President Kagame accuses West of hypocrisy

Apr 09, 2012

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused Western governments of hypocrisy.

By Henry Mukasa in Kigali
 
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused Western governments of hypocrisy for preaching justice to least developed countries while harbouring and funding persons accused of committing genocide in Rwanda.
 
During a solemn ceremony to commemorate 18-years since the 1994 genocide that targeted the Tutsi and moderate Hutus, Kagame lashed out at the “so called free nations” for exercising double standards. 
 
Over 800,000 people are saying to have perished when the interahamwe militias visited mayhem on Kigali using machetes, guns, clubs and sexual violence.
 
“As we remember those who were killed, those who killed them are walking free in some capitals of the so called free world. There’s little effort to arrest them and when it happens it’s a token meant to blind us and they are released shortly,” Kagame told thousands of Rwandans assembled at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali on Saturday afternoon. 
 
“Yet when terrorist acts are committed to their people the whole world is mobilized or sometimes forced to search for those criminals to be brought to justice. t would appear that Rwandan lives or similarly African lives are less valued than their citizens,” he added.
 
“Worse still those who committed genocide and those who want to deny us peace are said to be exercising their political rights. They are given facilitation to celebrate their genocide acts, to say that what they did was right. We understand better than those who utter this nonsense,” Kagame stated.
 
Kagame who spoke in both English and Kinyarwanda explained that those sympathetic to the genocidaires have resorted to accusing his country of all manner of things including; lack of democracy, human rights abuses, and absence of freedom of expression “even when what we do is for the interests of our people.”
 
“What else can it be if not utter hypocrisy, injustice, and a clear example of double standards?” he remarked.
 
The ceremonies for this year’s remembrance ceremonies began with a two-day international conference in genocide. Before his address, Kagame with dignitaries laid a wreath at mass graves at the Kigali Memorial Centre, Gisozi where an estimated 300,000 victims were buried. Uganda’s ambassador to Rwanda, Richard Kabonero, who is the dean of the diplomatic corps also laid a wreath at the mass graves. 
 
He also lit a flame to symbolize the start of a week of national morning as the nation recalls the 100-days which the genocide lasted. For the period, commencing Saturday, the flags will fly at half mast.
 
At Amahoro stadium the atmosphere was tense. The army band played dirges and requiem hymns. The pavilion was drapped in purple cloth, the colour of mourning in Rwanda while the congregation spotted purple scarf, ribbons and badges with images of a lit candle.  The occasion was several times interrupted by wailing women who broke down in grief and were quickly carried away by wardens and red-cross staff who were strategically placed around the stadium. Emotions ran high when artistes sang songs urging citizens to pick lessons from the tragedy of 1994, follow the law and forge a bright future.
 
Kagame explained that the Memorial Day will always be marked so that those who did not experience the genocide learn lessons to make it impossible for a repeat of the massacre. He said with hind sight, his government is using home grown solutions to build reconciliation, unity and develop the country. The Rwandan leader rallied his people not to allow foreigners manage their affairs.
 
“We have achieved stability and Rwandans feel better,” Kagame said, and asked Rwandans “to do more of what they do” to transform their country. He saluted survivors for refusing to be consumed by sorrow but asserted their right to live. He vowed that his government will do all in its power to defend the achievements of the last 18-years.
 
“It is on this basis that I say without any doubt that those who still harbour negative or genocidal ideologies will not be allowed to take us back in our tragic history. They will not. They cannot. They have already failed. There is no change in a million for them to succeed. We stand to be tested on that. It doesn’t matter who they are and who backs them,” Kagame warned.
 
The president the country’s optimism is also built on the youth who were born during the genocide but have now matured. “They have grown up in a dignified Rwanda where every child has equal opportunities and equal before the law. The history belongs to them primarily.”
 
Kagame hailed the Gacaca, which are winding up work this year for dispensing justice and promoting reconciliation.
 
In the evening Kagame and other dignitaries walked from Parliament buildings to Amahoro stadium for the “walk of remembrance” and joined other citizens for a vigil at the stadium characteristed by lighting of candles. 
 
Dignitaries included the Secretary General of the EAC, the Speaker of EALA, the Secretary General of ICGLR. Envoys were sent in from France, Spain, Tanzania, Burundi and Ethiopia.
 

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