US President George W. Bush has paid glowing tribute to Rwandans for hosting him and his wife, Laura, during their February 19 official visit to the country, and told them to be proud of their work in saving lives.

In a March 12 letter titled ‘Message to the Rwandan People’, Bush, who was in Rwanda on his third leg of a five-nation Africa tour, noted that while in Kigali, he and Laura "saw resilient people taking bold steps to foster reconciliation, fight HIV/AIDS and malaria, and expand economic opportunities."

"Rwandans should be proud of the work they are doing to prevent human tragedy in Darfur (in Sudan) by sending troops as part of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation. We were honored to see members of such a professional and dedicated force," Bush wrote in the letter, a copy of which was sent to The New Times.

Rwanda has at least 3500 peacekeepers as part of the nearly 10,000-strong AU-UN hybrid force in Darfur, a western Sudanese region where an estimated 200,000 people have died and another 2.5 million driven out of their homes in what the US has described as genocide.

While in Rwanda, Bush paid a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Site from where he appealed to the international community to move faster to end the Darfur crisis, which broke out in 2003.

Countries are reported to be dragging their feet in raising the required 26,000-member force to deal with the crisis, in which alleged government-backed Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, reportedly target black people.

And the slow pace of talks between Khartoum and the numerous Darfur rebel groups has increased concerns over humanitarian situation in the region. While at the site, Bush announced that the United States will provide $100m to "assist African nations willing to step forward and serve the cause of peace in Darfur".

Speaking at the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation in Washington D.C on February 26, Bush recalled his experience at the Gisozi-based Genocide site: "More than 250,000 are buried at this memorial – and many of them were children, who are depicted in photographs that were donated by their families.

"This is a moving, moving memorial. One inscription read: "Age: 4. Enjoyed: Singing and dancing." And then it listed the brutal way in which this young girl was murdered. The memorial is a moving reminder that evil is real – and we must confront it wherever it happens."

"Rwanda has taken bold steps to foster reconciliation, rebuild its devastated infrastructure, and to grow its economy. It is a hopeful country," Bush said at the Foundation, whose board chairman Ambassador Andrew Young. Young has made several visits to Kigali.

Bush also recounted what he saw at Lycée de Kigali, where a student anti-Aids club played him a skit. "The students told me about their ambitious projects, which include teaching abstinence and providing HIV/AIDS testing and counseling."

"Abstinence may be controversial in the halls of Congress; it is not controversial on this campus. As a matter of fact, they put a skit on for us. In it, a girl is approached by a rich man, who offers her gifts in exchange for sex. She calls it a "ridiculous" proposition and says, "I’m not that kind of girl," he said to a round of applause.

"I hope Laura and I can visit you again in the years ahead. Until then, thank you for your friendship and kind hospitality. Hosting a presidential visit can cause inconveniences, and we thank you for your patience during our visit," Bush wrote in the letter before signing off with "Murakoze, and God bless you".

During that visit, Presidents Bush and Paul Kagame signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) under which the US committed itself to encourage American entrepreneurs to invest in Rwanda, while Kigali guaranteed security and fairness to American investors.

Bush, who recently endorsed his preferred presidential candidate John McCain (Republican nominee) to succeed him, is currently serving his last presidential year in the White House.

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