When President Paul Kagame declared that Rwanda would defend itself, Rwanda detractors rushed to call him “belligerent.” Yet when Western leaders make the same vow, it is hailed as a sign of patriotism.
This double standard is dangerous!
Lately, at the Gabiro Combat Training Center, President Paul Kagame told more than 6,000 officers: “We do not start wars against anyone; we only respond when a war is waged against us.
“That is the principle; it is the ethos of Rwanda.”
The president’s words were clear, measured, and rooted in history. For Rwanda, defense is not optional; it is survival.
The world forgets too quickly. In 1994, when the Genocide against the Tutsi claimed over a million lives, the world looked away. Rwanda cannot rely on foreign sympathy or promises. “Never Again” is not a slogan; it is a duty. And President Kagame, as head of state, embodies that duty.
Rwanda’s posture of readiness cannot be divorced from its geography. Across the border in DRC, Felix Tshisekedi has constantly threatened Rwanda. During his presidential campaign, he boasted that once elected, he would go to war with Kigali to remove its leadership.
In Burundi, Ndayishimiye, while in Kinshasa, also declared that he shared Tshisekedi’s will to “free Rwanda.” And these are public vows of aggression from heads of state.
So why is President Kagame branded a warmonger for preparing Rwanda’s defense? This is irony. Rwanda is accused of hostility for declaring we will defend ourselves against such threats?
President Kagame’s words at Gabiro were not about threatening anyone; they were about ensuring Rwandans can sleep at night knowing their nation is protected. Very capably moreover.
The detractors miss a basic point: self-defense is a right under international law. It is the most fundamental responsibility of a state to its citizens. This is the heart of the matter.
Rwanda will not provoke, but it will never be caught unprepared. That is not belligerence. That is leadership. And in a region where neighbors threaten regime change and abet genocidaires, it is the only responsible path.
All “bigarasha”, “Interahamwe”, their backers the Tshisekedist and Ndayishimiye; everyone one of them better get used to it.
ellenkampire