Over the weekend, the Government of DRC, through its Ministry of Interior, Security, Decentralization, and Customary Affairs, published a statement supposedly responding to Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding the repatriation of FDLR families who had been held hostage in DRC.
In the communiqué, DRC officials claimed that Rwanda had forced the repatriation of those families—who were initially screened and identified for deportation—and falsely argued that, due to the advance of M23 (a movement they labeled the Rwandan army), they could not have completed the exercise.
To begin with, it defies anyone’s understanding to witness the zeal with which the DRC government justifies itself on matters concerning the FDLR—a blacklisted genocidal outfit composed of the offspring and remnants of génocidaires who committed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The DRC government’s persistent reference to the ‘Tripartite Agreement’ signed between Rwanda, the DRC, and the UNHCR on February 17, 2010, as a pretext for inaction on FDLR operations, is typical nonsense. Why did they fail to do in over a decade what M23 has done in a short period—despite having both the facilities and legal frameworks?
The answer is simple: the DRC government, through its undisciplined and unprofessional army, FARDC, not only trained and integrated FDLR into its operations—it is a known fact that they have been working together with the hopeless agenda of “overthrowing the leadership” in Rwanda.
For the DRC government to issue a communiqué openly defending FDLR family members following a much-needed repatriation is no surprise. It confirms that they have not abandoned their hostile agenda towards Rwanda—they are only obstructed by the fact that M23 now controls several areas near the Rwandan border.
The claim that Rwanda violated international obligations by working with M23 to repatriate the families of FDLR is another misguided justification. It was the DRC that violated those commitments—by holding these families hostage against their will and entrenching them in the propaganda that “Rwanda did not want them and would eliminate them if given the chance.”
In light of the ongoing peace process being brokered by countries like Togo, Kenya, Qatar, and the United States, the least the DRC could do is refrain from pointing fingers at Rwandan leaders with baseless accusations. If anything, their posturing will only drag the process—and the losses will be on their side.
ellenkampire