Rwandan government spokeswoman to Al Jazeera Net: We do not want the death of African youth through migration News

Rwanda constitutes one of the prominent points in the world in the presence of women and youth in the field of politics and economics, and one of the prominent figures in this emerging African country is the voice of its government and its policy spokesperson, Yolande Makolo.

Anyone who follows McCullough on social media will notice her constant presence to comment on everything published or written about her country.

Al Jazeera Net conducted an exclusive interview with her about the dispute with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, how she sees the role of the African Union, the problem of borders on the continent, and the relationship with the Arab world.

The following is the text of the interview:

• Speaking of the dispute with the Democratic Congo, which is urgent at the present time. How can we understand the context of this dispute?

In fact, it is more than just a dispute. There is already an active conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in areas adjacent to our borders, and this constitutes a major security challenge for us. As for what is happening at the political level in Kinshasa, this is another issue.

On our borders there are more than 200 illegal armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and they have controlled that region for a long time, for decades at least.

Let’s go back to 1994. There were militias who committed genocide against the Tutsis here in Rwanda and then fled to the Congo with their weapons, and the French forces allowed them to cross with these weapons.

• You mean they took or confiscated the equipment of the former Rwandan army?

Rather, the former army left with them with its equipment, tanks, rifles, cannons, and everything. All the weapons they were using here they took with them and were allowed to keep them in the refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• Does this mean that there are heavy weapons and artillery in the refugee camps from the Congolese side?

Yes, in refugee camps. As they crossed to the other side of the border, they took civilians hostage with them and were holding them as human shields in those refugee camps.

For years after the genocide against the Tutsis, these Rwandan civilians were hostages of the former army and militias now known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.

In the late 1990s, these groups again launched attacks on Rwanda, and there is evidence of French involvement by supporting them with weapons, but the Rwandan army succeeded in returning them to where they came from and thwarting their attacks.

Then we began efforts to convince the international community of the necessity of supporting Rwanda to return refugee civilians to their country, instead of them remaining stuck hostage in camps controlled by armed groups. We were forced to implement an operation in the late 1990s and we succeeded in returning more than two million civilians to Rwanda, including current representatives and ministers.

We also tried to convince those who carried weapons to return and lay down their weapons, and the government expressed a willingness to reintegrate them into society. We succeeded with some groups and they underwent rehabilitation courses and training in life skills.

• I went to one of the refugee camps on the border, and met families who had fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They spoke of ethnic killings. Is this what’s happening?

The families living in the refugee camps that I met are those who fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo because they were exposed to attacks, and almost every day more come, as a result of the fighting taking place inside the Congo.

We host nearly 100,000 Congolese refugees here in Rwanda, and there are more than half a million in Uganda, and others in Kenya, the majority of whom are from the Tutsi communities that are being persecuted in the east of the Democratic Congo, and are attacked by militias that not only pose a security threat to us at our borders, but are an ideological danger that they embrace. An idea calling for the elimination of the Tutsi ethnicity. This ideology is an extension of the genocide that occurred here in 1994.

• Does this mean that the international community has not learned the lesson from the massacres that took place against the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994?

Unfortunately, they did not learn their lesson. We are now certain that we are alone, and that we must do our best with the resources we have to preserve the security of our societies and countries.

For this reason, we have worked to build a professional and strong army. We cooperate with regional countries. The lesson we have learned is that we must do everything we can and not depend on an international community that has not learned its lesson.

• What about the role of the African Union? Is he making any political efforts to find solutions to these security challenges in the first place?

There were several attempts to make political tracks successful, including the so-called Rwanda Road Map, the Rwanda Protocol, or the Rwanda Process, but they all lacked the political will to implement them on the part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There was a second path, through the so-called Nairobi Process.

The Nairobi process concerns the disarmament of illegal armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and their demobilization or integration into the army and society, but this process has been halted. There are also attempts to support the DRC to reform its security sector. All of these initiatives are essentially political processes, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo is determined to take a military path, which is impossible.

• Will the continued failure to find solutions necessarily affect Rwanda?

We have worked hard to strengthen unity in Rwanda, to reach the stage of renaissance and growth that we currently enjoy, and the deteriorating situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the hateful ethnic division we strive to prevent it from spreading to us and turning into an internal threat.

We face two challenges: a security threat, and a threat to our unity and progress. We will therefore do everything we can to ensure that these challenges do not spread to Rwanda at all costs.

• So problematic borders in Africa again?

It’s true, Africa’s border problems are not limited to what we see at our borders. Border problems on the continent arose as a result of arbitrary demarcation of borders. They were decided in 1884 in Berlin, and the African Union decided to maintain the borders after the independence of countries from colonialism, as drawn by the Berlin Conference and societies were divided according to them.

• What about relations with non-border countries? How do you see the context of the relationship with the Arab world?

There is a lot that we can build with the Middle East and the Arab region in particular, not only because of geographical proximity, as trade relations between the two regions are important.

We began to strengthen diplomatic relations with Arab countries by exchanging diplomatic missions, including most recently Jordan. There are already expanding investments with Gulf countries. Our strategic partnership with Qatar is important and we have many joint projects with other Gulf countries. This region is important for Rwanda, which is why we are working to strengthen joint relations, especially in economic cooperation and investment in the aviation sector.

• What about diversifying the economy, and thus diversifying sectors that attract foreign investments?

I can say that we are happy with the volume and rate of investment flows, especially in the services and tourism sectors, but we need more, and we also need to diversify investment sectors, especially in the fields of mining and exploration, so that we can benefit from our wealth not at the level of extraction, but rather the ability to produce added value.

• Let us move to a controversial file: the refugee reception agreement with Britain. There is criticism directed at the agreement and the choice of Rwanda. What are the backgrounds of these criticisms?

I think there is a lot of controversy in the United Kingdom, as the issue is a priority in domestic politics, and we understand that there is an internal debate in Britain. However, we do not expect Rwanda to be unjustly attacked. At all stages of the negotiation and completion of the agreement, we kept in mind working to find a common solution to a major problem.

Everyone agrees that irregular migration is a global problem. There are victims who die constantly, and unfortunately there are those who make money from the plight of these migrants. We do not want to see more African youth dying in the desert or at sea.

• Do you see that an agreement like this could be a beginning or a form of solution?

It is the responsibility of the governments of African countries to work to stop these desperate journeys of Africans, across the desert or the seas. If these governments do what they must, exploiting their natural resources and wealth, they can build opportunities that encourage these immigrants to stay in their homelands and provide opportunities for a decent life.

In Rwanda, we are trying to do our part at the national level, expanding investment horizons and diversifying the economy, to provide attractive opportunities for Rwandans. Regionally, we have begun to adopt an open skies policy, allowing easy movement of Africans within the continent, and opening up horizons for them to stay and contribute to the process of building Africa instead of wasting their lives, time, and capabilities on desperate journeys.

• What measures will be adopted within the framework of the agreement with Britain?

Those being transferred from the UK will come to live in Rwanda if they have an asylum case pending in Britain. They will also have the option of applying for asylum in Rwanda. As you know, we have a special program for refugees, and if their application is approved, they can stay, live and settle here, where they will receive assistance to integrate into Rwandan society.

They also have the option not to seek asylum in Rwanda, there are legal ways in which they can remain in the country and reside legally. Let’s be realistic, the existence of an asylum crisis is mainly due to it being the only way to obtain legal residency in many countries, but asylum programs were not designed specifically for this purpose. Meaning that there is a flaw in the global system of movement of people to and from many countries that still depend on a system established after World War II.

• Since the 1950s, the majority of the northern countries have not made any amendments to their systems in this context. Do you mean that there is a defect in the system of receiving immigrants?

The system is still truly stuck in the 1950s, and perhaps at some point these countries need to seriously review their laws, which are no longer appropriate or no longer fulfilling their purpose in the current century. We need to find innovative solutions, and this partnership between the UK and Rwanda is one of the solutions in our view. We actually want to see how effective this option is on the ground.

I can say that this will be a successful model, where refugees can live safely, without fear for their lives or security, and they have the option to stay in Rwanda if they want to.

• But, Rwanda also has larger numbers of refugees from other countries?

Yes, we have more than 130,000 refugees, some of whom have been living here for more than 25 years. Rwanda and its citizens are accustomed to hosting refugees and migrants, and we consider this to be a global duty in fact, and our country can be described as one of the countries in which we do not sense any hostility towards refugees, especially since we understand what it means for a person to be forced to flee to escape persecution.

• nConcluding with the most important politically anticipated local event, how is Rwanda now preparing for the elections?

We look forward to the presidential and general elections, which will be held simultaneously, and campaigns are expected to begin on June 22nd. The National Elections Commission has already begun preparing ballot lists and assisting more than two million voters who will be able to cast their votes for the first time when they reach the legal age that allows them to exercise their right to vote.

Also, work is being done to prepare diplomatic missions in the countries of expansion to enable communities to cast their votes in the country’s embassies abroad. All these procedures usually go smoothly, until the announcement of the official results, which we expect to be issued by next July 20.