- A prominent German human rights group urges the government to threaten Rwanda with the freezing of development aid if Kigali does not stop destabilising the situation in neighbouring Congo Kinshasa (DRC). Rwanda is an earlier German colony and a privileged development aid receiver.
The German Society for the Protection of Threatened Peoples (GfbV) today sent "an urgent appeal" to German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, saying that the repeated "sabre rattling of the German partner country Rwanda has to get consequences." The government should "threaten Rwanda with the freezing of development aid if there is a military invasion of Rwandan troops in neighbouring Congo," the group said.
The repeated Rwandan threats against Congo Kinshasa could "trigger a new mass death" in that country, Ulrich Delius of the GfbV holds. "Other neighbouring countries will not remain inactive observers to how Rwanda achieves its interests in the Congo on a military way counter to international law," he adds.
Germany could influence the situation in Rwanda given its position as a major contributor of development aid to the ex-colony, GfbV reasons. Rwanda is one of the developing countries receiving most aid from Germany, given the historic ties and the 1994 genocide, disrupting society and development in Rwanda.
The German human rights activists, who in particular focus on genocide and close-to-genocide situations around the world, hopes that Germany could lead the European Union (EU) to protest the "Rwandan war-mongering". More that 3.3 million persons had died due to the last war in the Congo from 1998 to 2002, according to the GfbV.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame during his state visit to Senegal on Wednesday again publicly threatened with an intervention in Congo Kinshasa, where he wanted to root out Rwandan rebel groups. President Kagame repeated these threats on a televised interview today. Consequently, the UN peacekeepers in the Congo, MONUC, today strengthened their presence at the Congolese-Rwandan border.
The Rwandan government holds that the rebel groups in eastern Congo are a major threat to the stability in their country. The Rwandan rebels are said to belong to those military units organising the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi people, and these have been trained and equipped by the Kinshasa government at earlier stages.
According to the governments of Rwanda and Burundi, there still exist extremist rebel groups wanting to finalise the elimination of the region's Tutsi population. This claim was strengthened by the massacre of Congolese Tutsi refugees at a camp in Burundi earlier this year. At least some of the killers had entered Burundi from the Congo, spurring threats from Rwanda and Burundi against the Kinshasa government.
Also the GfbV admits that the threat against stability in Rwanda by rebel groups operating in eastern Congo "must be taken seriously and the international community must speed up the disarmament and demilitarisation of the rebels." The group however emphasises that Rwandan invasion threats are against international law and thus "cannot be tolerated any more."
As President Kagame made similar threats following the June 2004 massacre on Tutsi refugees in Burundi, an international negotiation initiative had been mounted rapidly, GfbV recalls. A summit between the Rwandan and Congolese Heads of State in Nigeria on 25 June ended up in a declaration committing the two countries to peace. A joint supervision mechanism was established to avoid future tensions.
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afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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