DRC is now hitting Rwanda where it hurts the most

When the two main ethnic groups in your own country have a violent history of killing each other and will do the same if need be, then you should not create destabilising efforts in another country, because in response, the other country can use this hostility between the two ethnic groups to cause tensions in your nation.

The conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi communities is centuries old and quite deep. Many historical developments between the two has established an unbreakable hostility and prejudice between the Hutus and Tutsis. In the 1700s, when the Tutsis were in power in Rwanda, they treated the Hutus as second-class citizens, subjecting them to violence and humiliation. Similarly, after the First World War, when the Belgians and Germans established their colonial rule in Rwanda, they had to support the Hutus, since they were in the majority. Hutus, who funneled resources to the Belgians, did the same with what Tutsis did to them.

In 1959, when the Tutsi monarchy in Rwanda was overthrown, 150,000 Tutsis had to flee to neighbouring regions. The current president of Rwanda Paul Kagame was one of the Tutsi refugees who had to flee the violence along with his family. While taking refuge in Uganda, he formed a militant group Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which would go on to fight for Tutsis. In 1990, the RPF invaded Rwanda and after a brief conflict, a peace settlement was signed. However, all hell broke loose when in 1994 RPF militants shot down the plane of the then Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntarvamira, both were Hutu.

(Source: National Geographic)

Angry at the loss of their leaders, the Hutus launched a very systematic propaganda and genocidal campaign against the Tutsis. This epsiode came to be known as the Rwandan genocide and has deep-wounds in the memories of the victims. The leader of RPF, Paul Kagame later invaded Rwanda and killed Hutus for what they did with Tutsis, many were innocent yet they were slaughtered. Millions of Hutus fled out of fear of retaliation.

Later, in 2003, Kagame became the president of Rwanda, he established a dictatorship and took vengeance against Hutu perpetrators and has been in power since then. Today, Kagame is committing violence against the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through M23, a terrorist group, Kagame is actively involved in DRC, stealing gold, cobalt and other resources as well as committing violence on civilians. Time and again, DRC’s president took steps to solve the problem but to no avail. The government of DRC realising the long-held prejudice between the Hutus and Tutsis is now planning to use the deep wounds between the two to secure itself. In the wake of never-ending atrocities on the people of DRC, President Felix Tshisekedi has been telling the Rwandan government to stop the bloodshed on his people and the systematic loot of his country’s resources. However, Paul Kagame turned a blind eye to Tshisekedi.

Also Read: DRC urgently needs to kick UN and US out to bring peace in the region and eliminate M23 menace

Tshisekedi is realising that the language which Rwanda understands is violence. After multiple failed attempts to peacefully resolve the M23 menace, the DRC government thinks one of the ways to get the Rwandan government to stop its injustice on the Congolese people is by creating political instability and a security crisis in Rwanda by using the Hutu rebels against M23 rebels, which consists of men of both ethnicities. If Hutus and Tutsis are incited and they start fighting again, then this will lead to complete chaos in Rwanda. The government in Rwanda is dominated by Tutsis, which is in the minority. So if the Hutus rise up in arms against the Tutsis, whom they will outnumber easily, then Paul Kagame would be forced to deploy the entire state machinery to quell the violence which means he will have to cut the funding of M23. Hence with no money, there will be no weapons and bloodshed in DRC. With a weak M23, DRC will be able to eliminate it from its lands.

DRC sees this as path to a peaceful future for its people. Otherwise, Tshisekedi will keep fighting a never-ending war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GUFdNvhUN0

 

 

 

 

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