'UN is not the Bible,' Rwanda to contest its reports: Foreign minister

By Nur Asena Erturk

"The UN is not the Bible,” and Rwanda will contest its reports, the foreign minister has said over the country’s alleged support to M23 rebels fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We contested those reports several times. It is not the Bible when the UN says something, the UN is not the Bible.

"We contested those reports, and we have been protecting ourselves for 30 years now since the threat has persisted since the genocide against the Tutsi,” Olivier Nduhungirehe told the Swiss broadcaster RTS on Tuesday.

The Rwandan minister criticized Congo for trying to topple the government in his country, and blamed President Felix Tshisekedi for forming an international coalition of Burundi, Southern Africa soldiers, and “even European mercenaries.”

“We do not fear being diplomatically isolated, we do not fear sanctions. What we would fear is to leave our country and our population defenseless,” he added.

He further said the M23 rebel groups were from a Congolese community of Rwandan culture “due to the colonial history,” and denied having any Rwandan troops in the region.

Nduhungirehe also announced that foreign ministers of the concerned countries will meet soon to elaborate on a roadmap for resuming the talks between M23 and the Congolese government.

The UK announced punitive measures for Rwanda for its alleged support for M23, including suspending direct financial aid and stopping high-level attendance at events hosted by Rwanda’s government, as well as suspending defense cooperation.

Last week, the US also announced economic sanctions against Rwanda's Minister of State for Regional Integration, James Kabarebe, a former army commander, saying he was central to his country's support for the M23 rebels.

The EU last week summoned the ambassador of Rwanda, and the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU urged Rwanda to withdraw its troops from eastern Congo, suspended the defense consultations, and decided to review the memorandum of understanding on critical raw materials.

The M23 group has intensified its territorial control in eastern Congo since December, seizing the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.

Fighting in the eastern Congo has led to the deaths of more than 7,000 people this year, Congo's Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.