Rwanda remains invested in its commitment to multilateralism and regional stability, the Minister of Defence, Juvenal Marizamunda has said.
Minister Marizamunda made the remarks at the Munich Security Conference, responding to DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi’s claims pinning Rwanda to the escalating security situation in the restive eastern part of the country which has recently witnessed mounting tensions between the M23 and the Congolese army coalition.
The military confrontation close to the Rwandan border also saw Congolese government forces and their coalition allies, including the genocidal FDLR militia linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, shell the Rwandan border city of Rubavu, killing 16 people and injuring dozens of others.
Marizamunda dismissed President Tshisekedi’s allegations maintaining that Rwanda has never attacked DR Congo.
“The crisis in the DR Congo is a challenge to all of us in the region. Rwanda has been heavily affected, with devastating humanitarian, political, and economic consequences. However, Rwanda has nothing to gain in an unstable DRC,” Marizamunda said.
“Our vision for prosperity is tied to regional stability. It is time to move beyond simplistic narratives and focus on facts and solutions. We reject the finger-pointing strategy.”
“Rwanda has its concerns. Rwanda has never attacked Congo and will never do so. What we have done is to ensure that nothing can cross from Congo and jeopardize our security,” Marizamunda said.
Marizamunda maintained that DR Congo remains a major trading partner to Rwanda, with export volumes growing considerably over the last decade.
The Minister pointed out that in 2021 Rwanda’s exports to DR Congo amounted to over $700million, and even more so the country exported over 33 percent of its total exports to DR Congo.
“Why would Rwanda want to jeopardize this cooperation? Rwanda’s best interests are better served by peace, not conflicts,” he reiterated, indicating that it would be counterproductive for Rwanda to encourage instability in the eastern DR Congo.
There has been heightened regional tensions after M23 rebels captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on January 27.
On Friday, February 14, the rebels announced that they had captured Kavumu airport, which about 25 kilometres from Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province.
Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of supporting AFC/M23 rebels, an allegation Rwanda has repeatedly denied. Rwanda, in turn, accuses DR Congo of harboring, arming, and training the genocidal FDLR militia to destabilize Rwandan security and overthrow its government, as Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi has publicly declared.
Edwin Ashimwe @TheNewTimes
edwin@newtimesrwanda.com
