Natacha Butera retweeted
In the last month, Rwanda has shown you:
🔹The FDLR
🔹The European Mercenaries
🔹The offensive foreign forces
🔹The stockpiles of weaponry at our border.
Yet the world still downplays the gravity of the security threats we face. Why? Is it racism? Is it disdain? Is it a calculated geopolitical choice?
The only irrefutable proof left of the danger we face is our destruction. And it seems this is an acceptable outcome for many international actors. They will swoop in with something as truly useless as MONUSCO or another UNAMIR, then spend the next 20 years giving our people biscuits and cardboard.
One thing is certain: The Government of Rwanda will protect its people and everyone who lives here—resolutely and decisively. The question is not whether Rwanda will defend itself, but what must happen to prevent further escalation.
The answer is obvious. The root of this crisis lies in the DRC’s continued collusion with genocidal forces and its deliberate fueling of regional instability.
International actors must demand an immediate end to Kinshasa’s support for FDLR and associated extremist elements. The presence of offensive foreign forces in the region, operating under the guise of ‘peacekeeping,’ must be removed. Permanent security guarantees must also be established along our shared border.
Regarding the inter-Congolese conflict, dialogue between the DRC government and M23 is not only the most pragmatic approach but the only one that offers the prospect of lasting peace.
Anything short of this is a meaningless delay, a refusal to confront reality, and a failure to learn from history.
Natacha Butera retweeted
& that’s a sold out LEGENDARY BK Arena show! Also…#PKNowAndForever #VisitRwanda 👊🏾😍
Natacha Butera retweeted
Here are the key messages from President Kagame @CNN interview, before they were edited to fit the predictable editorial line:
◦FDLR are associated and supported by governments in the region. Their aim is not only to fight M23, who are Congolese, but to fight Rwanda and overthrow the government, as they have said publicly. Does anyone think Rwanda will sit back and wait for that to happen? Rwanda will fight back in whatever form, there is no question about it.
◦I subscribe to the idea of respecting sovereignty of countries. That means the sovereignty of Rwanda must also be respected. There is no sovereignty of any country that is more important than the sovereignty of another. That's the standard principle.
◦The same international community blaming Rwanda is the one that has left FDLR in Congo for 30 years. Two and a half decades and close to $40 billion later, what stability is there? Putting the blame on Rwanda is the easiest way of covering up the mess they have been involved with and caused in our region.
◦The problem is simple to understand. People make it sound complex to avoid doing anything about it. Even the most unintelligent people would understand a problem after 30 years.
◦I don't think anybody is interested in war. I don’t even think Tshisekedi is interested in war himself, but he has been encouraged in that direction by people showing up to fight his wars for him. If they were not doing that, maybe he would see reason in the truth and prioritize the efforts to have peace.
◦I am talking about protecting myself, aware of the dangers that are there. I am managing national affairs and situations to obtain peace, and Tshisekedi is talking about humiliation which has to do with his ego. You can't run a country and cause problems in the region just because of ego.
◦The most important thing for Rwanda is that we have to protect ourselves. In our minds, we understand that nobody is going to be there for us. We saw it in 1994. That has resulted into making investments in security, in defense, and the rest will speak for itself.
Natacha Butera retweeted
I held two conversations this week with President Ramaphosa on the situation in Eastern DRC, including earlier today. What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies. If words can change so much from a conversation to a public statement, it says a lot about how these very important issues are being managed.
A few important clarifications for the record:
1. The Rwanda Defence Force is an army, not a militia.
2. SAMIDRC is not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation. It was authorized by SADC as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC Government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself.
3. SAMIDRC displaced a true peacekeeping force, the East African Community Regional Force, and this contributed to the failure of the negotiation processes.
4. President Ramaphosa has never given a "warning" of any kind, unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand. He did ask for support to ensure the South African force has adequate electricity, food and water, which we shall help communicate.
5. President Ramaphosa confirmed to me that M23 did not kill the soldiers from South Africa, FARDC did.
6. If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.
Fellow South Africans,
Following the recent intensification of fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa has lost 13 brave soldiers who were dedicated to their mission and committed to peace. The fighting is the result of an escalation by the rebel group M23 and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) militia engaging the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and attacking peacekeepers from the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).
On behalf of the government and the people of our country, I express our sincerest condolences to their families, their loved ones and colleagues. We bow our heads in honor of their heroic and gallant fight for peace.
We honour and mourn them.
All necessary support is being provided to the families of the deceased and the families of the injured. The process to repatriate the remains of the deceased is underway.
The attacks on peacekeepers resulted in the deaths of SAMIDRC members from other troop contributing countries, namely, Malawi and Tanzania, as well members of the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) brigade. We honour all the lives that were lost and pass our condolences to their families, governments and citizens. The situation in Goma and Sake, where our troops and their counterparts are stationed, remains very tense, volatile and unpredictable.
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Ms Angie Motshekga and the Chief of the SANDF Gen Rudzani Maphwanya and SAMIDRC Force Commander Maj Gen Monwabisi Dyakopu are working to ensure that the SAMIDRC forces remain well equipped and sufficiently supported during this critical mission.
We are concerned about the speculation about the state of our troops and the battle conditions. All South Africans must rally behind our brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to bringing peace in our continent.
South Africa’s military presence in the eastern DRC is not a declaration of war against any country or state. The members of the South African National Defence Force that are in the DRC are part of both SADC and United Nations efforts to bring peace and protect thousands of lives that are constantly threatened by the conflict in the DRC. The presence of the SAMIDRC forces demonstrates a commitment of SADC member states to supporting the DRC in its efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability and ultimately, create an enabling environment for sustainable development and prosperity.
We welcome the position that was recently adopted by the United Nations Security Council during its special sitting on the situation in the DRC, which calls for an immediate end to hostilities, the reversal of territorial expansion by the M23, the exit of external forces from the DRC and the resumption of peace talks under the Nairobi Process.
The territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected in accordance with the United Nations Charter on the respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other states.
We call on all parties to this conflict to fully embrace the current diplomatic efforts that are aimed at finding a peaceful resolution, including honoring the Luanda Process agreements. We must silence the guns on our continent for the attainment of inclusive development and prosperity.
I thank you.
Natacha Butera retweeted
La mauvaise gouvernance des ressources naturelles et l’absence d’institutions efficaces à tous les niveaux en RDC depuis des décennies ne peuvent en aucune façon être imputables au Rwanda. Cette malhonnêteté de @CMbosoNkodia et des autorités congolaises est scandaleuse.
Mboso : « Paul Kagame a mis en place un régime de terreur, un État voyou, qui vit des richesses du sang du peuple congolais » 7sur7.cd/2023/03/15/mboso-pa…
Natacha Butera retweeted
Our thanks and appreciation to Uğur Şahin, Özlem Türeci, Sierk Pötting & the whole BNT team for the outstanding partnership, as well as to @KenupFoundation, #TeamEurope, @IFC_org, @WHO & @AfricaCDC for key support.
Natacha Butera retweeted
Historic milestone today as the first @BioNTech_Group BioNTainers arrived in Rwanda, exactly 3 years since the first case of Covid-19 was detected in our country. This system will allow end-to-end mRNA vaccine production in Africa for the first time.
Natacha Butera retweeted
Dr Paul Farmer: "For inspiration I often turn to Rwanda... Within two decades [of the Genocide], the nation had engineered a reversal unrivaled in much of human history, achieving some of the steepest declines in premature mortality ever recorded."
forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai…
Natacha Butera retweeted
Natacha Butera retweeted
Iki cyorezo cyatweretse ko twese dushoboye ibikorwa by’ubutwari. Mu gihe tugikomeje urugamba rwo kurwanya Covid-19, turashima inzego z'ubuzima bari ku isonga, n'inzego z'umutekano kubera ubwitange n'ubutwari bwabo. Buri munyarwanda akomeze guharanira kurinda mugenzi we.
Natacha Butera retweeted
Happy Heroes Day to every Rwandan. The selfless dedication to our country of the heroes we honour today, showed us what we can achieve. The nation we have is a result of their sacrifice. These are the values we must pass on to the next generations.
Natacha Butera retweeted
Let's be clear, this decision was taken *despite* Rwanda's very strong Covid response & on same day EU reaffirmed Rwanda as 1 of 6 countries in world allowed to enter EU. Rwanda is not in southern Africa. No variants detected here. No risk to UK. This is not based on science.
Natacha Butera retweeted
The UK Government is politicising Covid and eroding trust in its commitment to science-based decision-making. No variants have been detected in Rwanda, in contrast to the UK itself. Highly irresponsible statement. @JoLomasFCDO
Natacha Butera retweeted
#Shishoza wirinde kuba ingemu ya #COVID19
#NtabeAriNjye cyangwa wowe wandura cyangwa wanduza abandi #COVID19
Dore #AhantuHatatu higanje ibyago byo kwandura #COVID19:
Natacha Butera retweeted
NEW article on our website featuring @raissagak. Have a read & RT!
yeaaln.org/2020/11/24/a-conv…
Natacha Butera retweeted
At the end of the day, the people belong to all political parties. The focus of all political parties should be to save their people. Please work across all party lines. Please don’t politicize this virus. globalnews.ca/news/6794276/w…
