END OF NEO-COLONIOLISM: Rwanda Orders all Belgian Diplomats Out of Kigali Within 48 Hours

All Belgian diplomats in Rwanda have been ordered to leave the country within 48 hours after the East African country announced its decision to sever diplomatic relations with Belgium, effective immediately over what it calls the neocolonial delusion of its former colonial master.

“Rwanda’s decision has been taken after careful consideration of several factors, all linked with Belgium’s pitiful attempts to sustain its neocolonial delusions,” says a statement by Rwanda’s ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Rwanda accuses Belgium of consistently undermining Rwanda, both well before and during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in which “Belgium has a deep and violent historical role, especially in acting against Rwanda”.

Several countries in the West, as well as the United Nations (UN), have accused Rwanda of directly supporting the M23 fighters against DRC, accusations Rwanda has neither admitted nor denied. It accuses the European country of mobilising other countries against Rwanda “using lies”.

“Today, Belgium has clearly taken sides in a regional conflict and continues to systematically mobilize against Rwanda in different forums, using lies and manipulation to secure an unjustified hostile opinion of Rwanda, in an attempt to destabilize both Rwanda and the region,” the statement says.

In its view of the conflict in the eastern region of DRC, Rwanda says the M23 are a group of mainly Kinyarwanda-speaking people of DR Congo, who are demanding equal rights to be in Congo like any other Congolese nationals.

The statement also accuses Brussels of complicity in the previous conflicts in Rwanda, including the 1994 genocide which claimed an estimated 800,000 people and displaced millions of others to neighbouring countries, including DRC. The government gave a history of Belgian involvement or support to the various conflicts since 1885 through the “European scramble for Africa” period up to the 1994 conflict.

“Beyond Belgium’s destructive historical role in fueling the ethnic extremism that resulted in entrenched discrimination and persecution, and ultimately the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, it has also allowed Belgian territory to be used by groups that propagate genocide denial and sustain genocidal ideology.”

Today’s decision, the statement says, reflects Rwanda’s commitment to safeguarding “our national interests and the dignity of Rwandans” as well as upholding the principles of sovereignty, peace, and mutual respect. In compliance with the Vienna Convention, Rwanda will ensure the protection of the premises, property, and archives of the Belgian diplomatic mission in Kigali.