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world news Diamars 5 Juli 2022

Tensions persist as Rwanda denies Congo rebel charges

(AP) — Rwandan Presi- the Congolese town of Bu- tourist area. “It’s on record
dent Paul Kagame on nagana at the Uganda border and with facts. (Congo) is
Monday accused Congo and Congolese authorities supporting FDLR, and un-
of supporting rebels op- charged that Rwandan troops fortunately with the knowl-
posed to his government, had invaded Congo. edge of MONUSCO,” he
escalating tensions with a said, referring to U.N. peace-
neighbor who in turn ac- Rwanda has long denied sup- keepers on the ground.
cuses Rwanda of support- porting M23, disputing the
ing violent rebels who re- accounts of conflict observ- It wasn’t immediately pos-
cently captured a town in ers, U.N. experts and oth- sible to get a comment from
eastern Congo. ers. M23 is made up mostly MONUSCO.
of ethnic Tutsi fighters from
Kagame said in a televised ad- Congo who say their gov- Kagame accused Congo of
dress that his country is con- ernment hasn’t honored past trying to involve Rwanda
cerned by alleged Congolese commitments to reintegrate in “their internal issues,”
support for the Democratic them into the national army. and wondered how long his
Forces for the Liberation of government will resist such
Rwanda, or FDLR, a Con- Congolese authorities deny provocation. He spoke of the They cause trouble and then It remains unclear when the
go-based rebel group that allegations they support the rights of Congolese Kinyar- start crying foul,” he said of force, which would be autho-
includes fighters accused of FDLR. wanda speakers living in east- Congolese authorities. rized to disarm insurgents,
taking part in the 1994 geno- ern Congo, saying Congolese will be deployed.
cide. But Kagame charged Monday authorities have a obligation Regional leaders under the
that Congo is actively arming to address the grievances of East African Community Congo has said it opposes
Relations between Rwanda the FDLR, whose fighters are the M23 rebels. bloc are working toward de- putting Rwandan troops in
and Congo have frayed in accused of killing dozens in a ploying a peacekeeping force Congo as members of such a
recent weeks after the M23 2019 attack in the northern “They have recently been be- in eastern Congo’s restive force. Kagame said Monday
rebel group last month took Rwandan town of Kinigi, a having like spoilt children. provinces. he was fine with that.

Ukraine lays out $750B ‘recovery plan’ for postwar future

(AP) — Ukrainian President hundreds of attendees in Lugano. “Today, we’re all united in our de- economy by driving up food and fuel
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mon- ”Restoring Ukraine means restoring fense. Tomorrow in our reconstruc- prices.
day the reconstruction of his war- the principles of life, restoring the tion,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister
battered country is the “common space of life, restoring everything that Denys Shmyhal, who attended in It said Switzerland has been over the
task of the entire democratic makes humans humans.” person. He presented a recovery plan years a “popular refuge” for Russian
world,” as his prime minister laid that meets immediate needs — even business magnates to park their as-
out a $750 billion recovery plan British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as the war continues — followed by sets. The group said firms use Swit-
once the guns of Russia’s invaders said such a recovery would require a a “fast recovery” when it’s over, and zerland as an “unregulated commod-
fall silent one day. sort of “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine then longer-term requirements. ity trading hub” and exploit a lack of
to help it rebuild. transparency about financial dealings
As Russian forces continued their Shmyhal said the cost of the recov- in the country.
crushing advance in Ukraine’s east- Such ambitions, Zelenskyy said, ery plan is estimated at $750 billion,
ern Donbas region, Zelenskyy spoke will require wide-scale construction, and insisted a key source of funding There was no immediate response
by video message to the Ukraine Re- funding and security “in all of our “should be the confiscated assets of from the Swiss government.
covery Conference in Switzerland country which will be forced to con- Russia and Russian oligarchs.” He
about the needs of the country that tinue living beside Russia.” cited unspecified estimates that such The group welcomed Switzerland’s
has been on an up-and-down march sums total $300 billion to $500 billion “humanitarian engagement” for
toward democracy since the end of The task, which is already under way now. Ukraine through the conference but
the Cold War and now faces wide- in some areas that were liberated called on the government to strictly
spread devastation. from Russian forces, aims to leverage “The Russian authorities unleash this implement international sanctions on
outside expertise, government funds bloody war. They caused this massive Russian elites and their government,
“The reconstruction of Ukraine is and work of Ukrainians to rebuild destruction and they should be held and better regulate its trading hub.
not a local project, is not a project hospitals, schools, government build- accountable for it,” Shmyhal said.
of one nation, but a common task ings, homes and apartments — but Switzerland is a major international
of the entire democratic world — all also water pipes, gas lines and other Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president financial center and its government
countries, all countries who can say battered infrastructure. of the European Union’s executive has traditionally touted Swiss “neu-
they are civilized,” Zelenskyy told branch, said using such confiscated trality” — which is enshrined into
Russian assets would involve criminal law — and Switzerland’s role as an
law, so the “legal obstacles” weren’t intermediary between hostile coun-
resolved, “but we think it’s important tries and as a host of many interna-
that according to the principle of ‘ag- tional and U.N. institutions.
gressor pays’ it’s also Russia’s assets
which are directed to the reconstruc- The Swiss Bankers Association has
tion of Ukraine.” estimated that the assets of Russian
clients deposited in Switzerland’s
Earlier Monday, a leading Swiss non- banks total 150-200 billion Swiss
governmental group called out Swit- francs (about $155-$210 billion),
zerland as a “safe haven” for Russian making the country a key repository
oligarchs and as a trading hub for of Russian money abroad.
Russian oil, grain and coal.
Switzerland, which is not a mem-
Public Eye urged the Swiss execu- ber of the EU, has largely joined the
tive branch to “use all levers at its bloc’s sanctions against Russia. The
disposal to stop the financing of this website of the Swiss federal econom-
inhuman aggression,” a reference to ics department says that as of May 12,
Russia’s war that has killed thousands a total of 6.3 billion francs have been
of people, driven millions from their frozen in Switzerland in connection
homes, and rippled through world with Russia’s war in Ukraine.