To: mishedlo who wrote (59530 ) 4/25/2006 8:55:25 PM From: shades Respond to of 110194 Rwanda Pres: African Countries Must Prevent `Brain-Drain' MONTREAL (AP)--African countries that promote education and development to combat poverty in their nations must prevent a "brain-drain" of qualified professionals from the continent, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said Tuesday. Addressing the opening of a two-day conference on education and economic development in Africa, Kagame said the decline of higher education institutions was contributing to the emigration of Africans who were seeking better lives in other parts of the world. "Africa must do more to retain these professionals," said the Rwandan leader, the guest of honor of the Canadian Council of Africa in Montreal. Kagame said his country had seen a sharp increase in school enrollment in the last decade, but that the number of students attending university was still the lowest on the continent. "We must invest in education across the board," he said. The conference has drawn some 300 participants, including speakers from 25 African nations, to discuss the continent's education challenges and promote partnerships with Canada. Kagame's visit has been closely followed by protesters who accuse him of repression at home and involvement in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda's neighbor, where many Rwandans fled during and after the 1994 genocide in their tiny central African homeland. Kagame headed the Tutsi-led rebel force that ended the civil war. More than 500,000 people, mainly Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, lost their lives in the genocide orchestrated by the extremist-Hutu government then in power. Rwanda went on to twice invade Congo, trying to root out Hutu militias. The second invasion, in 1998, sparked a five-year war in Congo that drew in six African countries. An estimated 3.5 million people died in the conflict, most from war-induced disease and starvation. Some groups had called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to bar Kagame from Canada for alleged war crimes. Outside the hotel where the conference was taking place, Kagame supporters Tuesday waved Rwandan flags and chanted in the rain while beating drums next to dozens of vocal opponents holding signs that read: "Kagame Assassin" and "Africa's Hitler." "We are here to raise awareness, we are not happy that Canada welcomed a criminal like Kagame," said Faustin Nsabimana of the Canadian Rwandan Congress. A speech given by Kagame Monday was also marked by protest when one man was wrestled to the ground and arrested after he jumped out of his seat and yelled: "You're a criminal. I love my country. Long live the Democratic Republic of Congo." During the speech, Kagame told a gathering of some 250 business and diplomatic delegates at a dinner organized by the Counsel of International Relations, that his country's economy was booming and eager for international investment. "Rwanda has left the times of strife behind and, today, she is enjoying unprecedented political and economic stability," he said in a glossy brochure handed out to potential investors. (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 25, 2006 17:59 ET (21:59 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 05 59 PM EDT 04-25-06