Rwanda Information Portal

Rwanda Claims Democracy Would Lead To Another Genocide

In his article titled “The politics of genocide in Rwanda”, Geoffrey York reports on the spirit prevailing today at the Rwandan political scene. He writes:

With an election looming in a few months, Rwanda�s authoritarian government has made an astounding claim:democracy leads directly to genocide.

The claim is made in an article this week by Jean Paul Kimonyo, an advisor in the office of Rwandan President Paul Kagame. He argues that Rwanda has only had �plural politics� for two brief periods in its history, and both times it �led to mass killings.�

He also makes the sweeping statement that �political parties and independent media� were a big reason for the killings. All parties and all media, in his view, are just as dangerous as the hate-spewing radio stations and politicians that fuelled the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

His conclusion, apparently, is that Rwanda needs to suppress its political parties, restrict its independent media and tightly control its elections, even though it�s been 16 years since the genocide. Democracy � or �confrontational politics,� as he prefers to call it � would �almost certainly lead to renewed violence.�

This is a very convenient argument for those who are currently in power. But what about everyone else? Opposition political parties are already finding it almost impossible to get registered for the August election. Independent journalists are harassed and threatened.

Read full article of Geoffrey York.

March 10, 2010   No Comments

Paul Kagame Did Not End The Genocide

So what exactly entails revisionism? And how is it quantifiable when a lot of facts on Rwanda happen to be hearsay.

I am a Rwandan and refuse to be fed by a fabricated truth–no matter how internationally acclaimed it is.

I explain why:

1. The RPF did not start the war to stop genocide. There is no evidence to support this view. Rwanda was relatively a peaceful country albeit a Hutu dictatorship.

2. Kagame did not end the genocide. He won the war. But the killings continued, in Rwanda and beyond. Evidence of RPF’s killings in Kibeho for instance, suggest that Kagame’s interest was always to replace Hutu power by Tutsi power.

3. The war in eastern Congo has largely targeted Hutu refugees and the Hutu Diaspora. Tutsi 1994 heroes like Laurent Nkunda and Bosco Ntaganda have turned out to be the Hitters of Africa.

4. The RPF is extremely PR savvy. It uses psychological tactics and always playing the victim card. For instance, the killings of millions of Congolese are blamed on the unwillingness of the then Zaire to hand over the alleged genocidaires.

5. It is very inaccurate that 1,000,000 Tutsi were killed during the Rwanda genocide. If the Tutsi comprised 10% of the population, it is not difficult to see how suspecting the data is.

6. President Paul Kagame might be a Tutsi liberator (this is arguable) yet, he is seen by many Hutu and Congolese as a mass murder. There is evidence to support these claims.

7. Like any conflict in Africa, there are western interests fueling the conflict. This has been obscured. Rather than blaming the colonialist, let’s focus on the French who funded the Ex-FAR and the Americans/Britons who supported the RPF.

8. The world did not abandon Rwanda. Neither did it fail to intervene. Foreign powers intervened the wrong way, resulting in unexpected calamity.

The people of Rwanda deserve the chance to define their own destiny. They deserve democracy and the world needs to STOP its support of an unpopular dictatorship.

by Mutesi – http://www.theglobeandmail.com/community/?userid=60566512&plckUserId=60566512.

March 10, 2010   No Comments

Rwanda: Rwanda Government Broadcaster ORINFOR To Change Name

Kigali: Government broadcaster ORINFOR will change the name and reform operations within two years � after President Kagame furiously lashed out at the large company � even demanding an apology from its former boss.

Comprising Radio Rwanda, TV Rwanda and two newspapers, the broadcaster will within the same period reform its operations to be more responsive to the needs the taxpayers, according to its acting Director General, Mr. Willy Rukundo.

He said Tuesday that the changes will come with a new name.
[New name disclosed as "Rwanda Broadcasting Network"]

President Paul Kagame has repeatedly complained publicly about the performance of the broadcaster � at some point saying it is either marred in with �incompetence or ineffectiveness �or both�, and demanded an apology from its former Managing Director Mr. Bideri Joseph.

�I can smell something wrong but can�t name it�, Mr. Kagame told journalists last year. �ORINFOR had always had something smelling in it but all have failed to clean it up.�

The company has also been heavily criticized by Parliament which says people in far-rural areas do not understand any government programs because they can only access foreign media. Lawmakers also say the situation has compounded the increasing levels of Genocide revisionism in these areas as communities remained neglected.

ORINFOR is also under fire from the Auditor General of State Finances over its books of accounts. In the latest report for 2008 released last month, the Government Auditor described its finances as �scandalous�.

Despite having a printery, its French and Kinyarwanda newspapers barely get to the streets. Plans to make the Kinyarwanda IMVAHO NSHYA daily seem to have stalled.

TV Rwanda struggles to stay on air with dwindling audiences as more shift to watching satellite TV.

With a $13million government injection, the company is now working on an expansion program. President Kagame suggested that its troubles could be related to the name, demanding that it be renamed.

ORINFOR was established about five decades ago as an agency for government announcements � but has largely remained with the same legacy.

Its former boss Mr. Oscar Kimanuka is battling a corruption and embezzlement sentence.

Announcing changes which have already taken effect, current chief, Mr. Rukundo said Wednesday that a website (http://www.orinfor.gov.rw) is up and running with live radio streaming and TV broadcasts.

ARI-RNA – rnanews.com

March 9, 2010   No Comments

President Kagame Dismisses Commonwealth Critics

London: President Paul Kagame on Monday dismissed criticism that Rwanda does not meet Commonwealth standards on human rights and media freedoms � saying there is �a lot� Rwanda can contribute to the block, RNA reports.
�I think the Commonwealth is a family where there are many failings, and failings don�t come from only one part of that family,� he told a press conference at the Commonwealth Secretariat next to Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma and Trinidad and Tobago PM Patrick Manning.

�Each family has its own failings, but when they come together, then they share good practices to overcome those failings, and that is why Rwanda sees it as very important to be part of the Commonwealth,� said Kagame.

Rwanda’s flag raised at the Commonwealth

Rwanda�s flag raised at the Commonwealth

The President is in London where he oversaw the rising of Rwanda�s flag at the Secretariat � becoming the 54th. The membership, however, has not come smoothly. The campaign group Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) fiercely opposed Rwanda�s entry arguing that the country needed to clean its house before. The group said the country�s rights record was lacking.

In a statement ahead of the visit, it urged the Commonwealth SG to insist that Kigali �makes every effort to create genuine democratic political atmosphere in the country prior August 2010 elections�.

�We call upon the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, in his meetings this week with President Kagame, to urge him to ensure that in these first Rwanda elections as a Commonwealth member, the standards are patently free and fair and in compliance with Commonwealth values,� said Mr. Maja Daruwala, the CHRI director.

For President Kagame, though, there is �a lot we are going to gain from� the British block: �There is also a lot we are going to contribute to the wellbeing of the members of the Commonwealth�.

Mr. Kagame also dismissed claims that media freedoms in Rwanda are lacking - with journalists fleeing the country to neighbouring countries. He said the judicial system handles journalists like other citizens.

�We have had journalists in Rwanda who have killed people in the genocide. It has not spared them that crime because they are journalists, so when they do that they are brought to justice like any other human beings or citizens to be held accountable. We have had journalists who have been involved in other crimes,� he argued.

He rejected the categorization that the media rights situation was worse in Rwanda compared to its neighbours, saying it was a �general problem�.

�However, freedom of expression through the media, the press and so forth is something that goes on, that grows from one situation and develops for the better in the whole region as is the case with Rwanda,� he said.

Indicative of the interest with which Rwanda�s presence at the Commonwealth rises, most of the questions at the press conference were directed at President Kagame.

On embattled Congolese General Laurent Nkunda, in detention here since January last year, President Kagame said Kigali and Kinshasa are making �very good progress.�

The General is trying to challenge his detention in the Supreme Court but even his Canadian lawyer and family are coming to terms with the possibility that the issue can only be dealt with at a political level.

The President said joining the block is an �important milestone in Rwanda�s transformational journey, along which we have already enjoyed the support of many Commonwealth countries�.

Trinidad and Tobago PM, Mr. Manning � also the current chair of the Commonwealth, welcomed President Kagame into the block, describing him as �the newly minted President of Rwanda � newly minted in the context of membership of the Commonwealth � President Kagame.�

Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said that from the hard work of the Secretariat, �results were there for everyone to see, particularly the first visit of Honourable President Kagame here�.

In the opening statement, President Kagame set out the plan for Rwanda�s engagement.

�Firstly, the future of all nations depends on their youth, and so I hope that Rwanda can capitalise on the wide range of education and training programmes that the Commonwealth provides.

�Secondly, we hope to tap into the trade and investment opportunities that the Commonwealth offers so that Rwanda can expand its economy and effectively participate in the global marketplace.

�At the same time we believe in mutual learning and Rwanda wishes to play its role in exchanging lessons both from our recent past but also from our traditions and culture.

�Rwanda is committed to the values of the Commonwealth and will contribute to strengthening the organisation, furthering our mutual development agendas and working in close partnership with other members to promote prosperity, freedom and rights for all.�

ARI-RNA – rnanews.com

March 9, 2010   No Comments

Rwanda Formally Welcomed Into Commonwealth

Rwandan dance troupe celebrates in London

Rwandan dance troupe celebrates in London

Rwandan President Paul Kagame joined celebrations in England as Rwanda was formally welcomed into the Commonwealth Club of Nations.

Rwandan performers opened the Commonwealth Day ceremony with a traditional dance and Rwandan President Paul Kagame addressed the media. “I am pleased to be here on this special [day] as my country, Rwanda, is formerly welcomed into the Commonwealth,” he said.

Rwanda was admitted to the Commonwealth in November 2009, during the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.

Mr. Kagame says he wants Rwanda’s youth to benefit from Commonwealth educational and training programs, and hopes his country will gain financially by being a member. “We hope to tap into the trade and investment opportunities that the Commonwealth offers, so that Rwanda can expand its economy and effectively participate in the global marketplace,” he said.

The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organization of 54 independent member states. All but two, Mozambique and Rwanda, had a British colonial past or constitutional link to Britain.

Rwanda’s bid to join the Commonwealth began in 2003.

In March the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative voiced concern over human rights and freedom of expression in Rwanda and said it was deeply concerned at the level of threats to opposition parties before presidential elections set to take place in August. But Rwandan officials said at the time the allegations were without basis.

Mr. Kagame said Rwandan rights will gain from being part of the international organization. “I think the Commonwealth is a family where there are many failings, and failings do not come from only one part of that family. Each family has its own failings, but when they come together then they share good practices to overcome those failings and that is why Rwanda sees it as very important to be part of the Commonwealth. There is a lot we are going to gain from it, there is also a lot we are going to contribute to the well being of the Commonwealth,” he said.

After speaking with reporters, Mr. Kagame witnessed the hoisting ceremony of the Rwandan flag.

Rwandans sang on the grassy lawn of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as the flag was raised.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who is Commonwealth chairman, and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma also witnessed the ceremony.

Outside the ceremony, Britain-based Rwandans gathered to mark the occasion.

Many were singing in celebration. Claude Rutsinzi said he thought Mr. Kagame had done much to improve human rights in his country. “I do not accept at this stage really that the human-rights situation in Rwanda is bad, compared even to many many other countries in the Commonwealth,” he said.

But others, like Ambrose Nzeyimana, said they did not think Rwanda should be eligible yet to join the Commonwealth.
We are not against Rwanda being part of the Commonwealth, but we are afraid that the regime of Paul Kagame cannot stand the democracy that the Commonwealth is expecting from its members,” Nzeyimana said.

Mr. Kagame was also to join Queen Elizabeth for a multi-faith Observance in London.

Voice of America – voanews.com.

March 9, 2010   No Comments

Rwanda’s blood-soaked history becomes a tool for repression

by Geoffrey York – Globe and Mail (theglobeandmail.com)

Victoire Ingabire dared to speak of Hutus victims of genocide

Victoire Ingabire dared to speak of Hutus victims of genocide

Kigali � The symbolism was incendiary. In front of the mass graves where 250,000 genocide victims are buried, a Rwandan politician dared to speak of the Hutus who were killed in those same terrible months in 1994.

Perhaps more astonishingly, Victoire Ingabire was not imprisoned for her taboo comments � not so far, at least, although the police have interrogated her three times and accused her of the crime of spreading �divisionism.�

Her challenge is posing an uncomfortable dilemma for the minority Tutsi-led government that dominates Rwanda. Sixteen years after the genocide of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis by Hutu extremists, can the authorities tolerate a political candidate who appeals openly to the Hutus who still comprise 85 per cent of Rwanda’s population?

How long can the government use the genocide as a justification for strict controls on the political system? And who decides the official history of the genocide?

The woman at the centre of the storm is an unlikely politician: a cheerful 41-year-old emigrant who has worked as an accountant at a U.S. company in the Netherlands for the past decade.

She wears a frilly-strapped dress and giggles merrily when she is asked about the barrage of wild attacks on her in Rwanda’s state-controlled media.

But she is backed by many of the Hutus who fled to Europe and North America during the Rwandan wars of the 1990s. She clearly has money and resources. She rents a large house in one of Kigali’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, where she has a Land Cruiser parked in the driveway.

Ms. Ingabire’s decision to return to Kigali this year has sent shock waves through Rwandan politics. In a country where ethnic divisions are officially never discussed, she has dared to raise Hutu grievances � especially the killing of thousands of Hutus in 1994 and 1995, which she describes as a �crime against humanity.�

It’s a potent appeal. Many Hutus feel excluded from power, excluded from the best jobs and schools, and afraid to speak out. It was to them that Ms. Ingabire was deliberately appealing when she returned to Rwanda in January � after 16 years in exile � and made her controversial comments at the genocide memorial.

Ms. Ingabire has carefully couched her appeal in diplomatic language. She condemns the genocide, calling for reconciliation and dialogue. She denounces �extremists� on all sides. She urges the authorities to bring all criminals to justice, regardless of ethnicity. She pledges to work for a peaceful country, united in mutual respect.

Yet merely by talking of Hutu victims, she has triggered a firestorm of reaction. She and her assistant were assaulted by a gang of young men in a government office. Her assistant, who was badly beaten, has been jailed for �genocide� crimes. She is facing a police investigation for her alleged �genocide ideology.� And even the country’s powerful President, Paul Kagame, has warned that �the law will catch up with her� � a clear threat that she will be arrested.

At the heart of the battle between Ms. Ingabire and Mr. Kagame is a stark disagreement about Rwanda’s identity. The President argues that any talk of ethnicity must be suppressed because Rwanda is still in a fragile post-genocide period, where hatred and violence could rise again. His opponent sees this as an excuse for repression, leading only to resentment and bitterness among those who cannot speak out.

It is unclear whether the government will permit Ms. Ingabire to challenge Mr. Kagame in the presidential election in August. The President won the last election with an official margin of 95 per cent, and he has brooked no real opposition since 1994, when he led the Tutsi rebels who defeated the genocidal Hutu regime.

So far, Ms. Ingabire has been denied permission to gather the 200 signatures that she needs to register her political party. She is routinely subjected to fierce attacks in the pages of Rwanda’s only daily newspaper, the state-connected New Times, which refuses to publish her responses to the attacks.

�I don’t know why the government is so afraid of me,� she says. �They watch me and follow me all the time. I know anything can happen to me � they can arrest me, they can kill me.�

The managing director of the New Times, Joseph Bideri, confirmed that the newspaper refuses to give any �space� to Ms. Ingabire’s responses. He wrote a personal letter to her on Jan. 22, vowing she would never get a �platform� in the newspaper because she is a �genocide denier.�

In an interview, however, Mr. Bideri was unable to provide any evidence that Ms. Ingabire denies the genocide. In fact, in her public speeches and in a lengthy interview with The Globe and Mail, she repeatedly acknowledged and condemned the 1994 genocide. She draws a distinction between the slaughter of the Tutsis � which she calls a genocide � and the killings of many Hutus, which she describes as a �crime against humanity.�

Although she emigrated to the Netherlands shortly before the genocide began, Ms. Ingabire’s own family suffered in the genocide. Her brother was killed in 1994 because he was mistaken for a Tutsi.

�When people talk about the pain they feel, they need to understand that everybody feels pain,� she says. �We have to understand the pain of others. When I condemn the genocide, I’m also thinking of my brother. Not all Hutus are killers, and not all Tutsis are victims.�

International human-rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticized the Rwandan government for attacking and harassing opposition leaders such as Ms. Ingabire. Amnesty says the Rwandan law on �genocide ideology� is so vague and ambiguous that the authorities can use it to suppress dissent.

There is strong evidence to support Ms. Ingabire’s allegations of war crimes against Hutus. For example, a United Nations investigator in 1994 estimated that 25,000 to 45,000 civilians, primarily Hutus, were killed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front � the army of Mr. Kagame, now the governing party. Many other civilians, including thousands of Hutu refugees, were killed in further attacks in later years. Only a small handful of RPF members have been prosecuted for the Hutu deaths, which remain a taboo subject in Rwanda.

Ms. Ingabire says she doesn’t know how many Tutsis died in 1994, how many Hutus died, or even whether the number of Tutsi victims was larger than the number of Hutu victims. Some observers say she is leaving the impression of an equivalency between the two sides, despite historical evidence that the Tutsi victims were far more numerous and were the only ones subjected to a deliberate campaign of attempted extermination.

But even the Rwandan government has struggled with how to write the history of the genocide. At the memorial where 250,000 victims are buried, a guide says it commemorates only the Tutsi victims of the genocide. Yet he distributes an audio guide that calls it a memorial to the �Tutsi and moderate Hutu peoples� who were killed.

Didas Gasana, editor of a weekly newspaper whose staff is often harassed and threatened by the authorities for its independent views, says the government needs to provide justice and truth to the Hutu victims. �There needs to be debate and justice and openness,� he says. �It’s a part of history that can’t be denied.�

Mr. Gasana is himself a Tutsi. And despite the official view that ethnicity has disappeared, he says he is often told privately by government officials that he should not write such critical articles � because he is a Tutsi.

Geoffrey York – http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/rwandas-blood-soaked-history-becomes-a-tool-for-repression/article1487568/.

March 9, 2010   No Comments

Stephen Kinzer Justifies The Limits Of Free Speech in Rwanda

Stephen Kinzer

Stephen Kinzer

In his article titled ‘The limits of free speech in Rwanda’, Stephen Kinzer, former New York Times, goes to great lengths to justify the limitations of Freedom of Speech in the post-genocide Rwanda led by Paul Kagame’s RPF ruling party. After all, why should Paul Kagame allow open debates on genocide and social problems in Rwanda? Stephen Kinzer argues that even in a country of free speech as the Us, it is not allowed to shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre.

Here is what he writes in the London Guardian (guardian.co.uk), on March 2, 2010:

The country’s president claims that laws against disseminating ‘genocide ideology’ are necessary to stop a return to violence

Sixteen years after genocide, Rwanda is facing a new test. President Paul Kagame, who is seeking re-election, is widely admired abroad. Among his fans are some of the world’s most famous do-gooders, from Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to Rev Rick Warren and Dr Paul Farmer. His enemies hope to use this election campaign to tarnish his image and show these admirers that he is no democrat.

Rwanda is more stable and prosperous than many would have predicted following the 1994 genocide. The reconciliation process has been at least partly successful. Yet beneath the surface, Rwandan society remains volatile. Hatreds are unexpressed, but no one believes they are gone.

Kagame’s government has passed laws against disseminating “genocide ideology”, meaning views that could inflame communal hatreds. People are supposed to describe themselves only as Rwandan, never as Hutu or Tutsi. Kagame claims these laws are necessary to keep Rwanda back from the abyss of violence. If he enforces them during the political campaign, though, critics will accuse him of suppressing free speech.

Last month, a Rwandan-born businesswoman who has spent more than a decade in the Netherlands, Victoire Ingabire, arrived in Rwanda and announced that she was a candidate for president. Her party is based abroad and not recognised in Rwanda. According to a UN report (in French), she is supported by leaders of the principal Hutu insurgent group, which is among factions terrorising the eastern Congo.

Ingabire’s first statements after landing in Rwanda were thinly veiled appeals for Hutu solidarity. “There is no shame in saying I am Hutu or am Tutsi; there’s nothing wrong with that,” she told one interviewer.

Appealing to ethic identity this way is illegal. The official press launched a sharp campaign against Ingabire, and her campaign group has been attacked at least once. She has been interrogated by police and warned that she will be arrested if she continues preaching “genocide ideology”. Amnesty International responded by accusing the government of “intimidation and harassment”.

Nonsense, replies President Kagame. He believes western human rights activists underestimate the prospects for a new outbreak of ethnic violence in Rwanda, as well as the danger of allowing ethnically charged speech. “We’ve lived this life,” he said angrily at a news conference. “We’ve lived the consequences. So we understand it better than anyone from anywhere else.”

Kagame won the last presidential election, in 2003, with a reported 95% of the vote. Critics complained that the campaign was unfair, but Kagame emerged relatively unscathed because few outsiders were paying attention.

Seven years later, Rwanda is in the midst of a promising transformation and Kagame is a darling of the global development community. His enemies know they cannot defeat him in this election; he is the strongman and will do whatever is necessary to win. Their strategy is to bait him into taking actions � like arresting a rival candidate � that would make him look bad abroad and thereby weaken his regime.

Many people in developed countries look suspiciously, as they should, on leaders who impose restrictions on free speech. Even in the US, though, it is illegal to cry “fire!” in a crowded theatre. That is what Rwandan leaders accuse the foreign-based opposition of doing � fanning hatreds that could explode into another genocide. The opposition, in reply, insists it is merely speaking truths Kagame does not wish to hear.

Kagame, who was called the “Napoleon of Africa” during his march to power in the early 1990s, is acknowledged to have great military skills. His political skills are less tested. Between now and the election on 9 August, he must navigate a delicate course that will assure him three things: re-election, national stability and minimum damage to his reputation. This is to be his last campaign, since the Rwandan constitution limits presidents to two seven-year terms. How he conducts it will shape both his legacy and Rwanda’s future.

March 8, 2010   No Comments

Rwandan Human Rights Organization, ADL, Under Threat

Kigali – In an article published today under the title “NGO exposed after infighting”, The New Times, mouthpiece of Paul Kagame’s ruling party RPF, labels the Rwandan Human Rights Organization ADL as a “‘negationnists’ network“. For anybody who knows Rwanda, this is an accusation which has to be taken seriously.
ADL stands for Association Rwandaise pour la d�fense des Droits de la personne et des Libert�s publiques.
These accusations reveal how fragile the ADL is now. It is pointed out that the ADL is not properly registered and that its temporary authorization to operate expires in September this year. What does that mean?
Here is what The New Times writes about ADL.

An imminent �negationists� network� operating in Rwanda suspected of coordinating Genocide convicts with fugitives abroad and posturing as a local Human Rights organization, has been exposed by its members after a fall out.

Rwandan Association for the Defence of People�s Rights and Public Liberties (ADL) was formed in 1991 and receives funding from some groups in France.

Its activities involve conducting �shaddy� surveys on Genocide convicts to come up with reports that strongly criticize and abuse government policies.

Recently, members of ADL fell out over management of funds which led to some of them ganging up against the association�s chairperson, Cassien Kasire, and deposing him because he questioned how money was spent.

�It is an extremely negative association operating with outside negative groups against the government and posing as a human rights organization,� Kasire said in an interview with The Sunday Times.

Kasire has been heading the association for the last three years.

�Before I joined this association, people tried to close it and actually there were plans to plot for its closure, but I refused. My aim was to join it and change the radicals in the association,� said the embattled Kasire.

�Things turned out to be different when I got there. I realized that I was working with a team of extremists that could not easily be changed.�

Malicious reports

The association recently released a report on Local Government Performance Contracts and strongly criticized the whole practice.

The report, a copy of which The Sunday Times has obtained, brands the contracts as a �slavery� (uburetwa)
According to Kasire; �When I received a copy of the report I realized that the team that had compiled it had termed the whole exercise as slavery. I immediately called for an executive committee meeting and asked them to change the wording.�

�During the meeting, my deputy, Leonard Ngerageze, stood up in protest and accused me of having a double mission in the association claiming that I am taking the association to the RPF (party).�

�I told him (Ngerageze) that the aim of the association is not to destroy the country but to help in its construction through promoting human rights,� he added.

He said that the meeting of the Executive Committee ended without a consensus.

The association had received Rwf 5 million from the Great Lakes Human Rights body (LDGL) to conduct the survey.

Another organisation, Forum d�Aide Juridique (FAJ) according to Kasire, recently gave the association Rwf 28 million to conduct a survey on the situation of prisons in the country.

He said that members of the association were divided into different groups to conduct the survey.
�I learnt that Leopold Hakizimana who was working on Kibungo prison was actually doing something different from what we had agreed on;�

�He was gathering information from prisoners, manipulating it and sending reports to France through a friend called Andr� Barth�lemy who heads an association called AGIR Ensemble that is a strong critic of Gacaca,� said Kasire.

AGIR Ensemble released radical reports after the Nyamirambo Gacaca court sentenced a human rights activist, Francois Xavier Byuma, to 19 years in jail for his role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Barth�lemy is said to be Hakizimana�s brother-in-law-to. Kasire claims that Hakizimana used to send information from prisons to his sister who would pass on the information to the husband.

�I had to stop Hakizimana by removing him from the surveying team. He was working with Beata Uwimpambere who strongly protested on behalf of her colleague. This was a clear indication that there was something fishy going on,� said Kasire.

He added that later, on February 20, Kasire called for a General Assembly to review an audit report on how funds meant for the prison survey were used.

�During the meeting, members of the committee admitted that they had misused the funds and I ordered them to refund the money.

My deputy, Ngerageze acknowledged that he embezzled about Rwf 210,000 but after this meeting, I was surprised to receive a text message from Ngerageze calling for an extra-ordinary meeting,� said Kasire.

He added that he never attended the meeting since it was not important for him and this is the same meeting that resolved to suspend him.

�The committee is organizing a general assembly to lobby for my eviction and I insist the intentions of these people are not promoting and defending human rights. Authorities should investigate this association,� said Kasire.

The Sunday Times learnt that ADL is currently not registered and still uses documents they acquired in 1991.
Recently, it acquired a temporary document from Nyarugenge District which will expire in September this year.

When contacted, Ngerageze refuted the allegations and instead blamed Kasire for being a dictator and �the reason why the association was failing�.

�I am surprised he is the one making those claims. He endorsed the performance contract report himself,� Ngerageze said.

�We sent him the report and asked him to make changes which he did not do,� Ngerageze charged.
He also refuted claims that he embezzled and diverted funds of the association.

�I have proof that all the funds were properly used. He should produce evidence against me because the audit report clearly shows how we effectively used the money,� he said.

�I personally don�t find any problem with talking to prisoners. We sought permission and got it. This man has a problem that we could not tolerate.�

Ngerageze however could not clearly state the differences between him, the committee and Kasire.
He instead claimed that Kasire is a dictator and that he was not going to tolerate him.

March 7, 2010   No Comments

Premier Makuza Warns Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire

Premier Bernard Makuza

Premier Bernard Makuza

KIGALI – Prime Minister Bernard Makuza has lashed out at Victoire Ingabire, the leader of the yet-to-be-registered political party � FDU-Inkingi, for what he said is an attempt to disrespect Rwandans and the country�s laws.

The Prime Minister said that Ingabire�s rhetoric showed utter disrespect for Rwandans and what they have worked hard to achieve over the past 16 years.

�Wanting to disrespect Rwandans [saying] that they live in fear, or belittling what they have achieved, like Gacaca which Rwandans created on their own, as well as other policies meant to bring about unity and reconciliation, is something Rwandans cannot accept,� Makuza said.

He accused Ingabire of trying to instil fear in people, strongly warning her against this path, especially the attempt to use ethnic card.

�Rwandans have long since done away with such fear and they cannot allow anyone to lead them into the politics of anarchy that takes them back while destroying what they have built�.

The PM made the remarks yesterday while briefing reporters outside his offices in Kimihurura, shortly after holding separate closed bilateral discussions with the new Ambassadors of DRC and Burundi.

He downplayed Ingabire�s recent summoning to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), saying that it was normal procedure.

The Premier stressed that with respect to the law, what was important was whether the people or institutions interrogating anyone have the legal authority to do so and are doing it within the confines of the country�s laws.

�I think that the institutions like the police have that right. If at all they did not do that, even Rwandans would question why those institutions do not carry out their duties yet they have that responsibility�.

Makuza stressed that Ingabire, or any other Rwandan, has the right to aspire to be a presidential candidate or any other post, but must not contravene the law.

�Rwanda is not a jungle where people do whatever they want. That is why there are laws � if you don�t respect the law, the law takes you to task,� the PM warned.

Victoire Ingabire

Victoire Ingabire

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza who returned to the country last month after 16 years in the Netherlands and who is the presidential candidate of the FDU-Inkingi for the upcoming presidential elections, has been an outspoken critic of the RPF government. She has angered Paul Kagame�s regime when she declared that Hutu who have been killed during the genocide should also be remembered and their killers brought to justice. Rwandan authorities consider her declarations as �divisive and revisionist� and espousing the double genocide theory.

Source: newtimes.co.rw.

February 12, 2010   No Comments

Angry Paul Kagame Says Criticism of Rwandan Genocide Law is �nonsense�

Kagame, angry and upset!

Kagame, angry and upset!

Kigali: President Paul Kagame has angrily dismissed any criticism of the Genocide ideology law coming from donors, rights groups and exiled opposition, saying nobody has the right to undermine what happens in Rwanda, RNA reports.

Since the passing of a law in 2007 criminalizing negating the Genocide � described here as �Genocide Ideology�, fierce critics have claimed that it has been used to stifle free speech and squeeze the opposition. The harshest attack came last year from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, which was opposed to Rwanda�s admission into the British Commonwealth block.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the US government in its annual human rights reports, have repeated the same attacks. The latest came when York-based Human Rights Watch claimed Wednesday that government was using the law �as a way of targeting and discrediting its critics�.

Amnesty International has also argued that the terms of the law criminalizing �genocidal ideology�, are �vague and ambiguous�. The group also says this law could potentially restrict the ability of the accused to put forward a defence in criminal trials. The offence is punishable by 10 to 25 years� imprisonment.

President Kagame on Friday seemed to have had enough. Addressing the judiciary, senior government officials and diplomats at the Parliamentary building at the start of the judicial year, Mr. Kagame described the criticism as �complete nonsense�.

The President wondered why international media and diplomats accredited to Kigali repeatedly claim the Genocide Ideology law is not clear.

�Sometimes a person wonders��but how come your laws criminalizing divisionism and others against negating the holocaust are not ambiguous?� How come you implement them? What specialty do you have that others cannot have?�, said Mr. Kagame, in a mixture of English and Kinyarwanda.

�What they are trying to say is that all of you here seated with huts and robes have no brains,� he said, amid muted laughter from the audience. The President also accused the west of consistently undermining �Rwandans and Africans� by always being suspicious of everything done on the continent.

With an unusually high tone, suggesting that he was angry and also not reading from the prepared speech, Mr. Kagame fired in English: �We�ve lived this life. We�ve lived the consequences. So, we understand it better than anyone from anywhere else.�

�Apart from this over-bearing attitude of always wanting to decide for others what they should do, what do these people have in their brains�heads that we don�t have?. What is it? Why almost everyday question what people do for themselves?�

Turning to Kinyarwanda, President Kagame told his audience that critics can only be found to be wrong depending on how the country�s institutions are built.

�We ensure all is done with ultimate courage�explain to whoever doesn�t understand�such that even if we remain with some who do not want to understand, just like we even have them,� he said.

Mr. Kagame said criticism from the outside should not make those implementing policies internally to lose morale because they are doing it all for themselves and the country.

�This is the only way that we will silence those who are always speaking nonsense,� he summed.

The judiciary had earlier presented several achievement attained over the past year, and President Kagame was on hand � thanking them. He also promised to avail them with his contribution at anytime �because it is my responsibility�.
Source:rnanews.com.

February 12, 2010   1 Comment