Reaction to President Paul Kagame: Break-down the concept FDLR you will see that it does not exist

Our reaction to his Excellency Paul Kagame the President of Rwanda’s Interview on Radio France International (RFI) on Saturday July 13th, 2024 about the presence of FDLR in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo which according to him is the main cause of the war: Break-down the concept FDLR you will see that it has used for political manipulation by Rwanda and the United Nations.

This photo was published by Al-Jazeera in North Kivu claiming that these people are FDLR, but members of the communities who know them indicate that some are Congolese. So we may also be careful with some pictures that are on Google.

 

Today Sunday July 2024 our team has opted to make a public reaction on the allegations of President Paul Kagame who keeps on claiming about the presence of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda which according to him is one among the reasons why he keeps on deploying his army in eastern DRC.

We are proud that at least now in eastern DRC we are present, not as foreigners or experts working on forced migrants and peace issues but as the affected people living exactly in the communities. We are the people living with those who are presented as FDLR, those President Paul Kagame is fearing they take over Rwanda. We may not really appear impartial but we can make efforts to share with you what exactly is in our communities in terms of facts, it is also possible that these facts may differ from the narratives that existed over the years since 1996, because since then there were no efforts to propose a different view, we may not want to challenge the Rwandan propaganda in order to justify wars in DRC, the purpose also is not to contest the information you may have but rather to provide you with alternatives in order to make informed decisions.

On Saturday July 13th, 2024 as he concluded his campaigns for the elections in Rwanda, President Paul Kagame had an interview with Journalists from Radio France International (RFI) in response to the question about the United Nations Group of Expert Report that confirmed the presence of Rwandan Army in Eastern DRCongo, President Kagame denied but also claimed if it was true the question should be the presence of FDLR in DRC which are a serious threat to Rwanda. This claims from Rwanda are the same with Statements we continue getting from the African Union, the European Union, the United Nations, and the United States of America among others. However we the people on ground do wonder where do all these people get information from in order to take such position, and unfortunately they have not been willing to participate in our Dialogues which we have organized on this issue of FDLR which aim at sharing information and finding the lasting solutions.

Let us get this opportunity again to make our findings clear and see if there is someone else who has a different narrative. Please in case you have a different information, share it with us so that we can cross-check it.

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is real and it exists, the only difference is who they are exactly, where they are, and how harmful they are in order to cause panic in Rwanda and in various institutions of the International Community.

For Rwanda, the African Union, the United Nations and the European Union, FDLR is any Rwandan who is on Congolese territory and not willing to return to Rwanda, they are too strong and powerful, and for these institutions any Rwandan who does not want to return to Rwanda is a real threat to Rwanda. This narrative was put in place in order to force all Rwandan refugees to go back, unfortunately all these highly financed forced repatriations operations have failed, and at the center of these operations there is UNHCR which is the executioner in order to present it as a humanitarian gesture which respects human rights. The same UNHCR in DRC viewed as is highly dominated by Rwandans or by people who are close to Rwanda.

The perception that all Rwandan in DRC are FDLR is totally wrong, the claim that FDLR are a strong and powerful Army is also rwong, there are more than 3million Rwandan refugees in DRCongo who are mere civilians seeking for protection, it appears strange and confusing that all these institutions decided to ignore this reality and argue that all these poor refugees are a force that threatens Rwanda, no one speaks about these vulnerable refugees and none of these institutions has ever even used the term “Rwandan Refugees in DRC” because that will affect the FDLR business deal.

Another information which is not also true is that FDLR fighters are in eastern DRCongo are mainly in the Greater Kivu, with the logic of Rwanda and the international community, actually a big number of Rwandan refugees are not in the eastern part of the country but in other places in the Democratic Republic Congo and unfortunately those in other parts are now viewed as threats and not subjected to repatriation process. Many actors may have a problem to make a clear distinction between Congolese Hutus in North Kivu mainly Masisi, Tushuru and Nyiragongo to the Rwandan Hutu Refugees especially because they may speak almost the same language. Claiming that Congolese Hutu are part of FDLR may be misleading.

For Rwandan refugees in DRC

Among Rwandan refugees, there are those who joined various armed groups with the only intention to resist against the presence of Rwandan Army in DRC, especially when it is believed that Rwanda is deployed in DRC in order to massacre Hutu refugees, then it is easy for Hutu refugee to join other forms of resistance. Generally a big number of Hutu refugees who joined armed groups are not necessarily in FDLR and actually FDLR does not attract the attention of Rwandan Refugees, most of Rwandan refugees do join other Congolese Armed Groups and these refugees are not at the commanding level, they are generally fighters whose main objective is the protection of the civilians against the brutality of Rwanda in eastern DRCongo. These also cannot be called FDLR.

While Rwandan Refugees in DRCongo mainly Hutus just want to live in peace and build their lives, want to be stable and engage in development activities and stay in DRC with their refugee status, another group both armed and not armed do focus their attention about their country Rwanda and believe that they need to work for the political change of their country, some among them are armed others are not armed and for Rwanda all these are FDLR who should be killed. And again among those who took guns not all of them are opposed against Rwanda, some FDRL factions are merely a creation of Rwanda and financed by Rwanda in order to exist, while FDLR are supposed to be Hutus, in DRC there are also Tutsi who have their FDLR factions in order to continue to give Rwanda excuses. When you talk about FDLR in DRC you should be specific so that we may clearly understand you.  

The Complicity of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the DRC Government

We all know that once all Rwandans are granted a refugee status in DRC, and put in camps where they will be fully protected, Rwanda will not have pretext to invade DRC, however the United Nations and donors are not willing to have this option in place on ground that they will be attacked by Rwanda yet questions remain why shouldn’t we protect a refugee camp in DRC. Once in refugee camps far from the borders of Rwanda, then will be regulated and oriented towards their rights and obligations as refugees through specific Civic Education Programs but again this is not done, all these issues happen exactly when UNHCR is present and opts to remain silent on issue that touches the protection of refugees.

Way forward

We still believe that we can offer a safe protection space to all Rwandan Refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo and they will not be a problem to Rwanda, that is possible and we need to push for it. The real debate should focus on the protection of Rwandan refugees in DRC but not on the threat they represent. And together, let us ask the United Nations to tell us more about the situation of Rwandan refugees in DRC.

Efforts should be put in place to help the Democratic Republic of Congo to manage very well refugees and do not expose them to the manipulation of Rwanda. Once refugees are protected the so called FDLR will no longer exist.

Thanks

Kulihoshi Musikami Pecos

Provincial Coordinator of COJESKI/ North Kivu,

Specialized the rights of refugees in the Great Lakes Region of Africa

 

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