Rwanda’s Kagame defiant over accusations of backing Congo rebels

Thu Oct 4, 2012 4:49pm GMT

* Western “bullies” are “dead wrong” -President Kagame

* Says freezing aid an injustice, will make Rwandans defiant

* Rwandan, Congo leaders fail to resolve row at UN meeting

* Rebel crisis fuels tension in Africa’s most volatile region

By Jenny Clover

KIGALI, Oct 4 (Reuters) – President Paul Kagame said on Thursday Western governments were “dead wrong” in blaming Rwanda for the rebellion in neighbouring eastern Congo and threatening Kigali with aid cuts, and he pledged to stand firm against his accusers.

The United States urged Rwanda on Monday to publicly condemn rebels who have seized parts of Congo’s east, an appeal that highlighted U.S. frustration over Kigali’s alleged involvement.

Kagame has not openly denounced the M23 insurgency, and instead told parliament that wanton killings were being carried out in the Congo “in broad daylight” but not being condemned by that country’s government or by the West.

“Even with these threats every day, threats of aid, threats of what, whatever it is you have, you are just dead wrong … The attitude of the bullies must be challenged, that’s what we live for, some of us,” he said.

Kagame said those responsible for Congo’s bloodshed were indigenous to tiny Rwanda’s giant central African neighbour.

“There is a bigger territory where worse things are happening … So if you ask me to condemn people or to blame them for anything, I know where to start from.”

Rwanda has denied having any links with rebels, including the M23 group, who have been fighting Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government soldiers in North Kivu province since April, displacing some 470,000 civilians.

PUNITIVE AID CUTBACKS

Donors, including the United States, one of Kigali’s closest allies, have slashed aid to the tiny central African nation as the result of a U.N. report that concluded Rwandan officials were supplying the rebels with weapons and logistics.

“This persecution of people even at an international level is just unbecoming,” Kagame said to applause by members of parliament in front of ambassadors who were in the assembly.

“Freeze aid to Rwanda, freeze, freeze … This injustice does not make us compliant, this injustice makes us defiant.”

The EU said this week in Kigali that although existing projects would continue, a decision on additional budget support would be delayed until Rwanda’s role in Congo was clarified.

Countries including the United, Sweden and the Netherlands have suspended aid to Rwanda, which relies on donors for about 40 percent of its budget. But Britain unblocked part of its aid earlier this month, saying the Rwandans had constructively engaging in the search for peace in Congo.

Kagame has launched a so-called “dignity fund” to help wean Rwanda off its dependence on outside help.

Kagame and Congolese President Joseph Kabila met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week to discuss the fighting in the Congo, but no breakthrough was made.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met both leaders to push for a solution, only for Kabila to allude to Rwanda’s alleged support for M23 in his speech before the U.N. General Assembly last Tuesday.

Observers have lauded Rwanda’s economic progress since the 1994 genocide but say lack of political freedom and media curbs have hampered reforms. Kagame has rejected the accusations.

Kagame said Kigali should not be blamed for Congo’s woes.

“For over a decade you keep blaming Rwanda for the problems of Congo. Why don’t they have enough courage to blame themselves and take part of the responsibility?” he said.

“What is this blackmail about? Aid? .. They give you aid so that forever you glorify them and depend on them. And they keep using it as a tool of control and management.” (Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: Reuters

Rwanda’s Kagame defiant over accusations of backing Congo rebels

Thu Oct 4, 2012 4:49pm GMT

* Western “bullies” are “dead wrong” -President Kagame

* Says freezing aid an injustice, will make Rwandans defiant

* Rwandan, Congo leaders fail to resolve row at UN meeting

* Rebel crisis fuels tension in Africa’s most volatile region

By Jenny Clover

KIGALI, Oct 4 (Reuters) – President Paul Kagame said on Thursday Western governments were “dead wrong” in blaming Rwanda for the rebellion in neighbouring eastern Congo and threatening Kigali with aid cuts, and he pledged to stand firm against his accusers.

The United States urged Rwanda on Monday to publicly condemn rebels who have seized parts of Congo’s east, an appeal that highlighted U.S. frustration over Kigali’s alleged involvement.

Kagame has not openly denounced the M23 insurgency, and instead told parliament that wanton killings were being carried out in the Congo “in broad daylight” but not being condemned by that country’s government or by the West.

“Even with these threats every day, threats of aid, threats of what, whatever it is you have, you are just dead wrong … The attitude of the bullies must be challenged, that’s what we live for, some of us,” he said.

Kagame said those responsible for Congo’s bloodshed were indigenous to tiny Rwanda’s giant central African neighbour.

“There is a bigger territory where worse things are happening … So if you ask me to condemn people or to blame them for anything, I know where to start from.”

Rwanda has denied having any links with rebels, including the M23 group, who have been fighting Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government soldiers in North Kivu province since April, displacing some 470,000 civilians.

PUNITIVE AID CUTBACKS

Donors, including the United States, one of Kigali’s closest allies, have slashed aid to the tiny central African nation as the result of a U.N. report that concluded Rwandan officials were supplying the rebels with weapons and logistics.

“This persecution of people even at an international level is just unbecoming,” Kagame said to applause by members of parliament in front of ambassadors who were in the assembly.

“Freeze aid to Rwanda, freeze, freeze … This injustice does not make us compliant, this injustice makes us defiant.”

The EU said this week in Kigali that although existing projects would continue, a decision on additional budget support would be delayed until Rwanda’s role in Congo was clarified.

Countries including the United, Sweden and the Netherlands have suspended aid to Rwanda, which relies on donors for about 40 percent of its budget. But Britain unblocked part of its aid earlier this month, saying the Rwandans had constructively engaging in the search for peace in Congo.

Kagame has launched a so-called “dignity fund” to help wean Rwanda off its dependence on outside help.

Kagame and Congolese President Joseph Kabila met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week to discuss the fighting in the Congo, but no breakthrough was made.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met both leaders to push for a solution, only for Kabila to allude to Rwanda’s alleged support for M23 in his speech before the U.N. General Assembly last Tuesday.

Observers have lauded Rwanda’s economic progress since the 1994 genocide but say lack of political freedom and media curbs have hampered reforms. Kagame has rejected the accusations.

Kagame said Kigali should not be blamed for Congo’s woes.

“For over a decade you keep blaming Rwanda for the problems of Congo. Why don’t they have enough courage to blame themselves and take part of the responsibility?” he said.

“What is this blackmail about? Aid? .. They give you aid so that forever you glorify them and depend on them. And they keep using it as a tool of control and management.” (Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: Reuters

US Calls on Rwanda to Denounce Congolese Rebels

Scott Stearns

September 30, 2012

NEW YORK — The United States says Rwanda should denounce a rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo that is accused of using rape and murder in a campaign of terror.  The United Nations says Rwandan defense officials are backing the militia.  Rwanda denies the allegation.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is concerned about external support for the militia known as M23, which is consolidating its control over areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province.

A June U.N. report accused Rwandan defense officials of backing M23, prompting the United States and some European countries to suspend military assistance to Kigali.

Rwanda continues to deny those allegations, saying that solving the crisis in eastern Congo will be impossible if, in its words, "the international community continues to define the issue erroneously."

Johnnie Carson, U.S. assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, says it is time for Rwanda to distance itself from the group. "We would clearly like to see, at a very minimum, the government in Kigali denounce the activities of the M23.  They are, after all, a rebel group undermining the stability of a neighboring state," he said.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame says it is "perplexing" the degree to which the international community is focusing on M23 at the expense of what a written statement from the Rwandan government calls "much broader challenges," warning that "externalizing" the crisis "effectively absolves blame from those with primary responsibility."

President Kagame and Congolese President Laurent Kabila met together with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week.  Clinton emphasized the need for an "honest and sustained dialogue" that respects territorial integrity.

Assistant Secretary Carson says that Rwanda and Congo must work together. "It is important, absolutely important, for both of those countries and both of those leaders to reestablish confidence and trust which is not there today," he said.

President Kagame says the many armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo "are the outcome of a complex, long-standing historical reality.  Therefore, singling out one group out of many is running away from the actual issue" that Rwanda says includes the persecution of ethnic Tutsi.

The State Departments Johnnie Carson says the problems of eastern Congo do not justify backing the M23 rebels. "Yes, President Kabila has to take responsibility for his country.  But yes, the leadership in Rwanda must understand that it is important to be a good neighbor as well," he said.

Human Rights Watch says the United Nations is failing to properly acknowledge Rwanda's continued military support for M23.  As long as that support continues, the human rights group says, Congolese civilians will bear the brunt of the fighting.

VOA

Andrew Mitchell under fire over Rwanda aid

MONDAY 01 OCTOBER 2012

Andrew Mitchell was under further pressure last night after Labour demanded he publish the civil service advice he received over his decision to reinstate Britain's suspended aid programme to Rwanda.

Mr Mitchell used his last few hours as International Development Secretary, before being moved in the reshuffle, to sign off on a plan to hand over £16m of frozen aid.

The UK suspended the payment in June, under pressure from the US and EU, after a UN report said the government of President Paul Kagame was sponsoring rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Sources suggested that Mr Mitchell was reluctant to suspend aid in the first place because of his close links to President Kagame – and overruled advice from his own officials on reinstating the funding in the last act before being moved to the Whips Office.

Labour's shadow International Development Secretary Ivan Lewis said: "Andrew Mitchell's irresponsible decision to reinstate aid put personal friendship above proper foreign policy considerations and undermines the strong message sent by other donors."

An International Development Department spokesman denied the decision was improper.

The Independet

Exclusive: Clinton presses Rwanda, DRC leaders on border crisis

By Andrew Quinn

NEW YORK | Tue Sep 25, 2012 11:36am EDT

(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed the presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to resolve a conflict over rebels in eastern Congo whose military advances have stoked tensions in one of Africa's most volatile regions.

Clinton sat down with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Joseph Kabila in New York on Monday, delivering a firm message to both that steps must be taken to resolve the crisis, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.

Clinton's unadvertised meeting, her first joint session with the two feuding African leaders, was aimed at underscoring U.S. concern over the M23 rebel group, which the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the United States and U.N. experts have all said are receiving support from neighboring Rwanda.

"The secretary sent a signal of our concern over what is happening in the region, and the need for both of these leaders to find a way to defuse tensions," said the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"It is imperative that they take action," the official said.

Clinton's meeting comes ahead of a U.N. meeting on the crisis set for Thursday, one of a series of events taking place alongside the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York this week.

It also follows a U.S. decision in July to withdraw some $200,000 in military aid for Rwanda, Washington's first direct punitive action against the Rwandans. Several other western European nations have also cut or suspended aid.

Rwanda has denied having any link to eastern Congolese rebels, including the M23 group, who have been fighting Congolese government soldiers in North Kivu province since April, displacing some 470,000 civilians.

A senior U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that faith and trust need to be established between Rwanda and Kabila. He said Kabila had described his confidence in Rwanda as "zero."

While Rwanda has denied any involvement in eastern DRC, the official said that privately: "They are a bit embarrassed, to say the least, and this could be one of the reasons behind the lull (in fighting) in the Kivu."

He said that if Rwanda withdrew support for M23 then the group "could be subdued."

DE FACTO ADMINISTRATION

U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said this month that rebel forces had established a de facto administration in eastern Congo, challenging the authority of Kabila's government and strengthening their hold over the territory.

A U.N. mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, has more than 17,000 troops, but the force is stretched thin across a nation the size of Western Europe and struggles to fulfill its current mandate of protecting civilians.

The U.S. official said Clinton did not explicitly warn Kagame that the further U.S. assistance could be at risk, but said she did emphasize that both leaders bear responsibility for reducing tensions.

"The secretary made no threats," the official said. "But it is important for Rwanda to cease any support for any groups operating against the government of the DRC, and it is important for the DRC government to take steps to protect all of its citizens."

Last month, the DRC said it had asked the U.N. Security Council to place sanctions on Rwanda's defense minister and two top military officials for backing the rebellion, although the United States and other powers are urging more time for political dialogue.

As uneasy neighbors, Congo and Rwanda have gone to war with each other in the past.

Eastern Congo's enduring conflict, which has killed, maimed and displaced several million civilians over nearly two decades, has its roots in Tutsi-Hutu ethnic and political enmities dating back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Later invasions of Congo by Rwandan forces and Rwanda's backing of Congolese rebels fuelled two crippling wars.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Will Dunham)