Victoire Ingabire seeks reconciliation in Rwanda

International

-DW News

Kigali,
Sep
05:
In
2010,
Rwandan
opposition
figure
Victoire
Ingabire
Umuhoz
was
sentenced
to
15
years
in
prison
for
allegedly
conspiring
against
the
state.
She
received
a
pardon
from
President
Paul
Kagame
in
2018.
Still,
she
accuses
Kagame’s
government
of
oppression
and
despotism.

In
this
interview
with
DW’s
Sandrine
Blanchard,
she
explains
why
she
continues
to
tirelessly
campaign
against
the
government
while
also
trying
to
find
a
way
of
dealing
with
the
country’s
traumatic
past.

DW:
As
leader
of
the
Dalfa-Umurinzi
party
you’re
one
of
the
most
important
opposition
figures
in
Rwanda
against
President
Paul
Kagame.
You
look
back
on
a
long
political
career
that
has
been
fraught
with
many
obstacles:
Among
other
things,
you
were
kept
in
solitary
confinement
after
your
sentence
for
conspiring
against
the
state
in
2010.
Against
this
backdrop
of
constant
repression,
how
do
you
manage
to
keep
up
your
political
activities?

Victoire
Ingabire
Umuhoza:
Yes,
I
spent
six
years
in
solitary
confinement
indeed.
But
I
was
acquitted
of
all
these
crimes
by
the
African
Court
on
Human
and
Peoples’ Rights.
My
struggle
is
for
the
democratization
of
our
country
so
we
can
build
institutions
that
give
security
and
confidence
to
every
last
stratum
of
our
society.

China
may
lead
in
hard
diplomacy
but
India
wins
Rwandan
hearts
with
its
food

Just
a
few
days
ago,
you
published
an
article
in
the
Belgian
news
magazine
LeVif.be.
In
it,
you
discuss
your
country’s
history
since
its
independence,
you
denounce
the
authoritarian
style
of
the
ruling
Rwandan
Patriotic
Front
(RPF)
party,
which
has
been
in
power
since
1994,
and
you
call
for
a
new
style
of
governance
in
Rwanda.
To
this
end,
you
call
for
a
national
dialogue.
What
are
your
expectations
from
this?

Rwandans
must
work
together
to
find
a
solution
that
is
appropriate
to
our
situation
and
discover
ways
to
distribute
power
among
Rwandans.
Today,
we
are
under
the
system
introduced
by
the
RPF,
this
so-called
“consensus
democracy.”
But
we
find
that
over
time,
the
RPF
has
turned
into
a
one-party-state
party,
where
there
is
only
the
ruling
party
in
charge
of
everything.
We
must
work
together
to
ensure
that
each
social
class
feels
secure
and
participates
in
the
country’s
institutions
and
decisions.
Only
this
way
can
everyone
be
sure
that
if
there
is
a
threat
to
their
safety
or
if
their
fundamental
rights
are
violated,
there
is
still
room
for
protection.

To
this
day,
there
is
still
this
talk
of
reconciliation.
Some
progress
has
indeed
been
made,
but
there
is
still
a
long
way
to
go.
For
example,
in
1994
—
before,
during
and
after
the
Tutsi
genocide
—
there
were
other
crimes
as
well.
These
were
crimes
against
humanity,
crimes
against
mankind.
And
these
crimes
have
been
documented
by
the
United
Nations.
Yet,
people
in
Rwanda
cannot
really
talk
about
these
crimes.
You
cannot
talk
about
reconciliation
if
you
are
not
ready
to
heal
all
the
wounds.
This
is
why
I
propose
that
we
set
up
a
Commission
for
Reconciliation,
Justice
and
Truth
like
there
was
in
South
Africa
—
because
justice
is
not
intended
to
be
a
punishment,
but
rather
an
act
of
reconciliation.

But
there
still
are
armed
groups
across
Rwanda’s
border
in
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo,
such
as
the
Democratic
Forces
for
the
Liberation
of
Rwanda,
FDLR.
This
Rwandan
Hutu
militia
group,
which
is
involved
in
fighting
in
the
DRC,
is
said
to
be
led
in
part
by
fugitive
perpetrators
of
the
Rwandan
genocide.
This
also
plays
an
important
role
in
reconciliation
process.
How
do
you
even
start
a
dialogue
with
them
when
they
are
still
wanted
by
the
authorities?

Yes,
there
are
armed
groups.
There
are
some
people
in
the
FDLR
who
are
wanted
by
the
authorities.
But
there’s
one
thing
I
want
to
emphasize:
Little
by
little,
there
are
some
FDLR
members
who
are
now
returning
to
Rwanda.
They
are
hand-picked:
Those
who
are
wanted
by
the
justice
system
will
be
tried
while
the
others
will
be
integrated
into
everyday
life
in
Rwanda.
So
I
don’t
understand
why
the
regime
says:
“We
don’t
want
to
have
any
dialogue
with
these
people”
—
when
in
truth,
we
talk
to
them
every
day.

And
if
there
really
are
perpetrators
of
genocide
hiding
amongst
them,
these
people
will
have
to
be
brought
to
justice.
But
there
are
also
those
who
have
nothing
to
be
blame
for,
who
have
done
nothing
wrong.
After
all,
you
have
to
bear
in
mind
that
the
FDLR
was
only
established
in
the
2000s.

So
what
you
mean
to
say
is
that
many
of
the
fighters
in
the
FDLR
are
too
young
to
have
been
perpetrators
in
the
1994
genocide.

I
believe
there
are
young
people
who
wouldn’t
dare
to
return
to
Rwanda
because
in
their
minds
there
is
still
this
image
of
what
they
experienced
in
the
forests
of
Congo
where
they
were
massacred.
They
are
afraid
to
go
home.
Maybe
they
have
chosen
to
take
up
arms
believing
that
they
can
protect
themselves
that
way.
The
Rwandan
government
should
accept
them,
reach
out
to
them
and
encourage
them
return
to
our
country.

Source: DW