Kagame says report on exploitation of DRC resources politically motivated

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has described the contents of the United Nations report on the illegal exploitation of resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as politically motivated and an overreaction. In an interview with the UK-based periodical Africa Confidential on Friday, he said he had not yet read the report, but had heard about it. "I have my own personal disrespect of the whole aim behind this report and the forces that were behind it," he said. "At least I know, I think, the whole commission that carried out the investigation and wrote this report is not free of politics." He added, "I don't see why they should overreact like that." Nevertheless, he said Rwanda would take the accusations made against its army officers "very seriously", and that he would not hesitate to take disciplinary action against anyone found guilty, regardless of their seniority. Regarding his army chief of staff, James Kabarebe, and other senior officers accused of engaging in illegal business activities in Congo, he said he would be "very happy to discover the truth" and would judge how to deal with the problem based on that truth. Asked whether he would consider setting up a national commission of inquiry similar to the Porter Commission in Uganda, he said he had "a different opinion" on the issue. He described the Ugandan commission set up under Justice David Christopher Porter as "a whitewashing exercise", adding that nothing would come of it. Kagame also said he could not rule out the possibility that the Rwandan army might return to eastern Congo. That, he said, would depend on the facts on the ground. Asked whether he would return to Uvira, eastern Congo, if the situation deteriorated there, he said, "Can there be any alternative?" Details of report issued by the United Nations Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC.