Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza (IVU)’s latest piece for African Arguments titled “Rwanda, too, needs to make amends”, is nothing short of deliberate revisionism. In a cunning ploy to obscure the nefarious activities of the FDLR, Ingabire has attempted to cloak them as “defenders of Rwandan refugees in DRC.” This insidious assertion, however, could not be further from the truth. The Cessation Clause on Rwandan refugees, which came into effect on December 31, 2017, renders any claim of FDLR fighting for the rights of refugees in the DRC null and void.
In reality, the FDLR is a vile and ruthless organization driven by a genocidal ideology that has perpetrated countless atrocities, including mass murders, rape, and torture. Their actions have rightly earned them the label of a terrorist group by both the United States and the United Nations. Ingabire’s deliberate evasion of the FDLR’s true nature speaks volumes about her complicity with the genocidal group.
Ingabire’s attempt to whitewash the actions of FDLR is a tactic often employed by neo-Nazis who seek to deny the Holocaust or downplay the atrocities committed by the Volkssturm, the last militia of the Nazi regime. Ingabire seeks to obfuscate the fact that the FDLR is a direct descendant of the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and Interahamwe militia that instigated the genocide against the Tutsi in April 1994. The FDLR is responsible for perpetrating heinous crimes that have brought devastation and suffering to the Rwandan people.
Furthermore, Ingabire’s ties to the FDLR are well-documented. She has publicly expressed support for the group and has been cited in a 2009 UN Experts’ Report about the FDLR. Her statements and actions align with the group’s genocidal ideology and denial, making it clear that her motivations in defending them are not grounded in a genuine concern for human rights but rather a personal agenda.
Ingabire’s revisionism is dangerous because it ignores the very real and ongoing threat that the FDLR poses to the people of Rwanda and the Great Lakes region. The group’s leaders, many of whom are perpetrators of the genocide who fled Rwanda, are still seeking to return to power through violent means. By whitewashing their crimes and portraying them as victims, Ingabire is essentially providing cover for their nefarious agenda.
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