Speaking to his 614,000 twitter followers, Dr. Richard Sezibera termed the ‘reports as alarmist’.
@rsezibera “Friendly advice…ignore alarmist reporting from online publications from a neighbouring country on travel advisories. They are incorrect. Example, Canada made no significant change 2 her advisory for several weeks. Caution level 2 out of 4. Same risk level as France and the UK,” Sezibera tweeted.
European Union member states including United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, France plus United States, Canada and Australia warned their
The travel advisories posted on the countries’ foreign office websites, told their citizens to “Exercise a high degree of caution in Rwanda due to the ongoing insecurity.” mainly in areas that Rwanda shares a common border with Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Uganda.
France, which was the first to issue the travel advisory, warned her nationals to be vigilant in particular areas during their stay in Rwanda while Canada’s advisory, posted on travel.gc.ca, urged Canadians to “Exercise a high degree of caution in Rwanda due to the ongoing insecurity.”
“The decision to travel is your choice and you are responsible for your personal safety abroad. We take the safety and security of Canadians abroad very seriously and provide credible and timely information in our Travel Advice to enable you to make well-informed decisions regarding your travel abroad,” the statement read in part.
“The content on this page is provided for information only. While we make every effort to give you correct information, it is provided on an “as is” basis without warranty of any kind, express or implied. The Government of Canada does not assume responsibility and will not be liable for any damages in connection to the information provided. If you need consular assistance while abroad, we will make every effort to help you. However, there may be constraints that will limit the ability of the Government of Canada to provide services.”
A statement from Germany said: “When traveling to the immediate border area with Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, south of the Kivu, as well as on further travel to these countries, caution is advised. The same applies to the border area with Uganda in the north of the country. In the immediate border area, cross-border effects of conflicts in / with neighboring countries cannot be ruled out.”
A travel advisory, travel alert or travel warning is an official warning statement issued by a government agency cautioning its citizens on a relative safety of remaining, going to or visiting one or some specific foreign countries or tourism destinations affected or highly threatened by a calamity or insecurity.
It is a formal warning issued by a governmental or an international organisation cautioning travellers from traveling to specified destinations due to such reasons as armed violence, civil or political unrest, high incidence of crime, natural disaster, or outbreak of one or more contagious diseases like Ebola currently ravaging eastern DRC.
Over the years, governments have issued wide-ranging travel advisories warning their citizens from remaining or travelling to many countries especially African countries.
A case in point being; Kenya, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali and Liberia.
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