Daily Monitor
June 13 2010
DR JEAN DAMASCENE NTAWUKULIRYAYO is currently the Deputy Speaker of Rwanda’s Parliament. He was also recently elected by his political party, the Democratic and Socialist Party (PSD) to challenge President Paul Kagame in Rwanda’s August presidential elections. However, some opposition political parties have accused his party of being ‘in bed’ with the ruling RPF. They have also referred to his presidential bid as ‘ghost opposition’ and him as a ‘stooge’ candidate. DAVID KEZIO-MUSOKE caught up with him recently and put a few questions to him:-
Who is Damascene Ntawukuliryayo?
I am the Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in Rwanda and have been a member of PSD since 1991. I have been in political activity before the Rwanda genocide when I was attending my PhD (pharmacy) studies in Belgium.
I have also served as Minister of State in charge of Higher Education and Minister of Infrastructure until 2004. Thereafter, I was appointed Minister of Health until October 2008 when I became Deputy Speaker.
While your party has about seven seats in Parliament, the ruling party (RPF) has over 90 per cent representation. Critics say you are not a credible opposition.
What is an opposition? When you look at what is happening in the UK, is there an opposition?
When you look at what is happening in the US where President Obama appointed the Minister of Defence, Robert Gates and also look at France where President Sarkozy kept the Minister of Foreign Affairs who was coming from the Socialist Party.
I think the trend of governance in this world has changed because leaders are looking for unity with the people they work for. When you assess the elections using numbers then you are not considering all the elements of the story. Taking into account what I have said, the critics should weigh other aspects like what is transparent in the law. They will have to accuse us but we also have to explain the reason why.
We are coming from a bad situation, facing a genocide that has killed over one million of our people. The critics talk, but don’t have the bigger burden of thinking about our history.
For Rwandans who criticise us, I don’t see why they can’t talk about the changes in the new way of governance. I don’t know why they choose to remain in that classical antagonist’s way of thinking of governance.
What do you think of other opposition politicians who have played the ethnicity card, like Victoire Ingabire, Bernard Ntaganda and those of the Green Party?
I don’t see how they can play that card. First of all they are not yet registered. If you see where Rwanda has come from and where it is headed they can’t play that ethnicity game. How can someone come to Rwanda and start that divisionist talk. Why would they think divisionism is going to govern this election?
They are the same people calling you a “stooge” of the RPF government. What do you have to say about that?
That was an insult to me and I think they should concentrate on their jobs. I know what my party wants and it has asked me to do.
If you loose to the RPF government and President Kagame invites you would you accept? Press reports have tipped you to be the next Prime Minister.
I don’t know that. I do know what I have to do. I never run after what people have to talk about. I try not to be derailed. I know my country since 1994. I am a democrat and a democrat has to be patriotic and love his people.
What kind of party is PSD? Having served under a coalition with the ruling party (RPF), would you call it an opposition party?
We are a social liberal party, we don’t believe in violence. We don’t believe in ethnic divisionism and negating the genocide. Since the foundation of our party, we believe in the emancipation of the people. We believe in the integrity, unity and reconciliation of Rwandans. We believe in the social economic development of Rwanda with equity and equality of all Rwandans in correlation with the private sector.
Your party has always supported the RPF, why a presidential candidate now and not before?
That is true. We were dictated by the trends of events. We were nursing the wounds of the genocide against the Tutsi. We were in a period of transition where Rwandans needed to be united to continue to re-build the country.
At that time PSD couldn’t conduct elections independently without any coalition. Many changes have happened between that time and today.
By law, in 2003, the parties used to work at national level and provincial level. So we have now matured and are now able to reach the grassroots. We can’t miss on this opportunity. If we don’t do it today then what will be the question in 2017. Supporting Paul Kagame in 2003 was our decision as a party and today fielding a presidential candidate is also the decision of the party.
The RPF government has done well in the past seven years. In case you win the elections, isn’t it going to be a challenge for the PSD government to out perform them?
These are difficult questions to answer but you must understand that we have been part of those achievements indeed under the leadership of the RPF. But the motto of our performance is based on the party’s manifesto since 1991.
What we are going to do is comparison of our campaign manifesto which will take into account what has been achieved since 1994. This will include the ingredients of PSD.
If the Rwandan people elect me and my party we are going to take advantage of what we have realised and improve in some areas. I can’t mention this because we are not yet in the presidential campaign.
Do you think Rwandans are mature enough to speak about ethnicity?
I don’t think it is necessarily to speak in terms of ethnicity.
But I also believe that if that element has caused so much damage in our society it is not necessary for any Rwandan to try to bring it back.
What is necessary for Rwandan people is to overcome poverty and also be able to compete in the region. Talking in terms of ethnicity has no real essence and it is not necessary for politicians to use that to create divisions based on ethnicities.
These principles come from the values of PSD right from the beginning. There should not be divisions among the Rwandans and all should work together to build the country.
Related Materials:
RPF-PSD MARRIAGE–GHOST OPPOSITION, STOOGE CANDIDATE
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