Speaking during a press conference at the Kigali Convention Centre on Monday, Kagame said Rwanda’s security concerns over the FDLR have persisted for about three decades and will continue to shape the country’s involvement in the regional conflict as long as the armed group remains a threat.
“Rwanda’s problem has always been the FDLR in Congo. I can repeat it a hundred times,” Kagame said.
“And if this problem of FDLR is not resolved, of course Rwanda will always remain involved as part of this problem. There are no two ways about it.”
President Kagame was responding to a question about a recently reported Congolese protocol for the disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment of FDLR fighters, which Kinshasa said was part of its commitments under the Washington peace agreement. Rwanda has rejected the arrangement as inconsistent with the agreement. The United States, which brokered the deal, has said the DRC must neutralise the FDLR as part of its commitments under the Washington Accords.
The journalist asked whether Rwanda viewed the initiative as the neutralisation process envisaged under the agreement or as a political manoeuvre.
Kagame said efforts to resolve the FDLR issue had been ongoing for decades, involving the United Nations, the United States, European countries, African states and other actors, but had failed to address the root causes of the problem.
“The handling and the mishandling of this problem over many years is known. The actors are known,” he remarked
He argued that successive efforts had focused on superficial aspects of the crisis rather than addressing its underlying causes.
The Head of State also rejected arguments that Rwanda uses the FDLR, formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, as a justification for its involvement in eastern DRC.
“If you don’t want Rwanda, if nobody keeps saying Rwanda, Rwanda, Rwanda, and doesn’t want Rwanda to have anything to say in this, why don’t you remove this problem and see whether Rwanda is using it as an excuse?” he posed.
‘We will do anything that contributes to that protection’
Kagame said Rwanda’s approach would be guided first by the need to protect itself, while also seeking to avoid giving its adversaries opportunities to threaten the country.
“We behave in a manner that protects us at any cost. We will do anything that contributes to that protection, day or night,” he stressed.
“There are no two ways about it; that one we will, no question.”
He added that Rwanda would seek to act responsibly while protecting its interests.
“We will do what is right to protect ourselves, and we will do it without fear, favour, day or night, any time,” Kagame said.
President Kagame also maintained that Rwanda’s desire for peace remained central to its approach to the regional crisis.
“We want peace to the point that we are ready to fight for it. And that’s our main goal. We want peace, and we want to work with others to have peace,” he said.
His remarks came as he questioned the effectiveness of international efforts to address the conflict in eastern DRC, including the use of sanctions.
Kagame argued that sanctions had created additional problems rather than resolving the underlying conflict.
“Instead of sanctioning FDLR or those who work with them or support them, they sanction those who fight them. I don’t understand the logic,” he noted.
He also questioned the failure to address the origins of the conflict involving various armed groups in eastern DRC, including AFC/M23.
Kagame said Rwanda would continue working with other countries on peace efforts while maintaining its own security as a priority.
“We are happy to do that, I think. It is a pleasure to do the hardest task to protect ourselves. That’s what it is,” he said.
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