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Protest Against Your President Instead Of Macron- Kagame Tells Congolese

March 01, 2023

By Maniraguha Ferdinand President of Rwanda Paul Kagame welcomed President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) although some Congolese don't want him there. Macron who is on Africa tour since 1 March 2023, will conclude it on 5th March by visiting DRC. He visits the country while its army (FARDC) has been fighting with M23 rebel group for a year, in Eastern province of North Kivu. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside French embassy in Kinshasa on Wednesday morning, protesting against Macron visit. They accuse France of siding with Rwanda, whom they allege to be the supporter of M23. For them, failing to denounce Rwanda's aggression equals betrayal. Congolese were angered recently as well, when the  European Union where  France belongs to,  approved 20 million euros to support Rwandan troops  fighting insurgency in Mozambique. For Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, protesting against Macron will not solve DRC problems. "If I had a way of talking to the protesters of the French President's visit to DR Congo, I would tell them that they are protesting for the wrong cause, he told journalists in the capital Kigali. He said that security problems that DRC is suffering from are caused by their own leaders. "Start with your president and your government, they are the ones mismanaging and mishandling your problems", he said. Rwanda has been accused of supporting M23 by Arming them and helping them in front, allegations that Rwanda refutes. Kagame said that he doesn't understand why he will be causing instability in Congo. "What would Rwanda gain from having instability in Congo? If anything, we are the people of most interest in this region; we have lacked peace for so long and we know the consequences" he asked For the Congolese government, Rwanda supports M23 for financial gains in order to steal natural resources that Congo possesses in abundance. "Those minerals have been there for so long, I wonder why the Congolese have not benefited from those minerals", Kagame said. He hoped that Macron visits will play a role in defusing tensions between the two countries. Last September on the sidelines of UN General Assembly, Macron tried a mediation between President Kagame and  Congo's Felix Tshisekedi but things did not work out.

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