Rwandan Ambassador to Holland Flees to Ireland Fearing Oppression from RPF
By Godwin Agaba
256 News
1 March 2010
News reaching 256news.com indicates that the Rwandan Ambassador to the Netherlands, Jean-Pierre Bizimana, is seeking political asylum in the Republic of Ireland.
Mr. Bizimana failed to turn up for the recently concluded Ambassadors’ retreat in Kigali last week because he feared being arrested by the regime, according to reliable sources.
The sources indicate that Ambassador Bizimana got into trouble because of alleged links to controversial opposition leader Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza of the FDU-INKINGI.
When 256news.com contacted Mrs. Ingabire for a comment, she denied links with him but said, “the Ambassador is being blamed for failing to help assassins sent by Kigali to kill me shortly before my return.”
Other claims include that Mr. Bizimana helped Mrs. Ingabire and her family acquire travel documents without authorization from Kigali.
A source in the West who is aware of Rwandan politics alleged the two (Ingabire and Bizimana) share close kinship.
Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister, did not answer repeated phone calls from 256news.com and even SMS messages seeking clarification went unanswered.
Mrs. Ingabire, who caused a stir by seeking temporary asylum at the British High Commission in Kigali, told 256news.com bytelephone that her impact is being felt by the regime in Kigali, “if Ambassadors are beginning to flee because of me.”
Mrs. Ingabire lived in Holland before returning to Rwanda mid-January this year.
Rwanda protests over General's Flight
By Tabu Butagira & Risdel Kasasira
Daily Monitor
March 1, 2010
Uganda-Rwanda diplomatic relations appeared headed for trouble once again after Kigali formally protested to Kampala over the weekend about reports their former army commander, Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa, is allegedly hiding here.
Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ms Louise Mushikiwabo, told Daily Monitor last evening that her government had registered its “concern” with officials of Uganda’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and that of Local Government as well as security chiefs. “The authorities took my concern and said if they get information that is of interest, they will let our government know,” she said, referring to the contested whereabouts of Gen. Nyamwasa.
Up until his flight on Friday after an annual retreat of diplomats in Kigali, the general was the country’s ambassador to India and previously served as the first commander of the Paul Kagame-led Rwanda Patriotic Army, after the 1994 genocide.
Uganda’s Defence Spokesman, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye, said he is “unaware” if he is being sheltered in Kampala, as alleged, and referred this newspaper to Mr Sam Kutesa, the Foreign Affairs Minister. “I am trying to seek details from security but we are also looking for him. But why do you want him?” Mr. Kutesa said by phone. With Uganda formally denying the general’s presence in the country, Rwanda said it was not yet suspecting any mischief since Kigali had been “assured it would get maximum cooperation”.
Daily Monitor has learned that the Gen. Nyamwasa’s issue, a potential diplomatic nightmare for Uganda, will form the highlight of discussions at a Joint Permanent Commission meeting due in Kampala, on Wednesday, which will review security and bilateral ties between the two counties.
Asked if Rwanda-Uganda relations had been damaged, Ms. Mushikiwabo, who is also spokesperson of the Rwandan government, said: “I don’t think the flight of one person can dent our relationships that have been solid for long.” “Our two countries have much more in common that a fugitive can destroy.”
Peoples of the two countries are bonded in many ways, trade and shared heritage and culture inclusive. For instance, Uganda was the principal backer of the RPF guerrilla movement that brought the current Kigali leadership, and President Paul Kagame to power.
However over the years, political rivalries threw bilateral relations into a mess and the armies of the two countries fought one another several times in Kisangani during the 1997-2003 war in Democratic Republic of Congo, which they originally had both joined as allies.
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We will kill until they lose their appetite for war-Kayumba Nyamwasa
Open Letter to National Public Radio (NPR) Morning Edition
By Greg Meyer
February 23, 2010
Kernersville, NC.
The Following is a note I just sent to NPR Morning Edition and forwarded to WFDD, our local station. I spoke to Michael Terry a local station producer. He said they will definitely help with follow up. I hope it leads to something.
Many thanks to Jackie Camp, a local lawyer and good friend of Rwanda, who with Innocent Ndagijimana helped edit this letter. Jackie is also helping with other leads.
Please feel free to use this text to contact other news media. For example, one can edit it and send it to "All Things Considered".
Dear Robert Siegel,
Adam Davidson,
Michelle Keleman,
David Gifford,
Jennifer Layden,
I am a Rwandan American living in North Carolina. I listen to NPR every day of the week. For the past many years, NPR has been my source of information on what is happening around the globe. I like your in-depth reporting on issues such as the war against terrorism, disaster relief in Haiti and other events worldwide.
When the genocide happened in Rwanda, my country, in 1994; I was a young student here in America, getting ready to graduate and head home. I watched with dismay the inaction by the Clinton administration, the UN and the West in general.
I do not believe in conspiracy theory, but I have to wonder why nobody in this country, not even NPR, is reporting on current events in Rwanda. What have we learned from 1994? The situation is more volatile than we, in this country think. I am writing this note to bring to your attention that I see in Rwanda, a picture not too different from what we witnessed in the past, a picture that in the past resulted in 1 out of every 2 Rwandans being killed or forced to flee their homes while the West turned a blind eye. Perhaps there was nothing that the West might have done to stop the 1994 genocide, but there is something the West, and specifically the US press, and even more specifically NPR, can do to stop what is happening now.
While presidential elections are ostensibly scheduled for August, the RPF, or political party of General Kagame, the current president, is trying to stop any opposition candidate from running for office. One opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire, has been beaten by a mob, and interrogated by police many times. My fear now is that, when opposition leaders are beaten or put in jail, there is a big chance that violence will erupt everywhere in the countryside. I am saying this because violence in Rwanda, always start by incidents happening to political leaders: the 1959 violence started when a group of royalists beat an opposition leader (who later got elected 1st president), the 1994 genocide started when the president's plane got shot down. Even in the time of the Rwandan kingdom, there was a coup around the 1880’s that took place because of similar situations. Kigali’s government blames the recent grenade attacks on the Interahamwe militia, but the opposition parties have described the attacks as an attempt by the party in power, to instill fear among the population ahead of the August elections.
I am hoping that NPR will not ignore this story just because no other major US media has reported it and just because the US government, for whatever reasons, has been a Kagame supporter. Developments I see in Rwanda are alarming. Amnesty International and Human Right Watch have already reported on the situation and have written to President Kagame. The BBC has carried the story, but no significant US press outlet has picked it up.
During my 18 years experience in America, I have noticed that the American public and administration pays attention to your reports. I believe that your news report on Rwanda will bring more visibility to what is happening there and force the political parties to more moderate positions. The government of Rwanda knows well that they get great help from American taxpayers. If Kagame’s harassment of opposition candidates becomes widely known, he will feel pressured to relent and allow Rwandans a free and fair election in August. Perhaps Rwandans will even follow in the footsteps of Liberians and elect a female head of state who can bring true democratic reform.
I have always been pleased with your unbiased positions when you report on conflict/war situations, and I want you to look into what is happening in Rwanda. Here is a link to a report by Ann Garrison on the situation that gives a good and very brief overview:"Rwandan opposition parties condemn grenade attacks in Kigali" ( http://www.sfbayview.com/2010/rwandan-opposition-parties-condemn-grenade-attacks-in-kigali) .
As the major donor and supporter of post-genocide Rwanda, the US government needs to be involved to make sure there is smooth transition to democratic governance, which in turn will provide more stable institutions and economy. Otherwise, the millions of taxpayer dollars that we used to help Rwanda would have gone to waste since war might erupt again.
If you need more info, do not hesitate to contact me.
My number: 336-837-7520. My name is Greg Meyer. I live in Kernersville, NC.
Thank you.
We will kill until they lose their appetite for war-Kayumba Nyamwasa
World
"The dead can no longer be counted"
January 16, 1998
Photo: Conflict between armed opposition groups and government forces has reached crisis point.
Rwanda may be on the threshold of a new wave of violence after thousands of killings in recent months, warns the United Nations.
Since October 1997, armed opposition groups have carried out increasingly violent attacks in the north-western prefecture of Gisenyi.
"The dead can no longer be counted," said one resident.
The armed groups are believed to include members of the former Forces Armées Rwandaises (FAR) and Interahamwe - extremist Hutu militia who participated in the 1994 genocide.
The official Rwandese Patriotic Army is also accused of violence against civilians. During their searches for the armed groups of insurgents, RPA soldiers have burned houses and crops and carried out widespread looting.
Photo: Omar Bahket: "1994 will look like a child's game"
Omar Bahket, the UN Representative to Rwanda, said: "The situation is very precarious. The worst case scenario is that (the events of) 1994 will look like a children's game."
Then, centuries of rivalry between the Hutu majority and their former feudal overlords, the Tutsi, exploded into a genocidal campaign during which the ruling Hutu regime systematically killed Tutsi civilians and political opponents.
Up to one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus are thought to have died.
The Hutu government was subsequently overthrown by an invading army dominated by Tutsis but the problems did not stop.
In December 1997, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, attacked the government of Rwanda over the army's record on human rights.
She accused the authorities of carrying out arbitrary arrests and detentions and allowing serious overcrowding in prisons - findings from her three-day fact-finding mission to Rwanda.
Photo: Colonel Kayumba Nyamwasa: "We have the means".
Colonel Kayumba Nyamwasa, the military Chief of Staff effectively in charge of military operations in the north-west, accepts there have been transgressions.
But he remains committed to crushing military insurgents.
He said:
"We have the means. We have the will. We will kill until they (the Hutu militias) lose their appetite for war."
Throughout October, November and early December in 1997, Amnesty International received reports of killings of unarmed civilians by Hutu militia in Rwanda almost daily.
Photo: Attacks on villages and refugee camps have left thousands dead
On December 11, 1997, non-government organisations operating in Gisenyi, north-west Rwanda, reported killings of around 1,000 people in a Hutu attack on a refugee camp.
It was the second horrific massacre at Mudende refugee camp in Gisenyi prefecture. The figures were never confirmed by officials in the region.
In November and December, armed opposition groups freed hundreds of political prisoners from detention centres in and around Gisenyi prefecture. An unknown number of people were reported to have died during these attacks.
In early November, fighting between armed opposition groups and RPA soldiers in Matyazo secteur, Satinsyi commune, Gisenyi, lasted for three days.
Photo: Ambush attacks are commonplace
In order to escape the persistent violence, thousands of people have fled across the border from Rwanda into the Democratic Republic of Congo since October.
However, many are rounded up by Congolese soldiers and forced to return to Rwanda within weeks or even days.
Around 4,500 Rwandese refugees were expelled from Congo in this way between early October and early December 1997.
In December, most of the estimated 540,000 Rwandese refugees in Tanzania were also forced to return to Rwanda, following a joint statement issued by the Tanzanian Government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that all Rwandese refugees were expected to leave by December 31.
The inaccessibility of north-west Rwanda, where most of the killings are taking place, makes independent investigations into reported deaths difficult and time-consuming. These difficulties appear to be intensifying.
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Rwanda: Government searching for fugitive General Kayumba Nyamwasa
By RNA reporter
February 26, 2010
Photo: Lt. Gen. Nyamwasa is now officially a wanted fugitive by the Government of Rwanda
Kigali: A career soldier, diplomat and most recently linked to the troubled Green Party, Lt. Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa is against back in the news for all the wrong reasons. Government says he is “on the run” in Uganda – a neighbour with which Rwanda almost went to war, RNA reports.
A government communiqué on Friday evening said the embattled Rwandan diplomat to India and renowned ex-army chief no longer represents Rwanda in Delhi with immediate effect. General Kayumba is also sought for crimes committed back home, according to the brief communiqué, also read on state TV and Radio.
The Government says he is in Uganda, but does not say how and why he got there. The statement does not also say which crimes he supposed to answer for.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has apparently also started behind-the-scenes maneuvers to have him extradited to Rwanda to answer for the yet unspecified charges, according to the government communiqué.
Last week, the soft-spoken General was in the country along with fellow other envoys for the annual ambassadors’ retreat organised by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The line-minister Louise Mushikiwabo opened and closed the two-day meeting.
It is not yet clear if he returned to his posting in Delhi before fleeing or simply travelled to Uganda.
Green Party
The General has had his fair share of controversy. Most recently, almost all the local newspapers which brand themselves as ‘independent’ reported that a top secret dossier had been compiled by the intelligence community detailing all people behind the trouble-ridden Green Party of Rwanda.
Among those named also includes Senators, the Police Commissioner General Emmanuel Gasana and several other top former and current government officials. Perhaps the biggest shock was the naming of a senior aide to the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, by the names of Dr. John Nagenda.
Among the tens of people named in the controversial dossier – to which government has not commented, or even any of the people named, only Dr. Nagenda, said to be of Rwandan origin, has responded - denying any links to the Green Party.
However, he confirmed that he is an uncle to the Green Party leader Mr. Frank Habineza, for who he even paid tuition at some point.
Army chief
Before the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels captured power in 1994, Colonel Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa was the Commanding Officer of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) in the rebel ranks. He would be brought in to battle the ousted government army and interahamwe for several years. Brigade 221 which Nyamwasa headed managed the war-torn northern Rwanda.
In January 1998, then Colonel Kayumba Nyamwasa was appointed army chief of staff replacing then Colonel Samuel Kanyemera. He would become Major General and later Lt. General. Those still in the army ranks describe him as a very strict disciplinarian, but likable officer.
During the dark days after the ex-army and interahamwe militias had been forced out of Rwanda into neighboring Zaire – now DR Congo, General Nyamwasa camped in the heart of the rebel zone in northern Rwanda.
As government struggled to contain the rebel incursions between 1996 to around 1999, General Kayumba was said to have been personally overseeing the war effort. At some point in January 1998, he told the BBC that "We have the means. We have the will. We will kill until they lose their appetite for war.”
And indeed, following the second invasion of DRC by Rwandan forces in 1998 up until now, the interahamwe – now known largely as the FDLR have not been able to strike on Rwandan territory.
President Paul Kagame – then vice president and Defense Minister, up until early 2000, was also a major brain behind the country’s military successes against the rebels.
Sacked
In 2001, General Nyamwasa was relieved of his duties, replaced briefly by exiled General Bem Emmanuel Habyarimana, an ex-FAR officer who was also later replaced by current full General James Kabarebe when Habyarimana become Defense Minister. General Kayumba was sent on training in the UK.
In November 2002, government redeployment returned General Nyamwasa as Head of Security Services – described as coordinating the internal and external security apparatus.
Two years later, the General was posted to India as the country’s envoy – a post he held until Friday.
International indictments
General Kayumba is now not only a fugitive from national justice, he is also sought by the Spanish and French governments over contested indictments.
In November 2006, a French anti-terrorism Judge Jean Louise Bruguiere indicted General Kayumba, along with nine other senior military officers for allegedly being part of the enterprise which assassinated former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana.
The indictments led to Rwanda severing relations with France completely until this Thursday – with the visit of French President Nicholas.
Trouble was not about to end. In February 2008, Spanish judge Andreu Fernando Merrelles also named General Nyamwasa among the 40 people he indicted for the death of Spanish nuns and war crimes.
In both of the indictments, President Kagame is also named but was not indicted owing to presidential immunity under international law. Government has fiercely contested the warrants – but the Spanish indictments have not gone far.
At the time, General Kayumba – a diplomat in India and therefore also protected under international law, angrily dismissed the two indictments.
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RWANDA: Political Space Is Needed Now
PRESS RELEASE
26.02.2010
RWANDA: Political Space Is Needed Now
The Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties in Rwanda which brings together:
The United Democratic Forces–Inkingi, The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, Le Parti Social IMBERAKURI, is strongly disturbed with the warning Letter issued by the Minister of Local Government, Mr. James MUSONI, yesterday, 25th February 2010 to politicians and politicians to be in Rwanda.
The Hon. Minister is flogging a dead horse, what he is saying is common knowledge. We are law abiding citizens and are committed to respecting the Laws in place and the Constitution.
However, the letter seems to limit the little political space that has started to be visible in Rwanda.
This seems to be an attempt aimed at muzzling the democratic right of freedom of expression under the pretext of using the law. The Minister is stretching the interpretation of the constitution to its widest limits. This is intended to intimidate people into silence and to muzzle the freedom of speech.
If the RPF Government is bent on silencing the opposition, it should not use the constitution. This is abuse of process. It’s in RPF’s advantage to open up political space.
The Minister is quite right in reminding us. But what has prompted such a reminder?
Hope we shall be getting reminders every month as election fever heats up.
This alarm raises serious concerns about the shadows, interpretations and limits of the current law on political parties.
In this context, the absence of dialogue between the government and the opposition parties is harmful to the country’s governance. Local political actors and international partners of Rwanda urgently need to assess these risks and create a national political dialogue. Otherwise the political space will remain ultimately hermetically sealed off.
The Ministry of Local Government is playing a key role in the democratisation process especially in handling the authorization of political meetings; registering political parties and following up the eventual violations of laws.
Authorisations for political parties to hold their founding congresses are denied with no reason; political leaders are attacked and beaten in government offices; political parties are harassed by the police and security services. Those are obvious signs of a political deadlock.
The United Democratic Forces constitutional congress has been postponed because the local authority failed to respond to the application submitted.
The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda was forbidden to hold its congress by the local administration on unclear grounds of security.
The future of the Parti Social IMBERAKULI is at stake as well because of dissolution threats.
We call upon the Government of Rwanda to prove its willingness to open up political space and let multiparty politics flourish as a matter of urgency. A political dialogue with the opposition and other stakeholders is urgently needed.
We would also like to inform the Rwandan public that the three parties by forming a common platform (Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties) did not break any law, since they did not form a coalition or a political party’s forum. This is a political right as stipulated in the constitution; we just used our freedom of association.
Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza
Mr. Franck Habineza
Maître Bernard Ntaganda
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By CHARLES KAZOOBA and ESTHER NAKAZZI
The East African
February 15, 2010
Photo:
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, the leader of the Unified Democratic Forces (UDF-Inkingi) political party that is yet to be registered. Photo/FILE.
Less than a month ago, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was informed of a challenger for his seat, Victoire Ingabire, the leader of the Unified Democratic Forces political party that is yet to be registered.
Ms Ingabire, who has lived in The Netherlands since the early 1990s, is the most controversial political figure who has emerged in the recent past to challenge the status quo in the country, which prefers to suppress ethnic debate to forge national healing.
Kagame’s government is threatening to prosecute her for alleged inflammatory speech, and she has faced public intimidation and mob violence.
She is now fighting to get a national identity card so that she can participate in the election as a legitimate candidate.
The big question now is whether Kagame is ready to tolerate political opposition, or he will continue to use the past as a pretext to crack down on legitimate political dissent. Is the modern Rwandan state stable and vibrant enough to deal with uncomfortable truths about the past in the context of political plurality? CHARLES KAZOOBA and ESTHER NAKAZZI from the Kampala Bureau interviewed her on a range of topics.
What do you plan to do differently and what package will you offer women?
I will promote peace and reconciliation. Because women abhor violence, I will ensure that there are more women in power. I will turn around Rwanda’s image, which has been tarnished by the Rwanda Patriotic Front’s unnecessary ventures into other countries. I will set up special programmes for women and promote development projects that will help them gain financial independence.
The Rwandan media has described you as a hard talker. Explain.
I do not waver on my genocide ideology. We must accept reality. Tutsis and Hutus should be held responsible for crimes against humanity. We need to sit together as Rwandans, analyse the genocide and come up with solutions to this problem. It is wrong to tell Rwandans not to talk about ethnic groups. That is what sets us apart from President Kagame’s reconciliation strategy. But Rwanda’s biggest problem is the absence of the rule of law and lack of democracy.
Why do you say so?
Kagame’s government is not ready to accept opposition. This is why they sent young men to beat me and my aide two weeks ago — which was a true reflection of the lack of democracy and freedom of expression in Rwanda.
This treatment extends to all opposition politicians. Kagame must accept that there is an opposition that needs political space. We are not enemies. Instead, he uses the genocide ideology against us. The genocide took place 16 years ago and now is the time for democracy.
But Rwanda holds elections regularly right up to the grassroots level, while the media has free reign.
Do you know how many journalists have been arraigned in court because they wrote political stories?
I have even received a letter that was addressed to all media houses asking them not to interview me. That shows that Rwanda lacks freedom of expression.
What will you do for the people of Rwanda?
Reconciliation is top on my agenda.
But President Kagame is also advocating reconciliation.
Rwandan people are yet to be reconciled. I have been in the country for three weeks. I have seen and heard what people say; there is no reconciliation. We need courage to talk about the ethnicity issue.
How do you intend to tackle the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda-a rebel group fighting President Kagame’s government and Interahamwe (Hutu paramilitary organisation)?
The FDLR claims to be fighting for peace. They also accept that some of their members took part in the genocide. Everybody involved in genocide and crime against humanity committed in Rwanda has to be judged. Our argument is political space — it would solve the problem.
Do you approve of the way Gacaca (a community justice system inspired by tradition established to try genocide suspects) conducts its proceedings?
No. Genocide is a serious crime. I don’t understand why anyone would ask laymen to judge genocide suspects. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is better placed to handle the matter because it operates with experienced lawyers.
Rumour is rife that your mother participated in the genocide. What’s your comment?
(Laughs) That is just propaganda by the Rwandan Patriotic Front. I first heard about it when I returned into the country.
What is the source of funding for your campaigns?
Members of my party. However, I don’t discuss with the media details concerning the sources of our funds.
You have been quoted as saying Rwanda’s foreign policy has weaknesses. How do you intent to improve it?
We shall do everything in our power to normalise relations with the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Kigali interfered with local Congolese politics, resulting in the death of five million people). Congo has a weak army. I am afraid that once they strengthen it, they will seek revenge.
Do you have a personal relationship with France?
I have contacts with some politicians in France, but not with France as a country. Once we take over power we shall normalise relations with all countries.
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Rwanda: RPF's Wavering on Rwandan Genocide
By Andre Nzibonera
February 20, 2010
According to Merriam Webster dictionary the word "Waver" The New Times daily newspaper has chosen to use as its propaganda weapon against Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza means: to vacillate irresolutely between choices, fluctuate in opinion, allegiance, or direction.
Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza doesn’t fluctuate in opinion, allegiance, or direction about the Rwandan Genocide as RPF did embracing at first the term “Rwandan Genocide” used by the United Nations to describe the horrendous multifaceted human carnage that took place between April 6, 1994 and July 4, 1994 (100 days), before settling down on its more convenient genocide ideology of “Genocide of the Tutsis”. Let it be known that about the Mayhem that devastated Rwanda in 1994 there is an RPF Genocide Ideology encrypted in the expression “Genocide of the Tutsis” and everybody else’s including the United Nations' ideology so to speak, encrypted in the expression “Rwandan Genocide”.
The former wants to make the Rwandan Genocide a genocide of the Tutsis only to perpetually inculpate all Rwandans of Hutu descent while the latter recognizes the dead from all sides of the conflict and imputes responsibilities to both Hutus and Tutsis who were involved. For their convenience RPF think-tank and their cronies accuse the tenants of the latter point of view of harboring ideas of a double genocide punishable by RPF laws. Conversely, it is rather obvious to every fair minded person, that there was just one genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, carried out by two perpetrating devilish hands; the Interahamwe militias and the RPF rebels. That’s why I believe what Mrs. Ingabire meant saying that she doesn't waver on her genocide ideology and that’s why Kagame’s government’s law on genocide ideology purposely refuses to clarify what it means, for RPF and Kagame’s government to use it against anybody who dares telling the truth about the Rwandan Genocide.
As to The New Times daily newspaper attempts to force Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza to be among the top commanders of the FDLR organization and thus hopefully stick on her the label of “terrorist”, it is a simple act of cowardice and ill-mindedness that is not new to The New Times daily newspaper. If there is one single terrorist on the entire continent of Africa it is General Paul Kagame and his commanders who terrorized and are still terrorizing as we speak the Rwandan people with their one-sided fake justice Gacaca courts, their notorious Local Defense Forces (LDF) and Directorate Military Intelligence (DMI). As if that was not enough terror already the RPF clique and their military commanders have exported their terrorism to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo where through their proxies such as General Laurent Nkunda and General Bosco Ntaganda they are responsible for the mind-boggling 5 Million Congolese deaths (yes Million with a capital M) and tens of thousands of internally displaced people in Eastern DRC.
Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza has never been in the military. She can’t even fire a toy gun but surely fires very well principles of democracy with her speech. She repeatedly has denied having any ties with the FDLR and no one, including The New Times daily newspaper, has undisputable proof that she does, other than hear-says and innuendos.
Note:
-Rwandan Constitution of 2003, Article 14:
"The State shall, within the limits of its capacity, take special measures for the welfare of the survivors of genocide who were rendered destitute by the genocide committed in Rwanda from October 1st, 1990 to December 31st, 1994, the disabled, the indigent and the elderly as well as other vulnerable groups".
-Rwandan Constitution of 2008, Article 14:
"The State shall, within the limits of its capacity, take special measures for the welfare of the survivors of genocide who were rendered destitute by the genocide committed against the Tutsis from October 1st, 1990 to December 31st, 1994, the disabled, the indigent and the elderly as well as other vulnerable groups".
Source:
DHR
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Rwanda: Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza requested political protection and temporary refuge in the United Kingdom High Commission in Kigali
By Nkiko Nsengimana
FDU-UDF-INKINGI
Coordination Committee
February 22, 2010
Following confirmed information of an imminent arrest, detention in a solitary confinement, physical and mental harassment and psychological torture, Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, the Chairperson of UDF- INKINGI, managed to reach the British High Commission in Kigali for a temporary refuge.
Under the orders of President Paul Kagame, Ms. Ingabire was today summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department for the third time in less than two weeks. The harassment of opposition parties is taking the shrinking of the political space to new heights ahead the upcoming 2010 presidential elections.
We call upon Rwandans to remain calm and to remember that peace and non-violence are the motto of Victoire Ingabire’s action. The wind of change is there and nobody will stop it. It’s time for President Kagame, his ruling party and hardliners fanatics to choose a peaceful future for their children, our children, our country. The time for the right choice is now.
We call upon President Paul Kagame and his entourage to give a chance to peace: you have done the war for many years, and this is a critical time. The history of our people will remember the choice you are going to make now.
To the international community, it’s time to play a leading role in the processes of democratisation of Rwanda.
Nkiko Nsengimana
FDU-UDF INKINGI
Coordination Committee
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By AFP
February 20, 2010
KIGALI (AFP) – Two suspects have been detained in relation to simultaneous grenade attacks in the Rwandan capital Kigali that killed one person and injured some 30 others, police said Saturday.
"Two suspects were apprehended, they belong to the Interahamwe militia," police spokesman Eric Kayiranga told AFP, referring to the extremist Hutu militia responsible for Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
The attacks took place at rush hour Friday evening on a train station, a restaurant and a building housing city centre businesses, he said.
Earlier Radio Rwanda reported the casualty toll at one dead and 18 injured, with five seriously wounded.
"Those who commit these kinds of crimes want to sow chaos, intimidate people and kill the genocide survivors," Kayiranga said.
"We are continuing the investigation and questioning the two suspects," notably on whether any link exists between the blasts and the August presidential election, he added.
President Paul Kagame, who heads a Tutsi-led government and has been in power since the end of the genocide, is widely expected to seek and secure re-election in the August poll.
Earlier this month, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the harassment of political opposition figures in Rwanda saying they faced increasing "threats, attacks and harassment" ahead of the poll.
The group cited an incident in which Joseph Ntawangundi -- a member of the FDU-Inkingi, a new opposition party critical of government policies -- was attacked in front of a local government office.
Ntawangundi has since been jailed after being sentenced in absentia in 2007 to 19 years by a gacaca court, one of the grassroots tribunals set up to try the perpetrators of the genocide.
The attacks come just days before a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Rwanda, aimed to cement newly renewed diplomatic ties between Paris and Kigali after years of mutual recriminations over Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
Sarkozy's trip next week will be the first by a French president since the massacre by extremist Hutus of around 800,000 people in Rwanda, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus. A new French ambassador to Kigali was accredited in January.
The two countries announced in November the resumption of relations severed in 2006 after a French judge issued warrants against Kagame's top aides on suspicion of being behind the death of a Rwandan ex-president.
For its part, Kigali alleged French forces had trained extremist Hutu militia which carried out the killings, a charge Paris has repeatedly denied.
A grenade was launched last April in Kigali as the country marked a week of national morning to commemorate the start of the 1994 massacres. Grenade attacks are more frequent outside the capital, where they are used to settle family disputes or against genocide witnesses.
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Rwanda: "Interahamwe” blamed after 3 grenade blasts (Details)
By RNA Reporter
February 20, 2010
Kigali: Police is holding two men alleged to be behind the three grenade blasts in Kigali on Friday evening – and already knows which group exactly is behind the blasts, the “Interahamwe”. The development will clearly indicate a new twist in the rebel war, as the entire government is in Rubavu district for the annual closed-door retreat, RNA reports.
At around 19:40, three blasts rocked three different but very busy areas of Kigali leaving one person dead and more than 30 others injured, according to medical sources at the Kigali Central University Hospital.
The first grenade exploded at the Rubangura area close to a new magnificent skyscraper under construction.
Another grenade went off just minutes later at the popular Chez Venant restaurant, about 400 meters from the first blast scene. Chez Venant is popular with foreigners and the local rising income class. As news started flowing about the attacks, it emerged that another grenade had gone off in Nyabugogo bus and taxi park.
All the three places attacked in the simultaneous grenade blasts are busy at the time the blasts happened, because ungazetted public taxi parks are located there. Residents of Kigali board taxis to different places around these areas – which probably explains the large number of the injured.
Ten of the injured are said to be in critical condition but damage on property was relatively minor. Medical sources said most of the injured have been discharged.
The National Police is already pointing fingers. “There is no doubt that the interahamwe are behind this terrorist act targeting innocent people”, said Police Spokesman Superintendent Eric Kayiranga. “They are continuing with their plan from 1994 to kill innocent people.”
He said in a prepared statement that two men had been arrested immediately at one of the scenes, adding that “all the evidence” shows the interahamwe are behind. He said frantic efforts are under way involving the whole security hierarchy to bring all those responsible for the blasts to book.
The Interahamwe are the Rwandan rebels fighting in DR Congo, under the name of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Some of the rebels are accused by government of having executed the 1994 Tutsi massacres.
However, asked on state radio what makes the Police so sure that the interahamwe carried out the attack, Superintendent Kayiranga simply said “there is no doubt” they are to blame. In the brief statement, Kayiranga did not mention the FDLR in particular, just referring to the suspects as “Interahamwe”.
The accusation if true will indicate a new development in the FDLR war on the territory of Rwanda after a lull of more than 10 years. The rebels, who also include the ex-government military, were forced out of the country by the current government in 1994. In the proceeding years, the rebels took the fight to eastern DR Congo – with regular incursion in the northern Rwanda.
Massive troop deployments and the eventual invasion of DR Congo in 1996 – and then in 1998, changed the dynamics of the rebels’ ability to attack Rwanda. For the period since 2000, the rebels have not carried out any attacks inside Rwanda – leaving the country with stability unseen before.
Government in Rubavu
Despite the latest blasts, the country’s entire leadership hierarchy, up to President Paul Kagame, is in Rubavu district – to the north, bordering DR Congo for the annual closed-door retreat. At this usually tense and tough-talk meeting among officials, they take the opportunity to throw blame and counter-blame on different issues.
Mr. Kagame opened the retreat Saturday morning, with the usual tough-talk, firing hard at different departments. His speech indicates he is becoming wary of the continuous meetings held by officials but with questionable results on the ground.
He accused officials of never being sure of what they will attain from any programs implemented. “You implement programs with the feeling that somehow you will reach the objectives – which are sometimes not even clear,” he said.
The President today used the word “somehow” about a dozen times, suggesting he is clearly not happy with what is going on. However, the blasts in Kigali came when all officials were already in Rubavu. Usually, the hundreds of officials arrive for the retreat a day earlier – which opens the next morning.
Rwanda is due to hold presidential polls in August at which President Kagame is widely expected to seek and secure re-election. He told a press conference recently that his government had achieved all the programs it promised in the 2003 elections – in which he scooped more than 95% of the votes.
Guarded anxiety in Kigali
Several other grenade blasts have happened in the Southern Province. Early this week, a six-year old boy was killed and the 12-year old brother lost his arm from a grenade they were playing with. Two teenagers also died last month in eastern Rwanda from similar arms. Kigali was also rocked by small blasts last year.
Police says all these have been isolated incidents. The grenades have been thrown in bars or homes. Some have gone off as children played with them.
Last week, following the explosion in Musanze district, Police repeated calls for people to hand in all weapons. There is already a tough law which criminalises illegally having weapons among civilians. Police said the grace period granted to people to hand any weapons in was running out.
On the streets of Kigali, people continued Saturday with low key shopping and outings. In public transport, people can be heard discussing the latest grenade attacks. Some indicating they are thinking of starting to avoid crowded public places.
As news of supposed “Interahamwe” involvement in the blasts continued to flow on state radio during the day, in public mini-buses, people could be heard reacting with disbelief that the rebels have been able to reach Kigali. But Police Spokesman Kayiranga said the security of everybody and property remained the paramount preoccupation of the security apparatus.
He said there was no cause for alarm and panic, but urged the public to be vigilant. Report any suspicious cases, he said.
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Rwanda News Agency reports arrests for Kigali bombing; government blames interahamwe
By Ann Garrison
Colored Opinions
February 20, 2010
The state run Rwanda News Agency published this report that Rwandan Police have arrested two men and that they have claimed, within less than 24 hours that "all the evidence" points to the guilt of the Interahamwe.
Interahamwe accused by Govt. of grenade blasts
"By RNA Reporter
Saturday, 20 February 2010 12:42
Kigali: Police is holding two men alleged to be behind the three grenade blasts in Kigali on Friday evening – and already knows which group exactly is behind the blasts, RNA reports.
At around 19:40, three blasts rocked three different but very busy areas of Kigali leaving one person dead and more than 30 others injured. The first grenade exploded at Rubangura area close to a new magnificent skyscraper under construction.
Another grenade went off just minutes later at the popular Chez Venant restaurant, about 400 meters from the first blast scene. Chez Venant is popular with foreigners and the local rising income class. As news started flowing about the attacks, it emerged that another bomb had gone off at the Nyabugogo bus and taxi park.
All the three places attacked are busy at the time the blasts happened, as public taxis pack there. Residents of Kigali board taxis to different places around these areas – which explains the large number of the injured.
Police is already pointing fingers. There is no doubt that the interahamwe are behind this terrorist act targeting innocent people, said Police Spokesman Superintendent Eric Kayiranga. “They are continuing with their plan from 1994 to kill innocent people.”
He said two men had been arrested immediately at one of the scenes, adding that “all the evidence” shows the interahamwe are behind.
The Interahamwe are the Rwandan rebels fighting in DR Congo, under the name of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Some of the rebels are accused by government of taking part in the 1994 Tutsi massacres."
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PCC: CONDEMNATION OF GRENADE ATTACKS IN KIGALI
CONDEMNATION OF GRENADE ATTACKS IN KIGALI
The Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties in Rwanda which brings together, the following political organisations: The United Democratic Forces-Inkingi, The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, Le Parti Social-IMBERAKURI, has learnt with shock and horror about the Grenade blasts which occurred last night 19th Feb 2010 almost simultaneously in three different localities in Kigali.
At the moment three are conflicting reports about the dead and the injured;however the main issue at hand is the lives of innocent and defenceless citizens who are at a serious risk.These cowardly and wicked acts are meant to instil fear in the population at a crucial time when we are heading for the Presidential elections in a few months to come.
We strongly condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest terms possible and call upon the Rwandan Government, as we have done in recent past to:
1. Investigate and bring to book the perpetrators of these acts
2. Ensure a fair hearing of the suspects once they are apprehended
3. Guarantee security of persons and their property
Issued at Kigali, 20th February 2010
Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza
Chairperson, United Democratic Forces
Mr. Frank Habineza
Chairman, Democratic Green Party of Rwanda
Me. Bernard Ntaganda
Chairman, Parti Social IMBERAKURI
Source.
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Rwanda: Teachers struggle to follow switch to English
At the Kacyiru 1 primary school in Rwanda it's not the pupils chanting "this is my ear, this is my hair" and pointing to the board as they learn rudimentary English. It's the teachers.
By Helen Vesperini
in Kigali for AFP
19 Feb 2010
A training session for Rwandan teachers. Photo: AFP/HELEN VESPERINI
They've been sent back to school as part of a Rwandan government drive to switch to English instead of French as the routine language of instruction for the nation's schoolchildren.
That's no easy task for teachers brought up speaking French in this former Belgian colony. They now find themselves having to brush up their English, or in many cases learn it from scratch.
Often they struggle to keep pace with their own pupils, the education minister, Charles Murigande, admitted in a recent interview.
"It's not the children you should be feeling sorry for, they are picking it up quickly," he said. "It's the teachers who are having difficulties."
Critics say the switch to English in education has been rushed through and was politically motivated, but Murigande said it was "a logical choice" given where Rwandans do business - he mentioned Dubai, Malaysia, China and Japan.
Such a change would be a challenge for any country, but it is particularly difficult for Rwanda, which had nearly to start from scratch after the 1994 genocide.
Many teachers were among the dead when 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, were slaughtered in the central African nation.
Afterwards, school buildings, books and equipment were all in short supply as Rwanda struggled to rebuild itself.
The situation has improved since then. In 2008, 53 per cent of children passed their primary leaving exam, up from just 24 per cent in 2000.
Progress is restricted by large classes, a shortage of qualified teachers, high drop-out rates and, in many cases, difficult home conditions.
Now, 15 months after the switch to English was announced in October 2008, many pupils appear to have taken to it with ease.
"Before, I used to like French," said 12-year-old Albert Mihigo cheerfully, as his friends nodded in agreement. "But since they started teaching us in English, I've forgotten French."
So at Kacyiru 1, a series of low-rise red-brick buildings around a beaten earth yard, teachers brought up on French are learning to decode English so they can pass it on to the nation's children.
Henry Kalanzi - resplendent in an orange silk waistcoast - claims the 45 teachers he is training can now "communicate, organise some dialogue on their own and prepare lessons in the English language".
But he admits his class is mixed, with some complete beginners and others who already master English.
"They are picking (up English) but one month is not a lot," added Kalanzi, 25. "When they go back to their classes there will be no follow-up."
Rwanda's teachers are not well paid and many in the state sector have just seen their working day doubled with the introduction of a double shift, where they teach one class in the morning and another in the afternoon.
English training for many teachers has been limited to just one month. Many admit to learning as they go along.
"As we teach, we learn at the same time," said Assinophol Nyabenda, one of those at Kacyiru 1.
That feeling was shared by teacher trainees at Kimihurura primary school a couple of kilometres (one mile) away.
"Last year the children were starting to understand. Gradually the teachers are understanding more, and the children too," volunteered Kalisa Byiringiro, 21.
"Twenty days to master a language is not enough, but we've been given the basics," said Jean Jabo, who at the age of 55 has a whole career of teaching history and geography in French behind him.
Until October 2008, education in Rwanda was dispensed in a mixture of its three official languages: local Kinyarwanda; French, which is spoken mainly by an educated elite; and English, which was added in 1994.
Outside major towns, a vast majority speak only Kinyarwanda.
Part of the government's rationale for the switch was that it intended to join the Commonwealth club of mainly former British colonies, which it did in late 2009.
But the reform was announced during a rupture in relations between France and Rwanda, leading some commentators to speculate that the motivation was at least in part political.
It came after a French judge issued arrest warrants for nine officials in President Paul Kagame's entourage. They were accused of shooting down the plane carrying former leader Juvenal Habyarimana - the event widely considered to have caused the 1994 genocide.
Diplomatic relations resumed in November 2009, and Louise Mushikiwabo, the foreign minister, has insisted that the expansion of English will not take place at the expense of French.
The move affects only the education system - French continues to be used, alongside English, by an educated elite, and is still offered as a subject at school.
"The transition had already been in the pipeline for some time," said Iris Uyttersprot, education advisor with development agency the Belgian Technical Cooperation.
"The actual timing of the announcement may have been political," she added, "it came as a surprise to many and was initially enforced too quickly."
She said at first there was little planning and preparation but that "this seems to have been corrected now".
Still, some critics fear the switch to English may mean children from poor and medium-income families fare even worse in school.
"It's something that should have been done over a period of say 10 years," complained one father of four.
"My son, who was studying in French before, now comes home from school and tells me he has been correcting his teacher's mistakes in English."
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The Arrogance of France
French is dead, long live English Rwanda!
Rwanda seeks Ugandan tutors
What would the Commonwealth do for Rwanda?
Rwandan Opposition Parties Join Forces
JOINT COMMUNIQUE
Rwandan Opposition political Parties have formed a “Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties”.
In our endeavour to strengthen the democratic process in Rwanda, to bring the current regime to accept the right of every Rwandan citizen to enjoy his/her full political rights, to allow Rwandans make a choice between different political programmes and to choose a leader who will have convinced them that his political programme is viable and will deliver on its manifesto;
In view of the many barriers, both legal and administrative, that the regime has put in place to prevent political parties from being formally registered;
In the face of increasing threats, aggressive acts and harassment against opposition parties in the period leading to presidential elections;
Taking into account the fact that the only party that has been registered has not been allowed to carry out its normal political activities among the general population at the grassroots level and to get access to the public media;
Considering the need to ensure that presidential elections planned for August 2010 are held in a democratic and transparent manner;
Convinced that putting together of our efforts is the best way to widen the political space for the political opposition,
We the undersigned, representing the following political organisations: The United Democratic Forces–Inkingi, The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, Le Parti Social IMBERAKURI,
Have decided to form a common platform called the: Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties, “Conseil de Concertation Permanent des Partis d’Opposition” (PCC/CCP)
The main of the objective of the platform is:
To define a common position and carry out appropriate work of lobbying and advocacy at the national and international level.
Areas of collaboration will include at this point in time the following areas:
1. Registration of political parties
2. Diplomacy
3. Information and communication
4. Justice
Other areas of collaboration will be examined later.
Issued at Kigali, 19th February 2010
Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza
Chairperson, United Democratic Forces
Mr. Frank Habineza
Chairman, Democratic Green Party of Rwanda
Me. Bernard Ntaganda
Chairman, Parti Social IMBERAKURI
Source.
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Rwandan presidential aspirants given 26 days to register, campaign
Rwanda: Crimes against Humanity and Hutu
By Ann Garrison
Colored Opinions
January 24, 2010
On 01.20.2010, I published "
Rwanda's 1994 genocide and 2010 elections," a Digital Journal report on Victoire Ingabiré Imuhoza's return to Rwanda, from 16 years in exile, to run as the FDU-Inkingi's presidential candidate in Rwanda's 2010 presidential elections. And, on the immediate outcry, in state run Rwandan media, including calls to prosecute and arrest Mrs. Ingabire for challenging the received history of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.
On 01.23.2009, Mrs. Ingabire and the FDU-Inkingi Party issued a release calling the outcry a "
cynical media lynching."
On 01.24.2010, I received this letter from Dr. Peter Erlinder, Lead Defense Council at the
International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda (ICTR):
"Ms. Garrison,
Thanks for the article. As Lead Defense Council at the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda (ICTR), I have had a chance to closely examine the violence associated with the RPF takeover of Rwanda, and have concluded that the "victors" have told the story of the 4-year war, and its aftermath.
During the past 7 years the Prosecutor at the ICTR, with the help of the Kagame government, US and UK have been unable to marshall evidence that the former military or government planned or conspired to kill civilians, much less Tutsi civilians.
In Feb 2009, the Judgment in the Military I (Bagosora) case found that NONE of the top four officers (including Bagosora) were guilty of conspiracy before or after the assassination of President Habyarimana.
In Feb 2009, the former ICTR Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte admitted in her memoirs that she had been ordered to bury evidence of RPF crimes, including Kagame's assassination of Habyarimana which had been known to her office in 1997...by the U.S. State Dept.
'The Great Rwanda Genocide-Coverup' is beginning to unravel....but the US, as you note, is deeply invested in maintaining a Prussian-style military presence in Central Africa. I have posted several articles and the - Rwanda Documents Project - has many of the contemporaneous confirming documents. -Dr. Peter Erlinder"
Dr. Erlinger and I then exchanged contact information, and spoke at some length over the phone, after which I read his essay, "
The Great Rwanda Genocide Coverup" on the Global Research website.
Neither Dr. Erlinger nor Mrs. Ingabiré deny that genocidal mass murder occurred in Rwanda in 1994. They dispute only the one-sided history, in which former Hutu government and military are said to have conspired to commit genocide against Tutsis, and in which only Tutsis, not Hutus, were mass murdered.
"On February 9, 2009, the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda issued its written judgment that the top four Hutu military officers were not guilty of conspiring to commit genocide against the Tutsi in 1994," says Dr. Erlinger.
"If a reporter had been there throughout the trial and seen this unfold, they would have understood that the prosecution had been unable to prove the central, received narrative of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide, which is that the Hutu military conspired, with elements of the government, to commit genocide against the Tutsi. The U.S., the UN, and the Rwandan Government did everything they could to prove the charges, but they could not."
However, by the time the received history of the Rwanda Genocide was finally refuted last year, Rwanda's ruling
Rwandan Patriotic Front Party had already made it sacrosanct, and vaguely criminalized divergent histories, in Articles 13 and 33 of the 2003 Rwandan Constitution:
Article 13
The crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes do not have a period of limitation.
Revisionism, negationism and trivialisation of genocide are punishable by the law.
Article 33
Freedom of thought, opinion, conscience, religion, worship and the public manifestation thereof is guaranteed by the State in accordance with conditions determined by law.
Propagation of ethnic, regional, racial or discrimination or any other form of division is punishable by law.
Members of the RPF are calling for the prosecution and incarceration of FDU-Inkingi leader Victoire Ingabiré Umuhoza for "revisionism," because she dared say that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed against Rwandan Hutus
However, unlike the Spanish Judge Fernando Andreu, in his indictment of 40 of Paul Kagame's top officers, Mrs. Ingabiré has not used the word "genocide" with regard to crimes against the Hutu, only "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity."
Rwandans both inside and outside her FDU-Inkingi Party marvel that Mrs. Ingabiré remains alive and free in Rwanda, and still speaking out, one week after returning to say what so many Rwandans think of every day but fear to say out loud.
"Something has changed," says Jean Nepo Manirarora, active FDU-Inkingi's member in the United States. "Anyone who said what Mrs. Ingabiré said, up until now, would have disappeared, never to be seen again."
Manirarora believes that international attention, possibly pressure, must be keeping her safe, for now.
Pressure from who, where, why, and to what end? Manirarora doesn't know, but says "probably the U.S. and the UK, because they have power and influence in Rwanda."
On the morning of 01.21.2009, Mrs. Ingabiré met with Mr Jolke Oppewal, Head of the Development Cooperation at the Kingdom of the Netherlands Embassy in Kigali, and then went on to meet the British High Commissioner to Rwanda, Nicholas Cannon.
Something seems to have changed in Rwanda. It may be at last possible to speak of crimes against humanity and Hutu.
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Rwandan presidential aspirants given 26 days to register, campaign
By Modou APA-Kigali
(Rwanda)
February 19, 2010
Aspirants for the forthcoming presidential polls in Rwanda have been given 26 days to declare their candidature and carry out campaigns before the polls day on August 9, APA has learnt.
According to the electoral calendar made public Thursday evening, presidential candidates are supposed to declare their candidature between June 24 and July 2 while campaigns will officially begin July 20 to August 8.
Registration and approval of candidates was given 8 days while the act of campaigning was strictly allocated 18 days.
The Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, Professor Crysologue Karangwa told APA Friday that the eighteen days were enough for a serious presidential aspirant to go around the country of thirty districts campaigning.
"Eighteen days are enough for a serious presidential candidate to cover the country, we do not expect them to visit every village or district in the country by themselves, they have supporters who should help in campaigns," Karangwa said.
In the remaining less than four months those wishing to stand for presidency were advised to keep it to themselves as in accordance to the law.
"Before the said dates, those planning to declare their candidature should abide by the law and wait. According to the electoral law no political activities are expected before the approval of candidates," Karangwa said.
This will be the second presidential election to be held after an eight-year provisional government that ran from 1995 to 2003 walking the country out of the political crisis triggered by 1994 genocide.
The first presidential elections were held in 2003 seeing the incumbent President Paul Kagame in power.
Rwandan constitution allows a presidential term of seven years with the incumbent expected to serve not more than two terms.
The electoral calendar was announced at a time when the constitution is under amendments where a clause on presidential elections is to be amended.
The clause says any one aspiring to be presidential candidate is expected to be in the country by the time of declaration of their candidature.
Karangwa said Rwandan government will foot 60% of the over 10 million dollar electoral budget, the remaining 40% is expected from the national budget and international community based on bilateral relations of the donor countries.
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Rwandan Embezzlement becoming more sophisticated – Auditor
By RNA Reporter
February 17, 2010
Despite an improvement in accountability for taxpayers’ money, government officials embezzling public money are also becoming smarter – using tactics similar to “nuclear physics”, according to the Auditor General of State Finances (AG).
In the latest report for 2008 presented to both chambers of Parliament, Deputy AG Mr. Biraro. R. Obadiah described the nature in which government official are stealing state finances as “scandalous”, saying the techniques officials are using are similar to “nuclear physics”. He said embezzlers are becoming “smarter” and “more sophisticated”.
The Deputy AG, standing in for his boss Ms. Evelyn Kamagaju, who is on sick leave, also said embezzlement has increased tremendously as indicated by the cases detailed by the report, compared to previous years. He said contrary to previously when money sometimes got lost because due “skills gap” on the part of those making the accountability, this time they are stealing “openly”.
Some Rwf. 683million (about USD$2million) disappeared without any traces, according to Mr. Biraro. The biggest culprit is the Rwanda Institute of Administration and Managements (RIAM) – where some Rwf. 210million went off the books. Another is the Forest Conservation Project (PAFOR) where some Rwf. 180million is nowhere to be seen. Gasabo district is also singled out where some Rwf 190m is gone.
Other places named as bases for embezzlers by the Auditor General’s report included Gicumbi district (Rwf 63m); Kigali Institute of Science and Technology KIST (Rwf 33m); Gatsibo district; Kirehe district; and others.
Over the past year, officials from these institutions have been arrested and are facing prosecution. Mr. Marc Kabandanda and other senior staff at RIAM are in jail over embezzlement. PAFOR officials are also in court over graft. The entire senior administrative hierarchy of Kirehe district is also in court.
According to the Deputy Auditor General, in Kirehe district, the Executive Secretary managed to put himself as a “nurse” on the payment roll of Global Fund, from where funding is channeled for combating HIV/Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
On a positive not however, compared to 2007, the year in review saw an improvement in accountability for allocated finances by different government departments. In 2008, Rwf. 4.4billion is not accounted for, down from Rwf 6.5billion the previous year (2007).
The audit covered 69 percent of all state institutions – up from 60 percent in the previous year, according to the Auditor General.
Highlights of major cases
The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency has not submitted any books of accounts. The AG said no convincing reason has been given for the situation.
Districts with unnecessary account numbers: rural Nyamasheke district was found to own 42 accounts in different banks. Gatsibo district for its part has 37 account numbers. The AG described this situation as “hopeless”.
Government broadcaster ORINFOR – under which fall state TV, radio, two newspapers and a printery – has a “gap” of Rwf 718million in its accounts attributed to massive irregularities in its accounting methods. The AG also described the methods used to manage taxpayers’ money in ORINFOR, the Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) and School of Finance and Banking, as “fraudulent”.
The Community Development Fund (CDF) – which supports local administrative units, was found to be having a “gap” of Rwf. 140million, and officials there are unable to explain where the money went.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and government have debts between them totaling Rwf5.8billion. This is not the end of the story because the two sides also have another debt shared dating back to before 1990 amounting to Rwf 25 billion. The AG described this situation as “fishing in troubled waters” because neither side has a clear plan of how this loophole will be rectified.
The Auditor General also found a problem in the management of the Fund for Genocide Survivors (FARG) in which government puts 5% of the annual budget, for helping survivors of the Tutsi massacre. The Ministries of Finance and Local Government withdrew Rwf 2.6billion but its accountability does not appear anywhere.
“There are no documents or receipts. No reconciliation statements,” said deputy AG Mr. Biraro, before adding that the audit team was told the computer of the “expert” who was employed to reconcile the expenditures for this Rwf 2.6billion has “exploded”, prompting lengthy laughter from lawmakers.
For the National University of Rwanda, the Auditor General said he has no words to describe what is happening there. According to him, NUR imported its own private auditors, a practice the AG criticized, saying as a government department, it must be audited. Mr. Biraro said there is an audit ongoing on NUR but that what has been discovered can only be described as “scandalous”.
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Amnesty International: Intimidation of Rwandan opposition parties must end
By Amnesty International
February 18, 2010
Photo:
President Paul Kagame's government must investigate attacks on opposition groups. © APGraphicsBank
Amnesty International has strongly condemned a worrying attack on a Rwandan opposition group as the country prepares for presidential elections in August 2010.
In a letter to Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Amnesty International urged him to use the elections as an opportunity to show the government's commitment to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
"Past elections have been marred by intimidation, however this year's vote gives Rwanda the chance to promote rights not repression," said Amnesty International's Africa Programme Deputy Director Tawanda Hondora.
The letter was prompted by a recent attack on two members of United Democratic Forces (Forces Démocratiques Unifiées, FDU-Inkingi) and harassment of the President of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (Parti Démocratique Vert du Rwanda, DGPR).
"Amnesty International is concerned that these recent incidents are part of a wider pattern of intimidation and harassment to discourage and discredit opposition groups," said Tawanda Hondora.
On 3 February, Victoire Ingabire, president of the FDU-Inkingi, and her aide Joseph Ntawangundi were attacked in the capital Kigali while collecting documents needed for the party's registration from a government building.
During the attack Victoire Ingabire's passport was stolen and Ntawangundi was severely beaten.
Amnesty International has welcomed the police enquiry into the incident. However, Police Spokesman Eric Kayiranga confirmed, as of 15 February, that no charges were pressed and some of those arrested had been released.
"Opening an investigation is a good first step," said Tawanda Hondora, "but an effective investigation must be prompt, impartial and bring those responsible for the attack to justice."
Three days after the incident, the New Times alleged that Ntawangundi had been convicted of genocide in absentia in 2007 by a gacaca court – a community tribunal set up to try genocide cases. He was arrested the same day, 6 February, on charges of involvement in the 1994 genocide, which left as many as 800,000 ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutu dead.
A law criminalizing "genocidal ideology," whose terms are vague and ambiguous, was promulgated on 1 October 2008, unduly stifling freedom of expression. The offence is punishable by 10 to 25 years’ imprisonment.
Victoire Ingabire, has regularly been denounced in media close to the government as being "negationist" of the genocide or "divisionist" for public remarks made since her return from exile in January 2010 calling for the prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Hutu by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).
The leader of the Ideal Social Party (PS-Imberakuri, PSI), Bernard Ntaganda, was also called before the Rwandan Senate to answer accusations of genocide ideology in late 2009.
"Rwanda has an obligation to prohibit speech that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence" said Tawanda Hondora, "but Rwanda's laws on genocide ideology too often conflate legitimate political dissent with such incitement."
Frank Habineza, the President of the Green Party, has also reported being threatened by a man he suspects to be a security agent on 4 February in a hotel in Kigali, the capital.
Habineza reported the incident to the police on 5 February and is awaiting further information on the status of investigations.
Amnesty International has called on the Rwandan government to investigate the intimidation of opposition groups, bring those responsible to justice and take immediate steps to respect the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly of opposition parties.
Related Materials:
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Comment on the Law Relating to the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Ideology of Rwanda
Rwanda: Kagame says criticism of Genocide law is “nonsense”
Coming to a New Understanding of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide
Assault against Mrs. Victoire Ingabire: RPF revives the accusation in a mirror
Election Rwanda 2010: Paul Kagame, Victoire Ingabiré, & Memories of Genocide
