Rwanda: People’s Square

Press Release n ° 015/2019/11/06

A wise observer recently said that Rwanda’s current leader, Paul Kagame, “is the worst criminal in office as head of state.” Such a premise can disconcert more than one, as Paul Kagame and his clique have managed to impose, through media hype and corruption, a distorted image of the reality of his power and the daily lives of Rwandans. In reality, Rwanda is miserable while many Rwandans live in desperation today than ever before. The main macroeconomic indicators are in red, but this does not prevent the proponents of boasting a false “Rwandan model”. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today Rwanda is threatened with reversion which might even be worse that of 1994 due, in particular, to the impossible reconciliation. Our first intention today as we sit here, is to present you with a credible alternative to the reign of terror, oppression and exploitation that is the RPF system. This alternative stands well from now on under the umbrella of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (RMDC-Ubumwe).

A. On the impossible reconciliation and the threat of collapse 

The government of Rwanda in Kigali persists in opposing an end of inadmissibility to the ever-increasing demand for truth and justice. The gap is so great between the official “history” and the reality of the Rwandan tragedy and beware of trouble to whomever who dares to say something other than the epic written under the sword of Paul Kagame! However, credible reports and reports exist, but Kigali, supported by his lobbies, continues steadily to refuse an inclusive dialogue, a condition sine qua non of a real reconciliation between Rwandans. “There is only one magistrate in Rwanda,” Paul Kagame. The legislative and government institutions are used as weapon to oppress while the judicial system and administration all seem flawless and impeccable. However, the officials do what they are asked to do: they watch for the will of their mentor, the dictator Kagame and obey him to the finger and the eye. Human rights are ignored, future generations do not have a hope, while the digital natives refuse the “cult of the taboo” imposed by the propagandists of the regime.

The reign of General Kagame is paired with horrifying crimes against humanity. These include: 

  • the massacre of 30,000 civilians in the first month after the takeover by the RPF; 
  • the Kibeho massacre in April 1995, where Kagame’s army exterminated approximately 10,000 displaced persons; 
  • the massacre of Kanama Cave in autumn 1997, where Kagame’s army killed 8,000 civilians; 
  • the “genocidal” massacre in the DRC’s forests between 1996 and 1998, when Kagame’s army massacred more than 300,000 Hutu refugees, as evidenced by the Mapping Report released by the UN on 01/10 / 2010; 
  • extrajudicial executions reported regularly by international human rights organizations, with Human Rights Watch in the lead; torture and murder as state methods.

Further crimes of the RPF-Kagame include the massacres of civilians in northeastern Rwanda upon the launch of the war in October 1990 and the assassination of Presidents Habyarimana and Ntaryamira on 6 April 6, 1994. Should we recall that the attack against the Rwandan presidential plane is unanimously recognized as the triggering act of the genocide and the massacres that have since bereaved Rwanda and the entire Great Lakes region?

Rwanda has become a veritable “police state”, as government militias are scattered all over the hills to impose policies, economic and security measures increasingly unpopular and draconian. The situation is such that today, the Rwandan citizens live constant fear. In the Presidnet Kagame’s own words on March 30, 2013, children who were not yet born in 1994 must, themselves, “ask for forgiveness for the genocide committed by their parents and grandparents”, as part of the current ideological drift. In such a context, reconciliation between Rwandans is impossible. Especially since the political space is hermetically locked, while all critical voices are systematically and brutally repressed. Lastly, let us point out the fraudulent change of the Constitution, in December 2015, in order to grant a third term to the dictator KAGAME, after which he gave himself 99% at the end of an election marked by the exclusion and persecution of serious contenders. 

B. The RMDC at the rendez-vous of history

The RMDC that has made a name and a reputation, is a political platform bringing together the following political parties:

  • CNRD-Ubwiyunge, 
  • PDR-Ihumure, 
  • RRM and 
  • RDI-Rwanda Rwiza. 

Indeed :

– We are a multiple assembly, composed of honest women and men and determined to positively change the lives of Rwandans;

– We are mostly young and convinced that the misfortunes of Rwanda cannot be a fatality;

– We are determined to guarantee to every Rwandan citizen the effectiveness of his civil and political rights, mainly freedom of expression and association as well as political freedoms;

– We want to guarantee the children of Rwanda an equal opportunity;

– We will adopt another style of government that is more honest, peaceful and transparent, without misleading the international community every time;

– We are determined to give Rwandans the floor again in the framework of a highly inclusive inter-Rwandan dialogue, so that the languages ​​will be loosened and the truth will serve as a foundation for the new Rwanda;

– We are determined to definitively settle the Hutu-Tutsi conflict through a frank and credible process of dialogue, truth, active repentance and reconciliation;

– We will give ourselves the means to rectify economic disparities;

– We will restore a neighborhood policy based on mutual respect, solidarity and peace among peoples of the Great Lakes Region of Africa;

– We will definitively settle and eradicate the problem of refugees in Rwanda. challengers. 

C. Call to the international community

Our struggle is based on the right of peoples to self-determination as set forth in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [1966] ratified by Rwanda. The RPF regime has so oppressed Rwandans, gagged humanity and terror in the entire Great Lakes region, it has lost all legitimacy and all means to fight to eradicate it, including the armed struggle, are legitimate.

The RMDC invites the entire Rwandan population, especially the young people disappointed and tired by the dictatorial regime of the RPF, to arm themselves with courage and support all initiatives leading to democratic change, without which the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms will always be denied.

We also seek the moral and political support of the international community. In particular, the countries and organizations that are friends of Rwanda to exert strong pressure on President Kagame to work towards bringing justice, peace and democracy for the best interests of Rwandans and other people of the Great Lakes region. This is indeed more urgent than before as it is the only way to end the crises that have endured the region for a very long time.

Indeed, it is feared that, if these conflicts are not resolved quickly, they may provoke new and more terrible humanitarian catastrophes than those we have witnessed so far where millions of lives have been lost. Endured 

Done in Brussels on 06/11/2019

For the RMDC-UBUMWE,

Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU, Vice-President and Spokesperson