Last Friday two ‘yellow papers’ were released by the Prime Minister's Office; one commuting the sentences of over 30 military and political leaders of the FNL militia (including Paul Rusesabagina and Callixte Nsabimana aka Sankara), the second appointing new ambassadors and top civil servants. I’d like to take a moment to discuss the two communiques and how I believe they fit into the nation-building exercise that we are presently on. First, the commutations. I realized that something was in the works when President Kagame, while speaking at the Global Security Forum earlier this month, said, ‘we don't get stuck with our past. We move into the future. So there is discussion, there is looking at all possible ways of resolving that issue without compromising the most fundamental aspects of that case. This in contrast to earlier statements he had made while addressing Parliament. As soon as he made those remarks at the Global Security Conference, I realized that something had fundamentally changed in the way the case was being handled. I recall the visit of US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, last August and how condescending he sounded talking about ‘the lack of fair trial guarantees provided to him (Rusesabagina). At the time, I thought to myself, “if this is the attitude they are bringing, I can’t imagine Rwanda’s leadership bending to their will”. When, on Friday, the commutation was announced I asked myself, what had changed? Well, four days later I think I have my answers. First, we discovered the role that Qatar played in mediating the conversation between Rwanda on one side, and the US on the other. For any progress to have been made, there had to be a neutral interlocutor trusted by both sides. Qatar was that in this case. Secondly, a day after the communique was released, Roger D. Carstens, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, tweeted “taking into account recent developments in the matter of Paul Rusesabagina, the State Department’s wrongful detention determination is rescinded”. By rescinding the wrongful detention determination, what the US government acknowledged, in a very roundabout way, was that actually, the case brought against Rusesabagina and his cohort, and the subsequent judgment was indeed lawful under both Rwandan and international law. Lastly, in a press statement Blinken released on the March 24, he reiterated that there was no place for armed groups in politics, saying “we reaffirm the principle of seeking political change in Rwanda and globally through peaceful means. There is simply no place for political violence.” I found this important because the issue of groups using violence to guarantee political outcomes has been the thorn in the side of many African states, including Rwanda. By showing where it stands, the US has not only pulled the rug under FNL but also their evil twins the RNC, FDLR, and RUD-Urunana. As a nation, we’ve moved forward, even when I wished we didn’t have to. We’ve had to forgive those who have injured us gravely even when revenge was much easier. Our leadership has kept looking to the future, even while it would have been more popular to stay in one spot. I personally would have loved to say that ‘little’ Rwanda snubbed the US, but would it have been the best option for us? Especially with our diplomatic partnerships? With our growing relationship with American sports organizations like the National Basketball Association? With our security challenges in the Great Lakes region? At the end of the day, a hard decision had to be made. Fortunately, Rwanda has had a lot of experience in making those hard decisions. And the life and prosperity that we enjoy today is proof that those hard decisions have borne fruit. Another hard decision that was made years ago, was trusting young people in leadership roles. The Friday communique was further evidence of this trust. I am very happy to see our senior civil service is getting younger and younger. It lets me know that we are creating a critical mass of leaders at every level of the state and private sector. That bodes well for the next 10-20 years. During the last presidential election cycle, the topic that was discussed ad-nauseum was the nexus of ‘continuity and change’. What we are seeing today is just that. New leaders, bringing new ideas within a governance system that has been in place for over two decades. The writer is a socio-political commentator
