Paul Rusesabagina: Stop legitimating Kagame's Rwanda

http://www.anngarrison.com/audio/2013/08/11/455/paul-rusesabagina%3A-stop-legitimizing-Kagames-Rwanda

Paul Rusesabagina: Stop legitimating Kagame's Rwanda [Includes Audio]

Submitted by Ann Garrison on Sun, 08/11/2013 - 18:23

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04:15

 

KPFA Evening News, 08.10.2013

Paul Rusesabagina spoke to KPFA about why he is urging the international community to ignore Rwanda's sham "elections" but not the massacres It commits In Congo.

Transcript: 

KPFA Evening News Anchor: Rwanda, the East African nation long implicated in the lethal conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will be Paul Rusesabagina, author of "An Ordinary Man"holding Parliamentary elections on September 12th. Rwandan exile and human rights activist Paul Rusesabagina has published an editorial in the Black Star News titled"IgnoreRwanda's Sham "Elections" But Not The Massacres It Commits In Congo." KPFA's Ann Garrison has more.  

KPFA/Ann Garrison: Paul Rusesabagina received a Presidential Medal of Honor for saving over 1200 Tutsi Rwandans by sheltering them in the Kigali hotel he managed in 1994, and lived to tell the story in his book An Ordinary Man. Now he is asking the international community to ignore Rwanda's sham Parliamentary elections on September 12th. He says elections have not been honest since the Rwandan Patriotic Front seized power in July 1994 and that they were hopelessly rigged by the rewrite of the Rwandan Constitution, in 2007:

Paul Rusesabagina: In 2007, Kagame managed to limit completely the Constitution, so that no other political party can get involved in the election, so why should international community bother, knowing there is only one political party, which is leading the country, which is holding everything, including the wealth of the nation.

KPFA: He said that no political space has opened up since Rwanda's 2010 presidential election year, and that there is no more reason to send election monitors now than there was then.  At the beginning of that election year, all three of the country's viable opposition candidates expressed hope that European Union election monitors would travel to the country to observe and report, but by midsummer one candidate was in prison, another under house arrest, and the third found the vice president of his party by the banks of a river with his head cut off. A Rwandan journalist had been shot dead in Kigali, an ICTR Defense lawyer had been shot dead in Dar Es Salaam, and an exile Rwandan General had survived an assassination attempt in Johannesburg.  All three were enemies of sitting President Paul Kagame. The candidates and their parties by then agreed with Rwandan American Law Professor Charles Kambanda, who told KPFA that there was nothing to observe:

Charles Kambanda: "We're not talking about the election day. We are not talking about a few hours after elections or before elections. We are looking at the entire social, political environment before, during, and after the elections. Anybody who has been following involvements in Rwanda knows that it is impossible to have free and fair elections, so why do people seriously think of going there to observe elections?  

Members of RPF Bureau Politique follow proceedings at the party's meeting - Kigali, 7 August 2013Which elections are they going to observe? There is NOTHING to be observed because what we have is a one-man show, what we have is a situation where they have created the so-called opposition. RPF has kicked out all the potential political opposition leaders. They are either in prison, or, they are already dead, or in exile."

KPFA: Rusesabagina asked the world to focus on the Rwandan army's massacres in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, where its M23 militia is fighting the Congolese army with the help the UN Force Intervention Brigade.  

Paul Rusesabagina: not turn our backs to what is going on in Congo, next door from Rwanda. Why? Because the Rwandan government sends to the Congo the Rwandan army and Rwanda has also been entertaining militias. And these people have been raping women, raping children, recruiting child soldiers, killing each and everyone on their path, so we are urging the international community not to forget that, but to stand for the truth and do justice to those innocent peoples. 

KPFA: The Rwandan Patriotic Front government in Kigali has been an ally and military partner of the United States since 1994.   

For Pacifica, KPFA, and AfrobeatRadio, I'm Ann Garrison.  

 

Tags: 

Rwanda

Congo

Paul Rusesabagina

An Ordinary Man

Hotel Rwanda

DR Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Paul Rusesabagina: Stop legitimating Kagame's Rwanda

http://www.anngarrison.com/audio/2013/08/11/455/paul-rusesabagina%3A-stop-legitimizing-Kagames-Rwanda

Paul Rusesabagina: Stop legitimating Kagame's Rwanda [Includes Audio]

Submitted by Ann Garrison on Sun, 08/11/2013 - 18:23

• play
• stop
• mute

00:00

04:15

 

KPFA Evening News, 08.10.2013

Paul Rusesabagina spoke to KPFA about why he is urging the international community to ignore Rwanda's sham "elections" but not the massacres It commits In Congo.

Transcript: 

KPFA Evening News Anchor: Rwanda, the East African nation long implicated in the lethal conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will be Paul Rusesabagina, author of "An Ordinary Man"holding Parliamentary elections on September 12th. Rwandan exile and human rights activist Paul Rusesabagina has published an editorial in the Black Star News titled"IgnoreRwanda's Sham "Elections" But Not The Massacres It Commits In Congo." KPFA's Ann Garrison has more.  

KPFA/Ann Garrison: Paul Rusesabagina received a Presidential Medal of Honor for saving over 1200 Tutsi Rwandans by sheltering them in the Kigali hotel he managed in 1994, and lived to tell the story in his book An Ordinary Man. Now he is asking the international community to ignore Rwanda's sham Parliamentary elections on September 12th. He says elections have not been honest since the Rwandan Patriotic Front seized power in July 1994 and that they were hopelessly rigged by the rewrite of the Rwandan Constitution, in 2007:

Paul Rusesabagina: In 2007, Kagame managed to limit completely the Constitution, so that no other political party can get involved in the election, so why should international community bother, knowing there is only one political party, which is leading the country, which is holding everything, including the wealth of the nation.

KPFA: He said that no political space has opened up since Rwanda's 2010 presidential election year, and that there is no more reason to send election monitors now than there was then.  At the beginning of that election year, all three of the country's viable opposition candidates expressed hope that European Union election monitors would travel to the country to observe and report, but by midsummer one candidate was in prison, another under house arrest, and the third found the vice president of his party by the banks of a river with his head cut off. A Rwandan journalist had been shot dead in Kigali, an ICTR Defense lawyer had been shot dead in Dar Es Salaam, and an exile Rwandan General had survived an assassination attempt in Johannesburg.  All three were enemies of sitting President Paul Kagame. The candidates and their parties by then agreed with Rwandan American Law Professor Charles Kambanda, who told KPFA that there was nothing to observe:

Charles Kambanda: "We're not talking about the election day. We are not talking about a few hours after elections or before elections. We are looking at the entire social, political environment before, during, and after the elections. Anybody who has been following involvements in Rwanda knows that it is impossible to have free and fair elections, so why do people seriously think of going there to observe elections?  

Members of RPF Bureau Politique follow proceedings at the party's meeting - Kigali, 7 August 2013Which elections are they going to observe? There is NOTHING to be observed because what we have is a one-man show, what we have is a situation where they have created the so-called opposition. RPF has kicked out all the potential political opposition leaders. They are either in prison, or, they are already dead, or in exile."

KPFA: Rusesabagina asked the world to focus on the Rwandan army's massacres in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, where its M23 militia is fighting the Congolese army with the help the UN Force Intervention Brigade.  

Paul Rusesabagina: not turn our backs to what is going on in Congo, next door from Rwanda. Why? Because the Rwandan government sends to the Congo the Rwandan army and Rwanda has also been entertaining militias. And these people have been raping women, raping children, recruiting child soldiers, killing each and everyone on their path, so we are urging the international community not to forget that, but to stand for the truth and do justice to those innocent peoples. 

KPFA: The Rwandan Patriotic Front government in Kigali has been an ally and military partner of the United States since 1994.   

For Pacifica, KPFA, and AfrobeatRadio, I'm Ann Garrison.  

 

Tags: 

Rwanda

Congo

Paul Rusesabagina

An Ordinary Man

Hotel Rwanda

DR Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rwanda's Green Party registered at last – but what does it really mean?

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/12/dispatches-rwandas-green-party-registered-last-what-does-it-really-mean

Dispatches: Rwanda's Green Party registered at last – but what does it really mean?

AUGUST 12, 2013

By Carina Tertsakian 

Today is the deadline for political parties to submit their lists of candidates for Rwanda's parliamentary elections in September. Late Friday afternoon, the Rwanda Governance Board, the state body responsible for licensing political parties, granted registration to the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, 

an opposition party which has been struggling to obtain this precious document for almost four years. 

It's good news, but with only a month left until polling day, how can the Green Party participate meaningfully in the elections? 

Rwanda's last three elections have all been characterized by a stark absence of opposition to the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The figures speak for themselves. President Paul Kagame won the 2003 presidential elections with a majority of more than 95 percent, and the 2010 elections with 93.08 percent. The RPF won the 2008 parliamentary elections with 78.76 percent of the vote, a figure that was reportedly revised downwards from around 98 percent to make the outcome look more credible.

The 2010 elections marked a low point, with a succession of attacks on opponents and critics. The Green Party's vice-president, André Kagwa Rwisereka, was one of the victims. He was found dead, his body mutilated, on July 14, just weeks before the elections. Three years on, no one has been brought to justice for his murder. The party was devastated and effectively fell apart. It is only just beginning to get back on its feet again.

The leaders of two other opposition parties – Victoire Ingabire of the FDU-Inkingi and Bernard Ntaganda of the PS-Imberakuri – have been in prison since 2010. The FDU-Inkingi didn't even manage to register. The PS-Imberakuri did, but was taken over by a faction favorable to the RPF. The faction loyal to Ntaganda has been paralysed by constant threats and intimidation.

Strictly speaking, the RPF is not the only party in Rwanda. Several others are represented in parliament and will be fielding candidates in next month's elections. But these parties do not play the role of a political opposition. Not only do they not challenge the RPF, they actively support it. The upcoming elections appear to have generated little public interest in the country. Many Rwandans believe the outcome is a fait accompli.

If the Rwandan government wants to demonstrate its commitment to democracy, it will have to do more than register an already weakened party at the eleventh hour. When the state stops threatening, arresting and harassing opposition activists and putting administrative blocks in their way, then Rwandans can mark a victory for true democracy. 

Rwanda's Green Party registered at last – but what does it really mean?

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/12/dispatches-rwandas-green-party-registered-last-what-does-it-really-mean

Dispatches: Rwanda's Green Party registered at last – but what does it really mean?

AUGUST 12, 2013

By Carina Tertsakian 

Today is the deadline for political parties to submit their lists of candidates for Rwanda's parliamentary elections in September. Late Friday afternoon, the Rwanda Governance Board, the state body responsible for licensing political parties, granted registration to the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, 

an opposition party which has been struggling to obtain this precious document for almost four years. 

It's good news, but with only a month left until polling day, how can the Green Party participate meaningfully in the elections? 

Rwanda's last three elections have all been characterized by a stark absence of opposition to the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The figures speak for themselves. President Paul Kagame won the 2003 presidential elections with a majority of more than 95 percent, and the 2010 elections with 93.08 percent. The RPF won the 2008 parliamentary elections with 78.76 percent of the vote, a figure that was reportedly revised downwards from around 98 percent to make the outcome look more credible.

The 2010 elections marked a low point, with a succession of attacks on opponents and critics. The Green Party's vice-president, André Kagwa Rwisereka, was one of the victims. He was found dead, his body mutilated, on July 14, just weeks before the elections. Three years on, no one has been brought to justice for his murder. The party was devastated and effectively fell apart. It is only just beginning to get back on its feet again.

The leaders of two other opposition parties – Victoire Ingabire of the FDU-Inkingi and Bernard Ntaganda of the PS-Imberakuri – have been in prison since 2010. The FDU-Inkingi didn't even manage to register. The PS-Imberakuri did, but was taken over by a faction favorable to the RPF. The faction loyal to Ntaganda has been paralysed by constant threats and intimidation.

Strictly speaking, the RPF is not the only party in Rwanda. Several others are represented in parliament and will be fielding candidates in next month's elections. But these parties do not play the role of a political opposition. Not only do they not challenge the RPF, they actively support it. The upcoming elections appear to have generated little public interest in the country. Many Rwandans believe the outcome is a fait accompli.

If the Rwandan government wants to demonstrate its commitment to democracy, it will have to do more than register an already weakened party at the eleventh hour. When the state stops threatening, arresting and harassing opposition activists and putting administrative blocks in their way, then Rwandans can mark a victory for true democracy. 

Rwanda: Abahutu bishwe bazize ibitandukanye no kuvuga ko bazize Jenoside-Minisitiri Mitali

http://www.igihe.com/politiki/amakuru/article/abahutu-bishwe-bazize

Abahutu bishwe bazize ibitandukanye no kuvuga ko bazize Jenoside-Minisitiri Mitali

Yanditswe kuya 11-08-2013 - Saa 07:37' na Olivier Rubibi

Minisitiri w'Umuco na Siporo, Protais Mitali, yasabye abantu gusasa inzobe mu kuvuga amateka yaranze u Rwanda mu 1994 mu kubaka ejo hazaza, yamagana abagerageza kuvuga ko habayeho jenoside ebyiri, ko Abahutu bapfuye muri Jenoside yakorewe Abatutsi bazize impamvu zitandukanye ntibari mu bahigwa.

Minisitiri Mitali yasabye abantu kumenya gutandukanya ibyo bavuga, ubwo kuri uyu wa Gatanu yari mu kiganiro cyahuje abanyamuryango b'Umuryango uharanira inyungu z'abacitse ku icumu rya Jenoside yakorewe Abatutsi "IBUKA" kuri gahunda ya "Ndi umunyarwanda" n'itsinda ry'urubyiruko riharanira amahoro (Art for Peace), ndetse na Youth Connekt muri gahunda ya "Ndi Umunyarwanda" igamije kumva kimwe amateka yaranze u Rwanda.

Minisitiri Mitali Protais yavuze ko gutandukanya aya magambo Abahutu bapfuye muri Jenoside ndetse n'Abatutsi bazize Jenoside ari inzira ikomeye yo guhangana n'abapfobya Jenoside bavuga ko habaye Jenoside ebyiri, ati "Mbisubiremo Abatutsi bazize Jenoside naho Abahutu bapfuye muri Jenoside bazize impamvu zitandukanye."

Zimwe mu mpamvu zatumye Abahutu bicwa , Mitali yavuze ko hari abapfaga bazize ko bahishe Abatutsi, ko banze kujya mu bitero bijya guhiga Abatutsi , hari abapfuye mu gihe cy'abacengezi n'ahandi hari abicwaga bazize ko banze kuvuga aho Abatutsi bihishe n'ibindi bitandukane…. Ariko Abatutsi baziraga uko baremwe. Mitali ati "Nta nduru yigeze ivuzwa ku musozi runaka wo mu Rwanda ngo ngabo Abahutu bo kwa runaka nimubatangire mubice, induru nk'izi zavugirizwaga Abatutsi."

Mitali Protais yakomeje avuga ko mu rwego rwo gukomeza kurwanya icyakongera gutuma Jenoside iba mu Rwanda Abanyarwanda bagomba kwihangana bakanywa umuti nubwo waba usharira ute ariko bagakomeza kwiyubakira igihugu.

Ati "Umuti wo gukumira ibyabaye mu Rwanda ni uko abantu bicara hasi bagasasa inzobe bakaganira ku mateka yabaranze. Iyo tuganira ibintu byabaye muri Jenoside kuvuga amoko ntakosa ririmo kuko abishwe bishwe mu izina ry'Abatutsi.. Kuvuga amoko ntihakajye hagira uwo bitera ipfunwe."

Gahunda yo kuganira ku mateka y'u Rwanda yiswe "Ndi Umunyarwanda" yatangiye igamije gutinyura Abanyarwanda ngo baganire ku mateka yaranze u Rwanda kugira ngo hakumirwe icyagarura inzangano mu Banyarwanda.

rubibi@igihe.rw

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