FDLR ‘fundraising in refugee camps’

THE DRC-based Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia are actively fundraising in Rwandan refugee camps in Uganda, it has emerged.According to Donat Rubanambazi, a former refugee leader in Nakivale Refugee Camp in western Uganda, who voluntarily repatriated to Rwanda, last week, the militia group – largely blamed for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi – has established structures in various camps, with the aim of mobilising funds for its rebel activities.“Several rebel and dissident groups operate freely inside the camps. They have active agents and communication and fundraising channels, through which they also recruit new members, inside the camps. FDLR is the most dominant group,” said Tubanambazi.“They mobilise funds and other items like food within the camp to finance the rebels...whoever opposes or is seen as opposed to such activities is targeted ...you can even be killed,” said Tubanambazi, adding that he survived several plots to kill him for opposing the rebel operations.Besides FDLR, Tubanambazi alleged there are people inside the camps who openly lobby for support for different other groups, including the one allegedly linked to Umwami Kigeri, Kayumba Nyamwasa, and the Alliance Amani, headed by one Major Munyaruguru. He claimed that each of the groups say they wanted to overthrow the Kigali government, but lack a clear policy agenda.Nakivale is one of the biggest refugee camps in Uganda, with about 11,000 Rwandan refugees. It also hosts refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.Asked what inspired him to voluntarily return home, Tubanambazi said he had never believed in the falsehoods against Kigali which are spread in the camps.But what triggered his decision were attempts on his life by other refugees who viewed him as a threat to their manipulation cause, he argued. “There are people who keep peddling false rumours about the situation in Rwanda, and telling refugees that they would be killed or persecuted upon crossing the border (back home). I held different views because I knew all those were lies, which is why they started to target me.”“They had even planned to kill me but some of them were arrested by Ugandan police,” he added.Tubanambazi argued that the majority of the refugees who are opposed to voluntary repatriation took part in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, and that they thought it was better to return while fighting.Futile agendaThe returnee said that through the Ugandan government, Rwandan High Commission in Kampala and the UNHCR were also actively sensitising refugees on voluntary repatriation, but hastened to add that the message often falls on deaf ears largely due to the misinformation that is deeply entrenched inside the camps.The claims surface just a year to the deadline given to the Rwandan refugees to voluntarily repatriate or be stripped of their refugee status under the Cessation Clause. The UNHCR reckons the reasons that led to the refugees’ flight are no more. Commenting about the allegations, the Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, Gen. Marcel Gatsinzi said he could not refute the reports since they came from a former refugee camp leader.But he said the government was long aware of the “false rumours and propaganda” peddled by negative elements inside camps, which are intended to intimidate anyone wishing to return home voluntarily.“It is the same thing in other countries such as Zimbabwe and Zambia; whenever we go there to sensitise refugees to return home we learn that FDLR and other negative elements misinform refugees about the situation back in Rwanda; nonetheless, they are wasting their time; truth will always prevail,” the minister said.Gen. Gatsinzi insisted that FDLR was pursuing a futile agenda, pointing out the continued desertion of the group’s commanders and fighters who keep laying down their weapons and returning home peacefully.Several senior commanders of the FDLR militia have been surrendering lately, the most recent one being Col. Etienne Mbarushimana, who defected with eight rebels. Another senior commander, Lt. Col. Idrissa Muradadi, also returned home over the past few weeks.Gatsinzi said the Government of Rwanda would continue working closely with UNHCR and the countries that host Rwandan refugees to keep encouraging them to repatriate voluntarily.Cessation Clause Uganda is home to over 16,000 Rwandan refugees, mainly in the camps of Nakivale, Kiryandongo, Kyangwari and Kyaka II, all in western Uganda, and Oruchinga in the south.Earlier, the Director of Refugees in the same ministry, Jean Claude Rwahama, sounded frustrated that the Rwandan refugees in Uganda were reluctant to return home “considering sensitisation campaigns carried out there.” “It is quite embarrassing that Uganda-based refugees are repatriating in very small numbers,” he stated.For instance, Rwahama said, only 53 refugees repatriated voluntarily from Uganda last year, while a paltry 30 have so far returned this year – a small number compared to those repatriating from other countries, especially DRC.While more than 3.4 million Rwandan refugees have voluntarily returned home since 1994, about 100,000 are still living in different countries as refugees.With effect from June 30, 2013, Rwandan refugees who fled between 1959 and December 31, 1998, must have either returned home or applied for citizenship to stay in the host countries. However, the Cessation Clause does not prevent individuals from applying for fresh refugee status.In such a case, the recipient country will have to decide whether the individual cases warrant the continuation of international protection.Tubanambazi is the second refugee leader to return in one year, after Seraphine Mukantabana, who headed the Rwandan refugee community in Congo – Brazaville. Tubanambazi hails from Rubavu District.

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FDLR ‘fundraising in refugee camps’