Belgium: A history of fueling conflict in Rwanda, region

Rwanda’s relations with Belgium are once again deteriorating, with the latest development being Rwanda’s suspension of its development cooperation with the European country. In a statement published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Tuesday, February 18, Rwanda called out Belgium for leading an “aggressive campaign, together with DR Congo, to sabotage its access to development finance, including in multilateral institutions.” ALSO READ: EU official warns against suspending Rwanda minerals deal over DR Congo allegations Rwanda also accused Belgium for choosing a political side in the eastern DR Congo conflict at a time when the international community is being called upon to support the mediation process mandated by the African Union and the Joint EAC-SADC Summit. Speaking to The New Times, experts in history as well as International relations pointed out that the problems in the two countries’ relations as well as the region in the past years have been characterised by a number of challenges, for which Belgium can be blamed, and yet it has done so little to solve them. Dr. Etienne Ruvebana, an Associate Professor at the University of Rwanda (UR)and a scholar in international law, noted that Belgium’s divisive colonial policies laid the foundation for conflicts that culminated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “They claimed that they had done studies that showed that the Tutsi were smart and had to be the ones who go to school, for example. Later on, they turned around and told the Hutus that they had been taken advantage of by the Tutsis,” he narrated, noting that such played a key role in the bad history that the country went through. He added that in the 1990s when the genocidal government was fighting against the RPA rebels, Belgium was among the first countries to give support to the government, despite its bad ideologies. Then, when the genocide started in 1994, he noted that Belgium withdrew its army from Etoile Kicukiro, leaving over 2500 people unprotected. “The Belgian soldiers left, yet there was no doubt that the people would be murdered. Though Rwanda did not take Belgium to international courts for this, it is something that a country can take another to courts to be held responsible,” he noted. Talking about the eastern DR Congo problem, Ruvebana noted that the Belgians were responsible for creating the regional borders, yet they don’t seem to be well invested into getting solutions as the region suffers problems like ethnic antagonism. “We don’t need painkillers to heal a chronic disease, we need to have real medication for the disease,” he noted, as he pointed out that there is a need to deal with problems like ethnic divisionism in eastern DR Congo, the presence of the FDLR, and so on. Sylvestre Nzahabwanayo, also a lecturer at UR and researcher in political philosophy pointed out that Belgium has consistently played its post-colonial arrogance towards decisions made by Rwanda. “The poor relationship between Rwanda and Belgium is not something new considering the Belgian rejection of the Rwandan Ambassador Vincent Karega in July 2023,” he noted, as he also pointed at the European country’s claim that terror convict Paul Rusesabagina had not been given a fair trial. “At this time Belgium showed contempt towards the Rwanda judicial system,” he noted. The government of Rwanda criticised the decision by the Belgian government to reject the appointment of Vincent Karega as ambassador designate, referring to it as unfortunate and not boding well for bilateral relations between both Rwanda and Belgium It is unfortunate that the Belgian government seems to have capitulated to pressure from the DRC government as well as propaganda from negationist organisations and activists, through whom they decided to leak the decision, Yolande Makolo, the government spokesperson, told The New Times in July 2023. Talking about Rwanda-Belgium relations, Jean Leonard Buhigiro, a historian focusing on Rwanda-Belgian affairs, said there is a need to have dialogue between the two countries to fix the problems, and understand each other’s claims. “This dialogue can help both countries to read together the colonial history. Belgium can apologise, why not reparations? But this can be discussed between representatives of both countries. The dialogue can help to analyse together the Belgian accusations and Rwanda’s fear for its security,” he noted. Last week, President Paul Kagame's Press Secretary, Stéphanie Nyombayire called out Belgium's “hypocrisy” in accusing Rwanda of mineral exploitation in DR Congo, despite the European country's colonial exploitation of DR Congo and building its wealth from the conflict-ridden country. Belgium's accusation, Nyombayire said, should be a reminder that fake outrage does not erase the facts of history given that the European country has a fair share of blame in creating the conflicts in DR Congo. A country now leading the charge against Rwanda, with accusations of exploiting the very resources on which Belgium's entire wealth is built. The irony is unmatched. If anyone is to carry part of the blame, it is the nation that was an integral part of creating and fueling ethnic divisions, that continues to harbor and give legitimacy to Genocide perpetrators while Antwerp Diamond District continues to thrive off of DR Congo diamonds, she added.

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Belgium: A history of fueling conflict in Rwanda, region