War in Eastern Congo : Do ​​they want me to go and tell people to agree to be silent when their rights are denied? I will never do it (Paul Kagame)

Rwandan President Paul Kagame said Thursday that he will never convince the M23 rebels to lay down their arms while they are frequently attacked by the Congolese army and its allies at a time when there is an ongoing ceasefire. During his very first press conference of 2025, Mr. Kagame condemned members of the international community who “beat around the bush” when solutions to the Congolese crisis are clear and transparent. He indicated that the only blame he can accept is that of ensuring the security of Rwandans. He reiterated that Rwanda will defend itself by whatever means necessary. For him, problems of the Rwandophone communities in Congo must find solutions just as the presence of the Hutu-FDLR genocidaires on the Congolese soil should challenge the international community which seems to appease them. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

President Kagame began, in answering the question on the Congolese crisis asked by a local journalist, by giving the history and origin of the M23 fighters.

“These people are of Rwandan origin. The majority of them, Congo found them where they are or where they were”, he said recalling that it is linked to the colonial past, with the delimitation of borders.

Can Kagame talk to M23?

The Rwandan president admits that he can talk to M23 and that he has already done so once, “out of politeness” at the request of French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting with Tshisekedi in September 2022. At that time, President Macron wanted the rebels to cede the city of Bunagana, bordering Uganda as a sign of commitment to dialogue. The Rwandan president claims that he passed the message through his intelligence services but that to his surprise, the M23 was attacked as it was preparing to leave Bunagana.

“Since then, the same things have been repeated over and over again. Loyalist forces attack, most of the time they are pushed back and there is a loudspeaker everywhere announcing how the M23 has violated the ceasefire.
You attack, we fight, I push you back and I am the one who violated the ceasefire,” he added with a laugh.

“In all conscience, you also want me to go and tell people that they should accept that they are denied their rights and keep quiet because some powers are not happy! Maybe that is what they want me to go and tell these people : I can’t! I will never do it!” Paul Kagame said.

The new M23 leaders came from Uganda

In 2012 and 2013, M23 fighters, driven out of the DRC, fled to Rwanda and Uganda, the North Kivu province where they were based being on the border with both countries. They had just occupied the capital of this province – Goma, for a week before starting to withdraw on November 28, 2012.

This former Tutsi rebellion took up arms again at the end of 2021, blaming Congolese authorities for not having respected their commitments on the reintegration of its fighters. Paul Kagame revealed that their current leaders and the largest number of fighters returned from Uganda.

“These M23 leaders and the majority of their fighters came from Uganda where they were as refugees who had fled following the resolution of the 2012-2013 problem when these people moved to Uganda,” he said.

He added that another group, between 500 and 600 fighters had taken refuge in Rwanda and that this country disarmed them before handing over their weapons to Congolese authorities and quartering them in a camp. “But they are not the ones who started the fighting. And if you want to see where these people are, most of them are still here.”

“The fighting was initiated by the main group who were in Uganda where they came from,” he insisted before asking “how did it become a Rwandan problem?”

For the Rwandan head of state, there are certain reasons that explain the suspicions of Congo. Firstly because M23 rebels are Rwandophones, which has become their main crime in Congo “which earned them persecution”. The other reason, according to Paul Kagame, is the presence of the Hutu-FDLR genocidaires on the Congolese soil during the last 30 years “which the international community rejoices”.

“I think that it deliberately preserved them – I do not know for what reason, or it is a gift as a thank you for having committed the genocide here, or it preserves them just because they are anti-Rwanda and anti-government”, accused President Kagame.

Paul Kagame said that one of the reasons for the existence of MONUSCO (UN Mission in the DRC) was to eradicate the FDLR.

“But after 30 years, if you ask the UN what happened, if you really ask them what they have achieved in the 30 years that they have been there, with tens of billions of dollars that they have spent, what can they show in terms of efforts made? Just surrender and blame Rwanda for everything that is happening in eastern Congo? Honestly, in the last 30 years, if someone wanted to understand what the problems are, and what the solutions would be, you don’t even have to be an expert, you just have to have the will to solve these problems and allow people to have peace,” Paul Kagame said.

Kagame’s proposal refused

The Rwandan president revealed that he had proposed a plan to the Congolese authorities for years before the arrival of Felix Tshisekedi in power and the latter’s administration in 2019, which plan would have allowed the Rwandan, Burundian and Ugandan armies to deploy in the DRC to eliminate armed groups from Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda including the Hutu-FDLR genocidaires.

“Now what they have done, they have allowed Uganda to send its troops to fight the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), they have allowed Burundi to go to the DRC quietly to fight whatever groups they are fighting. When it was Rwanda’s turn, they refused,” he clarified.

Tiring talks

The Rwandan president said he was tired of traveling to sit down with leaders who are only interested in signing documents instead of solutions. He said that was why he did not go to Luanda (Angola) in mid-December.

“Rwanda, instead of being blamed for other people’s problems, we are happy to be blamed for our own problems to try to defend ourselves. We will defend ourselves at all costs. There is no doubt about that. If there is one thing I can compromise on, it has nothing to do with giving up even a millimeter in terms of preserving the security of our country. Absolutely not!”, Mr. Kagame insisted.

Returning to the problems of the vast Central African country, Paul Kagame insinuated : “if you want to allow yourself to open up to be crushed, you will be crushed”.

According to the Rwandan head of state, the country of a thousand hills is home to 130,000 Congolese refugees from Rwandophone communities. He said that others continue to flee to Rwanda following the persecution they are victims of.

The M23 is a former Tutsi rebellion that took up arms again at the end of 2021, accusing Congolese authorities of not having respected their commitments on the reintegration of its fighters.

Congolese authorities remain convinced that it benefits from support from Rwanda, which the Rwandan government continues to brush aside.