International Development Committee - UK Aid to RwandaWritten evidence submitted by Ambrose Nzeyimana
EVIDENCE OF RWANDAN INVOLVEMENT WITH THE M23 REBEL GROUP IN EASTERN DRC
1. The report published on 21 June and its Addendum on 27 June by the UN Group of Experts shaded a new light on Rwandan involvement through its support of the M23 rebel group in the internal affairs of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
2. Before this recent interference, there have been many other reports by UN experts which in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006 continuously reported on Rwandan persistent and destabilising presence in particularly the Eastern part of DRC.
3. The evidence that this note highlights focuses specifically on operations inside Rwanda that government security forces have undertaken which are aimed among other things at silencing witnesses inside Rwanda who have been relaying with the outside informing their contacts on these actions of the Rwandan government which are intended to support the M23 rebel group.
4. In an note released on Sunday 26 August 12 and intended to the general public, Boniface Twagirimana, one of the leading members of the unregistered Rwandan political party FDU-Inkingi of imprisoned Ms Victoire Ingabire, indicated that his colleague official of the same party, Silvain Sibomana, had been severely injured the night before by Rwandan Local Defence Forces [LDF], when he went to the rescue of a neighbor, Dominique Shyirambere, from another political party of the opposition, PS-Imberakuri.
5. Dominique Shyirambere, who that night had been besieged in his house from 10.00 pm by Local Defence Forces’ individuals, was initially asked to open the door and let that group of people in, but refused. They decided then to spend the whole night outside waiting for him.
6. It is important here to highlight that Shyirambere had been previously arrested on 27 July 2010 because of being a leader from an opposition party and having participated in a protest which had not been authorized. Only public and political demonstrations supportive of the regime are authorized. Having at several occasions suffered torture from his jailers, he was released a year later without any charge or compensation.
7. With regard the incident, when the police was called and found that it was members of the political opposition being victimised, instead of asking to LDF members why they were beating Silvain Sibomana, they took the latter who was injured to the police station of Remera. [This has become a general pattern of Kagame’s security forces of adding misery to victims of his oppressive system].
8. The same note explains that once Alice Muhirwa, FDU-Inkingi treasurer, and Gratien Nsabiyaremye, responsible of youth, heard of the attack on and incarceration of their colleague, they went straight to the police station of Remera, for at least to get him looked after by a health specialist. Instead, they were also themselves taken into custody.
9. Above points are explained to highlight the fact that, inside Rwanda, though all the leaders of opposition parties were imprisoned, including Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, who was sentenced on Tuesday 30 October, 2012 to eight years of imprisonment, their colleagues named here are the only eyes for the outside that are still there to inform on issues such as the involvement of Rwanda for example recruiting forcibly young Rwandans for the M23 rebel group.
10. The ongoing practice of intense intimidation and violent harassment of Rwandans inside the country is not aimed only at the political opposition, which is officially absent. In August and September 2012 we received many accounts of young people being rounded up in the hundreds across Rwanda [apparently to seek forced recruits for M23, say informed sources]. Other people were knifed or injured by machetes to increase fear in regions where the regime suspects possibilities of popular uprising, like Gitarama].
Young people without official employment across Rwanda are being round up. On 23 August 2012, this group was taken into police custody in Rusizi area. A similar exercise was performed this week in Kimicanga area of Kigali—the Rwandan capital. Sources in the country confirm that some of these young people end up forcibly given accelerated military training with the ultimate purpose of sending them in DRC to reinforce M23 contingent of fighters. And this appears unfortunate knowing that recent cuts or delays of aid from donor countries were a consequence to Rwandan support to that Congolese rebel movement.
11. And all this attitude of Paul Kagame regime towards its citizens comes as a reaction to an increased isolation of his government consequent to his involvement with the Congolese rebel movement M23. As this erratic behaviour persists from the Rwandan leader, the international community needs to monitor closely the excesses of oppression towards the Rwandan population which is becoming more and more victim of his political frustrations.
12. On 11 September 2012 Human Rights Watch confirmed in a 14 pages report about the continuous drive of recruiting for M23 by Rwandan authorities despite previous allegations by UN experts on similar issue.
13. Following the decision by donor countries to cut or delay aid to Rwanda which came after the UN report showing its involvement with the M23 rebel group, the Rwandan president has set up the Agaciro Development Fund which officially is aimed at filling partially the financial gap caused by the reduction of external assistance.
14. But the structure and administration of that fund is intentionally kept unclear by the RPF regime while at the same its enforcement tools meaning security forces are deployed nationwide to forcibly get contributions from a population which already suffers a range of different forms of poverty, namely not being able to send their children to school, get medicine when they are ill because they cannot afford the medical insurance, etc.
15. And because of the intentional lack of clarity in the management of the Fund, many voices particularly from those being forced to contribute are fearing that their money might end up going to support the M23 rebel group, since there is no transparency in what collected funds will be allocated at, or mechanisms of accountability.
November 2012