RWANDA : POLITICAL OPPOSITION COMMENDS SADC POSITION ON TALKS FOR LASTING PEACE IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION.

PRESS RELEASE.

Date: 19 June 2013.
On 17 June 2013, the extraordinary summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held in Maputo (Mozambique) urged Rwanda and Uganda to consider peace talks with the armed opposition for a lasting peace in the Great Lakes region. During the last African Union Summit, Tanzanian President Kikwete advised Rwanda to talk peace with its opposition.

On 2 June 2013, in Yokohama (Japan) during his meeting with H.E. Mr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, commended his stand for comprehensive peace in the region, the deployment of Tanzanian forces for the International intervention brigade in Eastern DRC, and his advice for peace talks. He promised to deepen this issue of lasting solutions engaging all stakeholders during the September 2013 meeting in New York.

Earlier on 26 May 2013 in Addis Ababa, during the first meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region, the participants “agreed on the need of a comprehensive approach including to engage all stakeholders working towards the objective of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Great Lakes region”. They “agreed to meet again in September 2013 in New York, on the margins of the 69th UN General Assembly, to further discuss concrete steps and specific benchmarks for implementing the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework.”

The undersigned, members of Rwandan opposition organisations, distance ourselves from arrogant words aired by President Paul Kagame against the President of Tanzania, H.E. Mr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, on 10 June 2013, while officiating a graduation ceremony of senior military officers, at the Rwanda Defence Forces Staff and Command College. He said about President Kikwete’s advice: “I kept quiet for the contempt I have for it because I thought it was utter nonsense spoken out of ignorance. We must be left to live our lives the way Rwandans want to live them.”

The Rwandan political opposition, FDU-Inkingi, RNC, PSI-Imberakuri and Amahoro People’s Congress commend SADC recommendations for lasting peace in the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, and the whole Great Lakes region. We, the undersigned, express our readiness to fully contribute to any peace efforts in the region and to take part in talks under the facilitation of SADC leaders and the international community.

Dr. Nkiko Nsengimana
Coordinator
FDU-Inkingi
Lausanne
Switzerland

Alexis Bakunzibake
Vice President
PS-Imberakuri
Kigali
Rwanda

Etienne Masozera
President
Amahoro People’s Congress
Ottawa
Canada

Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa
Coordinator
Rwanda National Congress (RNC)
Washington DC
USA

2 COMMENTS

  1. Many thanks to all H.E presidents of SADC countries and you folks whom thanking them for their contribution for peace in great lakes region.

  2. This are nosense words and thoughts to all think that Rwandans will kneel down to genociders!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo. we know where we are going and what we want, no body will confuse rwandans any more.

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