Government of Rwanda refutes international media claims that president Paul Kagame plans to evict thousands of Congolese refugees living in the country.
Speaking Monday from Kigali after a swearing-in ceremony for Rwanda’s new Senate president François Xavier Kalinda, president Paul Kagame said “We cannot keep being host to refugees for which later on we are held accountable in some way, or even abused about.”
The head of state was referring to Congolese refugees Rwanda hosts over two decades.
“Refugees as a result of ethnic cleansing based in another country, and we must be a dumping ground of those people who are being deprived of their rights”, added the President.
Kagame was delivering his message to International Community which keep to blame Rwanda for supporting the M23 rebel movement in DRC, the allegations Kigali persistently deny.
“We are really prepared to be blamed, but we will be blamed for doing what we must do,” the president of Rwanda emphasized.
After Monday president’s speech, several international media outlets came up with the news that president Paul Kagame plans to evict the Congolese refugees, the claims Kigali dismissed saying that the president’s call to international community was misrepresented.
“Rather than address the challenge of bringing security and peace to a region whose citizens deserve nothing less, some media outlets chose instead to misrepresent President Kagame’s call for leadership and accountability as a threat to expel or ban refugees,” said Government’s spokesperson Yolande Makolo via her Twitter account.
Makolo emphasized that “What the President addressed was the blatant hypocrisy in criticising Rwanda, which simultaneously gets the blame for state failure in the DRC, and is then expected to accommodate those who seek refuge from the consequences of that failure.”
The Government’s spokesperson said that nothing will change until the international community and DRC government stop evading responsibility, and begin tackling the true causes of the crisis.
“Blaming Rwanda fails citizens on both sides of the border, feeds hate speech/persecution, causing yet more Congolese citizens to flee,” added Makolo before denying any Rwanda’s intention to expel or ban refugees, and stressing that the country always welcome people fleeing insecurity, persecution and violence.
Rwanda however asked the international community to take responsibility for finding a durable solution for this forgotten group of refugees from the DRC.
There are so far around 75,000 of Congolese refugees living in different camps in Rwanda.
