Rwanda: Army ready to pull out of Darfur mission over “Genocide report”
By RNA Reporter
August 31, 2010
The RDF troops board an American transport plane headed to the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur. The army now says its ready to return should government give the final order.
Kigali: The Army has put all its peacekeeping troops in Sudan on alert ready to withdraw “in case the UN publishes its outrageous and damaging report,” the Ministry of Defense said Tuesday.
The Rwanda Defence Force [RDF] has finalised a contingency withdraw plan for its peacekeepers deployed in Sudan in response to a government directive, according to Army spokesman Lt. Col Jill Rutaremara.
He told RNA that “all logistical and personnel resources are in place”, adding that “we are doing what we have been asked to do on our side”.
Government reacted with furry last week to a leaked UN report alleging that RPA forces stopped the massacre of Tutsis back home and then went on to slaughter Hutus who had fled Rwanda. The UN report claims Rwandan soldiers massacred Hutus over a period of 10 years.
However, as the report was being prepared, Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo warned Rwanda would reconsider its role in the UN peace keeping missions.
Addressed to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the letter from Mushikiwabo describes the report from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights as "fatally flawed" and "incredibly irresponsible." The letter is dated Aug. 3 and was obtained by The Associated Press on Saturday.
"The report's allegations — of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity — are extremely serious. However, the methodology, sourcing and standard of proof used to arrive at them most certainly are not," Mushikiwabo's letter says.
The letter asks why the investigators spent six weeks in Congo but never came to Rwanda or asked for meetings with Rwandan officials, who were given the 545-page draft two months ago.
As the country waits for what might be a firry response from President Kagame anytime soon, including a possible order for the 4000 troops to pull out of Darfur, and Sudan altogether, the Defense Ministry is already on alert.
“The pull out will take the shortest time possible,” said Army Spokesman Rutaremara.
The UN report is expected to be published anytime soon.
Related Materials:
Koffi Annan under fire from Kigali over UN “Genocide report”
Rwanda: Why optimism is declining even more
U.N. Congo Report Offers New View on Genocide
Rwanda: UN Report on Genocide Against Hutu Gives Hope for Genuine Reconciliation
Koffi Annan under fire from Kigali over UN “Genocide report”
By RNA Reporters
August, 31, 2010
Govt on Tuesday accused the ex-UN chief Kofi Annan of funding the report which alleges Rwandan forces killed Hutus in DRC.
Kigali: Ex-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the UN Human Rights Commission came under fierce scrutiny Tuesday as government claimed they have deliberately continued to “diminish” the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis.
“As we know from the UN Human Rights Commission, this
report started under [Kofi Annan],” said Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo.
“I would have a lot to say about the former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan…Both as Secretary General, as an African and responsible human being…I want to say that his record as far as Rwanda and the Genocide [is concerned] is pitiful,” charged Mushikiwabo at a press conference.
Describing the ex-UN chief as a “man who has never taken his responsibility”, Mushikiwabo said Kofi Annan who was head of peacekeeping at the UN headquarters in 1994, “failed miserably”.
“I am not surprised and my Government is not surprised that he would be the one making sure that there is funding for this kind of report to ensure that it was an important gesture he would pose before he leave office,” said Mushikiwabo.
She said the involvement of kofi Annan in the “making of this report is there. There is no question about it.”
Turning her guns on the UN Human Rights Commission which commissioned the controversial document, the Foreign Minister said it has also deliberately continued since 1994 to undermine the Tutsi mass slaughter.
“The report reminds us of the climate and the approach that was taken especially by the United Nations Human Rights Commission which instead of dealing with the then extremely grave situation of the Genocide, it was interested in elections,” said Mushikiwabo.
She accused the Commission of asking for elections for purposes of “cleaning up, sanitizing [and] providing legitimacy to individuals and groups” which had committed the Genocide in Rwanda.
“Before the bodies were even buried in this country this UN human rights commission was calling for elections,” said Mushikiwabo.
“Therefore, the diminishing and the lack of decency in front of the Genocide, is what we see today in this report. For us the Government of Rwanda, this report is nothing new. It’s a manifestation of a state of mind.”
Government also fired at the methodology used in compiling the 600-page document branding its methodology as “malicious” because Rwanda was consulted.
The Foreign Minister admitted however that government had received the draft document from the UN Human Rights Commission, but did not say when government got it.
Speaking about the licking of
her letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warning him about the release of the document, Minister Mushikiwabo was bitter.
“It is an irresponsible gesture,” said Mushikiwabo. “We don’t like it.”
She said release of the letter to the media shows a conduct that is problematic” to the UN.
The Minister denied that Rwandan forces killed any civilians because of their ethnic orientations.
The Minister also said Rwandan army and police on peacekeeping missions in five countries around the world
will be ordered back home immediately the report is published by the UN.
Legacy of Genocide Fuels Political Repression in Rwanda
By Michael Onyiego
VOA News
31 August 2010
Nairobi
A supporter of Rwandan president Paul Kagame shows his support for the ruling RPF party during a victory celebration held at the Amahoro stadium in Kigali before the official results are announced, 10 Aug 2010.
In the 16 years since the genocide, Rwanda has received nearly universal acclaim for rebuilding its shattered society and re-branding itself as a new "African Tiger." But concerns are being raised that the legacy of that brutal event has been manipulated for the benefit of the ruling party.
During the past decade, Rwanda has undergone a seemingly impossible transformation. The tiny central African nation, plagued by the 1994 genocide in which an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsi's were killed by the country's Hutu majority, has been tirelessly engaged in a campaign to reunite the country and change its international image.
President Paul Kagame has used his considerable authority to quickly rebuild the country, both economically and socially. Mr. Kagame has pushed for the elimination of ethnic identities in favor of Rwandan unity and laid the groundwork for significant investment throughout the country.
The president's government accountability programs have all but eliminated corruption in Rwanda, a minor-miracle in East Africa, and free primary education is nearly universal.
The country is now working to become the African hub of information technology by the year 2020, a growth strategy modeled after the "Asian Tiger" economies of the 1980s and 1990s. There is also a monthly day of national service, called Umuganda, during which citizens contribute to public works such as planting trees and cleaning streets.
President Kagame has essentially run the country since the end of the 1994 genocide, after he led the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front's campaign against the Hutu government.
The president has been lauded as an African hero, receiving praise from world leaders such as former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The president also has near universal support among Rwandans. In the country's two presidential polls, Mr. Kagame was elected by more than 90 percent of the vote.
But Mr. Kagame's government has drawn sharp criticism in recent months. The country has come under fire for controversial laws in effect to prevent "sectarianism" and the promotion of "genocide ideology."
In a new report, Amnesty International warns the laws are too vague and had been abused by the government to silence opposition. The report, entitled "Safer to Stay Silent," charged the laws promoted self-censorship among Rwandans. But Rwandan Media High Council executive secretary Patrice Mulama said the laws were necessary given Rwanda's history.
"Hate speech is never appropriate in any democracy, in any society, because it burns; it kills people," said Mulama. "That is why, world over you have laws against discrimination, laws against segregation, laws against hate speech and stuff like that. You must remember that this is a society that is recovering from a genocide, in which hate speech and racist speech had a very strong role in orchestrating."
In the lead up to the August 9 presidential election, the government was accused by rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, of suppressing opposition and, in effect, guaranteeing the president's re-election.
Opposition newspapers, such as Umuseso and Umuvigizi, were handed suspensions by Rwanda's Media High Council for publishing articles that allegedly incited public instability or promoted genocide ideology.
Opposition figure Victoire Ingabire was also charged with promoting genocide Ideology. Ingabire, who had planned to challenge President Kagame in the election, argued that crimes had been committed by both Hutu and Tutsi populations during the genocide.
Ingabire remains a controversial figure in Rwanda, but the author of the Amnesty report, Erwin van der Borght told VOA that legitimate calls for accountability deserved a hearing in Rwanda. The author urged Rwandan authorities to review the controversial laws in order to prevent further abuse.
"It is obvious that the Rwandese authorities, like any government, have a responsibility to ensure that hate speech is clamped down on, and that incitement to violence and discrimination and the people responsible for that are investigated and prosecuted," said van der Borgh. "The problem is that with the Genocide Ideology law is the Rwandese government went too far in restricting freedom of expression. We see that it is being abused and misused against political opponents, human rights activists and the media."
Controversy has erupted during the past week that could challenge the traditional narrative of the Rwandan genocide. An upcoming U.N. report, leaked to the media has found the Rwandan Patriotic Front was involved in killing thousands of Hutu refugees in Congo before and after the genocide in Rwanda.
While the Rwandan Patriotic Front has maintained its efforts in Congo targeted Hutu militias, the report found evidence of large-scale human-rights violations committed against civilian populations.
The Rwandan government has blasted the report, calling it "immoral and unacceptable" and accused the United Nations of hypocrisy, citing the organization's failure to respond to the 1994 killings. The central African nation has threatened to withdraw from its U.N. obligations if the report is published. And, it has been revealed the government has completed a plan to withdraw its peacekeepers from the U.N. mission in Darfur.
UN urged to take its responsibilities in regard to Kagame’s army genocide crimes
By Eugene Ndahayo
President, The Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi
August 28, 2010
Genocide and crimes against humanity committed against Rwandan Hutu Refugees
The Support Committee for United Democratic Forces (UDF-Inkingi) received a draft of the forthcoming report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) entitled “Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003”.
The report is very detailed and extremely well documented. It covers 617 incidents encompassing the most serious violations of humanitarian law including more than 100 cases with emphasis on large-scale massacres of Hutu refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This report has been made possible due to the cooperation of 1280 crucial witnesses including more than 200 NGOs representatives and a compilation and analysis of more than 1,500 documents.
Even though the report accuses other national armies and/or irregular armed groups, it is very damning with regard to the current Rwandan regime and its army, the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), which are accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against the Hutu refugees.
With regard to crimes against humanity, the report Mapping Exercise says: “The information gathered to date makes it possible to confirm quite clearly that these were indeed crimes against humanity: the very high number of serious crimes listed, committed by the AFDL/APR against Hutu refugees, indicates the widespread nature of these attacks. The systematic, planned and widespread nature of these attacks is also demonstrated by the hunting-down of refugees that took place from east to west throughout the whole of the DRC…” Paragraph 494.
The report also reinforces the conclusions from previous reports of both the United Nations and the joint mission mandated by the Commission on Human Rights which in 1997 investigated whether or not crimes of genocide against the Hutu refugees or others have been committed in the DRC. It had been reported to the United Nations General Assembly that: “One cannot deny that massacres of ethnic character were committed, whose victims are mainly Hutus, Rwandans, Burundians and Zairians. According to the preliminary view of the joint mission, some of these allegations [some of these alleged massacres] could constitute acts of genocide. However, it remains that the information currently available to the joint mission does not allow drawing a precise and definitive statement. A thorough investigation on the territory of the DRC could clarify this situation”.
The Report Mapping Exercise clearly attests the perpetration of the crime of genocide by the Rwandan army in these words: “The systematic and widespread attacks described in this report, which targeted very large numbers of Rwandan Hutu refugees and members of the Hutu civilian population, resulting in their death, reveal a number of damning elements that, if they were proven before a competent court, could be classified as crimes of genocide. The behavior of certain elements of the AFDL/APR in respect of the Hutu refugees and Hutu populations settled in Zaire at this time seems to equate to “a manifest pattern of similar conduct directed against that group”, from which a court could even deduce the existence of a genocidal plan.” Paragraph 517.
The report continues: “Nonetheless, neither the fact that only men were targeted during the massacres, nor the fact that part of the group were allowed to leave the country or that their movement was facilitated for various reasons, are sufficient in themselves to entirely remove the intention of certain people to partially destroy an ethnic group as such. In this respect, it seems possible to infer a specific intention on the part of certain AFDL/APR commanders to partially destroy the Hutus in the DRC, and therefore to commit a crime of genocide, based on their conduct, words and the damning circumstances of the acts of violence committed by the men under their command. It will be for a court with proper jurisdiction to rule on this question.” Paragraph 518.
The Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi unreservedly condemns the grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by national armies and irregular armed groups on the Congolese territory between 1993 and 2003. It specifically condemns the crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide perpetrated by the Rwandan army led by the President of the Republic, Paul Kagame.
Given the seriousness and magnitude of the crimes, the Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi believes that President Paul Kagame does no longer qualify to lead the country and that he should face international justice for the crimes committed. This is especially relevant that the advertisement of such crimes is taking place following the presidential elections which were marked by terror, imprisonment and murder of political opponents and independent journalists as well as total exclusion of the political opposition from the electoral process.
The Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi urges the international community, particularly the members of the Security Council, to take their responsibilities, namely the obligation to prosecute the crime of genocide, now that such a crime is well established and that it has been committed.
Done in Lyon, on August 28, 2010
For the Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi
Eugene Ndahayo
President
Related Materials:
“If you succumb to Kigali’s pressure, you will be held responsible”, UN Secretary is told
“If you succumb to Kigali’s pressure, you will be held responsible”, UN Secretary is told
By Eugene Ndahayo
President, The Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi
August 30, 2010
Here is the letter addressed to the UN Secretary General on behalf of the Rwandan people:
Brussels, August 30, 2010
Mr. Ban Ki-Moon
UN Secretary General
Plaza, P. O. Box 20
New York, NY 10017,
USA
Subject: DRC Mapping Exercise
Mr. Secretary General,
The Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi just read excerpts from the draft of the UN report on serious crimes including genocide, committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), against the Hutu refugees.
The French newspaper Le Monde (edition of August 26, 2010) and the International News organization based in the USA, The Christian Science Monitor, stated that the Kigali regime might be pressuring the United Nations so that the report can be dismissed or at least be watered down. Specifically, the Kigali regime would like that you simply erase the word “genocide” from the report. The Rwandan government has even threatened to withdraw from the UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan, if its demands were not met.
The official statement released by the Rwandan government, dated August 27, 2010, confirmed this information to the press. Indeed, the deliberately aggressive tone used by the Rwandan government betrays its intention to do anything to intimidate and blackmail the United Nations. This is a usual RPF practice since its accession to power in 1994.
Mr. Secretary General,
In October 1994, the American Robert Gersony, then consultant to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), accused the new RPF regime of having killed at least 30,000 Hutus since coming to power, following investigations conducted during three weeks in eastern Rwanda and one week in refugee camps in Tanzania .
As soon as the first elements of the draft report were published in the press, the Kigali regime threatened to terminate the operations of the UNAMIR, if the report was validated. The UN then succumbed to the combined pressures of Kigali and its lobbies and demanded that the UNHCR seal the report, while promising a counter expertise investigation. A joint committee composed of representatives of UNAMIR and the Rwandan Ministry of the Interior completed the investigation in one day following a visit to Rwamagana. The representative of the secretary of the UN, Shaharyar Khan, refused to validate the report of the UNHCR. Since then, the “Gersony report” has simply disappeared from the archives of the United Nations, according to a communication made to the defense counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
In October 1994, in the wake of the controversy around the “Gersony report”, the Irish Karen Kenny, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Rwanda, resigned. She believed that “in four months without a car, without a budget and, most importantly, without observers to deploy, she had just served as an alibi” .
On April 22, 1995, in the presence of Australian and Zambian peacekeepers from UNAMIR, the Rwandan Patriotic Army massacred Hutus that were internally displaced in Kibeho. The UN did nothing to make sure that the guilty were punished. Instead, it just asked the Rwandan government, which was the prime suspect, to investigate and prosecute.
In 1997, the Special Reporter of the UN commission in charge of human rights in DRC, the Chilean Roberto Garreton, released a damning report on crimes committed by the RPA against the Hutu refugees in DRC. The Kigali regime immediately began an intensive pressure to suppress the report and block a UN mission that was requested by President Laurent Desire Kabila with the mandate to confirm the results of the Garreton mission. The UN mission had to pack their bags following obstruction by the authorities who were under hostage of Kigali.
Mr. Secretary General,
At the end of your recent meeting with Spanish Prime Minister, you requested the Kigali regime to shade the light on recent assassinations, including the assassination of journalist Jean Leonard Rugambage, deputy editor of the newspaper Umuvugizi, and the first vice-president of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, Andre Kagwa Rwisereka. To our knowledge, nothing has been done so far.
If it were proved that the UN is about to succumb once again to pressure of a regime accused of serious offenses in order to suppress or tone down the report, the Rwandan people would hold you responsible for their plight, because you would have breached your mission as the guarantor of peace and respect for human rights for all.
The fact that the Kigali regime threatens to withdraw its troops from Darfur does not seem to be a reason to succumb. The presence of troops that are under pressure to serious suspicion of genocide is also not good news for a mission that has been deployed following acts of genocide and for which the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been seized. It would be an honor for the UN to have troops with a blank criminal record and free from all suspicions.
Mr. Secretary General,
Rwanda is at a crossroads. Not to take this opportunity to send a strong message to the Rwandan authorities to finally comply with human rights would be a bad omen for the credibility of the UN and a disservice to the people of Rwanda.
We hope that wisdom will prevail; that the report will be released without any external interference. Moreover, in view of the international obligations of repression of genocide, it will be up to the UN to establish a judicial mechanism to ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished.
Please accept, Mr. Secretary General, the assurances of my highest consideration.
For the Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi
Eugene NDAHAYO
President
Related Materials:
UN urged to take its responsibilities in regard to Kagame’s army genocide crimes
Rwanda: Opposition calls for a transitional government
By the PCC
August 31, 2010
The Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties in Rwanda-PCC, which brings together the United Democratic Forces, Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and the Social Party Imberakuri, is calling for a Transitional Government of National Unity involving all stakeholders which will organize free and fair elections. We once again urgently call for the release of all political prisoners, opening up of political space and an International Inquiry into the death of the Green Party’s Vice President, Andre KAGWA RWISEREKA.
All the three opposition parties were blocked from participating in the past concluded presidential elections which the incumbent rigged with over 93% after running with stooge candidates. General Paul KAGAME refused to register the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda after a whole year of risky peaceful struggle that was started on 14th August 2009. He also refused to register the United Democratic Forces-FDU Inkingi and imprisoned its leader Ms. Victoire Ingabire in April 2010, she was later released on bail but still under an extended house arrest.
The ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front used all strategies to block the opposition from registering and participating in the elections. Some of which were very violent, like the sabotage of the Green Party congress of 30th October 2009, where the party delegates from all over the country were beaten up by armed state operatives and the meeting banned by police on grounds of trumped up security reasons. Similar events also happened to Ms.Victoire Ingabire Leader of FDU-Inkingi, she was beaten up in a Government office early in the year and has been charged on politically motivated crimes, such as harboring the genocide ideology and collaboration with a terrorist group.
The Social Party Imberakuri had managed to get registered in July 2009, but was later broken up into several factions, one of them now in the Government’s Political Parties Forum. Its Founding President, Maitre Bernard NTAGANDA is in prison since 24th June 2010.
On 11th August 2010, the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda was much alarmed and shocked by the statements from the Rwandan Minister of Education, Dr. Charles MURIGANDE, that the Green Party’ Vice President had died in a car accident.
In the same statement the Minister said that if opposition colleague Victoire Ingabire died in a car accident, that this should not be blamed on the Government of Rwanda. The same day, 11th August, Victoire survived a car accident on her way back home.
Frank Habineza, faced both physical and indirect threats this year, he also received death threats, this was also published in UMUSESO Newspaper late February 2010 that he was going to be killed within 60 days. Although, this did not happen, his Vice President was decapitated.
URGENT CALL FOR ACTION:
We urgently call for urgent direct talks between the ruling block and the genuine opposition parties for a Transitional Government of National Unity involving all stakeholders which will organize free and fair elections. We believe that this will be the only solution to achieve sustainable peace in Rwanda.
We demand an immediate release from Prison of Mr. Bernard NTAGANDA, who was detained on 24th June 2010
We demand an immediate release and drop of all charges against Ms. Victoire INGABIRE, she is under extended house arrest since April 2010
We demand immediate release of Ms. Seraphine MUKAMANA a suffering mother in Kigali Maximum prison, since November 2009, she is the Green Party’s Kigali City Coordinator.
We demand immediate release of Mr. Martin NTAVUKA, FDU INKINGI District leader in KIGALI capital City.
We demand an immediate trial of the killers of Mr.Andre KAGWA RWISEREKA (Vice President of the Green Democratic Party of Rwanda) and we still call for an international independent inquiry into the death of Mr. RWISEREKA and an independent autopsy as Human Rights Watch has already requested.
We call for the release of all political prisoners, these include Mr. Charles NTAKIRUTINKA (since 2001, the former minister in the Rwandan government, is serving a 10-year sentence, he was charged for helping launch the Democratic Party for Renewal (PDR-Ubuyanja, Parti Démocratique du Renouveau) in collaboration with the Former President Pasteur BIZIMUNGU), Dr. Théoneste NIYITEGEKA (former presidential aspirant in the 2003 elections), Mr. Deogratias MUSHAYIDI (PDP IMANZI leader.
We call for the opening up of political space and registration of all opposition parties.
Considering the whole dimension of the leaked UN report accusing Rwanda of possible genocide in Congo, we encourage the United Nations and the International Community to move forward and to bring to book the responsible of wholesale war crimes and crimes against humanity. The impunity is one of the key factor of the unrest in the African great Lakes region.
We call for the use of non-violent means to solve Rwandan problems and request all Rwandans not to use violence.
Issued at Kigali, 31st August 2010
Mrs. Victoire INGABIRE UMUHOZA
Chairperson, United Democratic Forces, FDU-INKINGI
Mr. Frank HABINEZA
Founding President, Democratic Green Party of Rwanda
Mr. Theobald MUTARAMBIRWA
Secretary General, PS-Imberakuri
Should We Run and Hide now That Kagame is President?
By Eleneus Akanga
London Despatch
August 31, 2010
There are those who believe the presidential election in Rwanda was nothing else but an illegitimate consecration of President Paul Kagame. There even are some who did refer to the election as a “selection with no choice given” and have refused to accept it as valid.
So are those who feel that the reported massive turn out on election day and the subsquent total number of votes cast in favour of Kagame, is testament that Rwandans still love the former rebel leader.
Whatever the belief, there is one fact that stands out. Kagame is now Rwanda’s president and will at least legally or illegally remain so till 2017. It is a fact that the two sets of protagonists have got to contend with. How and whether they should, is a different matter, alltogether.
If there is anything Africa’s strongmen have managed to effectively do,hang on to power is that thing. From Uganda to Libya, Chad, Sudan and Egypt, Africa has had it’s fair share of authoritarians or longest serving presidents if you may. Trouble is, as in the case of Kagame, those in question have laid claim to the fact they were democratically voted back into power. Even where it has neccessitated tampering or ammending the constituions for them to get to the ballot paper, the result in those cases has passed as legitimate because such is democracy as understood in authoritarian countries.
Kagame has said previously that this should and will be his last term as head of state and for purposes of objectivity, he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Writing in the FT last week (August 19) he maintained that “competitive democracy requires sustained social cohesion”. His argument was pitched on the very note his leadership has defended its vice-like grip on political pruralism for years – the one that 16 years they have had is too short a time for competitive politics.
“Many also fail to understand that it was precisely a system of pluralistic politics that played a major role in the genocide, as newly formed parties with shared extremist ideology outperformed the former one-party state in mobilising the population to commit mass murder,” he argued.
To Kagame, pruralistic politics breed divisionism and chaos and should thus,be avoided. While he may be true, his assertion brings into fore a few observations. One, that for 16 years Kagame has failed, despite his economic prowess, to promote genuine unity among Rwandans and fears the message of forgiveness and reconciliation is yet to be accepted after all these years. Two, that he now looks increasingly even more authoritarian compared to his predecessor as far as political space is concerned. And three, which probably is more worrying, that his country’s much touted and publicized peaceful co-existence between victims and perpetrators, is just a bubble waiting to explode.
While it is important to work toward ensuring that what happened in 1994 does not happen ever again, success on this matter wont come from the duration granted for wounds to heal but a genuine and well thought arrangement where both sides take to an open and clear debate about what actually happened.
Some people will argue that Kagame has done his best and continues to, and therefore with enough time, will deliver. Well to this group of thinkers, I say hold it. Everyone knows that Kagame has consistently avoided such politics as the politics of open debate. His crackdown on independent media, his continued fall out with those who oppose and question his repressive style of leadership notwithstanding, his government’s decision this year not to register the only credible opposition parties and the incarceration of Victoire Ingabire – the only politician to ever call for an open debate about the country’s history, went to show just how unprepared Kagame is for this sort of debate. The question then becomes not one of can he, but rather that of for how long.
The Rwandan story under Kagame is destined to that sad fact where even after 100 years, the same wounds that have taken 16 years to heal might still be very raw and well visible, if the current policy is maintained. And that to me would not be progress. It is what happens when you know the truth but instead choose the slightly easier option because the truth hurts or you feel the time is not ripe. Some scholars have even suggested that Rwanda’s issues would quite easily be sorted by embracing the model taken by South Africa after apartheid – a notion that Kagame appears to be totally opposed to probably because it dictates that the two sides get to open up and confess to their atrocities. And when one side has been pleading complete innocence for 16 years, you get the idea of why such a move can only succeed without the incumbent.
And it is worse. You have to feel for the real opposition in Rwanda when an under pressure president after getting the hint that the world has began to understand how he really conducts his business and will soon be demanding real answers to the pertinent questions, suddenly speaks about forming some sort of coalition government. (I will write in detail about this in my next piece).
Kagame is a very tactical guy. In his heart, he knows the truth. He knows forinstance that his style of leadership is one he would have struggled to stomach himself had he been in the opposition’s shoes. He knows that his government has made and continues to make it extremely tough for free speech to succeed in Rwanda. He knows that what he refers to as his opposition is not but just a group of strategists and RPF sympathisers who for the sake of keeping their jobs have agreed to play opposition when in actual sense, they are subsets of the ruling political party. But he does not give a damn like he said before. To calm the nerves of the international community, he will open up or pretend to be opening up for power sharing but only share with his own. Notice too, that Rwanda has theoretically embraced some sort of a coalition government ever since the country formed the Forum for Political Parties in 2002. So why make a fuss about it now? Because it diverts the attention.
To those unaware of his true character, such a move will be seen as a clear indication that he is an inclusive president intent on sharing power. Share power? Remember this is a gentleman who in the early 90s refused a power sharing agreement with then president and instead went ahead with war. But this cannot be used against him really as people do change – may be he has changed! It however remains to be seen if Kagame can really be trusted, which raises the question, is he really going to step down come 2017?
As for those who do not subscribe to his principles and style of leadership, the times are getting harder. Just yesterday, I read that Lt. Col Rugigana Ngabo, has been arrested on charges of “destabilisation”. Despite the Rwandan army confirming the arrest, Col Ngabo’s wife seems to have no idea as to the whereabouts of her husband or where he is being detained. And when you consider that the colonel is brother to exiled former army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa, you get the picture of what Gen Nyamwasa said in his first interview to Voice of America about Rwandan officials living in fear, so much that comrades and friends alike are no longer associating with one another for fear of being labelled “the bad guys”. Now that Kagame is president again, when he surely should have been sitting home looking after his cattle and reading books about his role in the Rwandan history, should we run and hide?
…over to you my little monsters.
UN Report to be soon Released: Long Overdue Corroboration of the Horrific Plight of Rwandan Refugees in DRC and Congolese People
By Dr. Augustin Dukuze
Spokesperson, RUD-Urunana
Tel: 001-201-794-6542 /001-506-461-3919
Email: urunana@optonline.net
Our coalition (RUD/RPR) has just learned that an UN report is to be soon made public. Once the Kigali government got wind of the content, it has been widely reported in newspapers that Paul Kagame and his cronies have strongly requested that the forementioned report be kept under wrap while seeking to water down any reference to war crimes, crimes against humanity as well as acts of genocide implicating the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) and its allies. In addition, it is reported that Rwandan officials have threatened to pull out the Rwandan contingent from Darfur and/or any other UN missions if the language used in the report were not changed.
Our coalition would like to denounce and condemn in strongest terms possible such maneuvers, political interference, and tactics of the government of Kigali that is trying once again to blackmail individuals and/or institutions when the results of a long and painstaking investigation point to horrendous crimes committed against Rwandan refugees and Congolese population by RPF/RPA and its allies.
Although, the Kigali regime was trying to deny any implication of its army in massacres of Rwandan refugees and innocent Congolese citizens in DRC for more than a decade, one may remind the Rwandan people and the International Community that Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, has admitted explicitly and/or implicitly at several occasions to have ordered the killings of fleeing refugees. Hence, on April 7, 2007 in Murambi, Southern Province (ex-Gikongoro Prefecture), Paul Kagame indicated that he regrets that he did not teach a lesson to all those who were fleeing the country in 1994. More recently in a speech delivered on April 13, 2010 before the Rwandan National Assembly, Paul Kagame, referring to people who flee his regime, stated the following:
«Those fleeing are like [the waste] being excreted. It means the country has sieved”. (...) But for the waste, the country throws them out”. (Rwanda News Agency, April 13, 2010). On April 18, 2010 during the swearing-in ceremony of four generals, Paul Kagame stated clearly that he ordered the forced repatriation of Rwandan refugees by his army and those who refused were shot at (executed).
Despite overwhelming evidence and eyewitness accounts that several independent sources have documented over the years and finally have been corroborated in the draft of the latest UN report, it is shocking and appalling to learn that the Rwandan government is threatening the UN when Paul Kagame has personally admitted to hunting down Rwandan refugees in DRC in 1996 and in subsequent military campaigns. Comparing Rwandan refugees to human waste, one may conclude that they deserve to be eliminated: that what his army and its allies have been doing all along.
The findings of the latest UN investigation state that the crimes that were perpetrated in DRC against refugees and Congolese people by the RPA and its allies may be qualified as acts of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Therefore, our organization urges the UN to not water down the language of the final document since the fight against impunity shall be essential and paramount for any emergence of a free and fair society both in Rwanda and the region. Therefore, we strongly ask all the stakeholders including the UN, the African Union, and the International Community that the perpetrators of such despicable crimes be brought before independent and equitable judiciary to respond of their individual deeds.
After all these years of unparalleled tragedy and bad governance, the Rwandan people deserve better. In a country where lawful dissent is criminalized, prohibited, and/or repressed forcefully, there is no place to democratic debate. This has been one of the significant traits of the Kagame’s regime since its inception. The continuous flow of refugees including former RPF officials who have been flocking in neighboring countries is a blatant evidence of such brutality.
The RUD/RPR coalition is of the opinion that it is time to find lasting solutions to the overall problem of the Rwandan refugees in the region.
Therefore, it is important that the root causes of the political instability be genuinely addressed. As we have always pointed out, the Rwandan problem is political in nature and requires political solutions.
It is our firm conviction that as long as the underlying causes of the Rwandan political problems would not genuinely be addressed, the populations of the region will neither enjoy lasting peace nor sustainable development and prosperity.
In order to foster a reconciliatory Justice system, the only foundation of genuine Reconciliation, the coalition RUD-Urunana and RPR will continue to call for the organization, under the auspices of the International Community, of an Inter-Rwandan Dialogue. In addition, such process would set up a "Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation" Commission that would help heal a traumatized society.
We remain convinced that only this Dialogue would lead to lasting peace, stability, and the establishment of new political, judiciary, and security institutions that would meet the legitimate aspirations of all the constitutive groups of the Rwandan society.
Related Materials:
Draft UN Report Accuses Rwandan Troops of Committing Genocide in the Congo
Bombshell UN report leaked: 'Crimes of genocide' against Hutus in Congo
Tensions emerge between Rwanda and Western backers
Rwanda threatens to withdraw peacekeepers
Mbandaka Terminus: The Path of Rwandan Refugee Mass Graves in Congo
Listen- where Kagame proudly says his army shot refugees
Listen-Kagame officers boast of having massacred Rwandan refugees in DR Congo
DR Congo: The Genocide aigainst the Hutus?
Rwanda: UN Report on Genocide Against Hutu Gives Hope for Genuine Reconciliation
Rwanda: "Living in fear of saying the wrong thing"
By Amnesty International
Posted: 31 August 2010
New Amnesty report criticises vague Rwanda laws
Amnesty International has today [31 August] urged Rwanda’s new government to review its vague laws of ‘genocide ideology’ and ‘sectarianism’ which can lead to imprisonment for up to 25 years.
In its new report entitled "Safer to Stay Silent: The Chilling Effect of Rwanda’s Laws on ‘Genocide Ideology’ and ‘Sectarianism" (pdf) Amnesty raised concerns that the laws are being used to suppress political dissent and stifle freedom of speech.
It details how the vague wording of these laws is misused to criminalise criticism of the government and dissent by opposition politicians, human rights activists and journalists.
Amnesty International’s Africa Programme Director, Erwin van der Borght said:
“The ambiguity of the ‘genocide ideology’ and ‘sectarianism’ law means Rwandans live in fear of being punished for saying the wrong thing. Most take the safe option of staying silent.”
Amnesty International found that many Rwandans, even those with specialist knowledge of Rwandan law, were unable to precisely define ‘genocide ideology’. Even judges noted that the law was broad and abstract.
Accusations of ‘genocide ideology’ have also been used to settle personal disputes. Current laws allow for the criminal punishment of children as young as 12, accused of genocide ideology. Parents, guardians and teachers can all face the threat of “inoculating” a child with “genocide ideology”.
Sentences for convicted adults range from 10 to 25 years’ imprisonment.
The ‘genocide ideology’ and ‘sectarianism’ laws were introduced to restrict speech that could promote hatred in the decade following the 1994 genocide. While prohibiting hate speech is a legitimate aim, the approach used by the Rwandan Government has violated international law.
The Rwandan government announced a review of the ‘genocide ideology’ law in April 2010. The government should also launch a review of the ‘sectarianism’ law and demonstrate a new approach to freedom of expression in order to stem the chilling effect of past legislation.
Amnesty International is urging the Rwandan government to significantly amend the laws, to publicly express a commitment to freedom of expression, to review past convictions and to train police and prosecutors on how to investigate accusations.
Erwin van der Borght added:
“We hope that the government review will result in a meaningful revision of the ‘genocide ideology’ and ‘sectarianism’ laws, so that freedom of expression is protected both on paper and in practice.”
Download the report now (pdf)
Notes to Editors
· Rwanda’s ‘genocide ideology’ law was promulgated in 2008 and the ‘sectarianism’ law was promulgated in 2001.
· According to government figures, there were 1,034 trials related to ‘genocide ideology’ in 2007-2008. These were prosecuted under charges ranging from assassinations to damage to cattle.
· According to government figures, 435 ‘genocide ideology’ cases were tried at first instance in 2009.
· In the lead-up to the 9 August presidential elections two opposition candidates were arrested and charged, among other things, with ‘genocide ideology’. A newspaper editor was also arrested on the same charge.
· The BBC and VOA have both been accused of disseminating ‘genocide ideology’ by the government. These accusations led to the suspension of the BBC Kinyarwanda service for two months from April 2009.
A full copy of the report is available upon request.
Related Materials:
The power of horror in Rwanda
Comment on the Law Relating to the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Ideology in Rwanda
Rwanda: Genocide - Justice to Spare the Powerful?
