Rwanda Cuts Off Diplomatic Relations With Belgium

“The Government of Rwanda today notified the Government of Belgium of its decision to sever diplomatic relations, effective immediately. Rwanda’s decision has been taken after careful consideration of several factors, all linkedl with Belgium’s pitiful attempts to sustain its neocolonial delusions,” Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

All Belgian diplomatic corps were also given 48hrs to leave Rwanda.

The severing of this relationship comes hours after President Paul Kagame told Rwandans yesterday at a citizen’s outreach to brace for a fight for their rights and stating that he is going to take action on the existing Rwanda-Belgian relations which he said was full of the latter hunting to destroy Rwandans for over 30 years.

Kagame, on March 16, cautioned Belgium against interfering in Rwanda’s progress, accusing it of blaming Rwanda for DR Congo’s problems and conspiring to impose sanctions, despite its colonial history of being the root cause of the region’s longstanding issues.

“Tighten your belts. Brace yourselves for a battle for your rights. We must fight for our rights. We have a right worthy fighting for,” Kagame said in Kiswahili, referring to the recent aggressive attacks on Rwanda over the DRC crisis.

“Belgians destroyed our country and Rwandans for more than 30 years of our history; and they still want to kill even those who survived. We warned the Belgians and will warn them again this time around,” President Kagame said while commenting on colonialists who still hunt Rwanda to date.

Kagame also remarked that Rwanda’s misfortune was being colonized by a small country like Belgium, which divided the nation in ways that mirrored its own divisions.

“We want to be Rwandans not Belgians. I remind Rwandans who have not assimilated this concept, that we have to clean up and forget them (Belgians)” he said while addressing more than 8,000 residents of the City of Kigali, diplomatic corps and citizen representatives from other provinces at BK Arena on Sunday.

This also follows Rwanda’s recent announcement to temporarily halt the relations following the fact that Belgium accused Rwanda for the current unresolved Eastern DRC crisis, of which the new announcement stated that:

“Belgium has taken sides on the regional conflict and continues to systematically mobilize against Rwanda in different forms using lies and manipulation to secure an unjustified hostile opinion of Rwanda, in an attempt to destabilize both Rwanda and the region,”

During the