President Kagame today held his monthly Press Conference at his offices in Village Urugwiro, where he answered questions from members of the public and private press. During the Press Conference he assured Rwandans that the government was committed to protect genocide survivors and also provide assistance to ameliorate their lives. He warned those who harass and kill genocide survivors that the government would use all means available to enforce the law and ensure that everyone’s right to life is respected. He said that the Government would continue to put emphasis on addressing the plight of genocide survivors so as to curb trauma cases and provide them with better lives.
Concerning the claims and utterances by leaders of aspiring political parties in the country, President Kagame said that this clearly shows the political values of these leaders, their party and members. The President pointed out the case of Ingabire who, upon return to the country brought along a genocide suspect as her aide who she tried to defend and portray as innocent. “it is actually devaluing for the world to see Rwanda in the eyes of Ingabire and Ntaganda. These people not only have nothing to stand for, but lack even the basic values,” he said.
President Kagame reiterated government’s stand on accountability and emphasized that there would be no complacency and advised Rwandans to ignore rumours spread by people who want to evade accountability. He took swipe at the fugitive generals who have been heard on the international media saying that the Rwandan government is bad, saying that if indeed the government was bad, they would not have had the chance to escape because bad governments don’t give people opportunities to explain themselves. Concerning President Zuma’s statement that the fugitives would be accorded asylum in respect of ‘international law,’ the President said that the Rwanda government expected this and that it only did what it had to do by lodging a formal complaint to the South African government. He said that the government would mainly concentrate on remedying the damage the two had done as it pursued other avenues on the issue.
On the recent apology by the Pope on Catholic Bishops accused of child molestation, President Kagame said that this is an apparent indication that killing of Rwandans is not as serious as molesting a child from a ‘significant’ nation. “This shows you that some countries matter more than others,” the President said.