Speech by H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni President of the Republic of Uganda at he !

"th Rwandese #enocide $o%%e%oration at Kigali&Rwanda 'th (pril !")*

H.E President Kagame, H.E the First Lady, Y.Es the Heads of State and Government, Leaders of delegations, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I greet you and convey to Your Excellencies and the People of Rwanda the greetings of the People of Uganda. Rwanda, along with Burundi, Uganda, parts of North Eastern #ongo, estern !an"ania,

estern $enya, is part of the %reat &a'es area that has,

since several (illennia, )een occupied )y the inter*lacustrine Bantus, Nilotics, Nilo*+a(itic and the ,udanic peoples. !he Rwanda people the(selves are Bantu, part of the inter*lacustrine Bantus. !his area of the %reat &a'es is uni-ue )ecause it had a -uite advanced level of centrali"ation, civili"ation and state for(ation .'ingdo(s and chiefdo(s/0 advanced agriculture and livestoc' industry0 uni-ue industrial practices such as the processing of )ananas into alcohol and
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2uice, the (il' industry, the cereals of sorghu( and (illet and their derivatives, etc., etc.0 the science of converting iron*ore (obutare) into iron was also advanced 3 totally vertically integrated 3 as was the wor'ings on other (etals such as )rass (emiringa), copper (ekikomo), etc., etc. !here was also the uni-ue technology of (a'ing textiles out of the ficus trees (emitooma). In the socio*econo(ic spheres, a feudal syste( was sitting atop sy()iotic societies of agriculturalists (abahinzi), cattle 'eepers (abarozi), crafts(en such as )lac's(iths (abaheesi), ood wor'ers (ababaizi), pottery wor'ers (ababumbyi), textile wor'ers for )ar' cloth (embugu, ebitooma) 'nown as abakomagyi, leather wor'ers (abaremi), etc. and professionals such as (edicine (en, (agicians, (usicians, etc. 4t the top, the syste( could )e parasitic where the 'ings and other rulers could expropriate property fro( citi"ens (kunyaga), do partial expropriation (kunogora), practice o)uha'ye 5 a for( of serfdo(, $i)oo'o etc. !he rulers could also ta'e tri)ute . emitoijo, amatuuro in $inyarwanda/ fro( the ordinary people. 4t the )ase of the society, however, the syste( was sy()iotic with the different groups
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speciali"ing in crops, livestoc', fishing (abajubi), sea(en (abarimbi), crafts(en .as already narrated/, (edicine (en (abafumu, abaraguzi) and, then, exchanging products (okuchurika) 3 )arter trade 3 with one another. It is, therefore, a historic cri(e that external forces, wor'ing with local traitors, could turn a sy()iotic society into the theatre of the (ost fiendish reactionary cri(es 5 genocide. !o the credit of one of the $ings, Rudahigwa, he had a)olished obuhake and $i)oo'o. +e also enforced sharing of econo(ic resources .cows and land/ )etween chiefs and ordinary people, )oth +utus and !utsis. Unfortunately, he was assassinated as was Prince &ouis Rwagasore of Burundi. and Rwagasore were patriots and Pan*4fricanists. Rudahigwa !hat is why the here

parasitic forces grew desperate and started using sectarianis(, assassinations and genocide. 4ll that did not save those traitors. co((unity. !rade, within the %reat &a'es and )etween the %reat &a'es and the #oast of the Indian 7cean, was )oo(ing although inconvenienced )y the greed of the egotistical chiefs on the trade routes. Ruswaruura of Bu2in2a distinguished hi(self in that s'ill of extorting hongo 3 tax
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they still exist, it is on account of the (ista'es of the International

fro( travelers. !he )enevolent $ings li'e Ru(anyi'a, 7ruguundu, of $aragwe, on the other hand, encouraged the travelers and traders and assisted the(. !he fatal wea'ness of the #hiefs and $ings of that ti(e was the failure to see the wisdo( of political integration. 4lthough the Europeans spent a)out 9:: years at the coast of the Indian 7cean )efore they had the capacity .auto(atic weapons, the stea( engine and -uinine/ to penetrate in the interior of the continent, the (yopic 'ings and chiefs, engrossed in self glorification and, so(eti(es, tyranny, could not see the wisdo( of political integration in order to defend the(selves against the strangers .the Ba"ungu/ that were fre-uenting the coast of East 4frica ever since 19;< when =asco >a %a(a went around the #ape of %ood +ope. Eventually, that ego*centris( of our 'ings and chiefs proved fatal. 7nce the Europeans had used the 9 centuries to advance the(selves in technology, they called the #ongress of Berlin in 1<<9 to partition 4frica a(ong the British, the ?rench, the %er(ans, the Portuguese, the ,panish and the >utch in ,outh 4frica. Except for Ethiopia, the whole of 4frica was con-uered. !his was a )ig sha(e for 4frica.
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!hat interaction with Europe ca(e with the slave trade, (ass 'illings, i(ported epide(ics of s(all pox and other diseases, colonialis( and the looting of our natural resources. hen 4frica 2oined the worldwide anti*colonial struggle, along with India, Indonesia, Indo*#hina, #hina, parts of &atin 4(erica and so(e parts of the @iddle East, assisted )y the socialist countries .the ,oviet Union, #hina, #u)a, etc./, also assisted )y the wars a(ong the i(perialist countries .1 st and 6nd orld ars/, we regained our freedo(. !his (ade certain circles a(ong the i(perialists very desperate. !hat is how they launched the cri(inal sche(es of genocide, (ass 'illings, assassinations of pro(inent political leaders, the secession sche(es of $atanga and Biafra, etc., etc. Rwanda, one of the (ost highly centrali"ed indigenous states, fell a victi( to these sche(es. 4 )an'rupt pseudo*ideology of dividing the People of Rwanda, who have got a co((on language and culture, was hatched and pro(oted in the for( of sectarianis(. hile there could have )een antagonistic relations )etween the rulers . Abanyiginya and other nobles) and the people, there could )e no antagonistic relations )etween ordinary Batutsi and Bahutu.
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!hose groups had a sy()iotic relationship that I have tal'ed a)out a)ove. ,peciali"ation in production and, then, exchange of products. You could not have an ordinary @ututsi extorting tri)ute fro( an ordinary @uhutu. It is only the rulers that would ta'e tri)ute . amatuuro/ fro( )oth the !utsis and +utus. Using their (ilitary force .e.g. $a'o(an'ongyi 5 helicopters/, the #olonialists supported a cri(inal sectarian group of %regoire $ayi)anda who( they had trained in their ,e(inaries in Europe, to ta'e power and launch the first genocide of 1;A; to 1;B8. !hat genocide, apart fro( 'illing hundreds of thousands, produced a !utsi diaspora that, eventually, nu()ered 1 (illion. !he reactionary regi(e told these people that they could not go )ac' to their #ountry )ecause it was over* crowded. hen that )an'rupt group was challenged )y the RP?, their answer was genocide. In spite of 'illing 1 (illion people, the traitor cri(inal regi(e could not defeat the revolutionary forces. !hey fled to lin' up with their ideological colleague 5 @o)utu ,ese ,e'o of #ongo 5 $inshasa. !hat is the tragic story of Rwanda, of Burundi, of #ongo, of Uganda, of ,udan etc. 5 where local reactionaries lin' up with the foreign parasitic

interests to cause hae((orhage of life, on an uni(agina)le scale in 4frica and do so with i(punity. I want to congratulate the People of Rwanda and the RP? for defeating these traitors and ensuring that they will never co(e )ac' to 'ill the People of Rwanda again. e all can witness the econo(ic growth in Rwanda and its sta)ili"ation. 4s a veteran patriot of this area, I would li'e to warn those who ho)no) with the genocidaires to 'now that they will have to contend with the patriotic forces that defeated the traitors with their external )ac'ers when they were still (uch wea'er. e are now (uch stronger in every sense of the wordC politically, (ilitarily, socially and econo(ically. !he People of Rwanda should 'now that they can always count on the People of Uganda. Uganda is steadfast in the support for 4frican e(ancipation. 4gain, I congratulate the RP? for defeating the traitors. I call the( traitors )ecause they created unprincipled and pseudo contradictions a(ong the Banyarwanda. It is good that you have transcended that phase )y relying on patriotis( to defeat sectarianis(. I wish you continued prosperity.
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I than' you.

Yoweri $aguta @useveni President of the Rep !li" of #ganda $th %pril, &'().

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