Rwanda President Paul Kagame has blasted the international community for insisting that his country has a hand in the worsening conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Speaking at the opening of the Judicial Year and swearing-in ceremony of the new Ombudsman, a legislator and Army Chief of Staff, Gen Mushyo Kamanzi, the president said some westerners still treat Rwanda as part of Rwanda-Urundi and Congo Belge.

�Rwanda is no longer part of Rwanda-Urundi,� said Kagame.

The function was held in Kigali on Thursday.

He appealed to all Rwandans to stand up against attitudes of bullying by the international community, adding, people who have created injustice for Rwandans cannot stand there and give them lessons.

�I am not one to comply with injustice. I will be openly defiant. This injustice does not make us compliant, it makes us defiant. I am not one to comply by means of injustice to my people,� said Kagame.

The attack on the west comes against the backdrop of stepped up rhetoric by western activists that Rwanda is to blame for the crisis in Congo which has left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.

Kagame has repeatedly denied bankrolling M23 mutineers, saying the tension in Kivu was sparked by Kinshasha�s failure to honour its part of the bargain in the 2009 agreement with CNDP soldiers.

�What is this blackmail about? There is no country in the world that accounts for aid better than Rwanda,� said Kagame.

He said the International community and M23 are �morally bankrupt� and for over a decade they have �blamed Rwanda but not themselves.�

Kagame said Rwanda would not own DRC problems, adding �even with these threats, we will not own it.�

The President was referring to media reports that he and army generals faced charges of war crimes at ICC over the Congo conflict.

The Rwandan leader said the �west created a court (International Criminal Court), call it international but it’s really for Africa and Africans who have disobeyed.�

�The international community goes by the law of we break it and you own it. They break it and make you own it,� he said.

�After lines were drawn by colonizers, we are now asking why they are Rwandaphones in DRC. Rwandaphones in Congo are persecuted every day and the international community condones it but blames Rwanda for DRC’s problems.�

�We are doing our best to unite our people and give them the same decent living they have. Rwandans, you should not accept to be victims. You must work to improve your life, no one else will do it for you,� said Kagame.

�Let’s continue to do our best and get the best out of very little we have in our hands. Let�s continue to be decent people. Our only crime we have committed is to try our best to develop our country. Ignore those insults thrown upon us every day,� Kagame urged his countrymen.

During his speech, Kagame wondered whether donors were genuinely interested in seeing any developmental projects in Rwanda.

�I am not sure people who give us aid want us to develop. They give it to you so you remain beggars and use it as tool of control,� he observed.

�Brothers and sisters of Africa, you must wake up and stand up to this challenge. There is no alternative. Africans, you must refuse to be treated as nobody,� cautioned Kagame.

He acknowledged history shows that Rwanda must rely on homegrown solutions to address her challenges, adding international justice and aid are used as political stick to push Africa in a direction chosen by international community.

�When it comes to international justice in Africa, the line between politics and justice does not exist.

�The progress of our judiciary is undeniable. We must continue to improve,� said Kagame.

On his part, Chief Justice Prof. Samuel Rugege called for reinforcement of grass root mediation structures to support ordinary courts.

Justice Rugege hailed Kagame for his commitment to the independence of the judiciary in Rwanda.

He said�transparency international�survey�shows 80% of Rwandans believe justice is rendered fairly.

“It is universally known and true to Rwanda: Justice is rendered in the name of the people,” said Prof. Rugege.
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