RWANDA:SEVEN DEMONS THAT KEEP KAGAME IN POWER

Theogene Rudasingwa

• WHAT IS IN COMMITMENT?
  
  I recommend my friends to take a total of one and half hours this week to listen to T D Jakes talk about commitment. Do not worry that he is Christian preacher. You do not have to be a believer. Commitment is key to success in every life endeavor. For Rwandans today, commitment to change is a great stakes endeavor.
  
  For almost all of us Rwandans, we know how much suffering we are undergoing. We are a fearful nation. On every hill we live in fear, anger, suspicion, and uncertain of the future. We are in jails in Rwanda. We are in jails in Arusha, and even when are free, we cannot go back home as free people. We are banished as refugees in every corner of the world. We are silent for fear of persecution if we speak. We are targets of assassination in every corner of the world. We are in the jungles of Congo, fighting endless wars that consume lives of young Rwandans and Congolese so that a dictator may survive longer. We are poor, and yet being forced to give money to the so-called Agaciro Development Fund, to a dictator who plunders and kills Rwandans. We clap for the dictator, and while he is away, or secretly in our hearts, we wish him dead. We are a humiliated lot, living as second class citizens in the country that belongs to all of us.
  
  The revolution is ripe, since there is enough injustice and human suffering among us Rwandans. The harvest is plentiful. However, the harvesters are few. Nothing important in life is ever cheap. It takes nine months of pregnancy, painful labor and a whole lifetime to get and raise a useful human being. Revolutions are even more costly. The number one asset for a revolution is commitment. It cost commitment on the part of Rwandan kings to run the show for several centuries. Even the Belgian colonial enterprise was committed to run Rwanda for decades. It cost commitment to bear and deliver the 1959 MDR revolution. It cost commitment on the part of the coup-plotters to deliver the 1973 MRND regime that lasted until 1994. It cost commitment and sacrifice for RPF to wage and win the 1994 war.
  
  How much commitment do Rwandans have to win the current revolution whose core mission is to unite and heal all Rwandans? If you ask Rwandans, they will tell you they want change immediately. A quick and cheap solution, they will tell you. We spend enormous time on the internet and social media trading words among us and with the dangerous regime in Kigali. We are scattered in organizations that are weak enough to be manipulated, intimidated or bought by the regime. Many of us are neither hot or cold. They have one foot in the revolution and another in the regime that hunts them down. The Hutu are a marginalized lot, but they dream that one day, as if by magic, numbers will do the miracle. The Tutsi, hostages falsely believing that Kagame represents them, are in denial, thinking that monopoly of the army, intelligence, government and money will save the regime for ever.
  
  Kagame's regime is at its weakest since 1994, with little legitimacy among Rwandans and increasingly isolated abroad. This is the time to mobilise and organize, and shorten the agony and suffering of the Rwandan people. We must face and kill these seven demons that consume our commitment to move quickly to peacefully end Kagame's brutal regime:
  
  1. FEAR: Fear is the most powerful weapon in the hands of Kagame and his clique. The moment Rwandans overcome fear will be the moment the regime crumbles.
  
  2. PROCRASTINATION: Rwandans know what to do and how to do it but they are still trapped in believing that it will be done tomorrow. Yet a day spent procrastinating is another day spent in misery. Laziness has never been an asset. You reap results in direct relationship to how much time and effort you have invested in something.
  
  3. MINDS TRAPPED IN DENIAL AND DECEPTION: There still among us who believe we can restore the Rwandan kingdom, regimes of the past (MDR-PARMEHUTU, and MRND) or prolong RPF for ever. The past is gone, and gone for ever ever. The best we can do is to learn lessons to help us change the present and re-invent, or re-imagine, the future in which we leave behind the shared bad past, and build on the shared positives in our history.
  
  4. SELFISHNESS & GREED: The selfish Rwandans. especially most of us the elite, tend to think that the world revolves around us and our immediate family. We have become victims of instant gratification, without thinking about the future of our children and grandchildren. Yes, we still have to service the car, the mortgage, summer holiday, and a lifestyle commensurate with our status. We still have to reserve some of our resources to invest in our common future. Or, sadly, we are "bought" for a plate of jobs and money. We are enticed to "come and see" the new "Rwanda flowing with milk and honey". In our own country, we are asked to come and see, like visitors or strangers. Especially among the Hutu, we have become the generation of "come and see". To come and see your property, and that if you fall on your knees they will give back to you what belongs to you? What are we teaching our children? That they must bow in submission if you can only give them a job or food? Is that agaciro, our value?
  
  5. "THEY WILL DO IT FOR US" MENTALITY: There is a false belief among us that somebody will do it for us. The Belgians and the French did it for the Hutu, some say. Others say Americans and the British did it for the Tutsi. The truth of the matter is that Belgians, French, Americans and the British look out and fight for their interests. Rwandans must look out for and fight for their interests first and foremost. Nobody else will. To get friends who support your cause, you must show that you deserve their help, you merit it and you will put it to good use. But you must show that you are in the driver's seat. and that no matter what, with or without their help, you will win anyway.
  
  6. THE "US vs THEM" MENTALITY: Rwanda is so precious that very often we want to have it alone without the other. The other is the enemy. The other is the problem. The other is "inyangarwanda", the unpatriotic guys who hate Rwanda. The other killed my people. Who is holy among us to cast the first stone? The kings? MDR-PARMEHUTU? MRND? RPF? Hutu? Tutsi? We cannot re-invent Rwanda's past. It is shared, the good and bad. We can, however, choose to write our future together. We must be bold and courageous to look at each other from each other's standpoint, and see areas where we can stand and build together, brick by brick, one day at a time. We must begin where we live and work. We must reach out to the other. I am in the other. The other is in me.
  
  7. GUILT AND SHAME. We have wronged each other for too long that the demons of guilt and shame have robbed us of self esteem. We speak in whispers so that we are not denounced as genocidaires, interahamwe, revisionists, those who deny genocide, terrorists, etc. On the internet we write anonymously so that nobody discovers who we really are. I personally know exceptionally intelligent Rwandans who cannot speak out for fear of retribution from Kagame. One told me he could not be on Radio Itahuka because they ( kagame et al) would connect his organization with FDLR. Incredible! Somebody with a PHD!! We go to places we shouldn't be to buy identity and acceptance. Now there people in Rwanda who say they have "Tutsi blood" to gain a foothold withing the mafia that rules Rwanda. There are Tutsi who, I was told, used to claim they are Hutu during past regimes. We are what we are. Period. We should be very proud of what we are. We did not bargain with God to be what He made of us. We are the proud sons and daughters of the living God. We have all sinned but WE REFUSE to be held in guilt and shame.
  
  When Kagame taunts us with his death squads armed with cannons and bayonets, we should stand squarely in his face, and like teenage boy David to giant Goliath, say: "who is this philistine who defies the armies of the living God?" . We are building a powerful army of free Rwandans, armed with peace, truth and unity. The giant shall soon fall.
  
  So, Rwandans summon the courage to slay the demons of guilt and shame, " us vs them" mentality, selfishness and greed, "they will do it for us" mentality, fear, procrastination, denial and deception.
  
  Nurture your commitment. Get off your b--ts and go to work. Or else you will die in humiliation and misery, and condemn future generations to a legacy of servitude.
  
  We shall win!
  
  Theogene Rudasingwa

  
  

RWANDA-SOUTH AFRICA: IT’S A DEMOCRATIC THING TO MOVE ON, SAYS CHIEF MOB OF RNC JOBURG BRANCH, MR HESRON MUKIZA.

From the RNC Newsonline

Johannesburg – Speaking to Chief Mob of RNC  Johannesburg branch Mr Hesron Mukiza, for him seeing members of political parties choosing to opt out,  sees it as a democratic thing to move on rather than dragging your feet trying to save something that is not working.

Talking about his role in the RNC as Joburg Chief of mobilization, he shared some of the challenges he faced during the initial phase of RNC Africa Chapter. “The challenges that we faced in the start, people were not prepared, most of them were skeptical. Just the thought of hearing that RNC as a party for all ethnic groups, was something that Rwandese didn't see coming. ” Said Mukiza.

“We are advocating for unity. Where people (Hutu, Tutsi and Twas) share ideas, speak freely. Unlike in Rwanda where people are accused of saying what’s on their mind and later are accused of Genocide Ideology”. Added Mukiza.

For him solidarity is a way of life. As party of bringing together Rwandese living in exile, he gave an example of how people continue to unite. “during the first court appearance of Lt Gen Kayumaba Nyamwasa at the Westgate Magistrate Court, in Johannesburg, South Africa people came in numbers and showed their support”.

“As a way of mobilizing people, we did a lot of work. People continue to show their support to our activities as well as to our fellow comrade Kayumba Nyamwasa in his court case appearance. This shows you how people no longer have issues with regards to ethnicity. People are just tired of killing regimes”.

Asked how far RNC has gone in mobilizing people. He said in Kinyarwanda “ijya kurisha ihera murugo” meaning “you first start at you house, before going out“.  “In the first year we made sure we mobilized people around us, those living in South Africa.  I can only speak for my Branch. I think on a broader scale, my superiors are the ones to give you a better picture”.

He warned those that still have a question of whether RNC is a one man party. “Objectives and Values of RNC are well defined/ known and they are readily available. RNC is for you and me, we don’t like people imposing things on us. Members of the branches are the ones to propose or give an idea to what is to be done by the top leadership. That is why we spent time forming structures.”

When asked his views on the resignation of Maitre Evod Uwizeyimana and Alain Patrick Ndengera from RDI Rwanda Nziza, a political party led by Faustin Twagiramungu, he said “ to resign in a political party shows that you are politically matured. You don’t have to sit idle in things you don’t see advancing the cause. Also dragging yourself from things that you see will not materialize, it is always better to seek alternatives.”

“When you see that can no longer fulfill your duties based on certain situations, you rather quite. To me that is freedom of choice. So, Maitre Evode and his colleague, I think they made the right choices.”   

In concluding our conversation, Mukiza said that “Rwandese hold the  secretes with in their hearts. Signs of change are seen every where. That time will come when they will vote democratically their chosen leaders”. 

Paul Karekezi

Johannesburg.

RWANDA-SOUTH AFRICA:A CONVERSATION WITH NSENGIMANA DANIEL. RNC JOBURG YOUTH LEADER.

From RNC Newsonline

Johannesburg – Saturday the 25th August, I had a conversation with RNC Youth Leader for Joburg Branch in South Africa. The will and courage to tell it like it is, is what drives this ambitious young man, Nsengimana Daniel.  The discussion started on a lighter note but as we progressed, the heat was on. The following are thoughts and suggestions from what he shared with us.

“If you go through the history of Rwanda, youth have always been used by selfish leaders for their own benefits and that’s exactly what’s happening in the North Kivu”. Said Nsengimana Daniel.  

“The strength of our nation (which is the youth) is wasted in Congo, in wars that they too don’t understand the root-causes”. He Added.

When asked how he feels about the recent developments in Rwanda regarding young men arrested over allegations of misconducts and various charges, he told us that “those  young men are being harassed. Those involved in capturing them, fabricates false charges so that they can carry on with their militias activities. Those young men are treated like a herd of cattle. You just drag them left and right and they follow you".

He goes further to advice them that “ Rwandan youth are the ones to take up the first step in fighting for their rights and the sovereignty of their country”. Here, he gave us an example of how the two governments starting with the ousted one and the current government, the two government have always involved the youth in wrong doings.

“during the Gen Habyarimana reign, youth were used to do bad things. The same mentality migrated to the current regime where we see, president Paul Kagame also use the youth to do more harm than good. So the youth need to be aware of all these things and rise up. The time is now”.

“ for example when there is instability, they call upon the youth to intervene. But when all is well, they forget them. So here we need to think twice and asks ourselves whether we are their tools to be used around or part of the solution”.

He also stressed on the issue of the recent attempt assassination to end the life of his fellow comrade and chairman of RNC in Africa region, Frank Ntwali,  by saying that “ it is a shameful act and we condemn it very strongly. We are aware that our lives are in danger, but yet again we know that we won’t live forever. So we will continue to voice against the bad regime however we can”.

Asked his opinion regarding the current regime, he stressed out that “the regime is in its last stage. They will do whatever they can to empty coffers of the people. Here I can give you so many examples of funds they established for the sole purpose of enriching themselves; 1 Agaciro Development Fund 2. Mutual Fund, 3. Education Fund, 4. FARG all these are mind-game type of businesses that are meant to bankrupt ordinary citizen.

He concluded by saying that “as youth, especial those still living in Rwanda, there is need to free themselves and start being vocal. There is a need for us as youth to break those chains and free ourselves from the oppressor, using whatever means we have at our disposal”.

Paul Karekezi

Johannesburg.

RWANDA-SOUTH AFRICA:KAYUMBA NYAMWASA TECHNOLOGICALLY SPEAKING WILL FACE A LONG TIME BEHIND BARS

From RNC Newsonline

Johannesburg – The court case involving the six men accused of attempted assassination of Lt Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa resumed today in Jeppestown, magistrate court. 

On a witness stand stood Erica N Nienwenhuis, a Forensic Analyst from SAPS, Pretoria Central. What is more shocking from the defense team is that, prior to adjoining the proceedings during the last court appearance, the defense team argued on the basis of not having enough time to cross examine the witness.

Today it was a different case. The defense team, loosing touch with base, only managed to ask two questions, which Erica N Nienwenhuis firmly answered and they had no alternative but to cut short their cross examination with her.

Hilda Du Plessis, Senior Analyst Agent at MTN took a witness stand right after Erica, to testify on the database obtained from MTN’s database system detailing/ mapping the records of mobile phone calls, sms and voice mails made between the six accused men.  

The information provided by the service provider, MTN, not only well compiled  before the court, but accurately and point by point maps the modus operand of those involved in the attempted assassination, used. The prosecutor, Shaun  Abrahams, read to the public how the accused men exchanged mobile handsets in order to conceal their activities, while calling each other repeatedly in different locations, exchanging smses with one another, but the failure to catch-up with the technology is slowly catching up with them.

As an example given before the court, state prosecutor, Shaun Abrahams said that: three different SIM (Subscriber Identity Model) card numbers were used on one Phone. The IMEI number (International Mobile Equal pin Identity) of the same phone reflected on the database, being used frequently. The same phone belonged to accused number 5 the man who shot Lt Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa, also  known as Amed Seif before the court.

Shuan Abrahams also told the court that " prior to the attempted murder, 447 calls were made between the accused Richard Bachisa (the then chauffeur of Let Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa) know as accused number 2 before the court and Vincent Ngendo”. 

As the data was read out, two numbers from Rwanda emerged. One of which (+250782276419) belonged to the former Chief of National Intelligence Security Service, Col Emmanuel Ndahiro, who was reshuffled by the president and given a post in the defense ministry. As report by AFP.

The database before the court, clearly implicates all the accused from the date their sim-cards were inserted into their handset to the date that they were placed in custody. From the look of things, they are to remain behind the bars for a long time. The case will resume on the 5^th to the 6^th September 2012.

JD MWISENEZA

Johannesburg

RWANDA-USA:TIT-FOR-TAT MASSACRES BY M23 WITH CONTINUED SUPPORT FROM RWANDA. TESTIFIES JASON K. STEARNS

From RNC Newsonline

Johannesburg -  Before a jam-packed audience, on the 19^th September 2012 Jason  K. Stearns testified in front of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights.

In his testimony, he started by saying “I have been working on the eastern Congo for the past eleven years. In 2008, I was the coordinator of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Congo, and I have also worked on the country for the United Nations peacekeeping mission, as a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group, and as journalist and writer”.

From his research on the ground, he stated the following;

Background to the current crisis

Beginning with the to rise of the new M23 rebellion, is the result of the failure of the Congolese peace process to deal with the persistent causes of conflict in the region. While there are no easy fixes to these deep-rooted challenges, the United States government can help avert a further escalation by helping to broker a settlement. This will require a significant change in how the US engages with Rwanda, but also for Kinshasa to provide the political vision necessary for a solution.

The M23 mutiny

There is no doubt about Rwanda’s involvement. It has been documented by a United

Nations report released in June, by Human Rights Watch, and by the Rift Valley

Institute’s own researchers. In response to this evidence, donors suspended around $90 million in aid to Rwanda, including $200,000 from the US government.

Despite this, the situation has not improved. Rwanda has continued to support the

M23, including by sending in troops to Rutshuru near the Ugandan border in early July. Other armed groups, largely ethnically based, have also gained in strength, in part due to their links to the M23 and the Congolese army’s focus on the mutiny, and have engaged in tit-for-tat massacres of the local population.

He argued that ”The only way this kind of deal can work is if Rwanda plays a part. This means reformulating the kind of pressure put on Kigali, from asking them to stop providing support to the M23 – an outcome that is hard to measure, given the clandestine nature of the backing – to becoming an active part of the solution". "It would have to allow the Congolese government or the United Nations to deploy troops along its border with M23 territory, as well as arrest key leaders of the mutiny, some of whom are based in Rwanda".

This kind of deal will require strong and sustained pressure on Kigali. Donors, chief among them the United States and the international financial institutions where Washington has influence, have some hard choices to make. They can no longer see Rwanda’s admirable successes in health care, education and peacekeeping as separate from its interference in the Congo

In concluding he said that “the situation in the eastern Congo is bleak. But this latest crisis is also an opportunity to change the way the outside world engages with this region, and to address some of the structural problems that have caused these crises to recur with tragic regularity. It is time to act. As a matter of moral consistency, the United States cannot continue to help fund the Rwandan national budget and at the same time continue to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on programs to stabilize the eastern Congo".

So what are the implications? How will the world view us Rwandans, because of our hungry leaders? Will they swallow their pride and "do the right thing"? Or they will continue to tarnish our image, for the sake of fulfilling their stomachs? its up to you to make a change, and change starts within.

JD Mwiseneza

Johannebsurg 

RWANDA:Letter to World Bank Vice President for Africa Re. Rwanda

From Human Rights Watch
Mr. Makhtar Diop
Vice President for Africa
World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433 USA

Cc: Ms. Carrie Turk, Country Manager, Rwanda
Board of Executive Directors

 
Re: Concerns About World Bank Financing in Rwanda

Dear Vice President Diop,

I am writing to urge the World Bank to review its programing in Rwanda in light of detailed evidence of human rights abuses by the Rwandan government and the Rwandan military’s support for armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) responsible for serious human rights violations.

Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization that monitors human rights developments in more than 90 countries around the world. For more than 30 years Human Rights Watch has investigated and reported on human rights abuses by governments and non-state actors such as businesses and opposition armed groups. We have advocated for enhanced protection of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights.

Rwanda has seen significant economic growth since the genocide in 1994 and some gains in development indicators, in part thanks to the support and assistance of the World Bank and other donors.[1] However, these gains have been undermined by political repression, which has included systematic violations of the rights to free expression, association, and assembly. In addition, the Rwandan military has continued to support abusive armed rebel groups in neighboring DRC, in violation of the United Nations arms embargo. Please see attached an outline of Human Rights Watch’s key human rights concerns in Rwanda, which are of particular relevance to development and the World Bank’s mandate.

The Rwandan government has enjoyed strong support from the World Bank, despite clear evidence of its disregard of fundamental human rights both domestically and in neighboring Congo. The World Bank is one of the most significant donors in Rwanda, with a lending portfolio of almost US$300 million in active projects as of March 2012, more than US$ 100 million of which is provided as general budget support annually. In addition, the World Bank is providing approximately US$ 88 million in Trust Funds to Rwanda. The World Bank is focusing on the key sectors of agriculture, energy, transport, skills development, demobilization and reintegration and private sector development.[2]An important objective of World Bank engagement has been to ensure that the most vulnerable Rwandans benefit from growth.

The World Bank has avoided expressing public concern about the Rwandan government’s human rights violations. This shows a lack of respect for the World Bank’s human rights obligations as a United Nations specialized agency and the human rights obligations of the World Bank’s shareholders, when sitting on the board of directors.[3]

In relation to Rwanda’s Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), the Rwandan government cannot be considered to have lived up to its “flagship program” of governance, in which it was supposed to not only uphold human rights and the rule of law, but empower citizens to participate in their own social, political, and economic development. In view of the fact that alignment with the EDPRS is one of the guiding principles of World Bank support, we believe that the World Bank should do more to highlight the gulf between Rwanda’s commitments under the EDPRS and the day-to-day reality in the country, as described in the attached summary of concerns.

In July and August 2012, several major donors to Rwanda, including the US, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and Sweden, suspended or delayed part of their assistance to Rwanda following the publication of a UN Group of Experts report documenting the provision of weapons, ammunition, recruits and other support by Rwandan military officials to the Congolese armed group M23 in violation of the UN arms embargo on Congo. A key leader of the M23 is Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese warlord turned army general wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. Other donors are also currently reviewing their aid policy for Rwanda. The World Bank should give serious consideration to the destabilizing effect of Rwanda’s actions in the region through its support for armed groups responsible for serious human rights abuses in Congo.

Human Rights Watch urges the World Bank to:

• Raise with the Rwandan government concerns about ongoing serious human rights violations in Rwanda and continued Rwandan military support for armed groups committing human rights violations in Congo, both publicly and privately. Inform the Rwandan government that should it fail to take immediate action to address these concerns it will increasingly call into question its relationship with the World Bank.
• Review direct budget support to Rwanda in light of continued Rwandan military support of the M23, a Congolese rebel group responsible for serious human rights violations whose leaders have a well-established track record of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and ongoing human rights violations in Rwanda, particularly violations of the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, while continuing to support urgent social needs through alternative funding mechanisms.
• Review all World Bank programs and projects in Rwanda to ensure that World Bank funds are not contributing to human rights abuses, directly or indirectly, either in Rwanda or in Congo. Enhance supervision and monitoring of all projects, taking into account the challenges to supervision and monitoring posed by continued absence of free expression. In particular:
• Review support to demobilization and reintegration projects in light of information that former demobilized combatants have been re-recruited in Rwanda and sent to Congo to support the M23.
• Review financing of the Ministry of Local Government in view of its role in preventing two opposition political parties from registering in advance of the 2010 elections. Advise the Rwandan government that the World Bank will not directly or indirectly fund the ministry should it continue to prevent opposition parties from registering in preparation of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in 2013. 

I would also like to request a meeting with you and your colleagues to discuss these issues, at your convenience in September.

Yours sincerely,
Jessica Evans
Senior Advocate/Researcher for International Financial Institutions Human Rights Watch
Rwanda: An Overview of Key Human Rights Concerns of Particular Relevance to World Bank Programming
September 2012

Rwandan Military Support to Congolese Armed Groups Implicated in War Crimes
The Rwandan military has a long history of involvement in the conflict in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 1996, Rwandan troops invaded eastern Congo and killed large numbers of Rwandan refugees and Congolese civilians. Since that time, they have backed a succession of Congolese armed groups who have committed serious human rights abuses against civilians in eastern Congo, notably during Congo’s “second war” from 1998 to 2003, and again in 2004 and 2007-2008 when they backed the Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP).[4] These abuses have included killings of civilians, sexual violence, forced recruitment of children, arbitrary arrest, and torture. The prolonged armed conflict in Congo, which continues in the eastern part of the country, has caused massive population displacement and a humanitarian crisis. A variety of Congolese armed groups, as well as members of the Congolese army, continue to commit grave abuses.[5]

The most recent example of Rwandan military involvement in the DRC is its support for the M23, a Congolese armed group which has been implicated in human rights abuses and violations of the laws of war. A key leader of the M23 is Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese warlord turned army general who is wanted on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between 2002 and 2004. In late March 2012, an estimated 600 to 800 soldiers mutinied from the Congolese army in eastern Congo, claiming that a peace agreement struck on March 23, 2009, which had integrated them into the national army, had not been fully implemented. In May 2012, the mutineers established a new armed group called the M23, which benefited from support from the Rwandan military in the form of weapons, ammunition, recruits, and periodic troop reinforcements. Bosco Ntaganda was shielded from arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court by Rwandan military authorities who allowed him to enter Rwanda on several occasions unhindered.[6]

Human Rights Watch has continued to receive credible information on Rwandan military support for the M23 in July 2012, including the continued provision of weapons, ammunition and recruits. Rwandan soldiers and officers have also been deployed to support the M23 in offensive operations and in training new recruits.[7]

In its Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Rwanda for 2009-2012, the World Bank recognizes the potential “regional neighborhood risks including the threat of conflict and political instability in the region” and that “Rwanda’s progress in building internal security and political stability is… vulnerable to continued political instability in Eastern DRC.” However, it fails to acknowledge that the Rwandan military has actively contributed to the conflict and instability.

The Bank further suggests that its work on demobilization and reintegration “could contribute to mitigating this risk.” Yet in recent months, former M23 recruits and other sources in eastern Congo have informed Human Rights Watch that individuals recruited in Rwanda to support the M23 in Congo have included demobilized FDLR[8] and CNDP combatants, as well as demobilized soldiers from the Rwandan army. Some of these former combatants were told by demobilization coordinators or other former combatants to attend meetings for demobilized combatants, which they did in the hope of receiving financial support or finding employment. Instead, they were taken across the border to join the M23 in Congo.[9] Rwandan military authorities also recruited several hundred children under the age of 18 by force or under false pretenses in Rwanda, provided them with weapons and escorted them across the border to Congo as new recruits for the M23. Some of the children were under the age of 15. A number of the children were later summarily executed by M23 commanders when they sought to escape.[10]

Absence of Enabling Environment for Civic Participation and Social Accountability
The World Bank has increasingly recognized the importance of civic participation and social accountability for sustainable development.[11] Freedom of expression, assembly, and association is integral for civic participation, yet the World Bank has failed to effectively raise concerns about the Rwandan government’s persistent violation of these rights either publicly or through its programming documents. As detailed below, the Rwandan government’s repression has left practically no independent journalists in Rwanda and has greatly weakened independent civil society.

The Rwandan government has routinely harassed, threatened, arrested, and charged journalists and other perceived critics with criminal offenses for critical reporting of government conduct. Charges such as supporting “genocide ideology”, endangering state security and inciting public disobedience have been used to prosecute government critics. Many Rwandans live in fear of talking about certain events or expressing views which may land them in prison. The Media High Council (a government-aligned body in charge of regulating the media) suspended two of the most popular newspapers, Umuseso and Umuvugizi, in 2010 and their editors and journalists were tried on defamation charges.[12] One of Umuvugizi’s journalists, Jean-Léonard Rugambage, was murdered in June 2010.[13] Two female journalists of the newspaper Umurabyo, Agnès Uwimana and Saidati Mukakibibi, are currently serving prison sentences in connection with articles published in their newspaper; initial sentences of 17 and 7 years were reduced to 4 and 3 years on appeal, but the two women remain in prison.[14] Several other journalists have been arrested and prosecuted for various offences, as recently as 2012.[15] Most journalists now confine their work to reporting on uncontroversial subjects. New media laws contain some improvements, such as reducing burdensome administrative and financial restrictions on journalists and introducing self-regulation by the media, but in terms of risks encountered by journalists in the course of their profession, in practice, little has changed.

Rwandan independent civil society has also been greatly weakened. The government’s hostility towards human rights organizations means that there is little scope for Rwandan organizations to report on abuses by the state. Restrictive administrative regulations, threats and intimidation of human rights defenders, combined with a degree of self-censorship, have ensured that few Rwandan civil society groups publicly criticize the government’s human rights record.[16]

The government has reacted in an aggressive manner towards international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, as well as UN bodies and other groups that have published critical reports.[17] This was demonstrated most recently by the government’s angry response to the interim report of the UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo in June 2012, discussed above.[18] A similar response characterized the government’s reaction to the UN “mapping report” published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2010, which described, among other things, serious crimes committed by Rwandan troops in Congo, as well as by Congolese armed groups supported by Rwanda, in 1996 and 1997.[19] The government’s response to such reports typically consists of categorical denials of all allegations of human rights abuses, attempts to discredit the organizations publishing these reports, and repeated personalized attacks on their authors, particularly through the media.[20]

The government has used a controversial 2008 law on “genocide ideology” to target perceived government critics.[21] The parliament is currently studying a revised version of the law which proposes to address concerns about the overbroad definition of “genocide ideology” and to reduce the prescribed sentences. However, the new law, if passed in its proposed form, would retain the notion of “genocide ideology” as a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment, and remains ripe for abuse, especially in the existing context of political repression and restrictions on free speech. Rather than raising concerns about this, the World Bank, in its CAS for 2009-2012, appears to have simply accepted the government’s assertion that “genocide ideology” persists or has resurged.[22]

In its 2009-2012 CAS, the World Bank recognizes the importance of civic participation and empowerment, transparency, and accountability, but it fails to highlight that government repression is the key hurdle in achieving this.[23] Rather it emphasizes access to information on government policies and programs and the need to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations, and blindly notes that civil society organizations have increased significantly in number without noting that their independence is severely compromised.

Economic Growth without Political Freedoms
The World Bank has failed to constructively raise concerns about the potential risks that the Rwandan government’s political repression poses for sustainable development. In his case study on Rwanda for the World Development Report 2011, Omar McDoom argues that “peace is most likely to endure if Rwanda’s political space is gradually opened up” and “post-conflict stability premised on economic growth and strong leadership – but without political liberalization on the longer term – may have a finite duration and a possibly dramatic ending.” He concludes that Rwanda’s development success is fragile because it depends on the continued rule of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF): “The long-term durability of peace depends also on the gradual opening of political space and de-concentration of power in the hands of the ruling elite to allow Rwanda’s state institutions and civil and political society to evolve into responsible and independent counterweights to the regime. In the absence of such a shift in political culture Rwanda’s prospects for a peaceful and constitutional change of regime one day may be diminished and the remarkable achievements of the current regime after the genocide undone.”[24]

The RPF continues to monopolize the political scene and control almost every institution at national and local levels. President Paul Kagame won the 2010 presidential elections with more than 93% of the vote; the only rival candidates were from parties which were broadly supportive of the RPF. The 2010 pre-election period was marked by a sharp increase in intimidation and attacks against opponents and critics.[25] Similar patterns characterized the previous presidential elections in 2003 and parliamentary elections in 2008.[26] The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2013, and at the time of writing, there are no indications that the government is planning to open up political space for any meaningful opposition. The Rwandan government has continued to persecute real or suspected political opponents since the 2010 elections, into 2011 and 2012.

There are no functioning opposition parties in Rwanda. Local government authorities and police obstructed two of the three political parties that would have contested the 2010 elections (the FDU-Inkingi, the PS-Imberakuri and the Democratic Green Party), from registering.[27] At the time of writing, these parties are still not registered. The third (the PS-Imberakuri) was taken over by a faction favorable to the RPF which ousted the party’s president, Bernard Ntaganda. Bernard Ntaganda and the president of the FDU-Inkingi, Victoire Ingabire, are currently in prison. Ntaganda is serving a four year sentence for endangering national security and divisionism, while the judgment in Ingabire’s trial is due in September 2012.[28] Lower-level members of their parties have also been arrested and detained several times and continued to face harassment from the government and the ruling party. The vice-president of the Democratic Green Party was murdered in July 2010, leading its president to flee the country.[29] Two years on, no one has been charged with his murder.

Even in exile, the security of would-be opponents or critics is not guaranteed. In June 2010, General Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former close ally of President Kagame turned outspoken opponent, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in South Africa. In May 2011 the London Metropolitan Police formally warned two Rwandans living in the UK of credible threats to their security emanating from the Rwandan government. In November 2011 an unidentified gunman in the Ugandan capital Kampala shot dead a Rwandan journalist living in Uganda, known to be critical of the government.[30]

The World Bank has failed to raise concerns about the Rwandan government’s political repression and the risks that it presents for sustainable development. Rather, in its CAS for 2009-2012, it noted that “Rwanda’s approach to promoting inclusive and stable politics and governance appears to be working.”In the section entitled “Managing Risks,” it provided an unrealistically optimistic prediction for the 2010 elections and suggested that the 2010 elections provided “further opportunity to deepen Rwanda’s process of democratization.” In light of the fact that there have not been democratic, free or fair elections in Rwanda since the RPF-dominated government has been in power, this analysis was severely misplaced. Unfortunately, as illustrated above and in the documents referenced in this briefing, events in 2010 proved that little had changed in terms of the RPF’s unwillingness to open up political space.

The Lack of Independence of the Justice System
A number of legal reforms have improved the performance and efficiency of the justice system in Rwanda. However, the judiciary still suffers from a lack of independence, and the government has interfered with the conduct and outcome of a number of trials, especially in cases of a political nature, such as the prosecution of opposition politicians and journalists referred to above.

In addition, Human Rights Watch has documented cases of unlawful detention and torture in military custody. Judges trying such cases have not ordered investigations into defendants’ allegations that they were unlawfully detained or tortured and did not take these allegations into account in their sentencing.[31]

Lawyers are reluctant to take on cases relating to state security, political issues, media freedoms and genocide ideology, as well as cases in which suspects have been illegally detained, limiting a defendant’s right to legal representation. Many suspects in these types of cases are asked to pay exorbitant fees that they can usually not afford, in order to balance that risk.

Community-based gacaca courts, responsible for trying genocide-related cases, finished their work in 2012. They have tried more than 1.2 million cases since 2005. They leave behind a mixed legacy, with a number of positive achievements – including their swift work, the extensive participation of the local population, and the revelation of information about events during 1994 – alongside violations of the right to a fair trial, intimidation of witnesses, and corruption of judges and other parties.[32] Unfortunately, the World Bank CAS has not recognized the mixed nature of this legacy, claiming only that the system of gacaca courts “enjoys the broad approval of the population.” According to extensive Human Rights Watch field research and observation of gacaca trials, opinions about gacaca are sharply divided, with many Rwandans expressing deep dissatisfaction with the process.[33]

---

[1]According to the World Bank, GDP has grown from US$ 2.6 billion in 1990 to US$ 6.38 billion in 2011. The under-five mortality rate has reduced from 177 per 1,000 births in 2000 to 91 in 2010, life expectancy has increased from 47 in 2000 to 55 in 2010, and primary school completion has increased from 23% in 2000 to 70% in 2010. However, the World Bank Independent Evaluation Group noted in its 2008 review that “the only evidence on poverty reduction shows little progress.” Some academic studies have pointed to growing inequality and a widening gap between rich and poor, and urban and rural populations (see for example An Ansoms, “Resurrection after Civil War and Genocide: Growth, Poverty and Inequality in Post-Conflict Rwanda”, in European Journal of Development Research, 17, no.3, 2005, and “Striving for Growth, Bypassing the Poor? A Critical Review of Rwanda’s Rural Sector Policies”, in Journal of Modern African Studies, 46, no.1, 2008).

[2]The World Bank Group, “Results Profile: Rwanda,” undated, http://go.worldbank.org/UEKJXU1SH0 (accessed September 5, 2012).

[3]The World Bank is a specialized agency of the UN within the meaning of article 57 of the UN Charter. Pursuant to article 55 of the UN Charter, the United Nations shall promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. As former World Bank general counsel Ibrahim Shihata has recognized, “Members’ obligations under the UN Charter prevail over their other treaty obligations, including their obligations under the [World] Bank’s Articles of Agreement, by force of an explicit provision in the UN Charter (Article 103)”. See Ibrahim Shihata (ed.) “Exclusion of Political Considerations in the Bank’s Articles – Its Meaning and Scope in the Context of the Institution’s Evolution,” in The World Bank in a Changing World: Selected Essays and Lectures, vol. II, ed. Ibrahim Shihata (Dorderecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1991), 76.

[4]See Human Rights Watch, DR Congo – “You Will Be Punished": Attacks on Civilians in Eastern Congo, December 13, 2009, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/12/13/you-will-be-punished; and Human Rights Watch, DR Congo - Renewed Crisis in North Kivu, October 24, 2007, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2007/10/23/renewed-crisis-north-kivu.

[5]For further information, see Human Rights Watch reports and press releases available at http://www.hrw.org/drc; and UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003”, August 2010, http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/ZR/DRC_MAPPING_REPORT_FINAL_EN.pdf (accessed August 31, 2012).

[6]For further details, see “DR Congo: Rwanda Should Stop Aiding War Crimes Suspect,” Human Rights Watch news release, June 4, 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/03/dr-congo-rwanda-should-stop-aiding-war-crimes-suspect-0; and United Nations Security Council, “UN Group of Experts Interim Report,” S/2012/348, June 21, 2012, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2012/348 (accessed August 28, 2012) and “Addendum,” S/2012/348/Add.1, June 27, 2912, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2012/348/Add.1 (accessed August 28, 2012).

[7]Human Rights Watch interviews in various locations in eastern DRC,July and August 2012.

[8]TheDemocratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a largely Rwandan armed group operating in Congo, composed in part of individuals who took part in the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

[9]See “DR Congo: Rwanda Should Stop Aiding War Crimes Suspect,” Human Rights Watch news release, June 4, 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/03/dr-congo-rwanda-should-stop-aiding-war-crimes-suspect-0.

[10]Human Rights Watch interviews in various locations in eastern DRC,July and August 2012.

[11]See, for instance, World Bank Group, “World Bank Global Partnership on Social Accountability Approved by Board of Executive Directors,” June 25, 2012, http://go.worldbank.org/LRLHHQMA30l (accessed August 31, 2012). See also former World Bank president Robert Zoellick’s April 2011 landmark speech, “The Middle East and North Africa: A New Social Contract for Development,” April 6, 2011, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2011/04/06/middle-east-north-africa-new-social-contract-development (accessed August 31, 2012).

[12]“Rwanda: Stop attacks on journalists, opponents,” Human Rights Watch news release, June 26, 2010, http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/06/26/rwanda-stop-attacks-journalists-opponents.

[13]Ibid.

[14]See “Rwanda: Opposition leader’s sentence upheld,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 27, 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/27/rwanda-opposition-leader-s-sentence-upheld.

[15]As of this writing in September 2012, Stanley Gatera, editor of Umusingi newspaper, is in detention awaiting trial on charges of discrimination and sectarianism in connection with an opinion piece published in his newspaper; Idriss Gasana Byringiro, a journalist from The Chronicles, is awaiting trial for allegedly lying to the police after reporting his own abduction, a crime that could carry a five year prison sentence; and in June 2012 a radio journalist, Tusiime Annonciata of Flash FM, was beaten unconscious by police and security personnel outside Parliament. Journalists continue to flee the country.

[16]See Human Rights Watch, World Report 2012, (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2012) Rwanda, http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-rwanda; Human Rights Watch, World Report 2011, (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2011) Rwanda, http://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2011/rwanda.

[17]In 2010, immigration officials cancelled the work permit of Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher on Rwanda, forcing her to leave the country. See “Rwanda: Allow Human Rights Watch to Work,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 23, 2010, http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/04/23/rwanda-allow-human-rights-watch-work.

[18]See Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, “Rwanda’s Response to the Allegations Contained in the Addendum to the UN Group of Experts Interim Report”, July 27, 2012, http://www.minaffet.gov.rw/fileadmin/templates/minaffet/doc/Rwanda%27s%20Response.pdf (accessed August 31, 2012).

[19]See Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, “Official Government of Rwanda Comments on the Draft UN Mapping Report on the DRC,” September 30, 2010, available at http://www.minaffet.gov.rw/fileadmin/templates/minaffet/doc/official_government.pdf (accessed September 5, 2012).

[20]For example, in late August 2012, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs declared in a meeting with diplomats in Kigali that the coordinator of the UN Group of Experts was sympathetic to the FDLR. She made a similar statement to the UN Security Council in New York on August 29, 2012. See “Mushikiwabo’s remarks to UN Security Council on DRC”, New Times, August 30, 2012, http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15100&a=57680(accessed August 31, 2012).

[21]Law N° 18/2008 of 23/07/2008 Relating to the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Ideology, 23 July 2008.

[22]See The World Bank Group, “Country Assistance Strategy for the Republic of Rwanda for the period of FY09-FY12,” August 7, 2008, p.13, Para. 53. “There are nevertheless concerns about killings of genocide survivors by perpetrators who had been released and the persistence/resurgence of what the Government has termed ‘genocide ideology.’”

[23]The World Bank does, however, importantly recognize that it should set an example by providing access to information on its own operations, consulting widely through its own processes, and effectively disseminating analytical documents.

[24]Omar McDoom, “Rwanda’s exit pathway from violence: a strategic assessment”, April 2011, World Development Report 2011, Background Case Study. For articles by a range of authors on different aspects of post-genocide Rwanda, see “Remaking Rwanda: State Building and Human Rights after Mass Violence”, ed. Scott Straus and Lars Waldorf (University of Wisconsin Press, 2011).

[25]See Human Rights Watch chronology, “Rwanda: Silencing Dissent Ahead of Elections,” August 2, 2010, http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/08/02/rwanda-attacks-freedom-expression-freedom-association-and-freedom-assembly-run-presi.

[26]See Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009, (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2009) Rwanda, http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2009/rwanda; and Human Rights Watch, Rwanda – Preparing for elections: tightening control in the name of unity, May 8, 2003, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/05/08/preparing-elections.

[27]See Human Rights Watch, “Universal Periodic Review: Rwanda, Submission for the 10th UPR session at the Human Rights Council (January 2011)”, July 5, 2010, http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/07/05/universal-periodic-review-rwanda.

[28]See “Rwanda: Opposition leader’s sentence upheld,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 27, 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/27/rwanda-opposition-leader-s-sentence-upheld; “Rwanda: Prison Term for Opposition Leader,” Human Rights Watch news release, February 11, 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/02/11/rwanda-prison-term-opposition-leader.

[29]See “Rwanda: Allow independent autopsy of opposition politician,” Human Rights Watch news release, July 21, 2010, http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/07/20/rwanda-allow-independent-autopsy-opposition-politician.

[30]See “Uganda/Rwanda: Investigate Journalist’s Murder,” Human Rights Watch news release, December 6, 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/06/ugandarwanda-investigate-journalist-s-murder.

[31]See Human Rights Watch, World Report 2012 (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2012), Rwanda, http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-rwanda.

[32]See Human Rights Watch, Rwanda – Justice compromised: The Legacy of Rwanda’s Community-Based Gacaca Courts, May 31, 2011, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2011/05/31/justice-compromised-0.

[33]Ibid.

RWANDA:Niryari Abanyrwanda Bazicara Hamwe Bakumvikana?

ByKanuma Christophe

Nyuma yo kumva ikiganiro urubuga rw'imikino kuri radio 1 nongeye gutekereza cyane kukibazo nkunda kwibaza: Ni ryari abanyarwanda tuzagira umutima w'ubworoherane mu gihe dukemura ibibazo dufitanye nabagenzi bacu.(1) Umunyamakuru Muramira F
rancois Regis ukunzwe cyane n'abumva urubuga kuri radio 1 yumvikanye avuga ko AZI KANDI AHORA YITEGUYE GUHANGANA n'uwariwe wese wamushotora ubwo yasobanuraga ibyo abanyamakuru bagenzi be ba www.ruhagoyacu.com bamwanditseho. Yanahanganye nabo

(2) Evode Uwizeyimana na Alain Patrick Ndengera ubwo basezeraga muri RDI Rwandanziza ya Faustin Twagiramungu, ababashije gusoma inyandiko zaba bagabo biboneye uburyo Evode Uwizeyimana yanditse abwira Twagiramungu ko AZI KANDI AHORA YITEGUYE GUHANGANA nawe mubinyamakuru kandi ati ntamukangishe ko ari umusaza. Baranahanganye mubinyamakuru karahava

(3) Niba nibuka neza General James Kabarebe asobanura ibya General Kayumba Nyamwasa yawe yagize ati bariya intambara batangiza yarangira uwo munsi bayitangirizaho kandi ati ndabazi ntabushobozi bafite bwo GUHANGANA natwe

(4) Perezida wa Repubulika nawe yigeze kuvuga ibisa n'ibyo ubwo yari mububiligi ati abahora babuza abanyarwanda gutaha bababeshya ngo bigiye gutungana barabashuka....bazabinyuza muzihe nzira se?.......

(5) Muribuka uko Kayibanda Gregoire na Habyarimana Juvenal bagiye k'ubutegetsi

Mpita nibaza nti ni ryari muby'ukuri umunyarwanda azumva ko agomba gukemura ibibazo afitanye na mugenzi we mubwumvikane atiriwe AHANGANA? Ibi murabona bitanga icyizere cy'uko rimwe ibiganiro n'ubwumvikane bizashoboka mu Rwanda cg GUHANGANA byadukukiyemo biri mumuco munyarwanda?

RWANDA-USA: ANTI-KAGAME RALLY IN BOSTON

Rwandans, Congolese and Burundians team up with the Boston community at large to protest against President Paul Kagame’s presence in the US.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Theophile Murayi, 443-980-4676

Theogene Rudasingwa, 815-298-3444 

What:

Join us in Boston for a massive protest against Paul Kagame's continuing effort to kill Rwandans and Congolese, seek his accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity, reclaim an end to his brutal dictatorial regime, call for immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Bernard Ntaganda, Deo Mushayidi, Theoneste Niyitegeka and independent journalists, including Agnes Uwimana Nkusi and Saidati Mukakibibi and seek support from the international community for a peaceful democratic change in Rwanda. We are deeply concerned that Paul Kagame is on a covert trip aimed at implementing his criminal enterprise in North America to target overt and supposed political opponents to his killing machine.

Where:

The Westin Copley Place

10 Huntington Avenue

Boston, MA 02116

When:

Saturday, September 22, 2012

From 10: 00 AM to 6: 00 PM EST

Organized by:

Forces Démocratiques Unifiées (FDU-Inkingi)
Rwanda National Congress (RNC-Ihuliro)
Congrès National Rwandais (CNR-Intwari)
Organization for Peace, Justice and Development in Rwanda (OPJDR)
Initiative for Democracy and Development (IDD)

RWANDA:Hommage au prince Antoine Theophile NYETERA

Antoine Theophile NYETERA

Antoine NYETERA était l'ami de la vérité, ennemi du mensonge.

Il était un homme intègre, un homme courageux, homme de parole et de convictions;

Il était un homme juste et semeur des graines de la réconciliation hutu - tutsi, lui qui acceptait qu'on l'appelle TUTSI;

Il aimait tous les hommes et son amour avait pu ainsi chasser la peur de l'autre, car NYETERA n'avait jamais peur de personne et de rien, sauf celle de professer un mensonge.

Que la terre lui soit légère, pour un repos éternel.

Cher Antoine, tu pars trop tôt, nous avions encore besoin des hommes comme vous.

Rwamucyo.com

Script de l'intervention d'Antoine NYETERA à la conférence de Rouen en 2006 modérée par Dr Eugène RWAMUCYO, avec la participation de Michel BESNARD, Charles ONANA, Pierre PEAN, Joseph MATATA et Christian DE BEULE.

"Monsieur le Modérateur merci.

A propos du mensonge qui se perpétue dans ce pays (ndrl: le conférence se tient à Roeun en France), je crois que Pierre Péan (... oui, ..) je crois que Pierre Péan s'est inspiriré de mon rapport à Arusha. Deux fois ... (... non, ... C'est dommage ... C'est mal réglé ... Sinon il y a des vibrations ...)

Je disais donc que Pierre Péan s'est inspiré de mes rapports présentés à Arusha, Parlant du mensonge, si on s'en prend à Pierre Péan, pour avoir rapporté mon rapport dans son livre, ils auraient dû s'attaquer à moi. ....

(suite: voir vidéo ci-dessus: Rwanda, conférence de Rouen: Partie 7 - exorcistes de la peur, de la haine et du mensonge)

-----------------------------------------

"L'un des rares rwandais à aller contre les solidarités négatives"

Lu su Musabyimana.net.

"L'un des rares rwandais à aller contre les solidarités négatives"

Lu su Musabyimana.net.

"L'un des rares rwandais à aller contre les solidarités négatives" Antoine-Théophile NYETERA - Né le 13 décembre 1936; Tutsi descendant en ligne directe du Mwami (roi) Kigeri III Ndabarasa. Ecole primaire à Kamonyi (Gitarama). - Etudes secondaires au Noviciat des Frères Josephites à Kabgayi (Gitarama); Secrétaire particulier et collaborateur de Mgr Alexis Kagame dans la recherche sur l’histoire et l’anthropologie culturelle rwandaise; Diplômé de l’Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts et des Arts appliqués à l’Industrie à Bourges et de l’Académie Notre-Dame-des-Champs à Paris (France) (1964 – 1967). - Fonctionnaire au Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur chargé des recherches et de la promotion de la culture et des arts (1967-1979). - Membre consultant de l’Académie de la Culture Rwandaise (A.R.C.); Professeur visiteur d’éducation artistique dans les Collèges St. André et Apacope; Chargé du Programme audio-visuel au Ministère de l’Enseignement Primaire et Secondaire (1979-1985); Membre de la commission du Lexique thématique et de la traduction, de 1979 à 1985; Membre permanent de la Commission de la promotion culturelle et du Jury national pour les œuvres d’art littéraire et plastique. - Auteur de plusieurs œuvres d’art, notamment les timbres-poste pour le Rwanda et pour l’UNICEF; Concepteur des modèles des Ordres Nationaux. - Chercheur indépendant subventionné par le Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche scientifique et de la Culture, jusqu’en 1994. - Témoin au Tribunal Pénal International pour le Rwanda (TPIR) à Arusha dans plusieurs affaires. ________________________________________________________________ Timbre dessiné par Antoine Nyetera à l'occasion du 10è Anniversaire de la Révolution de 1959 (1959-1969). Il représente un Rwandais perçant le tambour-emblème (Kalinga) du régime féodo-monarchique par le drapeau républicain et piétinant la parure royale et le casque du colonisateur ________________________________________________________________ L'UNICEF avait beaucoup investi dans des campagnes de vaccination des enfants via le "Programme Elargi de Vaccination" (PEV). Le taux de couverture vaccinale chez les enfants rwandais était l'un des plus élévés  en Afrique. Timbre émis le 18 février 1987.  ________________________________________________________________ Antoine Nyetera a dessiné pour l'UNICEF des timbres postes dans le cadre du Programme "Révolution pour la survie de l'enfant". La première émission de ce timbre-poste date du 18 février 1987. _____________________________________________________________ Timbre poste émis le 04 avril 1972 à l'occasion du 10è Anniversaire du Réferendum-Kamarampaka (1961-1971). MDR PARMEHUTU était encore au pouvoir avec Grégoire Kayibanda comme Président. Il sera déstitué en juillet 1973 par le Général Juvénal Habyarimana. ____________________________________________________________ L'UNICEF encourageait, dans ses programmes, l'allaitement maternel. Le dessin de l'artiste Antoine Nyetera a servi à l'UNICEF pour vulgariser ce principe dans l'éducation pour la santé. Timbre datant de novembre 1980. ____________________________________________________________ L'allaitement maternel doit être privilégié pour la bonne santé de l'enfant. L'UNICEF y travaille. Timbre émis le 13 février 1987. __________________________________________________________ Au Rwanda l'UNICEF avait beaucoup investi dans des formations pour apprendre aux femmes comment bien nourrir leurs enfants. Cela se passait dans des Centres Nutritionnels éparpillés sur tout le pays. Un centre de Formation en Nutrition existait à Ruhengeri. ___________________________________________________ Au Rwanda, les centres nutritionnels étaient  entre autres chargés de l'éducation pour la santé __________________________________________________

Drapeau tricolore rwandais à l'ONU (1962-1994). Il fut aboli avec l'arrivée du FPR au pouvoir en juillet 1994. Timbre émis le 26 septembre 1980.

Source: Musabyimana.net

--------------------------------

www.rwamucyo.com, 15.09.2012

Drapeau tricolore rwandais à l'ONU (1962-1994). Il fut aboli avec l'arrivée du FPR au pouvoir en juillet 1994. Timbre émis le 26 septembre 1980.

Source: Musabyimana.net

RWANDA-CANADA:Le Canada face aux pièges du dossier rwandais

Le Soleil

Le dossier rwandais, pour les démocraties occidentales, s'avère de plus en plus un terrain miné. Les autorités canadiennes en savent quelque chose. Au cours des dernières années, rares furent, au regard du Rwanda, des initiatives prises par le Canada qui n'aient fait polémique: on se souviendra, entre autres, du tollé né de la décision des autorités canadiennes d'octroyer à Paul Kagame, le président rwandais, un visa d'entrée au Canada à l'été 2006. On se rappellera aussi de l'indignation suscitée par la visite à Kigali, au printemps 2010, de l'ancienne gouverneure générale Michaëlle Jean, alors que le régime rwandais cadenassait le processus électoral qui devait conférer un second septennat à Paul Kagame au terme d'une mascarade électorale sans nom.

RPF Soldiers killing Hutus in DRC

La tradition canadienne en matière de politique extérieure s'est gardée des oeillères caritatives et est restée à l'écart du regard colonial et des leçons de morale à l'endroit de l'Afrique. Malgré cette prudence, la position du Canada dans le dossier des droits humains devient de plus en plus illisible. Sa croisade récente contre le Guide libyen , Muammar Kadhafi, a été largement appréciée. Mais son silence assourdissant face au rapport «Mapping» de l'ONU, rendu public le 1er octobre 2010 et qui montrait que l'armée rwandaise de M. Kagame avait perpétré des crimes contre l'humanité - d'aucuns ont même évoqué le terme de génocide - à l'encontre des réfugiés rwandais, majoritairement Hutu, en République démocratique du Congo, a froidement douché l'enthousiasme des défenseurs des droits de la personne. Nous assistons donc à un fléchissement de la politique extérieure canadienne qui nous fait passer à côté d'une relation historique liant le Canada et le Rwanda. Pourtant, des raisons ne manquent pas en faveur d'une implication plus vigoureuse du Canada à l'endroit de ce pauvre petit pays des Grands Lacs africains.
Des raisons liées à l'Histoire
L'année 2013 consacre le 50e anniversaire de la création de l'Université nationale du Rwanda (UNR), une oeuvre que l'on doit à l'action courageuse du regretté père Georges-Henri Lévesque, et qui ouvrit ses portes le 3 novembre 1963 à une poignée d'étudiants rwandais. Depuis lors, cette oeuvre tira bénéfice de la coopération bilatérale entre le Canada et le Rwanda.
Ce grand chantier que fut l'UNR a été réalisé avec l'appui moral, technique et financier du Québec et du Canada, fidèles en cela à une histoire commune, longue et fertile qu'ils partageaient avec le Rwanda. L'UNR fut aussi l'aboutissement de l'engagement du Québec et du Canada envers le Rwanda pour les liens d'entraide, de travail et d'amitié que l'Histoire a permis d'entretenir mais qui ont connu leur lot de soubresauts suite au drame rwandais. Ces liens s'étaient raffermis par le biais de l'Université du Québec, car les deux institutions - l'Université du Québec et l'UNR - partageaient des valeurs et des causes communes.
Pour bien mettre les choses dans leur contexte, il faut rappeler que l'Université du Québec a été créée en 1968, par une loi votée à l'Assemblée nationale, pour jouer un rôle social en favorisant l'accès aux études supérieures auprès des populations qui en étaient éloignées pour des raisons sociologiques ou géographiques. Cette noble vocation était, faut-il le souligner, très proche de celle qu'avait adoptée l'UNR, depuis sa création jusqu'à la fin des années 80, tout juste avant le « tsunami » socio-politique rwandais des années 90 qui allait tout emporter sur son passage. La collaboration entre l'Université du Québec et l'UNR a porté sur plusieurs fronts allant du développement institutionnel et administratif aux communications, en passant par la gestion et la recherche scientifique. Sans oublier le développement des ressources de la fonction publique rwandaise grâce à l'appui de l'École nationale d'administration publique, ainsi que l'action de nombreux professeurs québécois qui ont passé une bonne partie de leur carrière au service de l'UNR et le nombre de Rwandais qui ont été formés dans les murs des universités du Québec et du Canada. Ce projet inachevé - à cause notamment du génocide rwandais -, dans lequel nombre de personnalités québécoises ont laissé des marques indélébiles, reste une parfaite illustration de l'essence des valeurs d'éducation et de formation qui ont sous-tendu la coopération canadienne au Rwanda, dont le Québec assurait l'ossature principale.
Quel autre pays de l'Occident pourrait-il s'enorgueillir autant d'un si vaste héritage en faveur du Rwanda ? Fort de ce bagage que nous venons de passer en revue, le Canada devrait légitimement soutenir les efforts de démocratisation du Rwanda, lesquels efforts sont aujourd'hui dans l'impasse et se butent à une dictature sanguinaire qui réprime dans le sang toute velléité d'opposition. Fort de ce même bagage, le Canada devrait être en droit, à la faveur du jubilé d'or de l'UNR, de soulever avec les autorités rwandaises, - même si le dossier est potentiellement explosif et qu'il continue de remuer bien des passions -, des questions qui fâchent sur le terrain de la justice et du respect des droits humains.
Des raisons de paix et de sécurité
Les États-Unis, la Grande-Bretagne, l'Allemagne, les Pays-Bas et les pays scandinaves viennent de suspendre l'aide qu'ils destinaient au gouvernement de Paul Kagame. Les montants d'argent en cause sont peut-être trop peu importants pour ébranler le régime rwandais. Mais c'est un signal fort sur le plan de la symbolique diplomatique. Qu'attendrait le Canada pour emboîter le pas aux autres pays en vue de signifier son attachement à la paix dans cette région des Grands Lacs africains? Les autorités canadiennes ont été avares, ces dernières années, d'initiatives de dissuasion dans le dossier rwandais. Mais continueront-elles de fermer les yeux sur le soutien de Kigali aux forces rebelles du M23, qui mettent cette région de l'Afrique en coupe réglée ?
On pourrait partir des valeurs universelles, dont le Canada a éclairé le monde et qui devraient guider son action internationale. Ce sont, pour ne mentionner que quelques unes, des valeurs des droits de l'Homme, de la démocratie, et de la justice internationale. En défendant ces valeurs, le Canada fait montre d'une conception singulière des relations avec les peuples du monde et se fait le porte-voix des «sans-voix». Il ne devrait donc pas être question, pour le Canada, de se montrer frileux ou silencieux devant les horreurs que subissent les Rwandais, prisonniers d'un régime qui les terrorise.
Arrêtées et accusées «de négationnisme et d'idéologie génocidaire» - une charge fourre-tout du despotisme kagaméen -, des figures de l'opposition rwandaise sont depuis des années en prison, soumises à de dures conditions d'incarcération. Ainsi va le Rwanda du général Kagame et son DMI qui traitent les opposants rwandais comme jadis l'Union soviétique et son KGB le faisaient des dissidents!
Le Canada devrait constamment rappeler au régime rwandais que le respect de l'opposition, la liberté de la presse, la capacité pour les Rwandais de participer à la vie publique, quelles que soient leurs opinions politiques, sont des principes essentiels et non négociables. Les Premiers ministres Harper et Marois doivent se rendre à Kinshasa en République démocratique du Congo, en octobre prochain, pour participer au Sommet de la francophonie. Le Rwanda sera invité à ce Sommet. Le Québec et le Canada devraient dire haut et fort que la francophonie n'est pas qu'une affaire linguistique mais également une communauté de valeurs, de principes et d'idéaux politiques. Il faudra néanmoins déployer des trésors de diplomatie pour éviter d'embraser certains esprits tout en signifiant sans détour aux autorités rwandaises que l'intimidation des opposants politiques reste un sujet de préoccupation pour le Québec et le Canada.
Augustin Baziramwabo, président sortant
Communauté des immigrants rwandais de la région d'Ottawa-Gatineau (C.I.R.O.)