Identify the Congo killers and bring them to justice
The Rwandan government's attempt to discredit the report into atrocities in DR Congo makes one wonder what it has got to hide.
By Reed Brody
The Guardian
October 1, 2010
Today, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is publishing a
vitally important report cataloguing the atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1993 and 2003. Those who go through its
500-plus pages cannot fail to be touched by reading of the horrors the Congolese people have suffered and continue to suffer.
While many of the massacres have been documented previously, this is the first report to comprehensively analyse and compile these horrendous attacks, perpetrated by a variety of armed actors over the course of a decade. The report is a powerful reminder of the gravity of the crimes committed in Congo and of the shocking absence of justice. I know because I was there.
In 1997, I was deputy chief of an investigative team sent by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan to investigate crimes committed in Congo from 1993 to 1997. The worst period was from late 1996 to 1997, when forces supporting Laurent-Desiré Kabila, father of the current Congolese president, attacked Rwandan Hutu refugees as the elder Kabila swept to power with the support of Rwanda. We received detailed reports of mass slaughter, but our attempts to reach massacre sites were repeatedly thwarted by travel bans, "spontaneous" demonstrations and the arrest of one of our investigators. Although we were stuck for months in Kinshasa, the capital, we were nevertheless able to conclude that some of the attacks revealed "the intent to eliminate those Rwandan Hutus who remained" in Congo.
The UN report published today supports our preliminary findings and documents horrific crimes by many other actors in Congo. Fortunately, this time the UN team had full access to the massacre sites and to witnesses. The key question now, as it was when our team delivered its report in 1998, is whether the international community has the political will to take the next step: identifying the killers and bringing them to justice.
In 1998, our team called on the UN to seek justice for the crimes we documented, and Annan told the security council that "those guilty of violations must be brought to book." The council effectively buried our report, however, signaling to all of those competing to control the eastern part of this resource-rich country that there were no holds barred. As the new report documents, a multiplicity of government armies, rag-tag rebel groups and brutal ethnic militias took that signal as a green light to continue to kill, rape and plunder.
Although the new report does not attribute individual responsibility, it does make clear that many of the soldiers who committed the 1996-7 atrocities were under the effective command of Rwandan army officers and that their overall commander was Colonel James Kabarebe, a Rwandan who had become the interim chief of staff of the Congolese armed forces. He was promoted to chief of staff of the Rwandan army several years later, and today is Rwanda's defence minister.
This conclusion is no surprise. Although the United States denied our team crucial intelligence regarding the structure and movement of Rwandan troops, witnesses consistently told us that officers speaking the Rwandan language were present during the killing of unarmed refugees. Even at the time, Rwanda's strongman – now its president, Paul Kagame – boasted that his government planned and led the military campaign, telling the Washington Post that his objectives were to "dismantle" the Hutu refugee camps in Zaire (as the Congo was then called), "destroy the structure" of the Hutu militia units and "deal with" the Hutu extremists.
What were his exact orders? We are not sure, but as the new report notes, the campaign's final massacres, in Mbandaka and Wendji, over 2,000 kilometres west of Rwanda, "were the final stage in the hunt for Hutu refugees that had begun in eastern Zaire, in North and South Kivu, in October 1996". It adds that the deaths of "several tens of thousands", many of whom were killed after the refugee camps had been dismantled, "cannot be attributed to the hazards of war or seen as equating to collateral damage". It found that "the majority of the victims were children, women, elderly people and the sick, who posed no threat to the attacking forces".
The Rwandan government has attempted to discredit the report and to pressure Ban Ki-moon to stop its publication, threatening to pull out of its UN peacekeeping commitments in Darfur and elsewhere. By seeking to quash publication of the report, the Rwandan government is raising further questions about what it may be trying to hide. Kagame's forces played a crucial role in ending the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, but this does not absolve them of scrutiny for crimes they may have committed in the years that followed, both in Rwanda and Congo.
Indeed, the Rwandan government's reaction can only hinder efforts to find a lasting solution to the continuing conflict in Congo. As Annan noted in 1998, one of the root causes of the region's conflicts is "a vicious cycle of violations of human rights and revenge, fuelled by impunity. This cycle has to be brought to an end if lasting peace and stability are to be restored to the region." Twelve years later, it is time to heed these words by identifying and bringing to justice the individuals responsible for these atrocities.
Related Materials:
DRC: Mapping human rights violations 1993-2003
Seeking Justice for the Victims: UN Mapping Exercise Report of October 1, 2010 on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, NGO letter to Congressman David Wu
Coalition to UN Security Council: Address UN Congo Mapping Report and Enforce Justice for Victims
DEBATE ON AMERICAN LAWYER'S ARREST IN RWANDA HITS BACK AT ICTR
By Hirondelle News Agency
12 January 2011
Aloys Ntabakuze has revisited the debate on arrest of his American lead counsel, Peter Erlinder, by requesting for permanent stay of proceedings in his appeal against life imprisonment sentence rendered by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) two years ago.
However, the prosecution vehemently opposes the request by the former Rwandan army officer, submitting that what he was trying to advance to support his current move have already been conclusively determined by the Appeals Chamber in its decision dated October 6, 2010.
In this new development, Ntabakuze has filed what he called "Exceptional public motion for permanent stay, to uphold the rule of law and appearance of justice in proceedings before the Appeals Chamber."
He is seeking for stay of proceedings for his case, claiming he would not get fair trial following threats to personal safety, arrest and subsequent prosecution of his lead counsel, Erlinder, by Rwandan government.
"The appellant is deprived of a fully effective representation, violating his right to a fair trial. This case has arrived at the regrettable, but irretrievable, position that a permanent stay of proceedings is the most appropriate course of action open to the Chamber, to uphold (its) integrity and the ICTR itself," Ntabakuze said in his motion published on the ICTR website.
However, the prosecution seeks dismissal of the motion. "The appellant's request for a permanent stay of proceedings of the appellant's case is unwarranted and his motion should be dismissed in its entirety. The prosecution requests the Appeals Chamber to find that the appellant's right to a fair trial would not be impended," it submitted.
The prosecution states that the appellant was attempting to re-litigate issues which have already been adjudicated by the Appeals Chamber after going through several documents, including those the appellant has relied upon in supporting the present motion.
According to the prosecution, the Appeals Chamber had reviewed the documents involved before the arrest of Erlinder and found that except for one item, all others constituted private commentary by the counsel on the case rather than words or written statements made in the course of representation of the appellant.
Final determination of the debate is yet to be delivered.
Erlinder was arrested in Rwanda on May 28, 2010 and was later charged with genocide denial. He went to Rwanda to defend opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire of unregistered political party, the United Democratic Forces (UDF-Inkingi) who wished to run for presidency alongside President Paul Kagame and ended up being charged with genocide denial.
Rwandan prosecution said Erlinder would be summoned any time to face prosecution and if he would jump bail and not respond to the summons, it would use the Interpol to track him down for his arrest.
Robert Mukombozi, Rwandan Journalist Barred From Entering Kenya
By Nkunda
Cry for Freedom in Rwanda
January 15, 2011
Photo:
Robert Mukombozi is an investigative Rwandan journalist exile in Australia. He is currently studying a Masters of Journalism and Mass communication at Griffith University.
Rwandan journalist, Robert Mukombozi, was yesterday refused entry into Kenya. This was revealed by
BBC Kinyarwanda service in an interview with the journalist and by
Umuvugizi newspaper.
It has not been established yet whether the journalists were acting in their own capacity or whether their position represented the Kenyan government. According to Mukombozi, the airport officials had a long list of Rwandan dissidents, with orders not to allow any of them entry into the Kenyan territory.
I am sort of confused why Kenya, a sovereign country would cooperate with another regime [Rwanda] to harass foreign journalists. Obviously, this goes against international law since Mukombozi is not a wanted fugitive. There is no Interpol arrest warrant issued against him. Just because the Rwandan government does not like his views would not (and should not) constitute a crime. Or is it criminal to be a journalist?
Kenya cannot act in an illiberal way just to maintain good relations with a despotic regime. This is a worrying trend since 2007 when Kenya sparked an international controversy by
denying a visa to the Dalai Lama.
Mukombozi, a former journalist with the “Daily Monitor” now writes for the “
The African Executive”. In 2008,
he escaped Rwanda after surviving an attempt on his life.
Related Materials:
Rwanda: Ugandan Journalist Declared Persona Non Grata
Kagame is losing a grip on the country
Rwanda: Former Top Kagame Aides Allege State of Terror
By Norman S. Miwambo
Black Star News
January 15, 2011
Photo:
Rwanda Supremo: Gen. Kagame right, shown with former army chief Nyamwasa in happier days. Former aides claim Kagame presides over widespread terror.
[Global: Africa]
Paul Kagame, once praised as Rwanda's savior is now being denounced by former allies and comrades in arms as someone who presides over a murderous regime.
Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former army chief, Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa, Col. Patrick Karegyeya, Dr. Gerald Gahima, all learned that Rwanda's Military Court at Kanombe, near Kigali, on January 14, handed them prison terms ranging from 20 to 24 years. They had been charged with subversive activities, including--terrorism, creation of a criminal organization, treason, defamation of the President, incitement of ethnic division, and desertion from the army.
Rwanda authorities told The Black Star they will seek exradition of the men convicted in absentia.
Gen. Kayumba, who survived a widely reported assassination attempt in South Africa, and Dr. Rudasingwa a former Kagame adviser were each sentenced to 24 years imprisonment. Kayumba was dismissed "with disgrace" from the Rwanda Defence Forces. Col. Karegeya and Dr. Gahima each face 20 years behind bars.
“We reiterate once again that we are innocent of the crimes that we have been accused of,” said Dr. Gahima, who provided a statement to The Black Star News, adding that: “We have not committed any actions that contravene the laws of our country or aim to cause insecurity. Neither have we advocated change of government by unlawful means or incited ethnic division as the government alleges.”
Dr. Gahima also scorns the judges who heard the case--contending they did not have jurisdiction to admit and try a case against a military officer of the rank of Lieutenant General. The court sought to exercise jurisdiction over civilians without a legitimate basis, he says.
“The court convicted us in spite of the fact that the Government did not produce any evidence,” reads Dr. Gahima's statement in parts, adding that: “Other than our writings and press interviews that are protected by constitutional guarantee of free speech, to establish the alleged crimes.”
Washington-based Dr. Gahima, a former chief of staff to Rwanda’s Ministry of Justice and the country’s Attorney General since mid-90s, explained that: “We are not criminals; we are patriots who advocate for an end to dictatorship and advancement of freedom.”
The statement signed by Dr. Gahima, on behalf of his colleagues, further reads: “Our views on the situation of human rights and the state of democratic governance in Rwanda are widely shared by many in and outside Rwanda as well as the most reputable international human rights organizations.”
“The objective of this case is to suppress political opposition," he wrote, adding: “To deprive Rwandan citizens of the right of political participation, to consolidate authoritarian rule and to suppress the truth about the deplorable human rights situation and state of governance in Rwanda.”
“Many courageous men and women whose only crime is to advocate peaceful democratic reform have been subjected to all kinds of persecution, including torture, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment and extra-judicial killings,” he added.
He also cited what he said was the illegal incarceration of Lt General Charles Muhire and Lt Col. Rugigana Ngabo a brother to Gen. Kayumba, who is in an underground prison and was said to have been badly beaten and not allowed to see visitors.
He said President Kagame's critics such as former President Pasteur Bizimungu remains under house arrest and has been denied permission to seek medical treatment abroad.
“Charles Ntakirutinka, Bernard Ntaganda, Victoire Ingabire, and Deo Mushyayidi, a journalist alleged to have been kidnapped from Burundi by Rwandan agents," he continued, referring to those detained, including Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, a top opposition leader.
Separately, Dr. Rudasingwa, a former Rwandan ambassador to the U.S. and Director of cabinet until April 2005, when he fled the country, told The Black Star, by telephone in the United States: “The sentence just handed down against us in absentia by Kagame’s court tells more about the regime than about the alleged crimes against us. The gist of what we are saying is that these are politically-motivated sentences."
Dr. Rudasingwa also said that he and his colleagues do not intend to challenge the verdict: “We simply ignore it, because we didn’t get summonses, we didn’t go there, maybe if we were there, probably we would be dead because as you know two of us, General Kayumba and Patrick Karegyeya; there have been repeated assassination attempts.”
“The question of talking about these very serious human rights, especially, the idea of a head of state or regime, killing innocent
citizens,” Dr. Rudasingwa alleged, adding that: “Kagame is responsible for so many deaths of innocent people. This is not us, just claiming it.”
In a telephone interview, commenting on the issues, Col. Jill Rutaremara, a Rwanda Army spokesperson said: “Yes, the military court sentenced them and now we are waiting for their extradition.”
“We are going to use diplomatic means to have them extradited and serve their sentences here,” Col. Rutaremara said.
When asked about the evidence used to convict the former Kagame aides, Col. Rutaremara said: “According to the laws of the land, the evidence could either have been what they were writing in the press or what they were talking in public.”
The spokesperson also explained that, Gen. Nyamwasa and Dr. Rudasingwa were found guilty of allegedly forming of a terrorist group, threatening national security, undermining public order, promoting ethnic divisions and insulting the person of the President of Rwanda, contrary to Articles of the Penal Code of 1977 Presidential Decree.
"Speaking Truth To Empower."
Related Materials:
Rwanda: STATEMENT ON THE VERDICTS AND SENTENCES OF RWANDA’S MILITARY COURT IN THE CASE AGAINST THE AUTHORS OF‘RWANDA BRIEFING’
Four exiled Rwandan opponents slam jail sentences
Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza in Rwanda: the year One of the struggle for democracy and dignity
Rwanda: Four exiled Rwandan opponents slam jail sentences
By AFP Reporter
January 16, 2011
Photo:
Brigadier-General in the Rwandan military, John-Peter Bagabo (centre) reads out on January 14 sentences to four former comrades-in-arms of President Paul Kagame, tried in absentia for threatening state security in the capital, Kigali. The four former aides have dismissed as politically motivated heavy jail terms, accusing Kagame of misusing justice to target his foes.
Four former close aides of Paul Kagame on Sunday dismissed as politically motivated heavy jail terms passed on them in absentia, accusing the Rwandan president of misusing justice to target his foes.
On Friday a Rwandan military court sentenced former army chief of staff General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa and Major Theogene Rudasingwa to 24 years in prison.
Former spy chief Patrick Karegeya and Gerald Gahima, the former attorney general and Rudasingwa's brother, were meanwhile both handed terms of 20 years.
Nyamwasa and Karegeya are in exile in South Africa while Gahima and Rudasingwa are exiled in the United States.
The four staunch opponents of Kagame were prosecuted for "disturbing public order, threatening state security, making insulting and defamatory remarks, sectarianism and criminal conspiracy."
"We reiterate once again that we are innocent of the crimes that we have been accused of," they said in a joint statement received in Nairobi. "We are not criminals; we are patriots who advocate for an end to dictatorship and advancement of freedom."
"Rwanda's military justice system is not independent, but is instead used by President Kagame to persecute both civilians and military personnel whom the president considers to be political enemies or threats," they added.
Dismissing the charges as "completely politically motivated," the Kagame foes said the aim was "to suppress political opposition, deprive Rwandan citizens of the right of political participation, consolidate authoritarian rule and to suppress the truth about the deplorable human rights situation and state of governance in Rwanda.".
They said the verdicts were yet another sign of "Kagame's arrogance and vengefulness against former colleagues who have fallen out with him."
Karegeya and Gahima were tried as civilians. Under Rwandan law if military personnel conspire with civilians to commit a crime, the civilians are also tried in a military court.
The four, all of whom were once in Kagame's inner circle, last September co-authored a document slamming what they said was the repression of freedoms in Rwanda since Kagame's arrival in 1994.
They accused Kagame of being authoritarian, corrupt and driving the country back towards a conflict on the same scale as the 1994 massacres.
"The people of Rwanda, together with the rest of the international community, have a moral duty to work to end this repressive system of government," the four said in a 60-page report.
Rutaremara and Kagame's defence advisor Brigadier General Richard Rutatina retorted the following month that none of the four had the integrity or the moral authority to criticise the Rwandan government.
Related Materials:
Rwanda: Former Top Kagame Aides Allege State of Terror
RWANDA: STATEMENT ON THE VERDICTS AND SENTENCES OF RWANDA’S MILITARY COURT IN THE CASE AGAINST THE AUTHORS OF‘RWANDA BRIEFING’
Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza In Rwanda: The Year One Of The Struggle For Democracy And Dignity
By Eugene Ndahayo
Chair of the Support Committee for FDU-INKINGI
Brussels, January 16, 2011
Dear compatriots,
Dear friends of Rwanda,
January 16, 2010, it's already a year ago, when Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Chairperson of the United Democratic Forces, FDU-INKINGI knelt down for the first time and kissed her homeland that she left 16 years before.
A year of achievements, dedication and courage. A real struggle for democracy, for freedom, for the right to life and personal security, the right of association, freedom of expression, for political rights. A thrash against the iron fist of the dictatorship.
A year of solidarity with Rwandans in the country for the right of remembrance for all victims of the Rwandan genocide and other crimes against humanity; for all victims' rights; for all the voiceless; for the rehabilitation of second class citizens. A real struggle for equal access, equal opportunities for all the children of our homeland.
A wrestling against an unfair justice that has deprived Rwandans of the right to a defense of one's choice and the right to a due process. The controversial “Gacaca” justice parody has thrown hundreds of thousands of litigants to humiliating community services with no hope of return.
A year of solidarity with the population of Congo (DRC) facing the consequences of military invasions responsible of over 5 millions of victims, and the plundering of the country's natural resources. Since 1990, the whole region is engulfed in an endless turmoil.
The Rwandan President, praised by some people and some partisan media to be an all fields miracle champion, a super star, a country's development success story, believed himself in his political invincibility.
By her presence in Rwanda, Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, has brought to light the true dimension of the dictatorship: a totalitarian regime monopolized by a handful of military and ethnocentric militants who, by the means of a political police and a sprawling network of secret services, has an upper hand over all public institutions, the judicial and the civil society.
In just one year, the regime has accumulated political errors and serious violations of human rights:
- Assassination of late André Kagwa Rwisereka, Deputy-Chair of the Democratic Green Party of Rwandan, on July 13, 2010,
- Assassination of the Journalist Jean-Léonard Rugambage, Editor of Umuvugizi newspaper, on June 24, 2010,
- Life attempt against General Kayumba Nyamwasa on June 19, 2010,
-Kidnapping followed by the arrest of Mr. Deogratias Mushayidi, Chair of PDP-IMANZI on March 3, 2010,
- Arrest of Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Chair of FDU- INKINGI on April 21, 2010, bailed out, under house arrest the next day and rearrested on October 14, 2010,
- Arrest of Professor Peter Erlinder, US attorney, defense lawyer for Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza on June 17, then bailed out after weeks,
- Arrest of Mr. Bernard Ntaganda, Chair of PS-IMBERAKURI on June 24, 2010
- Arrest and detention of Journalists Ms. Agnes Uwimana Nkusi and Saidati Mukakibibi, (Umurabyo newspaper) on July 8-10, 2010,
- Arrest of a dozen of party leaders of FDU-INKINGI and PS-IMBERAKURI on June 24, 2010 then released on bail,
- Arrest of Mr. Theogene Muhayeyezu, Rwandan lawyer for FDU-INKINGI on June 24, 2010 then released 15 days later,
- Rigged Presidential elections on August 9, 2010 with total exclusion of the opposition,
- Arrest of several high-ranking officers in the Rwandan Army: General Charles Muhire, Major General Karenzi Karake, Colonel Rugigana Ngabo, etc.
- Publication on October 1, 2010 of the UN Mapping Report on war crimes, crimes against humanity and a possible genocide committed in Congo mainly by the Rwandan army.
Yes, in less than a year, the super star Paul Kagame has faded from the limelight! The touted and self portrayed “African new generation leader” is just real, a tyrant to avoid.
His apologists are just confused and on the brink of loss of credibility. How do they justify the total seal off the political space; assassinations; arbitrary arrests and detentions of democracy leaders? How do they explain the repeated landslide Stalinist election score of 93%?
And gradually, the economic miracle of sustained growth appears to be the result of an unfortunate combination of a criminal economy, unbalanced, uneven and sorry. The Congolese blood minerals and other natural resources have a share in the miracle. There is a puncture of rural savings of 90% of the population in favor of an urban economy represented by 10% of the Rwandan population as well. The gap caused by uneven national income distribution is very deep. According to the UNDP reports, 10% of the richest population owns over 50% of the national wealth while 50% of the poorest population owns less than 10% of the national wealth.
That is the record of a year of achievements of our Chairperson, a record of FDU-INKINGI. Together with all our supporters, we are proud.
Our leader is in maximum prison since October 14, 2010. We all keep in our minds her words, just a few days back to the homeland:
“I believe in the political project that I share with my colleagues in this struggle, I love my country and all its inhabitants and I know I am not alone in this and Rwandans from all social classes, ethnic backgrounds and generations are with us. It is my source of strength and an oath that I would never betray. I will not waver in my dedication as I promised my colleagues and friends. I know and I have thoroughly thought about it, the regime may persecute me, imprison me. Let me say in conclusion that I am ready to face and endure all the difficulties and obstacles on my way until the final victory. And in case the regime attempts on my life, I trust you shall continue from where I will fall.”
In prison, where she is incarcerated, the morale of our Chairperson Ms. Victoire Ingabire is high. She is free in her mind and soul. Not because of her innocence and belief that the justice system will set her free. No, she does not believe at all in the dictator's justice. She saw how his judicial works: trumped up accusations; fake witnesses; witness preparation and rehearsals; lack of independence; interferences and orders taken from the State House.
No, she is simply strong because she is courageous and trust that we shall empower the momentum of the wind of freedom and the seeds of democracy she already sowed.
It is the correctness of her political struggle that will set her free. It is the faith in our political project, it is our ability to organize, it is the strength and impact of our current and future political rationale and alliances that will set her free.
Thus, our determination, our consistency in the political struggle shall overcome the dictatorship and its international backers or lobbying organizations.
Together, we will set free the Chairperson of FDU-INKINGI and beyond, we set free our people.
Related Materials:
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“I’m ready for a peaceful resistance until the final victory” – Victoire Ingabire
We must maintain our resolve and not lose heart
Don’t give up, he will never jail a whole nation ‘’ said Ms Victoire Ingabire on her 23rd day in captivity (Kigali 1930 maximum prison)
Stephen Kinzer's Misplaced Attack on Human Rights Watch
By Nkunda
Cry for Freedom in Rwanda
December 31, 2011
In Africa the contradictions espoused by western powers when it comes to human rights loom large. On one hand, you have regimes that are hard pressed to respect human rights. These currently include those in Kenya, Sudan and Zimbabwe. On the other, you have regimes that are given the blessing to violently violate them, or so it seems. The dictatorial regimes of Uganda and Rwanda fit the latter category. They form a special club of untouchables, whose members can openly rig elections, shoot journalists, even commit genocide and the international community, except for a few lukewarm statements, will stay mum.
In the case of Rwanda, the regime is too brutal that it is becoming difficult to present it as a “democracy in progress”. As a result, proponents of the regime are finding it increasingly difficult to defend the regime’s dictatorial tendencies.
For that reason, they now shamelessly argue that oppression is good for Rwandans because Rwandans cannot handle democracy. This thinking is akin to the one that supported the institution of slavery. During that time, it was believed that blacks were incapable of managing their own lives. Living under a “benevolent” slave master was seen as the only possible and reasonable solution.
This week, in his latest apologia for the Rwandan regime,
Steven Kinzer laid out a poorly thought out attack on human rights watch. I need to remind my readers that human rights watch has been one of the most vocal defenders of democracy in Rwanda. The organization, through the late Allison Des Forge, was the first to raise the alarm on the killings that were taking place during the 1994 period. Ever since, they remained active in Rwanda until their officials were kicked out by the Rwandan government prior to August Presidential elections.
Kinzer argues that Human rights have become a “new form of imperialism”. He further argues that human rights are not universal and that he sees the current “human rights movement as opposing human rights.”
Kinzer’s view on Rwanda is misplaced and lacks an updated context. For instance, the fact that 13 heads of states attended Kagame’s inauguration is not proof that the Rwandan regime is endorsed throughout Africa. Since a greater number of African presidents attended the 50th anniversary of the DRC’s independence, does it mean that such leaders are impressed by the mass rapes taking place in the eastern region of that country? Certainly not.
Kinzer also needs to be reminded, that during the same period of the inauguration, a high level conference was taking place in Rwanda that was assessing the progress of the UN Millennium Goals. Hence, many of the leaders jetted in to attend this event, and Rwanda strategically arranged the summit around the date of Kagame’s inauguration. Even if we were to believe that the leaders came in to coronate Kagame, why would this silence human rights watch?
But it is Kinzer’s extremely arrogant and insensitive statement that completely drives me nuts. He says, “By my standards, this authoritarian regime is the best thing that has happened to Rwanda since colonialists arrived a century ago.” This statement is very problematic and reflects a very patronizing way of thinking. When is it ethical for a foreign journalist to praise an authoritarian regime that is killing its own people? And what standards are these? Is this not the most despicable form of “imperialism?” Don’t Rwandans have a voice?
Rwandans deserves the same right to pursue democratic values as any other country. Rwandans are not “thrilled” by an oppressive regime. If the people were happy as Kinzer wants us to believe, Kagame would not have had to rig elections (he “won” by 93%) and imprison opposition activists. If the people were happy, we would not be having an outraging number of government soldiers marauding with guns in our streets and villages on a daily basis.
Otherwise, he needs to explain why the media is constantly harassed and never allowed to function? why opposition leaders are silenced through murder and unlawful imprisonment?
Rwanda is still a military dictatorship, and the world is right to support the growth of democratic movements. Otherwise, it is difficult, as Kinzer well knows, to defend a heinous and murderous regime.
Related Materials:
Rwanda: Bloggers take on Stephen Kinzer
Why Kinzer is wrong about HRW
The fallacies of Stephen Kinzer: Human Rights is a Tyranny
Is Stephen Kinzer Serious? Who is the REAL Imperialist?
Stephen Kinzer and Laurent Nkunda working for Kagame?
Rwanda: The Emperors Have No Clothes
By Jennifer Fierberg, MSW
The Africa Global Village
January 7, 2011
The emperors stand naked in front of the word being exposed for crimes against humanity. But who are these emperors? In an article dated 5 January 2011 entitled, ”US Firm gets contract to train Rwanda Soldiers,” by the government-controlled Rwandan News Agency, it is stated that, “The US State Department has granted a multi-million dollar contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation, a leading global security company to train Rwandan soldiers in peacekeeping operations, the firm announced.” In this capacity Northrop stated Tuesday that “the work to be performed involves peace support operations training, train-the-trainer courses for peacekeeping cadre and enhancing the capacity of all three countries (Rwanda, Kenya and Burundi) to participate in multinational peacekeeping operations.” Yet it seems that Northrop Gruman and the US Government are falling into a trap by failing to recognize how Kagame manipulates international peacekeeping to entrench his absolute rule that is responsible for gross human rights abuses in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region.
In the latter part of 2010 the UN published its Mapping Report of the DRC. The statements in this report should have been published to the international community years ago. This report has come under much scrutiny by political leaders, journalists and members of society.
Of all the serious atrocities documented by the mapping team, however, the allegation that Rwandan troops and their Congolese allies may have committed genocide against Hutu refugees has stirred up the most controversy, triggering yet another wave of damning press reports against the Rwandan government. This report was “leaked” and after decades of cataclysmic failures by the UN in the region it is hard to see how the international system of democratic relations will follow-through with these egregious violations against humanity.
While the report was published with intentions of exposing injustices in the region and was conducted by credible reporting agencies by credible people, what has it done? There have been absolutely no changes from this report and it has all but been swept into silence under the rug of diplomatic relations based on ongoing intimidation and blackmail from President Kagame to the international community (notably Washington and London) due to their inaction based on the 1994 Genocide and Rwanda’s contribution to peacekeeping operations in Darfur.
The Harvard Law record stated in an article published in October 2010 that the 556-page report describes 617 acts of violence allegedly committed by the armed forces of seven countries and several militias in the DRC between 1993 and 2003. A draft that was leaked to the press on August 26 triggered a massive media storm and strong protests from the countries whose troops stood accused.
In a phone interview with Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa regarding the UN Mapping Report he stated that “Kagame has been protected for too long.” Dr. Rudasingwa further stated that, Kagame has exposed himself by going too far and thus forcing those closest to him to break their silence to his tyrannical regime.” Dr. Rudasingwa is currently awaiting sentencing in Rwanda due on January 14, 2011. He is facing 35 years in a Rwandan prison after being tried in absentia over politically motivated trumped up charges including terrorism, ethnic divisionism and defaming President Kagame. This is a popular mode of operation for Kagame. He is quite well known for his power play of killing and jailing political opponents, forcing people into exile and hunting them there. He has done this time and again since he took power.
Exiled Political leader, John V Karuranga, President of the Rwanda Peoples Party stated in his response to the report, “We have chilling reports of how Rwandan refugees in many parts of the world are being deliberately subjected to horrendous daily attacks by RPF external operatives. There are substantiated evidences of assassinations, kidnappings, mysterious disappearance and harassments by the Rwandan government officials both inside and outside Rwanda.” Again, this fits with Kagame’s destructive regimes, gross human rights abuses in Rwanda and The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
So, which is the emperor who stands before us with no clothes? The answer is not as obvious as it seems. There has been too much preventable suffering in the Great Lakes Region. The international system does not seem to have interest in Africa in the area of conflict or Governments who rule in tyranny. The international community is more concerned with their investments in raw materials and for geo-strategic reasons.
Time and again, "reputable" international organizations have put everything in place for the eruption of bloodshed and then turned around to claim legitimacy and capacity to deescalate the resulting cycle of violence, often downplaying their own role in further worsening the situation. It is time to recognize that no genuine progress in the quest for sustainable peace and justice in the Great Lakes Region of Africa will be achieved as long as international justice remains a one-way street.
President Kagame continues to deny the media, civil society and political parties the freedom to function independently. His belligerent posture to neighboring countries is a source of regional and international destabilization. It is time for the International allies (US and UK) to make a choice. They can continue to support and fund Kagame while he uses the Darfur Peace Keeping mission as a bargaining tool to blackmail the US and UK into silence about his gross human rights abuses and absolute rule. Alternatively, Kagame’s allies and the rest of the international community could support Rwandans in their search for freedom in a peaceful manner. The first path will inevitably lead to endless bloodshed and instability in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region. The latter is the only durable solution to freedom, security, and rule of law, democracy and prosperity.
Related Materials:
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DRC: Mapping human rights violations 1993-2003
Rwanda Briefing by Nyamwasa & Co.
RWANDA' S OTHER GENOCIDE
Rwanda: Matthias Nyagasaza, a Rwanda Political Figure Dies After Release
By David O'Brian
African Great Lakes Network
January 7, 2011
Kigali, January 6, 2010
AfroAmerica Network has received information that Matthias Nyagasaza, a Rwandan political figure and a prominent businessman has died in a hospital in Gisenyi, Rwanda after a controversial release. He was 75 years old .
He had been held since October 2002 on genocide charges (read AfroAmerica Network article: “Kigali: Matthias Nyagasaza, Unity conference participant imprisoned; MDR threatened” of November 14, 2002 in African Great Lakes [ African Great Lakes News and Events Roundup in 2002: Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Zaire, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania].
He had been arrested, along with other businesspeople, after attending the Unity and Reconciliation Conference held in Kigali on October 26-28, 2002, despite assurances against any arrest and affidavits of good behavior and clean judicial record received from the Rwandan Ambassador in Nairobi, Seth Kamanzi, Gisenyi Prefect, Fidele Mitsindo and the Minister of Interior Security, Jean de Dieu Ntiruhungwa. His welfare went from bad to worse following constant mistreatment and lengthy court procedures. According to sources in Rwanda, he was abruptly released late last week to avoid accusations of assassination, when the government realized he was dying.
Matthias Nyagasaza was a brother-in-law of Colonel Bagosora, who is held in Arusha and the in-law of Colonel Sagatwa, who was assassinated in 1994, in a terrorist attack widely blamed on the military leaders of current Rwandan regime. Rwandan and Burundian presidents Juvenal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira and their close advisers died in the same attack.
©AfroAmerica Network, 2010.
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Tony Blair: Of what help is he to Rwanda?
By Nkunda
Cry for Freedom in Rwanda
January 1, 2011
Tony Blair, Rick Warren and anyone else participating in the active or passive oppression of Rwandans, need to be reminded that Paul Kagame is not God. He maybe charismatic, a “visionary” and a brilliant military strategist, but he cannot govern Rwanda without popular consent. He is not immortal, and his destiny is not intertwined with that of Rwanda.
Like any other public official before him, however ruthless he may be, he will soon have to leave. What would be better at this time would be for these well meaning friends of Rwanda, to take a comfortable backseat, steer clear of Rwandan politics and let Rwandans decide their destiny.
Blair's recent comment that Kagame is a "visionary leader" is as unfortunate as it gets. For the comment ignores the current crisis facing Kagame or even worse, represent a desire to downplay it.
In September, the UN high commission for human rights issued a monumental document on the crimes committed in the DRC. The report claims to have “damning evidence” that, Kagame’s forces committed genocide against Hutu refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mr. Blair, like other supporters of this murderous regime did not say a word when this report was released. As a matter of fact, they were right to keep quiet considering that Britain under Blair was the largest donor to Rwanda at a time when Rwandan troops were committing these massacres in the DRC. Given this major failure, it would make more sense for Mr. Blair to undergo some soul searching and possibly apologize to the Rwandan people and the Congolese community.
To claim that he supports a man that is responsible for the vast share of violence that has affected our lives, is both criminal and insensitive.
Recent events in Rwanda have shown that Kagame is losing control over the country. There is clear and growing dissent within the ranks of the Tutsi ruling elites. The military—the backbone of Kagame’s state—is deeply fragmented.
Opposition candidates are gaining more legitimacy internationally, and Kagame is turning the whip on them. Two notable individuals,
Bernard Ntaganda and
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, are facing politically motivated imprisonment. Of course, the current mode of governance is neither sustainable nor productive.
If Tony Blair cannot praise China’s despicable human rights record, even though China has had the highest rate of economic growth recorded in recent history, why would he do so for Rwanda?
Mr. Blair needs to reexamine his relationship with Kagame, and refuse to be used as Kagame’s propaganda machine. Otherwise,
the honeymoon for Kagame is surely over.
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Rwanda: You cannot deny what you cannot talk about
By Susan Thomson
Democracy Watch-Rwanda
January 5, 2011
Last month, I moderated a panel at Brown University on the topic of whether genocide could ever happen again. The details of the event can be found here:
Panelists include the Rwandan Ambassador to the US, James Kimonyo, as well as two prominent Rwanda human rights activists, Aloys Habimana and Noel Twagiramungu.
The Ambassador spoke aggressively, and did not leave much space for either Aloys or Noel to speak, probably because he knew that he would not agree with what they would have to say. Instead, I had to bring Kimonyo to heel twice as he spoke beyond his allotted time, accusing some of us on the panel of denying the 1994 genocide within his barrage that Rwanda will have another genocide if we (meaning foreigners, I think) continue to deny the genocide. For my part, because Kimonyo mentioned what he sees as my views to the audience, I spoke briefly to say that my position is, has been and always will be a desire to stop the killing by all sides, and to bring justice to the Great Lakes Region. Having similarly denounced Aloys and Noel as individuals whose work also tries to deny the genocide, one of them made the best comment of the panel, asking if the government of Rwanda itself was not denying genocide (by its own definition) in denouncing the UN Mapping Report of 1 October 2010.
Most interesting was the Ambassador's lack of knowledge about the opinions of his fellow panelists. He accused me and Aloys of being genocide deniers (his understanding of my views is from my blog, not my opinion pieces or academic writing; I am not sure where he gets his information on Aloys' ideas). His failure of logic is that you cannot deny what you cannot talk about. No thinking person denies that there was genocide in Rwanda in 1994 - what some of us argue is that the genocide occurred in a broader context of civil war in which Rwandans of all ethnicities were caught up in the violence. It is a shame that the current government of Rwanda cannot understand that. It is the lack of understanding, combined with intra-RPF conflict that will push Rwanda to another round of violence....
Related Materials:
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Rwanda Briefing by Nyamwasa & Co.
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Rwanda: Pathway to Peaceful Change- Rwanda National Congress Interim Policy
“I’m ready for a peaceful resistance until the final victory” – Victoire Ingabire
By Chief Editor
Rwandinfo_ENG
January 6, 2011
In her interview with Norman S. Miwambo of
Modern Ghana, Mrs Victoire Ingabire was asked the question:
What are you intending to do in the next couple of weeks, if things have not worked on your programme?
Victoire Ingabire’s answer:
We have already started to prepare our supporters for a non-violent resistance.We avert violence and this is the motto of our action.We know that after rigged elections and massive fraud this country will never be like before.The incumbent and his supporters believe that they will use force to keep power; they forget that even bigger empires have collapsed. They have got no lessons from the history of apartheid, fascism and many other dictatorships. My intention is to stay alive, and I’m ready for a peaceful resistance until the final victory.
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We must maintain our resolve and not lose heart
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Ms. Victoire INGABIRE's courage is inspiring, the symbol of our resistance
Rwanda: STATEMENT ON THE CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST THE AUTHORS OF ‘RWANDA BRIEFING’
By Dr. Gerald Gahima
Washington, D.C. USA
January 3, 2011
The Rwanda Government today brought up the criminal case that it has instituted against the authors of ‘Rwanda Briefing’ for hearing. The trial, conducted in absentia, was held by a military court sitting in Kigali.
We again take this opportunity to deny the charges that the Rwanda Government has instituted against us in their entirety. We unequivocally refute the allegations that we have been involved in any criminal activities intended to destabilize Rwanda. We have no doubt that the respective governments of the states in which we have sought refuge can confirm that we are not involved in the alleged criminal activities.
As the prosecution service itself admitted in court, the evidence against the defendants comprises publications, including the ‘Rwanda Briefing’ document, and statements that the defendants have made in interviews with international media. Our only crime is that we have exercised our right of freedom of expression, a right protected by both Rwanda’s Constitution and international human rights treaties to which Rwanda is a party. The case against us is yet another manifestation of the use of the country’s justice system to persecute critics of President Kagame’s stewardship of the Rwanda state. The case against the defendants is an act of desperation to which the Government of Rwanda has resorted following multiple failures to assassinate Col. Patrick Karegeya and Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa. The instant case aims not only to silence the defendants, but also to stifle freedom of expression in regard to Rwanda’s record on issues relating to democratic governance in general. The case seeks to intimidate the people of Rwanda in general, and all champions of political reform in particular, in order to undermine the growing momentum of political opposition and demands for democratic change.
The parties to this case have no reason to expect a fair trial before the military court seized with the case. As the decision to remove and suspend from duty Brigadier Steven Karyango and Lt. Colonel Marc Sebaganji, the judges who acquitted Col. Deogen Mudenge, and the illegal incarceration of Lt. General Charles Muhire and Lt. Colonel Rugigana Ngabo have demonstrated, Rwanda’s military justice system does not meet international recognized standards of requirements for a competent, independent and impartial tribunal.
The case against the defendants is not an isolated instance of the use of justice and law enforcement institutions to suppress political opposition. President Kagame uses judicial and law enforcement institutions to suppress legitimate demands for opening up the political space and institution of democracy and the rule of law. Institutions of the state continue to subject real and imagined critics of the government to a wide range of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, involuntary disappearances and extrajudicial killings, as the cases of Bernard Ntaganda, Victoire Ingabire, Andrew Rwisereka, Rugambage and John Rutayisire have demonstrated during the recent past.
We believe that democracy is a pre-requisite for lasting peace in Rwanda. Respect of the right of freedom of expression is central to strategies for enhancing political participation and promoting democracy in Rwanda, as elsewhere. We reiterate our collective determination to continue to exercise our right to speak out on issues concerning Rwanda’s governance and to advocate for peaceful transition to democracy. We also take this opportunity to encourage all Rwandans not to be discouraged by the Rwanda Government’s abuse of the justice system to suppress our people’s aspirations for democratic change. We urge all Rwandans to continue to struggle for democratic change and for respect for fundamental liberties.
This statement is issued on my own behalf and on behalf of Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa, Col. Patrick Karegeya and Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa.
Dr. Gerald Gahima
January 3, 2011.
Washington, D.C. USA
Submitted by: Jennifer Fierberg, MSW
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Rwanda: Open Letter to UN Secretary General with Regard to Me Bernard Ntaganda's Political Trial
By Jean-Baptiste RYUMUGABE
PS IMBERAKURI
Representative in the Benelux and within the European Union
Brussels, December 30, 2010
To Mr. Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary General
Plaza, P. O. Box 20
New York, NY 10017, USA
Concern: Political Trial of Maitre Bernard NTAGANDA, Chairman of P S IMBERAKURI.
Excellency Mr. Secretary General,
We expect this January S, 2011, a political trial that the RPF party in power in Rwanda is bringing against Me Bernard NTAGANDA, Chairman and Founder of the Social Party, PS IMBERAKURI of Rwanda. Indeed, on the eve of the presidential elections of August 9, 2010,
Me Bernard NTAGANDA, former member of the political board of the Social Democratic Party –PSD (2001-2008), wanted to propose an alternative choice to the Rwandan people because at that time ail registered political parties were controlled by the ruling party, the RPF. On December 14, 2008, together with his colleagues, Mr. Bernard NTAGANDA began the official procedures aimed at registering the party PSIMBERAKURI.
Despite compliance with the existing laws with regard to the creation of political parties, the PS-IMBERAKURI was approved in July 2009 because the authorities had done everything to stop it from registering. Since its registration, the RPF party in power has used every means in attempts to destroy the party PS-IMBERAKURI. These include:
Attempts to sabotage and block the Congress held on October 25, 2009 which elected Me Bernard NTAGANDA as the party candidate for the presidential elections of August 9, 2010;
Refusal by local authorities to open the party's offices in the provinces;
Job terminations targeting leaders and members of the party P S IMBERAKURI due to pressures from the RPF, even in the private sector. This way, at least a dozen of the party's officials have been terminated from their jobs within the last six months;
Attempts to suspend the party PS IMBERAKURI by the Senate falsely accusing it of harboring genocide ideology, divisionism, endangering the unity of the people of Rwanda, denying the Gacaca courts and denouncing the suppression by the Rwandan government of the use of the French language which is normally used by more than 90 percent of the educated people. On December 14, 2009 and January 15, 2010, the party explained itself at length before the Senate which in the end took no action because the explanations provided were quite convincing.
On April 5, 2010, President KAGAME urged the Senate to end once for all Me Bernard NTAGANDA and his party's issues. The Senate then met in extreme emergency and later that night, the Senate released a statement that was broadcasted on national Radio urging Me Bernard NTAGANDA to keep silent otherwise he would be sued as an individual for the aforementioned charges.
In order to block Me Bernard NTAGANDA from participating in presidential elections and honor the wishes of President KAGAME.
Me Bernard NTAGANDA was arrested at his home on June 24, 2010 at dawn, just before the beginning of the official registration of the presidential candidates by the National Electoral Commission. As you will see it in the enclosed indictment document, Mr. Bernard NTAGANDA is accused of the same charges as those that were brought against him before the Senate.
Disappearances also affect officials and members of the party PS IMBERAKURI. For instance, Mr. Aimable SIBOMANA RUSANGWA, Private Secretary to Me Bernard NTAGANDA, was kidnapped by the police on June 13, 2010. Up to date, the police boast about it.
Excellency Mr. Secretary General,
Through you, we implore all people of goodwill worldwide to put pressure on the government of President KAGAME so that he can open up the political space in Rwanda by releasing unconditionally all political prisoners and accepting a true Inter-Rwandan Dialogue.
The release of Me Bernard NTAGANDA will enable the party PS IMBERAKURI to do its part share in building a stable and democratic Rwanda so that the people of Rwanda can expect to go about their daily duties instead of continuing to be enlisted in the politics of hate.
In anticipation of your response, which we hope will not delay, please accept, Your Excellency Mr. Secretary General, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Done in
Brussels,
December 30, 2010
Jean-Baptiste RYUMUGABE
PS IMBERAKURI
Representative in the Benelux and within the European Union
Related Materials:
MEMORANDUM ADDRESSED TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS WITH REGARD TO THE POLITICAL TRIAL AGAINST MAITRE BERNARD NTAGANDA, CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER OF THE SOCIAL PARTY, PS IMBERAKURI OF RWANDA
To Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza and Bernard Ntaganda
Merry Chistmas & Happy New Year Card for Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza and Bernard Ntaganda
