The RPF mouthpiece's utterances on Secretary Blinken’s visit to Rwanda
By Veronique Mbaye
The New Times
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has just left Kigali.
The anticipated (by Congolese people) visit of the US Secretary of
State to Rwanda regrettably began on August 11th. First on Antony Blinken’s
agenda was an audience with Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Blinken, likely as an intimidation attempt that doubled as
pandering to our neighbors across lake Kivu, had claimed over the past few
weeks that said the audience would involve raising “American concerns” over the
detention of Paul Rusesabagina, whose resume includes terrorism, the extortion
of Tutsi genocide survivors who sought refuge in his hotel from the
genocidaires, and brazen plagiarism of Schindler’s List.
The strong-arming attempt failed, and Rwanda’s footing on
Rusesabagina remained cemented into place. The terrorist is guilty; therefore,
he will serve his sentence; something admittedly incomprehensible to Secretary
of State Blinken: in his country, bombs are sent to murder terrorists (or
leaders they find problematic – re: Gaddafi) in their homes beyond US borders
and sovereignty.
But if Blinken was unaware that things work differently in Rwanda before
his visit, I believe he has now been updated.
During his short stay, Blinken deployed a few interesting tricks.
Blinken arrived in Rwanda informed as we all are. He arrived at
Urugwiro Village, the Rwandan Presidency, and later the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, as brief as we all are, on the overwhelming evidence that the man he
was to champion was a liar, a crook, and greedy enough to be lured into capture
by the sight of a private jet and the offering of champagne.
He knew, for he has been made privy to the evidence against
Rusesabagina, that the man he describes as “wrongfully detained”, is a crime
that his own country ought to have assisted Rwanda in capturing, had they an
ounce of the decency they simulate.
While he blamed a timing issue for his declining of a meeting with
Rusesabagina’s victims, this intentional avoidance is merely a declaration of
guilt.
Secretary Blinken is aware that he is guilty of demanding the
release of a harmful criminal, which ought to be considered support of terrorism
– an actual universal crime. You would think this alarming enough and
yet...there was indeed worse to come.
I don’t think that the issue with the US top diplomat’s visit was
the displaying of ignorance or even hypocrisy. Blinken’s actions were intentional,
and the intentions in question are a mystery to none. The age of America
convincing the world that their involvement in foreign affairs is purely
morality-based is far and gone.
Whatever residue of faith persisted after George Bush lied about
mass destruction weapons existing in oil-rich Iraq, as an excuse to invade the
country and cause decade-long instability, was exhausted during the Barrack
Obama years.
Obama, who ran a successful campaign by feigning an impeccable
moral core (which I suppose Americans did want to see in him to prove they were
not racist) positioned himself as anti-war, only to line the pockets of gun
lobbyists and drop bombs on innocent Syrian children when elected.
As Antony Blinken will recall, having served as Obama’s close aide
for years, the Obama Administration orchestrated the assassination of an
African leader on African soil, despite the full awareness that it would send
Libya and the entire region into deathly, dehumanizing turmoil.
So frankly, I am dazed and amazed that a single American, State
official or not, would think their act convincing when claiming to have the
interests of the Africans they so casually kill at heart.
As mentioned earlier, this is not the issue. The issue is that
familiar as I may be with cowardice and shiftiness, on a man with so much
power, it astounds me. It even terrifies me. What sort of person operates with
so little...dignity?
Rwandans have seen firsthand the dangers of lacking dignity. To
lack human dignity is to be one step away from tolerating one’s dehumanization,
or the dehumanization of a brother. And once that tap is open, it can run
endlessly, with blood.
Blinken stood in front of Rwandan journalists at a press
conference at Minaffet and, in between misnaming the terrorist he claims to so
badly want to defend and dancing around a question about meeting the survivors
of Rusesabagina’s crimes, made his impatience with insistence on the facts
around the terrorist’s guilt evident.
Then there are the double standards he shamelessly deployed at the
Kigali Genocide Memorial, where he purposely denied Tutsi Genocide victims the
decency of acknowledging their history. He reduced a 100-day massacre that has
been established by the UN and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
among others, as a Genocide with one distinct ethnic target, to mere
‘violence’.
To put this into perspective, to deem the Genocide Against the
Tutsi to be random “violence” could be equated to calling the Holocaust “years
of conflict”. An extermination attempt is not a conflict. It is the culmination
of decades of ethnic hatred that should be addressed as such, to allow the
victims to heal by establishing an accurate diagnosis of their wounding.
It also is the only means of preventing a reoccurrence of the
disease; one cannot effectively manage their diabetes if convinced they have
asthma. Blinken knows all this better than I do. So why would he intentionally
refuse victims their right to healing, and to pre-94 cancer not re-emerging?
Well. For the same reason, he and the team that drafted the
message he left at the memorial chose to use the right appellation for the
horror his ancestry has known (“Holocaust”) right above the referral of the
Tutsi Genocide as “violence”.
This reason is racism, and this time I’m afraid it is undebatable.
Whoever drafted that message made, and of this, I am deeply convinced, the
choice to remind us Africans that we do not deserve to have our humanity
acknowledged on the same footing as that of white people.
What I wish those that strive to establish a ranking in human
worth understood, is that they dishonor themselves more than they do their
desired victims, by refusing to recognize our entitlement to common decency.
Blinken will come to Africa to defend the interests of people who
likely believe that his ancestors did deserve gas chambers. neo-Nazis are
marching through the streets of America with their chests held high. And victim
as he may perceive himself to be, he has shown this past Kigali visit, that
there is much less difference between those neo-Nazis and himself than he might
think.
Fortunately, as H.E President Kagame stated, things don’t happen
like this here. Try as “they” may, they will never re-spark the hate that led
to the 94 blood spill. I suppose they’re going to have to find another way to
justify or increase their presence in resource-rich Kivu but that’s a story for
another day, I’m afraid.
The views expressed in this article are of the writer.
###
By Marc Hoogsteyns
The New Times
Friday, August 05, 2022
Next week the American Secretary of
State Antony Blinken will visit Rwanda and Congo. As the tensions in the region
are very high with an ongoing war in the Kivus between the M-23 rebels and the
Congolese army, the UN forced MONUSCO on the defensive for not being efficient
enough to deal with all these problems, and with all these problems and the
growing criticism against Rwanda for having lured the Hollywood hero Paul Rusesabagina
in a trap and having him condemned to 25 years behind bars this visit comes at
a crucial moment. Two days ago, members of a UN research group talked to
colleagues of Reuters, and they showed them the so-called facts that the
Rwandan army was directly involved with the M-23 rebellion north of Goma. This
news was preceded by a Human Rights Watch paper in which Rwanda was also
accused to support the M-23. A lot of Congo watchers think that you’ll be
traveling to this region to tap Rwanda on its fingers. This might help to solve
the situation for a couple of months, but it would not solve the problem in the
longer run. Nobody owns the truth in this matter, but we have the impression
that the US and especially the US government are not well enough informed about
this very complex crisis. Looking at it through sunglasses that were purchased
on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard, taking the findings of a UN research group and
an organization such as HRW for granted, and mainly listening to the small army
of foreign diplomats and military attaches who are based in Kinshasa is not
going to help either. Because your government might issue statements it might
regret later. Rwanda is an important and one of the most reliable allies of the
US in this region and the country is involved in the struggle against Muslim
extremism in other African countries, in other countries on this continent they
provide a counterbalance against the growing Russian (Wagner) influence on this
continent. On top of that their arguments about what is happening in Rwanda and
the DRC might also have validity. You’ll be walking on eggs when you visit this
region, Mister Blinken. And we’ll try to give you the list of the most
important obstacles you’ll have to pass to make it back to the States without
holes in your pants.
- Your government calls the arrest and the
trial of Paul Rusesabagina unjust and not fair. It seems to have a problem
with the way the Hollywood hero was lured into a trap, flown back to
Rwanda with his glass full of champagne, and arrested upon arrival.
Earlier on he had expressed himself openly on social media that he was
heading the FNL, the so-called ‘National Liberation Front of Rwanda that
wanted to chase President Kagame from power via an armed struggle. This
group was formed in collaboration with other groups such as the FDLR and
the so-called P5 (other opposition groups). The FDLR is an official
terrorist organization, and this was even acknowledged by your administration.
Rusesabagina was running this operation out of Texas, on American soil.
The Belgian police had passed on evidence to the Rwandan authorities
to back up most of these facts. Your security and intel services were also
fully informed but let this all happen. In the meanwhile, Rusesabagina’s
FNL started killing innocent people in the south of Rwanda and it became
clear that his group played a key role in a lobby that wanted a regime
change in Kigali. It is difficult to compare Rusesabagina’s actions with
those of Osama Bin Laden, but the Rwandan authorities decided to cut off
the grass in front of his feet to prevent further damage. They
trapped him and he was sentenced with more than 20 of his collaborators
for his crimes.
- The Rwandan government already stated that
Rusesabagina will stay where he is after you leave Rwanda. Others think
that you should also first talk to his victims before you issue a new
statement about this issue. If you want to punish the country for this
(for not showing grace to Rusesabagina) the Rwandans will accept this, but
they will not change their decision. Treating Rwanda simply as a bad and
disobedient pupil in the classroom for the way they handle the Rusesabagina
issue would be unwise: especially when the headmaster of the school is
also engaged in even more dubious tactics to neutralize its opponents. But
that seems to be normal because he’s the boss!
- Another hot issue Blinken will have to
tackle during his visit is the situation in North Kivu where the M-23 is
currently engaged in an open war with the Congolese army and gaining
ground every day. Several sources such as the UN, HRW, and the Congolese
government itself are accusing Rwanda to have a hand in this rebellion. More
than 100 other rebel groups are present in this part of the DRC, and the
Muslim ADF-Nalu and another group that calls itself CODECO are the most
violent of them. Another destabilizing factor is the presence of the FARDC
(Congolese army) itself as it has been proven numerous times that most of
the weaponry used by all these militias comes from that source and most of
the human rights abuses must be noted in their CV. A recent
report even showed that the M-23 even was among the less violent kids on
the block in this area. But they are getting all the attention.
- The region witnessed two other Tutsi-led
rebellions in the past: the first one was led by Laurent Nkunda and the
second one by another former officer of the Rwandan army, Sultani Makenga.
Both are Congolese Tutsi, and they took up arms to protect their families
and their possessions after they came under threat from the Rwandan Hutu
extremists that were used by the politicians and the presidents in
Kinshasa to do their fighting. In each case, the government of Paul Kagame
in Rwanda was accused by the local authorities to support these
rebellions. And at that time Kigali was indeed closely involved. The
biggest reason why Kigali did this was to prevent the FDLR to infiltrate
Rwanda. Under immense international pressure, Kigali put an end to its
support for Makenga and Nkunda. In 2013 Makenga withdrew to Uganda where
he and his men ended up in refugee camps. They had signed deals with the
Congolese government to be reintegrated into the FARDC, with the guarantee
that their relatives who were all staying in refugee camps in Rwanda could
go back to their villages in eastern Congo. But these deals were never
respected. So, in the end, the M-23 returned to Congo where they took up
positions on the slope of a very difficult-to-attack volcano. From there
they started to stage a small-scale guerrilla war to remind the central
government about their previous promises. But that also failed: Kinshasa
now started to brand them as a terrorist organization and refused to talk
to them.
- The relationship between the M-23 and the
Rwandan government is very easy to explain but sometimes also very
difficult to understand for outsiders. Both are very much Tutsi orientated
and many Congolese Tutsis have relatives in Rwanda. Others obtained
Rwandan citizenship over the years but still feel Congolese. Many officers
within the M-23 started their careers in the Rwandan army, fought other
wars in Congo for other organizations, and finally ended up in the rebel group
of Laurent Nkunda and/or Sultani Makenga. Recruits were easily found in
the refugee camps in Rwanda and Uganda. The fact that the M-23 was able to
regain strength came hand in hand with the fact that the Ugandans, who
were engaged in a political standoff with the Rwandan government started
to re-equip the FDLR in Congo. When Rwanda and Uganda settled their
differences, this support stopped but the M-23 and the other remaining
Tutsis in Congo were forced to defend themselves. They raided FARDC weapon
stocks and were able to stage more attacks. To describe this whole
story in detail would be very complex and nearly un-understandable for
many outsiders. But the whole situation evolved into what we see today:
the FARDC was no match for the better-motivated M-23 who received moral
support from the whole Tutsi community in Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. Some
Congolese Tutsi families had sons under arms in the RDF (Rwandan army) and
others in the M-23. Others were demobilized after a 5-year long tour of duty
in the RDF and went straight to the M-23 to fight the FARDC and the FDLR.
Being Congolese Tutsis, this was a natural thing for them to do.
- What the international community also
fails to understand is the fact that Rwanda remained under threat from the
beginning in 1994 until now. A lot of prominent genocidaires escaped to
Congo and Europe and started to reorganize themselves. But the contacts
with the Hutu extremists in the DRC and Burundi were also kept warm. The
idea behind this was to lure Rwanda into a bigger and open war again in
the DRC or Burundi. Paul Rusesabagina’s FNL was to play a leading role in
all this. As he was very famous, he seemed well fit for his role, but he
was also very weak. For the people who manipulated him into the conviction
that he could become the new leader of Rwanda, he is now more useful as a
martyr in jail. Add to that the ongoing distrust between Uganda and
Rwanda, the fact that Rwanda is developing economically at a steady pace,
and that this is provoking a lot of jealousy. The fact that the new
Rwandan model also became an example for other African countries who
started to call upon Kagame to stabilize their own countries was not
always well greeted by the bigger foreign nations. On top of that Kagame
was also known to tell these bigger countries to take a hike when they
were trying to impose things on him, which he didn’t like. Rwanda cannot
be described as a classic example of an African democracy that bends over
to the superpowers to jump back in line if needed. The human rights
situation in Rwanda is much better than the ones in the surrounding
countries. But the country keeps being bashed by organizations such
as HRW and opposition groups abroad who were able to bury their
genocidaire past and who are not hiding behind, for them, new principles
such as democracy and respect for human rights. At the same time, they
were the ones who taught the Congolese how to accuse the Tutsi community
of all the mishaps and disasters in their country. Very often to cover up
their crimes, their corruption, and their incapacity to solve the problems
themselves. Congolese politicians master the art of political and
hypochondriac warfare better than anyone else. Instigating hatred and
manipulating the audience is part of this strategy. Kinshasa is on the
other side of the African continent and very few diplomats in that city
understand the true nature of the events in the Kivu.
- What we can say about possible military
involvement of the RDF in North Kivu is the fact that the Rwandan army
largely stayed out of the country. As the FDLR and other extremist Hutu
groups continue to be at risk for the stability of Rwanda we think that it
is not more than normal that the RDF is keeping a couple of fingers on the
Congolese pulse. Especially now that the same FDLR has become a part of
the Congolese army and that nobody is decently contesting this. The RDF is
present in big numbers on the Rwandan side of the border and could stop
the ongoing war in Congo in a couple of days if they would be allowed to intervene,
but they didn’t do that. That’s the reason why it would be interesting to
see the evidence on the UN based on its recent statements. It is also a
fact that the image of the UN recently took a big blow during the anti-UN
riots in the province. Was this the reason why these statements were
released now? Politicians in Kinshasa were frotting their hands with these
new elements. In the same statements, the UN staff confirmed that it was
the attacks of the M-23 that instigated all the problems that followed. A
bit of extra nuance and explanations might also have been useful in this
case. The organization wanted to throw this on the table before the
arrival of Blinken. For now, it only looks like a clever move to shovel the
responsibility of this mess entirely back into the boots of the Rwandans.
- The region of the African Great Lakes is not
a priority any longer for the US. It took the Biden administration more
than one year to have a new ambassador in place in Kigali and some
insiders openly doubt that this person lacks the diplomatic weight to
grasp the complexity of the situation. President Obama had a very
intelligent guy like Thomas Perriello who roamed the region nearly full
time to mediate and talk with all the protagonists on the spot. President
Trump probably never heard of Rwanda or the Congolese Kivus. Joe Biden
only seems to listen to the Hollywood lobby that is trying to get Rusesabagina
out of jail and only sends a man like Blinken to the region to try to counter
recent Russian charm offensives. Before making controversial statements
about the fact that the Hollywood hero will remain in jail for his crimes
and before putting more oil on the fire of those who are trying to put the
responsibility for the plagues that keep on hitting Congo the American
government might better think twice. Rwanda has the only army in this part
of the world that is worth that name, it has always been on the side of
the US, but that attitude might change. With a guy like Donald Trump still
in the spotlight to run for a new presidency, with a war in Ukraine still
raging on that is of lesser interest for most of Africans than Washington
thinks Blinken might make a big mistake for being too outspoken. The
credibility of the American foreign policy in this region is at stake and
only by studying and judging these problems correctly can be maintained.
If the Americans are not willing to do this, it might be better for them
to shut up! In case Rwanda will come under attack from different sides it
will react like Israel and fight back. Rwandans are reasonable people, and
they are always open to valuable arguments but if you tell them that they
don’t have to right to protect themselves they’ll block. The same goes for
the Tutsi community in the DRC: 25 years ago, there were more than 120.000
of them living in that part of the country. Today that number has dwindled
to not even 10.000 souls who are constantly at risk. The Congolese
refugees want to go back home and reclaim their lands and their houses and
this time the M-23 will not leave before putting up a serious fight. And
if they lose that war they’ll be back in a couple of years.
In a firefight, it is always
advisable to look first for cover, to try to know where the bullets come from,
who’s shooting at you, and to determine the kind of ammo they are using and
base your counterattack on that info. In this case, the recce done on the spot
by Blinken’s collaborators is very bad. He should consider this before he acts.
Marc Hoogsteyns
is a free-lance journalist who lived and worked most of his life in the African
Great Lakes Region. He covers Countries especially DR Congo, Rwanda, and
Burundi. He runs Kivu Press Agency and is accessible on @MarcHoogsteyns.
The views
expressed in this article are of the writer.
###
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 9:36 PM
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