President Kagame gave a strong statement during the EAC summit.
President Paul Kagame says that nothing can come out of endless talks and meetings, if the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) does not accept to engage in dialogue with the groups fighting it, while the international community continues to disregard the context which led to the decades’ long conflict.
The Head of State sent out a loud and clear message during the Extra Ordinary Summit of East African Community (EAC) Heads of State on Eastern DRC, pointing out that even if everyone else was doing everything right, nothing is going to come out of it, until those mainly concerned are also part of it, participating and contributing to the success of the process through which they are getting the support.
President Kagame told the meeting chaired virtually by President William Samoei Ruto, who is also the chairperson of the regional block, that for whatever is being said or intends to be done, without capturing the context under which it is happening, regional efforts to diffuse the conflict might not bear fruit.
“Otherwise if we keep saying good things to each other, being nice, and then each one fulfilling their interests other than the common interests we have as East Africans, then I don’t see how we are going to contribute effectively to finding a solution,”
“The other day, two or three days ago, we lost people, there was a lot of shelling from eastern Congo, from Goma, killed a dozen people and injured hundreds. We will definitely take care of that, there is no question about it,” President Kagame said, reminding the summit of the consequences caused by the longstanding conflict.
“They have displaced people, they have killed people, they have persecuted them on a daily basis for who they are. We have refugees who have been here for the last twenty-plus years, just dislocated from Congo and sent to Rwanda because they say these are ethnic Tutsis, therefore, they belong to Rwanda, they don’t belong there,” President Kagame said in a tough speech.
President Kagame said that while focus has been put on Rwanda, there are many stakeholders and players in the Congolese conflict, including countries like South Africa, which have troops in DRC, fighting the M23, alongside FARDC and FDLR, but at the same time, wants to play peacemaker.
“We have MONUSCO, we have SAMIDRC, we have mercenaries, we have Burundi, we have FDLR that has joined them, and everybody is there watching this thing and we pretend like we don’t understand what has been going on for all these years? And then when things like these of last week erupted we behave like we are surprised, we are concerned about humanitarian crisis,”
“Isn’t persecuting people and killing people and displacing them part of that humanitarian concern? As East Africans we sit here and then do what about it?” President Kagame said, insisting that until the context of the conflict is understood, and DRC comes out to take responsibility, nothing will change the current dynamics.
The virtual summit, which was attended by Presidents Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia, D. Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi and Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, called on all parties to the conflict in Eastern DRC to cease hostilities and observe immediate and unconditional ceasefire to allow displaced populations access humanitarian services.
The summit, which President Felix Tshisekedi of DRC dodged, called for peaceful settlement of the conflicts; and strongly urged the government of the DRC to directly engage with all stakeholders including M23 and other armed groups that have grievances.
President Kagame maintained that the issue of M23 is a Congolese issue, involving Congolese people and must be resolved by the Congolese themselves, rather than shifting the blame to Rwanda, which has also suffered its own consequences over the past 30 years.
