Expulsion of eight Rwandan refugees

Eight members of the political wing of a Rwandan Hutu rebel group, who were refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were expelled from the country on Wednesday. In a statement released on Thursday, the United Nations Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, said it had been informed of the repatriation of the eight, all members of the Forces democratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), the same day. MONUC emphasised that it had not been involved in the exercise in any way, stating that the eight were neither ex-combatants nor their dependents, nor individuals wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Moreover, the repatriation had nothing to do with MONUC's ongoing disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reinstallation and reinsertion programme (DDRRR) programme, the organisation said. Exactly who had conducted the repatriation remained unclear on Friday, with both the Rwandan and DRC governments reportedly accusing South Africa of being responsible. A spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ron Redmond, said on Friday that the UN agency had learned "with great concern" of the "refoulement" of the eight refugees. This constituted a violation of the basic refugee principles enshrined in the 1951 refugee convention, he said. The eight were part of a group of 20 members of the Rwandan political party, who were recognised refugees, Redmond confirmed. He added that UNHCR was sending a letter to DRC President Joseph Kabila on Friday seeking an explanation of the incident. He added that UNHCR was presently trying to gain access to the eight in Rwanda. The eight FDLR members had been held in detention since 2 October, MONUC said. The government of the DRC on 24 September announced a ban on all armed Rwandan groups operating in the country, saying that their leaders had been declared personae non gratae on DRC territory. A communique issued by Vital Kamerhe, the government's commissioner-general for the peace process, specifically referred to the FDLR, adding that its leaders had 72 hours to leave the country. The step was taken as part of the Pretoria accord, signed on 30 July, between Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Joseph Kabila of the DRC, which committed the latter to the disarmament and repatriation of Rwandan rebel groups in exchange for a Rwandan withdrawal from DRC territory. "This group [FDLR] is among the factors disrupting the disarmament of armed groups," Kamerhe told IRIN. The eight had reportedly returned to the DRC from neighbouring Republic of Congo, where they had taken temporary refuge after the banning.