Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

Rwanda orders review of 'genocide denial' law

By journalism.co.za.
April 14, 2010

RWANDA has ordered the review of a law that observers had pointed out would affect free speech and civil liberties, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za.

President Paul Kagame disclosed that the Cabinet was discussing the contentious law against denying genocide amidst accusations that government is using it to stifle free speech and the opposition.

Since the law criminalizing denial of the 1994 genocide was passed in 2007 (referred to in Rwanda as “genocide ideology”), critics and donors have claimed that it has been used to curb free speech and to oppress Kagame’s political opponents.

Any political statement critical of the current government’s policies may be seen as denying genocide.

The Cabinet is discussing the law to see if there can be “room for improvement”, Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama said during the press conference when Kagame asked him to comment on the issue.

The minister further announced that a study is also ongoing to see “whether there has been any abuse” of the law.

However, Karugarama accused the fierce critics of the law of “imputing bad faith” when debating its application.

Perhaps the harshest criticism of the law came last year from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, which was strongly opposed to Rwanda’s admission into the Commonwealth.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as the US government in its annual human rights reports have repeated the same concerns. HRW claimed recently that the government was using the law “as a way of targeting and discrediting its critics”.

Amnesty International has also said that the terms of the law criminalizing “genocidal ideology” are very “vague and ambiguous”.

The group said the law could restrict the ability of the accused to put forward a defence in criminal trials.

The offence is punishable by 10 to 25 years’ imprisonment.

In February, President Kagame fired back in an address to Parliament branding such criticism as “nonsense”. He said nobody has the right to undermine what happens in Rwanda.

However, the President has come out with a more conciliatory message directing that the law be assessed to see why critics continue to have a problem with it.

“But I don’t know of any case where it has been abused…that to my knowledge hasn’t come up. That does not even prevent us from looking at what it is really that people are worried about,” said Kagame.

“Is it written badly? Is it confusing? Maybe we need to fine-tune it to have it clear so that the grey area is reduced. Maybe that also means the anticipated abuse of the law would probably be narrowed.

There is flexibility, in my view. I mean, we are open to these exchanges. What I don’t accept is the anticipation that everybody will abuse it.”

posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 1:21 AM