Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete
On 26 May 2013 in Addis
Ababa the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon and the Chairperson of
the African Union Commission Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma,
convened the first meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the
Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and Region. It was
at this important meeting where the President of the United Republic of
Tanzania, H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete made what many level headed
commentators have referredto as candid and commonsensical remarks about
the protracted conflicts in the Great Lakes Region. President
Kikwete - a seasoned and consummate diplomat who has helped
broker many peace deals in Africa - remarked that it was high time
Rwanda and Uganda gave serious attention to peace talks with FDLR and
ADFrebels respectively. He said, and correctly so, that it was evident
the barrel of the gun cannot bring about the ultimate answer as
testified by the recurrence of fighting in our region. He never condoned
the role that the FDLR rebels played in the 1994 genocide. He was being
reasonable and pragmatic.
Rwanda should know better than any other country that there is no way
Tanzania would condone or sympathize with the perpetrators of
genocide. To make suchinsinuations is, quite frankly, a demonstration of
breathtaking ignorance about Tanzania’s enviable and unparalleled
history - the history of speaking out against any forms of crimes and
injustices. Moreover, for Rwanda to make such insinuations is to
show just what a short memory span this country has.
Admittedly, genocide brought about painful and unforgettable misery
to the people of Rwanda but its spillover effects were felt well beyond
its borders. The effects of genocide were felt right inside Tanzania
which had to shoulder the burden ofproviding for thousands of Rwandan
refugees. By the way, Tanzania has a long history of taking good care of
Rwandan refugees both before and after genocide.The sons
and daughters of the Rwandan refugees benefitted
from Tanzania’sgenerous education system by studying, for free, at
the country’s Universities and many of them are
now occupying high positions in the Government of their motherland.
So given the foregoing, I have to say that I have been taken aback
by ourneighbors’ over-reaction to what was a completely innocuous
statement byPresident Kikwete. Indeed, what the President said could
(and should) have been said by other leaders a long time ago. What he
said is a no-brainer! It is commonsensical! Negotiations have a much
better chance of resulting into durable peace than the use of
force. Thus, I find the reactions from Rwanda not only disturbing but
also objectionable and utterly impudent! What is even more shocking is
the discourteous behavior shown by the Rwanda’s Foreign Minister.
She seems to be getting too much big for her boots as to suggest that
PresidentKikwete’s statement was absurd! She even has the audacity to
ask that he should retract it. If anything, I think it is our Foreign
Ministry which should summon the Ambassador of Rwanda in Dar es
Salaam and ask him to clarify his Minister’s inadvisable utterances.
For far too long now the international community has adopted
a softly softly approach with respect to Rwanda and this has meant that
this tiny country getsaway with literally everything, even
murder. Rwanda has become like a spoiled child - untouchable and overly
sensitive to everything even the slightest suggestion of censure. Rwanda
has a tendency of not taking kindly any form of criticism whether from
within or without. And its leadership comes across as snobbish and
delusional. May be the western countries’ plaudits about its so called
success storyhave finally got into the heads of Rwandan leaders so
much that they think they know it all.
For Rwanda to say that they cannot engage in talks with FDLR rebels
because of their role in 1994 genocide is to allow themselves to
be the captives of the past. History is replete with numerous instances
of former sworn enemies burying their hatchets and extending an olive
branch to one another for the sake of peaceful coexistence and future
prosperity. This happened in South Africa where ANC and other
progressive movements sat down with the perpetrators of one of the most
brutal and inhumane policies in the history of mankind (apartheid) and
agreed to work together in an inclusive and democratic society.
Similarly, after many decades of committing some of the most heinous
crimes against the people of Angola, UNITA is now part of
the democratic government of that country. And in 2011, US and
its allies initiated direct talks with some elements of the Taliban in
Doha (Qatar), if my memory serves me well.
Rwanda should wake up and smell the coffee! Being delusional has not
workedand won’t work. It is now close to 20
yrs since the 1994 genocide and during all that time Rwanda has not been
able to achieve its objectives visa vis FDLR rebelsthrough the use of
force. Any sane person in Kigali should see the wisdom of changing the
tactic/strategy which is, for all purposes and intents, what our
President said in the Statement. Rwanda should understand that by
calling for direct talks, Tanzania does not suggest, by any stretch of
imagination, that the architects and executors of genocide should go
scot free. Not at all! Talks can, and indeed should, offer the mechanism
of dealing with known perpetrators of genocide by isolating them from
non-perpetrators such as those born after 1994.This is just one example
of approaching talks. I am sure there are many others.
But talking of genocide, am I wrong in recalling that even President
Kagame himself was once found to be complicit in this crime by a French
Magistrate? I recall that Rwanda’s reaction to this finding was, as we
have come to expect, fast and furious to the extent of severing its
diplomatic relations with France. Again, this goes to show that this
“spoiled child” can’t stand any sort of censure or straight talking. I
also recall that as recent as last year a UN report revealed that
Rwanda’s Kagame had committed or assisted in committing genocide in DRC!
Despite all this compelling evidence, neighbors of Rwanda are still
ready to engage that country in talks. Why can’t Rwanda show the same
attitude? And lest he forgets, Kagame himself and his RPF henchmen come
from a background of rebellion. They were rebels operating from Ugandan
forests before taking over power in 1994. However, despite their
“rebels” status they were invited and took part in the Arusha peace
process of the early 1990s.
Finally, I have a gut feeling that Rwanda doesn’t want FDLR
rebels to go awaythat’s is why it is vehemently opposing the
suggestion of talks which is one sure way of ending this conflict once
and for all. This because, the perpetual presence of FDLR rebels in DRC
gives Rwanda a convenient excuse to interfere in the DRC’s affairs
thereby making the country ungovernable for its own economic and
geopolitical interests. I read somewhere that Rwanda’s army – which is
one of the biggest for a country of that economy and size – is mainly
sustained by the exploitation of DRC’s natural resources. So, Rwanda
goes into the DRC on the pretext that it is in hot pursuit of the FDLR
rebels but in actual fact what it does is to plunder the resources.
And Rwanda is particularly angry with Tanzania because by being
part of MONUSCO in DRC, its misdeeds will be exposed and curtailed by
our non-nonsense troops. So the over-reaction to our President’s
innocuous statement should not be seen in isolation. It is part of the
frustration born out of the uneasy situation which Rwanda finds itself
in as a result of our troops being part of the UN/SADC intervention
force in DRC.
I submit.
Concerned Citizen
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