yet more Congolese citizens to flee.” Currently, there are more than 80,000 Congolese refugees in Rwanda who, over the past decades, especially fled ethnic cleansing in DR Congo. They are Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese that fled from decades-long persecution and ethnic cleansing back in their country. Since November 2022 alone, a total of 2,061 refugees have fled the fighting in North Kivu province, eastern DR Congo has crossed into Rwanda. “What the President addressed was the blatant hypocrisy in criticising Rwanda which simultaneously gets the blame for state failure in the DRC, and is then expected to accommodate those who seek refuge from the consequences of that failure,” Makolo continued. While the killings and hate speech against Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese escalate, Rwanda continues to receive more refugees, as described by Kagame. In December 2022, thousands of Congolese refugees who live in Kigeme camp in Nyamagabe protested against the genocidal violence being committed against Tutsi communities in the neighbouring country, in the presence of the UN troops. Since the conflicts started, the Congolese government has blamed Rwanda for supporting the M23 rebel group, an allegation Kigali has refuted. However, a UN report released last year in December shows that the DR Congo works alongside FDLR, a militia responsible for the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. The M23 rebel group is largely composed of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese who are fighting for their rights as DR Congo citizens.
