By : HAKIZIMANA Maurice
Since 24 February, the date of the last EU Foreign Affairs Council devoted to the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, has been accused of having vetoed sanctions against Rwanda.
On Tuesday, in front of the deputies, he set the record straight and somewhat disoriented his interlocutors.
“I never vetoed, because there was no vote and I do not understand how false information could trigger such an avalanche,” declared the liberal Minister of Foreign Affairs, announcing that he had received “direct threats.”
II To follow my channel Whatsapp https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCyM5ILdQejDYwQ2b2u II To follow me on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/professormaurice/.
Incomprehension reigned in the House on Tuesday.
The deputy déi gréng Sam Tanson, author of a motion on the subject, wonders why the minister waited so long before rectifying the situation, leaving the Congolese community and NGO circles to point the finger at Luxembourg’s isolated position on the issue of sanctions.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced on the very day of the meeting in Brussels that sanctions against the leaders of the M23 group had been retained.
“Xavier Bettel had simply “suggested waiting for the results of this week’s African mediation efforts before implementing them to prevent the parties from withdrawing from these talks before they even take place”.
There will be a vote scheduled for March 17th” and Luxembourg changes sides: it will vote for sanctions against Rwanda.
Xavier Bettel kept repeating, Tuesday in front of the deputies, that he never opposed his veto since there was no vote.
“To take sanctions, you need names, precise details, which we did not have. Today, we have a list of ten names that has not yet been made public and there will be a vote scheduled for March 17th”, he announced. He does not see how Luxembourg would be bothered by sanctions given that its economic exchanges with Rwanda remain modest.
“Enforcing international law”
Sam Tanson’s motion, adopted unanimously, calls on the government to intervene with the Rwandan government with a view to withdrawing troops from the DR Congo.
To be clear, it also calls on the government to support the adoption of targeted European sanctions against Rwandans responsible for the atrocities committed in the DR Congo and to strengthen Luxembourg’s diplomatic engagement within the European Union and the United Nations to work towards a political solution guaranteeing respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DR Congo.
“What is valid for Ukraine is also valid for the Congo and we must work to ensure that international law is respected,” says Laurent Zeimet (CSV), satisfied with Xavier Bettel’s explanations.
Socialist Yves Cruchten believes that they are arriving a little late, given that the press has been pointing the finger at Luxembourg since last Friday.
“Even Dr Denis Mukwege posted a text on the X network indicating that Xavier Bettel had blocked European sanctions against Rwanda,” he informs, speaking of the gynaecologist, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2018.
MPs Fred Keup (ADR) and Sven Clement (Pirate Party), also say they are perplexed and David Wagner (déi Lénk), recalls that he had tabled a motion on the same subject which was rejected.
He requested, among other things, that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), providing for the strengthening of the partnership between Luxembourg and Rwanda in the field of development cooperation, be suspended.
On March 17, EU foreign ministers will vote on sanctions against Rwanda based on a specific list, and Xavier Bettel will certainly not oppose it.
This world
HAKIZIMANA Maurice: II To follow my channel Whatsapp https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCyM5ILdQejDYwQ2b2u II To follow me on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/professormaurice/.