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Rwandan President Paul Kagame was at the center of discussions among the Amanpour audience. Many commented they would like to see President Kagame’s opponent speak up publicly as the Rwandan story, many said, had “two sides.” Additionally, while most commented that foreign aid to developing countries would only create dependency because of the instant gratification experienced, others felt “nothing was for free” and natural resources were exchanged for the money. The lapse in social and economic opportunity for the progress of these undeveloped countries continued to be of interest for many. Furthermore, it was felt that although Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei’s accomplishments were positive, they were globally recognized because of his economic status and influence.
What are your thoughts? Please share your thoughts with us! In addition, if you missed the show go to http://www.amanpour.com for more information.
Below, you will see some opinions from viewers like yourself. We would love to hear what you think.
Facebook comments about Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei / Rwanda's President on how he helped turn the country around / And a story of teenage girls discovering their strength.
Sam Lacroix I would suggest you really give a chance to the Kagame main opponent (Mrs Victoire Ingabire) to respond to accusations by Kagame on you show. we love you AMANPOUR
Jony Jess We love you AMANPOUR!!! BUT i really suggest that you give a chance to Mrs Victoire Ingabire to respond to the accusations made by Kagame on your show. The true nature of CNN is to hear from both sides...especially ahead of Rwandan controversial elections come up...with a 3 week- presidential campaign!!!!!!
Muhiire Nathan International money lending institutions could be exploiting our poor countries to target our natural resources through unfair agreements made with our unpatriotic leaders. Most of these agreements between these shrewd institutions & our excited representatives are unfair to ingenious people. that's why it's easy for gov'ts to access very big loans. our great grand children not yet born are in trouble!
Ozor Debbie Foreign Aid is good a development,espcially to developing countries. But there shld be check, in order to avoid Dependency.
Jorge Manuel Seixas I think I am doing the same thing. The difference is, I am not known and I am poor. The world is such a place that only those with money can make a difference and the rest will be called silent heroes like Obama called his grand-mother
@camanpour on Twitter
After only 16 year, there is a massive wave of revisionism concerning the Rwandan Genocide. The narrative which is gaining momentum is very worrisom. While there is a real need to honor any genocide victim, whether Tutsi, Hutu or Twa, it should never be forgotten that the civil war was all about the total annihilation of the Tutsi, not the Hutu. The important message of history is to counter processes which lead to demonization of entire cultures/people/ethinicities etc. and ultimately lead to genocide. Denying that the war was explicitely against Tutsis, is like denial of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, etc.
So why all this sudden outburst against the new Rwanda? Is it ultimately to whitewash the conscience of the criminals and their silent followers? Is it the beginning of a renewed demonization of the Tutsis?
While the path to a "Switzerland in Africa" is long, Rwanda is definitely on it, for the benefit of all. Opposition is part of democracy and as such should be heared, but is there any legitimate stage for historic revisionism?
Hi Christian,
Can you invite Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza to CNN so that she can give the other side of the Rwandan story?
There is some leader who wake up and show their faces in the awake of election and other who do not just like to be the president but what to make a difference in people lives. Victoire Ingabire has been living in europe for almost 16 years , she cannot be compared with Kagame who started rebuilding the country from nothing to something. Ingabire is not even official opposition yet but there is around ten oppsitions party in rwanda. People outsside of rwanda may not understand why Rwandan are ungry over Ingabire vission , because it brings back alot of memories of late 60s when the leaders started the same idealogy which grew and resulted in genocide in 1994 . that is the reason why she being reacted to by parents lost their children and children lost their parents. people are scared for that kind of politics Ingabire preaches.
You know ,I quite appreciate the Chanese Artist AI Weiwei's efforts in trying to make the Chinese realise that the world is a small place.
But talking of democracy in Chaina Amanpour ?.
You know what happen to Google in Chaina?;Yahoo,ebay, etc.
You know there is this Jewish ballad that tells of a sardine swimming off the shores of Eilat ?. meets a shark and humbly says the normal greeting,(shalom) peace,to avoid any clash,the sardine gives up his tails,some fins,some scales,but it seems all these avails nothing.
Now, for a real and lasting peace,he surrenders everything. Guest what Amanpour ?.The shark nods in agreement and utters the word 'peace' and opens his mouth and swallows the sardine whole.That is the peace,the lasting peace.
The Chanese Artist Ai Weiwei and the Google and others' fins,tails and scales have been chopped off by the Chanese and they have compromised all their human rights,business techniques,their money,their intellegences,intel,lectual properties, as well as their Logos,have been taken over by the Chanese authority in order to have liberty to do business in peace,is not achieved until Mr. Ai Weiwei,Google,epay e.t.c have been swallowed .So peace in Chaina means total eradication,subjugating,killing or swallowing all non-conformists to Chaina's law that has no human respect at all,until that happen, nobody should therefore imagine giving peace and democracya chance in a nation like Chaina. So all his efforts and others in Chaina,it is like throwing red meat into a pool of sharks as far as I am concern.
Yakubu MAGAJI
Bauchi state-Nigeria.
There is also the good reason so called Ingabire reconcilation process she talks about, Gacaca. Ingabire's mother was convicted by the court of killing children in 1994 genocide. so it is not surprising if Ingabire criticise Rwanda Gov't .
As someone who lost people during the genocide,i wouldn't be happy if CNN gave a platform to someone who negated the genocide in broad daylight, she has gone on to attack the reconciliation and the systems we strived to put in place....she has no place in Modern day Rwanda!!
Well, let me tell you gys. we cannot be fooled by the media. Amanpour will never give interview to ingabire, never ever. She's not the American chosen one but Kagame is the Maerican man. until the US and UK change their policy toward rwanda there would never be free election in theat country and the truth will nver be told. at the moment we only know what the regime in kigali wants us to know. but time will come. just like saddam hussain was abandoned by the USA after years of support, Kagame's time will come as well amd he will face justice for his crime in rwanda as well as in congo with up to 10 million people killed
@ David
There are no good guys in the Rwandan civil war. Rwanda badly needs a South African style peace and reconciliation commission whose outcome would most likely answer your question.
The recent Amanpour/Kagame interview was groundbreaking because in it we saw the President assure us that The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda would be allowed to register. He also requested that the media investigate claims of harassment by the DGPR president, Frank Habineza, and see if they are true rather than just take him on his word. Now the question is: will the government serving Kagame and the people of Rwanda allow that investigation and registration to happen and will CNN and the other big players pay attention to what we find. I interviewed Mr. Habineza on Tuesday. Now my Rwandese video editor is afraid to complete the project because she feels intimidated here. Kagame is great leader but he needs to be more explicit in demanding that his subordinates protect and serve those who challenge him as much as they do those who support him.
Victoire Ingabire could be heard on CNN or other large international outlets but it should be noted that she refuses to do interviews with reporters, like myself, working inside Rwanda.
Any questions or comments, please contact me directly at: steveterrill@hotmail.com or
(250) 78 356 9597
Steve Terrill
Journalist
@peter
I am not foreign to Rwanda (it is my favorite country, I absolutely love it!) and I know very well the discourse of both sides. It's more: I know people and I know their stories. Not only do I know their stories, but I can openly discuss with them everything, even if it is delicate, intimate and even tabooized.
Peter, there ARE bad guys in this story and there are good guys in it too. What you forget is that a war is always dirty and everyone looses. A war is NEVER a purely dichotomic event.
Rather then a S.A. reconciliation process, Rwanda needs a combination of S.A. reconciliation process plus a "German style de-nazification".
And in many ways, Gacaca achieves this. It is a purgatory event. It gives answers about the fate of the murdered family members. It creates eye contact between murderer and victim. It leads to an outburst of emotions. And yes, it leads to shame, a lot of shame! Shame can be a powerful form of humiliation, with a stong deterrence factor. I dont think there is anything wrong with shame, if used against ideology of hatred. The German people would not be in such a good state of mind without being ashamed. The Austrians and Croatians (e.g.) did not really go through this process and fascistoid tendencies have been much more prevalent there.
Does it mean that the Hutu have collective guilt (and that is the main question, isn't it)? No, because not all participated. But those who did participate, killed in the name of Hutu extremism, and i see no difference in just NAMING this, just as I would name German Nazism.
Does it mean that the RPF was acting strictly according to conventions? No. But they definitely did never have Genocide ideology and did not commit one either, despite being in the position of doing so. A counter Genocide did not happen, neither in scope, nor in ideology! Innocents did get killed, revenge did happen on a certain scale, but not in the name of "Tutsi exteremism ideology" (if this even exists). THIS is claimed by the thriving revisionist camp and according to my judgement it is outrageous. The goal is to erase the shame attached to the perpetrators. Erasing the shame is wrong, because shame (not blame) is an amazing human mechanism which prevents us from doing horrible things.
As I said, Rwanda is still far from being the "Switzerland of Africa". But it is definitely on track (including continuing democratization). "Rome was not built in a day"... The mindblowing achievements of the Kagame administration are under threat by this revisionism. Everyone will loose.
It is sad the way the world and most important, the USA goes about the Israeli-palestine issue. despite the world outcry on the actions of the Israeli govt gainst the palestine, the Israeli govt made a bold statement about its contineous expansion into the palestinean territory. All the USA could say was that the Israeli action was provocative. Period! If it were the Iranian, the US will lobby even its enemies both political, economical and otherwise to sanction It. what a double standard. Enough talk, we need action.
So man Rwandans have been requesting you to have an interview with Madam Ingabire, but no action was taken at this time she is now arrested,so how can we hear her side story? please time wasted will never be recovered now we fell so lonely in this dark moment of Rwanda
Rwanda arrests presidential candidate Victoire Ingabiré Umuhoza; Rwandans call on the international community to speak out
On the morning of April 21, Rwandan police arrested presidential candidate and icon of peace and justice Victoire Ingabiré Umuhoza less than four months before the Aug. 9 presidential election.
The stakes in this political contest are very high throughout the Great Lakes region of Africa, including D.R. Congo, site of the most lethal conflict in the world since World War II. The U.S. State Department and Pentagon have manipulated tensions in the region for many years, as I have reported in the San Francisco Bay View, Digital Journal and Global Research and on KPFA and KMEC News.
BBC World News Radio reports that Ingabiré was rushed to court in six hours, rather than the seven days expected. To listen, click here.
Toronto-based Rwandan exile, writer, activist and FDU-Inkingi Party member Aimable Mugara wrote the following call to the international community to come to the aid of Mrs. Ingabiré and peaceloving Rwandan people. – Ann Garrison
by Aimable Mugara
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza
Mrs. Victoire Ingabire is a 41-year-old mother of three. She had a very good job in the Netherlands, where she had been studying during the 1994 genocide. In 2009, she resigned to return to Rwanda and participate in the presidential election this August 2010. She was back in Rwanda on Jan. 17, 2010, after 16 years in exile. She was recognized by all as the main leader of the Rwandan non-violent political opposition.
After three months of fabricating evidence, today the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) Rwandan government arrested her. The current Rwandan government’s abuse of prisoners has been documented by many human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Mrs. Ingabire is currently at risk of torture or even death while incarcerated.
Today is a very sad day for Rwanda because the current Rwandan government is sending a message that if you participate peacefully in the country’s political process, there is a price to pay. If the government thinks that the people may vote for you, you will be jailed. This disrespect for human rights and democracy is exactly what caused the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
The extremists’ belief that the only way to resolve political issues is through violence is exactly what caused the genocide. For 50 years, there has never been a peaceful transfer of power in Rwanda. Every president of Rwanda who has ever lost power lost it only by being killed or by being jailed. Mrs. Victoire Ingabire believed in a new Rwanda – a new Rwanda where power can be changed peacefully, at the ballot box.
If you participate peacefully in the country’s political process, there is a price to pay. If the government thinks that the people may vote for you, you will be jailed. This disrespect for human rights and democracy is exactly what caused the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Today is a turning point in Rwanda’s future. What happens from now on will determine whether the 50-year curse of using violence to make political change in Rwanda remains the only way possible. Or whether non-violent peaceful democratic ways championed by Mrs. Ingabire remain a viable option to create political change in Rwanda.
As peace-loving Rwandan people, we call upon you to help us convince Gen. Kagame’s current Rwandan government that this dangerous escalation is not in the government’s interests and it is not in the interests of any peace-loving person on earth. We thank you in advance!
Aimable Mugara is a Rwandan exile, writer and activist living in Toronto, Canada, and a member of the Rwandan FDU-Inkingi Party led by Victoire Ingabiré Umuhoza. He is the author of two blogs, Rwanda Human Rights and Democracy and Rwanda Hall of Shame.
http://www.rwandahumanrights.org/
All my dears,
What I know is that the sooner or later, the truth will come out. With all innocent people killed by Kagame, there is no way he will get away from it unless God does not exit and I know he exists. It's just unfortunate to see how Kagame was able to lead Rwanda based on lies and killings/intimidation (worst in the modern history) and most people believed in him. Just believe in God he has a plan for Rwandese people. I do not like politics but I think that Victoire Ingabire is a God-sent that will save lots of lives.
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