Rwanda Faces an Impossible Choice – Kagame Reacts after Trump Administration Imposed Visa Restrictions

President Paul Kagame says Rwanda faces an impossible choice after the Trump administration imposed visa restrictions against senior government officials.

On March 06, President Kagame spoke at a Diplomatic Dinner at the Kigali Convention Centre where he hosted members of the Diplomatic Corps after 20 newly accredited ambassadors and high commissioners to Rwanda presented letters of credence.

His speech happened as the Donald Trump administration, through Secretary Marco Rubio’s US state department, imposed visa restrictions on senior Rwandan government officials.

Kagame admitted that Rwandans “will have our shoulders burdened and remain dignified,” adding that Rwanda faces an impossible choice.

“As things stand, Rwanda faces an impossible choice: To either tolerate the continued presence of the FDLR and its growing network of militias and allow them to grow closer to our border,” said Kagame.

“Or to defend ourselves and be condemned for it. The choice is, therefore, very clear. In our position, would any other country make a different choice?”

Kagame also noted that the changing global world order leaves Kigali with one option: to defend its borders and sovereignty. He expressed frustration that “for reasons that continue to elude us, Rwanda is consistently asked to ignore threats to its security and compromise its national defence.”

“Nowadays, none of us can afford to be indifferent to geopolitical trends. Whether or not you believe that there was a rules-based international order, it is clear that changes are underway, which will affect all of us,” he said.

“One thing that has not changed, however, is that right and duty of every nation, to ensure the safety of its borders and its people. It is that duty that never changes. Rwanda is no exception. Rwanda, because of its history and its geography, requires defensive borders. Our defensive measures are aimed at this objective, and nothing else.

“We have made a promise to ourselves, to never go back to the dark days, to that darkness. We can’t go back and that is not something we will waver from.”

Kagame also punched holes into what Rwanda has described as one-sided sanctions against Rwanda regarding the Washington Accords.

“By definition, a signed peace agreement should bind all parties equally and implementation should follow the text. However, this has not been our experience. What we see instead, is that one party is expected to carry almost the whole burden,” he noted.

“The conflict in eastern DRC is neither new, nor is it too difficult to understand. It has been prolonged for decades, due to neglect and complacency, notably by those with the power to make the biggest difference in resolving it. Rwanda’s security concerns stem from the continued presence of the FDLR and its violent extremist ideology, which is the ideology of genocide. Unfortunately, that seems to have some backers in the region and beyond, under all kinds of guises.”

You can read about the visa restrictions and sanctions that the US government has imposed on senior Rwandan government officials, national army and top military officers Here, There and Over There.