http://salem-news.com/articles/december272012/kagame-connections-jf.php

Does the U.S. Support Destabilization in the DR Congo?

Jennifer Fierberg, MSW Salem-News.com

The assassinations of three Presidents in the Central African region are linked to President Paul Kagame.

(WASHINGTON DC) - One of the most profound and saddening statements I have read recently was made by Kambale Musuvuli, a Congolese activist and spokesperson for Friends of the Congo; he said, "Congo is a test for humanity. Future generations will ask why it took two decades to stop killing of Congolese reaching 6 million dead."

Why indeed.

Johnnie Carson

The more one follows the developments in Central Africa the angrier one should become. Weeks ago a subcommittee hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives was held with guest speakers including Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, John Prendergast, activist and co-founder of the Enough Project as well as Steven Hege, former leader of the Group of Experts to the UNSC and Congolese citizen Mvemba P. Dizolele, Visiting Fellow, at Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.

While watching this hearing it was obvious that Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson was struggling to articulate any understanding of the Rwandan government's backing for the M23 rebel group currently terrorizing the Eastern DRC and it was apparent that he supports and works closely with this government.

Susan Rice

Ambassador Susan Rice's political relationship with President Kagame of Rwanda was exposed in numerous media reports including one by this writer.

A simple Google search of Susan Rice's political relationship with Paul Kagame will yield a days' worth of reading on the topic. Shortly after this media frenzy Ambassador Rice announced that she was withdrawing her name from consideration  for the position of Secretary of State.

While the follow up reports of her withdrawal speculated that she did so because of her statements regarding the attack in Benghazi others believe she did so due to the connection with President Paul Kagame and how this situation would affect the Senate confirmation hearings required for her being appointed to the position of Secretary of State.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Minister of Defense James Kabarebe and Brigadier General Jack Nziza

Numerous human rights organizations have been taking to twitter, email and phone calls to her office calling for her to sanction high ranking Government of Rwanda Officials including President Paul Kagame, Minister of Defense James Kabarebe, Brigadier General Jack Nziza who is the current Directorate of Military Intelligence.

The blood on the hands of these three men is dripping with hypocrisy, and yet Ambassador Rice continues to remain silent on this option. Politics certainly makes for strange bed-fellows. All three of these men have committed murder, intent to commit murder or are guilty of planning and ordering the assassinations of numerous individuals both political and innocent civilians while the international community has turned a blind eye.

But why?

Rwandan Defense Minister James Kabarebe, President Paul Kagame, Chief of Land-Forces Gen. Charles Kayonga

Kagame: connected to the assassinations of President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda, President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi and President Laurent Desire Kabila of DR Congo

The assassinations of three Presidents in the Central African region are linked to President Paul Kagame which includes President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda, President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi and President Laurent Desire Kabila  of DR Congo.

How can three sitting presidents be killed in cold blood with no international outcry, investigation or justice for these murders? For a person to get away with murder they would have to have friends in very high political places who are covering up those crimes or are complicit in them.

The relationship of President Paul Kagame with his US and UK supporters goes back to when the RPF was still a rebel group being formed in Uganda. 

Researcher and Human Rights Watch Researcher Alison Des Forges documented the many crimes of Paul Kagame and was one of the first to acknowledge that genocide was committed in 1994 in Rwanda when the rest of the world would not apply such a label because they would then have to intervene.

'Faces of Paul Kagame' - all photographs by Jennifer Fierberg Salem-News.com

With the mountain of evidence against Paul Kagame and his continuous crimes in the DR Congo over the last 17 years, including the most recent reports by the UN Group of Experts  it begs the question as to why the world is covering for Kagame. What secrets does he hold that they don't want exposed?

DRC Congo - UN photo

The Eastern DR Congo is in absolute crisis with the population at risk on a daily basis of death, displacement and rape. The Rwandan backed M23 rebels are terrorizing the region in a strategic fight for minerals and power.

The Rwandan Government vehemently denies any and all accusations made in UN Group of Experts report yet continues to remain silent when called upon to denounce the activities of the M23.

So, what poker hand is Kagame holding that the USis willing to basically remain silent on the atrocities being committed in the DR Congo?

Over 6 million lives have been lost and countless women have been raped but yet all the US has done is to sanction inconsequential members of the Rwandan backed M23. This move is laughable because it is a smoke screen of an attempt to show the world the US government is concerned about the innocent lives of the DRC.

In an attempt to take a bolder step, last week President Obama made a phone call to President Kagame which in part stated, "President Obama underscored that any support to the rebel group M23 is inconsistent with Rwanda's desire for stability and peace." Obama also made this same call to President Kabila of the DR Congo.

Rally for "Obama Law" or PL 109-456

None of these actions will stop Kagame. Sanctions must be placed on the top Government officials of the Rwandan Government named in the Group of Experts report to the UNSC in order to stop the atrocious acts continuously being committed in theEastern Congo.

President Obama needs to enforce his "Obama Law" or PL 109-456 which clearly states that "The Secretary of State is authorized to withhold assistance made available under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), other than humanitarian, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism assistance, for a foreign country if the Secretary determines that the government of the foreign country is taking actions to destabilize the Democratic Republic of the Congo." This has been documented time and time again in numerous reports yet the US government continues to give a free pass to President Kagame.

What more evidence does the US government need? If the US Government refuses to implement this bill and apply sanction to the Government of Rwanda officials including but not limited to President Kagame, then there is no question that, indeed, the US is in support of the destabilization of the DR Congo, as this option seems to serve more its strategic interests, and has turned its back on  the Congolese innocent lives suffering every day.

http://salem-news.com/articles/december272012/kagame-connections-jf.php

Does the U.S. Support Destabilization in the DR Congo?

Jennifer Fierberg, MSW Salem-News.com

The assassinations of three Presidents in the Central African region are linked to President Paul Kagame.

(WASHINGTON DC) - One of the most profound and saddening statements I have read recently was made by Kambale Musuvuli, a Congolese activist and spokesperson for Friends of the Congo; he said, "Congo is a test for humanity. Future generations will ask why it took two decades to stop killing of Congolese reaching 6 million dead."

Why indeed.

Johnnie Carson

The more one follows the developments in Central Africa the angrier one should become. Weeks ago a subcommittee hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives was held with guest speakers including Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, John Prendergast, activist and co-founder of the Enough Project as well as Steven Hege, former leader of the Group of Experts to the UNSC and Congolese citizen Mvemba P. Dizolele, Visiting Fellow, at Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.

While watching this hearing it was obvious that Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson was struggling to articulate any understanding of the Rwandan government's backing for the M23 rebel group currently terrorizing the Eastern DRC and it was apparent that he supports and works closely with this government.

Susan Rice

Ambassador Susan Rice's political relationship with President Kagame of Rwanda was exposed in numerous media reports including one by this writer.

A simple Google search of Susan Rice's political relationship with Paul Kagame will yield a days' worth of reading on the topic. Shortly after this media frenzy Ambassador Rice announced that she was withdrawing her name from consideration  for the position of Secretary of State.

While the follow up reports of her withdrawal speculated that she did so because of her statements regarding the attack in Benghazi others believe she did so due to the connection with President Paul Kagame and how this situation would affect the Senate confirmation hearings required for her being appointed to the position of Secretary of State.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Minister of Defense James Kabarebe and Brigadier General Jack Nziza

Numerous human rights organizations have been taking to twitter, email and phone calls to her office calling for her to sanction high ranking Government of Rwanda Officials including President Paul Kagame, Minister of Defense James Kabarebe, Brigadier General Jack Nziza who is the current Directorate of Military Intelligence.

The blood on the hands of these three men is dripping with hypocrisy, and yet Ambassador Rice continues to remain silent on this option. Politics certainly makes for strange bed-fellows. All three of these men have committed murder, intent to commit murder or are guilty of planning and ordering the assassinations of numerous individuals both political and innocent civilians while the international community has turned a blind eye.

But why?

Rwandan Defense Minister James Kabarebe, President Paul Kagame, Chief of Land-Forces Gen. Charles Kayonga

Kagame: connected to the assassinations of President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda, President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi and President Laurent Desire Kabila of DR Congo

The assassinations of three Presidents in the Central African region are linked to President Paul Kagame which includes President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda, President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi and President Laurent Desire Kabila  of DR Congo.

How can three sitting presidents be killed in cold blood with no international outcry, investigation or justice for these murders? For a person to get away with murder they would have to have friends in very high political places who are covering up those crimes or are complicit in them.

The relationship of President Paul Kagame with his US and UK supporters goes back to when the RPF was still a rebel group being formed in Uganda. 

Researcher and Human Rights Watch Researcher Alison Des Forges documented the many crimes of Paul Kagame and was one of the first to acknowledge that genocide was committed in 1994 in Rwanda when the rest of the world would not apply such a label because they would then have to intervene.

'Faces of Paul Kagame' - all photographs by Jennifer Fierberg Salem-News.com

With the mountain of evidence against Paul Kagame and his continuous crimes in the DR Congo over the last 17 years, including the most recent reports by the UN Group of Experts  it begs the question as to why the world is covering for Kagame. What secrets does he hold that they don't want exposed?

DRC Congo - UN photo

The Eastern DR Congo is in absolute crisis with the population at risk on a daily basis of death, displacement and rape. The Rwandan backed M23 rebels are terrorizing the region in a strategic fight for minerals and power.

The Rwandan Government vehemently denies any and all accusations made in UN Group of Experts report yet continues to remain silent when called upon to denounce the activities of the M23.

So, what poker hand is Kagame holding that the USis willing to basically remain silent on the atrocities being committed in the DR Congo?

Over 6 million lives have been lost and countless women have been raped but yet all the US has done is to sanction inconsequential members of the Rwandan backed M23. This move is laughable because it is a smoke screen of an attempt to show the world the US government is concerned about the innocent lives of the DRC.

In an attempt to take a bolder step, last week President Obama made a phone call to President Kagame which in part stated, "President Obama underscored that any support to the rebel group M23 is inconsistent with Rwanda's desire for stability and peace." Obama also made this same call to President Kabila of the DR Congo.

Rally for "Obama Law" or PL 109-456

None of these actions will stop Kagame. Sanctions must be placed on the top Government officials of the Rwandan Government named in the Group of Experts report to the UNSC in order to stop the atrocious acts continuously being committed in theEastern Congo.

President Obama needs to enforce his "Obama Law" or PL 109-456 which clearly states that "The Secretary of State is authorized to withhold assistance made available under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), other than humanitarian, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism assistance, for a foreign country if the Secretary determines that the government of the foreign country is taking actions to destabilize the Democratic Republic of the Congo." This has been documented time and time again in numerous reports yet the US government continues to give a free pass to President Kagame.

What more evidence does the US government need? If the US Government refuses to implement this bill and apply sanction to the Government of Rwanda officials including but not limited to President Kagame, then there is no question that, indeed, the US is in support of the destabilization of the DR Congo, as this option seems to serve more its strategic interests, and has turned its back on  the Congolese innocent lives suffering every day.

Acquittés sans terre d'asile : le cas Kabiligi

http://hungryoftruth.blogspot.com/

Acquittés sans terre d'asile : le cas Kabiligi

Par Cécile Kami
Le 27 Décembre 2012

Avec les inégalités de ce monde, l'on connaissait les SDF, ces personnes sans domicile fixe qui exposent la face peu reluisante (euphémisme) des pays développés ; voici maintenant les STA. Il s'agit des personnes sans pays d'accueil, des acquittés sans terre d'asile qui font la honte de la justice pourtant dite internationale. Avec le cas du général Gratien Kabiligi, le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda vient de justifier tout le mal qu'on pense de ses méthodes de travail, surtout le peu de cas que font ses bailleurs des décisions qui sortent de ses délibérations. Les Rwandais, eux, s'étaient, avant l'heure, détournés de cette juridiction depuis belle lurette. Les vainqueurs du Fpr car ils estiment que ce tribunal ne joue pas à fond leur jeu de diabolisation et de crucifixion de tout adulte par eux-mêmes pointés. Les vaincus car ils n'arrêtent pas de réclamer la mise en examen des assassins qui font la pluie et le beau
temps dans leur pays. C'est à vraiment se demander l'utilité et la crédibilité de ce schmilblick...

Déjà en 2005, deux de ses enquêteurs avaient malmené à mort un présumé « pas innocent », mais coupable de génocide, feu Uwilingiyimana Juvénal. Convoqué et ré-convoqué à plusieurs reprises, cet ex-ministre du président Habyarimana écrivait quelques jours seulement avant son assassinat : « Je suis prêt à supporter toutes les conséquences telles qu'elles m'ont été précisées par les enquêteurs Tremblay et Delvaux : je serai lynché, écrasé, mon cadavre sera piétiné dans la rue et les chiens me pisseront dessus ». Cette prophétie s'est malheureusement accomplie et plus de 7 ans après ce drame, ni le Tpir ni la Belgique n'en ont à ce jour fourni aucune explication convaincante. Dans ce même dossier, apparaît le nom d'un certain Michel Bagaragaza : avec le rôle d'une balance zélée, on le retrouve en train de vouloir « forcer » Uwilingiyimana à avouer. Ce Bagaragaza-là affirmera avoir appartenu au petit
cercle des fossoyeurs de la deuxième république, la fameuse akazu. Il s'en tirera pourtant avec une libération anticipée tandis qu'un autre gros poisson (et éminent membre de la même structure) qu'il avait chargé, Protais Zigiranyirazo, sera acquitté !

Drôle de justice peut-on être tenté de dire. Et il n'y a pas que les premiers concernés (les Rwandais) à être interpellés par les intrigues made in Arusha. Le professeur Bernard Lugan dénonçait en son temps la principale faiblesse de ce tribunal : il soutint qu'on y faisait de « l'autisme scientifique » en étant enfermée dans un postulat, en écartant tout ce qui était contradictoire, allant jusqu'à nier l'évidence pour appuyer la thèse d'un génocide planifié. L'écrivain Pierre Péan parle, lui, d'« une machine monstrueuse, partiale et ethniciste, fonctionnant avec des faux témoins, envoyés sous la contrainte par des responsables rwandais manipulateurs. Monstrueuse parce qu'elle fabrique des jugements truqués. Partiale parce qu'elle garantit l'impunité de l'appareil dirigeant du Fpr, incriminé de crimes de génocide par la justice espagnole. Ethniciste parce qu'elle ne juge que des Hutus et oublie les
criminels tutsi du Fpr. L'Onu et son bras armé le Tpir ont systématiquement refusé d'instruire l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 qui a coûté la vie à Juvénal Habyarimana, le président du Rwanda, qui est pourtant considéré comme le facteur déclenchant du génocide ».

L'absurde nous est toutefois révélé par le cas de ce général de brigade acquitté par les instances du Tpir, mais qui peine à trouver un simple visa pour rejoindre sa famille dans cette France des lumières. Il est vrai qu'entre-temps cette dernière est devenue celle de la guéguerre Copé-Fillon, celle que fuit (à tort ou à raison) Gérard « Obélix » Depardieu et surtout celle qui décline irrésistiblement tel que décrit par un éditorialiste du « Point »
(voir http://www.lepoint.fr/economie/l-irresistible-declin-de-la-marque-france-22-11-2012-1532242_28.php). Il est vraiment loin le temps où cette terre accueillait les Abolhassan Bani Sadr, Chapour Bakhtiar, Ezzedine Kalak, etc. Rien à voir donc avec la terre d'asile qu'elle était pour les Grecs fuyant la dictature des colonels en 1967 - 1974 et les Espagnols fuyant la dictature franquiste. Les choses ont changé et les persécutés ne trouvent presque plus de compassion dans l'Hexagone, même si, comme le général Kabiligi, ils ont été blanchis par un tribunal rendant compte au conseil de sécurité des nations unies. Et pourtant...

L'homme symboliserait pourtant bien, s'il était accueilli, le sérieux de ceux-là qui n'ont rien fait en 1994 alors que se commettait le génocide. Revenu d'Égypte où il effectuait un stage, cet officier n'a juste eu le temps que de concevoir l'opération « champagne » qui sauva la vie à plus d'un million de personnes encerclés dans la capitale Kigali et que ciblaient les obus d'un Fpr enragé. Permettre au général Kabiligi de rejoindre les siens prouverait que l'Occident a encore une âme et qu'il n'est pas que impérialiste et négrier. Il y a exactement 4 ans que j'écrivais ceci : il est donc temps d'effectuer un virage radical dans les orientations de la politique en Afandie; il est temps que les courtisans de Kagame incitent par tous les moyens leur patron à saborder l'organisation criminelle qui les regroupe (l'Afandie) au profit d'un Rwanda de tous les Rwandais. L'acquittement du général Kabiligi est une formidable
opportunité qui s'offre à la clique du Fpr. La façon dont il sera abordé et intégré dans les affaires de son pays décidera de la capacité des afande à se maintenir au pouvoir. Le cas Kabiligi est vraiment une aubaine pour une dictature consciente qui veut réparer certaines de ses fautes à l'égard des Rwandais, des voisins et de toute la communauté internationale.

Et de conclure par cette phrase de Pierre Dehaye (dans « Un même mystère ») : « Un pouvoir est faible s'il ne tolère pas qu'on l'avertisse de ses erreurs ».

Victoire Ingabire spends her third Christmas behind bars [Includes Audio]

http://sfbayview.com/2012/victoire-ingabire-spends-her-third-christmas-behind-bars/#.UNx77Ev3dVk.facebook

Victoire Ingabire spends her third Christmas behind bars
December 27, 2012
4
by Ann Garrison
KPFA Evening News, broadcast Dec. 25, 2012
KPFA Evening News Anchor Anthony Fest: And this is KPFA, 94.1 Berkeley, KPFA, 89.3 Berkeley and KFCF, 88.1 Fresno, Pacifica Radio for Northern and Central California. This program is the Evening News. I'm Anthony Fest.
Victoire Ingabire in court, in handcuffs, pink prison uniform and shaved head, speaks to her British lawyer Iain Edwards, who told KPFA and the SF Bay View that she was a joy to represent and that she makes "no distinction whatsoever between Hutu, Tutsi or Twa" – that to her, they are all her Rwandan people.
KPFA's Ann Garrison spoke to Rwandan American Charles Kambanda, a law professor at St. John's University, about the significance of the Ingabire case not only in Rwanda but also in the country's war ravaged neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
KPFA/Ann Garrison: Professor Kambanda, could you first explain the significance of Victoire Ingabire's case.
Charles Kambanda: I believe Ingabire's case has exposed Kagame. Kagame is now known to the entire world, because now any reasonable person knows that Kagame will stop at nothing. This came out clearly in Ingabire's case, and I believe it's the reason why the international community does not take for granted what Kagame says or does. Kagame did anything, even the most crazy thing, in Ingabire's case. You saw a person persecuted by the court, and this could never happen without Kagame's approval.
KPFA: And in Congo, where Kagame has said for so long that he's protecting Congolese Tutsis and saving Rwanda from Hutu militias that he claims to have saved them from in 1994?
Imprisoned Rwandan opposition leader Victoire IngabireCharles Kambanda: Like I always said, Ingabire dared Kagame. Kagame cannot hide anymore. Ingabire made it clear that Kagame is nobody's savior.
KPFA: What do you expect from Victoire's appeal to the Rwandan Supreme Court filed on Dec. 17?
Charles Kambanda: I don't expect anything. The Rwandan judiciary has, unfortunately, made it clear that it is another institution working for Kagame. I'm not saying that the judges have made this choice. They are forced to do what Kagame wants because they know if they don't do it, they risk their life. Definitely there is no case for Ingabire to answer. Whatever she's accused of having said, it is clear she was exercising her constitutional right. I mean I don't expect any judge to put his life at such risk and say Ingabire should be acquitted.
Ingabire made it clear that Kagame is nobody's savior.
KPFA: And what about the possibility of an appeal to the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights?
Rwandan Defense Minister James Kabarebe, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Rwandan Chief of Land Forces Gen. Charles Kayonga. The latest U.N. Group of Experts Report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo includes a chain of command chart that identifies Kayonga – and Kabarebe above him – as the commanders of M23 that resumed the war in Congo this year. Kagame and Kayonga are both graduates of the U.S. Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (USA).Charles Kambanda: Yes. I believe that Ingabire and her lawyers are doing this for a strategic reason. How do they go back to the same judiciary, which she said she does not trust? She is not a fool. It is only strategic. She wants to go back and exhaust the appeals as required under the African Human Rights Court.
KPFA: But a victory in the African Court of Human and Peoples Rights would be only a moral victory, right?
Charles Kambanda: But then what should follow, after such a declaration, is for the politicians to isolate such a member, who is in violation of the principles of the African Union.
KPFA: That was Rwandan American Law Professor Charles Kambanda on Rwandan opposition leader Victoire's Ingabire's third Christmas behind bars.
For Pacifica, KPFA and AfrobeatRadio, I'm Ann Garrison.
San Francisco writer Ann Garrison writes for the San Francisco Bay View, Global Research, Colored Opinions,Black Star News and her own website, Ann Garrison, and produces for AfrobeatRadio on WBAI-NYC, KPFA Evening News and her own YouTube Channel, AnnieGetYourGang. She can be reached atann@afrobeatradio.com. If you want to see Ann Garrison's independent reporting continue, please contribute on her website at anngarrison.com.
Editor's note: A member of Ingabire's FDU-Inkingi party asked the SF Bay View to add that Victoire is one of many Rwandan political prisoners. Others include Bernard Ntaganda, who also attempted to run against President Kagame in 2010, and Déo Mushayidi, former president of the Rwandan Journalists Association, who wrote the introduction to Charles Onana's French language book "Les secrets du génocide rwandais."
 
You may also like -
Victoire Ingabire's family faces her prison sentence in Rwanda
Rwandan opposition leaders' Christmas behind bars
Africans call on the ICC to investigate Rwanda's Kagame
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* Verdict pending: Victoire Ingabire and D.R. Congo
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* Obama take heed: French judge files charges against Kagame allies
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Victoire Ingabire spends her third Christmas behind bars [Includes Audio]

http://sfbayview.com/2012/victoire-ingabire-spends-her-third-christmas-behind-bars/#.UNx77Ev3dVk.facebook

Victoire Ingabire spends her third Christmas behind bars
December 27, 2012
4
by Ann Garrison
KPFA Evening News, broadcast Dec. 25, 2012
KPFA Evening News Anchor Anthony Fest: And this is KPFA, 94.1 Berkeley, KPFA, 89.3 Berkeley and KFCF, 88.1 Fresno, Pacifica Radio for Northern and Central California. This program is the Evening News. I'm Anthony Fest.
Victoire Ingabire in court, in handcuffs, pink prison uniform and shaved head, speaks to her British lawyer Iain Edwards, who told KPFA and the SF Bay View that she was a joy to represent and that she makes "no distinction whatsoever between Hutu, Tutsi or Twa" – that to her, they are all her Rwandan people.
KPFA's Ann Garrison spoke to Rwandan American Charles Kambanda, a law professor at St. John's University, about the significance of the Ingabire case not only in Rwanda but also in the country's war ravaged neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
KPFA/Ann Garrison: Professor Kambanda, could you first explain the significance of Victoire Ingabire's case.
Charles Kambanda: I believe Ingabire's case has exposed Kagame. Kagame is now known to the entire world, because now any reasonable person knows that Kagame will stop at nothing. This came out clearly in Ingabire's case, and I believe it's the reason why the international community does not take for granted what Kagame says or does. Kagame did anything, even the most crazy thing, in Ingabire's case. You saw a person persecuted by the court, and this could never happen without Kagame's approval.
KPFA: And in Congo, where Kagame has said for so long that he's protecting Congolese Tutsis and saving Rwanda from Hutu militias that he claims to have saved them from in 1994?
Imprisoned Rwandan opposition leader Victoire IngabireCharles Kambanda: Like I always said, Ingabire dared Kagame. Kagame cannot hide anymore. Ingabire made it clear that Kagame is nobody's savior.
KPFA: What do you expect from Victoire's appeal to the Rwandan Supreme Court filed on Dec. 17?
Charles Kambanda: I don't expect anything. The Rwandan judiciary has, unfortunately, made it clear that it is another institution working for Kagame. I'm not saying that the judges have made this choice. They are forced to do what Kagame wants because they know if they don't do it, they risk their life. Definitely there is no case for Ingabire to answer. Whatever she's accused of having said, it is clear she was exercising her constitutional right. I mean I don't expect any judge to put his life at such risk and say Ingabire should be acquitted.
Ingabire made it clear that Kagame is nobody's savior.
KPFA: And what about the possibility of an appeal to the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights?
Rwandan Defense Minister James Kabarebe, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Rwandan Chief of Land Forces Gen. Charles Kayonga. The latest U.N. Group of Experts Report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo includes a chain of command chart that identifies Kayonga – and Kabarebe above him – as the commanders of M23 that resumed the war in Congo this year. Kagame and Kayonga are both graduates of the U.S. Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (USA).Charles Kambanda: Yes. I believe that Ingabire and her lawyers are doing this for a strategic reason. How do they go back to the same judiciary, which she said she does not trust? She is not a fool. It is only strategic. She wants to go back and exhaust the appeals as required under the African Human Rights Court.
KPFA: But a victory in the African Court of Human and Peoples Rights would be only a moral victory, right?
Charles Kambanda: But then what should follow, after such a declaration, is for the politicians to isolate such a member, who is in violation of the principles of the African Union.
KPFA: That was Rwandan American Law Professor Charles Kambanda on Rwandan opposition leader Victoire's Ingabire's third Christmas behind bars.
For Pacifica, KPFA and AfrobeatRadio, I'm Ann Garrison.
San Francisco writer Ann Garrison writes for the San Francisco Bay View, Global Research, Colored Opinions,Black Star News and her own website, Ann Garrison, and produces for AfrobeatRadio on WBAI-NYC, KPFA Evening News and her own YouTube Channel, AnnieGetYourGang. She can be reached atann@afrobeatradio.com. If you want to see Ann Garrison's independent reporting continue, please contribute on her website at anngarrison.com.
Editor's note: A member of Ingabire's FDU-Inkingi party asked the SF Bay View to add that Victoire is one of many Rwandan political prisoners. Others include Bernard Ntaganda, who also attempted to run against President Kagame in 2010, and Déo Mushayidi, former president of the Rwandan Journalists Association, who wrote the introduction to Charles Onana's French language book "Les secrets du génocide rwandais."
 
You may also like -
Victoire Ingabire's family faces her prison sentence in Rwanda
Rwandan opposition leaders' Christmas behind bars
Africans call on the ICC to investigate Rwanda's Kagame
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