DRC: controversy after a tweet from the Rwandan ambassador on the Kasika massacre

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In a tweet since deleted, the Rwandan ambassador, Vincent Karega, responded to a Congolese who spoke of more than a thousand deaths in the massacres of Kasika and other villages, attributing them to Rwandan soldiers. The diplomat replied on his Twitter account by evoking a "simplistic narrative", a "slander" or even "propaganda". What angered many activists.

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The Rwandan ambassador was summoned on Tuesday August 25 by President Tshisekedi who allegedly “  reframed  ” him following his recent statement, but also to discuss “  the preparation of a summit to be held in Goma with the other heads of state of the region  ”, explains a source to the presidency today.

This is not enough to calm the anger of activists, already very upset by the absence of official commemorations and especially justice for the crimes committed during the two wars of the Congo. “  Imagine that one fine evening, the DRC ambassador stationed in Kigali tweeted questioning the veracity or the number of victims of the Bugesera massacre in 1994, and that the next day he was received with a red carpet and honors by President Kagame to talk about bilateral cooperation  ”, denounced on this social network activist Jean Mobert Senga, researcher at Amnesty International, who also documented these crimes.

I think what he expressed did not come from him, but from the Rwandan government. (…) The crimes in the Congo should not be ignored, ignored while the crimes that were committed in the region, particularly in Rwanda, have been prosecuted and the perpetrators repressed.

Gérard Kwigwasa, executive secretary of the Congolese organization Héritiers de la justice

Sonia rolley

The Congolese cartoonist Kash represented the Rwandan diplomat in the presidency with the comment: "  He drags a red carpet of his crimes everywhere  ". Still others, such as those from Lucha or Vici DRC, are calling today for his removal from the country with the hashtags #ExpulsezKarega or #Karegaout. A petition has even been launched.

Questioned on the subject, the government spokesperson did not wish to react to avoid "  adding fuel to the fire  ". "  All I can tell you is that our relations with Rwanda appear to be good,  " David Jolino Makelele explained during his press conference. “  We have no interest in making them more difficult. This must also be Rwanda's disposition  , ”added the Congolese minister.

This is totally unacceptable. But at the same time, we are convinced that these denials will in no way undermine the determination of the Congolese people to preserve the memory of the victims, as much as the government's determination to hold account to all those who have attacked our country.

André Lité Asebea, Congolese Minister of Human Rights

Kamanda Wa Kamanda

As a reminder, ten years ago, the United Nations High Commissioner for Rights published a report, the “mapping report”, which detailed the Kasika massacre. On August 24, 1998, according to the UN, the rebels of the RCD [Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie] and their Rwandan military allies indeed massacred more than a thousand civilians, including many women and children, in these villages of South Kivu. Of the 617 events classified as war crimes or crimes against humanity recorded between 1993 and 2003, none was tried.

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