President Paul Kagame said Monday that Rwanda’s concerns over the presence of the FDLR in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo remain unresolved, arguing that international efforts have yet to address what he considers the root cause of the region’s long-running conflict.
Kagame said the FDLR issue has persisted for about three decades despite repeated diplomatic and security efforts to resolve it.
“Rwanda’s problem is always the FDLR in Congo. I can repeat that a hundred times,” Kagame said during a news conference in Kigali.
He was responding to questions about recent efforts to address the FDLR under the peace process involving Rwanda and Congo, as well as Rwanda’s broader role in the conflict in eastern Congo.
Kagame said international efforts had focused largely on developments surrounding the conflict instead of dealing with what he described as its underlying cause.
“I have never heard of anyone, up to now, trying to solve the root of this problem. It is always about things on the surface,” he said.
Rwanda has repeatedly cited the FDLR’s presence in eastern Congo as a security threat. The group was formed by Rwandan Hutu extremists and former soldiers linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Kagame also questioned the use of international sanctions in dealing with the conflict, saying they sometimes target those fighting armed groups instead of those supporting them.
“Instead of sanctioning those who cooperate with them or support them, they sanction those who fight them. I don’t understand the logic,” he said.
He said Rwanda had faced criticism and pressure despite raising concerns about the FDLR for years.
“We tolerate mistakes that are not ours. We have been insulted, persecuted and disrespected,” Kagame said.
But he said Rwanda would not allow international pressure to prevent it from taking measures it considers necessary to protect its security.
“We will do what is necessary to protect ourselves, and we will do it without fear, day or night, at any time,” he said.
Kagame also addressed Rwanda’s relations with Burundi, rejecting claims that Kigali had failed to honor an understanding with President Evariste Ndayishimiye.
He recalled calling Ndayishimiye after receiving intelligence that Burundian troops had entered North Kivu. Kagame said Ndayishimiye denied the deployment, but that Burundian troops were later reported to have been captured in the area.
Kagame said the episode raised questions about subsequent claims of bilateral engagements between the two countries.
Despite the tensions, he said Rwanda remained committed to peace efforts in the region.
“Rwanda wants peace. To the extent that we are prepared to fight for it,” Kagame said.
