Rwandans celebrate sixth anniversary of RPF victory

Celebrations to mark the sixth anniversary of the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s victory against the former regime on Tuesday were attended by army representatives from Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Burundi and Ethiopia. “The liberation day reminds Rwandans of the sacrifices to get this country to where it is now,” Rwandan army spokesman Major Emmanuel Ndahiro told IRIN. The ruling RPF took over power in July 1994 after nearly a million people were slaughtered in the preceding genocide incited by Hutu militias. The attendance of a Ugandan military delegation two days after the Rwandan and Ugandan presidents met in Kampala is significant, according to Rwandan journalist Augustin Gasana. “The presence of Ugandan military officers here restores confidence in the normalisation of the relationship between the two countries,” he told IRIN.

In his address to the nation to mark the day, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said security was still the country’s major priority and that the Rwandan army would remain in neighbouring DRC to ensure it. “I am asking all Rwandans to stand up and fight for security, without security nothing works,” news agencies quoted Kagame as saying.