Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe has reacted after the European Parliament once again involved itself in the case of politician Victoire Ingabire, reminding the institution of the limits of its authority regarding Rwanda.
This follows the European Parliament’s move to use Victoire Ingabire’s son, Umuhoza Remy Amahirwa, to call on Rwanda to release his mother. Minister Nduhungirehe stated that while the Parliament may have authority in certain places, when it comes to Rwanda, it is “crossing the line.”
This came after the European Parliament released a video showing Remy Amahirwa, Ingabire’s eldest son, delivering a message in which he said that after discussions with the Parliament, he was calling on the international community to put pressure on Rwanda to release his mother.
In the video, Ingabire’s son says: “I am now standing in the European Parliament, with their help after the resolution that they took. I am trying to ask the world to put international pressure on Rwanda under the regime of Paul Kagame to release my mother once again.”
In a message accompanying the video shared on the European Parliament’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, the institution said that five months after adopting an urgent resolution, its Human Rights Committee had once again discussed Victoire Ingabire’s case.
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, responded by reiterating that pressure on Rwanda does not work.
He said: “I would like to remind the European Parliament that it may have jurisdiction over Greenland, Aruba, or New Caledonia, but it has NO (and will NEVER have) jurisdiction over the Republic of Rwanda, which is a country that recovered its independence from European colonization more than sixty years ago.”
Amb. Nduhungirehe went on to say that Rwanda will never tolerate what he described as “arrogance and interference by European MPs who think that they are endowed with higher moral values, to the extent that they can even disrespect the Judiciary of an African country.”
Rwanda has repeatedly told Europe that the era of pressure ended with colonialism, and that since gaining independence, it is now a country with functioning institutions and leadership. Therefore, no other country or individuals should interfere in its internal affairs.
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