Author Archives: Chaste Gahunde

Kagame, is “a Brutal Dictator, and One of the West’s Best Friends” – Anjan Sundaram

His grip on power is nearly unassailable. Since becoming president over two decades ago, he has extended constitutional term limits, shut down the free press and clamped down on dissent. Reporters have been driven into exile, even killed; opposition figures have been imprisoned or found dead. His country has been reduced to tyranny.

But this dictator isn’t a pariah, like Vladimir Putin of Russia or Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Instead, he’s one of the West’s best and most reliable friends: Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda. Since coming to power in 1994, Mr. Kagame has won his way into the West’s good graces. He’s been invited to speak — on human rights, no less — at universities such as Harvard, Yale and Oxford, and praised by prominent political leaders including Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and the former U.N. general secretary Ban Ki-moon.

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“Kagame accountability yawe harya iri he? Uri umwicanyi. Uri umujura”. – Ibaruwa Theogène RUDASINGWA yandikiye Paul KAGAME

Bwana Paul Kagame

Urugwiro Village
Kigali
Rwanda
PaulKagame@gov.rw
7/4/2023

 
Bwana Kagame,
Mubyo wavuze muri Kongre ya FPR-Inkotanyi iherutse, nongeye kumva uvuga ko uwahoze ari umunyamabanga mukuru wa FRP yibye maze agahunga. Nubwo uteruye ngo umvuge mu mazina, byumvikanye ko arigye uvuga kuko sibwo bwambere.
Mu kwezi kwa gatandatu, 2021, mu kiganiro wahaye abanyamakuru ba TV5 Monde wavuze ko uwahoze ari Director of Cabinet muri Presidence yawe yibye maze agahunga. Nanyomoje ibyo binyoma byawe mu rwandiko nadikiye umukuru wa TV5 Monde, Yves Bigot. Nubwo nzi ko wowe naba garagu bawe mwayisomye, maze abamotsi bawe bakayikurikiza ibitutsi, ibindi binyoma no kumparabika bisanzwe, nyometse kuri uru rwandiko. Nusubiza ubwenge ku gihe, mu mwiherero uzongere uyisome uzayisangamo ibyo nawe uzi.

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Commémorations 2023 — 29ème anniversaire Journée internationale de réflexion sur le génocide des Tutsis au Rwanda en 1994

Message du Secrétaire général pour 2023

En cette Journée internationale de réflexion sur le génocide des Tutsis au Rwanda en 1994, nous pleurons la mort de plus d’un million d’enfants, de femmes et d’hommes, qui ont péri durant cent jours d’horreur, il y a 29 ans. Nous honorons la mémoire des victimes, en grande majorité des Tutsis, mais aussi des Hutus et d’autres personnes qui s’opposaient au génocide.

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UBUTUMWA BW’ISHYAKA ISHEMA RY’U RWANDA KUWA 6 MATA 2023

UBUTUMWA BW’ISHYAKA ISHEMA RY’U RWANDA KU ITARIKI YA 06 MATA 2023.

Banyarwanda Banyarwandakazi namwe nshuti z’u Rwanda.

  1. Imyaka 29 irashize twibuka umunsi u Rwanda rwaciwe umutwe maze ababisha bakirara mu benegihugu bakabicamo abatagira ingano muri gahunda yari yatangiye tariki ya 01 Ukwakira 1990 i Kagitumba muri Byumba, n’uyu munsi ikaba igikomeje. Itariki ya 06 Mata 1994 izahora yibukwa nk’umunsi winjije u Rwanda mu mperuka y’igice cy’intambara cyagejeje FPR Inkotanyi ku butegetsi.
  2. Koko rero, ihanurwa ry’indege yari itwaye Perezida Juvenal Habyarimana, Perezida w’Uburundi Cyprien Ntaryamira, Umugaba w’ingabo Déogratias Nsabimana n’abandi bari kumwe, ryaciye igihugu umutwe, haba mu butegetsi bwa gisikare no mu bwa gisiviri haba icyuho mu buyobozi, abaturage basubiranamo.
  3. Mu gihe tuzirikana aya mateka akakaye igihugu cyacu cyanyuzemo reka twibukiranye ibi bikurikira:

  • A. Kuva u Rwanda rwahitamo kugendera ku matwara ya Repubulika na Demokarasi, igice cy’abanyarwanda bari batsimbaraye ku ndonke bakuraga ku butegetsi bw’agatsiko ka cyami cyahisemo guhunga u Rwanda no kurugabaho ibitero by’Inyenzi, byahitanye abantu benshi kugeza mu mwaka wa 1967. Ibyo bitero byari bigamije kugarura Umwami, n’ingoma Kalinga igakomeza igatamirizwa ibishahu by’abahutu.
  • B. Ibitero by’Inyenzi binaniwe habayeho agahenge maze hategurwa intambara karundura yari igamije kwica abanyarwanda benshi bo mu bwoko bw’abahutu kugira ngo hasibangane icyitwa majorité cyatumye ubwami butsindwa ruhenu muri Kamaparampaka ya 1961.
  • C. Igitero cy’itariki ya 01 Ukwakira 1990 cyaje gifite intego yo kumaraho abahutu bose aho bishoboka n’abatutsi bashoboraga kubangamira uwo mugambi mubisha. Intangiriro ya jenoside yakorewe abahutu ni iyo ngiyo.
  • D. Ku itariki ya 06 Mata 1994, Inkotanyi zishe umukuru w’igihugu n’umukuru w’ingabo zigamije guteza akavuyo no kurema icyuho zanyuramo ngo zigere ku butegetsi. Ni uko icyari jenoside yakorerwaga abahutu cyiyongeraho jenoside yakorewe abatutsi. Mu gihe cyose abasirikare bakuru b’ingabo z’igihugu, (FAR) basabye FPR guhagarika intambara ngo bajye gukiza abaturage bari bahanganye, Inkotanyi zo zarabyanze ndetse zibwira isi yose ko jenoside yarangiye, ngo si ngombwa kuza gutabara, ngo ndetse uzaza gutabara zizamurwanya. Aho hari tariki ya 30 Mata 1994, hashize iminsi 24 indege imaze guhanurwa. Ku rundi ruhande ni ko FPR ikoresheje abatekinisiye (techniciens) bayo bari baracengeye mu mashyaka menshi yashishikarizaga kandi ikerekera abahutu kwica abatutsi kugira ngo koko bigaragare ko abatutsi bari gukorerwa jenoside. Abo batekinisiye ni nabo bafataga amafoto bakajya kuyerekana nk’ibimenyetso ntakuka by’ibirimo kuba.

Banyarwanda Banyarwandakazi,

4. Birababaje kubona akaga kagwiriye u Rwanda gakoreshwa mu nyungu za Politiki, aho guhoza amarira imfubyi n’abapfakazi ahubwo hagahoraho gahunda zikomeza kubatoneka no kubashinyagurira, kubeshyera abahutu batagize uruhare mu bwicanyi, kubuza abatutsi barokowe n’abahutu gutanga ubuhamya, guhiga abahutu hagamijwe kubagerekaho urusyo no kubakura mu kibuga cya politiki, gukoresha inzibutso za jenoside nk’igishoro mu bukerarugendo, cyangwa igikoresho cyo gusaba imfashanyo, n’ibindi byinshi bigamije gutsimbarara ku butegetsi bw’umuntu umwe  Paul Kagame ubeshya ko ari we rukumbi wahagaritse jenoside. Iyi politiki mbi ya FPR ni iyo kwamaganwa.

5. Twihanganishije kandi dufashe mu mugongo abo bose babuze ababo kandi turifuriza abatuvuyemo gukomeza kuruhukira mu mahoro. By’umwihariko ariko, ndahamagarira Abanyarwanda b’ingeri zose ngira nti: “Aho gushaka imbaraga zisenya igihugu mu guhembera umujinya, dushakire imbaraga zubaka mu kwimika kuvugisha ukuri ku byabaye kuko ari byo bizatugeza ku bwiyunge bw’abanyarwanda”.

6. Ntituzahwema guharanira gushyiraho mu Rwanda ubutegetsi bugendera ku mategeko, buzaha ubutabera buri munyarwanda wagizweho ingaruka n’ubwicanyi, kandi bugahana bwihanukiriye ababiba inzangano mu Banyarwanda kimwe n’abahohotera uburenganzira bwa muntu bose.

Imana ihanagure amarira abanyarwanda bose bashavuye.

Muragahorana Ishema ry’u Rwanda.

Bikorewe Montreal

Kuwa 06/04/2023

NADINE Claire KASINGE

Perezida.

Umukandida mu matora ya Perezida wa Repubulika yo mu mwaka wa 2024

Rusesabagina Release and its Meaning to Rwandans

While still celebrating the release of Paul Rusesabagina, the ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero, interpretations differ on Kagame’s sudden change of mind on the issue. From “no one can bully us to release Rusesabagina” to “we are people who like moving forward” only in less than 3 months, observers read a volume, the majority seeing in it a clear sign of the decaying influence of a dictatorship. Here are some of the points of view.

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‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Paul Rusesabagina returning home to San Antonio.

Paul Rusesabagina, who hid more than 1,000 potential victims of genocide in Rwanda in 1994, has come home to San Antonio. 

Kidnapped and imprisoned for 2½ years by a Rwandan regime lambasted by the European Union for its human rights abuses, Rusesabagina, 68, was released last weekend and landed Wednesday afternoon at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. From there, he was to enter Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

“They have LANDED!” Kathleen Tobin Krueger, wife of the late Ambassador Robert Krueger and a close friend of the Rusesabagina family, said in a text message just before 4 p.m.

At BAMC, he’ll be cared for in a facility known for its treatment of former prisoners of war and hostages. Its patients have included three Americans held captive for five years by rebels in Colombia and WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was released in December from a Russian penal colony where she was held on drug charges.

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Climat toxique à l’OIF selon un sondage interne

Les chiffres sont troublants : 44 % des répondants pensent avoir été victimes de harcèlement moral au travail, et 9 % de harcèlement sexuel.

En outre, 46 % affirment n’avoir pas été en mesure d’en parler ou de le signaler, et 75 % de ceux qui l’ont fait pensent que cela n’a pas abouti ou ne savent pas si cela a abouti à une solution.

Selon le document, la consultation vise à préparer la mise en œuvre de politiques en matière de fraude, de cadeaux et de harcèlement au travail. L’objectif de cet exercice est de permettre au comité du personnel de mieux comprendre votre connaissance, vos perceptions et vos attentes dans ces domaines, en particulier sur le harcèlement moral et/ou sexuel, peut-on y lire.

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RUSESABAGINA TO BE FREED FROM KIGALI PRISON: ON WHAT CONDITIONS?

On March 24th, 2023; the government of Rwanda through its Minisiter of Justice, informed the public of the upcoming release of political prisoners sentenced over charges related to military attacks by the rebel movement FLN (Forces de Libération Nationale), the armed wing of the MRCD (Mouvement Rwandais pour le Changement Démocratique). Paul Rusesabagina is said to be among those to be released. While the government of Rwanda is advancing the presidential grace a the sole reason of this release, diffferent observers think that foreign governments might have played a key role in brokering the deal to set free Rusesabagina. Here is what is known on this case.

In August 2020, Paul Rusesabagina, a belgian citizen and US permanent resident boarded a plane he believed was heading to Bujumbura, Burundi, where he was expected to deliver key speeches in conferences on peace and reconciliation. It is believed that he was drugged, and slept to wake up at Kigali International airport where he was arrested immediately. He was held incommunicado for about ten days before he was presented to media. The Government of Rwanda kept changing versions of what really happened but all brought to conclude that the illegal rendition was masterminded, financed and operated on orders from Paul Kagame himself. Rusesabagina was accused to have formed armed group that aimed at dethrowing Paul Kagame. Along with dozens of former FLN’s combatants, including the movement’s Spokesperson illegally arrested and deported from the Comoros, Rusesabagina faced the court action under what was seen as sham trial. He was sentenced to 25 years.

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Rwanda has to investigate killings of opposition members

On this International Right to Truth Day, I want justice for my colleagues who were killed or disappeared while fighting for a truly democratic Rwanda.

Today, we observe the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. One purpose of this important annual observance, as stated by the United Nations, is to “pay tribute to those who have devoted their lives to, and lost their lives in, the struggle to promote and protect human rights for all”. The list of such people is long in my country, Rwanda. It includes members of opposition groups, independent activists and journalists, among many others.

While all those who fell in the battle to uphold human rights in Rwanda deserve to be remembered and honoured on this day, here I would like to pay special tribute to those who lost their lives, or disappeared, after responding to my call to struggle for the establishment of genuine democracy, respect for human rights and rule of law in our homeland.

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Paul Rusesabagina of Hotel Rwanda fame to be freed from prison

THE SCOOP

Imprisoned political activist Paul Rusesabagina, whose story inspired the Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda, will be released from his incarceration as early as Saturday morning, senior Rwandan and Qatari officials have told Semafor.

At the conclusion of a key cabinet meeting on Friday, Rwanda’s Minister of Justice, Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, plans to announce that Rusesabagina and twenty others sentenced with him on terrorism-related charges will have their prison terms commuted. Their underlying convictions will remain intact, according to two senior Rwanda government officials.

“Should any of these individuals return to the criminal activities for which they were originally charged, the sentence will be automatically reimposed,” one official said.

Rusesabagina, a high-profile critic of Rwadan President Paul Kagame, became a global celebrity after Hollywood memorialized his efforts to save more than 1000 Hutus and Tutsis during during his country’s 1994 genocide. But in 2021 he was sentenced to 25 years in prison on terrorism charges for his role leading the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change, the dissident coalition whose militant wing Rwandan authorities accused of violent attacks resulting in civilian deaths.

Rusesabagina denied responsibility for the killings and in 2022 the U.S. State Department said he was “wrongly detained.” According to officials familiar with negotiations, that framing “evolved” in talks as the U.S. sought to acknowledge Rwandan concerns about the underlying security and terrorism issues involved in the case.

Rwandan officials plan to release a formal letter from Rusesabagina requesting a pardon from Kagame. In it, he expresses “regret for any connection” between his political work at the Movement for Democratic Change and acts of violence by its armed wing, as well as for “not taking more care to ensure that members” of his opposition coalition “fully adhered to the principles of non-violence in which I fully and deeply believe.”

Rusesabagina also writes that he will withdraw from Rwandan politics if released and “spend the remainder of my days in the United States in quiet reflection.” According to sources, the letter was prepared by Rusesabagina with assistance of his own legal counsels in the United States and Rwanda.

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STEVE’S VIEW

While details are still unfolding, both Qatar and the United States provided crucial help to secure Rusesabagina’s release. According to my sources, the Biden administration opened a channel from the White House that took a different approach to negotiations than previous U.S. government efforts, while the Emir of Qatar helped facilitate discussions about a “humanitarian” release. The countries reached a crucial compromise that opened the door to a deal by agreeing that Rwanda would not be expected to roll back the convictions of Rusesabagina and his associates.

A senior Rwanda government official told me that “the close personal relationship between Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Rwanda President Paul Kagame played a key role in this equation, as did the very constructive tone from the White House seeking a reset in Rwanda-U.S. relations.”

While Semafor has not yet communicated with the Rusesabagina family, Qatari sources believe that after a short time in Kigali at the Qatar Embassy, the activist will be transported to Doha where his family may join him. And after some transitionary period, he will eventually travel to and live in the United States.

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NOTABLE

  • Kagame’s views on this issue have evolved dramatically in a matter of months. Speaking on stage at a Semafor event in December, the president suggested he had no plans to release Rusesabagina and half-joked that it would take a foreign “invasion” to free him. “We’ve made it clear there isn’t anyone going to come from anywhere to bully us,” he said at the time.
  • When I interviewed Kagame again this month at the Global Security Forum in Doha, he told me his government had begun discussions about freeing Rusesabagina, and struck a much softer tone, saying Rwandans “forgive the unforgivable” and “don’t get stuck with our past.”

Steve Clemons

SEMAFOR