Natacha Butera

[Sam @SamanthaTeta]

In the last month, Rwanda has shown you:

🔹The FDLR
🔹The European Mercenaries
🔹The offensive foreign forces
🔹The stockpiles of weaponry at our border.

Yet the world still downplays the gravity of the security threats we face. Why? Is it racism? Is it disdain? Is it a calculated geopolitical choice?

The only irrefutable proof left of the danger we face is our destruction. And it seems this is an acceptable outcome for many international actors. They will swoop in with something as truly useless as MONUSCO or another UNAMIR, then spend the next 20 years giving our people biscuits and cardboard.

One thing is certain: The Government of Rwanda will protect its people and everyone who lives here—resolutely and decisively. The question is not whether Rwanda will defend itself, but what must happen to prevent further escalation.

The answer is obvious. The root of this crisis lies in the DRC’s continued collusion with genocidal forces and its deliberate fueling of regional instability.

International actors must demand an immediate end to Kinshasa’s support for FDLR and associated extremist elements. The presence of offensive foreign forces in the region, operating under the guise of ‘peacekeeping,’ must be removed. Permanent security guarantees must also be established along our shared border.

Regarding the inter-Congolese conflict, dialogue between the DRC government and M23 is not only the most pragmatic approach but the only one that offers the prospect of lasting peace.

Anything short of this is a meaningless delay, a refusal to confront reality, and a failure to learn from history.

[AIKN @AngeKagame]

& that’s a sold out LEGENDARY BK Arena show! Also…#PKNowAndForever #VisitRwanda 👊🏾😍

[Stephanie Nyombayire @PressSecRwanda]

Here are the key messages from President Kagame @CNN interview, before they were edited to fit the predictable editorial line:

◦FDLR are associated and supported by governments in the region. Their aim is not only to fight M23, who are Congolese, but to fight Rwanda and overthrow the government, as they have said publicly. Does anyone think Rwanda will sit back and wait for that to happen? Rwanda will fight back in whatever form, there is no question about it.

◦I subscribe to the idea of respecting sovereignty of countries. That means the sovereignty of Rwanda must also be respected. There is no sovereignty of any country that is more important than the sovereignty of another. That's the standard principle.

◦The same international community blaming Rwanda is the one that has left FDLR in Congo for 30 years. Two and a half decades and close to $40 billion later, what stability is there? Putting the blame on Rwanda is the easiest way of covering up the mess they have been involved with and caused in our region.

◦The problem is simple to understand. People make it sound complex to avoid doing anything about it. Even the most unintelligent people would understand a problem after 30 years.

◦I don't think anybody is interested in war. I don’t even think Tshisekedi is interested in war himself, but he has been encouraged in that direction by people showing up to fight his wars for him. If they were not doing that, maybe he would see reason in the truth and prioritize the efforts to have peace.

◦I am talking about protecting myself, aware of the dangers that are there. I am managing national affairs and situations to obtain peace, and Tshisekedi is talking about humiliation which has to do with his ego. You can't run a country and cause problems in the region just because of ego.

◦The most important thing for Rwanda is that we have to protect ourselves. In our minds, we understand that nobody is going to be there for us. We saw it in 1994. That has resulted into making investments in security, in defense, and the rest will speak for itself.

[Paul Kagame @PaulKagame]

I held two conversations this week with President Ramaphosa on the situation in Eastern DRC, including earlier today. What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies. If words can change so much from a conversation to a public statement, it says a lot about how these very important issues are being managed.

A few important clarifications for the record:

1. The Rwanda Defence Force is an army, not a militia.

2. SAMIDRC is not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation. It was authorized by SADC as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC Government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself.

3. SAMIDRC displaced a true peacekeeping force, the East African Community Regional Force, and this contributed to the failure of the negotiation processes.

4. President Ramaphosa has never given a "warning" of any kind, unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand. He did ask for support to ensure the South African force has adequate electricity, food and water, which we shall help communicate.

5. President Ramaphosa confirmed to me that M23 did not kill the soldiers from South Africa, FARDC did.

6. If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.

[Nyirasafari Espérance @nyirasafariespe]

La mauvaise gouvernance des ressources naturelles et l’absence d’institutions efficaces à tous les niveaux en RDC depuis des décennies ne peuvent en aucune façon être imputables au Rwanda. Cette malhonnêteté de @CMbosoNkodia et des autorités congolaises est scandaleuse.

[Paul Kagame @PaulKagame]

Our thanks and appreciation to Uğur Şahin, Özlem Türeci, Sierk Pötting & the whole BNT team for the outstanding partnership, as well as to @KenupFoundation, #TeamEurope, @IFC_org, @WHO & @AfricaCDC for key support.

[Paul Kagame @PaulKagame]

Historic milestone today as the first @BioNTech_Group BioNTainers arrived in Rwanda, exactly 3 years since the first case of Covid-19 was detected in our country. This system will allow end-to-end mRNA vaccine production in Africa for the first time.

[Natacha Butera @NatButera]

@maurodelorenzo @YolandeMakolo @Dr_Ildephonse @AngeKagame Very happy to join in! I challenge @raissagak @YvanButera @YKayiteshonga

[Natacha Butera @NatButera]

@AngeKagame @Winnie_Nga @Dr_Ildephonse @XandrineUmutoni @StephSimbi @Miss_KS @Kangeli_ @LNtayombya @Rachel_IS Such a great initiative!✅ @YvanButera @dominiquekalisa @raissagak @maurodelorenzo @gtwagirayezu will you join the #CanaChallenge with me?💡

[Natacha Butera @NatButera]

@yvkayiteshonga Merci maman❤️❤️❤️

[Paul Kagame @PaulKagame]

It's been long wait,some better prepared and more ready.. not to mention sm 'more equal than others' BUT certainly all of us in urgent NEED. Now good NEWS to see #COVID19 Vaccines arrive in Africa starting with Ghana...this morning in Rwanda & more. Thanks #COVAX

[Mauro De Lorenzo @maurodelorenzo]

Dr Paul Farmer: "For inspiration I often turn to Rwanda... Within two decades [of the Genocide], the nation had engineered a reversal unrivaled in much of human history, achieving some of the steepest declines in premature mortality ever recorded."

https://t.co/2GChGGbCO6

[Rwanda Biomedical Centre @RBCRwanda]

#Fungura amadirishya y'aho utuye cyangwa ukorera, manura ibirahure by'imodoka igihe uri mu rugendo n'abandi, irinde kujya ahateraniye abantu benshi hafunganye kandi ntiwemere ko hagira ukuvugisha mwembi mutambaye mask zanyu neza. #COVID19 ishobora kwandurira mu guhumekeraniraho

[Paul Kagame @PaulKagame]

Iki cyorezo cyatweretse ko twese dushoboye ibikorwa by’ubutwari. Mu gihe tugikomeje urugamba rwo kurwanya Covid-19, turashima inzego z'ubuzima bari ku isonga, n'inzego z'umutekano kubera ubwitange n'ubutwari bwabo. Buri munyarwanda akomeze guharanira kurinda mugenzi we.

[Paul Kagame @PaulKagame]

Happy Heroes Day to every Rwandan. The selfless dedication to our country of the heroes we honour today, showed us what we can achieve. The nation we have is a result of their sacrifice. These are the values we must pass on to the next generations.

[Mauro De Lorenzo @maurodelorenzo]

Let's be clear, this decision was taken *despite* Rwanda's very strong Covid response & on same day EU reaffirmed Rwanda as 1 of 6 countries in world allowed to enter EU. Rwanda is not in southern Africa. No variants detected here. No risk to UK. This is not based on science.

[Mauro De Lorenzo @maurodelorenzo]

The UK Government is politicising Covid and eroding trust in its commitment to science-based decision-making. No variants have been detected in Rwanda, in contrast to the UK itself. Highly irresponsible statement. @JoLomasFCDO

[Rwanda Biomedical Centre @RBCRwanda]

Avoid the #3Cs: Be aware of different levels of #COVID19 infection risk in different settings.

[Rwanda Biomedical Centre @RBCRwanda]

#Shishoza wirinde kuba ingemu ya #COVID19

#NtabeAriNjye cyangwa wowe wandura cyangwa wanduza abandi #COVID19

Dore #AhantuHatatu higanje ibyago byo kwandura #COVID19:

[Young EA Aspiring Lawyers Network @yeaaln]

NEW article on our website featuring @raissagak. Have a read & RT!
https://t.co/8hkklkvWhq