Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Maxime Prévot, recently dismissed allegations that Brussels is arming Burundi to wage war against Rwanda, calling them false and entirely unfounded. He went further, warning that such claims serve those who seek to inflame tensions and undermine peace efforts.
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His words would carry more weight if Belgium were not simultaneously providing shelter and political space to financiers of the Kinshasa- and Gitega-backed FDLR, a UN-sanctioned terrorist group rooted in the genocidal ideology that led to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
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The tensions between Belgium and Rwanda did not arise in a vacuum. Belgium’s own actions contributed to them. Before lecturing others about disinformation, Prévot should address a far more pressing question: why does Brussels continue to offer safe haven to those who support genocide?
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A genocidaire is someone who committed, planned, or participated in acts of genocide. The term applies directly to those responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Thirty-two years later, individuals linked to that genocide ideology, and to its continuation, are operating freely in Brussels. They fundraise, organize, and run propaganda campaigns on Belgian soil, some with funding from the Belgian government itself.
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Norman Ishimwe, the Secretary General of the genocide-denialist group Jambo ASBL, operates without restriction in Belgium. So do Gustave and Ruhumuza Mbonyumutwa, Laure Uwase, Placide Kayumba, and Joseph Matata, among others. These individuals are not merely expressing controversial opinions; they are actively bankrolling the eastern DR Congo-based FDLR and providing it with political cover. Belgium’s tolerance of their activities is not passive oversight. It is a refusal to meet its legal obligations.
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Belgium is a state party to the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. That treaty imposes an affirmative duty to prevent and punish genocide and its preparatory acts, including the financing and organization of support for genocidal groups. Belgium is not fulfilling that duty. Allowing FDLR supporters to raise funds and run influence campaigns from Brussels places the country in direct contradiction with its own international commitments.
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In 2023, President Paul Kagame raised the issue of this genocidal group at the Diplomatic Corps Dinner: “Does anyone in this world want to keep this FDLR story going on forever?” No one should. Yet genocide deniers continue to campaign for exactly that in the heart of Brussels, without consequence.
That question demands a direct response from Belgian authorities, not diplomatic language about peace and dialogue, but concrete action against individuals and organizations financing a designated terrorist group.
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Belgium’s public messaging on Rwanda and the Great Lakes region presents a government committed to peace and reconciliation. Its actions, however, suggest otherwise. Continuing to fund organizations like Jambo ASBL and Matata’s CLIIR, while they serve as platforms for FDLR financing, is not neutrality. It is complicity cloaked in procedural language.
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As a Rwandan, my demand is straightforward: close the financial channels that allow FDLR supporters to operate in Belgium. Withdraw public funding from organizations whose members actively support a genocidal militia. Enforce the legal obligations Belgium has already accepted under international law. These are not extraordinary requests. They are the minimum required under the Genocide Convention.
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Belgian officials have repeatedly stated that their country will never provide legal shelter or political space to those who participated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Such declarations ring hollow as long as Jambo ASBL and CLIIR members hold press conferences in Brussels, raise funds for FDLR, and face no legal consequences.
Belgium may deny arming Burundi in a conflict with Rwanda. But the documented reality – that Brussels provides operational space to FDLR financiers – requires no speculation. It is visible, organized, and ongoing.
If Belgium is serious about peace in the region, it must act against those using its territory to prolong a genocide that should have ended three decades ago. Grand statements about peace and dialogue are meaningless without action.
The writer is a media specialist, historian, and playwright.
