Interview in Economic Times (December 09, 2002)

Rwanda was a bleeding wound in the heart of Africa in 1994. Around 8 lakh people were killed in the space of 100 days in one of the worst genocides the world had witnessed. From those dark days of 1994, Rwanda has come a long way. Today, under a broad national unity government, the country is looking at stability and democracy. Its GDP is growing at 6%. Rwanda is looking to India to help develop the information technology sector in this largely agrarian economy. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda talks to Prasenjit Bhattacharya, about how Rwanda is slowly trying to rebuild itself and what role India can play.

What has been the objective of your visit to India?
I had two invitations from India. One from the Vellore Institute of Technology, where a number of Rwandan students are studying, and another from Lucknow, where I have been invited to deliver the keynote address to a gathering of chief justices from around the world. I also took this opportunity to meet with the prime minister and foreign minister of India and discuss the bilateral relationship between the two countries, especially in the areas of health education and training. I feel that India can play an important role in the development of Africa as a whole and the development of Rwanda too hinges on the development of the African continent.

During your visit to India, information technology was a key area of focus and you also visited the Infosys and Wipro campuses. Tell us more about it.
We are now keenly focusing on HR development in our country. And one major area has to do with IT and communications. With the help of the UN-aided Economic Commission of Africa, we are drawing a broad plan for the information, communication and telecom (ICT) development of Rwanda. We are taking ICT development as a priority area. And we are looking towards India for help in developing our IT sector. We want to continue training Rwandan students in Indian technology institutes and attract Indian businessmen who want to invest in Rwanda in the field of IT.
My visit to Infosys and Wipro was in this connection. Rwanda also has just opened an institute of technology, the Kigari Institute of Science and Technology. We are eager for professionals like teachers to come and teach technology in Rwanda. And in fact, there are already Indian teachers in Rwanda.

What is the current political climate in Rwanda?
After the genocide in 1994, where so many people were killed, a national unity government has been in place in Rwanda. It has been a transitional phase for Rwandan politics. Stability and peace has returned to Rwanda and we are now among the more stable countries in Central Africa. Our country is going in for general elections next year to elect the President and Parliament. We are also putting a new constitution in place. Within the next three to five years, we would be looking at our democratisation efforts bearing fruit and a stable Rwanda emerging.

What caused the terrible genocide in Rwanda and what lessons have been learnt from it?
The genocide wasn't an accident. It came from our history and the direction that history took. However, since 1994, we have been making people think about why the genocide took place and we have been trying to identify what went wrong. We cannot accept diversity as a source of genocide and hatred anymore, rather it should be a source of strength. We have set up committees of national reconciliation and human rights. And these are trying to address the historical problem and find remedies.

Globally, and in India, diversity in the population has become a major source of strife. What are your observations in the Rwanda context?
The basic lesson from the genocide is to accept diversity as the reality and move ahead. And one has to talk about problems openly and see what you can do in a fair manner. No problem can be solved by sweeping uncomfortable questions under the carpet. Debate is important to find out if the problems arising out of diversity are real or imaginary.