EXTRAORDINARY FDU-INKINGI CONGRESS HELD IN BRUSSELS DECEMBER 2019

PRESS RELEASE

The FDU-Inkingi held an extraordinary Congress in Brussels on 14 December 2019.

This Congress was opened by the Acting President Mr Justin Bahunga. In his speech, the Acting President explained the circumstances that led to the holding of this extraordinary congress, including the resignation of President Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza and the creation of her new party. He thanked once again the former president for the sacrifices made in an attempt to press for the opening of the political space in Rwanda.

Mr Justin Bahunga welcomed the political maturity of the FDU INKINGI Party, which had been demonstrated, among other things, after the resignation of the former Party President. He also recalled that what is important is to have strong structures rather than strong men.

The delegates then approved amendments to the internal regulations and confirmed the members of the Political Bureau for the following posts:

– President of the FDU-Inkingi: Justin Bahunga
– First Vice President: Placide Kayumba
РExecutive Secretary: Fid̬le Kabera;
– Treasurer: Mbonigaba Boniface.

The Executive Secretary then presented the management committee mid term report. After hearing this report, the Congress welcomed the climate of unity and solidarity that had made it possible to work calmly in the Party’s structures. It requests the management committee to intensify contacts to accelerate the transformation of the P5 platform with a view to its broadening to constitute a critical mass necessary for a rapid political change in Rwanda.

After noting the failure to register the party in Rwanda and given the persistent refusal of dialogue by the RPF regime, the Congress requested the management committee to pursue all necessary efforts to ensure acceptance of the rationale of a highly inclusive inter-Rwandan dialogue, the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability.

Based on the testimonies of survivors, and taking into account numerous elements gathered by various organizations and researchers in addition to the Mapping report, all of which report mass killings of  HUTUs both in Rwanda and in neighbouring countries, the FDU-Inkingi recognize that these massacres constitute acts of genocide against the Hutus perpetrated by members of the RPF army that currently leads Rwanda. The Congress strongly recommends that the Management Committee consult with other Rwandan political forces and civil society organizations to support ongoing efforts to establish ad hoc judicial mechanisms to hold the sponsors and perpetrators of these acts of genocide accountable.

The members of the Congress remain convinced that no reconciliation will be effective without the recognition of acts of genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed against all components of the Rwandan population in the territory of Rwanda and in the territory of neighbouring States. The discriminatory mourning currently practiced in Rwanda is a latent source of new conflicts.

Congress wishes to unequivocally reaffirm its recognition of the genocide against the Tutsis. The congress strongly denounces the use of the genocide against the Tutsis as a tool used by the RPF and its acolytes, to silence any dissenting voices.

The Congress strongly condemns the massacres currently being perpetrated by the Rwandan army under the uniform of the Congolese army in the DRC. It calls on the Congolese President not to continue to be an accomplice of an army that has already massacred millions of Congolese and Rwandans as established by the Mapping report. It also calls on the countries of the region to give priority to protecting refugees who have survived the killings of Paul Kagame’s army and to force him to negotiate with all his opposition, as it is done in other countries.

The Congress condemns in the strongest terms possible the detention of 2,000 refugees, including elderly, women and children, and men in Nyamuyinyi camp in South Kivu (DRC), in filthy intractable, promiscuous, difficult access to water, without food and health care. It reminds the Government of the DRC of its obligation to ensure respect for human dignity and the principles of humanitarian law towards these refugees.

The Congress calls on the UN Security Council, the African Union and the European Union to take the necessary measures to put an end to impunity in the Great Lakes region to bring President Kagame’s regime to respect human rights and to end enforced disappearances and murder of opponents in Rwanda and abroad.

Done at Brussels on 14 December 2019

Fidèle Kabera
Secretary General