Speaking to the youth during the 14th cohort of the Indangamirwa civic training program on August 9, 2024, Dr. Bizimana traced the roots of ongoing regional insecurity to the 1885 Berlin Conference and the subsequent formalization of borders on May 14, 1910, by Belgium, Britain, and Germany.
These decisions, he explained, led to the dismemberment of Rwanda, with several provinces, including Masisi, Rutshuru, Fizi, and Uvira, being annexed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and others to Uganda.
'These provinces were given to DRC even though they were inhabited by Rwandans. The people living in those provinces continued to speak Kinyarwanda because it was their language,' Dr. Bizimana stated. He further emphasized that 'the consequences are evident, as in the eastern part of DRC, some of these residents are treated as outsiders, labeled as Rwandans, even though they are Congolese.'
This colonial redrawing of borders stripped Rwanda of territories that were predominantly inhabited by Rwandans.
Despite becoming Congolese citizens, these communities in eastern DRC have been subjected to persistent violence and discrimination, often labeled as outsiders simply because of their language and cultural ties to Rwanda.
Dr. Bizimana underscored that the violence against Kinyarwanda-speaking communities in eastern DRC is deeply rooted in these historical injustices. 'This was the first harmful decision made by the Europeans. Had these provinces remained part of Rwanda, the current issues of injustice, killings, and hate ideologies in eastern Congo would likely not exist today,' he asserted.
The colonial-era decision to fragment Rwanda created deep-seated divisions that continue to manifest in the form of ethnic discrimination, killings, and systemic exclusion of these communities from leadership and governance in the DRC.
Ambassador Vincent Karega, Rwanda's former representative in Kinshasa, reinforced this perspective by drawing parallels between the current governance challenges in the DRC and Rwanda's past struggles from 1959 to 1994.
'The problem is that DRC is poorly governed, with divisions similar to those we experienced, where ethnic discrimination led to the exclusion of certain groups, particularly the Kinyarwanda-speaking community, to prevent them from competing for leadership positions,' Karega noted.
The Kinyarwanda-speaking population in the DRC is diverse, consisting of groups who settled there before colonization, those brought by Belgium during colonial rule, and Rwandan refugees who fled from 1959 onwards due to escalating insecurity. Despite a 1971 law granting these refugees Congolese citizenship, they have continued to face systemic violence and mistrust, a direct legacy of the colonial border realignments.
Dr. Bizimana's remarks highlight the far-reaching consequences of colonialism, particularly how the arbitrary partitioning of Rwanda has fueled long-standing regional insecurity.
'The legacy of colonialism continues to cast a long shadow over the region,' Dr. Bizimana observed, noting that the scars of history are still deeply felt in eastern DRC, where violence, discrimination, and instability persist.
Had the territorial integrity of Rwanda been preserved, the region might have experienced a different trajectory- one of greater unity and peace.
IGIHE
