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{{President Paul Kagame on Wednesday addressed students and faculty members at Brandeis University during a talk centered on Rwanda’s journey of recovery in the last twenty years.}}

President Kagame began by sharing the situation in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi:

“There is no template for putting a country back together after such a major tragedy. Everything was a priority. Almost everything of value had been destroyed. We had to make decisions without any comfort of adequate time or resources.This was the situation we faced in July 1994, as we stopped the genocide and formed a government of national unity.”

Faced with the challenge of rebuilding a nation, President Kagame added that Rwandans were determined to learn from their history:

“Rwanda felt abandoned when the genocide started. The international community made a decision to pull out peacekeepers that were in a position to save lives. But we learned an important lesson that has guided our efforts of rebuilding: we had to be responsible for ourselves as we remained open to working with others.”

In the interactive discussion with the audience, President Kagame answered questions ranging from the perceived contradiction between development and human rights as well as his own personal story of leadership.

On the issue of development, President Kagame pointed to the need to redefine what many define as development:

“Development is not just human rights, it is also human dignity. No matter where they come from or the color of their skin, humans need food, health care, education. They need to not live on handouts and to work for what they live on. These needs don’t need to be taught to them or encouraged, they exist within us.”

When asked about his ambitions to remain President, President Kagame shared his personal experience:

“It was never my ambition to become President. I spent nine and half years of my life in the battlefield. Every single day of those nine and a half years, I was never sure if I would see the next day or the end of the war.”

Concluding the event, President Lawrence of Brandeis University described President Kagame as a man who will be remembered as someone who on the battlefield and in the hearts of his countrymen was committed to human dignity.

President Kagame concluded his address with an emphasis on Rwanda’s commitment to find solutions within and face challenges together:

“From the outset, Rwanda had to take risks. Our very survival was at stake, and we had no expectation that others would, or even could, find solutions for us. We emerged from the tragedy because Rwandans were prepared to stay the course, despite constant doubt and criticism. Without that tenacity, Rwanda would have remained a failed state.”

{{The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Rwanda, Hon Gen James Kabarebe opened on 23rd April 2014, the 9th extraordinary meeting of the Committee of Eastern Africa Chiefs of Defence Staff.}}

The meeting is taking place in Kigali, Rwanda and organised under the theme: “Eastern Africa Standby Force towards Full Operational Capability”.

The Minister of defence, Gen Kabarebe urged the Chiefs of Defence Staff to finalise requirements for Full Operationalization Capability (FOC) of a regional force by this year.

“I urge you as the Chiefs of Defence Staff entrusted with operationalization of the Heads of State Directives, to put final touches to all the operational requirements to achieving FOC by December 2014”.

Minister Kabarebe told regional peace and security leaders that lessons learnt from Rwanda’s experience of 1994 genocide against Tutsi and elsewhere “should guide us in actualizing the ‘Never Again’ and ‘Responsibility to Protect’ principles which are vital guarantees to the security our people”.

Gen Kabarebe said that significant progress has been made in the operationalization of the Eastern Africa Standby Force.

“Our respective Member States have demonstrated willingness and pro?activeness in dealing with conflict and crisis situations, with demonstrable results”.

However he said that the region is still facing security threats caused by Intra-State conflicts, terror groups marauding the region including Al-Shabab, FDLR, ADF-NALU and other negative forces that require collective action.

The chairperson of the Committee of Eastern Africa chiefs of defence staff, Gen Dr Julius W Karangi reminded the Defence Chiefs of their responsibility in ensuring readiness of the regional force that should deploy in various conflict situations in the region.

He emphasized that effective sustainment of deployed forces underpins Mission Success and that the necessary rehearsals must be undertaken.

The Director of Eastern Africa Standby Force Coordination Mechanism (EASFCOM), Ambassador Issmail Chanfi explained that the focus of the meeting is to transition the organization from a virtual outfit to a tangible deployable force to address Peace and Security challenges within the region.

He recognized the important role played by friends and partners in the development of EASF. “We appreciate the shared vision to operationalise EASF and make it a viable tool to provide peace, security and stability within our region’’.

EASF has ten member states namely Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

{{Owners of vehicles in Risizi and Nyamasheke districts will no longer have to commute to Kigali to take their automobiles for mechanical inspection.}}

The recently acquired Mobile Test Lane was on Monday taken to Rusizi to serve owners of vehicles in the two neighbouring districts who used to find it costly and time consuming hitting the six-hour stretch to Kigali.

Previously, the Remera-based Motor vehicle Inspection Centre (MIC), which has the capacity to inspect about 250 vehicles daily, was the only facility serving all vehicles countrywide.

Supt. Jean Marie Ndushabandi, the Traffic and Road Safety spokesperson said the mobile lane will be stationed there for five days.

The facility stationed in Kamembe has the capacity to inspect about 80 vehicles daily.

Owners of vehicles in Rusizi and Nyamasheke thanked the Rwanda National Police and the government in general for bringing the facility in the area.

“In reality, it was hard for us to drive to Kigali because if affected us in many ways including fuel, and even spending like two days without working.

Bringing it here is an answered prayer for us,” Said Naasoro, one of the beneficiaries said.

John Bikorimana, another resident said it used to take him no less than four days going to Kigali to have his vehicle inspected.

”At times, you would get there and you find many other vehicles in front of and the only option is to wait for another day. It would mean that besides money spent on fuel, you have to also look for accommodation and even incur other movement expenses within Kigali.

This is therefore a relief to us,” Bikorimana, who appealed to all owners of vehicles in the area to utilise the chance, said.

Rwanda National Police plans to establish other mechanical inspections centres in Ngoma, Musanze, Huye, Karongi and another lane in Kigali.

It inspects, among others, the lighting and braking systems, wheel alignment and vehicle geometry and steering system, as well as gas emission.

Business vehicles are inspected twice while private vehicles are inspected once a year.

The presidential decree No. 85/01 of September 2, 2002, regulating general traffic police and road traffic; stipulates, in part, that “vehicles not satisfying the set technical criteria will not be issued a certificate.

Owners of vehicles using public roads without the certificate will be liable to a fine of Rwf 25, 000.”

{RNP}

M23 rebels that fled into Uganda after their defeat by Congolese government forces will be obliged to sign documents denouncing rebellion and as precondition to effect their amnesty.

A delegation from DR Congo is expected in Kampala, Uganda on Friday to oversee the entire process to enable former M23 fighters sign forms denouncing rebellion.

The first recipients of amnesty under the Congolese law are 51 people, including M23 officials that attended the peace negotiations with the DRC government in Kampala last year.

The amnesty is however pegged on M23 fighters signing forms committing themselves not to engage in rebellion again.

This is the first wave of beneficiaries of the amnesty law of February 11, promulgated by President Joseph Kabila.

Jean Pierre Massala, the Chargé D’affaires of the DR Congo Embassy yesterday (Wednesday) said the technical team from Kinshasa would meet the M23 leaders and Dr. Crispus Kiyonga who facilitated the talks last year.

In November last year, M23 denounced war after they were defeated by the Congolese army supported by the UN Intervention Brigade and their military leader Gen. Sultani Makenga sought protection in Ugandan along with 1,600 of his fighters.

Later, the signing of a peace agreement between the DRC government and M23 in Nairobi marked the conclusion of the yearlong peace negotiations in Kampala mediated under the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).

Masala said that the amnesty forms are available and ready to be signed at the Embassy in Kampala.

However, he acknowledged that former M23 fighters don’t have enough resources to travel to Kampala.

Benjamin Mbonimpa, the M23 executive secretary said the group had received information from the embassy about the availability of the amnesty forms at the embassy in Kampala.

Mbonimpa however said that most of the Movement’s members were scattered in various refugee settlements in Uganda and Rwanda.

“Our Movement’s Directorate is under discussion with the DRC’s Embassy in Uganda and the Secretary Executive of the ICGLR for the establishment of a strategy that would allow the delivery of the said forms to the different places where our members are gathered,” said Mbonimpa.

Mbonimpa called on the M23 members to exercise patience, saying that they would be informed in due course of practical arrangements adopted by ICGLR, the DRC Embassy and M23.