{"id":53012,"date":"2025-02-15T10:21:23","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T10:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/ignoring-the-fdlr-is-an-insult-to-our-history-president-kagame\/"},"modified":"2025-02-16T13:29:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T13:29:18","slug":"ignoring-the-fdlr-is-an-insult-to-our-history-president-kagame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/ignoring-the-fdlr-is-an-insult-to-our-history-president-kagame\/","title":{"rendered":"Ignoring the FDLR is an insult to our history- President Kagame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking at the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council meeting in Addis Ababa on February 14, 2025, Kagame condemned the rhetoric that shifts responsibility for Congo\u2019s instability onto external actors, particularly Rwanda, instead of addressing the root causes of the conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the blame game, nice speeches, lies, and shamelessness were the solution to this problem, it would have ended long ago. Some people lie for no reason,\u201d he stated. <\/p>\n

\u201cHow can FDLR not exist in the minds of some people? Or why is it treated something that is supposed to be trivialized? when you trivialize it, you trivialize my history, and I will not accept that. It doesn\u2019t matter who you are,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Kagame made it clear that Rwanda would not compromise on its right to security. \u201cI am not asking anyone in this room for permission to live, nor am I begging for my people\u2019s right to exist. Absolutely not. We will live because it is our right. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n

{{Rwanda rejects responsibility for DRC\u2019s problems}}<\/p>\n

Kinshasa has consistently blamed Rwanda for its internal conflicts, lobbying international organizations and powerful nations to impose sanctions on Kigali. However, Kagame firmly rejected this narrative, emphasizing that Congo must take responsibility for its own crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen will Congo take responsibility for its own mess? How does Congo believe all its problems come from outside, and therefore seek external solutions?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda has nothing to do with Congo\u2019s problems. We have our own challenges to deal with. Congo is too big for Rwanda to carry on its back.\u201d<\/p>\n

As M23 rebels continue to seize strategic positions in eastern DRC including the recent capture of Goma and a push toward Bukavu, Kinshasa has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the group.<\/p>\n

Despite Kigali\u2019s outright denials, these allegations have fueled international controversy while overshadowing the Congolese government\u2019s partnerships with various militias, including the FDLR.<\/p>\n

The situation has further deteriorated with the FARDC, alongside FDLR militants, Burundian troops, and mercenaries, launching attacks on Rwanda\u2019s Rubavu District in late January 2025, killing 16 civilians and destroying homes.<\/p>\n

During a recent East African Community summit, Kagame made it clear that Rwanda would not remain silent in the face of such provocations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith fighting intensifying and diplomatic efforts struggling to yield results, one thing remains clear, Rwanda will not be scapegoated for Congo\u2019s deep-rooted conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"President<\/figure>\n
\"Kagame<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has strongly criticized the ongoing “blame game” surrounding the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), warning that trivializing the presence of the FDLR militia is an insult to Rwanda\u2019s history, something he will never accept.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":2000081742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-53012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000081742,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/pk-43-62c72-9cc3f.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/pk-43-62c72-9cc3f.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/pk-43-62c72-9cc3f.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/pk-43-62c72-9cc3f.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/pk-43-62c72-9cc3f.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/pk-43-62c72-9cc3f.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000081742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53012"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=53012"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=53012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}