President Kikwete.PHOTO|FILE
In Summary
It said the so-called founder members of Rwanda
National Congress, Dr Rudasingwa and advisor Condo Gervais together with
top commanders of FDLR, namely Lt Col Wilson Irategeka and Col Hamadi,
were not in Tanzania last week.
Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian
embassy in Rwanda has refuted reports accusing President Jakaya Kikwete
of supporting members of rebel groups opposed to the government in
Kigali.
The accusations were published over the weekend in the Rwandan government-owned newspaper, The News of Rwanda.
“Indeed,
these reports are nothing but a bunch of dangerous lies fabricated by
editors of this publication with obvious malicious intent to attack the
person of the President of a friendly neighbouring country and create an
impression that Tanzania is working with enemies and groups opposed to
the government of Rwanda,” said a statement by acting Tanzanian High
Commissioner to Rwanda, Mr Francis Mwaipaja.
The statement said the embassy of Tanzania in Rwanda was deeply saddened by the malicious and untrue reports.
The
statement said the News of Rwanda, which has gained a notoriety of
reporting and publishing malicious, dangerous and perpetual propaganda,
quoting unnamed sources that claimed, among other things, that two
founding members of the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), including Dr
Theogene Rudasingwa, met secretly in Dar es Salaam with top commanders
of the Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
It said
the so-called founder members of Rwanda National Congress, Dr Rudasingwa
and advisor Condo Gervais together with top commanders of FDLR, namely
Lt Col Wilson Irategeka and Col Hamadi, were not in Tanzania last week.
“Indeed, our records do not show that they have visited Tanzania in the recent years,” said the statement.
It
added that there was no meeting of any kind at any official residence
of President Kikwete, either in Dar es Salaam, in Dodoma or elsewhere
for that matter.
“Indeed, President Kikwete has never met any of
those people mentioned anywhere – in Tanzania or outside. Moreover, on
the day that News of Rwanda claims that the meeting took place, Thursday
23rd, this month, the President was not even in the country – he was in
Davos attending the meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF),” the
statement said.
It added: “President Kikwete is deeply hurt by
these lies and his humble advice to the editors of this publication is
to stop fabricating untrue claims which potentially could create and
fuel animosity and confusion among the people of our two neighbouring
and friendly countries.”
The statement noted further that the
Tanzanian embassy in Rwanda does not take lightly these allegations by
the News of Rwanda, given the position that this publication occupies in
the Rwandan public
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