Rwanda: Green Party gets backing from European Parliament

By Rwanda News Agency
Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Partnership: President Paul Kagame meets EC chief José Manuel Barroso in Brussels, November 2006. The EU Greens are demanding more engagement with Kigali over their Rwandan colleagues (Photo: EU).

Kigali: The Greens block in the European Parliament has petitioned the European Commission over the plight of the Green Party as the group struggles to put together a registration dossier, RNA reports.

The Greens/European Free Alliance wants the EU embassy in Kigali “to give much higher priority” to the yet-to-be registered Green Party of Mr. Frank Habineza. The European Greens have been informed that the Kigali Envoy Mr. Arrion Michel is following the situation closely but want more.

In the letter to EC President Mr. José Manuel Barroso and Foreign Affairs chief Baroness Catherine Ashton, the Greens say they are “becoming increasingly concerned about the obstructions” that are hindering the operations of the opposition.

Two opposition groups that have not registered have joined forces with PS Imberakuri – which already registered, in a loose coalition they hope to front in the August presidential polls.

However, they claim government is deliberately blocking them from registering. The Green Party has petitioned the intervention of Local Government Minister Mr. Musoni James accusing the Police and Gasabo district of conniving to block its delegates’ conference.

Back-and-forth bickering between the Police Commissioner General, Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Gasana and Gasabo district Mayor mean the group is not able to get space to hold the conference. The group hopes to use the occasion to notify its hundreds of nomination signatures for registration.

Green Party leader, Mr. Habineza has also written to Internal Security Minister Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana claiming his life is in danger. The Minister forwarded his concerns to the Police Commissioner General.

The European Greens say they have also raised these issues with the European Parliament Development Committee and “were assured that the EU Mission in Rwanda was aware of the situation and would continue to monitor the situation”.

“However, and especially in view of the very recent threat to Mr Habineza's life, we would like to urge you to ask the Mission to give much higher priority to these problems,” reads in part the letter co-signed by Rebecca Harms and Daniel Cohn Bendit from the EU Greens group.

In his first interview since taking office – which he had with RNA, the EU envoy Mr. Arrion called on opposition politician Ms. Ingabire Victoire to stop what he described as “inflammatory declarations”.

He said the government and opposition need to act with restrain with each other if there is to be any “meaningful debate”.