We, the signatories of this declaration, have met in Brussels February 14, 2014 to create a political party that we called RDU “RWANDAN DEMOCRATIC UNION “.
RDU has the objective to emerge a new generation of Rwandan politicians able to promote democracy anad an inter-Rwandan dialogue in line of their core values of equality, justice, liberty and fraternity. All our actions will be driven by social compromises that can lead to a lasting peace.
A close look at the Rwandan society led us to indentify that the democracy as a fundamental value for the development of all people is now a luxury that seems unattainable for the Rwandan people.
Socio – economic policies in Rwanda are currently exercised unequally and deny Rwandans their rights of democracy and participation, which consequently raises fears of further violent conflicts.
Power in Rwanda remains in the hands of the Rwandan Patriotic Front and a small group of privileged people who control all institutions, economy, public services, justice and media among other things and this gives no chance to the other Rwandan people to access their fundamental rights.
Rwandan people live in fear: the ruling RPF Inkotanyi monitors everyone suppresses freedom of expression of citizens through repressive laws, oppression, persecution, imprisonments, torture and physical elimination of political opponents.
Even when they manage to escape abroad, the current regime pursues them in order to forcibly repatriate them and eventually torture or kill them.
Impunity, injustice and the lack of respect of human rights have become characteristics of the current governance system in our country. Considering Rwanda dark history, the current regime should have established a system that would have learnt from past mistakes in order to avoid cycles of violence that caused suffering to most of Rwandans for over a half century.
The current government prefers lies, manipulation and division between Rwanda, humbling a class of population turned into subhuman, sentenced to seek forgiveness for crimes they did not commit, while crimes committed by the government persist. Meanwhile the ones responsible for wrongdoing remain free, protected and rewarded by the state.
On the other hand, having identified that many Rwandan political parties remain prisoners of their past or that of their leaders, that there are often motivated by personal interests of their leaders rather than interests of the Rwandan people.
We decided to establish ” The RWANDAN DEMOCRATIC UNION ” to bring out a new generation of Rwandan politicians who are focusing to the future, aspiring to bring a true reconciliation that achieves lasting peace and democracy in Rwanda, alleviates the suffering of our people in distress and promotes national unity.
Some points of our action plan deserve special attention:
The problem of Rwandan refugees who are still many outside the country must be resolved quickly so that they can return peacefully with dignity.
We commit ourselves to work for peace, to primarily focus on the dialogue between Rwandan and social compromise, in order to find all solutions to end the cycles of violence that is perpetual for Rwandan refugees and allow their return to their homeland.
The proposed change to the people of Rwanda is based on the respect of human life, the truth about our common history, lasting peace, freedom, equality and unity of the Rwandan people.
We are committed to promote an unequivocal democracy in Rwanda, to open a new era of harmony with true reconciliation of the people who want to live together in mutual respect, dignity and prosperity.
The new Rwanda that RDU offers will be on a path depth transformation of Justice and all institutional bodies; including the Army and Police so that they can be able to reflect all components of the Rwandan society. All Rwandan citizens shall enjoy the same rights, the same treatment and have the same duties.
We, the signatories of this declaration, we are committed to promote respect for fundamental rights. We recognize the need to release all political prisoners, to return the property of Rwandan citizens which have been confiscated illegally and fraudulently and take into account the responsibility of all the actors who spread hatred and divisions that previously led to suffering of Rwandans, during and after all the horrors that have marked the Rwandan society without distinction and without any form of discrimination.
We are committed to:
v Working for a sustainable peace in Rwanda and throughout the Great Lakes region, to promote the policy of social compromise, good neighborliness, cooperation and regional integration with neighboring countries for a lasting peace in the beautiful region great Lakes so that people can live in harmony and respect for the integrity and sovereignty of each country.
v Eradicate all sorts of corruption and partisan spirit in order to engage the country on an equitable pathway and equal opportunity in provision of public contracts, employment, investment and the opportunity to do business unimpeded or without pressures in order to achieve a prosperous Rwanda.
v Implement economic reforms necessary in order to facilitate competitively and attract foreign investors, ease taxes in order to facilitate growth and privilege the promotion of our products and services in regional and international markets.
v Strengthen the separation of powers in order to facilitate control of actions of the government, free and fair democratic elections in order to give the people the choice to choose their leaders and representatives at all levels in their society.
v Establish a reformed Rwandan army and the police so that they can be representative of the true Rwandan society and protect all Rwandans.
v Finally we will embark on a reform of the national education so that all children enjoy the same rights to education, have opportunities to access the different and all education institutions now reserved for a small segment of the population.
We, the founding members of the RWANDAN DEMOCRATIC UNION have unanimously adopted this declaration and have set up a temporary executive committee composed by:
v President: Dr Paulin Murayi – Living in Belgium
v Vice President: Mr Aloys Manzi – Living in UK
v Executive Secretary: Mr Saleh Karuranga – Living in Belgium
v General Treasurer: Ms Claudette Mukamutesi – Living in France
Done in Brussels on 14th February 2014
– Paulin Murayi
– Mr Aloys Manzi
– Mr Saleh Karuranga
– Claudette Mukamutesi
– Eric Ndagijimana
– Jean Rukara
