Regional
Those berating us on democracy, is there no log in your eye?
We
go a long way, Ms Samantha Power, you and us. We remember you for denouncing
your country’s (USA) government falsehood of avowing ignorance to what was
happening in Rwanda in 1994 as the Genocide against the Tutsi.
When
you penned “Bystanders to Genocide”, that was some research you’d done there,
friend. And we gave you thumbs up. Not so much that we cared for those
governments looking the other way while our country burnt, despite their
pledged “Never Again”, since only Rwandans could perceive the intrigues that
had led there, as that they should appreciate this fact of only the affected
party comprehending it and thus giving us space to repair the breakage.
Well,
dear friend, they didn’t and, to-date, they haven’t.
But what makes you different today is that you seem to have joined them. Like them, you go scattering allegations around about societies that are minding their own business without thinking twice of, let alone doing research on, your assertions. What happened to your knack for inquiry, for research? Has superpower politics gone to your head, too?
When you say of Rwanda and I quote: “I don’t think there is an environment on the ground that allows criticism or that there is pluralistic party development or the criteria that you would have in any textbook for a liberal democracy,” Ms Power, these are serious claims about a society.
These
no “environment that allows….”, no “political space….” and other coinages that
mean little but are the fad in the West in connection with third world
governments, how are you magically able to assess them? If there were galaxies
of “political space….” in these countries, how would you, in your air
conditioned office, be able to see them or feel their effect?
Because
if “criticism” in some societies is not the kind that I’d call “fracas
criticism” that’s in your political culture, you must admit you may not
recognise it. There are societies where criticism does not involve
hurling insults, breaking property in streets or engaging in other such
dishonourable conduct.
But
of course, we know what you mean. Like opinion-pushers of your ilk, you are
pleading for the fugitives on the loose in your countries, where they enjoy
liberal favours. Well, here genocide outlaws and thieving renegades belong to
the courts of law. That’s where their fates are determined. If guilty, they
must suffer their punishment. When innocent, they are as free as the air we
breathe.
Pluralistic
party development here is alive and well. Only, it’s not the kind that you
want: one involving those outlaws in exile. For as long as they are wedded to
their vision of division, exclusion and elimination of compatriots, they’ll
never have a place in this country.
The
currently practicing nine political parties agree on this. They also agree that
their common denominator is the quest for socio-economic transformation. So,
old friend, put your heart at ease.
Improved living standards for all citizens are the crux of democracy in this country. Democracy does not spring from any textbook, no, Madam. It’s not a lifeless, bloodless and breathless collection of abstractions. It’s a living, breathing, feeling and life-giving being.
And
it’s not that it’s not yet mature, no. It’s that it’s organic, that it’s
evolving and always will. It’ll always grow and respond to circumstances,
contexts, changes and others according to how the wishes, desires and values of
the citizenry are or will be at any one particular stretch of time.
For
this and other reasons, every day adds a letter in the paragraph of the Rwandan
textbook on liberal democracy. It’s not a textbook that can be put on the shelf
for occasional reference visits. But even as it’s a book in progress, it must
at all times be predicated on the solidity of the noblest of values. That’s why
the most important pillar in this book is communication.
Communication
among all citizens; among the led; among the leaders; between the led and the
leaders; among those in the private sector; in the civil society. In short,
communication all round. With the right to life and liberty ensured, all must
be empowered to have an equal voice and so benefit from inclusiveness and
equality, which demand for good livelihood, health, habitation, etc., for all.
An atmosphere of accountability and transparency ensures these are absolute
rights.
It
also goes without saying that the aforesaid mean ensured freedom of assembly,
of association, of speech. And for all this to happen, all must enjoy peace,
security and the rule of law.
We
do not dabble in criticism of other countries as we are busy building our own.
But think on it, dear friend: a homeless person folded up on the street. Police
kneeing life out of a black. An innocent black coming out of a 55-year prison
sentence. In this 21st century? Beggars belief!
Ms Power, is it in the land of your birth, Great Britain, where they cautioned us thus? Before worrying about a speck in your friend’s eye, check in case you have a log in your own.
Source:
www.newtimes.co.rw