Rwanda: The USA should urge the rwandan government to respect human rights
By Paul Rusesabagina
The New York Times
April 30, 2010
Letter
Repression in Rwanda
Published: April 30, 2010
To the Editor:
After reading “Candidate for President Is Arrested in Rwanda” (news article, April 22), I feel compelled to point out how frighteningly familiar the current situation in Rwanda now seems to me.
I lost friends and family during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when more than 800,000 were killed. Recent government repression in Rwanda, which has included the brutal beating and jailing of political opponents, fills me with fear that significant violence will reappear.
Warning signs are everywhere. Organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are strongly condemning new election-related repression. Senator Russ Feingold, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, has spoken out against “renewed abuse of civil and political rights.” The government is recreating the polarizing conditions that helped lead to genocide.
I know firsthand what happens when intolerance becomes government policy. The United States must strongly urge the Rwandan government to respect human rights.
Paul Rusesabagina
San Antonio,
April 24, 2010
The writer is president of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation and sheltered more than 1,200 refugees during the Rwandan genocide, as portrayed in the film “Hotel Rwanda.”
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 10:13 AM
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