Rusesabagina affair: Kigali cancels an interview with the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès will ultimately not meet her Rwandan counterpart Vincent Biruta in New York this week.
AP - Hatim Kaghat
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
A meeting between the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and his Belgian counterpart was canceled.
Vincent Biruta and Sophie Wilmès were to meet in New York this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Following the comments of the head of Belgian diplomacy after the 25-year prison sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, the Rwandan opponent who lived in exile and who had acquired Belgian nationality, Kigali decided to cancel.
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When Paul Rusesabagina
was found guilty on
Monday of forming and funding an armed group responsible for deadly attacks in Rwanda, the Belgian foreign minister reacted by declaring that he had not received a fair and equitable trial . Sophie Wilmès' press release then adds: "these elements de facto call into question the trial and the verdict"
Kigali responded on Tuesday by affirming that “
this statement reflects the contempt shown by the government of the Kingdom of Belgium towards the Rwandan judicial system since the start of this trial.
The victims of the FLN group have as much the right to justice as Paul Rusesabagina and his co-defendants
”.
He added that for this reason, the meeting between the two ministers scheduled for this week would not take place.
The Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs declares that it remains ready to welcome the Belgian minister in the future to continue the dialogue.
Sophie Wilmès' cabinet, meanwhile, indicated on Tuesday that "
Belgium's position
(in this case, editor's note) can
not be a surprise
", pointing out that its analysis was shared by the United States.
Washington expressed concern on Monday after the 25-year prison sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who also holds a permanent residence permit in the United States.
►Also read: Rwanda: from Hollywood hero to prisoner accused of terrorism, the fall of Paul Rusesabagina
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