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

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

yes, this is the usual Mahmood Mamdani -- whitewash and obfuscation (in service to empire) overwhelmed by attention to "indigenes", "nativism" and important facts the understanding of which is relevent but subordinate to what he hides."

[1] Paul S Landau-- University of Maryland

"Very strongly stated, but entirely unclear. Leaving aside what you already feel about
him, the essay is hardly a whitewash of empire -- that is where the indigene policy comes into
play. Plus refugeeism + material greed..."

[2] Raf Custers -- Ducth journalist

"keith what is your agenda ? hu ?
keith harmon snow schreef:"

Schreef?

Agenda? How about a request that people make an attempt to illuminate the deeper truths about Mamdani and his agenda rather than advancing his obfuscations as scholarship.

I don't have time to produce a definitive critique of Mamdani or his recent piece under pseudo discussion. What tires me are the ways in which Mamdani is relentlessly quoted and republished, held up as a champion of some alternative perspective on Congo, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Uganda or Sudan... This recent piece is more of the same. Mamdani presents us with what we are supposed to accept as a critique of imperialism -- and which is widely touted as such by the propaganda system and by the academic community, both of which are huge problems for these countries and people.

A few facts about Mamdani (followed by several points from Mamdani's recent whitewash):

Mamdani was teaching at U Dar Es Salaam 1973-1979 when Yoweri Museveni, John Garang, Wamba dia Wamba, Laurent Kabila and others of this "new breed of African leader" (quoting Madeleiene Albright) were studying "Marxism" there.
His book Fascism and Imperialism in Uganda is anti-Amin but it is also anti-Obote (perhaps one of Uganda and Africa's greatest leaders) and it protects certain powerful outside (multinational etc.) interests (while exposing others);
Mamdani worked in some capacity as Museveni's minister of disinformation in the 1980's when the NRM was fighting and came to power in a ruthless, bloody, genocidal, illegal war against people of Uganda and Milton Obote's rule;
He taught at Makerere University (1980-93) in Kampala and was highly aligned with teh Museveni regime of terror;
He helped cover up Obote's treatise on Genocide "NOTES ON TH ECONCEALMENT OF GENOCIDE" committed by the NRM and Museveni;
Mamdani headed the Ugandan Commission of Inquiry into Local Government from 1986 to 1988 -- another whitewash mission;
He was the founding director of Centre for Basic Research in Kampala, Uganda (1987-96, which flourished under Museveni;
He likely was (is) very close to (with) William Pike -- the British? editor/publisher of Museveni's primary mouthpiece, the NEW VISION newspaper;
He taught at the University of Cape Town (1996-99) during the FIRST US invasion of Congo/Zaire;
He published his Rwanda genocide whitewash WHEN VICTIMS BECOME KILLERS in 2002 based on his research in Rwanda etc. during the Kagame regime years of consolidating its power (1994-2002 plus) (e.g. the book continued, as late as 2002 to reference the double presidential assassination as a "plane crash" and he spent approximately 1/3 ?? paragraph on the subject of this massive US-sponsored war crime; the tome is completely covering up the reality of US/UK/Israeli involvement and how the RPF butchered its way into Rwanda (and Zaire);
Mamdani used the RPF to access places in Goma and Bukavu in 1996-1997; he traveled w/James Kaberebe and Jacques Depelchin (who funded and propagandized for the RCD and today runs OTA BENGA ALLIANCE with Wamba Dia Wamba out of S.F.) (in his recent story he notes: "Visiting eastern Congo as part of a fact-finding mission in 1997, I was told by a prominent civil society leader: ‘What can’t be accepted is an order whereby every immigrant who comes in is granted citizenship automatically.’ " However, Mamdani is not disclosing his true interests or affiliations);
His work on Darfur (Sudan more generally) has been equally obtuse and distortionist in service to western interests;
He does not illuminate ANY western mining companies or speak of ANY western individuals;
While he is Ugandan, he is no critic of Uganda (Museveni) -- but instead has some really ugly skeletons hanging in his closets;
The recent essay begins from the start (the war began in 1998) with disinformation (it began in 1996) and citing a western intelligence flak outfit (the IRC) (though he immediately backpeddles to suggest that EVEN the (downplayed) mortality numbers (of the IRC) were challenged by others (academics) later and the numbers of dead are (probably) far less;
He continues in these veins (of disinformation), with plenty or reasonable and accurate assertions mixed in, to obfuscate, until we reach the definitive paragraph about refugee killings in Eastern Congo (Zaire) in 1995-1998:

"When a 1995 decree declared all Kinyarwanda-speakers to be foreigners, the momentum of ethnic cleansing shifted to Kivu. On 7 October 1996, the governor of South Kivu ordered all Banyamulenge to leave the country within a week, or they would be interned in camps and eliminated. This was an extreme response to a dramatic situation created by developments in Rwanda. Waves of Tutsi migrants and refugees had settled in South Kivu since the late 19th century, but conflict in the province was triggered by the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s invasion of Rwanda in 1990 from bases in Uganda, which inspired many young Tutsi from Kivu to cross the border and join the RPF. That in turn led Mobutu to send a ‘mission’ to the province, ostensibly to verify who among the Banyarwanda was ‘Zairean’ and who was not. Predictably, the exercise disenfranchised more Tutsi, increased the flow of young men into the ranks of the RPF and drove up tensions in the province. The genocide of 1994 had a catastrophic effect on Kivu. As the tables began to turn in Rwanda and the RPF advanced on Kigali, more than two million refugees fled across the border. Their presence heightened the local conflict in eastern Congo and pointed up the pernicious role of the UN and the major foreign powers, France especially. In North and South Kivu, Hutu refugees lived in armed camps that were controlled by the ex-Rwandan army and the Hutu militias (or Interahamwe), who both continued to receive military supplies from the French. The soldiers and militia numbered about 20,000 in Bukavu (South Kivu) and 30,000 to 40,000 in Goma (North Kivu). Many believed there was an agreement between the French and Mobutu that the soldiers would not be disarmed by the Congolese army.”

Mobutu's alliance with Juvenal Habyarimana and Habyarimana's influencing Mobutu -- re: the hidden agenda of the Tutsis from Rwanda who were in Eastern Congo -- are salient issues. But Mamdani has an agenda, and that is to uphold the fictions of the 1994 (sic) Rwanda genocide (sic). Statements such as "France especially..." and "the UN stood around and did nothing" (in Rwanda) and "As the Interahamwe unleashed a regime of terror against Congolese Tutsi, another wave of younger men moved across the border to enlist in the RPF" and "The ethnic situation went from bad to worse after the success of the 1996 rebellion against Mobutu," etc etc etc -- this is the whitewash. In short, if one were to apply any single adjective to Mamdani it would be 'gatekeeper'. We could embellish that with "academic gatekeeper" or "leftist gatekeeper".

Of course, the man suffers from the pressure of white supremacy and he, really, is not the source of the problem, but only an additional manifestation of it, and he knows quite well (I am sure) that he is proscribed by the boundaries of power (this white supremacy) as applied to African intellectuals (in the belly of the beast) or any coherent, intelligible, educated person of color. The worst part of it all is that he participates in the academic smokescreening and gobblygook that never cuts to the heart(s) of the matter(s).

Finally, Mahmood Mamdani -- along with genocide apologist Philip Gourevitch --was also special adviser for the Rwanda Genocide propaganda film SOMETIMES IN APRIL (<http://tv.yahoo.com/sometimes-in-april/show/36147/castcrew>) which is complete nonsense and which required that Mamdani be an accepted guest of the Kagame regime. Clearly, he is no threat to (or critic of) Kagame.

q.e.d.

keith

P.S.
schreef f. and m. (plural schreven, diminutive schreefje, diminutive plural schreefjes)

line, stroke of the pen
border (over de schreef: across the border)
a decoration at the end of lines which make up letters; a serif.

Not sure how schreef is intended to be used above.

Rwanda: Rwanda Undergoes first Universal Periodic Review

FROM NGO NEWS AFRICA For Immediate Release: 24 January 2011

PRESS RELEASE
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) member states are set to discuss the human right situation in Rwanda for the first time, at the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR), that will be held on 24 January 2011 in Geneva.
ARTICLE 19’s submission to the UN Human Rights Council in July 2010 highlights three areas of concern which the organisation hopes to see reflected in the upcoming review. These include (1) limits on freedom of expression through restrictive media law and criminal defamation (2) harassment and attacks on journalists; (3) genocide ideology legislation.
“The upcoming review is an opportunity for UN Human Rights Council member states to put pressure on Rwanda to address the deteriorating freedom of expression situation in the country by repealing a number of national legislations relating to criminal defamation, media law and genocide ideology,” said Dr. Agnes Callamard, ARTICLE19 Executive Director says.
While the need for responsible, professional and ethical journalism in ensuring national cohesion cannot be gainsaid, there is need to allow media diversity and pluralism in Rwanda. The continued control and dominance of the broadcasting sector by the state owned radio and television is detrimental to efforts of good governance, transparency and inclusive citizen participation in development. There is dire need for support to the few independent radio stations and newspapers. The government should also license more private television stations and seek to transform the state controlled Rwanda TV into a public broadcaster.
Criminal defamation provisions in the Penal Code continue to be employed by the state as a tool of silencing those who hold views contrary to the state. This leads to increased cases of self-censorship and long jail terms for accused journalists. For instance, two journalists working for a privately-owned bimonthly, Umarabyo, Agnes Nkusi Uwimana and Saidath Mukakibibi, are currently awaiting judgment on 4 February 2011 over criminal defamation charges. The state through the prosecution has asked for cumulative sentences 33 years for Uwimana and 12 years for Mukakibibi respectively.
Similarly, while foreign radio stations remain an important source of independent news but are subject to government censorship.
ARTICLE 19 is also concerned by multiple reports of intimidation of political opponents, and has recorded many instances where political opponents are charged under the omnibus provisions of genocide ideology law. Rwanda’s genocide ideology laws create a wide range of problems for freedom of expression and freedom of association as it creates a wide net to snare all those who question the truth about the 1994 Genocide. Newspapers critical of the government are often accused of inciting ethnic hatred.
FAST FACTS ON RWANDA FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION SITUATION
· Two journalists with the Umarabyo publication; Agnes Nkusi Uwimana and Saidath Mukakibibi, await judgement on criminal defamation charges.
· Just before the presidential elections in August 2010, two publications perceived to be critical of the Government, Umuvugizi and Umuseso were ordered closed for six months while some journalists; Charles Kabonero, Didas Gasana and Richard Kayigamba were charged for defamation in February 2010.
· The 2009 media law gives suspension powers given to the Media High Council, sets entry standards for those wishing to join that are extremely high relative to other sectors including Parliament, public service-
· Similarly, the media law puts a very high licensing fees –US$ 41k for newspaper, US$ 81k for radio & US$ 187,500 for TV and requires that journalists reveal their if its suspected that to be criminals
Source: ARTICLE 19
Article 19 is an independent human rights organisation that works around the world to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees free speech.

Erlinder on Tour: Documents Prove U.S. Complicity in Rwanda Genocide and Congo Wars

Law Professor Peter Erlinder speaking to the National Lawyers Guild, holding a duplicate of the pink prison garb he wore while incarcerated in Rwanda, after traveling there in May of 2010 to defend opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, who is now in prison herself.

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, the Rwandan opposition leader that Professor Peter Erlinder traveled to Rwanda to defend was taken, head shaven, handcuffed, and in pink prison garb, to a Kigali court in handcuffs, where she was again denied bail, on January 20, 2011.

KPFA Weekend News Anchor Cameron Jones: American Law Professor Peter Erlinder is set to begin a speaking tour to present his 70-page compilation of original UN documents and evidence, as well as his analysis of what actually happened in Rwanda between 1993 and 1995. Erlinder says that the U.S., its allies, and the Rwandan government are collaborators in an ongoing coverup of the truth at the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. KPFA’s Ann Garrison has the story.
KPFA/Ann Garrison: Peter Erlinder, international criminal defense attorney, and law professor at Minnesota’s William Mitchell College of Law, will begin his speaking tour at George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C. on January 24th, then visit Philadelphia’s University of Pennsylvania and Temple University Law Schools, then, Fordham University Law Shool and the Brecht Forum in New York City, and the University of Pittsburgh. The tour will coincide with DePaul University’s Journal of Social Justice’s publication of his original UN documents and evidence, and his analysis of what actually happened in Rwanda, at the time of the epic massacres now known as the Rwanda Genocide. Professor Erlinder spoke to KPFA from his home in St. Paul Minnesota:
KPFA: What do you think Americans most need to understand about what happened in Rwanda, and then in Congo? What does this have to do with us?
Peter Erlinder: Well, I think that what this has to do with us I’d like to answer first. The United States has played an active role in destabilizing the Great Lakes Region of Africa for the last 25 years. It’s a role that the American people, however, do not understand, and because they don’t understand it, they’re not able to take action to change it. But with respect to Rwanda, what the evidence in the files show, that have been kept secret until I was able to get them, is that actually it was the Pentagon that created the RPF, grew them from 2500 to 25,000 troops in a period of two years, provided the material and the support necessary for them to take over the country, that at the same time the State Department was attempting to get the RPF to agree to give up its power and to enter into a minority position in the government, the Pentagon was continuing to support them and make them an even larger military force, so there was no incentive for them to give up their militarily superior position.
And the American people should also know that the UN documents and US government documents from FOIA disclosures that we have show that a U.S. engineered cover-up of RPF crimes began in August of 1994 because the State Department found out that the Pentagon was actually behind the RPF and therefore was responsible fundamentally for the Rwanda Genocide. And that it’s that connection to the United States that the American people don’t know and is not acknowledged. That’s also the reason that the Rwanda Tribunal has had to prosecute only one side, because if Kagame ever is prosecuted, it’s quite sure that he will explain the role of the United States in making him who he is.
It’s also true that in 1996 and 1998, Rwanda and Uganda, both with the support of the US and UK, invaded the eastern Congo and have occupied the eastern Congo since that time. Reports to the UN Security Council from experts that were engaged by the Security Council have reported repeatedly, 2001, 2, 3, 2008, 2010, that the armies of Uganda and Rwanda are occupying the eastern Congo, killing millions of people, at least six million, and raping the resources of the Congo. But unfortunately, because both of these are proxy armies that are convenient for the United States, we don’t hear about those crimes, and the perpetrators of the crimes are not called before the International Criminal Court, and the American people are in a position where they don’t realize that their country is actually responsible for the massive crimes in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and we should care about that greatly because these crimes are being done in our name.
KPFA: Peter Erlinder, thank you for speaking to KPFA. For Pacifica, KPFA, and AfrobeatRadio, I’m Ann Garrison.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Rwanda faces western calls over media 'suppression'

Published by Expatica
Western countries in the UN human rights council on Monday urged Rwanda to protect journalists after raising concerns about attacks and restrictions on freedom of speech.
"While acknowledging Rwanda's painful history with the misuse of the media to foment violence, we note that the suppression of free speech has also led to bloodshed and violence," US delegate John Mariz told the council.
"We remain concerned with the lack of progress in allowing media organs to speak freely without fear of punishment," he added during a review of Rwanda's human rights record in the 47 member body.
Britain also acknowledged the role of some media in the 1994 genocide in the country, but remained "concerned about restrictions on freedom of speech" including the "suspension of independent newspapers".
British ambassador Peter Gooderham also called for investigations into reports of journalist harrassment, while France appealed for information on the probe into the killing of newspaper editor Jean-Leonard Rugambage in June.
Rugambage, the deputy editor of Umuvugizi newspaper, and an outspoken critic of the Rwandan authorities, was shot outside his home in Kigali.
The Rwandan authorities were accused of having ordered the killing but have always denied any implication.
A human rights group reported in October that two men were jailed for life for the killing during a dispute over the genocide.
Switzerland and Canada also joined the defence of media freedom, amid concern that recent laws which prohibit denial of genocide and "genocide ideology" could easily be misused or misinterpreted.
Earlier this month, Rwandan state radio reported that a prosecutor sought a 33-year prison sentence for the editor of a local independent newspaper, Agnes Uwimana, who was accused of denying the 1994 genocide and defaming senior officials including President Paul Kagame.
In Geneva, France described the sentence as "severe".

United States of Africa: a reality which is gradually taking shape

Posted by therisingcontinent

From Saturday January 15^th to Monday 17^th, 2011, Tripoli, the Libyan capital hosted a historic conference which brought together representatives of African migrants from around the world. Delegates from Africa, Europe, North America, Caribbean Islands, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia included personalities from African migrant background and the majority of them specialists in their fields of knowledge. The theme of the conference was, ‘a decent life in Europe or a welcome return to Africa.’ The objectives of the event were to discuss and find solutions to the issues faced by migrants in their countries of residence and how they could effectively contribute to the development of their continent of origin – Africa. At the background of the conference was the project of making a reality the idea of the United States of Africa.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr. Jean Ping addressed participants at the beginning of the conference in a speech which emphasized the importance and role of African migrants in developing Africa. Among the many building blocs of the United States of Africa, the Tripoli conference saw the creation of an International Association of African Migrants whose work and headquarters will be located in Libya. The association’s branches will be established all over the world as needed.
Participants were explained the evolution of the creation of the United States of Africa since the transformation of the old Organisation of African Unity into African Union on 9/09/99. Speeding up the process of establishing AU institutions, and particularly putting in place a central, focused and broad structure of leadership for the continent was found critical. Explaining the AU project to masses in different African countries was also found crucial for making it the pillar of African development and the continent’s respect and image in the world.

The conference was marked by the spirit of the continent’s forefathers who fought for its independence around the 60s. Among the participants who reminded the audience of that critical period of African history were the son of Patrice Lumumba, the daughter of Nkwame Nkrumah, the son of Abdel Gamal Nasser, and the grandson of Malcom X. Traditional kings and queens of different parts of the continent were also represented. While talking to delegates to the conference, one could also understand directly what it means brain drains when it comes to Africa. Out of the 600 participants, almost every one had a post-graduate qualification and tens hold doctorates. And this was only the tip of the iceberg.
What does it take to build the United States of Africa? That’s the question. We Africans need total belief in its feasibility and realisation. Taking action at our own level by contributing with whatever involvement this could be. Since the 60s there have been wars around the world and most of them were fought on African soil. For decades the West has been testing its weaponry on the continent. On American or European soils there has never been any significant war since World War II. The only hiccup sort of war was Kosovo which were a consequence of the destruction of communism in the Balkans. As we know, the latter conflict was the ultimate phase of ousting communism from European soil. Unless we Africans come together and ban any supporters of wars in our midst, it will be difficult to progress.
By applying the same approach of unifying the African continent that Europe and U.S. used to strengthen their positions in the world, Africa could end its continuous wars. We know these wars are initiated by forces and powers outside the continent. Part of the tools which have been enslaving African leaders and making them to become tools in the hands of the neo-colonialists is aid. It has proven to be effective in keeping African countries in bondage. In recent years it has emerged that remittances from Africa migrants were much higher than aid and far more effective as they tackle directly without other intermediaries the needs of their recipients on the continent. Since no developed country has reached its current level of development through aid, stopping aid should be perceived as a significant way forward to development.
At the time the West is crippled with debts worth trillions of euros or dollars, it is at the same time when it is aggressively pursuing strategies to maintain its supremacy on all areas of world affairs, hammering among them the importance of its aid package. Ministerial delegations are regularly criss-crossing the African continent applying the same strategies of the past which succeeded to delay its development. The counter-plan has to be the enhancement of the Africa Union which was established and is being strengthened gradually. Its role and importance will improve standards and well being of African people.
Since 9.09.99, Kaddafi, the Libyan president, has become the ardent crusader of the Unites States of Africa. He needs us all Africans, wherever we are. All Africans and their leaders particularly need to support the train carrying the United States of Africa structure to make it a reality. A common market, a common currency, continental institutions (parliament, bank, capital, AU government, etc), continental policies on taxation, communication, security, natural resources, etc are very urgently needed. Let’s all play our part. I dream of a day soon to come when African people will be able to travel from Dakar to Nairobi, or Cairo to Cape Town, without a visa, and or live in any part of the continent as they like.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

UNE CONFERENCE-DEBAT À L'OCCASION DES 50 ANS ECOULÉS DEPUIS LE CONGRES NATIONAL DU 28 JANVIER 1961 AYANT PROCLAME LA RÉPUBLIQUE ET LA DEMOCRATIE AU RWANDA.

Drapeau rwandais hissé par Gitera le 28/01/1961 à Gitarama

LA SOCIETE CIVILE RWANDAISE EN BELGIQUE (SOCIRWA), en collaboration avec ses partenaires au sein du Comité de Concertation provisoire des Associations de Ressortissants Rwandais en Belgique organise:

UNE CONFERENCE-DEBAT À L'OCCASION DES 50 ANS ECOULÉS DEPUIS LE CONGRES NATIONAL DU 28 JANVIER 1961 AYANT PROCLAME LA RÉPUBLIQUE ET LA DEMOCRATIE AU RWANDA.

- QUAND ?      VENDREDI 28 JANVIER 2011, DE 17H00 À 23H.

- OÙ ?       RUE MARQ, 25 À 1000 BRUXELLES ("MU GISAZA")
                                     (Métro Sainte-Catherine)

THEME : LA DEMOCRATIE AU RWANDA : RETROSPECTIVE ET DEFIS ACTUELS

Conférence animée par les témoins témoins de l'hisoire du Rwanda: Marie Claire Mbonampeka; Ambassadeurs Ildéphonse Munyeshyaka et Canisius Karake; Messieurs Antoine Nyetera et Pochet.

Programme :

17H00-18H20 : Accueil et Séance vidéo.18H25-18H30 : Ouverture de la Conférence.18H30-19H00 : Analyse des enjeux historiques 19H00-19H30 : Témoignages-clés 19H30-19H50 : Perspectives : Pour ou contre l'instauration de la démocratie consociétale au Rwanda19h50-20h10 : Pause20h10-22H00 : Débat, recommandations et clôture de la conférence22H00-23h00 : Moment festif (Samboussas, brochettes et drink)

Accès libre.

NB : Veuillez arriver à l'heure non seulement pour respecter les conférenciers mais aussi pour libérer à temps la salle et les personnes qui souhaitent assister le lendemain au meeting des FDU-Inkingi à Paris.
Nous comptons sur votre présence !

RWANDA NATIONAL UNIVERISTY:When Eva Mutoni’s boyfriend of three years broke up with her, she realized she should have seen it coming.

The National University of Rwanda is in Butare.

Ms. Mutoni, 25, whose mother is ethnic Tutsi and whose father is Hutu, and her boyfriend, a full-blooded Tutsi, were college sweethearts at the National University of Rwanda in Butare.
“A year into the relationship, we had a big talk about me being mixed,” she said. They weathered that discussion, aided by the fact that Ms. Mutoni identifies herself as Tutsi. But as they got older, she recalls, his family and some of his friends refused to accept his dating someone of mixed parentage.
“He knew he couldn’t stay with me forever in Rwanda,” she said. “To some, I’m just a Hutu girl.”
Sixteen years after the Rwandan genocide, ethnicity remains an inescapable part of growing up for the young people who will determine the nation’s future. And if the universities, where the government has focused its efforts on building a post-ethnic society, represent the great hope of coexistence, they have so far succeeded only in burying ethnic tensions just beneath the surface.
As presidential elections approach and the nation has grown more repressive, the campuses have become tense. Students say that they are being watched, and that the laws aimed at suppressing ethnic differences have made them afraid to speak openly.
In many ways, college life in Rwanda is no different than it is anywhere else. In hallways and dorm rooms at the elite campus at Butare, the country’s future leaders cope with hormones and final exams, peer pressure and parents. But there is an added element that tends to define all others, what students euphemistically call “ the situation.”
The 1994 genocide, when Hutu death squads massacred hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus, is never far away. At the university, where Hutus and Tutsis live and study side by side, many students are either relatives of the killers or relatives of the victims.
But the Tutsi-dominated government teaches that there are no Hutus or Tutsis, only united, patriotic Rwandans, part of a reconciliation policy enforced by laws criminalizing certain kinds of speech to the contrary.
So the students live in a surreal state of imposed silence, never talking about the one thing always on their minds: each other.
In one way, Feliciano Nshiyimana, a 26-year-old Hutu law student, is a paradigm of President Paul Kagame’s reconciliation efforts. At the crowded and competitive campus, where students sleep four to a room, two to a bed, he shares a bed with a Tutsi genocide survivor. Listening to MP3s on his laptop in his room, surrounded by toiletries, course printouts and posters of the Manchester United soccer team, he says that conversations among his roommates are delicate, but that they generally get along.
“Background is losing importance,” he said, but added, “If you have an ideology, you hide it.”
While students make acquaintances based on their interests, he says, campus life ultimately divides itself along linguistic lines, and friendships across those lines are rare.
“Linguistic lines,” in this case, is code for the ethnic groups that dare not speak their names. Although the linguistic differences are not cut and dried, for students “French speakers” means Hutu and “English speakers” means Tutsi, specifically those who returned from refugee life in English-speaking Uganda after 1994 and now run the country.
Such code has evolved in the face of the governing party’s efforts to keep peace and power by papering over ethnic identity and pushing a cult of nationalism.
The indoctrination starts before college at ingando, the solidarity camps most students attend after high school. Among other activities, the campers learn that any problems between Hutus and Tutsis were started by the Belgian colonists, and that Mr. Kagame’s Tutsi rebels were a nationalist liberation movement that committed no significant crimes against humanity when they took over after the genocide.
Colleges have reconciliation clubs, started on government advice ostensibly to combat ethnic hatred, which reinforce the new non-ethnic narrative. Stickers posted on walls urge unity and warn against “divisionism” and “genocide ideology.” Those broadly defined activities have been banned, partly in response to government reports citing high levels of ethnic hatred in the schools. “Stirring up ill feelings” is proscribed by the genocide ideology ban. Calling a student a name or wearing a T-shirt with the pre-1994 Rwandan flag may be enough to get arrested.
Students say the universities are crawling with spies. In the last year, at least 10 students have been arrested for a wide range of verbal slurs and provocative writing. Six students were arrested last May for damaging a genocide survivor’s clothes. A professor at a college in the east was sentenced to five years in prison last month after one of his students alerted the police that he had insulted Mr. Kagame during class.
At Butare, direct elections for student leadership have been canceled since 2008, when ethnic code words — francophone and anglophone — were deployed in campaigns. The accused students were dismissed, and the student government dissolved.
According to the law, once a student is convicted of genocide ideology, the student can face jail time and will not be readmitted to school, a policy that has students keeping their opinions to themselves.
The ban on genocide ideology also encompasses accusations that the Tutsi rebels killed civilians in 1994, despite the finding by a United Nations research team that the rebels killed up to 45,000 people. A mention of those killings can land a jail term. The genocide, the law says, was committed only against the Tutsis.
The official narrative, students say, amounts to a kind of denial of history. Or as Denise Kajeniri, a 21-year-old Tutsi economics student, describes it, “pretend and move on.”
But the alternative, breaking the wall of silence, remains elusive. Alice Nishimwe, a 23-year-old Hutu studying for her GMATs in Kigali, the capital, says it may simply be too soon to talk.
“Only after talking about our differences can we bridge that gap,” she said. “But that’s individually.” As for the country, she said, “Maybe in my granddaughter’s time.”

Friday, January 21, 2011

Who was Behind the Rwandan "Genocide"?

Tutsi Soldiers Mutilating the body of a Hutu woman

Mr. Kagame and Sarkozy

The Rwandan Patriotic Front's Bloody Record and the History of UN Cover-Ups

Christopher Black, Global Research, September 14, 2010 ( Lead Counsel for the Hutu former General Augustin Ndindiliyimana, Chief of Staff, Rwanda Gendarmerie, in Military II trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda)

On August 26, the French newspaper Le Monde revealed the existence of a draft UN report on the most serious violations of human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo over an eleven-year period (1993-2003).1 The massive draft report states that after the Rwandan Patriotic Front's takeover of Rwanda in 1994, it proceeded to carry out "systematic and widespread attacks" against Hutu refugees who had fled Rwanda to neighboring Zaire (now the DRC) as well as against the Hutu civilian population of the DRC in general. Crucially, it concludes that the pattern of these attacks "reveal[s] a number of damning elements that, if they were proven before a competent court, could be classified as crimes of genocide."2

The draft report was leaked to Le Monde out of the plausible fear that its most damning facts and charges against the armed forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front and President Paul Kagame would be expunged prior to its official release. Sure enough, one week later, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay announced that the official report's release would be delayed until October 1 "to give concerned states a further month to comment on the draft," and even "offered to publish any comments alongside the report itself."3

Such an unprecedented offer by the UNHCHR follows from a number of factors, including the role that Rwandan troops play in UN peacekeeping operations, and the fact that earlier this year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Kagame to serve along with Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as co-chairs of a new Millennium Development Goal Advisory Group. According to the New Yorker's Philip Gourevitch -- who, after Alison Des Forges, did as much as anyone to sell the official version of the 1994 "Rwanda genocide" to the West, and clearly remains on very friendly terms with the Kagame dictatorship -- "top Rwandan officials [have been speaking] freely and on the record about their efforts to have the draft report quashed." As Rwanda's Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo confided in Gourevitch, "If it is endorsed by the U.N. and it's ever published, . . . if the U.N. releases it as a U.N. report, the moment it's released, the next day all our troops are coming home. Not just Darfur, all the five countries where we have police."4

A third, no doubt more decisive factor is that the Kagame dictatorship is a client of the United States and "acts as a mercenary for U.S. interests in Africa," as Glen Ford observes; the current conflict between this dictatorship and the UN "threatens to reveal the United States' role as enabler in the deaths of as many as six million people while Washington's allies occupied and looted the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo."5 It is Washington's ties to Kagame' RPF, ultimately, as well as London's and Brussels', that public discussions of the draft UN report should turn the spotlight on.

But this is not the first such report to have been drafted by the UN -- nor is it the first one to be covered up. As early as October 11, 1994, Robert Gersony, an employee of the U.S. Agency for International Development then attached to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, made an oral presentation to the UN Commission of Experts on Rwanda. Gersony had been dispatched to survey the situation inside Rwanda to determine if conditions were right for a return of the Hutu refugees who had fled the RPF. Instead he found that the RPF had been committing systematic massacres of the Hutu population in Rwanda starting in April 1994 and continuing through the date of his presentation.

On page 4 of the UN record of Gersony's oral presentation, we read:

"Significant areas of Butare Prefecture, Kibungo Prefecture, and the southern and eastern areas of Kigali Prefecture have been -- and in some cases were reported to remain as early as September -- the scene of systematic and sustained killing and persecution of the civilian Hutu populations by the [Rwandan Patriotic Army]. These activities are reported to have begun, depending on location, between April and July 1994, immediately following the expulsion from each area of former Government military, militia and surrogate forces. These [Rwandan Patriotic Army] actions were consistently reported to be conducted in areas where opposition forces of any kind -- armed or unarmed -- or resistance of any kind -- other than attempts by the victims of these actions to escape -- were absent. Large scale indiscriminate killings of men, women and children, including the sick and elderly, were consistently reported."

And on page 6 we also learn that "an unmistakable pattern of systematic [Rwandan Patriotic Army] conduct of such actions is the unavoidable conclusion of the team's interviews."

The Gersony report is identified in a cover letter dated October 11, 1994, from one Francois Fouinat to Mrs. B. Molina-Abram, the Secretary to the Commission of Experts on Rwanda. In this brief letter, Fouinat explains:

"We refer to the UNHCR's briefing to the Commission of Experts on Monday, 11 October 1994.

"As requested by the Commission, we are forwarding herewith a written summary of Mr. Gersony's oral presentation and copies of some field reports sent to UNHCR Headquarters by UNHCR Field Offices.

"We are confident that as agreed by the President of the Commission of Experts, these documents will be treated as confidential and only be made available to the members of the Commission."

I possess copies of these two UN documents from October 1994 because they are part of the evidence-base at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where I serve as the lead defense counsel for Hutu former General Augustin Ndindiliyimana, once the Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Gendarmerie. The documents were found by my legal assistant purely by chance while scanning the prosecution's Electronic Disclosure System, which contains hundreds of thousands of documents that are not indexed in any order. My assistant came across them as part of a package of material organized by Robert Gersony himself while he was assigned to the UNHCR. It must be assumed that Mr. Gersony thought the documents relevant, as they affected the fate of the Hutu refugees.

At the ICTR, the brief cover letter by Francois Fouinat bears the index number "R0002906." The next 14 pages of R0002906 contain the Gersony report and are numbered sequentially with an 'R' -- prefix number used by the ICTR for documents contained in its Rwanda files.

Because I possess the series of ICTR documents beginning with R0002906, I also have in my possession an even more astonishing document the true historical significance of which has once again been underscored by the leaked UNHCHR report: Namely, the copy of a letter from Paul Kagame to his fellow Tutsi Jean-Baptiste Bagaza of Burundi, dated August 10, 1994.

Let me share with you an exchange that took place on November 18, 2008 in the Military II trial at the ICTR.6 What was said in court that particular day explains how these documents came to light. I was one of the speakers.

Mr. Black,7

"Mr. President, before I do that -- that takes place, I have something which I would like to raise of great importance, I think.

"Yesterday my legal assistant found by accident, something, I think of grave importance for this Tribunal and for the world. It's a letter from General Paul Kagame dated the 10th of August 1994 to Jean Baptiste Bagaza, . . . in Burundi. It's marked 'confidential'.

"I didn't have time to make copies, so I want to read it to you. It has an 'R'-number. R0002905. It's in French, so please bear with me to make a loose translation. It says -- it's only one page and it is short:
'Dear Brother Jean Baptiste Bagaza, we have the greatest honour to extend our sincere gratitude to you both for your financial and technical support in our struggle that has just ended with the taking of Kigali.

'Rest assured that our plan to continue shall be pursued as we agreed at our last meeting in Kampala. Last week I communicated with our big brother Yoweri Museveni and decided to make some modifications to the plan. Indeed, as you have noted, the taking of Kigali quickly provoked a panic among the Hutus who fled to Goma and Bukavu. We have found that the presence of a large number of Rwandan refugees at Goma and the international community can cause our plan for Zaire to fail. We cannot occupy ourselves with Zaire until after the return of these Hutus. All means are being used for their return as rapidly as possible. In any case, our external intelligence services continue to crisscross the east of Zaire and our Belgian, British and American collaborators, the rest of Zaire. The action reports are expected in the next few days.

'Concerning the Burundi plan, we are very content with your work to ensure the failure of the policies of FRODEBU. It is necessary to paralyze the power of FRODEBU until the total ruin of the situation in order to justify your action that must not miss its target. Our soldiers will be deployed, this time, not only in Bujumbura, but in the places you judge strategic. Our elements stationed at Bugesera are ready to intervene at any moment. The plan for Burundi must be executed as soon as possible before the Hutus of Rwanda can organize themselves.

'In the hope of seeing you next time at Kigali, we ask you to accept, dear brother, our most respectful greetings'.

General Paul Kagame
Minister of Defence (signed by his assistant Mr. Rwego8)
"The importance of this letter if you have grasped it fully cannot be overstated. It means the attack on Rwanda from 1990 was not the prime objective of Kagame and his collaborators. Zaire was always the prime objective. That their excuse for the attack on Rwanda about establishing democracy and return of refugees, was completely false. That the invasion from Uganda had only one purpose: to clear the path through Rwanda to Zaire. That the return of refugees, as many witnesses have stated, was not for humanitarian reasons, but to clear the path for the invasion of Zaire. It means that the Americans, British, particularly with Kagame and Museveni, planned the invasion of Zaire [sic] in 1994, probably before that. It means that the excuse given for the invasions of Congo since this letter was written to clear the 'Interahamwe' or 'genocidaires' is completely false. No mention is made of 'Interahamwe'. No mention is made of 'genocide'.

It means since this was received, it looks like a date stamp of this tribunal, 8th December 1994, that the Prosecutor of this Tribunal has been hiding information indicating a conspiracy to commit a war of aggression against Congo-Zaire, Zaire and all of the war crimes have flowed from it since and the continuation of those wars in Congo now begun 14 years ago, if not longer. And that the principal parties are the principal parties stated in this letter. It indicates that the prime target, Hutus in Rwanda and Burundi, that they want to suppress the Hutu population in order to carry out their plan. Democracy was never their concern. And it indicates that the Prosecutor was in -- had information in a territorial and temporal jurisdiction of this Tribunal under rule -- under Statute-Article 1. That they are also concerned with war crimes committed in neighboring states.

"So, here you have the smoking gun, the letter, planning the invasion of Zaire with the Americans and British. And it confirms our theory all the way through this trial that the Belgians were involved with those other countries. And again, there must be -- and this, as a colleague pointed out, is page 8 of 12. So where are the other eleven pages of -- what other letters do they have in their hands? And again, it indicates that these men have been stitched up, falsely accused, in order to clear them out of the way so this plan can take place. If this is published in the New York Times or Washington Post, the whole picture of the war in Rwanda and the wars n Congo would change.

"So I ask the Prosecutor, once again, where is that file? And in fact I would like them to produce the indictment against Kagame9 because I want to see what he's been charged with, exactly what crimes and where. So, again, I ask for this file to be produced and I ask why they have not acted. Mr. Jallow and Louise Arbour and everybody else have been protecting the RPF which has now resulted in millions of deaths in the Congo and continues up till today and what is going on in Congo now.

"And I state openly that the Prosecution office is complicit with this invasion of Congo and is responsible themselves for all those murders in Congo because they've hidden this for a long time and they could have exposed it many years ago and stopped the invasions.

"If the international community, that is, other than the United States and the Britain, had been aware of what was going on, it would never have taken place. But they sit there and they accuse us, my client, and the other officers here of committing crimes, they knew what they were doing in Zaire. I don't think they can even shave and look in the mirror in the morning."

Mr. President,10

"Counsel, having said all of that, why don't you send this to the New York Times?"

Black,

"It will be sent . . . whether they publish it I do not know."11

In the days after this letter was exposed the prosecution accused the defence of having fabricated the letter and raised questions about its authenticity.

I replied, first, that the letter bears a sequential ICTR index number with an 'R'-prefix -- the prefix used for Rwanda documents.

Second, as mentioned above, this letter was found among the package of material organized by Robert Gersony while assigned to the UNHCR.

Third, the letter was date-stamped "December 8, 1994" by the ICTR. Presumably, this was its date of receipt by the ICTR.

Fourth, it is also noteworthy that the letter that we know was created no later than December 8th 1994 speaks of moving the Hutus out of the way in Zaire and this is exactly what happened. First the UN tried to force them back into Rwanda and partly succeeded. But the mass of refugees refused to return, so in 1996 the attacks on the Hutu refugee camps began, forcing them to flee into the Congo forest. There is a lot of testimony by Hutus who were either forced at gunpoint to return to Rwanda or experienced the manhunt against them conducted by the RPF and its allies.

Fifth, the letter is further authenticated by noting that the addressee (the Burundian Tutsi Jean Baptiste Bagaza) did in fact carry out a coup d'état in Burundi against a more moderate Tutsi and turned against the Hutu political group called Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi (FRODEBU, or Front for Democracy in Burundi). Unquestionably, Bagaza and Kagame were allies. According to the testimony of expert witness Dr. Helmut Strizek before the ICTR:

Q. "Very well, doctor, let's move toward the end. What clarification would you like to make on the relationship between Bagaza and Kagame when the president's aeroplane was shot down?"

Strizek. "If my memory serves me right, Bagaza had left the country, and I think returned after or before the assassination of Ndadaye. Bagaza was a hardliner, a Tutsi hardliner, so there was an alliance between the two of them, and they wanted to prevent a Hutu president from being in charge of Burundi."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Strizek. "Jean-Baptiste Bagaza was a Hima or Tutsi president of Burundi who took power when he overthrew President Micombero, who had been responsible of anti-Hutu genocide in 1972. He was in power for some time. . . .
"In my opinion, it's quite clear that Bagaza and Kagame follow the same line."12

Sixth, the man whose signature appears on the letter on behalf of Paul Kagame, Mr. Rwego, confirmed to a member of the defence team that he did in fact sign it.

The accidental discovery of this August 10, 1994 letter from Paul Kagame to his "Dear Brother Jean Baptiste Bagaza" was met with an immediate reaction by the prosecution, who accused the defence of fabricating it, pointing out a typo in the letterhead. But this line of criticism failed, as it was shown that there are other letters in existence from the RPF on the same stationary, with the same typo in the letterhead, and these letters are regarded as authentic.

That someone regarded the letter as authentic and dangerous is highlighted the fact that I was followed by a Tanzanian police officer the night after I produced it in court and was forced to complain about this surveillance in court the next day. Yet the prosecution continued its attacks on the letter's authenticity, even though the document came from the files of the prosecutor. And this important revelation during the Military II trial was never reported in the mass media -- though I did send it to many journalists, including the New York Times.

Now that the draft UN report on the atrocities committed by the RPF in the Congo has been leaked, the findings of the very first UN report of RPF atrocities against the Hutus beginning in 1994 should also be recognized and addressed.

The UN must explain why the record of that 1994 presentation by Robert Gersony was marked "confidential" and why the latest draft UN report does not refer to it.

The prosecutors at the ICTR must explain why they hid these documents from the defence for nearly 15 years, and why, even though they have these documents in their possession, they have never once used these documents to bring charges against a single member of the RPF.

Last, Paul Kagame and his American, Belgian, and British collaborators must explain the meaning of the letter -- and in particular, the meaning of the phrase, "plan for Zaire."

Notes

1 Christophe Châtelot, "L'acte d'accusation de dix ans de crimes au Congo RDC," Le Monde, August 26, 2010. For some additional news reports, see: "UN Uncovers Possible Genocide in Congo: Report," Agence France Presse, August 26, 2010; David Lewis, "Rwandan Army May Have Committed Genocide -- UN Report," Reuters, August 26, 2010; Judi Rever, "UN Lawyer Says Congo Butchery Resembled Rwandan Genocide," Agence France Presse, August 27, 2010; Michelle Faul, "UN Draft Report: Rwandan Army Attacks on Refugees in Congo in the 1990s Could Be Genocide," Associated Press, August 27, 2010; "DR Congo Killings 'May Be Genocide' -- UN Draft Report," BBC, August 27, 2010; Max Delany, Rwanda Dismisses UN Report Detailing Possible Hutu Genocide in Congo Christian Science Monitor, August 27, 2010; Chris McGreal et al., "Leaked UN Report Accuses Rwanda of Possible Genocide in Congo," The Guardian, August 27, 2010; Xan Rice, "Returning Refugees: Lush Land the Prize That
Could Reignite Ethnic Conflict in DRC," The Guardian, August 27, 2010; Howard French, "U.N. Report on Congo Offers New View of Genocide Era," New York Times, August 28, 2010; Colum Lynch, "U.N. Says Rwandan Troops Carried Out Mass Killings in '90s," Washington Post, August 29, 2010.

2 See "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," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, draft report dated June, 2010, para. 517.

3 "UN Report on Rights Violations in DR Congo to Be Released Next Month," UN News Center, September 2, 2010.

4 Philip Gourevitch, "Rwanda Pushes Back Against UN Genocide Charges," New Yorker Blog, August 27, 2010.

5 Glen Ford, "Rwanda Crisis Could Expose U.S. Role in Congo Genocide," Black Agenda Report, September 1, 2010.

6 The Military II trial concerns the joint trial of General Augustin Bizimungu, Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army, General Augustin Ndindiliyimana, Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Gendarmerie, Major Nzwonyemeye, Commander of the Reconnaissance Battalion, and Captain Sagahutu , Commander, Squadron A of the Reconnaissance Battalion.

7 Let the record show that I have written here exactly what I said in court. The translation in the trial transcripts is a bit garbled, and I have corrected the text accordingly.

8 Reference ICTR document number R0002905, letter dated August 10th, 1994, date stamped by the ICTR 8th December, 1994. Marked as page 8 of 12.

9 Defence counsel had been informed by a member of the prosecution that an indictment exists against Paul Kagame for war crimes and is being held by the ICTR for the appropriate time. In order to determine whether this was correct information the defence counsel several times asked the prosecution to provide that indictment as it would affect the defense. The prosecution never denied its existence and the defence was advised to bring a motion to request it.

10 Judge Asoka Da Silva of Sri Lanka, Presiding Judge, Tria, Chamber III, ICTR.

11 Transcript, Military II Trial, November 18th, 2008, pages 1-3.

12 Transcript, Military II Trial, November 24th, 2008, page 62, lines 19-24; and page 63.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Rift Valley MPs Verses Raila

Can't the so called Rift Valley spare Kenyan people the theatrics of "Raila and ODM" affairs and instead engage in better issues like implementation of Constitution, peace and development initiatives? Our ears are so tired by Raila/ODM songs every day. In fact, these leaders don't need to preach to the world all the time if they want to quit ODM party. Kenyans are watching keenly their scheming. We understand their predicaments, as the saying goes "when someone is drowning, s/he grabs even a small floating grass thinking it would save her/him"

If Raila Odinga is bad because he did not harbour and protect leaders accused of crime against humanity

Now back to KKK, the conglomeration of the 3 will never work thanks to the new constitution. The 3 KKK crafters should know that new constitution provides devolution of power and resources that what Kenyans now need is not their tribesman/woman to occupy the top seat. Days are gone when people like Ruto were semi gods during KANU rule. I will be comfortable with any qualified person from any ethnic community occupying presidency but not the characters of "yester- blunderers" of the economy. Kenyans still remember with nostalgia how forests and land meant for social amenities were dished out to political class, how funds for infrastructures were blundered; how democracy and human rights were thrown to the dogs, how driving on our roads had become all hell, etc, And we know who were at the helm of leadership. This are the people who are scheming to go back to the leaders in the name of youth. when time of campaigns comes we will tell each presidential candidates their past records, it will not be a smooth ride for some of the Ruto's friends.

Propaganda is always short lived and carries serious consequences.

Kenodhiss and corruption, then let them go where they think the two vices can be condoned with impunity. The best thing these leaders should have done was to face the courts head-on and prove their innocence.

Monday, January 17, 2011

INGABIRE BAIL APPEAL HEARING: 17.01. 2011.

Today the opposition leader, FDU-INKINGI Chair Ms. Victoire INGABIRE, in handcuffs, was taken to the High Court for a fresh bail appeal related to her detention order that expired on 25th December 2010.

The presiding judge Julian NDINDA, could not hide his emotion and bitterness, when he asked the defendant what she was doing in the Court if she does not trust President KAGAME's justice and believes she is in jail under his orders. Did she choose to be in prison?

Of course, if there was justice in Rwanda, she should neither be in prison nor in that Court. Is this judge an exception?

An American journalist who was there saw his recording equipment confiscated by security officers.
The judge will deliver his verdict on 20th January 2011.

Sylvain Sibomana,Interim Secretary GeneralFDU-INKINGIKIGALI