Rwanda-Eritrea-Award

APA-Kigali (Rwanda) Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Sunday said among the many individuals who contributed to the liberation of Rwanda and to stopping of the 1994 genocide were some African heads of state, among them the Eritrean leader Isaias Afewerki, whom he said will be honoured with the country’s liberation medal.

In his speech on Liberation Day in Kigali to honour the 16th anniversary of the end of the 1994 genocide, Kagame said the Eritrean leader will be honoured at a later date when he has the time to receive his award from Rwanda.

“Last year, we honoured two heads of state including President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, and other leaders will be recognized who among them is President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea,” said Kagame amid applause from the thousands in the Amahoro stadium.

He added : “Just like we honoured those two personally present, it is in this regard that we want to honour the contribution of the President of Eritrea such that he can deliver our appreciation to the people of Eritrea.”

During the 2009 Liberation Day, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was awarded by government here with two of the highest national medals. The first medal, the Uruti, was given to Meles in recognition of his contribution in toppling down the former regime and bringing peace, and socio-economic development in Ethiopia.

The other medal, the Umurinzi, was also awarded to Meles in recognition of Ethiopia’s contribution in deploying peacekeepers to help halt the war which culminated into the 1994 Tutsi genocide.

The Uruti is Rwanda’s Liberation Medal and the Umurinzi is Rwanda’s campaign against genocide medal.

The latest announcement by the government to award the reclusive Eritrean leader whose country is under UN and regional sanctions, positions Rwanda as a neutral partner between Eritrea and Ethiopia, observers say.

When Eritrea, formally a province of Ethiopia, gained its independence in 1993, after a long guerrilla war, parts of the border was never fixed with maps and surveying markers, which eventually led to a bloody war between the two neighbouring countries.
 
BB/daj/APA
2010-07-04