Wikileaks did not affect Rwanda’s standing – Kagame

URUGWIRO VILLAGE - President Paul Kagame, yesterday, said that the revelations by Wikileaks have not affected Rwanda’s standing, in any way, since there was nothing compromising or unprincipled on the part of the government or the leadership. The President, made the remarks during the monthly news conference held at Village Urugwiro, where he reflected on the political motivation of the charges by French Judge, Jean Louis Bruguire, against some Rwandan military officers, and how the International Community was aware of the political nature of the indictments, but instead covered it up under the pretext of international justice. The President emphasised that this was purely double standards on the part of the West as exposed by Wikileaks.Kagame added that the leaks, published by the whistleblower website, not only revealed the double standards of Western countries, but the level to which some countries will go to abuse the principle of universal jurisdiction. “You see, these are the double standards and the hypocrisy here. Really, it is known to some people out there who tend to believe in universal jurisdiction and were saying that we should respect the judge and the case, they are the same people discussing how it is false and this was revealed by Wikileaks,” Kagame said. “It is the same case with Peter Erlinder, he is just a pretender. He is a genocidaire masked under International Justice. This is a renowned lawyer, professor so we must respect that. It doesn’t matter the falsehoods he rides on but since it is Africa, Rwanda, they should be treated as such.” Kagame added that it this patronising attitude that misguides individuals and organisations in the West, to impose people like Victoire Ingabire on Rwandans labelling her a hero, yet Rwandans see things differently. “It’s not Rwandans who matter in this case in regard to giving their view about Erlinder or about Ingabire. It is them (outsiders) that matter because that’s what the outside world wants--- Wikileaks exposed this problem,” the President said, adding that it is up to Africans to stand against such impunity. President Kagame, however, emphasized that the revelations by Wikileaks could not harm the good diplomatic ties with the United States, stating that, though the information leaked was confidential, there were no bad intention on the part of the US government. Ends

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Wikileaks did not affect Rwanda’s standing – Kagame