Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch



Welcome to
Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch Blog. Our objective is to promote the institutions of democracy,social justice,Human Rights,Peace, Freedom of Expression, and Respect to humanity in Rwanda,Uganda,DR Congo, Burundi,Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya,Ethiopia, and Somalia. We strongly believe that Africa will develop if only our presidents stop being rulers of men and become leaders of citizens. We support Breaking the Silence Campaign for DR Congo since we believe the democracy in Rwanda means peace in DRC. Follow this link to learn more about the origin of the war in both Rwanda and DR Congo:http://www.rwandadocumentsproject.net/gsdl/cgi-bin/library


Showing posts with label Kagame Criminal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kagame Criminal. Show all posts

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Plan d’Elimination d’Ingabire Victoire par les Services Secrets Rwandais

Les services secrets militaires rwandais (DMI) en collaboration avec la police nationale auraient orchestré le complot visant à inculper et à éliminer Madame Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza sur bases d’accusations de participation à des activités terroristes.
General Rwarakabije
Suite à une fuite d’informations dans les services secrets de Kagame, le rédacteur en chef du Journal Umuvugizi Jean Bosco Gasasira a révélé qu’un plan d’élimination de Madame Victoire Ingabire a été conçu par le colonel Dan Munyuza assisté par le Général  Rwarakabije.  
Le Général Rwarakabije a été chargé d’une mission de trouver un agent qui pourrait jouer le rôle central dans l’exécution du plan. Il a été chargé d’engager des agents d’ethnie Hutu membres de la rébellion FDRL qui seraient aussi fiables que facilement influençables pour collaborer dans ce plan Machiavélique, révèle le journal Umuvugizi  de vendredi le 15 Octobre.
Le journal a confirmé que «le Général Rwarakabije a choisi un de ses anciens hommes du FDRL, un certain Major [Vital] Uwumuremyi qui est arrivé au Rwanda il y a quelques mois avec son groupe. Une fois au Rwanda, il a reçu la mission de retourner au Congo pour espionner ses camarades. Il a effectué sa mission secrète à plusieurs reprises avant de pouvoir gagner confiance de ses commanditaires. Les renseignements reçus nous confirment qu’il aurait reçu une somme importante d’argent pour le convaincre et gagner sa confiance. ”
Il est aujourd’hui connu que, lorsque le Général Kayumba et le colonel Karegeya ont déserté et fui le pays, les services secrets militaires de l’armée de Kagame ont entamer le plan de les accuser de crimes de terrorisme afin qu’ils puissent être ramenés au Rwanda. Le plan avait aussi l’objectif de les diaboliser enfin de les isoler surtout que ces deux hommes ont des supporteurs dans l’armée et de la communauté civile de la partie du FPR.
Umuvugizi confirme également que ce n’est que dans le plan élaboré par le DMI qu’une armée fantôme appelée CDF (Coalition des Forces Démocratiques) a été inventé, communiqués de presse et tracts à l’appui. En réalité, ce groupe armé n’existe pas. Il n’a été inventé que pour créer des motifs pour l’extradition vers le Rwanda des généraux de l’armée en exil.
Plan recyclé
“Lorsque cette stratégie n’a pas fonctionné comme prévu, l’Afrique du Sud ayant refusé d’extrader les deux généraux, le plan a été redirigé à l’arrestation de Mme Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, en utilisant l’agent Major Uwumuremyi.
Ceci était une réaction au fait que les accusations antérieures à l’encontre de Madame Victoire Ingabire ont été largement considérées comme fausses.” Umuvugizi continue.
La communauté internationale continue de condamner les lois controversées sur l’idéologie du  génocide  sur base des quelles les accusations commune sont utilisées comme outil politique pour étouffer l’opposition. Sur ce, le gouvernement de Paul Kagame aurait même accepté d’entreprendre une révision de ces lois.
“Les services secrets ont soigneusement planifié le dossier de Victoire Ingabire. Lorsque le complot a été correctement mis au point, le plan a été soumis à Kagame qui l’a accepté. Il a immédiatement commencé à souligner qu’il n’est pas illégal d’inculper un membre de l’opposition quand il s’est rendu coupable. Il a transmis le plan à la police et au procureur general afin qu’ils puissent commencer à agir. Agent Uwumuremyi était déjà prêt à accuser faussement Victoire Ingabire de participer à la formation du dit groupe armé”
Kagame a délibérément insister dans ses déclarations à la presse internationale qu’il n’était pas illégal d’arrêter et traduire en justice quelqu’un qui menace la sécurité nationale. Cet argument a été également entendu dans son discours lors de la cérémonie de prestation de serment du nouveau gouvernement il ya quelques jours. Il s’est plaint que la communauté internationale lui demandait de permettre à ses adversaires politiques d’agir aisement alors qu’elle, dans leur pays, punissent ceux qui sont opposés à leurs politiques gouvernementales: «Nous savons qu’ils ont arrêté un membre du parlement en raison de ses opinions antimusulmane, mais ils condamnent notre mise en état d’arrestation ceux avec l’idéologie du génocide » a dit Kagame.
Il a continué à souligner le même argument et que [la communauté internationale] n’ont pas le droit de le qualifier de dictateur. Ces déclarations avaient l’objectif de préparer le projet d’arrestation de Madame Victoire Ingabire.
En ce moment, la communauté internationale, les pays donateurs en particulier, font pression sur Kagame d’accepter de former un gouvernement avec des membres de partis d’opposition. Avec son plan, il serait donc en mesure de prouver que l’opposition n’est composée que de personnes contestables. Une autre raison est que Ingabire était devenu assez compétitive à Kagame depuis qu’elle ose de le critiquer publiquement et de collaborer efficacement avec les donateurs sur les questions politiques rwandaises. Elle était un sérieux obstacle à la politique étrangère de Kagame.
Bernard Ntaganda approché par Kagame

Un autre fait qui a été révélé par l’informateur du journal est que, comme la communauté internationale faisait pression sur Kagame, il aurait conçu un plan de s’approche de Me Bernard Ntaganda [président du Parti  Socialiste qui est présentement en prison] pour l’utiliser au dénigrement de Mme Victoire Ingabire . Le plan a été d’attirer Ntaganda sur le côté du gouvernement, comme ça s’est passé avec tant d’autres politiciens de l’opposition, tels que [le sénateur Stanley] Safari, qui ont contribué la destruction de leur propre partis politiques en échange de bon postes de travail.
Les informations reçues auraient confirmé que [Ntaganda] a été rencontré en prison et a été invité à signer des déclarations de demande d’excuses à Kagame tout en déclarant qu’il renie Victoire Ingabire. En échange, il devait être libéré de prison et récompensé par octroi d’un poste important au sein du gouvernement. L’informateur a révélé qu’il a été rappelé au bureau directeur de la prison “1930″, pendant la nuit pour rencontrer les agents chargés de le convaincre. Il aurait même été amené à l’extérieur de la prison pour le convaincre encore plus.
Bernard Ntaganda à catégoriquement refusé de signer. Comme punition, il a été transféré dans une cellule d’isolement et reste dans des conditions atroces.
Selon le journal Umuvugizi, les informations reçues confirme que «Victoire Ingabire sera administrée une sorte de poison lent pour mettre fin à sa carrière politique. En même temps, les agents de renseignement spéciaux infiltrés dans les missions diplomatiques au Rwanda travaillent sans relâche pour convaincre les ambassadeurs que Victoire Ingabire faisait partie du dit groupe armé terroriste
Dès son arrivée au Rwanda, Mme Victoire Ingabire a été accusé d’idéologie et de la négation du génocide ainsi que de collaborer avec le groupe armé FDRL. Elle est prétendument accusée de fournir un soutien financier au groupe armé.
Aujourd’hui, toutes ces allégations ont changé. Elle est maintenant accusée d’avoir participé à la formation d’une nouvelle armée CDF et de lui fournir des armes. Jean Bosco Gasasira, le rédacteur en chef du journal Umuvugizi, qui est familier avec ces charges qui changent tout le temps a confirmé que ce n’est que pure invention. Cette culture au sein du parti FPR dirigé par Paul Kagame a coûté des vies de nombreuses personnes innocentes qui ont la malchance d’avoir différentes opinions politiques que celle du Président.
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Leaked: Rwandan Secret Services’ Plan to Eliminate Victoire Ingabire

SOURCE:Theproxylake
By Claire Umurungi 
The Rwandan directory of military intelligence DMI in collaboration with national police force may have masterminded the conspiracy to indict and eliminate Madam Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza with charges of participating in terrorist activities.
Army General Rwarakabije
On a tip off from an informant from Kagame’s secret services, the exiled Umuvugizi newspaper Chief Editor Jean Bosco Gasasira revealed that the plan to eliminate Madam Victoire Ingabire was engineered by Colonel Dan Munyuza assisted by Army General Rwarakabije.
General Rwarakabije was asked to find an agent to play a central role to carry out the plan. He was tasked to hire a Hutu ethnic agents from FDRL that can be as reliable as easily influenced to collaborate in the Machiavelli plan, Umuvugizi Newspaper revealed Sunday 17th October.
The Newspaper confirmed that “General Rwarakabije picked one of his men from FDRL, a certain Major [Vital] Uwumuremyi who arrived in Rwanda a few months ago with his group. Once in Rwanda he was given a mission to return to Congo to spy on his comrades. He carried out his secret mission on several occasions before they were able to trust him. Information we have confirms that he received a large amount of money to convince him and be confident.”
It is believed that, when General Kayumba and Colonel Karegeya defected and fled the country, the Kagame’s army intelligent services planned to accuse them of terrorism crimes so that they can be brought back to Rwanda. The plan was also to get them isolated especially that both men have strong support in the army and civil community of the RPF party.
Umuvugizi confirms also that, earlier, the plan was devised by the Directory of Military Intelligence (DMI), which invented a ghost army called CDF (Coalition of Democratic Forces) and issued press releases and tracts to back it up.
In actual fact, this army group does not exist. It was only invented to create grounds for extraditing exiled army generals back to Rwanda.
Recyled Plan
“When this strategy did not work as planned as South Africa refused to extradite both generals, the plan was redirected at Mme Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza’s arrest, using agent Major Uwumuremyi, especially because her earlier accusations were widely seen as false.” Umuvugizi continues.
International community has condemned the controversial genocide laws behind common accusations as a political tool to stifle the opposition to the point that Kagame’s government accepted to undertake a review of the laws.
“Secret services carefully planned Victoire Ingabire’s case. When the conspiracy was properly set, the plan was submitted to Kagame who accepted it. He immediately started to stress that it is not illegal to indict an opposition figure when they are guilty. He passed on the plan to the police and the prosecutor’s office so that they can start acting on it. Agent Uwumuremyi was already prepared to falsely accuse Victoire Ingabire of participating in the formation of the army group”
Kagame intentionally kept stating to international press that it was not illegal to arrest and bring to court someone who threatens national security. This argument was also heard in his speech during the new government swearing in ceremony a few days ago. He complained that the international community is asking him to allow space for his political opponents while they, in their countries, punish those who are opposed to their governments: “We know that they arrested a member of parliament because of his anti-Muslim views, but they condemn our arrest of those with genocide ideology” Kagame said.
He kept hammering the same argument and that they have no right to call him a dictator. These statements were paving a way to the planned Victoire Ingabire’s arrest.
At this moment, International community, especially donor countries, are putting pressure on Kagame to accept to form a government with members of opposition parties. With his plan, he would be able to prove that the opposition is only made up of people with questionable background. Another reason is that Ingabire was being very competitive to Kagame since she was criticising him publicly and was effectively collaborating with donors on Rwandan political issues. She was being a serious obstacle to Kagame’s foreign policy.
Bernard Ntaganda approached by Kagame
Another thing that was revealed by the newspaper’s informant is that, as the international community was putting pressure on Kagame, he devised a plan to approach Lawyer Bernard Ntaganda [PS Party chairman who is now in prison] to use him to character assassinate Mrs Victoire Ingabire. The plan was to lure Ntaganda on the govermnent side as they did with many other opposition politicians, such as [Senator Stanley] Safari, who helped destroy their own parties in exchange good posts.
Information received stated that [Ntaganda] was met in prison and was asked to sign statements apologizing to Kagame and stating that he disowns Victoire Ingabire. In exchange he was to be released from prison and rewarded an important post in the government. The informant revealed that he was called in the “1930” Prison Director’s office, at night to meet with those in charge of convincing him. It is stated that he was taken outside the prison to convince him even further.
Bernard Ntaganda categorically refused to sign. As a punishment, he was transferred into a solitary confinement in atrocious conditions.
According to Umuvugizi newspaper, information received corroborates that “Victoire Ingabire will be given a slow killer type of poison that will put an end to her political career. At the same time, agents of special intelligence in diplomatic missions in Rwanda are working hard to convince ambassadors that Victoire Ingabire was part of the terrorist army group”
As soon as she arrived in Rwanda, Mrs Victoire Ingabire was accused of genocide ideology and genocide denial as well as of collaborating with armed group FDRL. It is alleged that she provided financial support to the army group.
Today all of these allegations have changed. She is now accused of participating in the formation of a new army wing CDF and of supplying it with weapons. Umuvugizi Chief Editor, Jean Bosco Gasasira who is familiar with these ever-changing charges confirmed that this is pure fabrication. This culture within the RPF party led by Kagame has cost lives of many innocent people who happen to have different political opinion from that of its leader.
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Saturday, October 16, 2010

The possible poisoning of Victoire Ingabire read the official press release:

By Maurice Mwizerwa
The conditions of detention of Ms. Victoire INGABIRE UMUHOZA, Chair of FDU INKINGI, are intolerable and immoral. (16.10.10)

A well informed source confirmed that the conditions of detention of Ms. Victoire INGABIRE UMUHOZA, Chair of FDU INKINGI, are intolerable and immoral.

- Last night the jailers kept her mattress and linens away from her and she spent the whole night seated and handcuffed. In the morning they refused to give her hygienic stuff (tooth brush, toothpaste and towel)taken for her use.
- The food taken to her for lunch was returned untouched in the evening. We don't know if the jailers took the food to her or not.
- The water and the bucket were refused.
The government does not provide any food and our people are not allowed to reach her. The jailers seam to follow very strict orders.

The lawyer and the Red cross were informed this evening and the chief of the detention facility promised to discuss the issue with the people who determined the detention conditions. It's intolerable and immoral to keep a detainee in such conditions.

As for rumors of a possible poisoning, the detainee is in the hands of the regime. They will be accountable.

FDU INKINGI
KIGALI.
15.10.2010.

http://www.fdu-rwanda.org/fr/rwanda/detail/article/the-conditions-of-detention-of-ms-victoire-ingabire-umuhoza-chair-of-fdu-inkingi-are-intolerable/index.html
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Saturday, October 2, 2010

100 Hutu Refugees Died of Suffocation in a Train in Kisangani:Los Angeles Times Once Wrote

Dear Edotor
Today I am surprised that as I was browsing I came across this article which were talking about us when we were the forgotten species brandes as criminals in the DRC jungle 13 years ago. I never knoew that I will ever have a chance to read anything written about us when Kagame and his men majority of them Tutsis with some young men hutus forced to hunt their relatives, were hunting us like a Guinean fowls. No one wanted to hear about us but I thank you that you published this article though I do not believe it made alot of impact on the ears of people whose eyes were blinded by the 3Ts in DRC.

Kagame came killing the guilt and innocents, there was no distinction between a genicidaire from a baby child as long as there was some Hut blood flowing through your feabble veins you were destined to die either by a bullet, grenade if you were like but by a hammer. I remember they used to hit the forehead then you could see the brain coming out from the back of the head. Soldiers both from RPF and DRC could start laughing celebrating their brutal systematic killing. This day, for sure I knew we were destined to died that is what Sadako Oghata told us when she came to Tingi Tingi. She stood in front of these weak and malnourished kids whose bones stood out as barricades then she pointed at us and said, "YOU, YOU ALL, YOU ARE GENOCIDAIRES, AND YOU MUST PAY FOR IT,... THEN A 4 YEAR BOY ASKED...."I am a 4 year boy who has spent most of his time in a refugee camp far away from where the genocide took place,,, if I may ask, when did I commit genocide? either your mother or father cimmitted,Sadako replied...I knew we were all as hutus destined to die because Clinton had said so.

On October 1, 2010 that is when I heard something like justice in my ears. When the UN MAPPING REPORT was finally published. I just cried and I couldnt stop crying. I did not go to school as usual, I did not read any other article or any academic paper except reading the UN MAPPING REPORT letter by letter word by word because it was like reading myself when I was a boy. Then I took a deeper breath than I have ever taken since the RPF spray killing of South Kisangani at Ubundu in 1997. When the RPD masquerading as red cross staff they come and start shelling at us and over 500 people took their last breath there.

I always wonder, who brings jutice to the world if the mighty decides the fate of the weak. I always believed and I still believe that Tutsis were murdered in 1994. I still believe it was wrong for the Hutus to attack innocent human beings simply because one of their tribesmen was going around the country killing any living being on his way. I still believe that those who killed innocent Tutsis should be brought to justice and punished. But I always wonder why all people start from April 7, and end July 28, and not from Apirl 6, 1994 and 2004.

I remember in Mbandaka when a priest of Mbandaka gave Hutu refugees a ship to help them cross over Lukolela in Congo Brazaville and after around 1500 refugees had boarded the ship exploded because of the bomb that RPF had put inside the ship. the ship sunk with all my friends at the tributary of river Ubangui and River Congo. No body talked about it, why, because those who died there were Africans, to make the matter worse, Hutus from Rwanda. We were unwanted species that is why Clinton wanted us to die all.

Just without going too far,I just wanted to thank the Los Angeles Times to have covered us in this terrible moment when no one wanted to hear about us. When we were eating roots, walking 50 miles a day on foot to keep a good distance from RPF led by Kagame, when every body had turned the back on us...when we were all destined to die... you covered our miseries and apocalypse.
http://articles.latimes.com/1997-05-05/news/mn-55705_1_u-n-refugee-agency

Friday, October 1, 2010

Report into Congo mass killings opens old wounds

SOURCE:Globe and Mail
On Nov. 14, 1996, armed men surrounded the Mugunga refugee camp in eastern Zaire and began shooting indiscriminately at its inhabitants as they huddled for safety or tried to flee.
Hundreds of men, women and children died over a three-day period, according to eyewitnesses and forensic evidence later gathered from mass graves.
A report published Friday by the UN human rights office says the killings at Mugunga may have been one of many instances that qualify as crimes against humanity or even — taken together — genocide by the Rwandan army, which at the time was hunting down Hutu rebels in neighbouring Zaire, now called Congo.
The genocide suggestion sparked an angry response from Rwanda, whose President Paul Kagame has basked in international approval for ending the 1994 genocide there, during which more than half a million people, mostly Tutsis but also moderate Hutus, were killed.
Calling the report “flawed and dangerous from start to finish,” Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said it was an attempt to rewrite history.
In a written riposte to the United Nations, the Rwandan government said its troops “never fired any weapons into the camp” at Mugunga and civilians only were killed when armed rebels inside the camp tried to stop people from fleeing. Later, civilians who were held as human shields by the rebels died in the crossfire, it said.
The Red Cross and other organizations cited in the report refused to comment on it, saying the subject was too sensitive in light of ongoing human rights abuses in the region. The UN says more than 500 rapes have been committed in eastern Congo since late July.
Previous reports have described massacres and indiscriminate killings in Congo. But the latest report's depth will make it harder to ignore, experts say.
The report cost $3-million (U.S.) to produce and details 617 incidents from 1993 to 2003, when a five-year civil war that killed millions through disease and neglect ended. It concludes that tens of thousands of people — mostly women and children — were slain in attacks by the many armed groups roving eastern Congo.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stressed in a statement that the report “is not a judicial investigation” and “does not establish individual criminal responsibility.”
The aim of the report “was to encourage efforts to break the cycle of impunity and continuing gross violations, by showing the scale and seriousness of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law,” she said.
Martin Nesirky, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, backed Mr. Pillay's statement, saying “it's about helping them to fight impunity and avoid perpetuation of this cycle of violence which we have seen even in the past month.”
The Congolese government welcomed the report's suggestion that a tribunal be set up to prosecute those responsible.
Congo's ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Ileka Atoki, described the report as “heartbreaking” and “horrific.”
“The victims deserve justice,” Mr. Atoki said. “The Congolese government is firmly committed to that endeavour,” he said, proposing an international meeting in Kinshasa to discuss the report.
Amnesty International said the report was “very thorough.”
“What we want now is for action to be taken,” said Veronique Aubert, the group's deputy Africa director. “The cycle of violence in the region will only stop if those responsible for these horrific crimes are held to account.”
The report has reopened old wounds in Africa's Great Lakes region, where massive mineral wealth has fuelled conflict even as many people in the region live in dire poverty.
Rwandan and Ugandan officials mounted a sophisticated public relations campaign before the report's release. They distributed detailed attacks on the findings and warned that their governments might pull out of UN peacekeeping operations.
Mr. Kagame, Rwanda's President, dropped that threat just a few days ago. It would have been a major blow to the 22,000-strong UN-African Union force in Sudan's Darfur region which is commanded by a Rwandan general and includes more than 3,200 Rwandan troops.
Asked whether the secretary-general had done “a tradeoff” with Rwanda — that the UN wouldn't push for judicial steps to follow up the report if the government kept its troops in Darfur and other peacekeeping missions — UN spokesman Nesirky replied: “There's no linkage, no quid pro quo. Any follow up would be on its merits.”
Mushikiwabo, the Rwandan foreign minister, said the UN was trying to “undermine the peace and stability attained in the Great Lakes region.” Ugandan foreign ministry spokesman Guma Muganda called the report “fake and malicious.” Muganda said Ugandan soldiers were never deployed in areas where they are now accused of crimes.
One incident the report said involved Ugandan troops took place in the night of June 5-6, 1996, in the border village of Bunagana. Rwanda and Ugandan soldiers allegedly killed at least 28 civilians, mostly Rwandan Hutus.
“Tutsis from Bunagana are thought to have been used as scouts, pointing out the houses of people to be killed to the commandos,” the report said.
Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said troops never killed anyone at Bunagana.
The first challenge in prosecuting anyone will be proving that crimes on the scale described actually took place, said Louise Doswald-Beck, a law professor at Geneva's Graduate Institute.
“There is a big difference between doing a fact-finding report, where you evaluate the evidence on the balance of probabilities, and convicting someone in a criminal tribunal, when you need to prove that someone is guilty beyond reasonable doubt,” she said.
In the end, prosecutors may choose to pursue only accusations of crimes against humanity, which have a lower burden of proof than genocide, an act that must have been planned, said Doswald-Beck.
Rwandan officials warned of consequences.
“This is a report that is capable of destabilizing the whole region and even capable of destabilizing the peace process and reconciliation in Rwanda,” said Venetia Sebudandi, the country's Geneva ambassador.
Anneke van Woudenberg, senior Congo researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch, said prosecutions will depend on the U.N. Security Council and Rwandan co-operation.
“We know that Rwanda plays hardball,” she said. “But if they want a lasting peace they are going to have to compromise.”

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Congo-Rwanda : l'autre génocide impuni

Source:Le Monde
par Vincent Courcelle-Labrousse, avocat au Barreau de Paris
L'horreur du génocide des Tutsis du Rwanda par les Hutus en 1994 continue de neutraliser tout inventaire supplémentaire de l'apocalypse qui a frappé l'Afrique des Grands Lacs à l'orée du XXIe siècle. A tel point que l'élimination en 1996-1997, cette fois-ci, de centaines de milliers d'Hutus par l'armée tutsie du général Kagamé reste un crime politiquement incorrect qu'il demeure délicat d'évoquer, sous peine de se voir taxer 
Si accablant que puisse être le pré-rapport de l'ONU sur les crimes commis en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) de 1993 à 2003, divulgué par Le Monde, il pourrait faire naître de faux espoirs à ceux qui désespèrent que la tragédie absolue qui a causé la mort de centaines de milliers de personnes dans l'Est du Congo reste à jamais sans sépulture judiciaire. Car le chemin qui reste à parcourir pour conduire les responsables devant un tribunal sera long. Et il est bien possible qu'ils bénéficient encore une fois d'un classement sans suite.
Juillet 1995, Srebrenica, Bosnie : 6 000 à 8 000 morts. Certains des auteurs ont été condamnés. Milosevic a fini ses jours en prison. Karadzic se fait juger. Comment est-il possible, par comparaison, qu'il ait fallu autant d'années avant que ne commence seulement à être esquissée la nécessité de punir des crimes qui sont au minimum contre l'humanité – des milliers de morts – pour ne pas parler de génocide, puisque cela froisse Paul Kagamé ? Le génocide des Tutsis au Rwanda en 1994 a rendu depuis lors le vainqueur, encore au pouvoir à Kigali seize ans après, totalement intouchable.
Regardons le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPIR). Alors que sa mission était également de juger les crimes de masse perpétrés par l'Armée patriotique rwandaise (APR) du général Kagamé, pas un seul accusé n'a été présenté devant une chambre. Le Rwanda a pratiqué le chantage, bloqué le fonctionnement du tribunal pour que finalement après le départ de Carla Del Ponte, le nouveau procureur du TPIR abandonne définitivement toutes velléités de faire juger quiconque du pouvoir rwandais actuel. Aurait-on osé devant l'histoire, s'agissant de l'ex-Yougoslavie, ne poursuivre que des criminels Serbes sans s'intéresser à ce qu'avaient fait les Croates ou les Bosniaques ? Il semble, en effet, que les critères soient différents lorsqu'on touche à l'Afrique et en particulier au Rwanda.
L'élimination organisée et volontaire d'au moins 200 000 Rwandais en 1996-1997 par l'APR est connue et documentée depuis des années. La communauté internationale avait assisté presque en direct à la disparition dans les forêts congolaises des refugiés rwandais. Emma Bonino, Commissaire européen aux droits de l'homme, avait interpellé le Conseil de sécurité sur le danger mortel que courraient des centaines de milliers de personnes. Un projet d'une force internationale était alors évoqué et bientôt sabordé par les soutiens de Kigali qui, de son côté, fermait la zone aux ONG et aux journalistes.
Et une fois de plus, malgré le caractère immense et notoire des massacres, on a tourné la tête, voir nié. Mieux, en ne poursuivant ni les crimes de l'APR en 1994 au Rwanda, ni ceux de 1996-1997, c'est un véritable permis de tuer que l'on a octroyé au pouvoir rwandais. Et depuis lors, son dossier criminel s'est nourri du pillage, avec d'autres, des ressources minières du Kivu et de l'Ituri, de l'entretien de la guerre et de ses chefs comme Laurent Nkunda. Avec pour constante, le martyr des populations vulnérables, dans ces forêts congolaises que certains rescapés surnomment la zone du diable.
DEUX POIDS, DEUX MESURES ?
Voilà seize ans que cela dure. Paul Kagamé vient de faire renouveler à 94 % son mandat de dictateur. Le pouvoir rwandais a réglé à l'intérieur le problème du questionnement de sa responsabilité dans les événements de 1994 qu'il appelle du négationnisme. Le procureur du Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda, lui, s'est satisfait d'un déni international de justice. Et le secrétaire général des Nations unies court à Kigali parce qu'on craint que le Rwanda ne retire ses troupes du Darfour : pensez donc, un projet de rapport onusien utilise une qualification – génocide – inapproprié… Et ce n'est pas le moindre des paradoxes non plus que le ministre de la défense rwandais, James Kabarebe, fasse l'objet d'un mandat d'arrêt de la justice espagnole, précisément pour les événements du Congo.
Il faut terriblement ignorer le Rwanda pour penser que l'impunité laissée au vainqueur de 1994 sur les crimes commis contre sa propre population pourra contribuer à solder les comptes de l'horreur. Les braises de la haine ne s'éteindront jamais tant que les crimes de l'APR ne seront pas jugés. L'injustice faite aux victimes Hutus du Congo vient nourrir les excuses que se donnent déjà les anciens tueurs de Tutsis au Rwanda. Loin des trottoirs de Kigali, refaits à neuf avec l'argent des bailleurs de fonds, la rancœur fermente dans les collines.
Alors, maintenant qu'un peu de lumière est à nouveau jetée sur le charnier congolais, la diplomatie de couloir va-t-elle encore une fois réussir à escamoter les responsables ? C'est bien probable. C'est une fosse commune judiciaire que l'on prépare pour enterrer définitivement de véritables excommuniés du droit international. Les faits n'entrent dans la compétence d'aucune des juridictions internationales existantes et l'on ne peut compter sur les dirigeants impliqués pour se mettre en accusation. Si un tribunal spécial pour le Congo n'est pas créé, les assassins ne seront ni poursuivis, ni jugés.
Après l'attentat ayant coûté la vie au Liban à Rafic Hariri, l'émotion de la communauté internationale et l'action des diplomates avaient poussé les Nations unies à instituer un tribunal spécial pour juger de l'assassinat d'un seul homme. L'élimination de certains groupes entiers d'êtres humains a-t-il moins d'importance ? L'ONU fait-elle deux poids, deux mesures ? Il est encore temps pour le Conseil de sécurité et le Secrétaire général des Nations unies de nous prouver le contraire.
Vincent Courcelle-Labrousse, avocat au Barreau de Paris

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Why Rwanda's Sham Elections Must Be Stopped

Why Rwanda's Sham Elections Must Be Stopped
After 16 years in exile, I came back peacefully to my motherland.

Peace will be my guiding light in my political activities and the activities of my political organization, FDU INKINGI in our endeavor to end injustice and remove all barriers to the people’s full enjoyment of their inalienable political and civil rights.

The Rwandan people are now living in anxiety and fear and are longing and yearning for a genuine policy of national unity and reconciliation.

My party and I are engaged in a political struggle which will lead us to victory against all forms of injustice and genuine democracy based on the freedom of each and everyone. We will soon witness sham elections in which election results are already established to hoodwink the world that the people have been given a choice. The main preoccupation is to cling to power that has been seized through the force of arms.

The bell tolls for the chains of the dictatorship. It is time for Rwandans to claim their inalienable rights, to refuse the abject feeling of being despised. Our response to sham elections is a non violent resistance to challenge the legitimacy of the looming masquerade and its subsequent results.

Our core objective is to put a permanent end to dictatorship and put in place a political system that respects and protects all the components of the Rwandan society to make sure that nobody loses life because of one’s ethnic or regional affiliation or because of one’s political opinion.

This has been our political objective since the creation of our party FDU INKINGI.

This has been the guiding principle of my political engagement since I arrived until now. We must tame fear in order to liberate ourselves. We want to eradicate poverty, hunger, nepotism, corruption and clientelism which have become the hallmark of the regime. We want to put an end to social inequalities, to discrimination as well as to confiscation of other people’s property and land.

We are fighting against dictatorship, generalized injustices, the iniquitous Gacaca courts, community work punishments imposed without due process of the law. We want that each Rwandan walks with his head high, with dignity; we want to break all the barriers that prevent us from feeling full citizens of our country.

With regard to education, we want to improve the quality, to match the curriculum of education to the real needs of the country and our region, and that enhances the competitiveness of the country vis-à-vis other countries, the respect of the teacher, availability of school material and equal access to education irrespective of social class, ethnicity or region.

In the field of Health, our motto will be "health for all" by improving the healthcare infrastructure, access to medical care, the availability and quality of health personnel, equipment and medicine. The welfare of the population will be our priority in our program. Every job must regain its value and provide a decent salary. In the rural areas, people must get decent shelter and safe drinking water.

The agricultural policy must ensure that people get enough food security and give more value and dignity to farmers. Our political program has a national reach. Our political program is a matter of every Rwandan, irrespective of his ethnic origin, regional, gender, religion, profession or social class. Our vision of a reconciled people involves the necessity to remember our loved ones, mutual respect, national dialogue, the protection of minorities and equal opportunity.

We call on each one of us to empathise with victims of genocide and crimes against humanity. We encourage the members of the Rwandan Defence Forces, Police and security forces to remain professional in their work and to desist from getting involved in partisan politics. Our call goes also to the public media, to the public service, to local administration and to members of the judiciary.

Even in my captivity, six months after my arrival in the country, my experience on the ground has given more meaning to my political conviction and commitment for fundamental political change. I am convinced more than ever before that Rwanda needs a different kind of leadership and political direction for the best interest and welfare of all Rwandan citizens.

I witnessed with my own eyes, humiliation, injustices, iniquity, dictatorship and the arrogance of the party in power that its zealots and allies impose on the citizens. My comrades in the struggle and myself have endured and still endure both moral and physical abuses from the regime of Kagame. Our rights and rights of many others have been violated.

Political parties, members of the Permanent Consultative Council of the Opposition have been subjected to an increasing persecution. The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda is still mourning the assassination of its Vice President M. André Kagwa Rwisereka that took place on the 13th of July 2010 and his beheaded body found on the 14th July 2010. The party has been thwarted in its attempts to register and its leadership has been receiving death threats.

The Parti Social IMBERAKURI, although it has been registered, has been split into two wings, with one splinter group allied to the regime in power. The founder President Bernard Ntaganda is in detention since the 24th June 2010, charged with negation of genocide, divisionism and formation of a terrorist group. His private secretary, M. Aimable Sibomana Rusangwa has disappeared since the 13th of June 2010.

The party FDU INKINGI, not yet registered, is also facing the fury of the dictatorship and three members of its executive committee are either under house arrest or out on bail. Our efforts to legally register FDU INKINGI have been crushed. The regime erected administrative and legal barriers in order to ensure that genuine opposition is left in the cold. FDU INKINGI is too big to go through the net set by the regime in power. The fear of a serious competition for power has led the regime to reinforce its dictatorial machinery. An arsenal of anti democratic laws has been put in place to seal off the political space.

Since January 2010, FDU INKINGI has submitted unsuccessfully 6 requests to organize its constituent assembly. The government refused. The official reason has always been based on the politically motivated criminal charges concocted against its Chair and presidential candidate.

During the last five months, the regime has not been able to bring to court the full details of the charges brought against me. The allegations of denial of genocide, divisionism and collaboration with a terrorist organization are nothing more than a pretext to block all political activities. This is why I was arrested on the 21st of April 2010 and kept under house arrest since the following day. The zealots of the regime and the government press or partisan media have been feeding a lynching campaign.

My lawyers were put in detention. This was the case with Prof. Peter Erlinder, defense lawyer at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda who spent 3 weeks in prison and Mr. Theogene Muhayeyezu who spent two weeks in prison.

On the 24th of June 2010, a police swoop was carried out against members of the opposition who wanted to demonstrate peacefully. Many members of the FDU INKINGI were arrested. M. Sylvain SIBOMANA, provisional secretary general of the party; Ms. Alice MUHIRWA, Treasurer, M. Théoneste SIBOMANA, responsible for the Party in Kigali and M. Martin NTAVUKA, FDU Nyarugenge. All of them were tortured.

Ms. Alice Muhirwa endured internal bleeding following hits with boots on her stomach. She was denied medical attention until she fainted in court. During torture sessions, she was subjected to a tirade of verbal abuses relating to ethnic hatred. In the same way, the torturers blackmailed in exchange for signing false pre-established accusations against me and M. Bernard Ntaganda for collaboration with rebels of FDLR and for having received funding via accomplices network operating in Kigali capital city.

In his testimony in court, the Permanent Secretary of PS IMBERAKURI confirmed that he was subjected to the same blackmail during the torture sessions.

We call on the government of General Kagame to ensure the security of people is guaranteed and to bring to justice those responsible for torture, degrading and inhumane treatment of people as well as the use of racist and hateful language during torments.

The sham electoral process must stop without delay and the date of presidential election postponed paving the way to opposition political parties to register and participate; and for the political leaders to be cleared of the trumped criminal charges. An independent national electoral commission agreed on by all the stakeholders is a must.

If the election calendar is maintained and the muzzling and decapitation of opposition political parties remain then the presence of international observers is a useless exercise. The regime will rig the whole process and manipulate election registry, the turnout, the management of poll stations, the counting of votes and obviously will decide the results it wants.

Under these conditions, the Rwandan people must denounce the legitimacy of this masquerade until proper, transparent and equitable electoral process is conducted. The Rwandan people have been put under so much duress but are still very resilient.

They are still alive.

Resistance is not only an organization but the determination of a people to resist a dictatorship. We need an open public debate on national issues and different political programs. I expect our friends not to fail Rwanda again. We are a nation and not a private property of one man. Calmly and with determination we shall resist the violence and intimidation of the regime of General Paul Kagame.

We shall make sure that the efforts of subjugating by force fail. We shall resist the efforts used to tarnish our image in order to exclude us. We shall resist the efforts to divide us and in order to subjugate us. We refuse to be taken hostages of the past of our country. Let us all be the tools for that change that we want by resisting the dictatorship. The bell tolls for change.
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Chair, FDU INKINGI

Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Dictator General Paul Kagame should be expelled from Spain immediately.

The Dictator General Paul Kagame should be expelled from Spain immediately.

By Turikumwe


Can someone who killed your sisters and brothers come into your house?
Can you shake the hands of someone who killed your sisters and brothers?
Can you share a meal with someone who killed your sisters and brothers?
Can you sit in the same room with someone who killed your sisters and brothers?

Will Kagame apologise for the killings of Spanish people while for the last 16 years, he has been demanding the apologies from the international community for the Rwandan genocide that Kagame triggered himself.

The UN decision to impose PM Zapatero to co-chair the UN meeting with the Dictator and killer General Kagame is lack of respect of Spanish families whose relatives were killed by Kagame.

Kagame should be expelled immediately from Spain. Then UN should find immediately someone to replace Kagame. No-one can comprehend the rationale behind the choice of Kagame to co-chair this meeting. This choice demonstrates how the UN Secretary General is not a wise man. This demonstrates his lack of experience. He does not know who take decisiosn on his behalf. He is just a follower of the decisions taken by his staff.

Kagame did not complete the secondary school education. Being the President of a tiny country like Rwanda does not give you the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to
to deal with the issues regarding international development.

The so-called economic achievements in Rwanda are based on fake statistics. We all know that in Africa and most other developing countries, having accurate statistics that show the true picture of socio-economic development levels is impossible. Even when few statistics exist, they are exaggerated for political reasons. NGOs and other development agencies (mainly the British ones) exaggerate the statistics to justify the need for more funding to dump in some developing countries. This is really the case in Rwanda.