Ahead of the 15th anniversary of the genocide, Paul Kagame talks about the memory of 1994, Rwanda's development plans, and its custom-made democracy.
Since 1994, the tiny African nation of Rwanda has effectively been run by rebel leader-turned-politician Paul Kagame. He has won praise for stamping out corruption and restoring stability, while critics have raised questions about his regime's commitment to democracy as well as its involvement in the unrest in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. As his country prepared to mark the 15th anniversary of the genocide that killed about an eighth of its population, he told Fast Company why Rwanda's political system make sense, explained the place of the genocide in the national memory, and made the case for why foreigners should invest in his homeland.
Fc: Much of the Rwandan national "brand identity" is associated with the genocide and the recovery from that tragedy. But government officials repeatedly...
Since 1994, the tiny African nation of Rwanda has effectively been run by rebel leader-turned-politician Paul Kagame. He has won praise for stamping out corruption and restoring stability, while critics have raised questions about his regime's commitment to democracy as well as its involvement in the unrest in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. As his country prepared to mark the 15th anniversary of the genocide that killed about an eighth of its population, he told Fast Company why Rwanda's political system make sense, explained the place of the genocide in the national memory, and made the case for why foreigners should invest in his homeland.
Fc: Much of the Rwandan national "brand identity" is associated with the genocide and the recovery from that tragedy. But government officials repeatedly...
- 4/6/2009
- by Jeff Chu
- Fast Company
Why the country's officials say they're taking a wait-and-see approach to the new administration
A few days after Barack Obama's inauguration, I called a Rwandan diplomat who had helped me with my story on that country’s remarkable economic-development strategy. "Did you go to the balls?" I asked. The response was tepid. "I stayed home," the diplomat said with a sigh. "I watched it on TV." What I found, in talking to this diplomat and other officials, was broad ambivalence, not about President Obama himself, who is widely adored in Africa, but about his team. It goes back to 1994 and the Clinton Administration's inaction during the genocide. "We are seeing a lot of old faces coming back in the Obama Administration. These are the same people who shied away from the opportunity to stop it," the diplomat told me on condition of anonymity, because of the sensitivity of the issue.
A few days after Barack Obama's inauguration, I called a Rwandan diplomat who had helped me with my story on that country’s remarkable economic-development strategy. "Did you go to the balls?" I asked. The response was tepid. "I stayed home," the diplomat said with a sigh. "I watched it on TV." What I found, in talking to this diplomat and other officials, was broad ambivalence, not about President Obama himself, who is widely adored in Africa, but about his team. It goes back to 1994 and the Clinton Administration's inaction during the genocide. "We are seeing a lot of old faces coming back in the Obama Administration. These are the same people who shied away from the opportunity to stop it," the diplomat told me on condition of anonymity, because of the sensitivity of the issue.
- 3/20/2009
- by Jeff Chu
- Fast Company
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