President Paul Kagame has issued a 48-hour ultimatum for all European diplomats to vacate Rwanda over allegations that they were “consistently” undermining and implicating the African nation as the war in eastern Congo rages.
“The government of Rwanda today notified the government of Belgium of its decision to sever diplomatic relations, effective immediately,” a statement by the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said on Monday.
The Monday announcement to sever ties with the Europeans came a day after Mr Kagame accused Belgians and other Europeans of soliciting international sanctions against Rwanda, claiming the nation was backing the war in Congo.
“Now, what you see happening every day, the accusations they throw at us, in Kinyarwanda, we call it ‘gukoronga,’ constant insults and attacks. They talk about the war in Congo, first making it Rwanda’s war, and then claiming that Rwanda supports it,” Mr Kagame said.
Mr Kagame called the Belgians “shameless” for soliciting foreign sanctions on a nation as small as Rwanda.
“Belgians go to Kinshasa and point a finger towards Rwanda and say they will impose sanctions on us and also mobilise the world against Rwanda. They are shameless. Mobilising the world against Rwanda, with our small size? They should leave us alone.”
Belgium’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, said Rwanda’s vacation order showed Mr Kagame’s unwillingness to engage in any dialogue on diplomatic disagreement.
“Belgium regrets the decision of Rwanda to cut off diplomatic relations with Belgium and to declare Belgium’s diplomats persona non grata,” Mr Prevot wrote on X.
“This is disproportionate and shows that when we disagree with Rwanda, they prefer not to engage in dialogue.”
Germany on March 4 halted financial aid to Rwanda after a UN report said thousands of Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23 rebels to stoke chaos and unrest in the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo. The U.S. and UK had also previously pulled the plugs on any aid to Rwanda.
Mr Kagame’s administration denied the claim, insisting he had no role in the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo.
