Analysts have said that a belligerent speech by DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, in which he targeted President Paul Kagame personally, was uncalled for.
In a response to President Kagame's recent remarks, about the root cause of the DR Congo conflict, Tshisekedi told youth delegates in Kinshasa on Sunday that the Rwandan leader was "the enemy of the Democratic Republic of Congo."
In addition, Tshisekedi said "Rwandans need our support to liberate themselves." He went on to accuse President Kagame of being a "war maker" who "uses methods of the 1960s and 1970s."
According to analysts, Tshisekedi's speech was a bellicose attack on President Kagame and that it downplayed the regional efforts to normalise the cold relations between Rwanda and the DR Congo.
"Tshisekedi has long blamed Rwanda for DR Congo's security crisis but no one believed that every misfortune that befalls Congo is Rwanda's responsibility," said Joseph Mutaboba, former Rwandan ambassador to the United Nations and the deputy head of the UN mission in Darfur.
"With the violence he has been inciting all along in Congo, especially in Masisi and other eastern territories, he was saying that Rwandans are the problem," Mutaboba said. "Now that this strategy did not work, Tshisekedi is desperate to look for other ways by targeting President Kagame, which will not succeed anyway."
"It is obvious that for DR Congo to attend the regional peace talks is a diversion. Tshisekedi does not believe in efforts to normalise relations."
DR Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels who are fighting the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) in North Kivu province - allegations Kigali has dismissed.
"President Tshisekedi should know that the security crisis in DR Congo stems from internal leadership issues, which was President Kagame's point last week," said Ismael Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Rwanda.
Mary Balikungeli, a peace activist, told The New Times that President Tshisekedi should address the DR Congo's internal problem and respect the current regional efforts to normalise diplomatic relations with Rwanda.
"The security crisis in the Congo is not a new issue; it is rooted in decades of leadership problems in the country. Rwanda is just a scapegoat," Balikungeli said.
"If you are in dialogue with your fellow statesmen, and instead of respecting the mechanism that is in place you attack the leaders personally, that shows that you disrespect the mechanism and you are not ready for talks."
Rwanda has long accused FARDC of cooperating with the FDLR, a terrorist group which was founded by remnants of Interahamwe and the former Rwandan army who are responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
"President Tshisekedi's speech sums up what's behind the cooperation with the FDLR and rearming them," says Jean Baptiste Gasominari, a lawyer. "Saying that Rwandans need the help of the Congolese to change leadership in Rwanda amounts to a declaration of war."
Gasominari adds that Tshisekedi's words mean he is not interested in the regional mechanism, the Angola-mediated Luanda roadmap, established to normalise relations between DR Congo and Rwanda, and the Nairobi process.
"The delinquent and aberrant conduct of President Tshisekedi against colleagues amidst talks to have the Congo impasse solved is just a clog to veil the fact that he doesn't want any solution at all," said Mukasa Mbidde, a member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). "He prefers antics appealing to the gallery of the divided population and uses suffering as a raw material for his bid for election for another term."
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"Unfortunately, he matched so much with the Interahamwe. He seeks to divide Rwandans, which is identical to what the FDLR and their politicians have promoted for years, in an attempt to legitimize their terrorist activities. But fundamentally, he is calling for war, which is unfortunate," Albert Rudatsimburwa, a political analyst of the Great Lakes regions, said.
"The message Tshisekedi's speech is sending to the regional mechanisms supported by the EAC and ICGLR is that they have another problem on the desk. Somebody has to tell Congo that there are some limits they should not transgress."
Rudatsimburwa added that promoting regime change in a neighbouring country could have dangerous regional implications.
