Editor,By the way, who is Steve Hege? Can he or anyone else volunteer his background? Sometimes we blame people when actually they are also victims of their own upbringing or heritage.

I know of a Human Rights Watch official 2 years or so ago in the Washington area (or was it New York) who was so exaggeratedly hard and venomous on Israel and when eventually his background was checked he was not just found to be a son of a Nazi sympathiser, but he was himself found in possession swastikas and other Nazi memorabilia which he lavishly decorated his sitting room with.

Does Hege really know what he is talking about when he refers to the Rwandan Government as "Ugandan Tutsi elite”, when he asserts that FDLR should be viewed in the context of liberation movements which wrested power from incumbent regimes and that it poses no threat to peace? This looks like raw hatred not professional research. Is he blinded by this hatred? The man might be in an inner struggle seeking to free himself from a problematic upbringing. Otherwise, I dont find a plausible defence for what he wrote about the FDLR, these cannot be from honest professional inquiry, they can be from the troubled mind of a lonely man.

When Peter Erlinder was arraigned in Court and he produced evidence of a deeply troubled history, an acrimonious family life that irreversibly battered his mental health, incessant mental delusions, a chain of suicide attempts and that he was entirely dependent on medication to keep some bit of sanity, only then did the world understand why an otherwise gentle looking American Professor poured daily tons of venom against the current Rwandan Government.

I remember then the court decided it could not try a man whose sanity wasnt assured. Who is Hege? Can anyone out there help?(Reaction to Foreign Minister Louis Mushikiwabo’s remarks to the UN Security Council about the Congo crisis last week).Grace,  kayonza --------------------------------Editor,I write in support of the briliant ideas of Ms. Janet Karemera. Beauty pageantry is a form of entertainment that should be left to the private sector like any other business undertaking. Government involvement in the exercise is waste of resources needed to create the critical mass of professionals we so badly need.

On a large scale this tendency to take our eyes off the ball will adversely affect our capacity to achieve our targeted millennium goals.Muhamud Rutagonya, Kigali---------------------------------Editor,First, its a shame that Janet  is not participating when she could actually have won the competition. I think I understand her  point and in fact wonder if  this beauty competition is culturally endorsed. While I understand Janet’s argument, I find no harm in beauty competitions. I support competitions including beauty competitions, spelling bees, math competitions, science fairs, sports events and I think the government is doing exactly that. By the way, beauty competition is more than facial beauty but also intellectual abilities.

For me, any competition, from marathon to Fomula One car racing to job interview to beauty competition is a learning opportunity. So, my good sister Janet, I hope you joined fellow Rwandans for Miss Rwanda Finale at Gikondo Expo Grounds or turned your TV on and celebrated.Zamu Isma, Kigali ---------------------------------Editor,I like that and I support the idea. To be more specific, let us have a look at what we have produced from previous Miss Rwanda be it at national, Kigali or university levels. I am not disappointed by the government like Janet but disappointed by previous Miss Rwanda event.NK, Kigali---------------------------------Editor,I think this is actually an incredible development for Rwanda. You have no idea how many people would want to spend this weekend in Kigali just to see the beautiful girls.

I totally support it and agree it is a tourist attraction, if you think about it deeply. Also, it does not hurt having a fun weekend in Kigali, does it? I support this event, and I just hope whoever wins does something that should put Rwanda out there. Not just sit and warm the throne.Stush, Rwanda