Africa-Press – Rwanda. From colonial rule, through the post-independence regimes to this day, DR Congo’s ruling elite have been characterised by corruption and divisive politics, according to long-time politician Tito Rutaremara, who is also the chairperson of Rwanda Elders Advisory Forum.
For Rutaremara, the roots of the divisive politics and genocide ideology seen in DR Congo today can be traced back to the Belgian colonialist ‘divide and rule’ policy.
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“The principle of ‘Divide and Rule’ itself is corruption, is founded on corruption and uses corruption in ruling,” he says in a Twitter thread.
“The corruption of divide and rule always brings divisionism, which is then taught, practiced, and made the foundation of politics, before being turned into an ideology. Sometimes, divisionism grows into a genocide ideology.”
He says, from Belgian rule, through the regimes of presidents Mobutu Sese Seko, to Laurent Kabila and Joseph Kabila (his son) to Felix Tshisekedi, the Congolese history has been characterised by tribalism.
“The entire Congolese history has been marred by corruption,” Rutaremara opines.
FDLR and genocide ideology in DR Congo
The people responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda fled to DR Congo after being defeated, where, with the support of the Congolese elite, they spread the same hate ideology.
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After their arrival in eastern DR Congo, remnants of the former Rwandan army (FAR) and the Interahamwe militia, founded the FDLR, a terrorist group.
Rutaremara says that the genocide ideology against Congolese Tutsi communities in North Kivu province, notably in Rutshuru and Masisi territories, was imported by the regime of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana through a cooperative called Magrevi.
“The Kabilas and the FDLR spread the divisionism and genocide ideology in both North and South Kivu, where they taught the tribes in the two provinces and Kinshasa residents to hate the Tutsi.”
Today, Rutaremara adds, Tshisekedi and the likes of Martin Fayulu spread the divisionist ideology, to hate and kill the Congolese Tutsi.
International community, Insecurity in DR Congo
Rutaremara debunks the perception of the international community as reality.
“There’s no such a thing as the international community; instead there is America and Europe,” he says.
“Even the US and European states lead the international community by the name; the actual leaders are the owners of multinational companies, who appoint the US and European politicians.”
The multinationals simply want to benefit from the abundance of DR Congo’s natural resources, he observes.
For nearly three decades, eastern DR Congo has been the home of over 120 armed groups, who are accused of various abuses.
“Regardless of how many Congolese people can be killed by poverty, hunger, disease, war or genocide, that is not the concern of the multinationals. Those people are not mineral resources,” Rutaremara writes.
“Multinationals want the DRC to remain in chaos or have a leader who’s beholden to them so that they can be able to plunder the minerals easily.”
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Genocide in Congo?
Rutaremara describes the violence against Congolese Tutsi as genocide.
He says that even if the genocide being committed against Congolese Tutsi communities can be stopped, it can also be committed against other tribes, because the corruption has been entrenched into the country’s politics. And that the politicians continue to spread corruption amongst the general population.
“Tshisekedi, Fayulu and their fellow politicians are poisoning Congo, by spreading genocide ideology in order to gain votes,” Rutaremara concludes.
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