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| Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete speaks at a press conference at the State House in Dar Es Salaam on July 1, 2013. Relations between Tanzania and neighbour Rwanda are strained, Kikwete has acknowledged against a backdrop of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. (AFP/File) |
Relations
between Tanzania and neighbour Rwanda are strained, Tanzanian President
Jakaya Kikwete has acknowledged against a backdrop of conflict in
eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Since the end of May, our
relations with Rwanda have gone through difficult times," Kikwete said
in a frank speech to the nation late Friday, criticising "statements by
the leaders of Rwanda against myself and against our country".
At
an African Union summit meeting in Ethiopia in May, Kikwete advised
Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo to open negotiations with rebel forces.
But
in response, Kigali angrily suggested that Kikwete was speaking for the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan Hutu
rebel group based in DR Congo.
"The relationship (with Rwanda)
became difficult after my advice to the Rwandan government to talk to
his opponents," said Kikwete, speaking in Swahili.
"I gave the same advice to the governments of Congo and Uganda," Kikwete added.
Tanzania
has sent troops to join the UN peacekeeping force in eastern DR Congo,
taking part in a special brigade to target multiple rebel forces there,
including the FDLR as well as the M23, a mainly Tutsi group founded last
year.
UN experts have accused Kigali of backing M23 fighters, claims that Rwanda strongly denies.
But Kikwete said he wanted to ensure "good relations" with Kigali.
"I would like to reiterate that I and the Tanzanian government have no bad intentions against Rwanda," Kikwete said.
Some
accuse Tanzania of being close to the Rwandan opposition in exile,
including Colonel Patrick Karegeya, Kigali's former intelligence chief
now based in South Africa.
Karegeya and former army chief of staff
Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, also exiled in South Africa, formed the
opposition Rwanda National Congress three years ago, which calls for
their former comrade President Paul Kagame to step down.
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