EDITOR, There are few nations that are willing to put the lives of their young men and women on the line to protect the lives of people far away in the name of humanity. The UN intervention to save Rwandans during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was very limited and when murder escalated, the few soldiers protecting Rwandans were withdrawn by a certain Koffi Annan who was then head of peace-keeping.
EDITOR,
There are few nations that are willing to put the lives of their young men and women on the line to protect the lives of people far away in the name of humanity. The UN intervention to save Rwandans during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was very limited and when murder escalated, the few soldiers protecting Rwandans were withdrawn by a certain Koffi Annan who was then head of peace-keeping.
A short time after this act of treachery, Annan was appointed UN Secretary-General to replace the hapless Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Annan’s tenure went by without much distinction but his final act was to initiate and fully fund an investigation into the Congo war aimed at smearing Rwanda.
The leaked excerpts were curious in their timing; it was most likely an attempt to divert attention from the rape story that was leading all the bulletins at the time.
The record of the United Nations in Congo is truly dishonourable to say the least. A UN report last year accused UN soldiers in Congo of rape, sexual exploitation of minors, murder, plundering and looting minerals and property, arming murderous militias, misappropriation of funds, fraud, racketeering and criminal conspiracy. Now they turn around and accuse Rwanda of Genocide?
Why didn’t these accusations come to light before? It is a political tool being used to undermine Rwanda. The UN acts as if its constituent parts are independent, so the Security Council is happy to have Rwandan peace-keepers in Darfur while its other arm is accusing many of the same soldiers of Genocide. The UN cannot have it both ways.
The UN wishes to rewrite history and paint the then RPA as perpetrators of genocide. The UN cannot expect Rwanda to put its soldiers on the line while the government is accused of Genocide. Why should the UN accept help from a supposedly murderous army?
The same army that it has commended several times for saving lives in Darfur. We cannot be called gallant life-savers and murderer in the same breath.
The pacification of Darfur is one of the few successes that the UN has had in decades, most of that was due to Rwandan effort. The people of Darfur and several other nations where Rwandans serve with distinction will all tell you that we are not murderers, we are an honourable people.
Sam Rwego
Kigali