Tag Archives: Paul Kagame

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

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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

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

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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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Paul Rusesabagina of Hotel Rwanda fame to be freed from prison

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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

Kwibuka jenoside yakorewe abahutu mu Rwanda no muri Repubulika iharanira Demokarasi ya Kongo.

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Tariki ya mbere Ukwakira 2022:

Kwibuka jenoside yakorewe abahutu, umunsi wa mbere: ubwicanyi bwakorewe abahutu muri sitade ya Byumba.

Abaturage b’abahutu Ibihumbi n’ibihumbi by’abahinzi n aborozi, abagabo, abagore n’abana bari barahungiye mu nkambi z’agateganyo i Nyacyonga, Muhondo n’ izindi nkambi zizwi nk’ inkambi z’abakuwe mu byabo n’intambara yo muri 1990 (les déplacés de geurre), impunzi zaratatanye inyinshi zerekeza i Byumba. Aho i Byumba, impunzi zahageze n amaguru zirembejwe n’inzara n’ inyota. Zakusanyirijwe iminsi itatu mu nkambi y’agateganyo mu nkengero z’umujyi wa Byumba zigoswe n’Inkotanyi.
Nyuma y’iminsi itatu bajyanywe muri stade ya Byumba.
Kuva ku ya 10 Mata 1994, haje urukurikirane rw’imodoka za gisirikare z’ inkotanyi. Ahagana mu masaha ya saa munani z’ijoro, abasirikare b’ inkotanyi batangiye gutoranya abagabo babarirwa mu magana babatandukanya n imiryango yabo, babakusanyiriza hamwe mu kindi gice cya Stade. Inkotanyi Dan Munyuza niyo yateye grenade ya mbere, abandi basirikare barasa urufaya. Byatwaye isaha irenga yo kwica abagabo bose bari bakusanyirijwe aho. Benshi ntibahise bapfa. Nyuma yo kuraswa bahuhurwaga n’ izindi nkotanyi zikoresheje udufuni zikabajanjagura imitwe.
Nyuma, haje kwicwa abasaza, abagore n’abana, hakoreshejwe grenade,imbunda za mashinigani n’agafuni.Ubwicanyi bwakomeje kugeza saa kumi n’ebyiri za mu gitondo ubwo amakamyo ya mbere yaje gutwara abapfuye. Bamwe bashyinguwe byihuse ku ruganda rw’ifarini n ‘ahandi mu mujyi wa Byumba.

Nyuma y’ icyumweru kimwe, Kagame yahamagaye umuyobozi w ingabo, Augustin Gashayija, amubwira ko gushyingura imirambo byari ubugoryi. INKOTANYI zasubiye Mu Rukomo, gutaburura imirambo. Iyo imirambo yajyanywe mu muri pariki y’Akagera yatwikishijwe lisansi na gaze.

Twibuke abazize jenoside yakorewe abahutu, duharanire ubutabera, turinde abarokotse bakomeje guhigishwa uruhindu, twandike amateka yacu atarimo ikinyoma.

Ubwanditsi

THE US SECRETARY OF STATE’S VISIT TO RWANDA SHOULD SPARK THE OPENING OF THE POLITICAL SPACE

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PRESS RELEASE N° ISH2022/08/006

THE US SECRETARY OF STATE’S VISIT TO RWANDA SHOULD SPARK THE OPENING OF THE POLITICAL SPACE

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On behalf of members of ISHEMA Party and on behalf of all Rwandans, we would like to welcome the United States (US) Secretary of State, Hon Antony BLINKEN to the country of a thousand hills, Rwanda.

On this occasion, it is imperative to raise some important issues faced by our people because of lack of good governance, violations of human rights, lack of an open political space, which, if not well managed are driving the country and the whole region into a chaotic end. The American government has played a major role in supporting the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) despite its liberticide and warmongering nature in the Great Lakes region. While the RPF has a heavy responsibility, its partners, and donors such as the US cannot escape the public judgement. To confront these ills and correct what is popularly seen as mistakes of the past, a call to act is sent to the American People as well as to all the international community.

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RWANDA: Kuzahura ubukungu birasaba kuva mu marangamutima , kureka icyenewabo n’itekinika.

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Ndatekereza ko mu gihe tugezemo, igihugu kidakwiye kuyoborwa bigendeye ku kuraguza umutwe, cyangwa uko umuntu yaramutse. Ibyemezo bifatwa bigomba kuba biturutse ku bushakashatsi buturutse kuri facts (empirical evidence) kandi hatarimo itekinika. Ibyemezo kandi bigomba kuba bihiswemo kuko ubushashatsi bwerekanye ko aribyo birusha inyungu ibindi byemezo byose byashoboraga gufatwa. Aha hakoreshwa icyitwa “cost-benefit analysis”, ni ukuvuga kureba buri cyemezo ibyo cyadusaba ushyize mu gaciro k’amafaranga n’inyungu cyatuzanira. Iyo inyungu ariyo iri hejuru icyo cyemezo nicyo gihitwamo. Urugero: Kugereranya hagati yo gushyiraho minisiteri cyangwa gushyiraho direction muri minisiteri isanzweho. Cyangwa se gushyiraho Komisiyo y’abadepite aho guha akazi bureau d’études,… Bityo bityo.

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Les FDLR et les interahamwe : un problème inter-rwandais

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Il y a lieu de se demander où se situe la responsabilité de la RDC sur cette question. Il s’agit bel et bien d’une question rwandaise qui stipule une réponse appropriée du Gouvernement rwandais élude sa responsabilité depuis des décennies, la renvoyant paradoxalement au gouvernement de la RDC, avec la compréhension complaisante et la fuite en avant de la communauté internationale.

Faut-il rappeler, aussi douloureux que soit ce souvenir, que le génocide de 1994 au Rwanda, s’est passé entre Rwandais, sans aucune implication des Congolais.

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Congress to investigate Kagame’s spy actions against Americans with Pegasus

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Last year, the world was shocked to learn that Rwandan President Paul Kagame was using Israeli spy software, Pegasus to spy on his perceived enemies. They include Americans. One American citizen he targeted is Carine Kanimba. She found out the security on her phone had been compromised when she was in Belgium advocating for her father’s release.

Kanimba said, “It was bad enough that they kidnapped my father, tortured him, and robbed him of his legal rights. Now we find out that they have listened to my conversations with the US State Department, Belgium Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes, and our attorneys. This adds insult to injury.”

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Ibyifuzo bya KAGAME ni urukozasoni ku gihugu cy’u Rwanda, Turabyanze.

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Mu minsi ishize Perezida Paul KAGAME yagiranye ikiganiro na Televiziyo y’Abafaransa izwi nka France24. Icyari kigamijwe kwari ukubaza Kagame ku bijyanye n’intambara u Rwanda ruherutse kongera gutangiza rugaba ibitero ku gihugu cya Repubulika iharanira Demokarasi ya Kongo. Koko rero, n’ubwo ibyo bitero byitirirwa umutwe wa M23, ibimenyetso byose byerekana ko ari u Rwanda rwateye Kongo, ndetse aya makuru agashimangirwa n’amashusho afatwa na Satelite z’Abanyamerika ndetse na Drones z’ingabo z’umuryango w’abibumbye muri Kongo, MONUSCO. Na Kagame ntiyigeze abihakana kandi ibi ntibyatuguranye. Igisa n’icyatunguye benshi ni ukongera kumva Kagame avuga ko ashobora kongera kwiyamamaza imyaka 20! Reka turebere hamwe uburyo ibi byifuzo ari urukozasoni ku gihugu n’abenegihugu.

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