PRESS RELEASE. The FDU-Inkingi held an extraordinary Congress on 05 September 2020 by VIDEO CONFERENCE. The Congress was opened and chaired by Mr. Justin Bahunga, President of FDU-INKINGI.
After the presentation of the agenda by the Secretary General of the Party, Mr. Fidèle Kabera, Mr. Justin Bahunga explained in his speech that the COVID-19 pandemic does not allow to hold a face to face ordinary congress in person at this point in time as it should be.
Thus, after analysing the situation related to COVID-19 and noting that the ordinary face-to-face congress is not possible at the moment; after a constructive exchange on the political situation in Rwanda, after noting that the Rwandan population has been living in terror since the Rwandan Patriotic Front took power in 1994 and that their living conditions are deteriorating ; after considering the threats hanging over Dr. Mukwege, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner, threats sounded by Rwandan officials who fear that one day they could be held accountable for acts of genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Congolese population of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo;
Congress participants took the following decisions and resolutions:
- The ordinary congress that was scheduled for September 2020 is postponed to September 2021 and thesituation of the CIOVID-19 pandemic will be monitored closely and constantly.
- The mandate of the Steering Committee and the Specialised Commissions is extended for one more year.
- The Congress condemns the kidnapping of Mr. Paul Rusesabagina, President of the opposition party PDR-Ihumure by the Rwandan regime and calls on the international community and human rights organisations to do everything in their power to ensure that Mr. Paul Rusesabagina is immediately released and returned to his family.
- The Extraordinary Congress of FDU-INKINGI calls on the countries that support the Rwandan regime to demand that it respects the rights and freedoms of members of the opposition parties who are constantly threatened, harassed, abducted and taken to unknown locations, or even physically eliminated, whether they are in Rwanda or abroad.
- In its endeavour to bring lasting peace in Rwanda and neighbouring countries, the congress supports the consultative group, called Rwanda Bridge Builders, composed of opposition political parties and civil society associations.
- The extraordinary congress of FDU-INKINGI condemns several decisions constantly taken by the Rwandan government in relation to COVID-19, decisions that adversely affect the most vulnerable sections of the population. These include the persecution of petty traders in both the formal and informal sectors; the state of siege in the capital as if the country were at war; depriving the population of their freedom and the detention of people in open air stadiums pushing people to seek asylum in the UNHCR in their own country; closing schools sine die at all levels and thus depriving youth from continuing their school and/or academic studies;
- The Congress strongly condemns the threats made by the Rwandan authorities against Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Mukwege, threats whose main motive is to prevent him from continuing to demand that the crimes spelt out in the Mapping Report be brought before an international tribunal.
- The FDU-INKINGI Extraordinary Congress once again calls on the international community, and in particular the Security Council, to use its power to ensure that the MAPPING REPORT on the crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1993 to 2003 comes out of the drawers of the UN and that those responsible for these crimes are brought before competent courts to account for their crimes. This is a condition sine qua none for all the peoples of the region, particularly the Congolese and Rwandan people to enjoy sustainable peace and security.
Done on September 05, 2020 .
Fidèle Kabera
Secretary General of FDU-INKINGI info@fdu-rwanda.com
