Hope for Kigali, Pretoria relations as leaders talk
Photo:
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/image/view/-/2259604/medRes/715943/-/maxw/600/-/121lqcnz/-/row.jpg
South Africa President Jacob Zuma with Rwanda's Paul Kagame at an
ICGLR Heads of States and Government summit in Luanda, Angola on
January 14, 2014. PHOTO| GCIS
By GAAKI KIGAMBO Special Correspondent
Posted Saturday, March 29 2014 at 18:29
In Summary
The two countries agreed to find mutual ways to ease the festering
diplomatic row that has seen three Rwandan diplomats expelled from
South Africa, and Rwanda retaliate by expelling six South African
diplomats.
A mini summit of the International Conference for the Great Lakes
region in Angola's capital Luanda last week provided the setting for
efforts to defuse escalating tension between Rwanda and South Africa.
At the end of the two-day summit, convened by President José Eduardo
dos Santos, ICGLR's chairperson, the two countries had agreed to find
mutual ways to ease the festering diplomatic row that has seen three
Rwandan diplomats expelled from South Africa, and Rwanda retaliate by
expelling six South African diplomats.
The spat was over the security of Rwandan dissidents living in South
Africa that President Paul Kagame's administration has been accused of
going after.
Rwanda has denied these accusations.
READ: South Africa, Rwanda agree to resolve diplomatic row
"With regards to relations between South Africa and the Republic of
Rwanda, the matter was discussed by the summit and there was agreement
that the two countries must discuss the issue and find a mutually
agreeable solution," said a statement from the Office of the President
in Pretoria.
The standoff, which began in early March, had got the region on edge
and stirred concern that a complete breakdown of relations between the
two capitals could play out in fragile eastern DR Congo.
READ: Kigali, Pretoria row could spill into Congo
Rwanda maintains high social and security interests in this part of
Congo that has been scarred by endless conflict.
South Africa is an integral part of the Force Intervention Brigade,
the UN's first-ever "offensive" combat force, which is credited with
defeating the M23 rebels that Rwanda was accused of backing.
The brigade has also been credited with returning Goma, North Kivu's
capital, and its precincts to relative normalcy. By doing so, analysts
say Pretoria has undercut Kigali's supposed influence in what is known
as the eastern gateway to the vast, abundantly endowed country.
With Kigali showing no signs of compromise, it is believed Pretoria
reached out to Kampala to bridge some sort of rapprochement to
forestall any unnecessary escalation that could misrepresent it as a
bully. That is why it is unsurprising Kigali has remained mum since.
According to them, they had done more than they could to resolve the
matter.
"Rwanda believes that they are undertaking some action and we as South
Africa have an international obligation that when people come to us
for refugee status we've got to give them. There was an agreement that
the two countries should meet and that has been accepted," President
Jacob Zuma told his country's public broadcaster.
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo told BBC Kinyarwanda
service on March 27 in London: "The diplomatic issues between Rwanda
and South Africa are simple: There are Rwandan dissidents who are
exiled in South Africa. These (Kayumba Nyamwasa and Patrick Karegeya)
fled at a time they were wanted by the judiciary. We requested South
Africa to send them home to be tried and the country explained to us
why they can't extradite them and we understood each other.
Started talking
"After some time, these men started collaborating with people to
destabilise the country. That was in 2010. We again started talking to
South Africa over the issue. Fleeing the country was fine, but when
people cross the line and start engaging in terrorist activities, it
becomes a problem," she said.
"Grenades have so far killed 18 people in the country since 2010, over
470 have sustained injuries. This is really the problem at hand and we
are discussing it with South Africa. We have evidence that they are
the ones behind these attacks. Our intelligence services have the
evidence, suspects who were arrested in these actions confessed. There
is no doubt about that. We discussed this with South Africa on these
issues."
She said Kigali have shared this with Pretoria, "including their
involvement in bad politics with an aim of unsettling the government."
"This is where the real problem is," she said.
On whether the Rwanda government has been hunting down the dissidents
she said: "We need to separate things. Unless there is something new I
don't know, the South African government says investigations are still
ongoing."
Ms Mushikiwabo spoke out on the attacks, including the killing of
Patrick Karegeya, saying that Rwanda is not concerned with the
security of the exiles in South Africa.
"Our diplomats were expelled in a manner that was not right. What we
did was to expel their diplomats in reciprocity, until we get
explanations. Some of our diplomats had not spent even three weeks in
South Africa. It was not right to accuse someone who doesn't even know
their way around of engaging in such activities.
"We were not happy about South Africa's actions," she said.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Hope-for-Kigali--Pretoria-relations-as-leaders-talk--/-/2558/2262380/-/qd50gbz/-/index.html
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