Saturday, July 31, 2010

TWAGIRAMUNGU FAUSTIN NGO IBITAMBO TWATANZE SI IBYO KUDUHEZA ISHYANGA !

Mu minsi ishize natanze amatangazo anyuranye mu cyongereza, igifaransa, n’ikinyarwanda.

Muri ayo matangazo icyo nsaba Abanyarwanda bemerewe gutora, nkabimenyesha abanyamakuru n’amahanga, ni uko batakwitabira ariya matora ya Perezida wa Republika ateganijwe ku itariki ya 9 Kanama 2010. Iki cyifuzo ni ingezi kandi ntabwo ari icyanjye gusa. Kiramutse gishyizwe mu bikorwa cyagira akamaro kanini mu rwego rwo kurwanya politike “mpotozi” ya Perezida Kagame, tukamwereka ko tutamukeneye kugira ngo ayobore Urwanda. Kutajya gutora, nibwo buryo bwonyine bwakwerekana imbaraga z’Abenegihugu mu kurwanya uyu mukakandida wa FPR.

Muri iki gihe ubu buryo bwo kutajya gutora nibwo bwonyine bwakoreshwa tukereka amahanga ko dushoboye kurwanya ingoma y’igitugu itwima ijambo n’ubwisanzure mu gihugu cyacu, dukoresheje inzira y’ubwitonzi buzira urugomo, umuvundo, gusenya no kwica. Bityo tukerekana ko dushaka gukomeza inzira ya demokarasi, ko tudashaka gutotezwa, gucundwa ayikoba, gufungirwa ubusa, kwicwa urubozo no guhotorewa ku marembo dutashye mu ngo zacu.

Ikindi gikomeye cyane twakagombye kwerekana, ni uko tudashaka kuyoborwa n’Umuperezida ufite ibisare n’ibimenyetso simusiga ko ari umwicanyi kabuhariwe, kandi akarenga akiyamamaza, kugira ngo atorwe ku ngufu, maze namara gutorwa akomeze umugambi wo guheeza abatavuga rumwe nawe, ndetse no kubica, mbese nk’uko abikora muri iki gihe. Ibi ntabwo ari ugusebanya, na Perezida Pawulo Kagame ubwe arabizi, uretse ko abyirengagiza: azi neza ko afite imiziro myinshi imubuza guhagarara imbere y’Abanyarwanda ngo arambure ibiganza, agira ati: “Dore ibiganza byera, bitari ibya rukarabankaba”. Arabizi ko atatinyuka kubikora, kandi impamvu arayizi kuturusha:

Ni umwicanyi: yishe aba Perezida babiri, Perezida w’u Rwanda Yuvenali Habyarimana, uw’u Burundi Sipiriyano Ntarayamira, kandi yarabyiyemereye mu kiganiro cyitwa HARD TALK yagiranye n’umunyamakuru wa BBC, Stephen Sackur, taliki ya 7 Ukuboza 2006, avuga ati: “Askyi, naramaze niba naramwishe, twari mu ntambara, nawe iyo antanga yari kunyica”.
Ni umwicanyi, kandi atajijishije nawe arabizi, ko ariwe wicishije abanyapolitke b’Abanyarwanda bari abagabo twari dutezeho byinshi mu buyobozi bw’igihugu cyacu: Felesiyani Gatabazi, Emmanweli Gapyisi, Sethi Sendashonga. Aba bagabo b’abanyabwenge yabakurikije, mu rupfu, abandi bagabo bari mu butegetsi bwa FPR ari bo: Colonel Agustini Cyiza, Dr. Leonard Hitimana, na Assieli Kabera. Abanyarwanda bandi yicishije, nawe azi neza ko ari we wabikoze, sinabarondora bose, dore ko harimo n’abasirikare ba FPR batagira umubare.
Ni umwicanyi, ntabihakana kuko adahwema kwivuga imyato, mbese nk’igihe yari mu Nteko ishinga amategeko akagira ati: “Icyo mvuze iteka ngishyira mu bikorwa. Navuze ko nzacyura impunzi zari muri Congo . Narabikoze ndazicyura, ababyanze: NARABARASHE NDABICA”. Perezida Kagame, uwo twakwita Rwivugabigwi, yarongeye mu Nteko ishinga amategeko ati: “Nibiba ngombwa, isazi nzayicisha inyundo”! Ntitwibagirwe kandi ko ari muri meeting i Bwisige muri Werurwe 2003, yavuze ati: “Nzabaskya, nk’uskya ibigori”. Birumvikana ko iyo avuga ko “azaskya”, aba ashaka kuvuga kwica.
Kugira ngo Perezida Paul Kagame yerekane ko ashobora guskya abantu, nibwo yishe Colonel Cyiza na Depute Dr. Leonard Hitimana twavuze harauguru. Na none kugira ngo yerekane ko ashobora kwica isazi ziduhira, Perezida Kagame yatumye “escadron” ye y’abicanyi muri Afrika y’Epfo kujya kwica General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa: baramurashe, Uwiteka akinga akaboko, ntiyapfa. Ariko hari abandi batagize bene aya mahirwe, nk’umunyamakuru, Yohani Leonard Rugambage, na Visi Perezida w’ishyaka “Democratic Green party”, Andreya Kagwa Rwesereka: “inyundo” yaza “death squads”yarabahitanye. Kubera ko “Inshuti za Kagame” zamaganye cyane ukwicwa kw’ aba Banyarwanda uko ari batatu, barimo General Kayumba Nyamwasa warusimbutse, byateye Perezida Kagame isoni, we na Ministri we w’Ububanyi n’amahanga, Luwiza Mushikiwabo, bigira nyoninyinshi ari nako bagerageza no gutera imbabazi bavuga ko iby’ubwo bwicanyi batabizi. Nyamara ni aya ubusa, icyaha kirabahama.

Turetse kandi iby’ubwicanyi bwa Perezida Kagame, ubu ushakishwa n’Ubushinjacyaha mpuzamahanga, agakizwa ni uko afite ubudahangarwa nka Perezida w’u Rwanda, hari izindi mpamvu zatuma tutamutora: ntidushobora kwirengagiza ko yateje umwiryane mu b’Abanyamulenge, akanabateranya n’abandi Banyekongo, akanateza intambara mu gihugu cyabo cya Congo, akica yo abantu benshi, akavana yo iminyago ifite agaciro kanini cyane, ubu yagize umutungo we bwite.

Ntabwo twamutora kw’itariki ya 9 Kanama 2010, kubera ko:

a) Nta mahoro atanga ku giti cy’umuntu. Ubutegetsi bwe bw’igitugu ntibuduha umutatekano ku mutima no mu mutwe, duhora duhangayitse, tutabona neza ejo hazaza.

b) Ntiyashoboye gukemura burundu ikibazo cyo guhunga igihugu cyatubyaye, ubu impunzi z’Abanyarwanda zikaba zandagaye ku isi hose, akirengagiza nkana ko iki kibazo cyo kuba impunzi aricyo cyabaye nyirabayazana y’intambara yo mu Ukwakira 1990, na jenoside yo kuva muri Mata 1994 kugeza muri Nyakanga 1994. Ahubwo aho kudukiza ubuhunzi arabwongera. None se twamutora tumuca iki?

c) Ntashobora kurangiza ikibazo cy’inkomoko y’ubushyamirane hagati y’Abana b’u Rwanda, ahubwo akomeje kugikaza agiha indi ntera, yitwaje ko yahagaritse wenyine “jenoside y’Abatutsi” asigaye yaragize intwaro ye ya kirimbuzi.

Amajyambere Perezida Kagame yitwaza ntacyo yatumarira igihe cyose tutishyira ngo twizane m’Urwatubyaye. Amajyambere yazana, ayo ariyo yose, ntacyo yatumarira igihe tuzaba tukiri kungoyi ya politiki mbi y’ubutegetsi bw’igitugu. Amajyambere y’umwicanyi arutwa n’amahoro twagira turi abakene ariko turi mu gihugu cyacu. Amajyambere atatugeza kuri “liberte”, (“freedom”), “demokarasi”, no kubaho mu mutuzo, tugenda twemye iwacu i Rwanda, iherezo ry’ayo majyambere ni ugusenyuka, uko byagenda kose.

Twese Abanyarwanda, ibitambo twatanze ku buryo bunyuranye, no kuri za “alitari” zinyuranye (izo mu gihugu, no mu mashyamba ya Congo), ntabwo twabivunja mo amashanyarazi, za mudasobwa, na gaz methane, n’amazu muri Kigali. Ibitambo twatanze nta kiguzi twabibonera, ariko kandi ntabwo byaba byaratanzwe kugira ngo duhere hanze, tuvanwe mu gihugu cyacu na politike mbi; ntabwo byaba byaratanzwe ngo tubure ubumwe, no kwishyira tukizana mu gihugu cyacu. Ibitambo ntitwabitanze kugira ngo Kagame ashyireho ubutegetsi bw’igitugu, bufite ubukana n’ubugome kurusha ubwo twarwanyaga. Turashaka ubutegetsi bubereye ibihe tugezemo, byo kumvikana no kwishyira tukizana iwacu i Rwanda.

Ntagutinya umwicanyi, umwicanyi aramaganwa, tugashyira hamwe tukamurwanya tutamutora.

Bikorewe i Bruxelles, tariki ya 30 Nyakanga 2010

Faustin Twagiramungu

Uwahoze ari Ministri w’Intebe mu Rwanda

Umukandida Perezida muri 2003

Tel: 0032 473 210 512 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0032 473 210 512 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0032 473 210 512

Friday, July 30, 2010

Agricultural Society of Kenya from Eastern organizes a beauty contest to woe the youths into farming

By David Kiarie

Kenya

As a way wooing youths into farming, the Agricultural Society of Kenya show Eastern branch is using beauty contest to attract the youngsters.

Last weekend, the ASK show organized a beauty pageant at Izaak Walton Inn in Embu town where a total of 33 contestants mainly from tertiary institutions took part.

The branch ASK show chairman James Kibathi said the event was a curtain raiser to this year's show which will be held from June 17 to 19 at Njukiri.

"Farming in Kenya has been left to the old and we want the youths who are more educated, innovative and energetic to venture into the sector, which is the backbone of the country's economy," Kibathi told journalists.

The ASK committee is now appealing to the youth from the region to attend the three-day exhibition in order to see the different farming methods, both crops and animals, hoping this will change the attitude by many youth that farming is for the old people and inspire them to undertake agriculture.

Maureen Wambui, a 3^rd year journalism and mass communication student at Mt. Kenya University beat all the 33 contestants to emerge the Miss ASK Eastern.

Wambui who is the current Miss Mt. Kenya University took home sh. 15,000.

Phoebe Wanjiku, an actress and an official of Dean, a local community based organization, took the second position while Doreen Obanda, a 2^nd year teaching student at Kigari teachers' college managed number three.

The second contestant pocketed sh. 10,000 while number three won herself sh. 7,000. Numbers four, five and six were given sh. 3,000, sh. 2,000 and sh. 1,000 respectively.

Those who took part included Christine Charles, the reigning Miss Dean from Glamourland executive salon and hairdressing college who managed to take position four and Lillian Emojong, who is the Miss Kenya medical training college, Embu 2010. Emojong took number eight during the contest, which attracted hundreds of funs

Rwanda: Uganda Deports Rwandan Refugees

Rwanda: Uganda Deports Rwandan Refugees

On July 14 and 15, Ugandan police rounded up 1,700 Rwandan refugees and deported them back to Rwanda.
The police reportedly tricked the refugees, telling them they would distribute food and give them notice about their asylum appeals. Instead, they held them at gunpoint and forced them into trucks. Twenty-five people were injured from gunshots, and two people died after jumping off the trucks. In addition, some children were separated from their parents.

These outrageous acts are in violation of a number of accords and laws. The government is in violation of its own Citizenship and Immigration Act, which "outlines the due processes by which failed asylum seekers who have exhausted their right of appeal should be deported." By separating children from their families, the government is also in violation of the Children's Statute and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Many Rwandans fled to neighboring Uganda during the 1994 genocide, while others have fled in the last couple of years due to persecution. While some Rwandans have legal refugee status, the Ugandan government has rejected about 98 percent of asylum applications this year. Still, an estimated 15,000 Rwandans reside in Uganda.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports both that the Ugandan and Rwandan governments coordinated the mass deportations. Human Rights Watch claims that this is not the first time that the Rwandan government has pressured another country to deport refugees. Besides Uganda, the Tanzanian and Burundian governments have also deported refugees

A Case of Stolen Identity: the African Continent

Article Written By Rémy-Christophe Mariotti

It is a rare occurrence indeed when I openly admit to being in agreement with Muammar Qaddafi. But this is exactly what happened to me when I read G. Pascal Zachary’s article “Africa Needs a New Map,” in Foreign Policy Magazine.
It would seem that Libya’s flamboyant Colonel-leader, who was instrumental in the founding of the African Union, called for the dissolution of the Nigerian state and its partition into two or more independent entities. As expected, the Nigerian political class revolted against such statements, sending home the Libyan ambassador; these sorts of declarations – sensible and based on a half-century of empirical evidence of state-failure – are not acceptable in the discussion on Africa.
To Western powers, to bring up the pernicious effects of post-colonial African borders is to experience a sanctimonious feeling of shame and to invite a renewed diatribe against Europe and the white man; to the African élite, it spells death (or at the very least, the end of their freewheeling, lavishly IMF-funded lifestyles). As the article points out, both the former colonial overlords and the newly empowered local leaders chose an emphasis on “stability” over functional, democratic states. This allowed for the Idi Amins, Sekou Tourés, Mobutus, and Mugabes of the continent to rule with relative impunity for years.
Col. Qaddafi takes a stand on Nigeria. As he rightfully points out, there has been years of violence and brutality along the north-south divide that separates the primarily Christian river volta and the overwhelmingly Muslim hinterland. As such he argues for a separation. To use an example from recent European history, let’s look to the “Velvet Divorce” that peacefully and successfully created the Czech Republic and Slovakia out of Soviet-era Czechoslovakia. Or even more recently, Montenegro and Kosovo both left a larger Serbian state to become sovereign entities. This begs the question: why not Africa?
It’s not for lack of material – the separatist provinces of Cabinda in Angola, Biafra in Nigeria, Kivu in the DRC, and Casamance in Sénégal; the Sudan, where Khartoum-centric North Sudan, Juba-centric South Sudan, and the blighted Darfur region coexist in perpetual unease; and of course, Somalia, where the officially-recognized Somali government doesn’t extend past the city walls of Mogadishu, but the nearly-viable proto-states of Somaliland and Puntland remain ignored. These are all candidates, just like Nigeria, where sectarian, ethnic, and regional violence could all potentially be minimized by the voluntary devolving of state authority to ethnic or regional units, perhaps even granting them independence.
These are difficult decisions, and they won’t be made easily, especially not by the current class of African leaders who have so much land and prestige to lose in the transaction. But do they really have that much to lose? Wouldn’t the prospect of ruling a viable, functional, increasingly prosperous and increasingly democratic state be something of an incentive? With smaller, better-run states, we may even see a few developing African powers on the rise on the international stage.
This is not the first time such ideas have been discussed; in fact, it was once a dream of colonized Africans, who (rightfully) saw the Europeans’ divisions as merely lines of control, stunting potential growth and unnecessarily creating tensions. This idea was dropped, of course, by the first generation of decolonization leaders, who saw these pre-made states as easy sources of power and decided to focus on the continent’s stability rather than its sustainable growth.
The famous Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe, wrote a heart-wrenching memoir of his life as a “Nigerian.” It reveals the bittersweet relationship that a citizen of a newly-independent nation has with his newly-minted homeland. As he puts it, he started life as a second-class citizen of the British Empire, and – after a devastating three-year civil war that claimed two million of his co-tribal “countrymen” – a second-class citizen in a large and wealthy, but inept and fragmented banana republic that went out of its way to disenfranchise his ethnic group. A life-story such as his could have been avoided had the secessionist Biafra state had been allowed to exist and, eventually, thrive.
I am not one to lavish easy praise on a despot of the likes of Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi. But I will be the first to admit that the African system of nations, such as we’ve seen over the course of a half-century, is haphazard, exploitative, and finally, broken. If a man like Qaddafi can recognize this injustice, men of integrity in Africa and throughout the West should study this blighted continent and come to their own conclusions; I humbly think that you will agree. Let us begin the process of liberation and rejuvenation of the African continent. Let them join us as proud citizens of their own countries..
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Letter to TIME's Editor: Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza was Intentionally Misquoted

Dear Editor,

I am writing to protest against the allegations by your reporter, Mr. Alex Perry, in his recent article titled " Rwanda's Rebel Reformer: Paul Kagame" to be published on Monday August 9, 2010 but already available online.

Mr. Alex Perry intentionally misquoted Ms Ingabire when he wrote that [Erlinder's client, Victoire Ingabire, told TIME recently that if the Hutus win power again in Rwanda , "I am sure they will revenge themselves against the Tutsis."]

I would like to know what Mr. Alex Perry thinks about Ms Ingabire ethnic background. Kagame beingTutsi, Is Ms. Ingabire Tutsi or Hutu?

In case Mr. Alex Perry may not know, please tell him that Ms. Ingabire is a Hutu. She was designed by her party, UDF-Inkingi, to be the party's candidate during this year’s presidential elections in Rwanda.

How does Mr. Alex Perry explain the fact that Ms. Ingabire, a Hutu and presidential hopeful, may have told TIME that if the Hutus win power again in Rwanda, they will surely revenge themselves against the Tutsis?

I challenge Mr. Alex Perry to provide TIME's readers with specific written and/or recorded materials to prove his assertion. Otherwise, such a statement would simply be construed as old RPF lie propaganda aimed at tarnishing Ms. Ingabire who dared to efficiently challenge Kagame on the ground.

Upon learning about such lies by Mr. Alex Perry Ms. Ingabire wrote the following statement on her facebook page, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza for President, ‎["pro-Kagame propaganda, and that Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza was intentionally misquoted in a Hutu revenge story". She does not believe in such a nonsense.]

Such a PR has been a powerful tool the RPF has used to justify the ongoing failed but endless military operations against the FDLR in DRC .

Up to date, the RPF has failed to provide an exhaustive list of wanted genocidaires within the FDLR ranks simply because most of the current FDLR fighters were 5-10 years old during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

It also is equally important to recall that the FDLR was created in 1998 following the destruction of Rwandan refugee camps in DRC by the RPF army with the help of the international community.

Kagame must avoid creating situations that may lead to renewed violence in Rwanda . Having himself been refugee for thirty years, Kagame should know that nobody has the right to keep someone refugee for ever.

Now that Kagame is virtually running against himself because the real opposition has been sidelined, his actions are not conducive to genuine national reconciliation and may ultimately make the current social tensions worse.

Elections should be organized to consolidate stability and democracy in any country. Obviously, this is not the case in Rwanda because this year’s elections will not appease the increasing political and military tensions within the ruling party and nothing can stop this growing movement for democratic change in Rwanda initiated by Ms Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, the icon of the Struggle for Freedom, Democracy and Justice in Rwanda.

Sincerely,
Mamadou Kouyate

How well is democracy working in four of the US government's partner/client/proxy states in East Africa

How well is democracy working in four of the US government's partner/client/proxy states in East Africa? Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda are all presently in election cycles. Are US military partnerships enabling these countries to become more representative and democratic?

Kagame's leading challenger in the presidential election scheduled for August is Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.

Kagame's leading challenger in the presidential election scheduled for August is Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.
Kagame, who has not allowed her to register her candidacy, jailed her briefly a month ago, and today (May 28, 2010) he jailed her American attorney, Peter Erlinder, lead defense counsel in the Military-1 trial at the U.N.'s International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda.

Opposition leader and former judge, Birtukan Mideksa, has again been imprisoned (Dec. 2008) by the US-backed regime of Meles Zenawi

ETHIOPIA.Ethiopia held elections in May. When human rights Watch criticized the results of Ethiopia's May elections, in which the ruling coalition “won” an improbable 545 out of 547 seats, leaders in Addis Ababa didn't ignore the influential NGO. Instead, they paid tens of thousands of demonstrators to gather in the capital and denounce the report. (Newsweek)

And from: ADDIS ABABA, July 20 (Reuters) – Ethiopia's highest court on Tuesday rejected a case brought by the country's opposition against the ruling party's landslide May election victory, finally exhausting legal appeals for the defeated parties.

The ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and its allies won 545 seats in the 547-member parliament. Both a European Union observer mission and the United States criticised the overwhelming victory.
…
Medrek and other opposition parties alleged widespread pre-poll intimidation during a campaign in which both sides claimed candidates and activists were murdered. Medrek also said there was some vote rigging.

Eight-party Medrek won just a single parliamentary seat in the poll. The other seat went to an independent candidate.

The aftermath of the May 23 poll is being watched by Western diplomats in a country that is a growing destination for investment and is Washington's key ally in the Horn of Africa, where it is seen as standing against Islamic militancy.

So do you think Washington will do anything to encourage more free and representative government in Ethiopia? Ethiopia has been one of the principle US and western proxies for interfering in Somali affairs. I'm willing to bet that looking, and not all too carefully at that, is all the US and western governments will do for Ethiopian democracy. So far the US and EU have blithely ignored the electoral regularities and atrocious human rights record of Ethiopia's Zenawi.

EU and U.S. say poll short of international standards
The 2005 elections ended with the then opposition disputing the government's victory. Riots broke out in Addis Ababa in which 193 protestors and seven policemen were killed. The top opposition leaders were jailed until 2007.

The lone opposition member to win a seat in parliament:

Girma won his seat in Addis Ababa's Mercato district, seen as Africa's biggest open-air market and one of the city's poorer areas.
“I won because a lot of my voters were merchants who are economically independent,” he said. “They weren't civil servants or unemployed and subject to the same forms of intimidation as a lot of other people. I was lucky.”
Girma's victory was slim, however, and he only beat his ruling party opponent by a margin of 114 votes in a constituency where both he and his father were born.
(Reuters)
The strongest of the opposition leaders, Birtukan Mideksa, is still in jail serving a life sentence. The conditions in Ethiopian prisons are dreadful, as I wrote in Guantanamo in Ethiopia. Birtukan Mideksa's health is deteriorating. Meles Zenawi and his western allies may not have to worry about the threat she poses to their political expediency much longer if she does not get proper medical attention and care.

In Ethiopia the US has acted as an enabler of anti democratic practices, pouring aid and encouragement on Meles Zenawi, regardless of his dreadful human rights record. Meles is also a great favorite of US Senators and Congressmen who are members of the politically powerful religious cult, The Family, who help appropriate and funnel millions of US taxpayer dollars to his regime.

… the Ethiopian government got its fingers burnt when it held multi-party elections in 2005 that it almost lost — and has been busy clamping down on opposition parties and free speech ever since.
________
UGANDA
In Uganda elections are coming up in the next year, in early 2011. Uganda is a great favorite of the US Africa Command, and of the Pentagon in general. Along with Burundi, Uganda provides the proxy warriors acting on behalf of the US and EU in Somalia known as AMISOM. Uganda also provides soldiers employed by US military contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. Uganda's President Museveni is also a great favorite of the Senators and Congressmen who are members of The Family, who help appropriate and funnel millions of US taxpayer dollars to his regime. Continued

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Source: http://crossedcrocodiles.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/africom-undermining-democracy-in-east-africa/

Independent Autopsy Called for Opposition Leader Murdered in Rwanda

by Laura Hirahara, Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk


President Kagame

Kigali, RWANDA- The Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling for an independent autopsy of André Kagwa Rwisereka, whose body was found near his home in southern Rwanda July 14th, his head nearly decapitated just weeks before Rwanda’s next presidential election. Rwisereka was vice president of the Democratic Green Party, the main opposition to current Rwandan president Paul Kagame. The police have an unidentified suspect in custody and several different motives have been put forward as an explanation for Rwisereka’s murder. While the police have stated that he may have been the target of a mugging or killed byan individual he was in a financial dispute with, Rwisereka’s colleagues in the Democratic Green Party say he had been receiving death threats since February because of his views opposing the current government.
HRW believes Rwisereka’s murder to be suspicious not only because of the timing of but also beacuse this is the second controversial political figure to be murdered this month. In June, Lt. General Faustin Kyumba Nyamwasa was wounded with a gunshot. Within weeks, Jean-Leonard Rugambage, a journalist investigating the shooting of Nyamwasa was shot dead outside his home in Kigali. Many have claimed all three incidents can be tied to Kagame’s government but the president, who is expected to win in the next election, adamantly denies these allegations, saying, “Nobody has asked the Rwandans … it’s as if they don’t matter in the eyes of the human rights people. It’s our own decisions in the end.”
For more information, please see;
Radio France Interntionale – First Day of Rwanda Political Campaign Opens with Funeral – 22 July 2010
CNN World – Independent Probe of Rwanda Politician’s Death Urged – 21 July 2010
BBC News – Rwanda: Call For Independent Autopsy of Murdered Critic – 21 July 2010
AFP – Independent Probe into Rwanda Murder Demanded – 21 July 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Will Obama Administration Screw Africa, Like All The Rest?

Image by Wondermonkey2k via Flickr

Policy Adrift As Administration Sides With Africa's Enemies--The Corrupt Leaders

Black Star editorial calls upon Obama Administration not to screw Africa and to redeem Africa policy

There comes a moment in a lifetime when one has an opportunity to break with the bad old ways in order to open a great new future.
That moment is still at hand for President Barack Obama with respect to U.S. relations with the African continent. His decisions could free millions of Africans from bondage -- the one imposed for decades now by African dictators often with Western collusion-- save millions of lives in avoided bloodshed, and help unleash the great reservoir wherein Africa's vast potential has been condemned.
President Obama started that journey last August in Accra, Ghana. He vowed he would help Africans discard the bad old ways. Yet today, the U.S. seems fully vested in that terrible type of past relationship with African countries--assisting and abetting genocidal regimes.
Rather than becoming a friend of Africans --the millions of ordinary Africans who yearn for democracy-- the U.S. is again acting like an enemy of Africa by embracing tyrannical regimes.
In Accra last August, Obama had said gone were the days of the African strongman. Yes, Africa had been exploited, it's growth stunted and there had never been a tradition of democratic governance due to colonial rule, Obama noted. True as these historical injustices had been, African countries could no longer use them as excuses, he added.

Not because they were not legitimate grievances; but because the world's compassion had dissipated and the approach would yield no fruits.
Now, Africans had to seize the day--the new generation of Africans; the young; the women; the entrepreneurs; the scientists; and, in other words, the next generation-- in order to create a new destiny.
The Big Men had had their days.
In a globalized economy, with investment choices, who --apart from the corrupt Western multi nationals that finance genocide in Congo, via Rwanda and Uganda-- would want to sink funds in environments dominated by corruption and embezzlement?
The true Africa --the Africa which remains merely "potential" -- could only be unleashed through regular and established transfer of political power; transparency; the rule of law; and, accountability. An American president was finally inviting the African continent to join the global community.
African countries --and the leadership-- would no longer be evaluated based on a lower standard. It was the end of paternalism and an end to coddling dictators who served U.S. interests while brutalizing their African countrywomen and men while spiriting billions of dollars of embezzled funds abroad.
And all of Africa --except the dictators and their acolytes-- welcomed President Obama's Accra, Ghana speech.
But the speech remains rosy words in the sky.
President Obama has the choice of either doing the right thing, or pulling another Bill Clinton on Africa. The former U.S. President, instead of conditioning U.S. financial and military assistance to African countries based on, to what extent the leadership embraced democratization and the rule of law, simply created, out of thin air, "a new breed of African leaders."
Clinton knew the leaders --Paul Kagame in Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, and Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia-- represented the antithesis of democratization and the rule of law. Yet, Clinton simply coined a phrase that the imbecilic corporate media embraced and suddenly all was good.
Millions of lost African lives later, these bad old leaders still run the show in these African countries, with U.S. financial and military assistance. Rwanda is on the verge of holding a bogus presidential "election" with the opposition political parties' leaders either exiled, under house arrest, or six feet under: And it seems that the U.S. is preparing to recognize the outcome of the "election."
This is abominable and harkens to the days when here in the United States, elections used to be held in the Southern States while Black voters were either barred from voting, being lynched, being "disappeared," or showered with water cannons.
Ethiopia has already held its sham elections that have been recognized by the United States. The Ethiopian regime has sold itself as a frontline state against expansion of Islamism in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia's army was permitted to commit war crimes in Somalia during its U.S.-backed occupation.
Zenawi has a blank check -- business as usual.
In Uganda a genocidal dictator, General Museveni, who also happens to be a racist -- he once told The Atlantic Monthly Magazine that Black people who were captured into slavery were "stupid" -- has similarly prostituted his country's army to serve as policeman on behalf of the United States, in Somalia. Notwithstanding the fact that the same Uganda army had been found liable by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2005 for what amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The court awarded Congo $10 billion in compensation, of which a dime has yet to be paid.
http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/116/10455.pdf

So, an army that had committed terrorism in Congo was sent to keep the peace in Somalia? Even by the contemptuous double standards reserved only for Africa this was exceedingly obnoxious. No wonder most African countries refused to join this charade which has been disguised as an "African Union" force.

Now, lo and behold, Uganda's soldiers in Somalia are reportedly indiscriminately shelling civilian areas in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Also look for General Museveni to use the recent terrorist bombings in Kampala, reportedly by al-Shabab, the Somali militants, as justification to crush domestic pressure from pro-democracy forces heading into the presidential election of 2011.

The United States once again --in its narrow quest to satisfy strictly U.S. interests-- is on the wrong side of history in Africa.
It's true that President Obama inherited the U.S. Africa policy --hypocrisy: aiding and abetting genocidal dictators while calling them "allies"-- from George W. Bush, who in turn inherited the policy from Bill Clinton.
But this is now Obama time.
The African continent -- victimized and brutalized by foreign powers and never allowed to fulfill its own destiny for centuries-- deserves better. What better way than to start this transformation under the watch of a leader who traces his lineage directly to central Africa.
So, will President Obama deliver on his own Accra Speech or will he pull another Bill Clinton against Africa?
President Obama still has time to answer this question.

"Speaking Truth To Empower.

Fifth man charged in S.Africa in Rwandan general's shooting

2 hrs 44 mins ago

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – A fifth person has been charged in a South African court for attempting to murder an exiled army general from Rwanda, the prosecutor's office said Thursday.
Pascal Kanyanbekwe was charged with attempted murder, along with Juma Huseni, Ahmed Ali, George Francis and Shafiri Bakari, who had been earlier charged in the case that has caused diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The five were accused in the June 19 shooting of exiled General Faustin Nyamwasa outside his Johannesburg home, four months after he came to South Africa to seek asylum.
"Investigations are still being conducted," National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga told AFP. He added that authorities are also checking "whether they are legally in the country or not."
South African officials have yet to reveal the nationalities of the suspects.
The five return to court on August 12.
Nyamwasa has been in exile in South Africa since February after being accused of trying to destabilize Rwanda, where he has been linked to three grenade attacks in Kigali.
South Africa is still considering a Rwandan extradition request for Nyamwasa.
Pretoria has accused "foreign agents" in the shooting, while carefully avoiding any accusation against Rwanda, which has denied any links to the shooting.
Rwanda has accused Nyamwasa and former army colonel Patrick Karegeya of masterminding grenade attacks earlier this year in the run-up to presidential elections in August.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

KIGALI: Rwandan Police Lies On Divisionism By Opposition Party

By Ambrose Nzeyimana
The Rwandan government and its institutions, particularly security forces are appearing more and more repressive as Election Day – August 9^th approaches.
On Sunday July 25^th the Rwandan government radio station reported that 2 people were arrested for planning an illegal protest for the following Monday.
‘The victims of this unexpected arrest, Mr Martin Ntavuka – FDU-Inkingi leader in Nyarugenge district and Mr Anastase Hagabimana – FDU-Inkingi leader in Kicukiro District, were handcuffed, beaten and taken to the Remera police detention facility,’ said Salem-News.

Salem-News was told the accused, while guests, were apprehended at the temporary residence of Victoire Ingabire, Chair of FDU-Inkingi, one of the opposition parties whose registration has been refused by the authorities. The watchman at the property was left with face injuries including one eye swollen shut. Eye witnesses confirm death threats and ethnic hate abuses hurled on-spot by the officer Karekezi, a CID staff.
Superintendent and Police spokesperson Eric Kayiranga, announced on the state radio that once informed that these people were planning a protest, they followed them and caught them. They searched their car and found material for protest including signs and T-shirts. Kariranga explained that on that material were inscriptions of divisionism character and threatening national security. But he was reluctant to elaborate on what was written.

‘Our print t-shirts display normally our colours (green and red) and the text on either the front or the back says “WE NEED DEMOCRACY AND FAIR JUSTICE” or “TURASHAKA DEMOKARASI N’UBUTABERA BUSESUYE”. What is inflammatory in this?’ said Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza in her press release on the incident.
Though it is illegal to protest in public without a written permission from Rwandan authorities, it looks even illegal from the police perspective to put sign on t-shirts without authorization because it can be judged as divisionism or a security issue in Rwanda.
In recent weeks and months there have been in Rwanda numerous incidents politically motivated which have seen journalists, members of opposition parties, human right activists, military dissidents disappeared imprisoned tortured or killed. Surprisingly, from Kagame’s government perspective, all this is happening to preserve peace, unity and democracy.

Rwandan Police Lies On Divisionism By Opposition Party

Published by Ambrose Nzeyimana

Ingabire Victoire

The Rwandan government and its institutions, particularly security forces are appearing more and more repressive as Election Day – August 9^th approaches.

On Sunday July 25^th the Rwandan government radio station reported that 2 people were arrested for planning an illegal protest for the following Monday.

FDU-INKINGI T-Shirt

‘The victims of this unexpected arrest, Mr. Martin Ntavuka - FDU-Inkingi, leader in Nyarugenge district and Mr. Anastase Hagabimana – FDU-Inkingi, leader in Kicukiro District, were handcuffed, beaten and taken to the Remera police detention facility,’ said Salem-News.

Salem-News was told the accused, while guests, were apprehended at the temporary residence of Victoire Ingabire, leader of FDU-Inkingi, one of the opposition parties whose registration has been refused by the authorities. The watchman at the property was left with face injuries including one eye swollen shut. Eye witnesses confirm death threats and ethnic hate abuses hurled on-spot by the officer Karekezi, a CID staff.

Superintendent and Police spokesperson Eric Kayiranga, announced on the state radio that once informed that these people were planning a protest, they followed them and caught them. They searched their car and found material for protest including signs and T-shirts. Kariranga explained that on that material were inscriptions of divisionism character and threatening national security. But he was reluctant to elaborate on what was written.

‘Our print t-shirts display normally our colours (green and red) and the text on either the front or the back says “WE NEED DEMOCRACY AND FAIR JUSTICE” or “TURASHAKA DEMOKARASI N’UBUTABERA BUSESUYE”. What is inflammatory in this?’ said Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza in her press release on the incident,

Though it is illegal to protest in public without a written permission from Rwandan authorities, it looks even illegal from the police perspective to put sign on t-shirts without authorization because it can be judged as divisionism or a security issue in Rwanda.

In recent weeks and months there have been in Rwanda numerous incidents politically motivated which have seen journalists, members of opposition parties, human right activists, military dissidents disappeared imprisoned tortured or killed. Surprisingly, from Kagame’s government perspective, all this is happening to preserve peace, unity and democracy.

Ambrose Nzeyimana is an Africanist and human rights activist. He writes The Rising Continent blog (www.therisingcontinent.wordpress.com). He lives in London (UK). He actively supports democratic values and non violent means to achieve change in Africa. He regularly talks on television (Vox Africa, Press TV, Ben TV) and radio (BBC). Email: organisingforafrica@gmail.com

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UGANDA:AU Ministers Agree to 'Take On' Al Shabaab

The African Union has agreed to change the mandate of its peacekeeping mission, Amisom, in Somalia into a peace enforcement in an effort to engage the Al Shabaab militia.
The change in mandate was discussed and agreed on at a closed-door meeting attended by African Foreign Affairs Ministers on July 22 in Kampala ahead of the AU Summit.
Upon approval by the AU Summit the issue will be discussed jointly by the AU Security Council and the United Nations Security Council before an enforcement force can be put together.
In separate interviews, Foreign Affairs ministers from Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Somalia acknowledged discussing the issue of the change of mandate and by the time of going to press, was to be conclusively upheld by the Summit, which more often than not approves recommendations made by the Foreign Affairs ministers.
"Peacekeeping is a misnomer, we need a change in mandate for enforcing peace. We are seeing Africans attacking Africans and boasting about it; that is unacceptable. As a regional body we must find a conclusive solution," said Moses Wetangula, Kenya's Foreign Affairs minister.
Earlier, the African Union Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra had drummed up support for the change in mandate during an AU peace and security council meeting. The meeting was attended by various experts.

Siegfried Modola/IRIN

African Union peacekeepers on patrol in Mogadishu.

"We would certainly give leeway to Amisom so that it can accomplish its mission in the most comfortable manner," said the AU official.
The change in mandate means extra costs for military hardware and troops. Uganda currently receives about $33 million annually for the 2,500 troops it contributes to Amisom but that figure is expected to rise sharply depending on what military hardware is required and the number of troops likely to be raised.
Although almost all countries agree with the option of militarily engaging Al Shabaab, the reorganisation of the operation or who should lead it is not clear.
A number of countries do not agree with the option of letting Uganda lead a unilateral mission.Infact, deliberations at the AU conference lacked a clear strategy, although all supported the proposal that there should be a regional military action against the militia.
Some countries are for a United Nations-led operation while others demanded a purely African mission with both manpower and logistics mobilised from the continent.
However, what remains clear is that Uganda's position to go it alone against Al Shabaab is still on the table.
"We know most countries just talk but do not commit. We are used to that. Once we get the right intelligence (on Al Shabaab), and the logistics and the mandate of the peacekeeping mission is reviewed, we shall go there alone. We are very ready," said Okello Oryem, Uganda's Minister for International Relations in an interview with The EastAfrican.

Since the Kampala bombing, President Yoweri Museveni's administration has made it clear his government will fight Al Shabaab single-handedly at the invitation of Somalia's governing Transitional Federal Government, should support from other African countries fail to materialise.
Kampala's position seems to have already got the support of world powers like the United States and the United Kingdom. Somalia's Defence Minister Abukar Abdi Osman hinted that the US was willing to help with the offensive although not directly. "They have promised logistics. We have been talking to them," he said.
Kenya, which is being accused of playing a "softer role" despite having consistently suffered incursions by Al Shabaab, is demanding that Africa should instead mobilise troops from the East African Standby Brigade, (EASBRIG) and supplement the current Amisom strength to raise the temporarily required 20,000 troops for the operation.

Judge blocks parts of Arizona immigration law

PHOENIX –(AP) A federal judge stepped into the fight over Arizona's immigration law at the last minute Wednesday, blocking the heart of the measure and defusing a confrontation between police and thousands of activists that had been building for months.
Coming just hours before the law was to take effect, the ruling isn't the end.
It sets up a lengthy legal battle that could end up before the Supreme Court — ensuring that a law that reignited the immigration debate, inspired similar measures nationwide, created fodder for political campaigns and raised tensions with Mexico will stay in the spotlight.
Protesters who gathered at the state Capitol and outside the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City cheered when they heard the news. The governor, the law's authors and anti-illegal immigration groups vowed to fight on.
"It's a temporary bump in the road," Gov. Jan Brewer said.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton will now have to decide a question as old as the nation itself: Does federal law trump state law? She indicated in her ruling that the federal government's case has a good chance at succeeding.
The Clinton appointee said the controversial sections should be put on hold until the courts resolve the issues, including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.

Click image to see photos of immigration debate

AFP

Bolton delayed provisions that required immigrants to carry their papers and banned illegal immigrants from soliciting employment in public places — a move aimed at day laborers. In addition, she blocked officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants for crimes that can lead to deportation.
"Requiring Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked," Bolton wrote.
The ruling came just as police were making last-minute preparations to begin enforcement of the law and protesters, many of whom said they would not bring identification, were planning large demonstrations against the measure.
At least one group had planned to block access to federal offices, daring officers to ask them about their immigration status.
"I knew the judge would say that part of the law was just not right," said Gisela Diaz, 50, from Mexico City, who came to Arizona on a since-expired tourist visa in 1989 and who waited with her family early Wednesday at the Mexican Consulate to get advice about the law.
"It's the part we were worried about. This is a big relief for us," she said.
Opponents argued the law will lead to racial profiling, conflict with federal immigration law and distract local police from fighting more serious crimes. The U.S. Justice Department, civil rights groups and a Phoenix police officer asked for Wednesday's injunction.
Lawyers for the state contend the law was a constitutionally sound attempt by Arizona to assist federal immigration agents and lessen border woes, such as the heavy costs for educating, jailing and providing health care for illegal immigrants.
They said Arizona shouldn't have to suffer from a broken immigration system when it has 15,000 officers who can arrest illegal immigrants.
In her ruling, Bolton said the interests of Arizona, the busiest U.S. gateway for illegal immigrants, match those of the federal government. But, she wrote, that the federal government must take the lead on deciding how to enforce immigration laws.
The core of the government's case is that federal immigration law trumps state law — an issue known as "pre-emption" in legal circles. In her ruling, Bolton pointed out five portions of the law where she believed the federal government would likely succeed on its claims.
Justice Department spokeswoman Hannah August said the agency understands the frustration of Arizona residents with the immigration system, but added that a patchwork of state and local policies would seriously disrupt federal immigration enforcement.
Federal authorities have argued that letting the Arizona law stand would create a patchwork of immigration laws nationwide that would needlessly complicate foreign relations. They said the law is disrupting U.S. relations with Mexico and other countries.
About 100 protesters in Mexico City who had gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy broke into cheers when they learned of Bolton's ruling. They had been monitoring the news on a laptop computer.
"Migrants, hang on, the people are rising up!" they chanted.
Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinoza called the ruling "a first step in the right direction" and said staff at the five Mexican consulates in Arizona will work extra hours in coming weeks to educate migrants about the law.
"None of this is very surprising," said Kevin R. Johnson, an immigration expert and the law school dean at University of California at Davis. "This is all very much within the constitutional mainstream."
The federal government has exclusive powers over immigration to ensure a uniform national policy that aids in commerce and relations with other countries, Johnson said.
A century ago, differing policies among states led to problems that prompted the federal government to adopt a comprehensive immigration policy for the country, Johnson said.
Supporters took solace that the judge kept portions of the law intact, including a section that bars local governments from limiting enforcement of federal immigration laws. Those jurisdictions are commonly known as "sanctuary cities."
"Striking down these sanctuary city policies has always been the No. 1 priority," said Republican Sen. Russell Pearce, the law's chief author.
The remaining provisions, many of them procedural and revisions to an Arizona immigration statute, will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
The decision was seen as a defeat for Brewer, who is running for another term in November and has seen her political fortunes rise because of the law's popularity among conservatives.
Her opponent, state Attorney General Terry Goddard, pounced.
"Jan Brewer played politics with immigration, and she lost," the Democrat said. "It is time to look beyond election-year grandstanding and begin to repair the damage to Arizona's image and economy."
Some residents in Phoenix agreed.
"A lot of people don't understand the connection between, 'Yes, we have a problem with illegal immigration' and 'We need immigration reform,' which is not just asking people for their papers," said Kimber Lanning, a 43-year-old Phoenix music store owner.
"It was never a solution to begin with."

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Saturday, July 31, 2010

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Friday, July 30, 2010

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

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‘The victims of this unexpected arrest, Mr. Martin Ntavuka - FDU-Inkingi, leader in Nyarugenge district and Mr. Anastase Hagabimana – FDU-Inkingi, leader in Kicukiro District, were handcuffed, beaten and taken to the Remera police detention facility,’ said Salem-News.

Though it is illegal to protest in public without a written permission from Rwandan authorities, it looks even illegal from the police perspective to put sign on t-shirts without authorization because it can be judged as divisionism or a security issue in Rwanda.

Related articles by Zemanta

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