Introduction of Paul Rusesabagina by Robert Krueger

INTRODUCTION OF PAUL RUSESABAGINA

By:  Robert Krueger (formerly U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, U.S. Ambassador)

Brussels, Belgium – 15 December 2012

 

I am honored to be here today to speak about two things: The Rwanda that has been, and is now, in the murderous grip of Paul Kagame, and the Rwanda that can be if moral and civic leaders work together to form a genuine democracy with people like Paul Rusesabagina, a man who saves lives rather than destroys them.

 

The Paul whom I first met was Paul Kagame.  I arrived as U.S. Ambassador to Burundi in late June 1994, when neighboring Rwanda had killed almost 800,000 people in 90 days' time - roughly one of every eight Rwandan citizens. 

 

Fortunately, the genocidairres that had begun the slaughter in April, 1994 were defeated.  But unfortunately, the revenging forces under Paul Kagame, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, began a new genocide, which the outside world has not wanted to acknowledge.  In 1994, 1000 Rwandans each day were fleeing their homeland to enter Burundi and live in UN refugee camps there. I visited those camps every week.  When I asked the Rwandan refugees when they would return home, they replied "When Kagame and the RPF stop killing us." 

 

The first 1994 genocide was known throughout the world.  The second, revenging genocide that began under Kagame, was and is still largely ignored – because the outside world does not want to acknowledge that those who had won in July 1994 were no better than those who had lost.  To acknowledge it would mean that the UN and the outside world needed to do something about it. And instead, the world has preferred to pretend that the problem does not exist.

 

In August 1994 I met personally with Paul Kagame, the leader of the winning forces.  I told him to his face what Rwandan refugees who had fled to Burundi were telling me: that is, that they would not return to Rwanda until Kagame's RPF stopped killing them.  He refused to take any responsibility for that second, vengeful genocide.  And the outside world continues to pretend that the genocide in Rwanda has ended.  It has not. In fact, it has spread to the Democratic Republic of Congo through M23 and other militia groups that Kagame sponsors. And Kagame's dictatorship that began in 1994 has continued for 18 years until this day. 

 

The Kagame government not only takes lives.  It also steals elections.

 

Rwandan elections under Kagame's dictatorship are fraudulent.  Political opponents are sometimes imprisoned, sometimes exiled, sometimes silenced, sometimes killed.  And terror among the population continues.

 

Some Western nations have, over time, observed the despotism and removed their financial aid from Rwanda.  Others have begun withdrawing some military and cultural support.  But the tyranny continues, with journalists imprisoned, political opponents sometimes disappearing, and the cold pall of terror permeating the entire populace.  Kagame and his party continue regularly to claim 90% of the vote from a frightened voting population.  But no president in a country with honest elections and a free press ever gets above 90%.  These are not honest elections.  There is neither freedom nor justice in Rwanda today. 

 

So let's consider what Rwanda could be with civic and moral leadership from men and women who would rather save lives than destroy lives.

 

Without firing a shot, without raising a weapon, Paul Rusesabagina, as the world knows, saved 1,268 lives amidst a maelstrom of carnage and killing.  How?  With resourcefulness, patience, and abiding faith, he protected a small but significant island of people in an ocean of slaughter.  For his bravery and resourcefulness, his calm amidst the storm, he has received many honors worldwide – including the highest honor that can be given by my country, the United States of America, to any civilian of any country.  It is called, simply, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Paul Rusesabagina received it.  Paul Kagame did not.

 

Paul Rusesabagina preserved freedom, and life, for 1,268 people.  He has sought since that time to enlarge freedom for the entire people of his beloved nation.  He has sought, as well, to recapture from the world some respect for a nation that continues to be steeped in blood.  He will be working with the Party for Democracy in Rwanda (PDR) to challenge the existing tyranny.  Today he will call upon the PDR and other like-minded political parties and civic groups to establish a genuine democracy. The decision to announce this alliance on foreign soil is an act not of cowardice, but of prudence.  He has to announce in a country that allows free speech, not one that imprisons journalists and those who challenge tyranny.

 

It is not unusual, on Planet Earth, to find groups of people who have fled murderous tyranny in their homeland, in order, while in exile, to plant the roots for a new government at home.

 

Rwanda has given the world Paul Rusesabagina – a man who has risked – and by his outspokenness, continues to risk his life – in order to achieve a better life for all Rwandans.  The story of his heroism was so remarkable that it continues to be taught and discussed, and believed and wondered at to this day.  Hotel Rwanda, the movie that tells that story, is known everywhere, and Paul Rusesabagina is deservedly admired on every continent.

 

Paul Rusesabagina is not seeking to become famous.  He already is.

 

Paul Rusesabagina is not seeking to become wealthy.  He already lives well. 

 

He is not seeking revenge.  He loves his country and his countrymen.

 

He is seeking to serve – to serve all the people of his homeland.

 

After a lull in the fighting during the initial genocide in July of 1994, Paul returned to the home of his wife's mother in Rwanda.  There, in a deep hole in the ground used to ferment Banana Beer, he found the decaying bodies of his wife's mother, her sisters, children, and family.  He walked up the hillside, sat by himself, and quietly wept. 

 

But following his tears, he made a vow to do whatever he could to save his country from ever undergoing an experience like that again.  Paul is ready now to live up to that vow and to serve his country.  He seeks, with all Rwandans, to establish a genuine democracy, true freedom, and the promise of better life for all Rwandans.  A new country that saves lives, rather than destroys them. I hope you will all join together and work to achieve these sacred goals.

 

Ladies and gentlemen – I give you a true and noble Rwandan – your own Paul Rusesabagina.

Remarks to the Rwandan Community

Brussels, Belgium, 15 December 2012



By Brian Endless, PhD, Loyola University Chicago and Senior Advisor to the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation



Thank you very much for asking me to join you. It is a pleasure to be here today on this auspicious occasion, and to meet many of you in person for the first time.



I have been extremely lucky to be able to work with Paul Rusesabagina and his foundation for a little more than five years now. Paul and I have enjoyed an interesting relationship from the time we met. Kitty Kurth here likes to think that she introduced us. In fact though, we came together through the Rwandan Ambassador to the US, James Kimonyo. You see, Paul, Amb. Krueger and Kimonyo were speaking together at a panel discussion. While I of course knew of Paul before this time, we had never met.



During that discussion, which was attended by several hundred members of the Rwandan community from across the United States, I first heard Amb. Kimonyo give the official position on life in Rwanda. You see, according to Kimonyo, everything in Rwanda is excellent now. There are no Hutus or Tutsis. All problems have been resolved. All difficulties have been reconciled. There are some dissenters, but they are rare. All people in Rwanda are happy, healthy, and on their way to wealth.



Kimonyo drew the perfect picture that the Rwandan government would like us all to believe. Kimonyo also made it clear that Paul and Ambassador Krueger were two of those terrible people who were trying to cause dissent among Rwandans. Unfortunately for Kimonyo, Paul, Amb. Krueger, and the many Rwandans in attendance would not let those words stand, and they made it clear that the truth was very different.



I was very interested to watch Kimonyo as the audience questioned him, and he became more and more frustrated. And then at one point, he had had enough. Kimonyo turned to the audience, and declared that Paul and Amb. Krueger were liers who were fighting against the Rwandan people. In fact, he stood up in front of the assembly, and angrily told us a very interesting story. He claimed to have proof, indisputable proof, that Paul and Amb. Krueger had been seen in South Africa just a few months before, using Foundation money to purchase guns for Hutu rebels based out of the Congo.



Naturally, the audience was infuriated. Amb. Krueger quickly jumped up to rebut the story, but Paul calmed everyone down and took control. And I will never forget his words, he said: "it is rare to see a distinguished Ambassador lying in public, but that is what is happening here. This story is a lie, and I can prove it right now." Paul then pulled out his passport, and showed the entire crowd the date stamps, proving that he was in the United States on the date that the gun running meeting supposedly occurred in South Africa.



This was my introduction to Paul, to modern day Rwanda, and to the lengths to which the Rwandan government will go to lie about and silence anyone who criticizes its record.

This was also the beginning of my work with Paul and his foundation. When I began working actively on issues in Rwanda, I was an American professor who thought I knew and understood the Rwandan genocide. What I came to realize over the past five years is how little I actually knew. I realized how much I had to learn about the Rwandan people and the complexities of politics and life inside of Rwanda.



Over those years I have developed a new sense for the truth about the terrible conditions imposed by the current Rwandan government – both on its own people, and on those in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo. I have also realized that those conditions all stem from poor leadership – from a man and a political party who are ruling for their own interests, and not in the best interests of all of the Rwandan people. They have created conditions in which only a small number of people may prosper, at the expense of others. And they have closed off politics and life in Rwanda so that many are forced to live in exile, some in terrible conditions, and many more flee the repression of the government each year.



I was asked me to speak for a little while today about the international political situation involving Rwanda. As you all know, not only are Paul Kagame's repressive politics felt inside of Rwanda, but the regime has also exported these politics to the DRC. We know the stories – more than 7 million deaths over the last 14 years. Rape and destruction of human lives and property. Human rights violations daily, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and according to the United Nations possibly even a new genocide. And all of this done for access to conflict minerals and power. All to benefit elite leaders in Kigali.



I could spend hours telling you the story of the DRC, but many of you know it even better than I do. Rather than do that, I think it is good to focus here on some positive things that have been going on recently in the international community.



You see, starting with the UN's Mapping Report in late 2010, the world has finally begun to take notice of the DRC, and of Rwandan (and Ugandan) involvement in that country. Those of us at the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation have been working very hard to bring this issue to international attention, and we are starting to see great success.



Sadly, this is not an issue that the rich countries want to discuss. They would rather sit back and talk about their own economies, and their own problems. But since many of those rich countries, especially the US and the UK, are partly responsible for this conflict, it is our duty to push them to discuss it. We cannot let them sit back and fund a repressive government that attacks its neighbor for profit. We cannot let western companies profit off of conflict minerals, when we know the blood that is on that money. We must be the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves – for those who are affected by this conflict, and have no voice.



And that voice has been working. The UN has now reported regularly on the conflict in the Congo. And those reports actively call out both the Rwandan and Ugandan governments for their responsibility in driving this conflict. It is now clear to the international community that Rwanda is behind M23, and that this is not just some rebel force working to overthrow another African government. The most recent UN report even mentioned Rwandan leaders by name, stating clearly that Defense Minister General James Kabarebe is the one giving orders to M23 on behalf of the Rwandan government. And while the international community is still hesitant to make the connection, all of us in this room know that if Kabarebe is giving the orders, he is getting his commands directly from Kagame.



It is also important to know that we have many friends in the international community. Our friends in the governments of France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and many others have all come out in support of the Rwandan people, condemning the Rwandan government for their actions, and in more and more cases cutting off aid to that government.



Our friends in the UK are leaders here, cutting off over $20 million in aid to Kagame in response to what is happening in the Congo.



And in a very positive step, our friends in the US government are moving forward. They have cut off a small amount of aid, but are now willing to publically talk about the fact that Rwanda must push M23 to stop the violence.



We are doing good work, but we need to keep pushing more. To keep the pressure on.



Particularly in the US and the UK, given their influence at the UN and their long support for Kagame's government, we need to move forward.



It needs to be clear to those governments, and to the international community, that M23 is not just some rebel group. This is merely the latest incarnation of a Rwandan militia in the Congo. And as in the latest attack on Goma, this milita is often backed by the Rwandan military. The governments and leaders of the world need to stand up and be clear that this is not an internal fight in the Congo – this is Paul Kagame and his government, along with Museveni and his government, profiting off the suffering of their neighbors.



We need to keep pushing for real action. This should include not just sanctions against M23 leaders, but personal sanctions against Rwandan and Ugandan leaders. Freezing bank accounts, limiting travel in their expensive planes, and showing them that they cannot profit from the suffering of others.



As a recent New York Times article stated, we cannot just condemn the crimes that are going on. We must name the criminals. And in naming them, we must shame them into stopping their actions. And shame their international supporters into doing the right thing.





I was asked here to speak about the international side of the Rwandan situation, but I want to close by bringing this back to peace and democracy inside of Rwanda. Unfortunately, what is happening in the Congo is just a symptom of the bigger problem. As we all know, the problem is an undemocratic government, with a President and other elites who do not care about anything other than themselves.



Something that I have realized over the past 5 years is that this is the real tragedy of Rwanda, both now and throughout its long history. It is not a tragedy of Hutus and Tutsis fighting. It is rather a tragedy of elite leaders, who use ethnicity and drag ordinary people into their struggles for power.



What Rwanda needs is leadership that cares more about people than profits. Leadership that believes that change can come through peace, and that does not resort to violence when things get hard. Leadership that does not look to neighboring countries as a place to rape and plunder, but that looks to neighbors – and the entire world – as places where we can have peaceful cooperation, working together for all of the people, not just for a few.



Rwanda needs new leadership who speak for those who have no voice, not just for themselves.



In closing, I will share something that I realized very quickly when working with Paul Rusesabagina on Rwanda. For the benefit of all of the Rwandan people, peaceful change is absolutely crucial. The cycle of violence that has been going on since before colonial times, and that is clear in the current Rwandan government, must stop.



But I have also realized that peaceful change in Rwanda is not likely to come from within. The current government is TOO good at what it does, and that is repressing the people. Change will require work and organization from brave Rwandans in exile, who can be the voice for those in the country. And it requires continued and ongoing support from our friends in the international community.



Please remember though that those friends do NOT always understand Rwanda. And Rwanda is not as central to their lives as it is to ours. They may want to do the right thing, but we will need to continue to tell them what that right thing is. We need to keep reminding them of the continued human rights violations, about current violence in the DRC, and of the potential for more horrible violence in the future.



And we need to keep standing up and telling the world that they are already involved, and that their help is needed. We need to remind the world that they have a choice: they can do nothing, and the current government can continue on a path of harm. Or the world can join us in standing up for the Rwandan people, and in working for a better future in Rwanda, in the Congo, and in the region at large.



I thank you for your time, and hope that we can continue working hard to make peace in Rwanda a reality soon. Thank you.q

http://www.inyenyerinews.org/afrika/kigali-wants-federal-state-in-eastern-drc-us-congress-told/   Kigali wants federal state in eastern DRC, US Congress told December 15, 2012 By Rwema IT Webmaster Leave a Comment Controversy over Rwanda's alleged support for M23 rebels is set to deepen after the Kagame administration was sensationally accused before the US Congress of pushing to establish a federal state in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Steve Hege, who co-ordinated the UN Group of Experts on Congo until its mandate expired at the end of November, told the US Congress that the Rwandan government organised, supplied and directed the M23 rebel group with the aim of spawning an autonomous federal state. READ: Kigali now fights back, frustrated by accusations "There has been speculation over whether Rwandan involvement was driven by security interests, or its economic interests, or ethnic/cultural ties. But a federal state for Eastern Congo would encapsulate all of these issues," he said in his testimony. Mr Hege predicted that the M23 rebellion is likely to continue until Rwanda achieves this objective. "Rwanda is determined to win. The costs are already too high for Kigali to settle for anything less now," he said. The fresh claims came as talks between the rebels and DRC President Joseph Kabila's government in Kampala got off with a spate of accusations and counter-accusations that underlined the deep mistrust between the two sides. René Abandi Munyarugerero, M23's head of foreign affairs and regional co-operation, who has been engaged in informal talks on the part of the rebels for the past four months, told The EastAfrican in Kampala: "We would like these talks to be different." M23 were the first to boycott a session on the grounds that they didn't want to listen to the government's response to their opening statement, in which they accused it of "poor governance characterised by the lack of visionary leadership." ALSO READ: M23 rebels accuse Kabila of planning offensive Although the two sides managed to overcome this false start at the urging of Dr Crispus Kiyonga, Uganda's Minister of Defence, and concluded the ground rules and agenda behind closed doors on Thursday December 13, the next contest was expected over the rebels' 21 demands. The demands were formally presented in July to Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, the chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, under whose auspices the talks are taking place. Several of these demands, apparently including one calling for the setting up of shopping centres and supermarkets in Eastern DRC, are not contained in the March 23, 2009 agreement which integrated the rebels into government before they mutinied in April this year, citing Kinshasa's failure to fully implement it. "There is a divergence of views within M23," a communication analyst in Goma told The EastAfrican. "When you listen to the chairman of M23 Bishop Jean-Marie Runiga, you don't understand what they are about. But when you hear [Col Sultani Makenga, the head of the military high command] you get a clear direction of what this group is about." Jason Stearns, a researcher on Eastern DRC, told The EastAfrican in an earlier interview M23's ultimate goal is unknown. "At different times, they have said they want to negotiate their reintegration, but internally their rhetoric suggests they want secession or to march on Kinshasa," said Mr Stearns. Of all the new demands, the one that is mostly likely to break the talks is the rebels' claim that President Kabila rigged the November 2011 election and so it should be reviewed and that the Electoral Commission be disbanded. Although a review of the Commission is already underway, this demand is unlikely to be entertained by regional leaders who endorsed Kabila by ordering M23 "to stop talk of overthrowing an elected government." Meanwhile, observes said the rebels' tactical advantage has been strengthened by their withdrawal from Goma, which they captured on November 20 and held for 11 days. READ: Kabila, Kagame fly in for talks as Goma falls They have camped in the Kanyaruchinya hills overlooking the city as the ground of tactical importance of their choice, which the regional leaders allowed them to select when they ordered them out of Goma in their November 26 communiqué. With the weapons they took from the Congolese army and armoury, security analysts The EastAfrican spoke to in Goma say this position gives them the ability to overrun the capital of North Kivu at will.

A Culture That Condones The Killing Of Children And Teaches Children To Kill

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/15-3   Published on Saturday, December 15, 2012 by Common Dreams A Culture That Condones The Killing Of Children And Teaches Children To Kill by Lucinda Marshall The Sandy Hook massacre isn't just about the need for gun control laws, it is about a culture that condones the killing of children and teaches children that killing is okay. It is about a country addicted to violence on television and movie screens. It is about cuts in education spending. It is about giving the military free access to our schools where they regale our children with romanticized delusions of military righteousness. It is about environmental and health policies that expose our children to all manner of toxins in the air, land and water. It is about thinking we have the right to kill children with drones or by dropping toxic munitions on their countries that cause birth defects and miscarriages. It is about saddling our children with crippling education debt and no prospect for jobs. It is about telling boys (and men) they have to be tough and to fight and kill for what they want or think is right. It is about a national policy that denies children basic rights and systemically teaches them that violence is okay. And it is about a media so insensitive that it thinks it is okay to shove a microphone in the face of young victims in the name of sensationalized 24/7 cable "news" while under-reporting the root causes of this tragedy. Sandy Hook did not happen because of a lone, disturbed young man and it is not an isolated incident. It is an epidemic and we are all to blame. And today (and tomorrow and every day after that) is the time to confront this self-inflicted tragedy.   ###   Trouble viewing this email? Click here to view this and past Newsletters online. Home | About Us | Donate | Subscribe | Archives Do you want to share the news with a friend? Click here to tell them about Common Dreams. News... Can Massacre Break Pattern of US Indifference to Gun Violence? http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/15 'None Dead' in China: Sensible Laws vs. Maniacal Attacks http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/15-0 Slaughter in Connecticut: 20 Children, 6 Adults Dead in Kindergarten Massacre http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/14-1 **************************************************** Video... US Mourns Victims of School Shooting http://www.commondreams.org/video/2012/12/15 **************************************************** Our Mission: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. www.commondreams.org

Obama Picks Kerry For Next Secretary Of State « CBS Boston

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/12/15/report-obama-picks-kerry-for-next-secretary-of-state/

Report: Obama Picks Kerry For Next Secretary Of State

More Sharing ServicesShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on email10

Sen. John Kerry. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

BOSTON (CBS) – President Obama has picked Sen. John Kerry as the next secretary of state, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reports New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez will replace Kerry as chairman of the senate foreign relations committee.

Sen. Kerry became the presumed frontrunner for the position after U.N. ambassador Susan Rice officially withdrew her name from consideration.

Rice had been considered a top contender for the position before finding herself at the center of a controversy surrounding her account of the attack on the American Embassy in Libya.

If Kerry is confirmed, a special election will be held in Massachusetts to replace him in the senate.