In a recent statement, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said he does not understand the way the humanitarian situation in Goma is being portrayed by part of the international community.
According to him, while suffering certainly exists, “there may have been even more before the outbreak of the current crisis.” For Kagame, today’s alarmist narratives mainly serve as an “easy entry point” to shape a politically oriented storyline.
“The root causes are always avoided”
The Rwandan head of state believes that it is impossible to address the humanitarian crisis without analyzing its roots. He says this reluctance comes from the fact that examining the real causes “would eventually expose those responsible.”
He accuses certain international actors of manipulating the narrative to protect those who, in his view, are involved in perpetuating the conflict.
A recurring problem: “How does a crisis return ten years later?”
Kagame recalls that the same crisis had already erupted in 2012 and has resurfaced ten years later.
He asks:
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How can a problem that already mobilized massive resources reappear?
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Why is no one trying to understand the mechanisms that make this conflict endure?
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How can this failure be explained despite “billions spent, international forces deployed, and thousands of lives lost”?
For him, the repetition of the same crisis is proof of the hypocrisy of certain powers that present themselves as defenders of the population while, in reality, being part of the problem.
“Those who claim to be moved by suffering are hypocrites”
Highly critical, Kagame argues that several international actors display selective compassion:
“They claim to be outraged by the suffering of others, but they are nothing but hypocrites.”
He says these actors are more concerned with their strategic interests than with genuine regional stability.
Kagame places himself in the logic of the M23/AFC
In a particularly striking passage, Kagame explains how a member of the M23/AFC would respond to demands for withdrawal made by Kinshasa and its partners:
“If you want Goma, Kavumu, Bukavu… then solve my problems.”
According to him, the rebellion’s demands stem from long‑standing grievances that have never been addressed.
“If you don’t give me my rights, we will fight”
The Rwandan president adds that the absence of fair solutions inevitably leads to confrontation:
“If you don’t give me my right, it means we will fight. We will fight, without a doubt.”
He denounces an environment where political, diplomatic, and security interests overlap, leaving civilian populations “humiliated” and abandoned.
Joshmishumbi