FDU Writes to Ban about UN Report on Congo Atrocities

SOURCE: FDU

Letter to the UN Secretary General by the The Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi on the draft of the UN report on serious crimes including genocide, committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), against the Hutu refugees:

Brussels, August 30, 2010
Mr. Ban Ki-Moon
UN Secretary General
Plaza, P. O. Box 20
New York, NY 10017, USA
Subject: DRC Mapping Exercise
Mr. Secretary General,
The Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi just read excerpts from the draft of the UN report on serious crimes including genocide, committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), against the Hutu refugees.
The French newspaper Le Monde (edition of August 26, 2010) and the International News organization based in the USA, The Christian Science Monitor , stated that the Kigali regime might be pressuring the United Nations so that the report can be dismissed or at least be watered down. Specifically, the Kigali regime would like that you simply erase the word “genocide” from the report. The Rwandan government has even threatened to withdraw from the UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan, if its demands were not met. The official statement released by the Rwandan government, dated August 27, 2010, confirmed this information to the press. Indeed, the deliberately aggressive tone used by the Rwandan government betrays its intention to do anything to intimidate and blackmail the United Nations. This is a usual RPF practice since its accession to power in 1994.
Mr. Secretary General,
In October 1994, the American Robert Gersony, then consultant to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), accused the new RPF regime of having killed at least 30,000 Hutus since coming to power, following investigations conducted during three weeks in eastern Rwanda and one week in refugee camps in Tanzania .
As soon as the first elements of the draft report were published in the press, the Kigali regime threatened to terminate the operations of the UNAMIR, if the report was validated. The UN then succumbed to the combined pressures of Kigali and its lobbies and demanded that the UNHCR seal the report, while promising a counter expertise investigation. A joint committee composed of representatives of UNAMIR and the Rwandan Ministry of the Interior completed the investigation in one day following a visit to Rwamagana. The representative of the secretary of the UN, Shaharyar Khan, refused to validate the report of the UNHCR. Since then, the “Gersony report” has simply disappeared from the archives of the United Nations, according to a communication made to the defense counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
In October 1994, in the wake of the controversy around the “Gersony report”, the Irish Karen Kenny, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Rwanda, resigned. She believed that “in four months without a car, without a budget and, most importantly, without observers to deploy, she had just served as an alibi” .
On April 22, 1995, in the presence of Australian and Zambian peacekeepers from UNAMIR, the Rwandan Patriotic Army massacred Hutus that were internally displaced in Kibeho. The UN did nothing to make sure that the guilty were punished. Instead, it just asked the Rwandan government, which was the prime suspect, to investigate and prosecute.
In 1997, the Special Reporter of the UN commission in charge of human rights in DRC, the Chilean Roberto Garreton, released a damning report on crimes committed by the RPA against the Hutu refugees in DRC. The Kigali regime immediately began an intensive pressure to suppress the report and block a UN mission that was requested by President Laurent Desire Kabila with the mandate to confirm the results of the Garreton mission. The UN mission had to pack their bags following obstruction by the authorities who were under hostage of Kigali.
Mr. Secretary General,
At the end of your recent meeting with Spanish Prime Minister, you requested the Kigali regime to shade the light on recent assassinations, including the assassination of journalist Jean Leonard Rugambage, deputy editor of the newspaper Umuvugizi, and the first vice-president of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, Andre Kagwa Rwisereka. To our knowledge, nothing has been done so far.
If it were proved that the UN is about to succumb once again to pressure of a regime accused of serious offenses in order to suppress or tone down the report, the Rwandan people would hold you responsible for their plight, because you would have breached your mission as the guarantor of peace and respect for human rights for all.
The fact that the Kigali regime threatens to withdraw its troops from Darfur does not seem to be a reason to succumb. The presence of troops that are under pressure to serious suspicion of genocide is also not good news for a mission that has been deployed following acts of genocide and for which the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been seized. It would be an honor for the UN to have troops with a blank criminal record and free from all suspicions.
Mr. Secretary General,
Rwanda is at a crossroads. Not to take this opportunity to send a strong message to the Rwandan authorities to finally comply with human rights would be a bad omen for the credibility of the UN and a disservice to the people of Rwanda.
We hope that wisdom will prevail; that the report will be released without any external interference. Moreover, in view of the international obligations of repression of genocide, it will be up to the UN to establish a judicial mechanism to ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished.
Please accept, Mr. Secretary General, the assurances of my highest consideration.
For the Support Committee for UDF-Inkingi
Eugene NDAHAYO
President

UN urges full probe into a Rwandan opposition leader's death

Fri Jul 16, 1:07 PM
MADRID (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday called for a full probe into the deaths of a senior opposition party member and a journalist in Rwanda during talks in Madrid with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, his spokeswoman said.

"He expressed his concerns regarding the recent incidents which have caused political tensions" in Rwanda ahead of August 9 presidential elections in the African country, his spokeswoman Vannina Maestracci told AFP.
The UN chief also stressed "the need to respect human rights" and "he encouraged the Rwandan authorities to carry out a full investigation into these incidents", she added.
Three Rwandan opposition parties on Thursday called for an independent international investigation into the murder of opposition official Andre Kagwa Rwisereka and independent journalist Jean Leonard Rugambage.
Rwisereka was the deputy president of the Rwandan Democratic Green Party, which along with the Unified Democratic Forces (FDU) and the Socialist Party (PS), called for the investigations.
His nearly decapitated body was found dumped by a river on Wednesday. Rugambage, who was critical of Kagame's government, was shot dead near his home on June 24.
The Rwandan Democratic Green Party is unregistered and has no candidate for next month's presidential elections. It has accused President Paul Kagame of blocking it from taking part in the polls.
Ban and Kagame were in Madrid for the first meeting of the MDG Advocacy Group set up last month by the United Nations to advance the Millennium Development Goals, which include halving extreme poverty by 2015.
Kagame and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero are the co-chairs of the group.
But at the last minute Zapatero opted out of Friday's meeting following protests that Kagame's regime was linked to Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
Spain was instead represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Zapatero met with the UN chief separately

Spain:Protests Make Spain PM skip Meeting With Kagame

Pres.Kagame with Ban Ki-moon in Spain

Photograph by: DOMINIQUE FAGET, AFP/Getty Images

MADRID - Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero opted out of a UN-sponsored meeting Friday with Rwandan leader Paul Kagame after protests that Kagame's regime was linked to Rwanda's genocide.
Zapatero had "received a request from certain political parties to not meet" Kagame because of Spanish legal proceedings against 40 Rwandan officers relating to the 1994 genocide, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de He was "sensitive to that and responded" by deciding not to attend the meeting, where UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is also expected, she told public television TVE.
Zapatero's decision not to attend the Madrid meeting on advancing the fight against poverty was announced Thursday when his spokesman said he would be represented by Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
The meeting had also been moved from government headquarters to a Madrid hotel, the spokesman said, while Zapatero would have separate talks with Ban.
There was no reaction Friday either from Kagame or Ban to Zapatero's decision.
The meeting is the first of the MDG Advocacy Group set up last month by the United Nations to advance the Millennium Development Goals, which include halving extreme poverty by 2015, with Zapatero and Kagame named co-chairs.
The Co-ordinating Committee for Development NGOs in Spain sparked off the protests on Thursday. saying the UN's choice of Kagame for the post was "questionable".
It criticized "Zapatero's passivity for accepting without objection to work beside someone accused of genocide".
A total of seven political parties also called on Zapatero to skip the meeting, and the spokesman for the ruling Socialist party, Jose Antonio Alonso, said Friday he was uncomfortable with Kagame's presence in Spain.
"It seems he has a more than shady past in Rwanda," ex-defence minister Alonso said.
In 2008 Spain's High Court announced its intention to prosecute 40 Rwandan army officers for genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism related to events that took place between 1994 and 2000, including under Kagame's rule.
Kagame's then rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front in July 1994 ended the 100-day slaughter of at least 800,000 people, mostly from his Tutsi minority, by Hutu extremist militias and government troops.
But the Spanish judiciary accuses Kagame of fomenting the ethnic clashes in a bid to seize power. The Rwandan officers are accused, among other things, of murdering nine Spanish missionaries and expatriates allegedly witnesses to massacres.
Under Spanish law a court can prosecute human rights crimes even if the alleged offences took place abroad.
But Kagame is immune from prosecution because of his status as head of state. His government has vehemently rejected the accusations.
A lawyer for the families of the killed Spanish nationals said Zapatero's decision not to attend the meeting with Kagame was only window dressing.
The two leaders "are not going to pose together for the photograph, not meet in an official venue," Jordi Palou said national radio RNE.
But "Zapatero has not declined, until now, the invitation to co-chair this initiative", he said.
The foreign minister would still meet Kagame "and they are surely going to negotiate and talk, of course, about the judicial process," he said.
It was also important that the talks on the MDG go ahead, de la Vega said.

© Copyright (c) AFP

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Rwanda puts Hutu presidential candidate on trial

Rwanda puts Hutu presidential candidate on trial

In this photo dated Sunday, May, 16 2010, Victoire Ingabire, a presidential candidate and an ethnic Hutu, is seen at her home in Kigali, Rwanda. (AP / Jason Straziuso)

The Associated Press

Date: Friday May. 21, 2010 9:14 PM ET

KIGALI, Rwanda — When presidential hopeful Victoire Ingabire, a Hutu, returned to Rwanda after a long absence she immediately visited a memorial to Tutsis killed in the 1994 genocide and asked why Hutus who also died weren't remembered. She then told Hutu prisoners she would get them out of chains.

For these actions, the 41-year-old Ingabire was arrested, charged with genocide ideology and could be sentenced to more than two decades in prison if convicted.

It's been 16 years since 800,000 Rwandans, the vast majority of them Tutsis, were slaughtered by Hutus. With the nation still grappling with ethnic divisions almost a generation later, Ingabire's case has become a test of where Rwanda stands in its effort to move past the genocide -- and how much freedom the government of President Paul Kagame, a Tutsi, will allow its people.

The government has been lauded by the international community for its progress in women's rights and economic growth, but analysts say it harshly cracks down on dissent, something Kigali citizens confirm in nervous street interviews.

Ingabire says she's merely trying to exercise her rights and that the government's response shows it is "far from democracy." For its part, the government, wary of anything that could inflame ethnic tensions, accuses her of risking another slide toward violence with her actions.

Kigali, Rwanda's hilly capital, is prosperous and beautiful. More than half the members of the lower house of parliament are women, the highest proportion in the world. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton's foundation last year gave Kagame an award in recognition of his work to develop rural health and education systems and strengthen infrastructure.

Kagame is running for re-election in the Aug. 9 elections and is expected to win another seven-year term.

But human rights groups say that under the serene-looking surface the government has an ironclad hold on power and quashes opposing views. The U.S. State Department said in a March report that citizens' rights to change their government are "effectively restricted" and cited limits on freedoms of speech, press and judicial independence.

"Politically there's no space for the opposition or any other view than that of the government," said Daniela Kroslak, an analyst with the International Crisis Group in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ingabire says she returned to Rwanda in January after 16 years because the country needs an open discussion to promote reconciliation. In an interview, she complained that she is being muzzled.

"That's the problem I have with this government. If you talk about ethnicity, they say you are a divisionist," Ingabire said. "I think the better solution is you talk about it and find a solution."

The government's chief prosecutor, Martin Ngoga, said this is not simply a free-speech issue because Ingabire could incite Rwanda "to once more explode as it did only 16 years ago."

Ingabire has contacts with the FDLR, a group of Hutu fighters operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Rwandan government has labeled the FDLR as a terrorist group. Ingabire says her party doesn't agree with the FDLR's politics but Ngoga said she is seeking to destabilize Rwanda with her FDLR contacts.

"We have done a lot in terms of trying to overcome the legacy of the genocide and to get people to pursue the future," Ngoga said. "But we have not gotten to the point where our community is educated enough to the extent where it cannot be manipulated again." He warned that the government won't tolerate people giving "speeches that incite ethnic divisions."

In the wake of the 1994 killings, the government set out to de-emphasis ethnicity. Many in the country now identify simply as a Rwandan, not a Hutu or Tutsi.

"When I was born, when I was growing up, I was Hutu. But now when you see someone you can't ask, 'Is he Tutsi?' There is no difference," said Gabriel Semasaka, a member of parliament.

Despite Rwanda's advances, many Rwandans say they don't feel safe. A series of grenade attacks in the capital this year injured dozens of people and killed two, with the most recent attack occurring on May 15. Police haven't said whether the attacks are connected to the upcoming elections.

Some Rwandans won't even give their names to reporters, fearing government retaliation. One 24-year-old Kigali resident told AP that "tomorrow I'll find myself in prison" if he gave his name. He and a 28-year-old friend said they don't trust the government because of its rigid hold on power.

Many Hutus still live outside the country. Refugees in neighbouring Uganda are afraid to come back and this month asked the Ugandan government for asylum. Yowana Ahetegikimana, 42, said from the Nakivale refugee camp in western Uganda that he was arrested in Rwanda two weeks ago and detained in a container for a month for supporting an opposition party. "I was rarely given food and beaten often," he said.

Amnesty International has urged the Rwandan government to ensure Ingabire receives a fair trial. She is free on bail but her passport was seized and she can't leave Kigali pending her trial at an undetermined date.

It's Apparent that Mr.Kagame Is Becoming a Thorn For The USA Effort to Bring Peace

First Published By The Confused Eagle Live Journal

It is becoming apparent that Paul Kagame will be a thorn in the Side of the United States and its efforts to promote peace in Central Africa. There was a glimmer of good news as reports indicated that the Democratic Greens were able to hold a meeting with the Ministry of Local Government about registering as a Political Party to field a Candidate for the Elections this summer.

Sadly Victorie Ingabire has been prevented from leaving the Country again. At this time she is prevented from leaving the country and from interacting with members of her family. It is quite clear that President Kagame, the Military and the Intelligence Services are scared of this candidate and the questions that she has been asking. And in another twist Godwin Agaba the Journalist whose name has been drug through the Mud by Pro-Government Media outlets has informed the Confused Eagle of a couple of Interesting Facts.

Mr. Agaba indicates that the current Political Situation in Rwanda remains tense. The Actions taken against Mrs. Ingabire will further escalate the growing sense of unease in the Country. He is also looking forward to leaving the Area. Its sad when people who ply their given craft are driven out by the insidious forces that the uncover.

Over the Past Weekend a Conference was held in Pittsburgh to discuss the current situation in Sudan. The city was chosen for the fact that it currently houses the third largest Sudanese Population currently in the Country.

The Keynote speaker for this event was none other than the US Special Envoy for Sudan General Scott Gration. During the Forum on Saturday March 20th the envoy made some interesting remarks regarding US Policy towards Sudan. An attendee of the event was kind enough to send me the following details:

The Obama Administration is preparing for Southern Sudanese Independence to occur after the January 2011 plebiscite. This is an interesting assessment being made before the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections that are scheduled to take place in a few weeks. The Envoy also thinks that there will be a Peaceful Resolution in Darfur. He stated that 80% of the Groups have made a deal with Khartoum. Of course recent fighting shows that this rationale may be flawed.

There is a legitimate concern that the upcoming elections in Sudan will not be free and fair. There have been questions regarding the census that was conducted in the Country. The North has had a reported explosion in the population in that region. Also reports are that some groups that have been questioning how the process has been set up have been threatened with expulsion.

Reports from Somalia indicate that Islamists fired upon Helicopters near the Southern towns of Barka and Barawye. The Nationality of these aircraft has yet to be determined. However there have been widespread reports that the Obama Administration will be assisting the TNG in its upcoming Offensive against the Islamists.

There are well intentioned people that are supporting the LRA Disarmament Bill. Some of the Acholis that I know are not fond of this Bill. They believe that this Bill helps President Museveni more than it does them. Recent reports have indicated that the LRA is in Equateur Province in Sudan then along the Border with the DRC and have even launched an attack in the CAR.

The LRA has been in the field since Operation Lightning Thunder began in 2008. Is it possible that they know the terrain better than the UPDF who are chasing them the answer is probably yes. AFRICOM had support OLT with Intelligence Support while it was ongoing. With the Access to Satellites that the US Military has you cannot tell me that no one knows where Kony is even though he has stopped using his cell phone. And there is a interesting point regarding the CAR attack. there was a corpse left behind. Reports state that He was wearing a UPDF Uniform. BTW the LRA Bill has moved from the Senate to the House of Representatives.

May 19, 2010 – A Citizen’s Weekly Open Letter to General Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda

By Aimable Mugara

May 19, 2010

H. E. General Paul Kagame
Office of the President
Republic of Rwanda
P.O. Box 15 Urugwiro Village
Kigali – Rwanda
Fax: +250 572431

Copy:

Prosecutor General
Martin Ngoga
National Public Prosecution Authority
BP 1328
Kigali – Rwanda
Fax: +250 589501

Commissioner General Emmanuel Gasana
Rwandan National Police
Kigali – Rwanda
Fax: +250 586602

Chief Executive Officer
Editor-in-Chief
The New Times Publications SARL
Immeuble Aigle Blanc
P.O. Box 4953
Kigali – Rwanda

A Citizen’s Weekly Open Letter to General Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda

Dear General,

There are 12 weeks left before the elections. This is my tenth letter and there are 12 letters left. This week, Rwanda continues to be an example of what can go wrong in a nation that is devoid of good leadership. The political space continues to be muzzled; citizens’ security in the country continues to get worse, citizens abroad continue to protest and prominent foreign media continue to reveal the true colors of what is actually taking place in Rwanda.

We all heard about your nomination by the RPF party to be their candidate in the August 2010 presidential elections. It was a little shocking to hear that all the other candidates in your party that would have stood against you dropped out via writing and that in the end you stood unopposed. I really hope this will not be the case for the national elections. There is a lot of strength that comes from voters having choices. In the meantime, we saw a request from some opposition parties to delay the upcoming elections, considering that the current situation is not conducive to free and fair elections. This is a request that I wholeheartedly agree with and hope will be implemented. There is no point pretending to have elections when some opposition politicians have been denied the fundamental right to register their parties and some opposition politicians who clearly have a strong chance of winning the elections have been dragged to court on some questionable charges.

Unfortunately there was also the sad news of the 2 grenade attacks in the capital city that killed two people and injured more than 30 people. Such attacks perpetuate the cycle of violence that has plagued our nation for more than 50 years, where various groups including your RPF party have decided to use violence to resolve political issues. The loss of innocent lives in all this violence is deplorable. I call upon you to open up the political space in Rwanda in order to demonstrate that political change can be made peacefully. As long as your government continues to crack down on your political opponents, you will be giving excuses to the groups that believe that violence is the only way to make political change in Rwanda.

Across the ocean in Belgium, we continue to see a group of patriots who for more than 3 weeks have laid siege to the Rwandan embassy there. Ambassador Gérard Ntwari complained to the Belgian ministry of foreign affairs that these demonstrators were tarnishing Rwanda’s image in Belgium. The Belgian authorities rightfully reminded him that it is a democratic country where people have the right to express themselves. Indeed, it is the non-democratic actions of Rwanda’s government that tarnish the country’s image, actions that force these patriots to protest against their country instead of speaking well of it.

On the other side of the oceans, the New York Times once again in its journalistic excellence exposed the truth about what is really going on in Rwanda. We learned about how in the country’s colleges and universities, the much vaunted reconciliation has not taken hold at all. We were also shocked to find out that a university professor was sentenced to 5 years in jail because one of his students reported to the police that this professor insulted you. There is something quite rotten about a university professor being sentenced to 5 years in jail for apparently insulting the president. This puts our country right in the middle of the Dark Ages, more than two thousand years ago. I really hope this professor is freed immediately, as this is no way to run a nation.

Sometime I try really hard to understand your government’s actions. On one hand, your government talks a lot about wanting what is good for the nation in the long-term. But on the other hand, many of the actions taken seem to benefit only a select few in the short term and cause a lot of problems for everyone over the long haul. If you really care for the long-term well-being of our nation, there is no benefit in continuing to crack down on opposition politicians. Similarly, there is no benefit in continuing to deny the citizens so many of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Aimable Mugara
Toronto, Ontario Canada

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