Under fire over Congo rebels, Rwanda wins Security Council seat

By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS | Thu Oct 18, 2012 1:00pm EDT

(Reuters) - Rwanda - along with Australia and Argentina - won a seat on the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, despite accusations by a U.N. expert panel that the Rwandan defense minister is commanding a rebellion in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwanda was unopposed in its bid for the African seat on the council that South Africa will vacate at the end of December, but still needed approval from two-thirds of the U.N. General Assembly members present to secure the two-year term. It won 148 votes.
Argentina also was elected to the council unopposed, winning 182 votes in the 193-nation assembly. Australia won a seat as well with 140 votes. At least one further round of voting was taking place to decide the remaining two seats up for grabs.
Cambodia, Bhutan and South Korea are competing for one Asia-Pacific seat. With Australia's victory secured, Finland and Luxembourg are up for the other remaining seat available in the "Western European and Others" group.
A confidential U.N. report, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, cast a shadow over Rwanda's election to the 15-member U.N. powerhouse - which has the ability to impose sanctions and authorize military interventions.
There are five veto-holding permanent members of the council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China- and 10 temporary members without vetoes. Thursday's election was for the term from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2014.
Before the vote, the Congo's delegation told the General Assembly it objected to Rwanda joining the Security Council, accusing its neighbor of harboring "war criminals operating in the eastern part of the DRC and who are being sought by international justice."
The Security Council's "Group of Experts" said that Rwanda and Uganda - despite their strong denials - continued to support M23 rebels in their six-month fight against Congolese government troops in the east of the country.

COUNCIL COMPLICATIONS

Rwandan U.N. diplomat Olivier Nduhungirehe said on Wednesday that Rwanda was not worried about the report's impact on its Security Council bid.
"The members of the General Assembly know exactly what our record is and they cannot be deterred or swayed by a baseless report, which has no credibility," Nduhungirehe said.
"We are the sixth (biggest) troop-contributing country for peacekeeping, we are a leading country in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, we have a record in post-conflict reconstruction and peace building," he said.
In addition to South Africa, four countries - Colombia, Germany, India and Portugal - are leaving the Security Council in December. Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Pakistan, Togo and Morocco will remain on the council until the end of 2013.
The last time Rwanda was on the council was in 1994-95. That coincided with a genocide in which 800,000 people were killed when Rwanda's Hutu-led government and ethnic militias went on a 100-day killing spree, massacring Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
A senior Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity that he hoped Rwanda's presence on the council would have a "positive effect" on the body's handling of Congo, although he acknowledged it was possible the opposite would be the case.
He said getting unanimity among the 15 council members on Congo's rebellion might be difficult with Rwanda in the room.
The Congolese government on Wednesday demanded targeted sanctions against Rwandan and Ugandan officials named in the U.N. experts report.
According to the U.N. experts, who monitor compliance with sanctions and an arms embargo on the Congo, Rwandan Defense Minister General James Kabarebe was ultimately commanding the rebellion and both Rwanda and Uganda were providing weapons, troops and military and political aid to the insurgency.
(Editing by Paul Simao)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/us-un-council-vote-idUSBRE89H13Y20121018

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1273459--rwanda-argentina-australia-elected-to-un-security-council   Rwanda elected to UN Security Council Published 13 minutes ago Share on twitterShare on facebook   Reuters UNITED NATIONS—The UN General Assembly elected Rwanda, Argentina and Australia to the 15-national Security Council on Thursday for 2013 and 2014. Rwanda and Argentina were unopposed in their bids for the Africa seat and the Latin American and Caribbean seat, but needed to win a two-thirds majority of the 193-member General Assembly. Rwanda won 148 votes and Argentina won 182 votes. The last time Rwanda was on the council was in 1994-95. That coincided with the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 people were killed when the Hutu-led government and ethnic militias went on a 100-day killing spree, killing Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Australia beat out Finland and Luxembourg for the first of two seats available in the "Western European and Others" group with 140 votes. Another round of voting is taking place to decide who wins the second seat. Cambodia, Bhutan and South Korea are also competing for one available Asia-Pacific seat. The countries leaving the council in December are Colombia, Germany, India, South Africa and Portugal. The five current council members remaining until the end of 2013 are Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Pakistan, Togo and Morocco.

Rwanda: Supreme court unanimously dismisses Ingabire review

http://www.fdu-rwanda.com/en/english-rwanda-supreme-court-unanimously-dismisses-ingabire-review   Rwanda: Supreme court unanimously dismisses Ingabire review October 18, 2012   Kigali, 18 October 2012 Finally, this Thursday 18 October 2012, 13:00, the Supreme Court of Rwanda dismissed the constitutional review case submitted by political prisoner Madame Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza on grounds of lack of merits. The court panel stated that the genocide ideology laws are clear and there is no conflict with the constitutional freedoms of expression. FDU-INKINGI Chair Madame Victoire Ingabire, 2012 Sakharov nominee, demanded the supreme court to exclude the law on genocide ideology because it is vague and is used to restrict freedom of expression. The large broad scope of expression that may be proscribed under this law fails to meet constitutional values and international laws. Many voices have urged the Rwandan government to exclude many abstract and vague aspects of that law used as a political tool against opponents. For example On June 3, 2011, Amnesty International (AI) issued a report titled Unsafe to Speak Out: Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Rwanda, in which it criticizes the use of that country's 2008 genocide ideology law and 2009 media law to stifle legitimate criticism and calls upon the Rwandan government to fast track the review process of these laws so that they are in line with Rwanda's obligations under international law. (AI, Unsafe to Speak Out: Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Rwanda (June 2011). By rejecting the review, the supreme court , has paved the way to the High Court to sentence the political prisoner tomorrow on charges relating to forming an armed group with the aim of destabilising the country, complicity to acts of terrorism, conspiracy against the government by use of war and terrorism, inciting the masses to revolt against the government, genocide ideology and divisionism. The prosecutor has requested a life sentence. FDU-Inkingi Boniface Twagirimana Interim Vice president     Related file: Supreme court dismissed Ingabire review on genocide laws

Rwanda: Kagame’s Monstrous Attitude a Creation of the RPF Elite’s Failure to Challenge Him Right from the Beginning

http://www.inyenyerinews.org/amahanga-2/the-untold-stories-kagames-monstrous-attitude-a-creation-of-the-rpf-elites-failure-to-challenge-him-right-from-the-beginning/ Kagame's Monstrous Attitude a Creation of the RPF Elite's Failure to Challenge Him Right from the Beginning. October 16, 2012 By Rwema IT Webmaster 2 Comments This article will focus on the strong man of Rwanda Paul Kagame and how he has managed to outsmart everyone regardless of his/her academic credentials. In fact the President has on a number of occasions blasted the elite club of his country when they start to question him on the direction of the country. He once said that, it is normal to be a fool when you have never seen many blackboards, but it is worse when you have seen many blackboards and yet remain a fool according to him. What does the President mean by saying to be a fool when you are elite? Before I proceed in analyzing what the President is trying to mean by those strong words, I will first apologize to the readers of the Untold Stories series for the spelling error in my previous article in which I mentioned that the Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama is not only misleading Rwandans but also the international community. In that article my own name Jacqueline and by my base of reporting this article Brussels were misspelt respectively. I'm very sorry for any psychological inconvenience it might have caused to my beloved readers. The president is aware that many elites in his country will always ask his academic credentials and his ability to lead a country with accountability. Right from the bush war our comrades (RPF Elite) have let down the Rwandan people. I asked one of the RPF veterans who is now incarcerated in the 1930 prison and this is what he told me "We created a monster ourselves we should not complain when it turns against us" he said. He further narrated to me that when he was in Switzerland during the RPF struggle in 1990s Kagame a rebel reader at the time visited Switzerland to solicit political and financial support and he was given a cup of tea and something to eat. It seems that, the then a rebel leader had no appetite or as some people say his stomach had had an upset the day before. He didn't finish the food and the cup of tea; it was here that the above RPF veteran jokingly asked him whether he will manage the war if he could not even finish that little food. The people who had accompanied Kagame started to look at each other in disbelief, because Kagame was a person who was never challenged let alone to be told to finish a cup of tea. It is obvious that Kagame has grown in an environment of fear and terror, this has affected him fundamentally not only for taking proper judgments in what he is doing but also terrorizing his perceived political opponents. Therefore Kagame has already become a lion and realistically, it is not possible for a lion to transform itself into a sheep. Some people believe in forming pressure groups or political parties to change the government peacefully in Rwanda , but it is just a wish that is unlikely to work in a country like Rwanda governed by a blood thirsty man who will do everything in his power to exterminate his opponents and comrades alike without mercy .With the weak political parties in the country and some bought with big monies looted inside and outside by RPF, it is unlikely that dictatorship will be changed with prayers or civil disobedience to enable a transition to democracy. After the death of Gen. Fred Rwigema many RPF commanders who were even superior to Kagame in ranks, experience and seniority were slowly exterminated and those who survived Kagame tricks and intrigues until Kigali was captured have been either sidelined or killed or politically rendered impotent.RPF commanders, Sam Kaka first left, Pasteur Bizimungu in red coat, Col Alex Kanyarengwe wearing a suit and Col Ndugute with a red beret. The first RPF army Chief of Staff Sam Kaka has been reduced to almost nonexistent person. Where is he? What is he doing? Another RPF hero Steven Ndugute who died a poor and helpless man yet without him the RPF struggle after the sudden death of the RPF leader Gen. Fred Rwigema would have been unthinkable. I'm told even his only house which he built was auctioned by the Kagame regime. His families have not been catered for and are refugees in a country their relative and father helped to liberate. But the 1990 bush war which brought Kagame and RPF regime to power was a result of, greed, nepotism, corruption and dictatorship. How come that the real people who contested injustice and said enough is enough are the same people who are denying every Rwandan who has different views that freedom that even cost dearly many Rwandans. Those who support the regime are doing it out of desperation and some are regime apologists. It has become a tradition in African politics that whoever wants change has to fight for it. Therefore those who are saying that Kagame is the only person capable of leading Rwanda and Rwanda cannot be led by another person are forgetting that the war that brought RPF to power did not come on a silver plate. When the RPF and Kagame decided to fight the dictatorship of Habyarimana almost one million people were killed in genocide and massacre but unfortunately Habyarimana's dictatorship has been replaced by a worse dictatorial regime of RPF and every one wonders how RPF is forgetting too quickly that the same reasons that made them to take arms have not been solved and there're is no guarantee that other people who feel equally oppressed should not protest. However, the mental slavery in which Kagame and RPF have kept in many Rwandans make it difficult for them to think of fighting for their own rights and people become slaves when they fear to risk fighting slavery. Indeed some Rwandans are saying that the people should not come out to demand their rights because the criminals will crash them and it's true many Rwandans who have lived in the genocide and RPF massacre in Byumba, Kibeho and other places, all these crimes are still fresh in their minds. But without unity of all Rwandans to remove the criminals, the democratic struggle that many Rwandans cherish and want to be realized will be very difficult with Kagame's police and army that come out on the streets every evening without mentioning the night patrols by civilian commonly called (IRONDO). Jacqueline Umurungi. Brussels.

Raporo nshya ya LONI irashinja u Rwanda na Uganda

http://www.igitondo.com/spip.php?article3481 Raporo nshya ya LONI irashinja u Rwanda na Uganda Wednesday 17 October 2012 Raporo nshya y'Umuryango w'Abibumbye ONU, irashinja Minisitiri w'Ingabo mu Rwanda kuyobora inyeshyamba zirwanya Repubulika Iharanira Demokarasi ya Congo (DRC) mu bikorwa byazo, hamwe n'igihugu cya Uganda ku guha izi nyeshyamba za M23 aho gukorera ibijyanye na politiki mu murwa mukuru w'iki gihugu Kampala. Iyi raporo y'ibanga ariko yabashije kugera ku biro ntaramakuru by'u Bwongereza Reuters, ishyira mu majwi n'igihugu cya Uganda ko gitera inkunga M23 zirwanya DRC kuva muri Mata uyu mwaka. Iyi raporo igendeye ku yindi y'impuguke za LONI yashyizwe ahagaragara muri Kamena uyu mwaka, yashinjaga u Rwanda gushyigikira M23. N'ubwo ariko iyi raporo yashyizwe ahagaragara, u Rwanda ruhakana ibiyirimo cyo kimwe na Uganda. Umunyamakuru Barbara Plett ukorera BBC ukorera ku cyicaro cya LONI avuga ko u Rwanda rwafashije imitwe itandukanye yagiye irwanya Leta ya Kongo, ngo rwitwaje kurwanya inyeshyamba za FDLR zahungiye muri Congo nyuma ya Jenoside mu 1994. Uyu munyamakuru avuga ko u Rwanda rushinja FDLR uruhare muri Jenoside, imwe mu mpamvu zituma rushyigikira imitwe irwanya Leta ya DRC. Iyi raporo ishinja abasirikare b'u Rwanda kugira uruhare mu ishingwa rya M23 no guhuza ibikorwa byayo bya gisirikare, igashinja Uganda ko yemereye ishami rikora ibijyanye na politiki gukorera i Kampala. Ikomeza ivuga ko General Bosco Ntaganda wahoze mu gisirikare cya Congo agenzura ibikorwa bya gisirikare bya M23 bibera muri RDC, naho Col Sultani agahuza M23 n'abafatanyabikorwa bayo. Igihugu cya Uganda cyamaze guhakana ibivugwa n'iyi raporo. Umuvugizi w'igisirikare cya Uganda Felix Kulayigye, yagize ati "Ni ibihe bimenyetso bigaragaza ubu bufatanye ? Impuguke zaje hano nta muntu n'umwe zigeze zibaza. Ni ibihe bimenyetso bagendeyeho kugira ngo bavuge ko Uganda ifasha M23 ? Ibi bintu bashinja Uganda ni ibinyoma gusa." Ni ku nshuro ya mbere Uganda igaragajwe ko itera onkunga M23, u Rwanda rwo rukaba rwavuzwe mu zindi raporo za LONI zasohotse mbere y'iyi ariko na rwo rukabihakana. Emile Shumbusho & Agencies