RPF leader: “DR Congo must sever ties with FDLR and abandon its plan to attack Rwanda”

Wellars Gasamagera, the secretary general of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkoyanyi), emphasized the genocidal militia FDLR’s threat to Rwanda’s security and said that if the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is serious about establishing a lasting peace in the region, it must cut all ties with the group.

Gasamagera said the country’s ongoing cooperation with the UN-sanctioned terrorist group only serves to intensify the current crisis, which escalated in January when AFC/M23 rebels took control of the strategically important city of Goma. He was speaking on February 25 at a meeting of the National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations (NFPO), which covered regional security and the situation in eastern DR Congo.

Additionally, he expressed alarm about the stated preparations to attack Rwanda by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi.

The party head declared, “Congo must give up its plan to topple Rwanda’s democratically elected government.”

“It must also break off relations with the FDLR because intentional peace cannot be achieved as long as this militia is active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

Negotiations that address the core causes of the conflict and the rebels’ grievances are the only way to end the fight with M23 rebels, Gasamagera continued.

At the forum, which included representatives from Rwanda’s eleven major parties—RPF-Inkotanyi, PL, UDPR, PDI, PSD, PPC, PDC, PSR, PSP, PS Imberakuri, and the Green Party—he declared that “true peace comes through dialogue and peaceful efforts.”

Gasamagera praised the defensive measures implemented to safeguard Rwanda’s territory and President Paul Kagame’s dedication to nonviolent efforts for regional security.

He urged Rwandans and all political parties to back the president in his efforts to save the nation.

Remaining members of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi perpetrators who fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the RPF army recovered Rwanda formed the FDLR.

Since then, it has persisted in recruiting combatants, disseminating ideas of genocide, and focusing on Tutsi populations in Congo. Over the years, the gang has also attacked Rwanda, causing fatalities, particularly along the country’s frontiers.

Gasamagera blasted the international community and the Congolese government for denying the crisis’s underlying roots and placing the blame on Rwanda. He maintained that rather than focusing on the conflict’s actual causes, it is being framed around themes of sovereignty and natural resources.

Ethnic violence, historical facts, and poor governance are the main causes of the DR Congo issue. According to the RPF leader, these are internal Congolese problems that are unrelated to Rwanda or any other outside party.

But the story is being twisted to emphasize two points: 

Congo’s sovereignty and natural resources. He claimed that those who are vocal about the situation conveniently ignore its true sources.

In addition, Gasamagera criticized the sanctions placed on Rwanda for allegedly aiding the M23 rebels, calling them unhelpful and detrimental.

“Nothing has been resolved by sanctions. Rather, they give the DR Congo more confidence to keep evading accountability for its own governance shortcomings,” he stated.