Tshisekedi differs with Kagame on DR Congo atrocities

KINSHASA, DR Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi has differed with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame over a report that accused Rwandan forces of committing mass atrocities in DR Congo.

Tshisekedi said on Wednesday that there should be justice for the victims of atrocities cited by the 2010 UN Mapping Report.

The report, which President Kagame challenges, documented the most serious violations against international humanitarian law committed between 1993 and 2003. The report prompted denials from Rwanda and other countries that were named.

In an interview with the AFP news agency on Wednesday, Tshisekedi said justice must be given to all the victims who lost lives in DR Congo and in the region.

“So for me, it would be a positive attitude for President Kagame to co-operate on that, because at this stage there’s no condemnation yet…and if those he defends are innocent, justice will clear them,” Tshisekedi told AFP.

Tshisekedi said he was not responding to Mr Kagame, who had earlier said the report was “highly politicised”.

On Monday, Mr Kagame told France24 in Paris that “there were no crimes [in eastern DR Congo] – not by the individuals talked about or by the countries talked about”.

The Report refers to the possible responsibility of foreigners, including Rwandese, in several of the incidents.

While such incidents constitute only a fraction of those reported, and are set within the context of other attacks on civilians, notably against Tutsis, these allegations have received significant media attention because they question the nature of Rwanda’s involvement in the DRC.

This question interests the media because following the genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda, 1.2 million Rwandan Hutu fled to the DRC. 

Among them were genocides’ (Interahamwe militia and former Rwandese armed forces), who used refugee camps as bases to launch attacks on Rwanda.

In 1995, the new Rwandan authorities, supported by both Uganda and Tutsi Banyamulenge from the Kivus, opted for the use of military force against them.

The two presidents have also differed on Denis Mukwege, the DR Congo Nobel peace prize laureate who has advocated for justice for the victims cited in the report.

Tshisekedi described Dr Mukwege as “a national pride…for his work for the victims, while the Rwanda president said he was “a tool of these forces you don’t get to see… he’s told what to say that will influence people’s opinion”.