NO MILITARY THREAT TO RWANDA

On his visit to London, the minister for foreign affairs and international cooperation Anastase Gasana, talked to members of RUGO.

In his briefing, Dr Gasana described the security situation in the north-western part of Rwanda.

Dr Gasana ruled out the possibility of the break out of total war in Rwanda.

He conceded that there was the state of insecurity in some communes of Ruhengeri and Gisenyi but the vast majority of the local population don't support what he called the "the perpetrators of genocide".

He said that the weapons used now by the rebels were those they fled with in 1994. Also, when they were in the refugee camps in Congo (former Zaire) they continued to obtain more supplies of weapons. "There is no new supply of weapons, but there are some movements of rebels between Rwanda and Congo because the Congolese government is not able to control fully the area bordering Rwanda,” the minister explained.

However, he added that both Rwanda and Congo were working jointly in efforts to control those movements.

Dr Gasana was optimistic that the troubles caused by the rebels will end soon. "It is a question of time, the Rwandan army is successfully defeating the killers. Many of the positions in the hilly areas of Ruhengeri and Gisenyi have been destroyed and the government is continuing to persuade the population not to support them”.

Minister Gasana also ruled out the possibility of rebel activities spreading to other parts of the country. He cited an example when the rebels attempted to attack in Cyangungu prefecture, but they were fought back by the local population who were supporting the army.

The Minister for Finance Donald Kaberuka who was also in London added that the rebels have enough weapons to cause insecurity but not to fight a war.

Both ministers confirmed that the current rebel activities are not a military threat to Rwanda.