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Museveni Defends Uganda in Rwanda

The Monitor (Kampala)
NEWS
April 8, 2004
Posted to the web April 8, 2004

By Nasra Bishumba & Sheila C. Kulubya
Kigali
Uganda to construct monuments
President Museveni said yesterday that Uganda stood by the people of Rwanda
during their hour of need.
Speaking during activities to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1994 genocide
here, Mr Museveni said Ugandan assistance helped end the genocide.
"Uganda did not stand aloof as Rwandans died," Museveni said to a standing
ovation.
"It joined the RPA in attacking and saving the country from further bloodshed,"
he added in a speech peppered with proverbs and delivered in Runyankore,
English and a bit of the local language here, Kinyarwanda.
"We are not part of those who watched, so we are not guilty of that crime," he
added.
Museveni, who repeatedly reminded Rwandans of their "Ugandan friends",
congratulated Rwanda on uniting and rebuilding the country after the genocide.
Speaking yesterday, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda repeated long-standing
accusations against the international community for "choosing to ignore the
genocide."
"It is clear that the world had the capacity to stop the genocide but
deliberately chose to turn a blind eye on Rwanda," Mr Kagame said.
The Rwandan leader vowed never to allow a repeat of the bloodbath, in which up
to a million people were killed in 100 days, and called on Africans to
safeguard their own people.
"We should strengthen national institutions and work jointly to combat any of
such similar catastrophes so that we do not have to rely on external forces,"
he said.
"We have to learn to protect each other for no one owes us anything like the
case was in Rwanda."
He added: "We hope and pray that this international system can be reformed and
for us here in Rwanda, we have drawn our lessons and we are prepared that what
happened here should never happen again not only in Rwanda but anywhere in the
world.
"Our never-again means never-again."
Flanked by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and
Museveni, Kagame lit an eternal flame at the country's biggest genocide
memorial in Kigali, as workers buried some 15 coffins in a mass grave nearby.
Also in attendance were Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, African Union
chairman, Ketumire Masire, former President of Mali, Alpha Konare, and Belgian
Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt.
The 1994 genocide was sparked off by the death, in a plane crash, of then
Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana and his Burundian counterpart, Cyprien
Ntayamira.
A state-inspired reign of terror then began in the capital Kigali, before
spreading throughout the country.
Rwanda accuses the international community - specifically the United Nations,
the United States, France and Belgium of looking on while people were killed.
Rwanda also accuses France and former colonial master Belgium of creating the
conditions for the genocide, in the case of the latter, and encouraging it, in
the case of the former.
The Belgian government has apologised for its failure to intervene during the
genocide.
France denies the allegations against it and accuses Kagame of ordering for the
shooting down of Habyarimana's plane, a charge vehemently denied by Kigali.
Meanwhile, Uganda is to erect monuments in memory of the victims of the
genocide, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.
"We have already agreed with the Rwanda government to erect fitting monuments
wherever mass graves do exist," Internal Affairs minister Ruhakana Rugunda
said.
He was speaking at the International Conference Centre, Kampala, as part of
local events to commemorate the genocide.
Several victims of the genocide were dumped in the Kagera River and floated
downstream into Lake Victoria.
Many were buried in mass graves in Uganda.
The first Consul at the Rwandan embassy, Gapiro Alois, called on the
international community to help the victims of the genocide, especially, by
providing anti retroviral drugs to thousands of women raped during the
slaughter and currently living with HIV/Aids.
The Uganda Banyarwanda Association for Culture and Development (Umubano) and
the Rwanda embassy organised the event. A memorial service was later held at
Christ the King church at 6 p.m.

   

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