Don’t terrorise me, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame tells Western countries

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame led his people on Saturday in marking the 21st anniversary of the Liberation Day at a public meeting in a rural village where he criticised unnamed “powerful countries” that had dared question his human rights record.

In a hard-hitting speech delivered in Kinyarwanda in Rubaya, Gicumbi District in Northern Rwanda, Kagame said the Western countries “had no right” to tell him and the people of Rwanda what to do in the country’s march towards development.

Addressing thousands of his citizens who had turned up at the grounds for the meeting, Kagame said his country did not need lessons on human rights “from the people who worked with and protected the people who committed the genocide”.

“I have read in the papers that some very powerful countries are sending me a goodwill message as we mark the 21st Liberation Day, but then, they tell me that even as I develop the country, I need to respect human rights. I want to respond: Do you think those who fought for this liberation do not know what they were fighting for?” said Rwanda’s Head of State.

“Do you think I am a person who needs to be reminded about what I should be doing for the people of Rwanda, especially, at this time when I am their leader? The one who is telling me about human rights is the same one who supported the regime that killed Rwandans 21 years ago. Some of them keep supporting and hiding those who committed genocide,” said Kagame.

Dignity and prosperity

Kagame, who served as the chairman of the High Command of the Rwanda Patriotic Front in the struggle to rid Rwanda of the oppressive regime of Juvenal Habyarimana, said the “sacrifice” of the struggle made it difficult, even impossible, for Rwanda to bow to the pressure.

The choice of Rubaya, where the sickbay, garage and other logistics supplies for RPF were based, was a reminder to the military and the people of Rwanda about the origins of the struggle, and a symbolic “thank you” to the residents for the “protection and sacrifice” they made over two decades ago.

Liberation Day is marked every July 4 to remember the day when RPF, the army Kagame led 21 years ago, stopped the genocide with the takeover of the capital Kigali.

For Kagame, it was his chance to tell the people of Rwanda about “dignity and prosperity” – a call for them to ignore foreign ultimatums.

“Liberation is our business! We have the will and the understanding required to develop our country. Nobody can love us more than we love ourselves. They can help us, and for that, we are grateful. But just because they help us, doesn’t mean they can take away our dignity,” said Kagame as the crowd cheered waving miniature flags of Rwanda.

The speech peppered with fervent patriotism and immense national pride, the Rwanda leader said all countries and all global leaders should engage with him and his government on a platform of “mutual respect”.

“The people of Rwanda, America, Europe, Asia… name them, we are all human beings. No one created the other. We need to respect each other, to cooperate and collaborate,” said Kagame.

‘Don’t terrorise me’

He asked the western countries “obsessed” with his human rights record to “join hands” and “fight the terrorism menace”. The terrorist attacks in the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere where militants are waging a timeless and borderless war against what they perceive as apostate regimes, are what Kagame said should be the priority of the West.

“You should be joining hands to fight terrorism. Don’t terrorise me. You can’t terrorise me. I refuse. Neither can you use me for terrorism. It is not our politics, it is not our culture and it is not our policy,” said Kagame.

In the sea of blue, yellow and green in the crowd, and against a backdrop of terraced hills green with crops and eucalyptus trees, Kagame told his citizens that they had the power to be “self-reliant”, so that they keep their dignity, even with the little resources that the central African country is endowed with.

“The time for the war of bullets and guns is over. We are now in a war pursuing dignity and prosperity and that is why we are giving our children the education; building hospitals for mothers, children and everyone else so that diseases that no longer kill people in other parts of the world, do not kill our people,” he said.

But it was not all chest-thumping. He threw in a diplomatic morsel, essentially saying that he was ready and willing to listen.

“If my country has done anything wrong, I am willing to listen and correct it. This is our country. Let’s fix our problems. Do not wait for anyone else, because they may bring their own things,” said Kagame.