Paul Kagame Quotes
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Up to a certain extent the UN soldiers are useful. But they are consuming a lot of resources in relation to the little work they are doing.
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In Africa today, we recognise that trade and investment, and not aid, are pillars of development.
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Reconciliation takes time. Sometimes many decades, as the example of Europe shows. It is hard work.
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There are African leaders who have the dangerous habit of leading their people into an abyss. In Rwanda we've had presidents who killed. The one million people who died here were, to a certain extent, victims of their leader, President Juvénal Habyarimana, who died in a plane crash before the genocide began. He contributed to all that. The man who took over from him was running around ordering people to kill. If this president came back and landed in my hands, I would have him arrested and tried. Unfortunately, he died a natural death.
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The new Rwanda is about building an economy that delivers prosperity and opportunity for our citizens based on a robust private sector. Foreign adventures would be costly and counterproductive distractions from these challenging objectives.
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The West is anything but altruistic.
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It is the population which decides when it's time for a leader to leave, not foreign powers.
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Human rights are not the preserve of Western activists: The definition must extend to encompass the right to the dignified life; the right to send your kids to school, for that child to get health care, for access for greater prosperity for generations to come and to have a say in the destiny of your community and country. Under that definition, Rwanda has nothing to learn from advocacy groups who think they own the copyright on what constitutes human rights under all conditions in every corner of the world.
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We cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future and to ensure that what happened never happens again.
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Democracy holds little appeal for people who are struggling to survive.
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Technology has brought many possibilities in education and health that are key to women.
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It is better for a country to have a strong leader, this applies to the United States as well as to Rwanda.
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The West has institutions that can punish the misconduct of individuals. What drove Rwanda and Africa into decline was the fact that certain people weren't held accountable. When we move to make corrupt mayors or officers answer to the courts, people always immediately say that we are repressive. But should we allow these people to continue to get away with it?
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My purpose is to develop a country, to empower its population. It's from that same population that will emerge the man or woman who will succeed me. And they will be chosen based on the consensus that they have the capacity to lead the country.
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Human rights groups are locked in a fierce competition for big checks from wealthy donors and they need to generate big headlines.
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I often wonder why the West is much more interested in aid deliveries than in fair trade, for example. The fair exchange of goods would place far more money into the hands of the affected people than relief operations.
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My own experience from a decade ago taught me I cannot trust the UN. But it is a world body and we have to live with it and tolerate it. But I can't hide my feelings about its inefficiency and its not being productive.
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Rwanda has its own problems and never sought to blame others or cause others trouble. I advise Burundi to do the same.
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A strong leader is not necessarily a bad leader.
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The efficiency of a President at the beginning of his term depends on their capacity to get everything under control. That was my case. But once the institutions have been put in place, and the responsibilities delegated, the leader becomes a reference, a referee, a symbol and unifying figure for the nation. The issue is how and when to recognize the moment when staying in power becomes counterproductive.
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There are some who are scared by unity and by building a country on the basis of ideas.
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I had to fight hard for everything. I wanted to get out. I want to take my destiny into my own hands and escape the vicious cycle of retaliatory violence. This struggle has shaped who I am to this day.
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It is the first time in the history of Rwanda that political change in the highest leadership of the country has taken place in peace and security.
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I grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, and I lived there for 30 years. That shapes one's character.
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The history and national interest of Rwanda and the Rwandan people dictate our national orientation.
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Infrastructure is key, but also how it's used, and that's political.
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Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.
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Moving container from Kigali to Mombasa used to take 22 days, now it takes 6 days.
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Rwanda is a democracy not a monarchy.
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Rwanda is not over needing aid, but we can survive with less aid than before.
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