Reflections of His Excellency Paul Kagame on the Tenth Anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda

On April 21, 2004, His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, reflected on the tenth anniversary of the tragic genocide in Rwanda.  He discussed the root causes of the genocide, the international reaction to the crisis, and the measures that he and his country have been taking to rebuild Rwanda. His presentation was part of Remembering Rwanda, a commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the genocide. The program was co-sponsored by the Africa Program, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the United States Institute of Peace.

Speech, as Prepared, by His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda

Thank you for your kind remarks and thank you for hosting us.

It is an honour for me to join you at this distinguished Institution and to take part in this event, jointly sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the United States Institute of Peace.

May I also take this opportunity to thank the other organisations which have been involved in the organisation of these commemorative events to mark 10 years after genocide in our country.

I am informed that the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars engages in dialogues and discussions on important public policy challenges with the ultimate aim of fostering better understanding and better policy.

So this is an appropriate place to reflect on 10 years  after genocide in our country, and an opportunity for us to present our way forward in the next 10 years, and beyond.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

We cannot begin to understand genocide  and its aftermath in Rwanda, unless we understand the context and the facts that have shaped us Rwandans for over five centuries.

Allow, me, therefore, to give you a little bit of background information that highlights the salient aspects of the major events that have had tremendous influence on who we are today.

Let me say at the outset  that the three groups constituting Rwandan society were not distinct tribes as has been suggested by some scholars.

They lived on the same hills,they have always intermarried, and they share the same culture and language.

This cohesion was disrupted by the colonial policy  of divide and rule.

Subsequent governments in the post-colonial era chose not to address this.

Instead a culture of impunity and human rights violations took root.

You will recall that this policy of divide and rule as typical of colonial administration, a method that was used to weaken and subjugate the colonised African people. I would like to point out at this juncture, that although we blame the colonialists for sowing the seeds of hate and for spreading the ideology that entrenched division and differences among Africans, we cannot blame them for all the ills that continue to afflict the African continent.

In other words, although genocide in our country was, in many ways, a culmination of the hatred initiated during the colonial period, it was also due to the failure of post-colonial rulers in Rwanda to reverse the legacy of that colonial past.

So, why did these successive post-colonial governments fail in their most fundamental obligation to protect the citizens?

Put simply, the rulers of the day lacked the will and they had no vision for the country.

In reality, they became tools of what seemed like perpetual colonial type of policies, and they benefited, as individuals or as groups, from that state of affairs.

Whenever things went wrong, which they often did, the Batutsi became the scapegoats and, hence, the recurrent massacres between 1959 and 1994 which culminated in the 1994 genocide.

You might also want to ask why Rwandans embraced these heinous crimes instead of engaging in nation building?

Firstly, for a long time an ideology of exclusion had penetrated and cut across all facets of society: in local and central government, in churches, schools, etc.

Secondly, there was a culture of impunity to the extent that the criminals who killed were rewarded.

Thirdly, all the institutions in the country at the time, were ethnicised and were only intent on maintaining the status quo.

Fourthly, there was an intolerant political culture.

Lastly, there was silence on the part of the colonial masters and others in the international community in the face of these serious human rights violations.

All these were a recipe for a catastrophe that was waiting to happen. It is no surprise, therefore, that genocide happened when it did.

And that is why, we Rwandans, must take primary responsibility for the loss of of over 1 million of our people.

Needless to say, there is a wider responsibility for the genocide.  Besides the poisoned colonial legacy I mentioned a few moments ago, there was the failure of the international community to prevent the genocide and to stop it once it was underway.

You will agree with me that the world had the means and the resources to act but lacked the will to do so, despite the solemn refrain, “Never again” after the holocaust.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

With hindsight, it is easy to apportion blame, but we have learnt a lesson that, we cannot dwell on that.

Cynics say that, for now at least, the injustices in the way the international system is governed will continue to exist.

Neither can we erase the geopolitical interests of powerful nations, willing to sacrifice the lives of over 1 million people as though they were a mere statistic.

What is more pertinent for us is where we go from here, and whether the world would act differently if a similar catastrophe erupted.

In view of that, the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of genocide presents us with an occasion to reflect, and to take stock of the modest achievements we have collectively made as a people.

It is also an appropriate moment to assess  whether we have put in place barriers against a return of that terrible crime.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen;

Allow me to describe to you the challenges that we faced in the immediate aftermath of genocide, and the kinds of barriers we have put in place to guard against its return in our country.

Immediately after genocide we took a decision to set up  a transitional Government of National Unity,made up of a coalition of  political parties which had not participated in the genocide.

That Government had the exceptional and colossal task of rebuilding a country in utter anarchy.

You recall the horrible images of dead bodies scattered everywhere in the country, total destruction of the infrastructure,  countless numbers of orphans, traumatised survivors, most of them displaced and in total deprivation.

This bleak situation was compounded by the danger of the Interahamwe militia and former soldiers of the Rwandan army who had camped across the border in former Zaire,  now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

These forces of evil, supported by some in the international community,  were reorganising  to come and complete their campaign of genocide,  which they regarded  as their unfinished business.

These militia and former soldiers  still pose a threat,  if not dealt with appropriately.

So far an open border policy  has worked and more than  20000 former combatants have crossed and have been integrated in normal life as Rwandans.

Only a few extremists,  who continue to harbour the ideology of genocide remain in the neighbouring countries.

Unless there is a concerted  effort by the international community to deal with these genocidaires, they will remain a potential threat to peace and stability in Rwanda and in the whole  region of the Great Lakes.

As for the survivors of genocide, some of whom were victims of multiple rapes and contracted  the AIDS virus,  they continue to suffer  and to live in poverty as a result of their numbers and magnitude of their ongoing needs.

On our part,  the Government has  allocated a percentage of the national budget to meet some of their needs, including education, health care, and a contribution to their accommodation.

After genocide, law and order had completely broken down,but we have managed to restore peace and stability in the whole country.

We have not only reformed our legal system, we have also restored public trust in it and the Rwandan people now know and enjoy their fundamental rights.

We have also put in place institutions which promote transparency and accountability,

and which we hope  will banish the culture of impunity that had characterised our country for decades.

After genocide, over 3 million people had sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

The majority of these have been repatriated, and there is an ongoing campaign to encourage the remaining few to return.

By and large, with the support of our development partners,we have also rehabilitated the social and economic infrastructure of the country, which had completely collapsed.

Now schools, hospitals, the civil service, Civil Society, as well as the Private Sector are functioning again.

This has enabled us  to register successive economic growth, ranging from 6 to 13% and kept inflation at below 5%, despite a bleak economic picture immediately after genocide.

Furthermore, we have liberalised monetary and exchange regimes and have earmarked a number of state assets for privatisation.

We have embarked on what we consider to be an irreversible course of unity and reconciliation, while at the same time we seek to bring to justice the perpetrators of genocide.

Last year, the people of Rwanda ratified a new constitution by more than 90% after broad based countrywide consultations.

This constitution enshrines a culture of inclusive and democratic politics, and entitles every Rwandan to have a stake in how the country is governed.

They were given a chance last year to exercise this right, when they elected a Parliament and a President of their choice.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

My account may sound like a litany of successes but immense challenges remain, although our record is one that we can be proud of.

Genocide was, in all honesty, a defining moment in the history of our country.

And in the eyes of many observers, Rwanda was a failed state.

But given the huge sacrifices our people had made, we did not have a choice.

We refused to be a failed state.

We gave a far-reaching call to action and our people heard and rallied.

Together we resolved to uplift ourselves from the abyss and to strive to build a new Rwanda, peaceful and stable, and fit for all of us.

So, in the last ten years, we have tried to be creative, we have taken the right decisions, and in spite of against incredible odds against us, we have laid a firm foundation for Rwanda’s cultural, social, and economic transformation.

We understood from the start that our strategy had to be locally driven if we were going to solve the problems engendered by the scourge of genocide.

That is not to say that we can go it alone, without the support of our friends and partners.

HIV/AIDS still remains a very serious problem in Rwanda, especially for women who were raped during genocide.

The debt burden is still heavy on us.

In my humble view, Rwanda is a special case, and deserves special consideration.

Obligations under international law have not been respected in regard to Rwanda.

The case in point is the Carlson Report which was commissioned by the United Nations, and which has now been shelved.

In conclusion, let me say, as is often said,  that the world has become a global village, sharing common threats of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and genocide.

Conventional wisdom dictates that we act together in the search for solutions to these global problems, and in the interest of posterity and all humanity.

Indeed, for Americans, with the memory of September 11th still vivid in your minds, you will appreciate the need to act together, and act resolutely so that we create a new world order.

A new world order with a more just international system that has the will to act to stop deadly crises such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and genocide.

A new world order of global partners working together to solve transnational problems such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, narcotics and environmental degradation.

A new world order that looks beyond national borders to maximise the benefits from what we have in common.

A new world order that allows the poor nations access to markets and removes distortionary effects of subsidies in rich countries.

In short, a new world order that works towards shared prosperity and global sustainable peace.

If we have the will, we can work and act together to ensure that the 21st century heralds the start of that durable peace and prosperity.

The stakes are high; but the rewards are higher.

We in Rwanda will play our modest part.

Thank you very much.