WHEN THE government was taking oath of office, it swore to provide the basic needs of citizens, ensure sovereignty and maintain peace and tranquility needed for the citizens to live and prosper.
WHEN THE government was taking oath of office, it swore to provide the basic needs of citizens, ensure sovereignty and maintain peace and tranquility needed for the citizens to live and prosper.
There was never anything like "fulfilling the self-appointed oversight demands of a watchdog.”
No single government serves in office to fulfill the interests of watchdogs. And there is nowhere on the planet where the interests of watchdogs is treated as sacrosanct; the needs of the people a mere wish.
The government has been fulfilling its mandate and promise to ensure the people who entrusted it with leadership are not insecure. Reports that members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) are infiltrating the country through the north and recruiting people into their terrorist activities cannot be taken for a whirlwind that dissipates on its own. The security-conscious administration cannot ignore such reports and hope they will die away. Yet in fulfilling its mandate, some foreign actors seem perturbed.
But FDLR infiltration in Rwanda is a Rwandan affair. Like Government spokesperson Louis Mushikiwabo said, the foreign actors should refrain from making statements that embolden the FDLR and its allies.
FDLR are a danger to the women, children and other innocent citizens of Rwanda, not HRW staff in AC offices abroad.
On Monday, the Ministry of Justice released a statement questioning the interests of HRW. But in a counter statement, the watchdog has feigned concerns over the decision the ministry is pondering.
HRW does not care about the needs of the citizens. It is only interested in its operations. Bullying its way into mandates of governments appears more important than the cries of the people.
An international organisation that does not appreciate that a government is answerable to the citizens is doing a disservice to the needs of the common folk.
It’s time HRW woke up to the reality that in tackling security in any country, the government is only answering to the people. And, Rwanda is no exception.