Three of the world’s biggest football clubs are being urged to drop their sponsorship deals with Visit Rwanda by the government of neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The United Nations recently said almost 3,000 people have been killed in fighting in DRC after M23 rebels, backed by some 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, seized the city of Goma.
DRC‘s foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told Sky News’ Yalda Hakim that, despite calls to ditch the lucrative shirt sponsor, Arsenal, Paris St Germain (PSG) and Bayern Munich appeared to be “still soul searching”.
In a wide-ranging interview on The World on Tuesday, Ms Wagner accused the clubs of being sponsored by “a country that is wreaking havoc… and that is de facto a warmonger”.
“How do these clubs know that the money used is not money that is derived from the sales of minerals… mined in the DRC through horrific human rights violations?” she asked.
“How do these different football clubs reconcile with their conscience with the ideals that football represents of bringing people together?
“In the DRC, thousands of people have been killed, including children… children who certainly also cheer for Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich or Arsenal. And so there is a need to reconcile that.”
A ceasefire was declared after the deadly capture of Goma, which involved fierce battles with Congolese forces.
The UN said hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced amid “immense human suffering… and a growing humanitarian crisis”.
Earlier this month, Ms Wagner wrote to Arsenal, PSG and Bayern Munich to “question the morality” of the sponsorship deals and call for them to end.
The deal is believed to be worth around £10m a year for Arsenal alone.
PSG and Arsenal told Sky News they would not comment. Bayern Munich has not responded to a request for comment.
Rwanda President Paul Kagame dismissed the appeal for the European clubs to break ties with Rwanda as “wasted efforts”.
He told CNN that DRC should instead “direct the effort towards managing their own problems, own politics properly”.
Mr Kagame also said he didn’t know if his country’s troops were in the DRC.
Rwanda insists it has taken mostly defensive positions to protect its borders and citizens.
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But Ms Wagner described the rebels’ takeover as a “de facto occupation by Rwanda behind the facade of the M23”.
She also called on the international community to impose “firm sanctions” on Rwanda and ban Rwandan minerals on the global markets.
Ms Wagner accused Rwanda of “pillaging” the DRC’s natural resources by using forced labour – involving Congolese men, women and children – to mine minerals under the threat of violence.
She claimed the resources are “transported over to Rwanda and exported as Rwandan minerals”.
She said: “We welcome the fact that, as of December, we have seen the UK stance be much more firm, much more transparent, and has also been much more clear in condemning the actions of Rwanda.”
But she also insisted that “firmer action has to take place and that has to happen faster” adding that “we need firm sanctions… that actually target the Rwandan leadership”.
