On July 2, 2025, from the ghostly corridors of impunity in eastern DRCongo, the self-styled Acting President of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), Lieutenant General Victor Byiringiro, sent a missive of historic absurdity to none other than Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States. Veiled in diplomatic niceties and ideological poison, the letter is an audacious manifesto from a genocidal movement cloaked as a peace-loving political actor. It is not only an insult to history but a grotesque attempt to legitimize terrorism under the banner of diplomacy. The problem is not just the FDLR’s delusions of grandeur, but the stage they have been given—courtesy of President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who has allowed these fugitives from justice to thrive under his watch. In a moment of comedic skill or tragic delusion—choose your lens—Lt. Gen. Byiringiro, the self-declared president of a terrorist outfit with more aliases than legitimacy, did not forget to include his direct telephone number in the official FDLR letter to the USA President Trump. Yes, tucked neatly beneath his genocidal resume was a Congolese mobile number: +243 858 820 862. Was he expecting a call? A red line moment, perhaps— “Please hold for President Trump”? One can only imagine him sitting by the phone in some jungle bunker, flanked by fellow fugitives, polishing new AK-47s and RPGs just received from Kinshasa—and refreshing his screen every five minutes, hoping for that Washington area code to light up. Possibly, Byiringiro anticipated an invitation to Camp David to discuss “mutual peace frameworks” over sweet tea and biscuits. If history ever needed proof of genocidal boldness, this is it: the hunted dialing the hunter, not in apology but in proposal. It’s the equivalent of Charles Manson sending the FBI his ZIP code and asking for a seat at the parole board. But in Tshisekedi’s DRC, where impunity is institutionalized and delusion is weaponized, even terrorists have customer care hotlines. Honestly speaking, the FDLR is not a misunderstood group of old exiles who love their homeland. They are the ideological and military offspring of those who perpetrated the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994—a genocide that claimed over one million lives in just 100 days. Many of its founding members were senior architects of the slaughter. They fled Rwanda not as refugees but as fugitives. One of the leaders, Ezechiel Gakwerere, was recently captured by forces of the AFC/M23 and returned to Rwanda. Their cause is not justice but revisionism; their weapon is not peace but propaganda. The letter as BBC’s scoop If there was any doubt that the FDLR’s ideological deception has penetrated media circles, the BBC’s Kinyarwanda/Kirundi Service helpfully dispelled it on July 7, 2025. In what can only be described as a scoop by Stockholm Syndrome, the BBC published an article treating the FDLR’s letter to President Trump as though it were a dispatch from a legitimate actor in the Washington and Doha peace processes. One would be forgiven for thinking Byiringiro was head of a transitional government in exile, not a war criminal wrapped in jungle fatigues and unrepentant bigotry. The BBC headline danced delicately around—avoiding words like “genocide,” “terrorist,” or “fugitive,” instead granting FDLR the kind of credibility usually reserved for Nobel Peace Prize nominees. The article quoted the group’s claims without context, their self-proclaimed mission to “protect Rwandan refugees” echoed like gospel—no mention of how those “refugees” were originally genocidaires who fled with loot, blood, and babies on mountaintops. The FDLR’s ideological vomit was served à la carte, complete with diplomatic language and soothing euphemisms. Perhaps next week, the BBC will interview Boko Haram about girls’ education. Or ask Al Qaeda’s view on religious tolerance. Journalism, when stripped of historical integrity, becomes a Trojan horse for hate. And, in this case, the BBC wheeled it right into the living rooms of Kinyarwanda speakers, normalizing extremists as negotiators and offering genocidaires the final word. The real scoop? That propaganda now wears the suit of journalism and speaks the Queen’s Kinyarwanda many English speakers cannot comprehend. So what exactly did this letter say? Buckle up. The letter opens with flowery praises for Trump, praising him for the signing of the Washington Peace Accord on June 27, 2025, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. “You have succeeded brilliantly, and within a record time, where countless others have failed over three (3) decades of insecurity in eastern DRC.” Right from the start, this is a trap. Imagine Osama bin Laden congratulating a U.S. president for a counterterrorism treaty. The grotesque irony should stop any serious reader in their tracks. The FDLR is using this moment to present themselves as stakeholders in peace, while being its principal saboteurs. Fake news for consumption They claim: “FDLR welcomes and supports all sincere initiatives aimed at restoring true and lasting peace in the Great Lakes Region of Africa (GLRA)... that had already cost more than 10 million lives in the DRC.” Ah yes, the famous “10 million deaths” claim—an oft-cited, seldom-scrutinized statistic weaponized for emotional impact. Like the mythical “six million Congolese deaths that found their way into one of Trump’s recent speeches, this number has no empirical foundation at all. It is fake news on steroids, and the FDLR and DRC government officials know it. They are peddling it to make themselves appear as victims of a forgotten war, not the perpetrators of violence they actually are. Then, FDLR shift gears into ideological sanctimony: “Contrary to the Rwandan regime’s propaganda and its political allies, (the FDLR) have never been a threat to the Rwandan people, of whom they are in fact an offshoot and on whose behalf they struggle.” Did you catch that? The FDLR claims to be an offshoot of the Rwandan people. But let us decode this: for the FDLR, like all Rwanda genocide ideologues, the Rwandan people means the Hutu community exclusively. Their struggle is not for justice or inclusivity; it is to restore the supremacist ideology of Hutu-Power, the very ideology that fueled the 1994 genocide. Their dream is not of democracy but of a Rwanda where Tutsis are second-class citizens—or worse, exterminated. Their letter continues: “They (the Rwandan government) falsely portray the FDLR as a genocidal or terrorist organization.” False? The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), UN reports, and countless human rights investigations have long established the genocidal origins and terrorist activities of the FDLR. Denial does not erase facts or absolve criminal responsibility. In fact, this disavowal is itself a continuation of the genocide—a rhetorical machete, if you will. Even more grotesque the letter carries on. The FDLR defined its mission as protecting Rwandan refugee survivors from repeated threats of extermination carried out by the RPF forces over the past thirty years.” This is not just disinformation; it is ideological manipulation. They invert history and present the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)—which stopped the genocide—as exterminators. They present themselves—the very people who organized the Interahamwe death squads—as protectors. It is like Al Qaeda branding itself a humanitarian organization because it builds schools for orphans of suicide bombers. More diplomatic theatre ensues: “The FDLR have actively engaged and demonstrated their willingness to participate in all peace and stability initiatives in the region...” Let us laugh bitterly. Their “engagement” in peace processes is nothing more than stalling tactics. Whenever international attention wanes, they rearm. Whenever pressure builds, they talk of peace. Their favourite strategy is to cloak bullets in paper. Then comes the laughable paranoia: “Despite these efforts, Rwanda has persistently boycotted and sabotaged peace initiatives, while the international community failed to fulfill its commitment to support them.” Sabotage? The only consistent saboteur of peace in eastern DRC has been the FDLR, with help from its Congolese patrons. They have been used as proxy militias by Congolese military officials, integrated into FARDC units, and openly defended by none other than President Tshisekedi, who once referred to the FDLR as a non-threat. The FDLR’s propaganda rises to a crescendo when they invoke the tragic killing of Italian Ambassador Luca Attanasio. They cite, for example, the assassination of Italian Ambassador Luca Attanasio in February 2021 as being falsely blamed on them. Some Congolese officials pointed to FDLR involvement because he was shot and killed at Kanyamahoro in Virunga National Park—at the time the area was a stronghold of these terrorist-genocidaires. But since Tshisekedi’s government has treated the FDLR as an inconvenient relative rather than a criminal entity, the case conveniently died with an inconclusive trial of five suspects. Who needs justice when you have political utility? Genocidal ideology and defiant tone The letter warns: “Attempts to neutralize them (FDLR) are a cover for the extermination of Rwandan refugees in eastern DRC.” This is the very old genocidaire hoax since 1994: take civilians as shields and then cry foul when military action targets them. FDLR leaders hide in forests surrounded by civilians and then weaponize their presence. The tragedy of actual refugees is exploited by these criminals who neither speak for them nor protect them. Then, they cry crocodile tears. The FDLR declare they remain determined to protect Rwandan refugees in eastern DRC until their safe and dignified return to their homeland.” Their version of safe return means the approved return of genocidal ideology into Rwanda. It means an end to the political and social transformation Rwanda has undergone since 1994. It means an apartheid state rebranded as democracy. No thanks. And of course, they end on a high note of ideological venom: “The Rwandan Defense Forces are the true source of insecurity in Rwanda, DRC, and the region, allegedly seeking to plunder Congolese resources and kill Bantu populations.” Ah, there it is. The old colonial racial trope: Bantu vs. Nilo-Hamite. This pseudoscientific rubbish was introduced by Belgian colonialists and Catholic missionaries to divide and rule Rwanda. FDLR and their well-wishers bring it back to life like a medieval incantation. It is not just erroneous; it is dangerous. The myth of Bantu victimhood against foreign Tutsi invaders has been the ideological spine of every massacre against Tutsi communities in the region. It is hate speech wrapped in anthropology. Bantu, is a linguistic grouping which all Rwandans and the majority of people in the region belong to. Let us hope the White House is aware of the ideological juggling. The letter concludes by reaffirming: “The FDLR remain determined to protect Rwandan refugees until their safe and dignified return to their homeland.” They are not relenting. This is a declaration of ideological war. They are not seeking integration, dialogue, or justice. They are seeking rehabilitation of a genocidal past, and President Tshisekedi is providing them the megaphone. A wake-up appeal This is why the world must take note. President Trump, if you are listening: Do not fall for this deception. You are being played. If you negotiate with the FDLR, you might as well negotiate with ISIS for women’s rights or with the Ku Klux Klan for racial harmony. This letter is not a contribution to peace. It is a declaration of survival by an outlawed group. Its language is soaked in the blood of the past and dressed in the fake velvet of diplomacy. Its ideology is unchanged, and its sponsors are known. The FDLR's main weapon is not the AK-47, but the ability to deceive and preach hatred. And under Tshisekedi, they have never been more emboldened. Dialogue with the FDLR is not peace-building. It is ideological appeasement. It is Holocaust revisionism in Tropical African dress. Let no one be confused. This is not a refugee movement as they claim. This is a genocidaire cartel. There is a delightful contradiction among genocide denialists and their enablers: they assure the world that the FDLR is “nowhere”—a defunct shadow, a mere ghost of history—and yet, every time a peace process peeks over the horizon, the same ghosts waltz in demanding chairs and microphones. Just imagine! An “invisible” movement with a presidential office, military ranks, a working phone line, spokespeople, press releases, and—get this—a foreign policy toward the United States. They even lobby for inclusion at international peace tables. For a group that’s supposedly dead and buried, they are suspiciously active—writing to President Trump, addressing the United Nations, the African Union and other Regional leaders and organizations—attending press conferences via proxy, and dancing in Tshisekedi’s military parades. One wonders if this is necromancy or simply bad faith politics. The FDLR may be denied by diplomats over coffee, but they’re empowered by their host’s commanders in boots. The DRC government claims they’re irrelevant, but its army welcomes them with integration packages and ranks. And now, they're advising a US President on “restoring peace in the Great Lakes.” What should we expect next? They’ll be asking to co-host CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria. Let’s be straightforward: the only people more present than the FDLR are those who pretend they’re absent. Ghosts don’t write letters to a world’s superpower. Fugitives with state sponsors do. And when they speak in polished French or English, with genocidal undertones and diplomatic flattery, it is not a séance—it’s a press conference. The dead don’t phone the White House. The FDLR just did. So let the letter be read. Let it be studied. But let it be remembered as the moment when genocidaires believed they had the world fooled once more. This time, let us not fall for it.
