http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uganda-protection-students-fleeing-rwanda-19444118

Uganda Gives Protection to Students Fleeing Rwanda

 

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By RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda June 20, 2013 (AP)

Sixteen Rwandan students who fled to Uganda over alleged recruitment into a Congolese rebel group are now under police protection at a secret location, a Ugandan government official said Thursday.

David Kazungu, Uganda's commissioner for refugees, said the students will be considered for refugee status despite Rwanda's protestation.

"Rwanda's government does not manage refugee affairs in Uganda," he said. "We want to give (the students) a hearing."

The students' account is strongly disputed by Rwanda's government, which wants the 14 men and two women deported.

Frank Mugambage, Rwanda's ambassador to Uganda, told reporters this week that the students' case was academic and had nothing to do with politics or security. Rwanda's education ministry has listed the fleeing students among more than 500 whose results were officially confiscated for alleged malpractices.

"The background is that these people defrauded the system established by the Rwanda examinations board to sit (high school) exams," he said Tuesday.

The students say they fled Rwanda on June 3, ending weeks of what they say was harassment by security officials who targeted them for dodging a "political awareness program" in Butare, a town 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the capital.

Two of the fleeing students said in interviews this week that they resisted going to Butare because most of their friends who went there never came back. They said their classmates were forced to cross the border and fight alongside M23, one of many rebel groups operating in troubled eastern Congo.

The students' allegations suggested M23 was recruiting inside Rwanda, which has long denied any involvement with rebels. A U.N. panel of experts has said that Rwanda has lent direct support to M23, a charge the Rwandan government denies.

M23 is made up of hundreds of Congolese soldiers who deserted the national army last year after accusing the government of failing to honor the terms of a deal signed in March 2009.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uganda-protection-students-fleeing-rwanda-19444118

Uganda Gives Protection to Students Fleeing Rwanda

 

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By RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda June 20, 2013 (AP)

Sixteen Rwandan students who fled to Uganda over alleged recruitment into a Congolese rebel group are now under police protection at a secret location, a Ugandan government official said Thursday.

David Kazungu, Uganda's commissioner for refugees, said the students will be considered for refugee status despite Rwanda's protestation.

"Rwanda's government does not manage refugee affairs in Uganda," he said. "We want to give (the students) a hearing."

The students' account is strongly disputed by Rwanda's government, which wants the 14 men and two women deported.

Frank Mugambage, Rwanda's ambassador to Uganda, told reporters this week that the students' case was academic and had nothing to do with politics or security. Rwanda's education ministry has listed the fleeing students among more than 500 whose results were officially confiscated for alleged malpractices.

"The background is that these people defrauded the system established by the Rwanda examinations board to sit (high school) exams," he said Tuesday.

The students say they fled Rwanda on June 3, ending weeks of what they say was harassment by security officials who targeted them for dodging a "political awareness program" in Butare, a town 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the capital.

Two of the fleeing students said in interviews this week that they resisted going to Butare because most of their friends who went there never came back. They said their classmates were forced to cross the border and fight alongside M23, one of many rebel groups operating in troubled eastern Congo.

The students' allegations suggested M23 was recruiting inside Rwanda, which has long denied any involvement with rebels. A U.N. panel of experts has said that Rwanda has lent direct support to M23, a charge the Rwandan government denies.

M23 is made up of hundreds of Congolese soldiers who deserted the national army last year after accusing the government of failing to honor the terms of a deal signed in March 2009.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/21/us-rwanda-politics-idUSBRE95K0WI20130621

Rwandan opposition group seeks registration, political freedoms

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KIGALI | Fri Jun 21, 2013 12:40pm EDT

(Reuters) - Hundreds of opposition supporters packed a hall in the Rwandan capital on Friday saying they were determined to register their party after what the group has said was years of obstruction by the government of President Paul Kagame.

Kagame has won international praise for rebuilding Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, but critics accuse him of being authoritarian and trampling on political freedoms, charges he rejects.

Members of the Democratic Green movement gathered for their "founding conference" - a key part of the formal registration process - saying they were hoping to run in parliamentary elections scheduled for September.

"We are keeping positive. We hope we will be successful and we will have a party that is registered soon," said Democratic Green president Frank Habineza said before the meeting began.

Once registered, the Democratic Greens would become one of several parties operating in Rwanda. But most of the existing movements are allied to Kagame's ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front.

Critics say at least one party that began as an opposition group has since been "hijacked" by pro-government elements who now dominate it.

Analysts said the Friday gathering, staged to demonstrate the group had at least 200 backers spread across the country, was a modest step forward for pluralism but did not mark a major opening of the political space.

"POSITIVE STEP"

A founding congress by the party in October 2009 was broken up by violence, which the opposition said was caused by people not known to them. Until now, Habineza said officials had barred bids for another meeting, saying they cited security reasons.

Habineza had sought to run in the 2010 presidential election, which Kagame won with a huge majority, but could not because of setbacks in trying to establish his party.

The orderly gathering in Kigali was attended by foreign diplomats and government officials who checked names of signatories to founding documents.

No one was immediately available to comment on Friday's meeting from the government.

Shyaka Anastase, chief executive officer of the Rwanda Governance Board, a state agency responsible for promoting good governance, said any political body was free to register.

"We have seen them struggling and having internal problems and we will be relieved if they overcome these problems," he said. "We encourage them to fulfill the requirements for registration and we will be happy to see them registered."

Carina Tertsakian, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, said even a registered party might struggle to operate freely and said the timing gave the Democratic Green party little opportunity to prepare for the upcoming vote.

"It's a positive step but I think it would be premature to jump to any conclusions about political space being opened up in Rwanda," she said of the founding congress.

"Real democratic opposition parties that criticize the government are simply not allowed to function in Rwanda."

Officials dismiss accusations of meddling.

Victoire Ingabire, regarded as Rwanda's main opposition figure and head of the unregistered FDU-Inkingi party, was also unable to stand in the 2010 presidential vote after being accused of the crimes linked to genocide denial.

(Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Edmund Blair and Andrew Heavens)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/21/us-rwanda-politics-idUSBRE95K0WI20130621

Rwandan opposition group seeks registration, political freedoms

• inShare
• Share this
• EmailBy Jenny Clover

KIGALI | Fri Jun 21, 2013 12:40pm EDT

(Reuters) - Hundreds of opposition supporters packed a hall in the Rwandan capital on Friday saying they were determined to register their party after what the group has said was years of obstruction by the government of President Paul Kagame.

Kagame has won international praise for rebuilding Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, but critics accuse him of being authoritarian and trampling on political freedoms, charges he rejects.

Members of the Democratic Green movement gathered for their "founding conference" - a key part of the formal registration process - saying they were hoping to run in parliamentary elections scheduled for September.

"We are keeping positive. We hope we will be successful and we will have a party that is registered soon," said Democratic Green president Frank Habineza said before the meeting began.

Once registered, the Democratic Greens would become one of several parties operating in Rwanda. But most of the existing movements are allied to Kagame's ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front.

Critics say at least one party that began as an opposition group has since been "hijacked" by pro-government elements who now dominate it.

Analysts said the Friday gathering, staged to demonstrate the group had at least 200 backers spread across the country, was a modest step forward for pluralism but did not mark a major opening of the political space.

"POSITIVE STEP"

A founding congress by the party in October 2009 was broken up by violence, which the opposition said was caused by people not known to them. Until now, Habineza said officials had barred bids for another meeting, saying they cited security reasons.

Habineza had sought to run in the 2010 presidential election, which Kagame won with a huge majority, but could not because of setbacks in trying to establish his party.

The orderly gathering in Kigali was attended by foreign diplomats and government officials who checked names of signatories to founding documents.

No one was immediately available to comment on Friday's meeting from the government.

Shyaka Anastase, chief executive officer of the Rwanda Governance Board, a state agency responsible for promoting good governance, said any political body was free to register.

"We have seen them struggling and having internal problems and we will be relieved if they overcome these problems," he said. "We encourage them to fulfill the requirements for registration and we will be happy to see them registered."

Carina Tertsakian, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, said even a registered party might struggle to operate freely and said the timing gave the Democratic Green party little opportunity to prepare for the upcoming vote.

"It's a positive step but I think it would be premature to jump to any conclusions about political space being opened up in Rwanda," she said of the founding congress.

"Real democratic opposition parties that criticize the government are simply not allowed to function in Rwanda."

Officials dismiss accusations of meddling.

Victoire Ingabire, regarded as Rwanda's main opposition figure and head of the unregistered FDU-Inkingi party, was also unable to stand in the 2010 presidential vote after being accused of the crimes linked to genocide denial.

(Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Edmund Blair and Andrew Heavens)

Karangwa Semushi wa PDP-Imanzi yasesekaye mu Rwanda!

http://www.therwandan.com/ki/karangwa-semushi-wa-pdp-imanzi-yasesekaye-mu-rwanda/

Karangwa Semushi wa PDP-Imanzi yasesekaye mu Rwanda!

21/06/2013 18:15   Amakuru

Amakuru dukesha ishyaka PDP-Imanzi aravuga ko Bwana Karangwa Semushi Gérard, umuyobizi wungirije w'ishyaka PDP-Imanzi yasesekaye ku Kibuga cy'indege kitiriwe Grégoire Kayibanda i Kanombe aho mbere yo kwerekeza aho azacumbika yabanje kuganira n'abanyamakuru bari baje ari benshi.

Dore bimwe mu bibazo abanyamakuru bamubajije :

1. Dukurukije ibyo wavuze kuri BBC, ubu u Rwanda urarubona ute? 

Igisubizo : ndabashimiye kuba mwaje kunyakira kandi nk'uko nabisobanuye, nje muri mission y'ishyaka PDP-Imanzi. Nje gushaka ibyangombwa byose ngo twandikishe ishyaka PDP-Imanzi maze tubagezeho imigabo n'imigambi dufitiye Abanyarwanda.

2. Ese ko Green Party byayifashe imyaka ine ngo yiyandikishe mwe muzabigenza mute?

Igisubizo : Green Party ni Green Party na PDP ikaba PDP. Ayo mashyaka aratandukanye turizera ko n'ingorane zitazaba zimwe; Turizera rero ko bazatwandika kandi ko n'abandi babyifuza bazabishobora maze tukubaka u Rwanda twese hamwe.

3. Amatora y'abadepite muyateganya mute? 

Igisubizo : Ntabwo ari amatora atuzanye. Tuzabatumira uko mwaje hano maze tubabwira imigambi yacu igihe nikigera; Murakoze.

Abanyamakuru bari bahuruye ari benshi baje kureba Bwana Karangwa SEmushi ku kibuga cy'indege Grégoire Kayibanda i Kanombe

Twabibutsa ko Bwana Karangwa Semushi Gérard yagombaga kuzana na Bwana Faustin Twagiramungu, umukuru w'ishyaka RDI Rwanda Rwiza ariko kugeza ku munota wa nyuma Bwana Twagiramungu ntabwo yashoboye guhabwa visa na Ambasade y'u Rwanda mu Bubiligi.

Ariko Twagiramungu yatangarije Radio BBC ko atazi impamvu yatumye atabona visa, ngo kuko n'abandi banyarwanda bose baba mu mahanga banafite ubwenegihugu bwa ho bakoresha impushya z'inzira (Passports) z'ibyo bihugu. Ngo yasabye Visa akoresheje Passport y'u Bubiligi, kuko Passport ye y'u Rwanda yari yararengeje igihe.

Yatanze urugero kuri mugenzi we Gérard Karangwa Semushi, wasabye visa akoreshe passport y'u Buholandi ngo agahita ayihabwa nyuma y'iminsi 3 gusa.

Twagiramungu ngo ntazi ibyo bakiri kumwigaho cyangwa kumupererezaho, ngo kuko nta cyaha yishinja. Ngo si umujura, ngo si umwicanyi ngo nta n'ikindi cyaha yishinja, maze yongeraho ati : "Jyewe ngomba gusubira mu Rwanda. Nanyura ikuzimu, nanyura mu ijuru, Ngomba kujya mu Rwanda."

Bwana Twagiramungu na Bwana Semushi Karangwa basezeranaho mbere y'uko Bwana SEmushi Karangwa ahaguruka yerekeza mu Rwanda

Ku bibaza uko bizagendekera Bwana Semushi Karangwa, ngo nta bwoba afite na mba, Bwana Karangwa ubwe yivugiwe mu nama ati "Nimpfa ntimuzandirire, nimfungwa ntimuzandirire kuko ibyo byose narabyiteguye. Muzandirire ninjya mu kwaha kwa PFR kuko je serais à plaindre et je ne serais plus Karangwa wa Semushi."

Ubwanditsi