On the campaign trail with Paul Kagame

Rwandans will not accept leaders imposed on them WE are coming to the end of the 2010 presidential campaign. As expected, the screaming attacks on Rwanda from the international media have reached a crescendo. They have now extended to the mainstream media, including the BBC. But as was the case when the attacks came from less known media outlets, these too will not have any impact on the choices Rwandans make.President Paul Kagame has equally been unequivocal in his response to the orchestrated attacks. He has said throughout this campaign, and many times in the past, that Rwanda does not need permission from anyone outside the country to decide what is best for its citizens. He has been at pains to remind meddlers in Rwandan affairs that Rwanda is a sovereign country with its own national interests and cherished values. And lest they forget this, he has told them that Rwandans are prepared to defend these interests and values. They have done so in the past and will do so again if it becomes necessary. Throughout the campaign, Kagame has emphasized the dignity of Rwandans. He has told the thousands of Rwandans who come to his rallies that their dignity is a right that no one should take away from them, and that they owe it to themselves and no one else. This election and the choice they will make is not simply an exercise in democracy, it is also a matter of their dignity. No one should arrogate to themselves the right to select who should lead Rwandans and how they should be led, he insists. This is his answer to the arrogance and insult of foreigners who think they know what is best for the country and want to choose who should lead it. President Kagame has continuously urged Rwandans to assert their dignity and reject leaders and systems imposed on them by foreigners. Still, the meddling continues. Foreign interests still refuse to accept that there are four candidates vying for president. They ignore the fact that the three other candidates represent political parties that have been in existence inside Rwanda for close to two decades and therefore have roots among the people. In a deliberate distortion of history, they dismiss them as creations of Kagame and the RPF to give the current election campaign a veneer of democratic competition. Their preferred parties are the FDU Inkingi, a party formed in Europe that has no presence in Rwanda, and the Green Democratic Party, a briefcase party formed with the sole purpose of soliciting support (and more significantly money) from the international green movement. These are labeled, “main” opposition parties, and their leaders, “prominent” opposition politicians, Kagame’s “principal” opponents. How they become “main” opposition parties without a presence or history in Rwanda is a mystery. The only possible explanation is what the president has said, that they are a creation of the people who give them those tags. What is prominent about their leaders? Well, Victoire Ingabire is one of the financiers of an internationally listed terrorist organisation. She is a prominent denier of the genocide. She has a penchant for making incendiary statements. She would like to undo the gains Rwandans have made and turn back the clock to 1994. And, oh, she has a gift for humourless and even chilling metallic rapid fire speech. It is difficult to say what distinguishes the other one, Frank Habineza. Perhaps constant whining. And there is another one who has walked to fame and wealth on the graves of the victims and the pain of the survivors of the genocide. A certain Paul Rusesabagina continues to collect money from well-meaning people in the West to fill his pockets, and with financial security assured, pours venom on Kagame and presents himself as a possible leader for Rwanda. Then there are those on the run from justice. These, too, are presented as “prominent” critics of Kagame’s government who fled because of his intolerance for criticism. The fact that they only fled when faced with criminal charges is conveniently forgotten. People like Kayumba Nyamwasa and Patrick Karegeya are then shown to be standing up to Kagame – in the safety of foreign capitals. These are the “leading” politicians – genocide deniers, tricksters and imposters, and fugitives from justice - touted by the western media as real alternatives to Paul Kagame. They are the ones he said should never be allowed to lead Rwanda. And in a self-serving manner these are the same people often quoted to validate the view that there is repression in Rwanda. Rob Walker of the BBC will therefore question Kayumba about the role of the Rwandan government in his shooting. What answer did he expect? Then he asks Karegeya about the shooting. Surely he knew what answer he was going to get. His other source of information in his “investigation” is Jean Bosco Gasasira, the editor of a rabid tabloid. What he got from him, as he should have expected, was a torrent of invective against the government of Rwanda. Little wonder then, that President Kagame told his supporters at rallies in Eastern Province that they should reject all peddlers of lies whether they be Rwandans or foreigners. In a combative mood, he asked them to defend their national interest and democratic rights, and reject any imposition on them from whatever quarter. In the end, he said it all boils down to a question of their dignity. And that cannot be compromised. jorwagatare@yahoo.co.uk