Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

DRC: The FARDC Ultimatum To The FDLR

By Rwanda Tribune
July 8, 2009

Also Available in French.

According to AFP flash news, the Congolese army (FARDC) threatened on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 to neutralize the FDLR combatants by force should they refuse to disarm “without delay”, with no further details.

The FARDC Chief of Staff in his statement asserts that the FARDC are urging Rwandan Hutu rebels to “regroup themselves”, lay down their weapons and report either to their respective units or to the UN Mission in DRC (MONUC) for their repatriation.

“If you do not do so, the FARDC will soon clean up all your areas and neutralize you without delay”, warned the spokesperson of the Congolese army, Colonel Leon-Richard Kasonga. He added: “We know that you are hiding in big cities and in some localities (...). You own pharmacies, shops, transport companies, and have relationships with some merchants and unpatriotic businessmen”, asserts the FARDC statement. The statement also asks the “moderate” ones with the FDLR to distance themselves from the “extremists” ones.

Such empty speeches are in no way aimed at fostering voluntary repatriation of thousands of Rwandan Hutu refugees scattered in the two Kivu Provinces. The problem of the FDLR presence in DRC is not just military. It is linked the RPF regime in Kigali whose bad governance policies keep much of the Rwandan population in a revolting situation of sub-citizenship. All experts of the African Great Lakes region attest without a direct and sincere dialogue between the current Rwandan government and the thousands of Rwandan refugees around the world, including those in DRC, Rwanda may inexorably experience new violence in the near future.

To peacefully overcome the challenge of genuine unity and reconciliation, like its neighboring countries, Rwanda has only one alternative: installing the rule of law and the principles of equality between all ethnic communities before the law and justice in their country. Direct talk between the current regime in Kigali and the opposition in exile is the only way Rwanda may achieve national reconciliation and bring about a lasting peace both in Rwanda and throughout the African Great Lakes region.

Related Materials:
Rwanda: Dealing with the reality, achieving common ground, and betting on the future

Les FARDC désertent pour combattre des éléments intégrés du CNDP

Tolérance Zéro contre les FARDC : l’heure de la moralisation et de l’épuration a sonné pour les hommes des troupes en RDC

posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 8:35 PM