Rwanda: The RDI party proposes a process to be followed to definitively end the war led by Kagame against the DRC.

DECLARATION of the party "RWANDAN DREAM INITIATIVE (RDI) - Rwanda Rwiza" about the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Since November 2021, the M23 rebels, supported by the Rwandan government led by President Paul Kagame's Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), have resumed the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), resulting in several casualties, injuries and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The Rwandan Dream Initiative (RDI)-Rwanda Rwiza strongly condemns this unjustified aggression against a brotherly and neighbouring country and expresses its unwavering support to the Congolese people, their government and their President Félix Tshisekedi in the just struggle against the terrorists under the name of M23 and the Rwandan army (Rwandan Defence Forces).

It should be recalled that Rwanda invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 1996 under the pretext of pursuing Rwandan refugees, mostly Hutu civilians, survivors of the war unleashed by Paul Kagame's Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Rwanda on 1 October 1990. The RPF army massacred many Rwandan refugees and millions of Congolese, as documented in reports by UN humanitarian organisations, including the "MAPPING REPORT".

The problems of insecurity and the successive wars in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo are not due to socio-political problems between Congolese, but rather caused by the regime of Paul Kagame because of its economic and hegemonic ambitions, which aim especially at the exploitation of natural resources in this region.

This is why the regime in Kigali continues to plunder for the benefit of the RPF-INKOTANYI, (single party in power), which has established a dictatorial and bloody power in Rwanda. President Paul Kagame has no interest or gain in seeing stability and peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The M23 rebels, aided in reality by the Rwandan army, have therefore killed people in Bunagana, Kishishe and other villages in North and South Kivu in the East of the DRC, and the killing continues to this day, despite the agreements signed in Luanda, Angola, and Nairobi, Kenya, as well as the intervention of soldiers from the member countries of the East African Community (EAC) in the area, for the establishment of a ceasefire.

In this situation, President Félix Tshisekedi himself officially named Rwanda as an aggressor country supporting the M23 rebels. He added that it was important to stress that the Rwandan people are not to blame. On the contrary, they are also victims of the terror and oppression perpetrated by Paul Kagame's regime, he added.

The RDI-Rwanda Rwiza party congratulates the Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi for his clear stance and his empathy towards the Congolese and Rwandan people.

Rwandan refugees are still in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwandan army of the RPF has no reason to continue to chase them in the countries of the Great Lakes region under the pretext of pursuing the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), which, for more than 25 years, has posed no threat to Rwanda or to the DRC, which is hosting them.

The RDI-Rwanda Rwiza party reiterates its request to the Rwandan government of President Paul Kagame to respect human rights, the rule of law, good neighbourly relations and to implement the values enshrined in the UN Charter and the Francophonie.

It also calls on the international community to put pressure on Rwanda to stop its murderous activities and to take urgent sanctions against it, if necessary.

The international community must put pressure on the Rwandan government to establish a political platform in the country, which respects human rights and democracy, to establish a government based on clear rules.

The government of Rwanda should engage in talks with stakeholders inside and outside the country, including foreign politicians and returning refugees, and organise transparent elections.

A democratic government in Rwanda will bring peace to the Great Lakes region, a priority for RDI-Rwanda Rwiza.

Done in Belgium, 12 March 2023.

Faustin Twagiramungu,

President of RDI-Rwanda Rwiza.