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Feb 8, 2022, 12 tweets

BREAKING: President Paul Kagame says relations with #Burundi have improved greatly in recent months & more will be done together with President @GeneralNeva to fully restore ties, in order for the citizens of the two countries to co-exist.

President Kagame said the issues between #Rwanda & #Burundi, including insecurity along the shared border, can be easily addressed & soon will be got out of the way for the people of the two countries to freely move across the borders. He emphasized the will on both sides.

On relations with Uganda, President Kagame touched on recent developments, including the reopening of the Gatuna OSBP, once again reiterating the issues which in the first place led to the closure of the border. He also used the opportunity to give the background of the problem.

President Kagame once again talked about the issue of the safety of Rwandans in Uganda, which to date remains, where hundreds of #Rwandans are arbitrarily arrested on accusations of espionage -something he said resulted into persecution & mistreatment of many innocent people.

President Kagame questioned how it is even possible in the first place to have as many spies in another country as it was alleged & also wondered how those who are known to be members of groups fighting the Rwandan government would not be arrested but instead facilitated.

He pointed out that #Rwanda raised the issues with #Uganda for a long time but there was little or no action, which among other things led to the closure of the Gatuna OSPB. He pointed out that several envoys were sent from #Uganda to discuss the matter & agree on a solution.

The Head of State said that it was agreed that #Uganda would address these issues & in turn #Rwanda agreed to reopen the border, but in line with existing #COVID19 restrictions. He however seemed to indicate that there is more to be done by #Uganda in addressing the issues.

He also mentioned that among other things, Rwanda learnt that there are some people who attacked Rwanda (Kinigi, October 2019) & escaped to #Uganda & were supposedly arrested but later it emerged that they were released & allowed to go back to DR Congo where they operated from.

On DRC, President Kagame yet again criticized peacekeeping efforts in the eastern part of the country, saying that rather than working towards full restoration of peace, the deployment seems focused more on sustaining the existing conditions for the operation to stay in place.

He said that the multibillion dollar deployment of forces in DRC has become a business for some who would rather make sure that the country remains volatile so that they can find a reason to stay, which according to him does not make sense at all.

Still on #DRC, President Kagame talked about the issue of #ADF rebels which he said is no longer concerns #Uganda only. He pointed out that Rwanda arrested members of ADF in the country & it was found that they are linked to the Islamic State in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.

President Kagame explained to Parliament the rationale of #Rwanda Forces remaining in the Central African Republic & #Mozambique, pointing out that the reason that took them there is yet to be achieved, emphasizing the importance of Rwanda continuing to support the said states.

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