25 Jun 2012

UN / DR CONGO – RWANDA

Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo briefed reporters at UN headquarters to “clear up misinformation” and strongly deny allegations that her country was backing mutinous Congolese soldiers in neighboring eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who have been fuelling insecurity in the volatile region over the past weeks. UNTV

Posted at: June 25, 2012 6:03 pm

Duration: 02:18

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / DR CONGO - RWANDA
TRT: 2.18
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 25 JUNE 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – 2011, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

25 JUNE 2012, NEW YORK

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda:
"Rwanda is not in any way supporting any armed group in the region, Rwanda would not participate in any destabilizing act in the region and in eastern DRC in particular."
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda:
"These reports have an impact on the lives of the people of eastern DRC, and now on the lives of Rwandan citizens in the region that is extremely dangerous."
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda:
"If after thirteen years with the volatility still prevailing in the region, with a huge mission supposed to bring back stability, when are we going to stop and re-examine the role of MONUSCO?"
9. Med shot, journalists
SOUNDBITE (English) Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda:
"We are hoping that the DRC is as interested, if not more, in having a stable eastern DRC as we are. Because this letter, we know, had been written and existed before this last meeting that took place in Kinshasa, so either you need your neighbour's help, or you don't."
10. Med shot, journalists
11. SOUNDBITE (English)  Major Patrick Karuretwa, Security Adviser to the Rwandan President, on the situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
"When we have groups, human rights groups and others, pushing in the wrong direction, pushing in direction, pushing every button that prevents people to sit and talk about the real issues, then maybe they are the problem. The problem in eastern DRC is very deep, it links to governance matters, it links to issues related to land distribution and many others, and those can only be addressed when people are prevented from looking for scapegoats."
12. Med shot, journalists
13. Wide shot, end of press conference

STORYLINE:

Rwandan foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo today (25 June) briefed reporters at UN headquarters to "clear up misinformation" and strongly deny allegations that her country was backing mutinous Congolese soldiers in neighbouring eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The United Nations human rights chief last week expressed deep concern over the safety of civilians living in the eastern DRC, as fighting continues between the DRC national army and the M23 movement.

Claiming that Rwanda was being made a "scapegoat", Mushikiwabo stated that her country was "not in any way supporting any armed group in the region" and called for all concerned parties to "calm down".

She warned that allegations of Rwanda's involvement were having an "extremely dangerous" impact on the people living in eastern DRC, and recounted a recent incident where a group of Rwandan men had been severely beaten and tortured in apparent retaliation.

On the UN peacekeeping mission in eastern DRC known by its French acronym MONUSCO, Mushikiwabo called for its role to be re-examined, considering that after thirteen years of operations volatility was still prevailing in the region.

On a recent letter submitted by the Congolese government to the United Nations accusing Rwanda of involvement in destabilizing that region, the foreign minister said she was aware of the letter and seemed miffed that it had been sent just as she finished meeting with Congolese government officials in Kinshasa. However, she still hoped that "the DRC is as interested, if not more, in having a stable eastern DRC as we are."

The minister was joined by a security adviser to the Rwandan president, Patrick Karuretwa in denouncing the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region. Singling out Human Rights Watch in particular, Karuretwa said such human rights groups were "pushing every button that prevents people to sit and talk about the real issues", and that "maybe they are the problem".

The DRC's eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have witnessed increased fighting between government troops and the M23 movement following a mutiny by soldiers in April. The renegades had formerly belonged to armed groups which were integrated into the DRC armed forces (known by the French acronym FARDC) following a 2009 peace agreement.

Earlier this month, the Security Council strongly condemned the soldiers' mutiny, as well as the killing and abuse of civilians, mostly women and children, carried out by armed groups such as M23. The fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people in eastern DRC, including many who have fled to neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda.