The problems that began inside of Rwanda have not stayed
within Rwanda’s boundaries. For various reasons – refugee situations, greed,
and so forth, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (at one point in
history named Zaire) has received more than its fair share of spillover
problems.
Of course, no one can blame a refugee for where he or she
flees. Refugees are trying to survive. For that, the DRC should be commended in
hosting so many Rwandan refugees. The conditions of these refugees have been
below standards most would call acceptable, however the living conditions of citizens
in the DRC are among the most tragic in the world. Maybe the DRC didn’t have a
choice but to accept these refugees, but accept them they did. Were there some
bad hosts? Yes! But there were some good hosts as well.
The problem in the past 19 years goes back to the Rwandan
issue. The Rwandan issue cannot be summed up as simply as many would like it to
be. In the current state of affairs, Rwandan President Paul Kagame is
terrorizing the DRC in pursuit of his boogey man, the FDLR (Hutu Rebels in
pursuit of liberating Rwanda from Kagame’s Regime) with his proxy the M23
militia. Kagame firmly denies any
involvement with the M23, but irrefutable evidence has been presented to the
United Nations, and Kagame’s repetition of the same lies DO NOT make them true.
The Rwandan issue is still not that simple. The M23 militia
could be defeated, and there still would be a problem. This problem stems from
history. President Kagame came to
power after his now government, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was a rebel
movement of invaders. They were once the outsiders standing in a similar
position to where the FARDC are now (except the RPF was stationed in Uganda).
In 1990, the RPF launched an invasion into Rwanda to allow exiled Tutsis into
their homeland. In 1993, the
Arusha Accords were signed allowing the RPF to share governmental power with
Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana.
The Arusha Accords allowed 600 RPF government officials to
occupy the Parliament Building in Kigali – the capital of Rwanda. Secretly, however, according to
multiple sources (who have asked to remain unnamed) who were in Kigali at the
time, the RPF brought in approximately 1500 RPF members. On April 6, 1994, according to now
defected RPF Top Agent Dr. Theogene Rudasingua, Paul Kagame ordered the
shooting down of President Habayarimana’s airplane that sparked the genocide
killing between 800,000-1,000,000 Rwandans.
One survivor who was in Kigali at the time said that Tutsis
were targeted because there was an initial panic and no one knew who was RPF
and who was not. Eventually, the killing became automatic. The victims of the
genocide inside of Rwanda were mainly
Tutsis, but also killed were Hutus who did not “tow the company line,” or those
who tried to help their Tutsi friends.
This genocide caused many to flee into the DRC, including
Hutus who were afraid for their lives as the RPF took control of the nation.
Some of these Hutus did attempt raids on Rwanda – these are armed militia
members are now termed the FDLR, but the vast majority were not fighters – they
were ordinary people fleeing for survival. After coming to power, the RPF launched an invasion into the
DRC. There, they slaughtered entire refugee camps in search of those who
committed the genocide inside of Rwanda, but at the same time, they killed all
refugees they could find. The RPF claimed they were seeking the genocidaires
(those who committed the genocide), but such was NOT the case. The idea of
victory for the RPF was “body count.”
Massacres happened to several refugee camps and sparked two Congo wars
killing over 6 million people.
To understand the RPF, we must understand why they were once
refugees. Between 1959-1961, there was the Rwandan Revolution. This war dissolved the Tutsi monarchy –
where there was a long line of Tutsi Kings. The Hutu population, which was
oppressed by the Tutsi aristocracy, rose up and rebelled, killing approximately
100,000 Tutsis and forcing more into exile. This is why many RPF members found
themselves in Uganda as children – as refugees who had fled for their lives. Among
these children in exile was a child named Paul Kagame (Now RPF President of
Rwanda). According to Paul Rusesabagina (made famous by the movie Hotel Rwanda), in his autobiography An Ordinary Man, young Kagame was
carried on his mother’s back as a refugee from Rwanda into Uganda. Some of
these refugees would later return as adults in the RPF to reclaim their
homeland and then to invade the DRC.
History speaks to this Hutu led war. In a very simplistic
explanation, The Berlin Conference of 1884 assigned colonial power of Rwanda to
the Germans. During World War I, the Belgians under King Leopold II took power.
In order to help their rule, both the Germans and the Belgians capitalized upon
the local power structure already in place in the local culture. They used the
Tutsis to be their proxies over the Hutus. In 1935, the Belgians introduced “Race Cards” which
identified each person by his or her tribal membership.
Before this, we must look to history before colonialism. It
is generally accepted that the Twa (pygmies) were the first settlers in ancient
Rwanda followed by the Hutus (a Bantu people coming from the South) then
followed by the Tutsis (coming form near Ethiopia). While there were most
likely sporadic conflicts, all tribes have lived in peace. In the 1700’s,
kingdoms emerged where the Tutsi Kings enslaved the Hutus.
We must also remember that ALL of the above named conflicts
were first political conflicts and then civil conflicts. They began with rebels
or politicians and only then fed their way to average citizens. Hutus and
Tutsis have lived in peace and it is not uncommon to have inter-tribal
marriages. Survivors of the 94
Genocide have said that they had good friends who were of another tribe. This
proves that peace is possible.
For real peace to take place, there must be reconciliation.
Reconciliation means that all sides must admit that killing was done in their
name and they must vow to never do so again. Let me give you an example using
myself: I am a white American Male. White American Males have a history of
holding African Slaves. To complicate issues, my ancestors had no part in this
– my ancestors came to the United States much later. However, I must
acknowledge that in the name of my race, horrible things were done and I will
not continue those things. Furthermore, I will do what I can to acknowledge and
when able undo the wrongs of the past and promote healing.
This CAN be done in the Great Lakes region of Africa! Hutus
killed Tutsis and Tutsis killed Hutus. Other tribal groups that I have not
named and nations that I have not named should also do their part for
reconciliation in their parts of the world. Obviously, after hundreds (and in
some parts of the world thousands) of years, this has solved NOTHING! It’s time
for someone to reach out and say it’s time for peace. It’s time for someone to
reach out and say that both sides have suffered and that peace is the only
viable solution.
More disturbingly, Rwanda and the DRC are 2 nations of a
high majority of Christians. Killing is incompatible with the teachings of
Jesus. Killing one’s brother or sister in Christ is deplorable. Killing any
human, since ALL humans are created in the image of God, is deplorable.
Someone must reach out and say that the only option is peace!
Apparently, it doesn’t seem as if President Kagame will do this! According to
Deputy UN Representative of Rwanda, Olivier Nduhungirehe the only
solution to those who oppose Rwanda (namely the FDLR) is annihilation.
Annihilation is not a solution. It is only a continuation of the problem. It
only creates a new generation of radicals.
President Kagame will not last forever. The children of these
rebels will one day be adults. If peace is not made, the cycle of bloodshed
will continue. Hate breeds hate. Who will extent the hand of peace?
