Kagame: No apologies for standing up for our rights

The Twelfth National Dialogue (Umushyikirano) concluded yesterday with a resolve to work harder and smarter and to sustain policies and actions that helped Rwanda recover from the devastation of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Twenty resolutions were drawn from the two-day dialogue, including several that seek implementation of court decisions on compensation for Genocide survivors, tackling trauma cases related to the Genocide, and sustaining the fight against genocide ideology and denial. First Lady Jeannette Kagame (C) and other leaders follow Umushyikirano proceedings on Thursday. Closing the 2014 Umushyikirano, President Paul Kagame warned those intent on denying Rwandans their right to life saying the people of Rwanda were both committed and capable of protecting their rights. “We have secured the right to be and nobody is going to take away this right. No one has the right to take away our right to live,” he told over one thousand delegates at the Parliamentary Buildings in Kimihurura and millions who followed the event live on television, radios, online as well as via video link facilities. President Kagame chats with Senate president Bernard Makuza at the opening of the forum. The President, whose closing remarks followed discussions on efforts by some elements to deny or minimise the Genocide or distort facts about it, said Rwandans have their “own problems we must solve as well as problems caused by others. That is the daily struggle we must overcome.” He recalled the RPF’s experience during the campaign against the Genocide two decades ago, including when a UN official found him in Musha in the Rwamagana area and demanded that the liberation war be halted. First Lady Jeannette Kagame dances with senior government officials during the event. “When we were fighting for our right to live, we were told to stop fighting; our response was that it is those who are killing people who should be told to stop,” he said to huge applause. “We shall never apologize for standing up for our right. There are no better people than us in our own country for our affairs,” Kagame said partially in reference to a recent BBC documentary, which gave platform to Genocide deniers and enemies of the Kigali government. Delegates used the annual gathering as an occasion for networking. Speaking on the right of Rwandans to define who they want to be, President Kagame said: “Nobody should dictate to Rwandans what to be. There are those who say we give you our money so we must tell you what to do and what to be. There comes a time when you say, between my right and your money, you can have your money.” “People tell you they give you their money for your well being. But I can’t have my well being when you dictate to me what I should do, what I should be and how,“ President Kagame added Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi presents a report on what have been achieved in line with last year’s Umushyikirano recommendations. Kagame criticised those he said have taken it upon themselves to belittle the people of Rwanda, saying “God created us equal. Those who think they are gods and want us to bow to them, in Rwanda; they are in the wrong place,” he said. Thinking you can turn Rwandans into nothing is wrong. We cannot accept it.” “Rwandans, you should ever apologise for who you are,” he added. The Head of State congratulated the people of Rwanda for the gains made over the last 20 years, urging them to work even harder to deliver national aspirations. First Lady Jeannette Kagame and senior government officials follow proceedings. Earlier in the day, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), Jean de Dieu Mucyo, had made a presentation, which covered issues pertaining management of the consequences of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi including unresolved judicial cases; the wellbeing of vulnerable survivors especially widows and orphans; retrial of Gacaca cases; the challenge posed by Genocide denial and the need to digitise Gacaca court archives. Foreign affairs minister Louise Mushikiwabo, said the BBC documentary, Rwanda’s Untold Story, constituted “a very serious attack on our country, our leaders, and on who we are.” President Kagame meets with Louis Antoine Muhire, a Rwandan living in Canada who has now returned to Rwanda. She said the documentary was just part of existing efforts by Genocide deniers and backers of the genocidal machinery to undermine Rwanda’s progress and distort its history, but noted that there were many international personalities and organisations that stood in solidarity with Rwanda telling the truth and consistently seeking historical clarity. Participants follow proceedings at Umushyikirano. The resolutions of the 12th National Dialogue include fast-tracking the partnership between poor parents and the government to feed their children in primary schools, ensuring that district performance contracts are proportional to production speciality of districts, and sensitising more Rwandans to use financial institutions. President Kagame shares information with delegates on a laptop. “We are satisfied with what has been discussed. It was a great meeting and participation was great. I like that the concept of youth sites (which allowed young people across the country to participate via video link) and social media used to involve as many people as possible during the dialogue,” said Edouard Munyamaliza, the chairperson of the Rwanda Civil Society Platform. Youth follow the National dialogue meeting from Petit stadium. He described as a positive development the resolution that calls on government to start lobbying foreign governments to enact laws that criminalise denial of the Genocide against the Tutsi. “Many people in foreign countries deny the Genocide and there is no legal framework to prevent them from doing so,” he said. Muinyamaliza also hailed the decision that requires government to support poor parents to meet the costs of feeding their children in basic education schools. President Kagame chats with President of the Senate, Bernard Makuza (2nd right), Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Donatille Mukabalisa, Chief Justice, Prof. Sam Rugege (right) and Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi. (Pictures by Village Urugwiro) The First Lady Jeannette Kagame attended both days of the 12th National Dialogue. The dialogues included 1,000 delegates who gathered at Parliamentary Buildings in Kimihurura, some 2,000 youths who gathered at the Petit Stade Remera and citizens at sites in Gakenke and Rutsiro districts who followed and participated in the meeting.

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Kagame: No apologies for standing up for our rights