UK Minister Retraction of ADF Remarks Rwanda Is Not Associated with Terror Groups
The New Times has learned that a British government minister who implied Rwanda had ties to the Ugandan terrorist organization ADF has since recanted his assertions after acknowledging his error.
The UK’s Minister for Africa, Lord Ray Collins of Highbury, acknowledged his error in his response to a question in the House of Lords on February 25 in a letter to Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Friday, February 28.
According to Nduhungirehe, the Rwandan government was appalled by the comments, claiming they demonstrated “ignorance, confusion, and misinformation” regarding the circumstances in DR Congo. Additionally, the government asked the UK government to issue a public apology and correct the “false and insulting” statements.
“In his letter, Lord Collins clarified that the UK does not think Rwanda is associated with the Islamic State-linked group ADF, which recently killed 70 people in a church in Lubero, North Kivu in eastern DR Congo,” the British High Commission in Kigali told The New Times in comments sent on Saturday, March 1.
The British minister also explained that he had not mentioned the ADF attack with Nduhungirehe during their meeting in Geneva last week, despite what he had informed the House of Lords, according to the High Commission.
According to the report, Lord Collins also pledged to “formally correct the record” in a letter to Lord Alton, who posed the query on the ADF attack. In remarks sent to The New Times via email, the High Commission stated that the letter will also be made available online and in the House of Lords Library.
There was no apology.
The letter’s author, Lord Collins, was confirmed by the Rwandan foreign minister.
“We acknowledge receipt of the letter, but no apology is included,” Amb. Nduhungirehe told The New Times on Saturday.
The British High Commissioner Alison Thorpe was called by Rwanda on Friday to address the contentious comments.
Following the European nation’s attempt to impose sanctions on Rwanda due to claims of involvement in the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the AFC/M23 rebels are battling the Congolese military, Rwanda’s diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom suffered in recent days.
The UK was charged by the Rwandan government with having “clearly chosen a side” in the dispute that has impacted ties between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Concerns regarding DR Congo’s cooperation with the FDLR, a terrorist organization sanctioned by the UN and connected to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, have long been voiced by Rwanda.
According to the foreign ministry, the UK disregarded Rwanda’s security concerns despite Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi’s openly stated plan to overthrow Rwanda’s leaders and a coalition of Congolese governments operating along its border.
The ministry affirmed that Rwanda would not jeopardize the safety of its citizens or its national security, and that the defensive actions taken in response to the DR Congo’s threat were warranted.
