Rwanda: Victoire’s Speech and Quotes

http://www.victoire-ingabire.com/Eng/victoires-quotes/   Victoire's Speech and Quotes I agree that there was a genocide by Hutu extremists against the Tutsis, that is the reality. The people who did this need to face justice. But there were also other crimes against humanity, including the killing of Hutus. I don't believe in violence and war is not the solution to the problems that face this country. People say there's stability in Rwanda but this stability is based on repression … We need stability based on freedom. I don't understand how democratic countries can remain friends with a government that doesn't allow democracy. The democratic UK is supporting a dictatorship. Shall I die or live, be detained or released what we have achieved will not go back. This movement is stronger than me. Remanding me in captivity or silencing my voice can only postpone the revolution. It cannot stop the movement. Unity and Reconciliation Speech at Gisozi Genocide Memorial Centre On the 16th January 2010, Mrs Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, having stayed abroad for 16 years, returned to her country to register her political party and run for presidential elections. It was her first time back in Rwanda since the genocide committed against Tutsi people. On her very first day in Rwanda, she went to lay a wreath of flowers at the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Centre and made a speech on unity and reconciliation. Her speech, translated in English below, has been submitted as evidence in the court of law on divisionism and revisionism charges leveled against her. "I would like to say that today, I came back to my country after 16 years, and there was a tragedy that took place in this country. We know very well that there was a genocide, extermination. Therefore, I could not have returned after 16 years to the same country after such actions took place. They took place when I was not in the country. I could not have fallen asleep without first passing by the place where those actions took place. I had to see the place. I had to visit the place. "The flowers I brought with me are a sign of remembrance from the members of my party FDU and its executive committee. They gave me a message to pass by here and tell Rwandans that what we wish for is for us to work together, to make sure that such a tragedy will never take place again. That is one of the reasons why the FDU Party made a decision to return to the country peacefully, without resorting to violence. Some think that the solution to Rwanda's problems is to resort to armed struggle. We do not believe that shedding blood resolves problems. When you shed blood, the blood comes back to haunt you. "Therefore, we in FDU wish that all we Rwandans can work together, join our different ideas so that the tragedy that befell our nation will never happen again. It is clear that the path of reconciliation has a long way to go. It has a long way to go because if you look at the number of people who died in this country, it is not something that you can get over quickly. But then again, if you look around you realize that there is no real political policy to help Rwandans achieve reconciliation. For example, if we look at this memorial, it only stops at people who died during the Tutsi genocide. It does not look at the other side – at the Hutus who died during the genocide. Hutus who lost their people are also sad and they think about their lost ones and wonder, 'When will our dead ones be remembered?' "For us to reach reconciliation, we need to empathize with everyone's sadness. It is necessary that for the Tutsis who were killed, those Hutus who killed them understand that they need to be punished for it. It is also necessary that for the Hutus who were killed, those people who killed them understand that they need to be punished for it too. Furthermore, it is important that all of us, Rwandans from different ethnic groups, understand that we need to unite, respect each other and build our country in peace. "What brought us back to the country is for us to start that path of reconciliation together and find a way to stop injustices so that all of us Rwandans can live together with basic freedoms in our country."

INGABIRE CONDAMNEE, COMMUNIQUE DU PDR-IHUMURE

PDR-IHUMURE   COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE du 04 novembre 2012   LE PDR-IHUMURE CONDAMNE LE JUGEMENT IRREGULIER DE VICTOIRE INGABIRE ET DEMANDE SA LIBERATION IMMEDIATE   La crédibilité d'un régime devrait être mesurée notamment à l'aune de la justice qu'elle rend à ses citoyens. Le cas de Mme Victoire Ingabire, présidente des Forces Démocratiques Unifiées (FDU-Inkingi) démontre au-delà du doute l'absence d'une justice équitable sous le régime de Kigali que nous dénonçons depuis ses dix-huit ans d'existence. Huit ans de prison ferme : c'est la sentence qui est tombée ce 30 octobre 2012. Il est reproché à Mme Ingabire l'idéologie du génocide et la conspiration contre le gouvernement rwandais.   Nous voudrions souligner d'emblée que le procès de Mme Ingabire n'a été qu'un cauchemar entaché de graves irrégularités du début à la fin. Tout d'abord, l'interpellée a été impitoyablement privée de sa défense quand son avocat américain, M. Peter Erlinder, a été arrêté dès son arrivée à Kigali, puis emprisonné, ensuite soumis au chantage, avant d'être sommé de quitter le pays dans la honte trois semaines plus tard après une libération obtenue à l'arraché à grands coups de pression par la communauté internationale, l'Amérique en tête. Le monde a ensuite assisté dans l'étonnement à une ingérence théâtrale de l'exécutif rwandais au plus haut niveau, en la personne du président de la république lui-même, M. Paul Kagame, dans la procédure judiciaire de Mme Ingabire, allant jusqu'à affirmer publiquement en lieu et place des instances judiciaires saisies, détenir des preuves irréfutables de sa culpabilité. Mme Ingabire a ensuite essuyé la disparition mystérieuse de ses effets personnels, téléphone compris, ainsi qu'une série d'autres irrégularités dignes d'un pouvoir dictatorial. Dans une vraie démocratie avec un système judiciaire équitable et indépendant, le procès aurait été sanctionné par un non-lieu.   Le Rwanda de Kagame reste donc celui que Mme Susan Rice, l'Ambassadrice Américaine aux Nations Unies, avait déjà bien dépeint lors de sa visite en Novembre 2011. Selon ses termes, "la culture politique au Rwanda reste comparativement fermée. Les restrictions de la presse persistent. Les activistes de la société civile, les journalistes, les opposants politiques au gouvernement craignent souvent de s'organiser pacifiquement et de faire entendre leur voix. Certains ont été harcelés, d'autres intimidés par des appels de nuit, d'autres encore ont simplement disparu." Il n'y a pas le moindre doute que le seul péché de Mme Ingabire est qu'elle est une opposante politique qui a osé briguer la magistrature suprême.   D'autres opposants politiques Rwandais croupissent en prison. C'est le cas de M. Déogratias Mushayidi, président du PDP-Imanzi, condamné à la prison à perpétuité par la Haute Cour de Justice le 17 septembre 2010. C'est aussi le cas de Maître Bernard Ntaganda, président du PS-Imberakuri, condamné à 4 ans de prison ferme par la Haute Cour de Justice le 11 février 2011. Il y a également le Dr. Théoneste Niyitegeka, pour qui l'audace de la course aux présidentielles de 2003 a valu une condamnation de 15 ans de prison ferme, et bien d'autres encore.   Malgré la condamnation de Mme Ingabire par un dictateur endurci, son combat est loin d'être vain. Il a permis de démontrer aux yeux du monde qu'il n'y a ni démocratie ni justice équitable et indépendante au Rwanda. Il a aussi permis de discréditer le mensonge selon lequel le Président Kagame sert de modèle mondial dans la promotion de la femme et du genre. Il sera connu désormais comme le dictateur Africain qui emprisonne en série les femmes politiques et les femmes journalistes, notamment Agnès Uwimana Nkusi, directrice du journal "Umurabyo" et sa collaboratrice Saidati Mukakibibi.   Le parti PDR-Ihumure lance un appel urgent à la communauté internationale pour qu'elle exige du régime rwandais la libération immédiate et sans condition de Mme Victoire Ingabire et de tous les prisonniers politiques moisissant dans les prisons rwandaises, notamment Deo Mushayidi, Bernard Ntaganda, Théoneste Niyitegeka, Angès Uwimana Nkusi, et Saidati Mukakibibi.   Fait à Bruxelles,   Jean-Baptiste Ngarambe Secrétaire Exécutif Adjoint PDR-Ihumure

INGABIRE CONDEMNED, PDR-IHUMURE PRESS RELEASE

PDR-IHUMURE   PRESS RELEASE OF NOVEMBER 4, 2012   The PDR-Ihumure condemns illegal verdict against Victoire Ingabire and demands her immediate release   A regime's credibility should be measured through, among other things, the kind of justice it metes out to its citizens. The case of Mrs. Victoire Ingabire, President of the Unified Democratic Forces party (FDU-Inkingi), highlights beyond all doubt the absence of equitable justice under the Kigali regime which we have tirelessly denounced in its 18 years of existence. Eight years in prison was the verdict rendered this October 30, 2012.Mrs. Ingabire was found guilty of genocide ideology and threatening state security.   We'd like to point out from the get-go that Mrs. Ingabire's trial has been nothing short of a nightmarish procedure fraught with serious irregularities from beginning to end. First, she was handled ruthlessly by being denied due defense when her American attorney, Peter Erlinder, was arrested immediately after arriving in Kigali . He was then put in jail, subjected to blackmail, before being asked to leave the country in total shame three weeks later after being granted bail thanks to intense pressure from the international community, starting with the American government. The world was then stunned to witness theatrical interference in Mrs. Ingabire's case by the highest executive authority, none other than President Paul Kagame himself, who went as far as stating publicly in the place of competent judicial authorities in charge of the matter, that he had irrefutable evidence of her culpability. Then came the mysterious disappearance of Mrs. Ingabire's personal belongings, including her cell phone, followed by a series of other strange procedural irregularities worthy of a dictatorship. This was a case that, in a true democracy with an equitable and independent judicial system, would simply have been dismissed.   In the end, Kagame's Rwanda remains the one which Mrs. Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., had so accurately described during her visit in November 2011. She observed that "the political culture in Rwanda remains comparatively closed. Press restrictions persist. Civil society activists, journalists, and political opponents of the government often fear organizing peacefully and speaking out. Some have been harassed. Some have been intimidated by late-night callers. Some have simply disappeared." There's no doubt that Mrs. Ingabire's only sin is that she is a political opponent who dared to run for the presidency.   Other opposition political leaders are rotting in jail in Rwanda . There is Déogratias Mushayidi, President of the PDP-Imanzi party, who was sentenced to life in prison by Rwanda 's High Court on September 17, 2010. There is also Bernard Ntaganda, President of the PS-Imberakuri party, who was sentenced to 4 years in prison by the High Court on February 11, 2011. Then we have Dr. Théoneste Niyitegeka, whose audacity to run for president in 2003 earned him 15 years of jail time. There are many others yet.   Despite being jailed by a hardened dictator, Mrs. Ingabire's fight has not been in vain. Her fight has helped to prove to the world that there is neither democracy nor equitable and independent justice in Rwanda . It has also helped to debunk the myth that President Kagame is the world's model for promoting gender and women's rights. He will now be known as the African dictator who is serially imprisoning female politicians and female journalists as well, such as Ms. Agnes Uwimana Nkusi, Director of "Umurabyo" newspaper and her collaborator Ms. Saidati Mukakibibi.   The PDR-Ihumure party urgently calls upon the international community to demand the immediate and unconditional release by the Rwandan regime of Mrs. Victoire Ingabire and all other political prisoners languishing in Rwandan jails, particularly Deo Mushayidi, Bernard Ntaganda, Théoneste Niyitegeka, Agnes Uwimana Nkusi, and Saidati Mukakibibi.   Done in Brussels ,   Jean-Baptiste Ngarambe Deputy Executive Secretary PDR-Ihumure

Help Prevent the US from Being a Safe Haven for War Criminals

http://www.afjn.org/focus-campaigns/other/other-continental-issues/82-general/1101-help-prevent-the-us-from-being-a-safe-haven-for-war-criminals-.html Help Prevent the US from Being a Safe Haven for War Criminals   Posted on October 26, 2012 By Jacques Bahati, Policy Analyst The United States government is seeking help from the general  public and specifically from the African diaspora in an effort to ensure human rights violators and war criminals do not find a safe haven here.  If you have information about any foreign government official, military, police, or members of an armed group that you believe perpetrated serious human rights violations or war crimes and has come to the US--please talk to US law enforcement.  This information can help hold criminals accountable. This idea was at the core of the Africa Human Rights NGO Round Table that Africa Faith and Justice Network was invited to on October 10, 2012 by the US Department of Justice Human Rights and Special Prosecutions (HRSP). Every year, the US welcomes people from different nations  across the globe.  Some of them have been victims or know people who have been victims of all kinds of atrocities in their home country.  It is possible for a victim of a crime to casually run into their attacker at a store, a place of worship, or on the street here in the US.  In May 2011, the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received information from a Ethiopian-American who had recently encountered Mr. Kefelegn Alemu Worku, a former prison guard who took part in the "Red Terror" campaign in the 1970s during which men, women and children were tortured and executed.  The Justice Department turned the encounter into an opportunity to serve long-overdue justice for the victim.  This is one of many cases which you can read about here. The justice department works in collaboration with other US agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of State.  The US Congress enacted some statutes that enable law enforcement to prosecute criminal offences such as torture, war crimes, genocide and recruitment of child soldiers.  A perpetuator can also be prosecuted by finding false statements or fraud in their immigration or naturalization files.   Furthermore, if criminal prosecution is not possible in the US, the perpetrator's visa can be revoked or be denaturalized if the perpetrator had obtained US citizenship.  In 2011, President Obama issued a proclamation expanding the authority of Homeland Security and the Department of State to deny visas to people accused of serious crimes and human rights violations.   Thus, if you know of individuals who committed these crimes and are traveling the world and or plan to travel to the US you are encouraged to help stop him or her from entering the US by giving any information at your disposal to US law enforcement.  They will investigate and put the individual on a no-entry list for the US.  If the perpetrator is a US citizen and a former military or current or former contractor and committed crimes such as murder, manslaughter, assault and other violent crimes outside the US, the US Department of Justice can prosecute the perpetrator under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) or the Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction (SMTJ).  This is the case of Steven D. Green and other soldiers who raped Qassim Al –Janabi, a 14-year old Iraqi girl.  He was sentenced to five concurrent terms of life in prison.  Contact information: - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement:   Information for Victims of Crima: toll-free number at 1-866-872-4973 - U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division:   Call 1-800-813-5863 or e-mail hrsptips@usdoj.gov. You do not have to identify   yourself when providing information. - Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section:   Teresa McHenry, Chief: 202-616-8385   Eli Rosenbaum, Director Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy:   202-616-2512   William Ho-Gonzalez, Deputy Chief Immigration Crimes: 202-305-0654   Kathleen O'Connor, Deputy Chief Human Rights Violations: 202-305-4367   Matthew Stiglitz, Deputy Chief International Violent Crimes: 202-305-3646  Learn more: http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1203/120330buffalo.htm http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/January/09-crm-021.html http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/July/10-crm-782.html http://www.justice.gov/criminal/icitap/pr/2009/10-06-09breuer-testimony.pdf

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/july082012/victoire-ingabire-an.php?fb_action_ids=3839856528127&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366 How to Support the Release of Victoire Ingabire and Why this Matters Ambrose Nzeyimana for Salem-News.com While the Rwandan president Paul Kagame is destabilising its neighbouring country, Democratic Republic of Congo, inside Rwanda, he is detaining tens of his political opponents, including Victoire Ingabire, chairperson of FDU-Inkingi. Victoire Ingabire (LONDON) - It's not every day we search around and find a cause worth supporting because of the significant impact that our contribution can make in our own life and that of sometime millions others. Victoire Ingabire shaved her head in protest of being a political prisoner, many Rwandans followed her in doing this. The name of Victoire Ingabire might sound unfamiliar. If for some it might be the first time to come across it, let's help them to make the connections. On June 27th, 2012 a UN group of experts submitted an addendum S/2012/348/Add.1 to their report S/2012/348 transmitted some days before to the UN Security Council regarding the situation of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The experts document in their reports the involvement of Paul Kagame's Rwandan government in active support of rebel groups, particularly to M23, in destabilizing the fragile peace which has been very sporadic in Eastern Congo for almost two decades. With extensive evidence at hand, the experts confirm the violation of paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 1807 (2008) on arms embargo and sanctions regime committed by the Rwandan government. These violations consist of the provision of material and financial support to armed groups operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the recently established M23. The arms embargo and sanctions regimes violations include the following: • Direct assistance in the creation of M23 through the transport of weapons and soldiers through Rwandan territory • Recruitment of Rwandan youth and demobilized ex-combatants as well as Congolese refugees for M23 • Provision of weapons and ammunition to M23 • Mobilization and lobbying of Congolese political and financial leaders for the benefit of M23 • Direct Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) interventions into Congolese territory to reinforce M23 • Support to several other armed groups as well as Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC) mutinies in the eastern Congo • Violation of the assets freeze and travel ban through supporting sanctioned individuals. While the Rwandan president Paul Kagame is destabilising its neighbouring country, Democratic Republic of Congo, inside Rwanda, he is detaining tens of his political opponents, including Victoire Ingabire, chairperson of FDU-Inkingi. But who is Victoire Ingabire? Mrs. Victoire Ingabire is a 43-year-old mother of three. She had a very good job in the Netherlands, where she had been studying during the 1994 genocide. In 2009, she resigned to return to Rwanda and participate in the presidential election which was scheduled for August 9th, 2010. She was back in Rwanda on January 17, 2010, after 16 years in exile. She was recognized by all as the main leader of the Rwandan non-violent political opposition. Her FDU-Inkingi political party has been refused registration until today. Instead, as her chairperson, she has been imprisoned since October 14th, 2010 on false allegations of supporting a terrorist group, genocide ideology, and divisionism. How can people support her release from prison? On June 29th, 2012 Victoire Ingabire was supposed to receive her verdict from the High Court in Kigali, but the hearing was postponed. Almost 20 months have passed since her incarceration. The Rwandan president Paul Kagame is determined to keep her in prison as he has done for other political leaders such as Bernard Ntaganda, or Deo Mushayigi. This is what you can do to support the release of all these political prisoners. Below are five actions you can take to help the Rwandan people who want change from the authoritarian regime of Paul Kagame:  1. Write to the representative of your constituency at the national parliament or congress and raise this issue of injustice which is being supported by your government in your name< 2. Write and talk to your faith and other opinion leaders from your community about the crimes that the Rwandan government led by Paul Kagame is committing inside the country and in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo while receiving millions of dollars, pounds sterling and euros from your government 3. Contact your local Human Rights Watch office and request the release of all the Rwandan political prisoners. Contact information can be found at http://www.hrw.org/en/contact-us. 4. Contact Amnesty International Secretariat and let them know of ongoing injustice in Rwanda and crimes being committed in Eastern Congo by the Rwandan authorities. Contact information can be found at http://www.amnesty.org/en/contact 5. Contact any other organizations you can think of such as media, human rights organizations, international aid groups, embassies. Why does this matter? There are lives of families like yours which are being wasted by letting Paul Kagame to carry on with his oppressive and criminal policies in Rwanda and DRC, and particularly keeping in prison Victoire Ingabire and other political opponents. Millions of $ and £ and Euros of Western aid are being used to oppress Rwandans, foment rebellions in Eastern Congo, and kill Congolese people by the Rwandan government. This is happening while Britain, U.S. and other major developed countries are experiencing high levels of unemployment and welfare budgets. A recent visit to the United States by Rwandan President Paul Kagame brought  reactions like the one on this sign. Photo by Jennifer Fierberg And this increased governments' spending is expanding national deficits at unsustainable limits. We have had the Rwandan genocide in 1994 which took away the lives of almost one million of Rwandans. In 2007, the International Rescue Committee estimated that wars of invasion in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo initiated by Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi had directly and indirectly provoked the death of 5.7 millions of Congolese and Rwandan refugees. Since then, there has not been any lasting peace in Eastern Congo but a constant insecurity intentionally maintained by Rwanda and Uganda to facilitate illegal exploitation of DRC minerals. The world is witnessing an ongoing institutionalised genocide by the Rwandan government enabled by external funding from donor countries. By supporting the release of the political prisoner Victoire Ingabire, and putting pressure on the Rwandan president to end his criminal policies in his country and the region, you will have made a big difference in your own life and that of millions others. Source: www.therisingcontinent.wordpress.com Submitted by: Jennifer Fierberg, MSW About the Author: Ambrose Nzeyimana, coordinator of Organizing for Africa, is a Pan-Africanist and human rights activist. He can be reached at organisingforafrica@gmail.com. His website is The Rising Continent: Lions on the Move.