Can Tony Blair and Howard B. Buffett be racist?
Tony Blair – Former British Prime Minister – Socialist Unity picture
Contrary to all expectations, in their joint recently published position, the two personalities are calling governments which had cut their financial support to Rwanda to resume their assistance because, in their strong views, the cuts were unjustifiable and most importantly not reaching the intended objectives. I would agree on the second point of their argument: effectively, according to recent information from the ground in Eastern Congo, in their ongoing rumbling over the leadership of the M23 rebel movement, General Macyenga is accusing Bosco Ntaganda of allowing the continued presence of 1,000 Rwandan soldiers in North Kivu.
We remember that aid suspension had been triggered by the revelations by the UN Group of Experts stating that tangible evidence had been gathered showing that Rwanda was comprehensively supporting the Congolese rebel movement through provision of funding, technical assistance, military equipment and intelligence, and recruits.
Howard G. Buffett – (Photo – Getty Images)
Surprisingly, while Tony Blair and Buffett B. Buffett advocate strongly for the resumption of aid, they don't offer any credible solutions to stop Rwanda from continuing meddling in Congolese affairs. And this has been ongoing since 1996. The death toll stands in the millions of civilian victims, hundreds of thousands of raped women, and millions of displaced families chased from their homes since that time.
Why raising the question of racism?
At the centre of the raised question lies the leadership of the Rwandan president Paul Kagame and his unquestionable responsibility in the persistent and deliberate insecurity in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo which is sustained through the support of advocates such as Blair and Buffett, and tens of others across the world who are profiting from his criminal activities in the region.
In 1994, more than 500,000 people were killed through what the general public has come to agree as genocide against Tutsi. Hutu who died targeted as an ethnic community at the same period and well after inside Rwanda and DRC, and probably in a bigger number, have not even been acknowledged as victims of genocide. More than 6,000,000 of Congolese have been killed and continue to be massacred because of Paul Kagame's unstoppable interferences in DRC. And these victims are treated that way only because of who they are: Congolese. Isn't this the essence of racism?
What is racism?
On 3 May 2010 Michael Fairbanks, Co-Founder of The SEVEN Fund and Senior Advisor to President Paul Kagame, in an article which appeared first in the Huffington Post, tried to defend the Rwandan leader against repeated attacks from human rights organizations. They were accusing his government practices not in favor of political opponents prior to the general. It was meant to be held on August 9th of the same year. While doing so, Fairbanks defined how racism was expressed.
This is his view on that concept:
"Racism doesn't have to mean you hate those who are different than yourself. It can mean the subtle, pernicious accumulation of unconscious prejudices against those who see the world differently."
Nothing reprehensible to such view of racism can be raised, except that the author's argument aimed at deterring those among the general public particularly non Africans who had a negative attitude towards the Rwandan president because of his critical record on the human rights front and democracy.
According to Michael Fairbanks, and probably the two personalities referred to in this note, as long as the Rwandan president massacres Rwandans and Congolese, those who oppose him might look as racist, since they would have some "unconscious prejudices against those who see the world differently."
Why questioning Tony Blair and Howard H. Buffett's views from a racist perspective?
If someone is associated with a thief or a murderer, one way of understanding such rapport is by analyzing commonalities between the personalities' involved. Lies, greed and lack of humanity are critical characteristics of the Rwandan president Paul Kagame.
If people remember, back in October 2010, when the Mapping Report came out, it demonstrated that his forces had been responsible of atrocities against Hutu refugees and Congolese populations which could be of genocide nature if brought in front of a court. And there cannot be act of committing genocide without element of racism towards the victims.
In addition to what the UN report revealed, an ex-agent of the Rwandan Department of Military Intelligence indicated recently how particularly Hutu were systematically massacred as an ethnic group in Rwanda and DRC.
In my final point, the question which comes to mind on behalf of Congolese survivors of almost 20 years of lack of peace in their country accompanied with more than 6 millions of victims, the plundering of minerals resources, or Rwandans who have become citizens of second class in their own country, all this because of Paul Kagame and his external supporters like Tony Blair and Howard B. Buffet, is this: "Aren't these unconditional backers of the Rwandan president simply racist?"
I don't think that even King Leopold II, during his exploitation of Congo, which saw the decimation of millions of its populations to achieve his business aims, was convinced of being racist in his pursuits. It was the concerned observers who pointed to his dehumanizing practices towards Congolese people and advocated against them.
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