UTTERANCES OF AMBASSADOR RUGIRA ARE A TOTAL VIOLATION OF DIPLOMATIC ETIQUETTES.
MEDIA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
Movement for Promoting National Values and Principles an Organization with a Constitutional mandate of upholding the Sovereignty of Zambia wish to dismiss the utterances of His Excellency Mr. Rugira Amandin as mere rhetorics and futile.
A fortnight ago, Mr. Rugira conducted an interview on You Tube which is trending on social media. During the interview, Ambassador Rugira a diplomat who serve in Zambia as an Envoy of the Rwandan Government is quoted allerging that 90% of the shops in Zambia are being run by refugees from Rwanda. Mr. Rugira was also heard suggesting that refugee camps hosting refugees from Rwanda ought to be closed in Zambia.
H.E Rugira amandin, the Rwandan Ambassador in Zambia
His Excellency Mr. Amandin went to an extent of claiming that Zambians are lazy and inept individuals who take advantage of the Rwandans in enhancing their livelihoods. Mr. Amandin went on to claim that there is an ongoing organized scam where many young people are relocating to Zambia to conduct some business. As a result the number of refugees living in Zambia has multiplied as compared to some early days.
WHY AMBASSADOR RUGIRA AMANDIN IS OFFSIDE.
We wish to remind His Excellency Ambassador Rugira and others serving in Zambia as diplomats to be weary about the need not to get involved in internal affairs of the host Countries were they serve. An Ambassador as per name is a person who does not get involved in affairs of a host Nation. Instead an Ambassador remain neutral and observe International and diplomatic etiquettes, protocols, procedures and guidelines set for all diplomats serving in foreign nations.
It is not only a serious abrogation of international standards accusing the host Nation of being lazy but also a sign of defiance, arrogance and uncultured condemning the local citizens where one is assigned. The Rwandan Envoy must learn the need not to cross his boundaries and to respect the Sovereignty of another Country.
Besides, despite being the Ambassador for Rwanda, Mr. Amandin has no audacity commenting on issues involving refugees whether they hail from his native Country or not. According to the 1951 Geneva Convention, refugees fall under the custody of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the host Government department which is the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees. (COR). There are literally no records of refugees at any given Embassy. Refugees could be compared to a woman who has been divorced by the husband with a record of abuse.
The Rwandan Embassy must not pretend to be loving and caring when international reports have put the Rwandan Government among the dangerous Countries with regard to upholding Human Rights. A recent Court ruling in Europe indicated that Rwanda is not a safe haven for those who left the Country.
SYNCHRONIZING ON THE MOTIVE BEHIND.
Candidly speaking, the utterances of His Excellency Mr. Rugira Amandin must be taken with a lot of caution. Little did he mean to denounce Zambians as lazy citizens. Instead, his utterances are meant to invoke and agitate Zambians so that they can rise against refugees from Rwanda. We had a similar occurrence in 2016 when the shops of the refugees were rooted on trampled up charges. People like Ambassador Amandin would be delighted seeing a repeat of such an incident.
The Rwandan Government of late has been panicking and feel unsettled by the peace and prosperity being enjoyed by people from Rwanda. The Government harbour some unknown fear and uncertainty about the refugees who hail from their Country.
It must be mentioned that many refugees who ran away from Rwanda are Hutus and yet Rwanda is being Governed by the minority group called Tutsis with sharp noses. The Tutsi's entertain some fears that the Hutu's could be regrouping in order to unsettle the Autocratic Rwandan Government. Ambassador Amandin 's utterances are also a total contradiction to the Sessession Clause signed in June 2013 between the Zambian Government and the Rwandan Government where the two Countries agreed not to accept refugees from Rwanda.
We are aware about the influence of the Rwandan Government in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although the Rwandan Government always deny having a hand in DRCC through the M - 23 rebels, evidence in public domain remain irrefutable.
A WARNING TO THE ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT.
A local proverb says, 'A visitor does not blow a trumpet neither does he whistle unless he is a musician where he comes from'. The gist of the proverb entail that when someone is outspoken in a foreign land, it means he has abundant authority over the people in his native land.
There is no way the Rwandan Ambassador can have this freeness of speech in a foreign Country. It could be that the Zambian Government is compromised with the Rwandan Government and are up to something. Recently, the Rwandan Government had issued a complaint through the Attorney General's Office demanding for the expedition of Mr. Appolinaire Nsengiyumva.
As a Country, we are treating such maneuvers with a lot of suspicions and curiosity. The Zambian Government must be reminded about the 1951 Geneva Convention to which we are not only signatories but bonafide members. Unknowingly we seem to have some Government officials who are working in collaboration with the Rwandan Government in secretly pursuing some refugees.
Recently a Politician by the name of Mr. Beene Hachombwa was quoted accusing the former President His Excellency Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu of being on the list of terrorists in Rwanda.
As an Organization, we wonder how come such an accusation can be resuscitated when one of the refugees living in Zambia Mr. Appolinaire Nsengiyumva was recently accused of the same charge in Rwanda?
It is therefore becoming clear every day that the cadres from a known political party could be conniving with the Rwandan Government in ensuring that they implicate Dr. Edgar Lungu.
We therefore call upon the Zambian Government to come out clean by strongly rebuking, cautioning and reprimanding the Rwandan Ambassador to keep himself away from the refugees living in Zambia. Remaining quiet on the part of the Zambian Government would make us conclude that there is an ongoing collusion in this matter.
MPNVP - WE AIM AT PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY AND SOVEREIGNTY OF OUR COUNTRY!
Below is the video
