The FDLR consists of the remnants of the Interahamwe group that plotted and perpetrated the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Munyuza, in a statement ahead of the 30th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi slated for Egypt on Saturday, April 20, said that three decades after the Interahamwe group's plot to exterminate the Tutsi in Rwanda was thwarted by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), their mission still remains.
'They [FDLR] seek to finish the job of eliminating part of the Rwandan population. The FDLR constitutes a significant security threat for the Great Lakes Region,' he stated.
Munyuza's remarks come amid ongoing instability in the Eastern DRC fueled by the ongoing fight between the Congolese army, FDLR and the M23 rebel group.
Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame, has been critical of the Congolese and Burundian governments' collaboration with the FDLR, fueling tension between the three neighboring countries. DRC, on the other hand, accuses Rwanda of backing M23 activities.
Reflecting on the lessons learnt from the genocide, the envoy noted that what was witnessed in Rwanda 30 years ago, was an outcome of the deep divisions and racists ideologies created amongst Rwandans by the colonial authorities that ruled Rwanda from the end of World War 1 to 1961.
He called for unity of purposes for the development of the region.
'Genocide was a tragedy of enormous proportions. But Rwanda has arisen from the ashes. Rwandans are thriving, and this is a testament of what is possible when leaders work together with citizens to build institutions required to entrench good governance, with a focus on reconciliation, resilience and inclusiveness,' he stated.
Similar sentiments about FDLR were shared by President Kagame on April 7, when he led the country in honouring the lives of more than a million people killed in 1994.
During the event, the Head of State lamented that the world had not drawn any lessons from what happened in Rwanda.
In a hard-hitting speech, Kagame questioned why the FDLR militia continues to operate in DRC in 'full view of the UN peacekeepers'.
'Their objectives have not changed, and the only reason this group, today known as FDLR, has not been disbanded, is because their continued existence serves some unspoken interests,' Kagame lamented.
Kagame noted that as a result of FDLR operations in eastern DRC, hundreds of thousands of Congolese Tutsi had been dehumanized and forced out of their homes and left to seek refuge in Rwanda and other neighbouring countries.
'Hundreds of thousands of [Congolese Tutsi] refugees live here in our country in Rwanda, and beyond, completely forgotten, with no program of action for their safe return. Have we really learned any lessons?' He posed.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
