Africa-Press – Rwanda. President Paul Kagame has described the possibility of holding discussions with DR Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi, in Washington D.C, as a positive step toward resolving the crisis in eastern DR Congo, but emphasised that lasting peace will only come if the countries directly involved take responsibility.
Kagame made the remarks on Thursday, November 27, while responding to journalists’ questions about reports that he may meet his Congolese counterpart in Washington as part of ongoing efforts to address the conflict in eastern DR Congo.
Rwanda and DR Congo signed a U.S.-brokered agreement on June 27 in Washington, D.C. One of the agreement’s key priorities is the neutralisation of FDLR, a Kinshasa-backed genocidal militia operating in eastern DR Congo that was formed by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi who fled to the then-Zaire after their defeat by the Rwanda Patriotic Army.
“We have had people visit Rwanda and DR Congo and rush to the UN Security Council and make announcements and pass resolutions. That’s why in the first years we spent a lot of time on that without having anything tangible in place,” Kagame said, explaining that the Washington process is “a good step in the right direction,” even though the outcome remains uncertain.
“Whether we arrive at a decisive moment that gives us a clear possibility and optimism that we are near finding lasting peace is something we can still continue to hope for and work towards,” he said.
“But at least there is that framework in place, and Trump administration seems to have done its best.”
However, the Head of State warned that international involvement alone cannot secure peace unless the countries directly concerned show genuine commitment.
“Some of these processes will not work just because we are meeting in Washington or because the powerful United States is involved,” Kagame said. “Until those people concerned directly really want and commit to achieving the end result, even the most powerful will remain wondering which way to go or frustrated.”
He emphasised that responsibility lies primarily with regional leaders, Rwanda, DR Congo and others in the region.
President Kagame noted that Washington stepped in while other efforts, such as SADC and the African Union, were already under way. He said this alone “speaks volumes,” because the “knot is tied in one place; these problems are happening in DR Congo.”
“But it seems the leaders do not care, or don’t know, or they have refused to take responsibility. They just keep daydreaming and talking all kinds of things whenever they go to different places.”
“The only thing they know is to keep asking for sanctions for Rwanda,” he said. “But if you sanction Rwanda, how does it solve your problem? How does it solve the mismanagement of your country’s affairs?”
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