Francophonie Parliament rejects DRC's request for Rwanda
The President of the French-speaking Parliament, APF, Hilarion Etong, has indicated that the request by various leaders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to impose sanctions on Rwanda for its role in the insecurity in the country and its support for the M23 movement is contrary to the role they want to play in achieving a lasting solution.
Members of the Francophonie Parliament visited Rwanda to discuss with members of the Rwandan Parliament the cooperation between the two institutions and to learn together about their role in finding a lasting solution to the security problems in the Great Lakes Region.
The visit came after leaving the DRC where they met with members of the Parliament and some of the country's leaders with foreign affairs responsibilities and civil society.
Among the recommendations submitted to the group was that the Francophonie Parliament support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2773, which accused Rwanda of playing a significant role in supporting M23 and called on it to withdraw its forces from DRC territory and impose sanctions.
The resolution also called for the M23 to immediately cease hostilities.
In an interview with Rwandan journalists, Hilarion Etong pointed out that the desire of various leaders in the DRC is contrary to the role they want to play in solving insecurity problems.
He said, “We are members of Parliament. We know that Article 2773 has been around for a long time. If we go down that path, we will undoubtedly encounter other problems. We are here to offer something new.”
He continued by stating that their willingness to participate in solving problems is not intended to eliminate other ways and means that are being put into action to solve the problem of insecurity.
He said, “I also said that we do not want to eliminate what the government says or what other international bodies say. What we bring here is the voice of the members of Parliament. We remain within our sphere because we know that we have the ability to come up with an idea or a solution that can support what has already been done.”
He also said that during their discussions with various Congolese leaders, they repeatedly mentioned the word peace, as it was repeated at least 40 times, confirming that it cannot be achieved without solving the problems of insecurity in a sustainable way.
He continued by emphasizing that dialogue is the only way to achieve a lasting solution to these problems of insecurity that have persisted for more than 30 years in the Great Lakes Region.
He reminded that their plan is not intended to replace other existing diplomatic channels such as the African Union, the Luanda and Nairobi processes, and others such as the Qatar-United States relationship.
The President of the Rwandan Senate, Dr. Francois Xavier Kalinda, indicated that Rwanda continues to emphasize the dialogue process as the only way to achieve a lasting solution.
He said, “They told us that in the DRC they told them that they were tired of war, and we showed them that we never wanted it, we continued to request that the issue be resolved through dialogue. As a Parliament, we have agreed with the APF that they want to play a role and we will help them so that our region can achieve peace.”
He stressed that the solution is based on everyone’s participation and political will to solve the problem in a sustainable way.
