Globe editorial Time to lean on Rwanda -
*From Monday's Globe and Mail* *November 3, 2008 at 12:27 AM EST* * The international community should never stand idle when a major conflict is in the offing. But in central Africa, where the 1995 Rwandan genocide prompted a generation of Western leaders to swear piously that they would never again let ethnic rivalries get so out of hand, it has a special responsibility.* * That is why it is critical that the United Nations peacekeeping force in Congo, which is at risk of being overwhelmed by an all-out war between Tutsi rebels and the Congolese army, be bulked up immediately, and that the West pressure Rwanda to restrain Tutsi militants.* * Events in Congo are following a bleakly familiar script. Simmering tensions between a Tutsi militia and the Congolese army near the town of Goma have boiled over into pitched battle, sending thousands of civilians fleeing for safety. The United Nations has warned that a "humanitarian crisis of catastrophic dimensions" is under way and has urgently requested reinforcements.* * The European Union, which is eager to prove itself militarily and led a short-term intervention elsewhere in Congo in 2003, would be an obvious candidate to send troops, although Canada should make available what support it can.* * More boots on the ground are desperately needed, though they will not cure the ills of one of the world's most troubled regions.* * Congo's neighbours, especially Rwanda and Uganda, have rarely hesitated to stir the pot in the country's north-east, which is rich in both minerals and ethnic distrust. On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said delicately that "Rwandan territory is being used to support" Tutsi rebels.* * Bringing Rwanda back into line should not be very difficult. The country's president, Paul Kagame, has tried hard to build strong relationships with Britain and the U.S., going so far as to switch Rwanda's official language to English from French in a bid to join the Commonwealth.* * Despite a murky human-rights record, he has largely succeeded. Britain has pledged $100-million (U.S.) a year for Mr. Kagame's efforts to make Rwanda the "Switzerland of Africa," and he has been fêted at the White House.* * Unless the Rwandan government takes rapid, effective steps to rein in Tutsi rebels, all of this should be off the table. The dangers of renewed instability in the heart of Africa are too great for any other course of action.* -
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