Regional
Western countries’ public funds put into tarnishing Rwanda in Mozambique
Looking
at some Western countries’ policies regarding Rwanda, it is clear that their
aim is to ensure other Africans distrust Rwanda, to see it as a virus or a curse
rather than as a fellow African country that wants to partner with others in
Africa's development.
To
achieve this objective, they deploy Western media to publish stories misrepresenting
Rwanda as a country where nothing good happens. And when something positive
they cannot deny happens, they fabricate and prioritize coverage on something
else that overshadows the truth and the good that Rwanda is doing. They are
artful when it comes to this.
Those
countries are particularly consistent in their determination to provide public support to anyone willing to help incite hatred or
hostility against Rwanda, particularly in countries where Kigali has deployed
troops such as the Central African Republic and Mozambique. At the same time,
they intentionally undermine collective efforts to help those countries restore
peace and security.
Centro para Democracia E Desenvolvimento
In Mozambique,
for example, they are funding an organization called Centro para Democracia E Desenvolvimento (CDD) - or Center for
Democracy and Development – which brands itself as the “Guardian of Democracy”.
However,
far from seeming to be preoccupied by the fate of the people of
Mozambique, CDD does nothing but publish articles aimed at making readers hate
Rwanda by especially painting its President, Paul Kagame, as the one actually
exporting insecurity to Mozambique.
On
November 25, the organisation published a diatribe titled, “United States of America criticizes EU for
its close cooperation with Paul Kagame’s authoritarian regime in Rwanda”,
in which it compiled anti-Rwanda narratives about the democracy and human
rights situation in Rwanda, and suggested there is “a list of 20 Rwandan
refugees [in Mozambique] identified as targets to be ‘slaughtered’ by Kagame’s
regime”.
It ended
its litany of regurgitated allegations against Rwanda with the case of
terrorism convict Paul Rusesabagina. The case is depicted as a kidnapping of a
“Rwanda politician”, “a Belgian citizen and U.S. resident […] who has received
international praise for saving hundreds of lives during the Rwandan genocide
in 1994”, and “a victim of Rwanda’s cross border persecution of opponents”,
who, despite rejecting terrorism charges, was condemned by the Rwandan justice
whose verdict was criticized by the Belgium’s Foreign Minister and condemned by
the European Parliament.
Interestingly,
since the deployment of Rwandan troops to support the Mozambican army in
fighting Islamic State-linked terrorists in the northernmost province of Cabo
Delgado that had displaced nearly a million people and killed more than 3, 000
innocent lives, the organization’s only concern has been Rwanda’s internal
affairs. The CDD invested almost obsessively in spreading Western media and NGO's
anti-Rwanda propaganda. It has published absolutely nothing about the impact of
Rwanda's successful intervention in helping to restore security in Cabo Delgado,
a feat well appreciated by the government in Maputo.
Hundreds
of people who had fled the terror in Cabo Delgado warmly welcomed Rwandan security
forces on witnessing the very good job in the liberation of their villages.
In
many parts of the vast province, people have returned home with the confidence
that “as long as the Rwandan forces stay
for a long time, it’ll be fine”, as was reported by the Financial Times.
"We're
very happy with the presence of the Rwandans. They bring peace", a
resident of Mocimboa da Praia said.
But for
the Western-funded so-called ‘Guardian of Democracy’, anything that advances
the welfare of Cabo Delgado isn’t worth any acknowledgement as long as Rwandan
forces are a part of it.
The
Rwandan High Commissioner to Mozambique, Claude Nikobisanzwe, has wondered why
CDD, “singled out one comment from other positive things [said by Samantha
Power].” He suggested that, “maybe there is another reason for such frightful
title!” If one endeavors to find out why the CDD’s major obsession is Rwanda
rather than real challenges and aspirations of Mozambican people, it is imperative
to look at its sponsors, to understand why it has chosen its anti-Rwanda editorial
line.
At
the bottom of its propaganda leaflet, CDD proudly displayed its “financing
partners” who without surprise include known promotors of democracy overseas
like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a fund created and refurbished
by the U.S. government with the flexibility “to respond quickly when there is
an opportunity for political change.”
The CDD
is also funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign through a Dutch entity called NUFFIC,
and by the Embassy of Switzerland in Mozambique, as well as by Western organisations that are often
criticized for lack of political neutrality or political interferences in the
guise of democracy promotion. The latter include the Open Society Initiative
for Southern Africa (OSISA) which is part of the Open Society Foundation (OSF)
founded by American billionaire George Soros, or the Ford Foundation which is
often accused of being funded by the US government, and the Resilience Fund
established with the support of the Government of Norway.
Sadly, these Western countries deceitfully portray the funds given to CDD as aid meant to help Mozambique with its security, governance and development issues, while pro-Western recipients are using it to undermine those very goals the Mozambican government is pursuing, with the support of Rwanda.