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Its Formation
Against a backdrop of entrenched divisive and genocidal ideology, repeated massacres, the persistent problems of refugees in the Diaspora, and the lack of avenues for peaceful political change, the Rwandese Alliance for National Unity (RANU) was formed in 1979 by some Rwandese in the Diaspora with an objective of mobilising Rwandese people to resolve these problems.
Almost a decade later, in 1987, RANU became the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), whose objectives were:
- To promote national unity and reconciliation;
- To establish genuine democracy;
- To provide security for all Rwandese;
- To build an integrated and self-sustaining economy;
- To eradicate corruption in all forms
- To repatriate and resettle Rwandese refugees;
- To devise and implement policies that promote the social welfare of all Rwandese and;
- To pursue a foreign policy based on equality, peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit between Rwanda and other countries.
The Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) armed struggle:
Most of the world had never heard of the RPF until October 1st, 1990 - the day the war of liberation against the military dictatorship in Kigali began.
Taking up arms was not an easy decision to make. War has always been the last option in the consideration of the RPF. However, all efforts for peaceful and democratic change in our country had so far proved futile.
It had become apparent that only by taking up arms could anyone wishing to put an end to the dictatorship and the violation of our peoples' fundamental rights hope to succeed. The regime had ammassed a huge coercive state machinery using violence to oppress the people. The taking up of arms against the regime was therefore considered not just a right, but also a patriotic and national obligation.
When the war began, Rwandese peasants and workers, students and intellectuals, men and women from every region and "ethnic" or social group, responded to the call of the Rwandese Patriotic Front to rid our country of dictatorship. |
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