RDF urged to uphold national sovereignty

President Paul Kagame has urged senior officers of the Rwanda Defence Forces to keep striving for the country’s independence by using the skills they have acquired as well as the army’s valuable history. The President was yesterday officiating at the graduation of 45 senior officers, the pioneer class of the RDF Command and Staff College in Nyakinama, Northern Province’s Musanze District.The college was inaugurated in July last year to offer high-level military studies. Kagame encouraged the officers to use the skills they acquired during the training to keep defending their country against enemies such as ne0-colonialists and others who may be encroaching on the freedom of Rwandans. “It is up to you to make sure that you live up to the expectations that Rwandans have come to take for granted from you,” Kagame told the officers, explaining that the RDF and Rwandans have a track recordof fighting for their own freedom. He added that it is the hard work of the Rwandan people that has resulted to the remarkable progress the country has registered.With the help of trainers in both the art of war and some academic disciplines, the officers spent ten months acquiring skills in military studies, including land operations, intelligence, air operations, stability operations, peace support operations, military history, international relations and conflict management.Kagame encouraged the graduates and the entire RDF to always uphold the values of protecting Rwandans and always ensure that they protect the will of Rwandans.The RDF’s history of heroism is especially enriched by the act of stopping the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda among other things that have helped Rwanda to enjoy current peace and stability.“The RDF doesn’t depend on sweeteners. They are real and they must be real,” the President told the army, encouraging them to maintain the army’s bravery. “Rwandans, RDF, we should be real people that decide for ourselves,” he said.The President strongly criticized suggestions that Rwanda should enter talks with the FDLR terrorist group calling it “utter nonsense” pointing out that Africans should not be driven by others. The FDLR is comprised of Genocidaires who are responsible for the killing of one million Rwandans during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. They are based in the DRC where they maintain the Genocide ideology of wiping out the Tutsi.RDF Spokersperson Joseph Nzabamwita said the Command and Staff College will go a long way in providing Rwandan soldiers with high level skills they need to be real commanders in the army.Apart from providing the soldiers with the Rwandan context that they need to defend their country, the college will also help to reduce the number of Rwandan officers sent abroad for courses, while also training officers from other countries.RNP monument unveiledThe President also unveiled the National Police College Monument at the National Police College in Musanze, where 28 senior officers from 12 African countries are attending the Senior Command and Staff course for a year.He also toured the college’s computer facilities.The trainees are from Ghana, Zambia, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. The course, which offers a Masters in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation, combines strategic command and leadership component, Police Routine and Operation Staff Work.The course, a product of RNP, is offered in partnership with the National University of Rwanda and the UK-based Bramshill College of Policing, formerly known as the International Academy, Bramshill.It gives the officers more knowledge and skills in tactical policing as well as a global understanding of peace and conflict dimension.“We are aware of your desire and passion for preference for Africa’s solutions to Africa’s problems. What is going on here epitomises and reinforces your assertion,” Victor Adusah-Poku, who represented other course participants, said.Kagame ends his tour of Musanze today with an interactive meeting with residents after yesterday’s interactions with local leaders.