Rwanda cannot negotiate with the FDLR – Musoni

The government of Rwanda will at no point negotiate with any individual or organisation that promotes the Genocide ideology. The strong remarks were made yesterday by the Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, at the inauguration ceremony of the newly constructed Kicukiro District headquarters. The FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), is a terrorist group based in Eastern DR Congo that comprises of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The media has been awash with reports of how sympathizers of the FDLR are pushing for talks between the government and terrorists group. The Genocide claimed over one million innocent lives with the Rwandan people continuously demanding for those responsible to be brought to justice. The FDLR have continued to kill people in the Eastern DRC and maintain the agenda to exterminate all Tutsi. Musoni called on the sympathizers to retract their statements calling for negotiations, saying that it is the unwavering government policy not to negotiate with people responsible for killing innocent Rwandans during the Genocide. The Minister went on to clarify that if there are any members of the FDLR who disassociate themselves from the terrorist group and their Genocide ideology, they are free to return home, where there will undergo a rehabilitation and reintegration process. He, however, hastened to add that those suspected of committing crimes during the Genocide will be followed up by the courts of law. Sympathy for the FDLR has irked Rwandans with survivors, legislators, members of the civil society and politicians alike coming out strongly to condemn any suggestions for negotiations. Survivors of the Genocide are still in the healing process, however, any utterances that tend to sanitize those responsible interferes with their recovery. The Minister emphasised that the governments policy against Genocide denial and the FDLR will never change and that Rwandans should not be disoriented and deterred by the sympathizers. He called on the Rwandan people to steadily carry on the development process.