From Wall Street Journal Editorial page, This really sums it all up. Worth reading. Reflecting on Rwandas Past—While Looking Ahead We put aside false divisions between Tutsi and Hutu and held ourselves accountable. By Paul Kagame Updated April 7, 2014 10:03 a.m. ET After a genocide, historical clarity is an inescapable duty. Behind the words Never Again, there is a story whose truth must be told in full, no matter how uncomfortable. The people who planned and carried out the genocide in Rwanda were Rwandans, but the history and causes extend well beyond my country. This is why Rwandans continue to seek the most complete explanation possible for the terrible events of 20 years ago. We do so with humility as a nation that nearly destroyed itself, not because we want to shift all blame onto others. All genocides begin with an ideology—a system of ideas that says: This group of people here, they are less than human and they deserve to be exterminated. The most devastating legacy of European control of Rwanda was the transformation of social distinctions into races. We were classified and dissected, and whatever differences existed were magnified according to a framework invented elsewhere. Rwandas 2,000 years of history were reduced to a series of caricatures based on Bible passages and on myths told to credulous explorers. Atavistic hostility between something called Tutsi and something called Hutu was deemed inherent to our nature. The purpose was neither scientific nor benign, but ideological: to justify colonial claims to rule over and civilize supposedly lesser peoples. With the full participation of Belgian officials and Catholic institutions, ethnicity was made the only basis of political organization, as if there were no other way to govern and develop society. The result was a country perpetually on the verge of genocide. Decade by decade, the number of victims grew. In 1994, more than a million people died over 100 days as the Rwandan state, backed militarily and politically by France, told some Rwandans that it was their duty to murder other Rwandans. Les faits sont têtus—facts are stubborn, and no country is powerful enough, even when it thinks it is, to change the facts. Africans are no longer resigned to being hostage to the worlds low expectations. We listen to and respect the views of others. But ultimately, we must be responsible for ourselves. In Rwanda, we are relying on universal human values, which include our culture and traditions, to find modern solutions to the unique challenges we faced in terms of justice and reconciliation following the genocide. Early on, we made three fundamental choices that guide us to this day. First, we chose to stay together. We brought millions of refugees home. We allowed low-level genocide suspects to return home to await our form of community justice known as Gacaca. We passed a new constitution that transcends politics based on division and, for the first time, made women full partners in nation-building. We extended comprehensive health and education benefits to all our citizens. Second, we chose to be accountable. We decentralized power and decision-making around the country. We work closely with aid donors to ensure that their funds reach the poor. We award scholarships and appoint public servants based on merit, without discrimination. We sanction officials, no matter how high-ranking, who abuse power or engage in corruption. Third, we chose to think big. We made the country an attractive place to do business. We extended broadband to all 30 districts. We are regular contributors to United Nations and African Union peacekeeping forces, including in Sudan, Mali, and the Central African Republic, because our experience has taught us how to recognize the warning signs of genocide, and it has given us the determination to stop it when we have the means to do so. We may make mistakes, like every country does. We own up and learn and move forward. Our approach is as radical and unprecedented as the situation we faced. The insistence on finding our own way sometimes comes with a price. Too often, the price includes a dubious discourse in which victims are transformed into villains. But doubts about our policy choices should not make moral equivalence about genocide acceptable. We appreciate the contributions that we have received from friends and partners abroad, precisely because we do not feel anyone owes us anything. But we ask that outsiders engage Rwanda and Africa with an open mind, accepting that our efforts to move beyond the politics of division are being carried out in good faith. A few years ago I met a young man who was one of 12 people pulled alive from under 3,000 corpses in a mass grave at Murambi. He still lived nearby, totally alone. When the perpetrators he recognized came home from prison, terror surged again through his body. I asked him how he managed and he told me, I could not do it unless I was convinced that these impossible choices are leading us somewhere. To prevent genocide, it is not enough to remember the past. We must also remember the future. Mr. Kagame is the president of Rwanda
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 17:06:26 +0000
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