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The situation is still very tense in eastern DRC. On October 31, several thousand people demonstrated in Goma once morest Rwanda. Kigali is accused by Kinshasa of supporting the M23 rebels as they have advanced in recent days in Rutshuru territory. On Saturday, the DRC decided to expel the Rwandan ambassador. Interview with Christophe Lutundula, Deputy Prime Minister and head of Congolese diplomacy.
AA / Kinshasa / Pascal Mulegwa
The High Military Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), announced on Tuesday the provisional release of the former special adviser to the security of President Félix Tshisekedi, tried for conspiracy once morest the head of state .
François Beya had been detained in the central prison of Makala, in Kinshasa, since April 4.
He had previously spent two months in the premises of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), where he had been taken following his arrest on February 5.
“Provisional release was granted to the former national security chief under the law and at his request for health reasons,” Jeannot Bukoko, the coordinator of his lawyers, told Anadolu Agency.
He is “authorized to be treated in an appropriate hospital formation, in the country or abroad”, on the condition of simply formulating the request, according to the lawyer.
Director of the Directorate General for Migration between 2001 and 2019, François Beya was appointed special adviser on security as soon as Félix Tshisekedi came to power.
Beya, 67, was arrested and prosecuted for “conspiracy and offense once morest the person of the Head of State”, “violation of instructions” and “incitement of soldiers to commit acts contrary to duty and discipline “.
He is tried with 4 other co-defendants including his director of protocol, his bodyguard, his private secretary and the chief of police of his commune of residence.
Only part of the dispatches, which Anadolu Agency broadcasts to its subscribers via the Internal Broadcasting System (HAS), is broadcast on the AA website, in a summarized manner. Please contact us to subscribe.
Published on : 11/08/2022 – 16:02
The American Secretary of State must leave this Thursday Rwanda, where he arrived last night following a stopover in Kinshasa. After meeting with President Paul Kagame, Antony Blinken held a joint press conference with his counterpart.
With our correspondent in Kigali,Laure Broulard
For Anthony Blinken, the visit to the DRC and then to Rwanda was a real balancing act, as the head of American diplomacy was expected in these two countries on the issue of the M23 rebellion. A recent UN report indicates that Rwanda would support the action of this group in eastern Congo. After meeting Congolese Head of State Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday, the US Secretary of State met with President Paul Kagame this morning. He then held a press conference with Vincent Biruta, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In front of the journalists, Antony Blinken did not openly condemn Rwanda, but simply indicated that the credible information indicating Kigali’s support for the M23 and the presence of Rwandan troops in the DRC were discussed with Paul Kagame. ” My message to the two presidents, Congolese and Rwandan, was the same, did he declare. Any support or collaboration with armed groups in eastern DRC jeopardizes regional stability. »
Antony Blinken took into account Kigali’s point of view in the crisis, since he specified that this principle applies to the M23 but also to the FDLR, this rebel group opposed to the government of Paul Kagame, and which, according to Kigali, fighting alongside the Congolese army. For Rwanda, the FDLR are the main cause of instability in the region. Vincent Biruta called him back this morning. The head of Rwandan diplomacy also once once more denied any support from his country to the M23, and claimed the right of Rwanda to protect its sovereignty and its people in the event of an attack.
► Read also : Antony Blinken: “America is not engaging in Africa because of another country”
No announcement regarding Paul Rusesabagina
Antony Blinken was also highly anticipated on the issue of human rights. Rwanda is regularly accused of fiercely repressing freedom of expression and dissent, even beyond its borders. NGOs such as Human Rights Watch had thus called on the Secretary of State to make strong statements on the subject. Antony Blinken expressed his concerns regarding human rights in the country.
« We believe that the criminalization of the participation of certain individuals in politics and the harassment of those who criticize the government in place jeopardize the peace, stability and future successes of Rwanda. “, he specified. No announcement, however, regarding opponent Paul Rusesabagina, whom the United States considers to be unjustly imprisoned. His conviction and trial were also discussed with the Rwandan authoritiesand this is an issue that should continue to be addressed in future discussions between the two countries.
AA / Kinshasa / Pascal Mulegwa
The Rwandan government has denounced “false allegations” contained in an “unpublished and unvalidated” report by the United Nations group of experts which accused Rwanda of having, directly and indirectly, carried out offensives in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“Rwanda cannot comment on an unpublished and unvalidated report. The UN Security Council received a report from the UN Panel of Experts in June 2022, which did not contain any of these false allegations, and a mid-term report is expected in December,” said Yolande Makolo, Door – speech of the Rwandan government.
The experts said in their report that they have detailed evidence that the Rwandan army (RDF) has “launched military interventions once morest Congolese armed groups and Congolese Armed Forces positions”, since November 2021 and until June 2022.
Experts say Kigali also “provided troop reinforcements to the M23 for specific operations, particularly when these aimed to seize cities and strategic areas”.
The spokeswoman for Kigali asserts that this report “can only be a tactic to divert attention from the real problems”.
“Until the problem of the FDLR, which operates in close collaboration with the DRC army, is taken seriously and resolved, security in the Great Lakes region cannot be achieved,” she said. added.
She said in a press release that “this is happening in the eyes of MONUSCO, which has been present in the DRC for more than 20 years”.
“The presence of the M23 and its origins are known as a problem of the DRC, which they seek to impose on other countries”, she adds, indicating that “the fact that the rebels who criss-cross the region are in conflict with their government, is not the responsibility of Rwanda”.
The international organization, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said on Thursday that more than 190,000 people have had to flee their homes since the end of March 2022 in the territories of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo, in the province of North Kivu, following the resurgence of the M23 armed group and intermittent clashes with the Congolese army.
The rebellion, defeated militarily in 2013, has taken up arms once more, accusing Kinshasa of not having respected the peace agreements.
Only part of the dispatches, which Anadolu Agency broadcasts to its subscribers via the Internal Broadcasting System (HAS), is broadcast on the AA website, in a summarized manner. Please contact us to subscribe.