Britain freezes aid to Rwanda over Congo support

 

Rwanda
is coming under increasing pressure to halt alleged support for east
Congo's latest rebellion, with the Netherlands suspending some aid and
Britain delaying a payment for budgetary support.

Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo expressed regret yesterday at "hasty decisions based on flimsy evidence" by unspecified donors suspending or deferring aid.

The United States last week cut $200,000 (£127,000) in planned military aid. Yesterday, the Netherlands said it was suspending 5m euros (£4m) promised to improve Rwanda's judicial sector. And Britain, Rwanda's biggest donor, said it was delaying a budget support payment scheduled this month.

The Financial Times quoted a Swedish aid official saying Scandinavian countries on the board of the African Development Bank also forced the delay of a decision on the disbursal of $38.9m (£24m)  in budget aid to Rwanda from last week until September.

The pressure comes as a group of UN experts who made the allegations in a damning report was visiting Rwanda. Their report published last month accused Rwanda of helping create, arm and support the M23 rebel movement in east Congo in violation of UN sanctions.

The uprising has brought the worst violence in years to that volatile country. It has forced more than 260,000 people from their homes in the past three months. And it is draining the resources of an already overstretched $1.5bn (£900m) a year UN peacekeeping mission in Congo.

Mushikiwabo maintained Rwanda's vigorous denial of the charges despite overwhelming evidence, including from surrendered rebels who told UN officials that they were Rwandans who had been recruited and trained in Rwanda. The UN report also said some Rwandan soldiers were fighting alongside the rebels against Congo's army.

Mushikiwabo said in a statement that she had just "comprehensively rebutted" all the allegations to the visiting UN experts.

Dutch Development Ministry spokeswoman Saskia Gaster said the country is "reconsidering" its aid program while awaiting Rwanda's response to the allegations.

"Our position - in consultation with EU partners - will be based on both an assessment of Rwanda's official reaction to the report and the developments in the field, including an immediate end to support to rebels in DRC from Rwandan territory," she told The Associated Press.

While the amounts involved are small, the actions are considered a major rebuke of Rwanda, a darling of Western donors dependent on aid for nearly half its budget.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has avoided sanctions despite numerous past transgressions of standards supposedly required in exchange for Western aid. His government has consistently suppressed all opposition at home. It denies charges that it sends hit squads to assassinate opponents abroad, though Britain's Scotland Yard has warned several Rwandans living in exile there that Rwanda's government has been plotting to kill them. Western donors demanded no sanctions after the publication last year of a long-delayed UN report accusing Kagame's army of a possible genocide of Congolese and Rwandan Hutu people after they invaded Congo in 1994.

Some of the West's lenience toward Kagame is motivated by guilt over their failure to halt the 1994 genocide of some 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus, which was ended by Kagame's rebel movement. Western nations also are reluctant to cut aid because Rwanda has proved a stellar example of how well-managed aid can improve people's lives. British aid to Rwanda, set at 80 million pounds ($125.5 million) this year, is considered to have played a major role in helping the one million Rwandan who have lifted out of poverty in the past five years - the fastest ever rate of poverty reduction ever achieved in Africa.

AP

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Top stories
News in pictures
World news in pictures
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
More stories
       
Independent
Travel Shop
Imperial Cities of Morocco
Seven nights half-board from only £799pp Find out more
Historic Sicily
Seven nights half-board from £799pp Find out more
4* all-inclusive Crete
Seven nights from only £399pp Find out more
Independent Dating
and  

By clicking 'Search' you
are agreeing to our
Terms of Use.

Day In a Page

Johnny Marr talks relationships and reunions

He's worked with Modest Mouse, the Pet Shop Boys and Beck, to name a few, and recently released his first solo album. So why, wonders Johnny Marr, do people still hark on about The Smiths?
After the flood: From Haiti to Britain, one man has captured the devastation of our increasingly deluged lands

In pictures: After the flood

From Haiti to Britain, one man has captured the devastation of our increasingly deluged lands
Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals

Death becomes her: A very modern mortician

Ever considered baking a loved one's remains into a cake or putting their ashes in fireworks? If so, talk to Caitlin Doughty, champion of the alternative death industry.
How long can the 'Keep Calm' trend carry on?

How long can the 'Keep Calm' trend carry on?

At first it seemed clever and cute. Then the 'Keep Calm' motif went mad, spawning endless offshoots.
The man who built Brum: A lament for the demise of John Madin's Brutalist Birmingham

John Madin: The man who built Brum

The architect's buildings were supposed to leave an indelible, futuristic mark on his beloved hometown but they are now being inexorably torn down.
School of chop: Learning the art of butchery at the Ginger Pig

School of chop: Learning the art of butchery

How do you butcher a lamb? Or make Mexican street food in a British kitchen? Christopher Hirst finds out.
James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats