Link to Article: Aljazeera Article
Summary of Article: President Paul Kagame of Rwanda stated to his upper house of parliament that Rwanda would not take any further refugees. In his speech he stated that Rwanda could not handle further refugees and that he intended to make sure that everyone knew it was the DRC’s problem and not Rwanda’s. This speech comes after tensions have drastically increased between the two states due to Tutsi-led M23 rebels causing havoc in the DRC. Kagame blames Kinshasa for the fabricating the crisis for political purposes and states that the international community has long ignored the DRC’s support of Hutu rebels that committed the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and he uses this to justify Rwandan incursions into the congolese state.
Analysis: Rwanda’s change in policy of allowing refugees from the DRC is a move to shift the blame of the crisis on the Kinshasa-led regime in the eyes of other African states. Rwanda is an established regional power in the center of Africa and has long supported Tutsi-led rebels in the eastern provinces of the DRC that border Rwanda. Rwanda and the DRC have a complicated history, as the Rwandan government (rightfully) accuses the DRC for supporting the Hutu-led FDLR group, which had committed mass genocide on many Tutsi civilians. While the genocide wasn’t complicated on ethnic lines, the re-establishment of control over Rwanda by the Tutsi and their government had made the genocide a major political wedge to build support for assaults against FDLR holdouts in the DRC. Since that time, Rwanda, as found by UN researchers, has funded Tutsi-led rebel groups to do incursions into such provinces. Shifting the blame towards the DRC allows Rwanda to have continued support by those in the African community, while also destabilizing the country and preventing it from unifying to become a major regional (or even African) power.
Connection to Class: Rwanda seeks to maintain regional hegemony in Central Africa by undermining the Kinshasa regime and supporting Tutsi minorities within its eastern border provinces. The DRC is the only state that could possibly help other states balance out the growing economic and military power that Rwanda is in Central Africa. States are unable to counterbalance against Rwanda without a functioning Congolese state, which allows Rwanda to exert more influence on individual states in the region. Additionally, the reality of Africa being a shatterbelt inherently encourages Rwanda to utilize its leverage, which is apparent by its role as a mediator for the African Union in conflicts.