UK rethinking budget support to Kagame’s Rwanda

[Includes audio] http://sfbayview.com/2012/uk-rethinking-budget-support-to-kagames-rwanda/ UK rethinking budget support to Kagame's Rwanda October 31, 2012 2 by Ann Garrison KPFA Evening News for Oct. 27, 2012 In a Sept. 11, 2012, story headlined "HRW confirms today Kagame's ongoing and unscrupulous support to M23" on Africa Global Village, Ambrose Nzeyimana writes: "Young people without official employment across Rwanda are being rounded up. On Aug. 23, 2012, this group was taken into police custody (near) the Rwandan capital. Sources in the country confirm that some of these young people end up forcibly given accelerated military training with the ultimate purpose of sending them into DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) to reinforce M23 contingent of fighters. And this appears unfortunate knowing that recent cuts or delays of aid from donor countries were a consequence to Rwandan support to that Congolese rebel movement." KPFA Evening News Anchor Cameron Jones: The International Development Committee of the British Parliament's House of Commons has announced that it will examine the controversial decision to disburse budget support to the government of Rwanda after first withholding it in response to U.N. investigators' reports that Rwanda is behind the M23 militia fighting and seizing territory in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. KPFA's Ann Garrison has the story. KPFA/Ann Garrison: Outgoing British Department of International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell made the decision to restore 16 million pounds in unrestricted budget support to the government of Rwanda. But the London Guardian reported that the decision actually came from 10 Downing Street, meaning from Prime Minister David Cameron himself. Budget support, a term more readily understood in Europe than in the U.S., means unrestricted foreign aid that takes the place of tax revenue the government does not have. The U.N. Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo asked whether such aid was not being used to finance Rwanda and Uganda's war in Congo. Defenders of budget support to Rwanda say that the U.K. is obliged to help poor Rwandans, but many Congolese and Rwandan activists say that the billions of dollars, pounds and Euros that Rwanda has received since the 1994 Rwanda Genocide have strengthened a repressive regime, corrupted the elite of Rwandan President Paul Kagame's party, and enabled Rwanda's war and resource plunder in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ambrose Nzeyimana, a Rwandan exile, activist and journalist, who writes about this on his blog, "The Rising Continent," spoke to KPFA today from London. Ambrose Nzeyimana Ambrose Nzeyimana: Effectively, the Rwandan government has received a lot of money after the Rwandan Genocide, and the Rwandan people need international support. But what has happened with all that support? The Rwandan Patriotic Front regime – which has been ruling the country since then – they used that money to oppress the population, restrict every sort of human rights that you can imagine. The country has been really like a prison. That's why you see all political leaders in prison: Victoire Ingabire of FDU, Bernard Ntaganda of PS-Imberakuri and Deo Mushayidi. All that has been happening because the regime has received full support financially, even political support. But all those who are praising the regime, they forget that at the same time Paul Kagame has been involved in Congo, since 1996, when, in partnership with Uganda and Burundi, they invaded the Congo. And since then Rwanda has created militia groups, many in the eastern part of Congo, and there they have used those groups to plunder mineral resources – in fact to steal the wealth of Congo for their own benefit. KPFA: And that was Ambrose Nzeyimana, Rwandan exile and blogger in London, who will be submitting evidence in argument against British aid to Rwanda at the British Parliament's International Development Committee. For more on Rwanda's war in Congo and on Rwanda's Western backers, see the San Francisco Bay View,sfbayview.com. For Pacifica, KPFA and AfrobeatRadio, I'm Ann Garrison. Afterword The deadline for submitting evidence in support of the argument against U.K. budget support to Rwanda is Nov. 1. The instructions for submitting evidence are at this link: New inquiry: UK Aid to Rwanda. The committee has not said when it will complete its review and respond. Nor have they indicated how much authority their conclusion or recommendation will have. The United States is also a major donor to Rwanda, not only of budget support, but also of weapons, military training, military facilities, and military intelligence and logistics, but it has withdrawn no more than a nominal $200,000 in aid to a Rwandan military academy and is not known to be considering further cuts in any sort of aid to the current Rwandan regime. Rwandan "peacekeepers" on the African continent and in Haiti serve in accordance with NATO foreign policy objectives. San Francisco writer Ann Garrison writes for the San Francisco Bay View, Global Research, Colored Opinions,Black Star News, the Newsline EA (East Africa) and her own website, Ann Garrison, and produces forAfrobeatRadio on WBAI-NYC, Weekend News on KPFA and her own YouTube Channel, AnnieGetYourGang. She can be reached at ann@afrobeatradio.com. If you want to see Ann Garrison's independent reporting continue, please contribute on her website at anngarrison.com.   You may also like - Verdict pending: Victoire Ingabire and D.R. Congo Africans call on the ICC to investigate Rwanda's Kagame Obama could end Congo's human catastrophe Share on tumblrShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailMore Sharing Services Related Posts Verdict pending: Victoire Ingabire and D.R. Congo Sanford Weill and Paul Kagame: Doctors of Humane Letters? White man's burden: Affleck and Prendergast in Congress for Congo No funds for tasers or war criminals: Stop state violence in San Francisco and Congo Obama take heed: French judge files charges against Kagame allies

Implicated in Congo crimes, Rwanda’s Gen. Kagame has bigger headache than silencing Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, opposition chief

http://sfbayview.com/2012/implicated-in-congo-crimes-rwandas-gen-kagame-has-bigger-headache-than-silencing-victoire-ingabire-umuhoza-opposition-chief/ Implicated in Congo crimes, Rwanda's Gen. Kagame has bigger headache than silencing Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, opposition chief October 30, 2012 5   Because of Rwanda's support of M23 terrorists in Congo, the U.S. cut some aid to Rwanda as have some European countries Editorial by Milton Allimadi, Black Star News The sham treason trial of Rwanda's top opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, has finally ended with her expected conviction. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, unbowed by tyranny, looks regal despite her pink prison garb and shaved head. The U.S., which recently cut aid to Rwanda for its role in Congo atrocities, must call for Umuhoza's release. She has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a kangaroo court. Her conviction by the kangaroo court must be set aside. And what was her real crime? Umuhoza, an ethnic Hutu, had declared that genuine reconciliation in Rwanda can't occur until the authorities acknowledge that in addition to Tutsis, Hutus were also massacred during the 1994 ethnic killings. For taking this honest position, Umuhoza was arrested and charged with historical revisionism, inciting ethnic hatred and also "genocide denial." She never had a chance at a fair trial. Her chief counsel, Peter Erlinder, an American law professor, was arrested earlier during the trial, imprisoned and also threatened with charges of "genocide denial" before being expelled from the country after an international outcry. In truth, the charges against Umuhoza and the trial were convenient ways to prevent her from participating in Rwanda's last presidential elections, which many observers believe she would have won. Rwanda's dictator, Gen. Paul Kagame, was declared the winner with unheard of margins – the kind of election results that used to be associated with leaders of the Soviet Union. Umuhoza was convicted for being brave and daring to challenge the Gen. Kagame regime. In truth, the charges against Umuhoza and the trial were convenient ways to prevent her from participating in Rwanda's last presidential elections, which many observers believe she would have won. But Gen. Kagame himself has a much bigger headache. For years Kagame was granted a blank check by Western countries that credited him with halting the ethnic killings of 1994. That conventional narrative of Gen. Kagame as Rwanda's savior has been under increasing scrutiny lately. On Nov. 17, 2006, a French investigative judge, Jean-Louis Bruguière, indicted several senior Rwanda military officers for the assassination of Rwanda's then President Juvenal Habyarimana and for sparking Rwanda's 1994 massacres. The judge said Kagame should stand trial for ordering the April 6, 1994, downing with missiles of the plane that carried Habyarimana; he perished with Burundi's President Cyprien Ntaryamira, who was traveling with him. According to the French judge, Gen. Kagame's plan was to cynically use the chaos and mass killings that he knew would follow the assassination to seize power and be hailed as a liberator. At the time of Habyarimana's assassination, Kagame's Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), which had launched a war of aggression in October 1990 from Uganda, backed by Yoweri Museveni, was inking a peace deal to stop four years of warfare. For years Kagame had dismissed the charges by the French judge as a cover-up by France to mask that country's own role in backing Habyarimana's regime for years. Yet Gen. Kagame's alleged involvement in subsequent atrocities now make it harder to maintain the conventional narrative's fantasies. In 2010 the United Nations so-called "Mapping Report" documented the massacres of Hutu refugees inside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by Kagame's army. More recently, in June, Gen. Kagame's army was implicated in a new United Nations Group of Experts' report in the on-going massacres of civilians in Congo by a Rwanda backed group called M23. Rwanda's Gen. James Kaberebe, Rwanda's defense minister who is implicated in the June U.N. report, was also indicted by Judge Bruguière in 2006 for the assassination of Habyarimana. It's possible the regime may have announced Umuhoza's conviction – after several delays – to deflect attention from Gen. Kagame's own crisis and as a negotiating carrot with his Western sponsors. As a result of the United Nations' findings, the United States has cut some aid to Rwanda as have some European countries. Congo's government has called on the United Nations Security Council action against Rwanda; meanwhile Congolese and Rwandan activists want war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Gen. Kagame, a prospect that doesn't seem totally unlikely anymore. Given this backdrop, it's possible the regime may have announced Umuhoza's conviction – after several delays – to deflect attention from Gen. Kagame's own crisis and as a negotiating carrot with his Western sponsors. Nevertheless, a sham trial is a sham trial. Umuhoza must be released unconditionally or granted an impartial fully-monitored trial, with counsel of her choice. Her conviction by the kangaroo court must be set aside. Milton Allimadi, publisher and editor in chief of The Black Star News, New York's leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, where this story first appeared, can be reached at Milton@blackstarnews.com. Allimadi has also worked for The Journal of Commerce, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The City Sun.   You may also like - Free African political prisoner Victoire Ingabire Africa advocates to Obama: Don't recognize Kagame's election Paul Kagame's desperate days Share on tumblrShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailMore Sharing Services Related Posts Rwanda is no excuse for the U.S. to intervene in Sudan Bill Clinton, the genocider who just might get away Need to examine U.S. complicity in Africa Genocide African Union threatens withdrawal from United Nations Rwanda's Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza speaks to Women's International News Gathering Service

http://rwandansrights.org/rwanda-should-give-opponents-political-space-not-political-motivated-prison-sentences/ Rwanda should give opponents political space not politically motivated prison sentences OCTOBER 30, 2012 4:14 PM Share this Article TWITTER FACEBOOK DELICIOUS DIGG STUMBLE REDDIT Author: admin [Translate] Global Campaign for Rwandans Human Rights condemns today High Court guilty verdict of the opposition party leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza for charges that are clearly political motivated. She has been jailed for eight years for treason and denying genocide, Since she was arrested on 14th October 2010, her trial has demonstrated to fell short basic judicial procedures and international judicial principles. Prior to her arrest there were already signs of government attempt to influence the judiciary in relation to accusations against her. This occurred when government official including the president Paul Kagame, ministers of interior, foreign affairs and local government made statements confirming Ingabire culpability. This has clearly undermined the judiciary independence and highly likely to impact the direction of the trial process and verdict. Therefore Ingabire trial was conducted in atmosphere which could not guarantee a free and fair judgement. While recognising importance of Rwandan government special attention in monitoring hate speeches that might fuel genocidal related crimes, the genocide past should not be used to close freedom to express ones views in relation to past's events and pathways to take to ensure justice and reconciliation. The scare of illeguralities and ignorance of due process identified during Ingabire trial demonstrated the judiciary commitment to collaborate with the executive in silencing criticism using the law and its unwillingness to deliver really justice. Global Campaign for Rwandans Human Rights urges the Rwandan government to: - Immediately release Victoire Ingabire and other political prisoners including Bernard Ntaganda and Deo Mushayidi who were also imprisoned as result of various political motivated charges. - Immediately release all imprisoned journalists whose trial seriously undermined the freedom of media principles. - To amend and clarify the 'genocide ideology'' law in order to prevent its use in silencing opponents and closing up criticism. - Allow justice system whose judges and prosecutors are totally independents and witnesses are not harassed. - Remember period of troubles in Rwandan history have mainly caused by lack of freedom, human rights respect and equal opportunities. Oppressing rights has high potentiality to take back Rwanda into that dark period. Lack of those fundamental freedoms also prevents Rwanda to achieve its development potentiality. - Open up political space, so that Rwandans can embrace really democracy that will ensure people rights to participate freely in order to create a democratic society. For headquarter (UK) Rene C Mugenzi info@rwandansrights.org For Rwanda team rwanda@rwandansrights.org

http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/ingabire%E2%80%99s-daughter-%E2%80%9Cyou-get-used-it%E2%80%9D Ingabire's daughter: "You get used to it" Published on : 31 October 2012 - 5:35pm | By Saskia Houttuin (Photo: Saskia Houttuin) More about: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)   Ingabire trial   Ingabire's daughter   M23   Netherlands President Paul Kagame   Raissa Ujeneza   Rwanda   Rwanda high court   Victoire Ingabire Raissa Ujeneza is a 23 year old studying international and European law in the Netherlands. Her mother is Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, whom Rwanda's high court sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison for treason and genocide denial. RNW visited Ujeneza at her home to hear what she was thinking and feeling shortly after the verdict was announced. "She only went [to Rwanda] to bring peace and to reconcile the Rwandan people. And anybody who would understand that would not fight her and would definitely not put her eight years into prison," says Ujeneza. Relative to the life sentence that her family had envisioned as a worst-case scenario, the ruling may seem quite mild. But her daughter feels little satisfaction. "I am also disappointed because it is my mother who they are sentencing [to] eight years while she is innocent," she says. "It is not just." The global gaze According to Ujeneza, the international criticism that her mother's case drew spared Ingabire from receiving a life-long imprisonment. "They are aware that the international community is watching them," she says about Rwanda.  "The government has been criticized several times on different aspects," she explains, referring to accusations of Rwanda "participating with the rebel group M23 in the Congo areas" and "meddling" with the Ingabire case. "Also, my mother's case has been in the media on several occasions," she continues. "And the Rwandan government, in trying to show that they are doing a [good] job and that they are acting [according to the] law...they of course gave her eight year sentence instead of the required life sentence...I think and I believe truly that they wanted to give her life." Life in the Netherlands Raissa Ujeneza, 23, at her home in the Netherlands Photo: Saskia Houttuin Ujeneza's life in the Netherlands comes in stark contrast to her mother's. Ujeneza lives in a colourfully decorated apartment in a small Dutch village. Ingabire left for Rwanda in 2010 to run against the country's sitting President Paul Kagame. Ingabire was jailed. Kagame won. "It's been quite difficult and quite chaotic. It happened actually that every time she would end up in prison in the beginning, before she was arrested, I had an exam," says Ujeneza when asked how she has coped with her mother's situation. "I try to separate myself, having one side which focuses on school and everything that is going on in my own life. And another side that is focused on her trial and everything that comes along with it." But how does the young woman prevent herself from feeling split into two? "You get used to it," she says. "You get used to switching off a button and do what you have to do and when you have to do it, and switch it on when you have to focus on this area which is quite confronting my emotions." Looking forward Now that the verdict has been announced, Ingabire and her supporters are expected to bring the case to a higher court. "We will not take this verdict for what it is. We know that the court has favoured in the Rwandan government's demands actually and we want justice to be served," says Ujeneza. "We will go to the Supreme Court and, if necessary, we will also take this trial abroad outside the Rwandan country," she says, noting that the case could be appropriate for the African Court on Human and People's Rights. Although she might not see her for years and admits to missing her very much, Ujeneza clearly wants her mother to persevere. RELATED CONTENT Eight years for Victoire Ingabire Big Brother Kagame is watching all Rwandans Rwanda: violator or victim? Victoire Ingabire: verdict postponed On the eve of Victoire Ingabire's verdict Still, one can't help but wonder if on the day Ingabire is liberated, whether her own family will want to keep her in close reign. "I realize that my mother would probably not let herself [be] held down," says her daughter, with a laugh. "She is very determined and I recognize that in my brothers and myself. Once we want something we really go for it and we have that from her. She cannot be stopped and she shouldn't be stopped. Definitely not. She's living out what she believes: she believes that Rwanda can be healed again. And she should be supported in that and she should not be stopped." Ujeneza confidently adds: "Not even by her own children."

Opposition leader Victoire Ingabire sentenced to eight years in prison

 

Her British lawyer Lain Edwards told RFI that he will appeal against the conviction

 

http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20121031-opposition-leader-victoire-ingabire-sentenced-eight-years-jail