Alexander Gonzalez, President
California State University , Sacramento
6000 J Street, Sacramento Hall 206
Sacramento, CA 95819-6022
Tel: 916-278-7737
Fax: 916-278-6959
Email: alexg@csus.edu
Re: President Paul Kagame’s invitation to speak at the third International Genocide Conference on November 3rd, 2011.
Mr. President:
It is with dismay that the coalition of political organizations for change FDU-Inkingi and RNC learnt that Rwandan President Paul Kagame will be attending an international conference on genocide at the California State University , Sacramento1 from November 1st to November 4th, in which he will deliver the keynote address on November 3rd. More troubling yet is that the President of the California State University , Sacramento is reportedly scheduled to present him with a honorary plaque in the name of the University after his keynote address. You may not be aware but Paul Kagame is not the right person to talk about genocide for several reasons:
As you know, the 1994 Rwandan genocide was triggered by the downing of former president Habyarimana’s airplane that was immediately followed by mass killings in which, according to the UN about 800,000 people mostly Tutsis and “moderate” Hutus died.
So far, the world as a whole and the UN in particular have failed to investigate that key incident despite the creation of an International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to investigate crimes of war, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide committed on the Rwandan territory between January 1st, 1994 and December 31st, 1994. The ICTR may also prosecute Rwandan citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations of international law committed on the territory of neighboring States during the same period.
However, Spanish2 and French courts3 later decided to investigate the president’s airplane incident and the crimes that followed in Rwanda and Congo in which Spanish and French citizens died. They have since launched international arrest warrants for 40 top military officers in Rwanda including 9 high ranking militaries close to the regime of President Paul Kagame.
It is now widely known that President Paul Kagame ordered the shooting down of the presidential plane causing the death of the president of Rwanda Juvenal Habyarimana, the president of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira along with 6 other top officials of Rwanda and Burundi and 3 French members of the aircraft technical crew. In his confession4published on October 1st, 2011, Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa, former Secretary General of the ruling party Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), former Ambassador of Rwanda to the USA, and former Chief of Staff for President Paul Kagame, declared that Paul Kagame, then overall commander of the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA), the armed wing of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), was personally responsible for the shooting down of the plane. President Kagame therefore bears an enormous responsibility in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda which was triggered by that event.
For all these reasons, the Platform FDU-Inkingi and RNC believes that by inviting President Paul Kagame to speak at the California State University in Sacramento, you will be, Mr President, playing into his campaign of cover up and doing disservice to the student body, to the Rwandan people and to the world as a whole. Indeed, by obstructing the truth about what really happened in 1994, your institution is helping spreading lies, depriving the Rwandan people of the right to work towards true reconciliation through dialogue and truth telling and the world of the right to know the truth about what really happened in Rwanda in 1994 in order to avoid future recurrence of similar disasters. Such an odious role is a sad role that the California State University should not want to play indeed.
Therefore, we at the Platform FDU-Inkingi and RNC humbly request that you withdraw the invitation you have extended to President Paul Kagame to speak at the international conference on genocide at the California State University , Sacramento and refrain from sharing the blame with President Paul Kagame for the 1994 Rwandan Genocide through your planned award to him.
Theophile Murayi
Tel: 443-980-4676
RNC Interim Coordinator
Theogene Rudasingwa
Tel: 815-298-3444
1. International Conference on Genocide at The California State University, Sacramento
http://www.veritasrwandaforum.
3. French Court indictment
7. 2002 Illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in the DRC
2. Spanish Court indictment
3. French Court indictment
4. Who killed Habyalimana Former RPF general secretary and chief of staff says
5. The Gersony report: proof it exists and more
6. 2001 Illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in the DRC
8. 2003 Illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in DRC
9. 2008 Illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in the DRC
10. UN Mapping Report on Human Rights Abuse in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , 1993 – 2003
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