Photo of the week: we don’t care about the genocide (against the Tutsis) and Congo has also the right to be supported (Révérien Ndikuriyo)
The secretary general of the CNDD-FDD, Révérien Ndikuriyo declared last Friday that he doesn’t care about the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda and that Congo also has the right to be supported. The leader of the former Hutu rebellion accuses Rwanda of having killed people in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) over the past 30 years under the pretext of pursuing the Hutu genocidaires – FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda). According to him, Rwanda should stop “whining”.
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Last Friday, Révérien Ndikuriyo had called a public conference in his native province – Makamba in southern Burundi. The choice of the Nkurunziza Peace Park Stadium is not by chance. The conference, a first, began with a long parade of majorettes (children aged 9 and over) and Imbonerakure, members of the CNDD-FDD youth league. The journalists who were financially supported by the presidential party, to whom the CNDD-FDD leader offered to send even to the European Union’s headquarters in Brussels to ask questions about European sanctions against Burundi, had enough time to ask questions. When it was his turn to respond to Rwanda’s accusations that the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) is collaborating with the Hutu-FDLR genocidaires in North Kivu, Mr. Ndikuriyo could not “have been more” himself”. “Why is Rwanda interfering in Congo’s affairs? That’s my question. Congo and Burundi, we have bilateral agreements even in military affairs, how can Rwanda get involved? And these groups that Rwanda accuses of having committed genocide, the Rwandan military has been hunting them down for 30 years since 1994, if they have not been able to eradicate them, that’s their business. They are troublemakers. Why are they causing trouble? Haven’t they attacked Congo since 94 and 95, killing people under the pretext of pursuing these groups? Who is this person that we have been fighting for 30 years? How old could he be at the beginning?” he replied to a local journalist, in a very severe tone.
The genocide (against the Tutsis) is mocked and Congo also has the right to be supported
Reverien Ndikuriyo claims that Rwanda is only “whining” and that the genocide has served as a pretext for the Rwandan authorities to attack Congo permanently.
“The genocide served as a pretext for them. Rwanda keeps whining. Stop crying! It’s been 30 years (that they have been attacking Congo). We heard them fighting with the Ugandans in Kisangani, in Ituri… saying that they are looking for the FDLR. In total, it’s been 30 years. Does it frustrate Rwanda that Burundi maintains good relations with Congo? Congo has the right to ask for help and it’s normal because between friends, we help each other. Why do they feel wronged when their country has its own borders? Why do they care about what is happening on the other side of the border? Or are they really there!” continued the leader of the former Hutu rebellion, which became the presidential party in 2005 thanks to the Arusha agreement of 2000.
And to add : “don’t think that I’m going to be lenient because they mention genocide. I don’t care about all that. What concerns me is the security of our country, the security of Burundi. Let everyone mind their own business!”
Rwanda refused to reveal the positions of the FDRL so that the Burundian military could attack them
According to Révérien Ndikuriyo, the Burundian military are recognized for their discipline throughout the world and Rwanda refused to reveal the positions of the FDLR to the FDNB military who are fighting alongside the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and its allied militias, so that they could attack them.
His Excellency (Evariste Ndayishimiye) said it: we went to Congo and asked Rwanda to show us the FDLR so that we could go and open fire on them, but they did not do so while the Rwandans were in charge of intelligence. Let them stop whining. We told them: reveal their positions so we can attack them as well, but they were reluctant to do so. They only chatter! And besides, this question frustrates me a little. Let them stop talking nonsense! Let everyone mind their own business. Let us mind our own business,” concluded the secretary general of the CNDD-FDD in a tone that was both mocking and contracted.
The province of Makamba, like the rest of the small East African nation, has been suffering from a shortage of beers and lemonades from the only Brewery and Lemonade Factory of Burundi (Brarudi) for a very long time. But on January 3, 2025, Ndikuriyo’s guests were able to quench their thirst. A Brarudi truck that was supposed to supply a stock of the communes of Mabanda, Makamba, Kibago and Vugizo was hijacked by the boss of the ruling party. In addition to the majorettes and the Imbonerakure as well as some 90 local journalists, all the provincial (18) and communal (119) secretaries of the CNDD-FDD, most of the governors and communal administrators, all the nationals of the new province of Burunga were also invited to the ceremony. (the entire southwest and southeast region) which currently includes the provinces of Bururi, Makamba, Rumonge and Rutana, appointed by presidential decree and ministerial orders as well as all department heads in Burunga province.
There was no direct reaction from the Rwandan government. But Rwanda has repeatedly accused Burundi of collaborating with the Hutu-FDLR genocidaires. The latter are fighting alongside the Congolese army, especially in the province of North Kivu where the Burundian army has been deployed since March 2023, first as part of the regional force of the EAC, the East African Community, then in the bilateral framework between the Burundian and Congolese governments. The Burundian military is fighting alongside the FARDC and its allied militias against the M23. Révérien Ndikuriyo did not specify whether Rwanda refused to reveal the positions of the FDLR when the Burundian soldiers were still included in the EAC force or not.
The M23 is a former Tutsi rebellion that took up arms again at the end of 2021, accusing the Congolese authorities of not having respected their commitments on the reintegration of its fighters. The Congolese authorities remain convinced that it benefits from support from Rwanda, which the Rwandan government continues to dismiss while Rwanda accuses the Congolese leaders of supporting the Hutu-FDLR genocidaires, based in eastern Congo for three decades. However, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has often described the FDLR as “a residual force reduced to banditry that no longer represents any danger to Rwanda”.
Our photo: Révérien Ndikuriyo, secretary general of the CNDD-FDD who declared on Friday January 3, 2025 that he does not care about the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda and that Congo also has the right to be supported (SOS Médias Burundi)
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