卡加梅总统在卢旺达独立50周年暨解放18周年纪念活动上的讲话(摘译）

President Kagame’s speechon the 50th Independenceanniversary

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 Your Excellency Jakaya Kikwete, President of theUnited Republic of Tanzania;

 Excellencies Edward Sekandi, Vice President of the Republic of Uganda andTherence Sinunguruza, 1st Vice President of the Republic of Burundi;

 Leaders of our Government’s High Institutions;

 Hon. Jean Ping, Chairman of the African Union Commission;

 Members of the Diplomatic Corps;

 Fellow Rwandans:

It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this occasion when we celebrate fiftyyears of independence. And to my fellow Rwandans, congratulations on reachingthis important milestone in our history and surviving the many pitfalls alongthe way. I extend a special welcome to many friends of our country who havecome from across the world to share this moment with us.

This is a time for self-examination and reflection on our past, as well as lookingforward to securing a much better future.

During this decade, many African countries will mark fifty years as independentstates. Fifty years is a short time in the life of a nation, but it is longenough to have made significant changes in the lives of our citizens. In Rwanda, forinstance, it is only in the last 18 years that we have regained the dignity andidentity that we lost twice – first, under colonialism and then, ironically, atthe time of independence.

This century that some have dubbed the African century offers us immenseopportunities and prospects that Rwanda and the Continent shouldseize and build on. 

For over a century, including the last 50 years of independence, Africa lostimmense opportunities, largely due to unbalanced relationships within theglobal community that were often predatory and even abusive in nature.

These relations, built on injustice and prejudice, were possible because someamong our citizens, and even leaders, accepted and accommodated such badpractices, and in so-doing, betrayed and undermined what should have been ourindependence.

Some of these weaknesses are within our means to correct. But we will onlysucceed if we are brave and honest enough to accept responsibility for ouractions and reject the convenient attitude of playing the victim and blamingothers. Incidentally, being brave and honest are qualities that seem to have tolost value these days.

The victim attitude prevents us from seeking our own solutions to thechallenges we face. We must overcome this tendency and confront our problemsdirectly, as the Kinyarwanda saying goes: “Ijya kurisha ihera ku rugo”.

We are also conscious that along the way, external factors have adverselyinterfered in Africa’s governance, oftensupporting lack of accountability in governance and hence promotingillegitimate interests.

For many years, our people were told and made to believe lies and mythsmanufactured from within and outside, distorting everything about who we were,who we should be, and what we should do for the healthy development of Africa,and specifically Rwanda.

In the end, truth always prevails because results and facts speak forthemselves, just as one cannot hide the consequences that come with lies.

Even as we speak today, we continue to see problems caused by a combination ofinsensitive actions of interference and double standards, as well as a lack ofdomestic ownership to address these issues in the manner required. This form ofinjustice should not be tolerated if we are to learn from the experience of thelast 50 years. 

We, for too long, surrendered the responsibility to transform our countries tovarious non-state actors that have no clear lines of accountability except tothemselves – which resulted in their stranglehold on our countries. This issimply unsustainable, and we should seize this moment as a true turning point.The situation calls for more collaboration, inclusiveness, and treating oneanother fairly.

As we look to the future, we must recognise that independence, like liberation,is a process and with it come obligations and responsibilities across theboard. We must build on the lessons of our fore bearers across Africa that demonstrated the values of sacrifice,courage, and resilience during their quest for independence. Today, new ways ofperpetuating the old order have emerged in a subtle manner, often disguised asdefence of human rights, free speech, and international justice.

To ensure the prosperity of our people, we must overcome these detractors withincreased citizen participation, cooperation at all levels – nationally andinternationally – as well as greater African economic and politicalintegration. Our countries’ liberties and prosperity are very closely linkedand mutually reinforcing.

In Rwanda,as we begin the next stage of our journey, we will continue to entrench thevalues that have brought us this far – unity, hard work, mutual respect andshared responsibility. 

As a responsible international citizen, Rwanda is committed to contributingto regional and global peace and stability. We are aware that we can travelsafely, faster and farther in the company of others. And so, while ourdetermination to build an independent country should not be compromised, wealso recognise that we can guarantee our independence better with cooperationbased on mutual respect and benefit. Today, Rwandans are addressing our ownchallenges even as we have sought and received support from others.  

Looking over the next fifty years, we must acknowledge the role of our youngpeople as the new drivers of our transformation. It is our duty to pass on tothem a better Rwanda and Africa than we inherited. But our young people must alsounderstand that they have a responsibility to take our countries to the nextlevel. 

Let me conclude by reiterating that our independence will be guaranteed by ourown efforts but we will always be happy to cooperate with others, mindful thatthe primary responsibility lies in our hands.

I wish to thank Your Excellencies and distinguished guests for joining ustoday.

To my fellow Rwandans, let me say that many challenges remain, and we must beprepared to make the necessary sacrifices because there is no shortcut tosuccess. I am confident that we will overcome them because you have alreadyshown your capacity to do so.

I wish you a day of celebration and reflection for the road we have travelledtogether this far. Let us continue to join our efforts as we work for abrighter future.

Thank you.

卡加梅总统在卢旺达独立50周年纪念活动上的讲话(摘译）

卢旺达五十年振兴之路

 

祝贺卢旺达人民在战胜了各种艰难险阻之后，终于取得了具有里程碑意义的成就。

 

现在是我们对卢旺达历史进行深刻反省的时候，也是我们展望美好未来的时候。

 

有人称本世纪为非洲世纪，它给卢旺达乃至整个非洲大陆都带来了应适时抓住的空前发展机会和广阔前景。

 

在独立后的五十年里，非洲丧失了很多机会，这主要归咎于国际社会不平衡的发展关系，其间存在实质性的掠夺甚至滥用关系。

 

这些建立在不平等和歧视基础上的国际关系之所以能形成，是因为我们的部分国民和部分领导人已经习惯于接受和包容这种恶习，其恶果是背叛和阻碍了独立所应达到的真正目的。

 

有些缺点我们自己是有能力纠正的，但我们必须认识到，唯有忠实、勇敢地承担起我们自己的责任，杜绝总是以受害人身份自居，无端埋怨别人的简单态度，我们的发展才能成功。

 

受害人情结使我们无法通过自身的能力去解决我们面临的问题。我们必须克服这种倾向，正视我们的问题，像卢旺达谚语说的那样，如果你要给与别人什么，你自己必须先拥有。If you want to help others, help yourselffirst. If you don’t have of your own, how could you give to others?

 

我们清楚地知道，在我们的发展进程中，外部力量对非洲的治理起到了不良的干涉作用，进而催生了非法利益。

 

多年以来，我们的人民屈从于来自内部和外部的各种谎言和神话，对于我们的过去，我们的未来，我们应该为非洲特别是卢旺达的健康发展做什么，一切都被扭曲了。

 

即使是今天，我们仍然不断地看到，由于双重标准和各种不友好干涉活动给我们带来很多问题，当然，我们内部也缺乏自己的相应措施去解决这些问题。如果我们要从过去的五十年吸取经验教训的话，就不应该再继续容忍这种不公正。

 

展望未来，我们必须知道，独立和解放一样，它是一个过程，在这样的进程中，我们全体人民必须承担起责任和义务。非洲大陆的前辈们在争取独立的斗争中展现了他们的不屈不挠，勇于牺牲的性格，我们一定要汲取他们的经验教训，去建设我们自己。当今，恢复旧秩序的一些新苗头以微妙的方式已经出现，多是打着保护人权、言论自由和国际正义的幌子。

 

我们将继续牢固坚持我们的传统信念，团结一心，勤奋工作，相互尊重，共担责任。