President Paul Kagame has dismissed DR Congo’s recent announcement that it reached a protocol with the Kinshasa-backed FDLR genocidal militia on disarmament, saying the move exposes the Congolese government’s collaboration with the group. ALSO READ: Inside FDLR’s frontline base 3km from Rwanda border He said Kinshasa is claiming to be taking action against the FDLR because it has always known that the group exists and operates on its territory with its support, despite often downplaying these facts publicly. The FDLR was formed by remnants of the former Forces Armées Rwandaises (ex-FAR) and Interahamwe militia responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. For decades, the group has carried out attacks against Rwanda, committed atrocities against civilians in eastern DR Congo and operated alongside elements of the Congolese security forces. Speaking in a press conference on Monday, August 24, Kagame commented on DR Congo’s deal with the FDLR, saying it first of all showed that DR Congo admits that the FDLR is present in the country, a problem Rwanda has repeatedly raised. ALSO READ: Makolo: DR Congo must disarm FDLR, repatriate its members “They are saying they have done something about FDLR. It is because they (the FDLR) are there. If they were not there, they wouldn't be doing anything,” he noted. “What we know on a regular basis is that they arm them, they integrate them in their own forces, and we have evidence because we have people here – former FDLR combatants – who have been part of all those efforts, and either some of them came back home on their own or were captured in Congo, and they are telling the same story,” he noted. He referenced Mutobo Demobilisation Centre, where many former FDLR combatants are being rehabilitated, saying their stories show that they receive support not only from the DR Congo government but also from other actors, including the UN forces. Noting that Rwanda cannot create its own world but has to deal with the challenges it faces, Kagame said the country would do anything necessary to protect itself. ALSO READ: Former FDLR ‘Colonel’ on how militia funds its operations “We will do anything that contributes to that protection, day or night. There are no two ways about it. That one we will, no question,” he noted. “We are a country that can't afford to mess up. If you give so many enemies an excuse, a chance to bring it to us, I think it will be largely our mistake,” he added. Speaking to The Context, a podcast by The New Times, earlier this month, foreign affairs minister Olivier Nduhungirehe described the FDLR-Kinshasa deal as a political manoeuvre aimed at delaying the implementation of commitments already agreed under the Washington peace process. Yolande Makolo, the government spokesperson, said the same month that the right thing to do is the dismantling of the FDLR militia, separate it from DR Congo’s armed forces and repatriate its members to Rwanda, as required under the Washington peace accords. Makolo said the FDLR remains a genocidal militia whose operations pose a threat not only to Rwanda but also to Congolese civilians and the wider Great Lakes region because of its history of violence and promotion of genocide ideology.
