Opinion

Rwanda’s opposition in treasonable acts

Joseph Rwagatare

It is an indisputable fact that Africa remains the most backward continent. This situation is largely our fault. Africa has the world’s largest deposits of natural resources, most of which are absolutely essential for the comforts of modern life. But those countries that have them in plenty give them away for next to nothing. As a result their people live in untold poverty in some indefinable age – certainly not modern. In a country not far from here, where reportedly precious minerals can be picked from every village path and cranny in the ground, citizens still hunt birds, monkeys, other hairy crawling insects and slithering reptiles for sustenance.

The continent is divided along multiple small, inconsequential things. We are also largely to blame for this. We get divided over such stupid things as which European languages we use or preference for tomato ketchup or mayonnaise. Sometimes these silly things determine how serious matters concerning our continent are determined.

Not surprisingly, Africa is weak as individual countries and collectively. We do not have a single voice and our disparate voices are so discordant they do not command attention, or so frail they can’t be heard.

One needs only to look at what happened in Libya and Ivory Coast last year to appreciate this point. The African Union was essentially absent in Libya, and when it woke up to the reality in country, it was ignored like it did not exist. NATO went on to bomb Libya and drive Gaddafi into a drainage pipe where he was eventually ferreted out and killed in the gruesome manner not even he deserved.

In Ivory Coast, as the AU talked and dithered, French troops walked into President Laurent Gbagbo’s bedroom and marched him out in the most undignified fashion. Most people can remember the pathetic bewildered look on Gbagbo’s face as he was led out of his bedroom.

Today, in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo the loudest noises are being made by foreigners – the media, UN, NGOs and foreign governments. The voice of the Congolese, particularly that of those directly affected by the conflict have been drowned by external noise. The rest of the Congolese, including the government and the military, are actually happy to surrender responsibility for their nation’s wellbeing to strangers.

That’s how pathetic things can be – when nationals gleefully participate in the emasculation of their countries. It is actually criminal.

It is not in the DRC that this is happening. Even here in Rwanda there are people willing to subject their country to shame and pain.

In the past several weeks different groups of Rwandans have been jumping for joy because donors have cut aid to Rwanda. They have been celebrating the supposed difficulty their country is bound to face.

Now, it is only traitors or the insane who wish pestilence visited on their country or revel in the destruction of their home. But the so-called opposition political groups are doing just that. In the process, they have shown themselves to have no programme except greed and a readiness to surrender the right to decide the national interest to foreigners.

Yet in the countries where they live and from where they commit such treason, sometimes with the active backing of elements from those countries, such things never happen. Whenever the countries are attacked or threatened, all differences are set aside; they close ranks and defend the common interest.

Our neighbours in DRC are also happy that Rwanda is getting the stick, especially from the UN and some Western countries. They can’t stop applauding the countries that have supposedly cut aid to Rwanda. Yet an economically strong Rwanda is in the best interests of Congo – except, of course, if they are driven by spite and want to drag everyone to their level of incompetence and dysfunction.

Congolese experts in sounding the alarm (that seems their only expertise) have convinced SADC to join the bandwagon of those brandishing the stick against Rwanda.

Even some African academics and scholars and all manner of activists have taken up bashing of African countries supposedly in the name of higher ideals in a vain attempt to gain acceptability in the West. In effect what they achieve is support to burn their own house.

It does not require super intelligence to notice that such attitudes cannot serve Congo’s or Africa’s interests. Instead they play into the hands of foreigners who have a different agenda.

Of course, such divisions and lack of common purpose are not new in African history. The continent was colonised because of that. African response to colonialism was divided between resisters who sought to defend their independence and national interests, collaborators driven by greed and guarantees of personal positions, and those who had no clue about what to do.

This is happening again. We have people prepared to collaborate with forces bent on arresting our progress. That should not be allowed to happen.

Contact email: Contact: jorwagatare[at]yahoo.co.uk josephrwagatare.wordpress.com

Comments

Joseph, first off, i commend you for doing your part in these very challenging times for the country. I'm always thankful to have someone like you and Pan Butamire writing for this newspaper. Now, getting back to the substance of my comment, it is pretty much adding insults to injuries to see the very same organization (UN) that left our people at the whims of their killers in 1994 and is now blaming Rwanda for protecting itself. Sadly, it appears as though Rwanda is losing the PR (public relations) war due to the fact that we (Rwandans and our government) are putting efforts behind a wrong strategy. We have to understand who we are fighting, i.e: some unscrupulous UN members, HWR, and some foreign influential genocide deniers who have access to a myriad of opinion shaping newspapers around the world. It seems as if we (right-minded Rwandans and the government) are always reacting to what our detractors lie about us/Rwanda. We’ve got to stop being on the defense and propel ourselves on the offense. Therefore, it doesn’t matter how much President Kagame, Foreign affairs minister Mushikiwabo, Pan Butamire (Newtimes’ columnist) and Joseph Rwagatare (Newtimes’ columnist) say or write about the congo issue in the local newspapers. What matters is to take the PR fight straight to our detractors by shaping the international opinion in our favour. One of the ways of doing that, is to write op-ed columns in such newspapers as the New-York times, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the UK’s Financial Times, The French Lefigarro, the Belgian Le soir, Canada’s Globe and Mail etc. Doing so guarantees exposure of our side of the story to a huge pool of global readership. Therefore, this begs the following question: What are our ambassadors doing in this time of need? If anything, by now, Ambassadors James Kimonyo (US), Eugene-Richard Gasana (UN), Edda Mukabagwiza (Canada), Jacques Kabale (France), Robert Masozera (Belgium), should’ve at least written 2-3 op-ed columns in the aforementioned newspapers since the M23 rebellion broke out in April this year. We have to start putting more efforts in educating the international mass population about the bullying of Rwanda that's currently being exerted by the shameless UN and the immoral HRW. In addition, we (Rwandans living in the West as well as those in the country) have to start treating this saga as a real war waged against our country. Thinking otherwise would be deluding ourselves and would have dangerous ramifications for the future of Rwanda. Genocide Deniers are indeed waging a war against Rwanda. We’ve got to go back to our old ways of orgainizing ourselves in the same way we did when the liberation struggle was being fought. One, we’ve got start raising funds, either by holding concerts or contributing to the Agaciro Sovereign fund to support our embattled nation. Two, we’ve got to start demonstrating on the streets of these western capitals (Washington, Montreal, Toronto, Paris, Brussels, London, etc) against the constant lies that are being propagated by HWR’s Kenneth Roth and some members of the UN. By doing so, we’ll attract attention from some unbiased western media, which in turn will force these organisation (UW and HRW) to explain themselves, thus putting them on the defence. This will take enormous pressure off our government and at the same time putting the spotlight on these shady organisations. Peace out my fellow contrymen, ALUTA CONTINUA!!

03:32:26 Tuesday 21st, August 2012 Sudbury, Ontario, Canada - Ntare Batinya Kayitare

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Perfectly put, Joseph. Yes, divide and rule is an ancient strategy the more sophisticated have often perpetrated against the less sophisticated. Unfortunately, a particular geographic designation known as "Africa has", in modern history, been particularly susceptible to this cynical stratagem. And unfortunately, all too many of the inhabitants of this geographical designation have been, and continue to be, pitifully easy to manipulate. It's pitifully sad..Hey, which makes me think -- can Rwanda secede from the rest of Africa, so embarrassing is so much of the rest of continent?! Why does Rwanda deserve to be placed in the same category as so many of these people through the accident of geographic designation?!.As I said, sad. Pitifully sad.

09:04:13 Tuesday 21st, August 2012 Eastern Suburbs - Peter DM

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Good message but for sure the author needs to shape up. given the content, I dont think this was the most appropriate title for the article

09:46:20 Tuesday 21st, August 2012 Rwamagana - kakooza henry

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Dear Rwagatare,Again a succinct analysis of what ails Africa, Africans and Rwandans in particular and our own role in that situation. It is always a pleasure to read your pieces. A question though, do you have any concrete suggestions on how we can overcome Africans' propensity to lend a hand in our own self-destruction? How do you protect people from their propensity to join hands with the slaver to capture his own people for the slaver instead of combatting side by side with his brother to thwart the slaver's project? Because, be clear, what we have now in Africa is just a modernized form of what happened in the days of our forefathers when Africans were complicit in capturing their fellow Africans for the slave trade.

10:01:19 Tuesday 21st, August 2012 Jkalinda@gmail.com - Keene Kalinda

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Thank you very much, Kayitare. This is a good wake up call which should be heeded by all Rwandans that love their country.

12:55:40 Tuesday 21st, August 2012 Kigali - Innie

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Ntare, i buy your idea!!

15:12:53 Tuesday 21st, August 2012 kigali - johnie

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