Rwanda warns non-state actors on reckless interference

Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo

The Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo has warned non-state actors in the region against reckless interference in its peace and stability.

Mushikawabo made the warning in a statement released on Thursday asserting that the government was aware of a new fundraising effort by Human Rights Watch who are planning to release another batch of recycled rumours designed to implicate Rwanda.

She warned that the region is not a playground for non-state actors to play politics or raise money while fomenting violence and human suffering.

“We will not fall for all these provocations and so-called leaked reports designed to inflame tension and create conflict.  Far from it.  Rwanda and the DRC have been working even closer than before to resolve the situation in DRC,” said Mushikiwabo in the statement.

This comes barely a week after BBC published a story claiming to have seen a UN report accusing Rwanda of fuelling instabilities is Eastern DRC. Rwanda has denied its involvement from the onset.

“Who benefits from continued instability in the eastern DRC?  Not the Rwandan people, not the Congolese people.

The primary beneficiaries are the FDLR terrorists who feast on insecurity.  But unaccountable actors like Human Rights Watch also profit from this by raising millions of dollars through the dissemination of simplistic reports based on the same old unverified reports and lies.”

The Government of Rwanda warned Human Rights Watch and other non-state actors in the region against the conduct that can result in human suffering, including more than one hundred women who have been raped by FDLR and other rebels who have taken advantage of the insecurity breach.

“The irresponsible words of lobbies like Human Rights Watch are no less dangerous than bullets or machetes. We read today in the Guardian newspaper of killings and the disfigurement of dead bodies.[News Of Rwanda]

Rwanda knows these tell-tale signs too well.  These are the same forces who killed over one million people in Rwanda in 1994.  We know their modus operandi.  Their actions today carry a chilling ring of familiarity.”

Minister Mushikiwabo said that the government of Rwanda understands that the stakes are too high for the region. That is why she has requested Roger Meece, UN Special Representative to the DRC to come to Kigali to explain why MONUSCO is spreading false rumours aimed at aggravating the volatile situation in Eastern DRC, undermining ongoing collaboration between Rwanda and DRC governments to manage insecurity and shelter refugees fleeing the conflict.

“We are not involved in internal DRC political or military affairs.  Allegations to the contrary have no basis in fact.  Even the source of this week’s rumours has backed off them, admitting there is no evidence for any involvement by the Rwandan Government.”