19-25 October 2015

1. Rwanda looking forward to stability in Burundi

Private, pro-government newspapers

“Rwanda will not military intervene in Burundi for now” New Times, 23rd October 2015

• Rwanda will not get involved in Burundi crisis, said Foreign Affairs minister Louise Mushikiwabo. Addressing a news conference in Kigali, she told journalists that “Burundi’s problem is not Rwanda; Burundi’s problem is Burundi.”
• Mushikiwabo also said that that Rwanda is interested in having stable neighbours referring to 70,000 Burundian refugees living in Rwandan refugee camps.
• In September began diplomatic tensions between Rwanda and Burundi when Bujumbura filed an official complaint with the ICGLR, accusing Rwanda of acts of aggression on its territory, which Kigali denies.
• Responding to whether Rwanda will military intervene in Burundi if asked by the African Union, Mushikiwabo said that Rwanda would never send troops where the receiving country is not ready. She wondered: “I don’t know what was expected of Rwanda; to send our army to Burundi? We can’t do that. The decision would depend on whether the Burundians would welcome the Rwandan army.”
• With increasing reports of Rwandans being arbitrary arrested and tortured in Burundi, the minister advised Rwandans against travelling to Burundi.