DR Congo’s threats of attacking Rwanda and overthrowing the Kigali leadership are far-fetched and outrightly empty, President Paul Kagame has said.
He made the remarks while addressing a news conference at Village Urugwiro in Kigali on Wednesday, March 1, which brought together local and foreign journalists.
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Kagame said that what was most important was to reassure Rwandans of their safety.
"Reassurance in this case is the most significant, the threats are baseless, they are unfounded, it is really not practical. Be at peace, that shouldn’t bother you,” he said.
In particular, he added, DR Congo authorities have the right to spread any kind of misinformation about Rwanda and the situation in the east of their country.
"For whatever reason they could spread those threats in the public, Congolese officials have that right. But it should not be consumed as true information.”
Prospects for SADC intervention in DR Congo...
Commenting on the idea of DR Congo officials possibly luring Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces into supporting them in potentially waging war on Rwanda, Kagame said he was aware that the latter were likely planning to intervene to help bring about peace to the restive eastern part of DR Congo, but dismissed the possibility of them attacking Rwanda.
"What I am aware of is that SADC is also willing to help assist in this problem but I don't see them supporting Congo to attack Rwanda,” the President noted.
The head of state also issued a warning to any destabilizing forces, citing that Rwandan security officials have long been prepared.
In a related development, Kagame said that the security challenges afflicting the eastern DR Congo cannot just be wished away, but deliberate efforts must be put into resolving them, adding that blaming Rwanda will not in any way solve them either.
On the issue of M23 for which Congo blames Rwanda, Kagame said that the Congolese government is not short of options to have the matter resolved once and for all, starting with the regional mechanisms that have been put in place.
East African Community (EAC)-led Nairobi process and the Luanda agreement both geared at pacifying the restive region but for which the Congolese government has given little or no regard, saying that all this could be attributed to bad governance.