Kagame claims that Rwanda cannot support Congo because it is too large

President Paul Kagame has urged good administration, accountability, and the truth in order to find a long-term solution to the growing security crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kagame called on African leaders to put more effort into finding solutions that would bring about enduring peace in the region rather than focusing on blame and hyperbole during his speech at the Africa Union (AU) Peace and Security Council meeting on the security situation in the conflict-battered region.

Recently, there has been an increase in hostilities between the M23 and the Congolese army coalition in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The former is seizing additional territory, including Goma, the province seat of North Kivu.

One of the main obstacles to achieving peace, according to President Kagame, is the enduring propensity to externalize issues rather than deal with their underlying causes.

“Why do some people still ignore or minimize the existence of the Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR, in eastern DR Congo?” he said.

The FDLR is a terrorist group located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that was established by the surviving leaders of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi. In just three months, almost a million people were massacred during the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi.

While the world watched, lists of Tutsi families and people to be slaughtered were created, militias were formed, and large amounts of weaponry were smuggled and given to locals as “tools for work” in the run-up to 1994.

Many of the genocide’s perpetrators relocated to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they continue to maintain their strategy to destabilize Rwanda.

How is it possible for some people to not believe in FDLR? Or why is it something that should be overlooked? I will not take it if you minimize that because you trivialize my past. Who you are is irrelevant,” Kagame remarked.

He clarified that in order to survive and defend its citizens, Rwanda does not ask for favors or permission from anyone.

“The fact that it is my right will be my guiding principle. Simply that,” he said.

Additionally, Kagame urged Congolese leaders to address the internal strife in their nation, emphasizing that blame games and outside interventions are insufficient to bring about a lasting peace in the Great Lakes area.

He insisted that instead of depending on other parties to solve its problems, the Kinshasa government should take full responsibility for them and look for domestic answers.

When does Congo accept responsibility for its own disaster, based on what I’ve heard some people say? How does Congo believe that all of its issues originate outside of itself, therefore they outsource the answers to these issues?

“The issues facing Congo are not related to Rwanda. We have our own issues to resolve. According to Kagame, Congo is too large for Rwanda to support alone.

President Kagame has often urged a change from the narrative of divide to one of productive discussion.

Kagame called the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) an ethnic war during a recent joint summit of the South African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC), and he urged regional leaders to take immediate action to address the crisis that has been spreading into Rwanda.

We are a small and impoverished nation, as I mentioned, but don’t you think that we have the right to life? Kagame declared, “I am not and will not beg anyone.”

The 38th Ordinary Session of the African Union’s (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, February 14, with the peace and security council taking place on the sidelines.

The 1256th emergency ministerial session, which the PSC conducted on January 28 in response to the further escalation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, was also followed by this session.

Since January 27, when M23 rebels took control of Goma, the provincial seat of North Kivu, tensions in the region have increased.

The rebels declared on Friday, February 14, that they had taken control of Kavumu Airport, which is around 25 kilometers from Bukavu, the South Kivu Province seat.

Rwanda has always disputed the accusation made by Kinshasa that it supports AFC/M23 insurgents. Felix Tshisekedi, the president of Congo, has openly said that DR Congo harbors, arms, and trains the murderous FDLR militia in order to undermine Rwandan security and topple its government. Rwanda responds to this accusation.