Filip Reyntjens

Emeritus Professor of Law and Politics, Institute of Development Policy, University of Antwerp. Works on the African Great Lakes Region. RT ≠ endorsement

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

My latest: State Weakness as an Enabler of Regional Conflict: The Case of the DR Congo https://t.co/b7fVUY4URQ

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@torfsrik Hieronder wat nonsens. Van @torfsrik niets gehoord.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

Kan @torfsrik dat onderbouwen? Enkele voorbeelden misschien?

[Rik Torfs @torfsrik]

Het probleem van de zogenaamde 'factcheckers' is niet dat ze 'feiten' controleren, maar dat ze hun interpretatie ervan aan anderen normatief opleggen als de 'enige waarheid'. In die zin passen ze in de autoritaire denkpatronen die onze samenleving almaar sterker kenmerken.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@paul_rukesha You reverse the order. Identification was done first, study of morphological features followed. And, of course, well before census it was clear that for instance Musinga and most chiefs were Tutsi.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

Bonne question. L'administration utilisait des 'karani' rwandais qui couvraient toute l'étendue du territoire.

[ndayizeye david @mutungwa_sab]

@freyntje @LonzenRugira 1930 y avait combien de chiens belges criminels colons pour faire un recensement ds un pays, sans voie de communication pour atteindre les coins du pays?

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@mutungwa_sab @LonzenRugira L'administration utilisait des 'karani' rwandais qui couvraient toute l'étendue du territoire.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

.@LonzenRugira, let's give this a last try. Ethnic labeling was not based on length of noses or number of cows but on self identification during the 1930s census.

[Lonzen Rugira @LonzenRugira]

All true. Except the nose thing. It was a post WWI invention to codify divide and rule.

In Rwanda it is as recent as the 1920s- 1930s during consolidation or “reform”.

Belgians measured noses, issued identity cards according to the size of the noses, among other markers.

And these differences you talk about became “ethnic”/“tribal” differences.

Of course the question is why create markers of difference if the people are already different.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

#Rwanda @rpfinkotanyi keeps maintaining #FDLR as an asset, 'allowing' to intervene in the #DRC and possibly #Burundi. URwanda ruratera ntiruterwa. https://t.co/clBfV222Zv

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@paul_rukesha @aysesila1975 I should stop wasting my time on inept @paul_rukesha. Can he tell us how the 1978 constitution 'justified the persecution of the Tutsi'? And don't mention the preamble which was not drafted by De Wolf, Ntashamaje and me. He will chicken out now, as always.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@WorldpolitPack @YolandeMakolo Have you finally read @WorldpolitPack?

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

Nice try by @YolandeMakolo: 'Rwanda does not subscribe to ethnic extremism, we have worked hard to leave this behind us'. I suppose that's the reason why 80% of main functions are occupied by #Tutsi. https://t.co/aA2xgU1pNW. More details: https://t.co/roVOeoP5bK

[ChimpReports @ChimpReports]

Rwanda Rejects Gen @mkainerugaba’s Ethnic Remarks.

“Rwanda does not subscribe to ethnic extremism,” said @YolandeMakolo.

“We have worked hard to leave this behind us. We do not need it and do not want it.”

https://t.co/dSROUN8xNy

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@WorldpolitPack @YolandeMakolo It's all in the 2 publications I shared. You can read, can't you?

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

#Rwanda Attention @YolandeMakolo. @aysesila1975 convoite votre job comme porte-parole d'une brutale dictature. Seul avantage: contrairement à vous, elle n'a visité son "chez-soi" que pendant quelques jours.

[Sila Cehreli / Mushaka-Muzi w’Inkotanyi 🇹🇷 🇷🇼 @aysesila1975]

Les Inkotanyi ont libéré le pays du ségrégationnisme et de l'idéologie génocidaire ; ils ont reconstruit les infrastructures et restauré le prestige de l'État en partant de zéro. La nouvelle génération de Rwandais(e)s relèvera les défis actuels, notamment celui du chômage des jeunes, qui est hélas un problème commun à de nombreuses régions du monde. Le chemin ne sera peut-être pas dépourvu d'obstacles, mais on commence le combat avec un avantage de 1-0 lorsqu'on a un chez-soi comme le #Rwanda. 😍

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@aysesila1975 #Rwanda Attention @YolandeMakolo. @aysesila1975 convoite votre job comme porte-parole d'une brutale dictature. Seul avantage: contrairement à vous, elle n'a visité son "chez-soi" que pendant quelques jours.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

.@Mike_Pence : We stand with #Israel because she commits #genocide.

[Mike Pence @Mike_Pence]

Israel is America's most cherished ally. We stand with Israel because her cause is our cause, her values are our values, and her fight is our fight. We stand with Israel because we believe in right over wrong, in good over evil, and in liberty over tyranny. We stand with Israel because that's what Americans have always done, from our country's very earliest days. - The Case for Israel

An excerpt from my new book, “What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience,” first published in The Washington Free Beacon (June 2026) https://t.co/05YArsCwy0

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@aysesila1975 @YolandeMakolo Vous êtes chercheure, non? Les chercheur-e-s lisent. La réponse à vos questions est ici: https://t.co/roVOeoP5bK. A propos, quand aurons-nous le plaisir de vos livres qui sont sur le point de paraître depuis plusieurs années?

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

Nice try by @YolandeMakolo: 'Rwanda does not subscribe to ethnic extremism, we have worked hard to leave this behind us'. I suppose that's the reason why 80% of main functions are occupied by #Tutsi. https://t.co/aA2xgU1pNW. More details: https://t.co/roVOeoP5bK

[Yolande Makolo 🇷🇼 @YolandeMakolo]

Hello @Mwijukyeivan – we saw that post and the questions it raised, and we do not agree with the ethnic extremism expressed. One can have their opinion about Rwanda, but they should not misrepresent Rwandans or associate us with that kind of thinking. If the post was about Uganda, it should be kept Ugandan and not drag us into it. As you rightly point out, Rwanda does not subscribe to ethnic extremism, we have worked hard to leave this behind us. We do not need it and do not want it. Our national vision and efforts in the last 32 years have been about uniting Rwandans, and we will continue to safeguard this fundamental political choice.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@WorldpolitPack @YolandeMakolo .@WorldpolitPack, you're incorrigible🤣.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@Muleefu @YolandeMakolo As always @Muleefu has chickened out.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@Muleefu @YolandeMakolo I understand @Muleefu's frustration as he has no intellectual echo chamber. Can he share his list of publications?

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@VanVleugels Allez Van, c'est qui?

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@VanVleugels Très honoré. Qui est l'auteur de ce chef d'oeuvre?

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@NowYouKnow_ah @YolandeMakolo Sure. @ShahidkBolsen is a recognised Central Africa/Rwanda specialist.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@Muleefu @YolandeMakolo I see. I guess that's what you call your intellectual echo chamber🤣.

[Filip Reyntjens @freyntje]

@Muleefu @YolandeMakolo I understand @Muleefu's frustration as he has no intellectual echo chamber.