Some 200 protesters marched through Brussels on Sunday afternoon to demand EU sanctions against Rwandan President Kagame's regime. According to the demonstrators, the EU and the West are taking a hypocritical stance by condemning the aggression of the M23 rebel movement in eastern Congo on the one hand and continuing to support the Rwandan regime on the other. They accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels.
‘EU must take sanctions against Rwanda on account of its support for Congo's M23 rebels’
Colin Clapson
Published:
‘It is common knowledge that M23 enjoys support from the Rwandan regime and that Rwandan troops are on Congolese territory,’ the protesters say. ‘The EU also knows this and condemns that aggression, but it continues to support the Rwandan regime, with military equipment and with trade agreements. The EU is playing fireman and pyromaniac at the same time.’
The protesters believe that after Goma, in North Kivu province, the city of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, is also at risk of falling prey to the rebels and Rwandan troops, if urgent action is not taken.
‘The Congolese are more than tired of this conflict, which has dragged on for 30 years,’ protesters say. ‘Over the many years, thousands of people have been killed, crimes against humanity have been committed on a daily basis and all for the sake of Congo’s mineral riches. This must stop. The EU must stop all cooperation with Rwanda and impose sanctions on the country and its rulers.’