Africa-Press – Rwanda. A British government minister who suggested that Rwanda had links with the Ugandan terrorist group ADF has retracted his claims after he admitted to the blunder, The New Times has learnt.
Lord Ray Collins of Highbury, the UK’s Minister for Africa, wrote a letter to Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, on Saturday, March 1, acknowledging the mistake he made when answering a question in the House of Lords on February 25.
The Rwandan government had expressed dismay at the remarks, saying they showed “ignorance, confusion and misinformation” about the situation in DR Congo, according to Nduhungirehe. The government also requested for a public correction and official apology from the UK government for the “false and insulting” remarks.
Diplomatic sources privy to the matter said that in the letter Lord Collins clarified that the UK does not think Rwanda is associated with the Islamic State-linked group ADF, which recently killed 70 people in a church in Lubero, North Kivu in eastern DR Congo.
Contrary to what he had told the House of Lords, the British minister also clarified that he had not discussed the ADF attack with Nduhungirehe when they met in Geneva last week.
The sources said that Lord Collins promised to write a letter to Lord Alton, who asked the question about the ADF attack, to “formally correct the record.” The New Times understands that the letter will also be published in the House of Lords Library and online.
‘No apology from UK’
The Rwandan foreign minister confirmed that Lord Collins had written the letter.
“While we take note of the letter, there is no accompanying apology,” Nduhungirehe told The New Times on Saturday.
Rwanda on Thursday summoned the British High Commissioner Alison Thorpe to explain the controversial remarks.
Rwanda’s diplomatic relations with UK hit a rock recently after the European country sought to impose sanctions on Rwanda over allegations of involvement in the conflict in DR Congo, where the AFC/M23 rebels are fighting the Congolese armed forces.
The Rwandan government accused the UK of having “clearly chosen a side” in the conflict that has affected relations between Rwanda and DR Congo.
Rwanda has long expressed concerns about DR Congo’s collaboration with the FDLR, a UN-sanctioned terrorist group linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The foreign ministry said UK ignored Rwanda’s security concerns in the face of a Congolese government coalition operating along its border and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi’s publicly declared intention to topple the Rwandan leaders.
The ministry maintained the Rwanda would not compromise its national security and the safety of Rwandans, adding that defensive measures taken in the face of the threat from DR Congo were justified.
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