Fw: *DHR* HRW: Time for a review of UK policy on Rwanda

Human Rights Watch: Time for a review of UK policy on Rwanda August 1, 2011 26tweetsTOP5Kretweet A few weeks ago, a British journalist called me to discuss the human rights situation in Rwanda. We began by talking about the 2010 elections, in which President Paul Kagame was re-elected with 93% of the vote after three opposition parties had been excluded from the race; one opposition leader had been imprisoned; another opposition party member and an independent journalist were murdered; and a prominent government opponent narrowly escaped assassination in exile. After a few minutes, the journalist interrupted me and asked, in a puzzled tone: "Why does our government continue supporting Kagame? What is so special about Rwanda?" By Carina Tertsakian, 29 July 2011 There is something special about Rwanda: the genocide of 1994, which saw more than half a million people wiped out in three months in a killing campaign orchestrated by Hutu extremists against the Tutsi minority. Seventeen years have passed since the genocide. In many respects, Rwanda has got back on its feet remarkably quickly. The country has made considerable progress against certain development indicators – increased access to health and education services, for example. But there has been much less progress in other areas, in particular political rights, freedom of the press and the rule of law. At the international level, Western governments are still struggling to come to terms with their collective guilt at failing to stop the genocide. It is hard to know what, if anything, they could do to usefully make up for their shocking inaction in 1994. But turning a blind eye to serious human rights abuses in present-day Rwanda, as well as massacres committed by Rwandan troops in neighbouring Congo – all the while pouring millions of dollars into the Rwandan government budget – is wrong in principle and damaging in practice. The UK, despite the absence of historical ties to Rwanda, has been first in line. It remains the largest bilateral aid donor to Rwanda, and one of its strongest political supporters. It contributed over £380 million in aid between 1998 and 2008, and has announced an increase in annual spending from around £70 million in 2010-11 to an anticipated £90 million in 2014-15. Rwanda has become of one of its flagship countries for development in Africa. A group of Conservative Party members, headed by Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell, are currently on their annual "Project Umubano" visit to Rwanda. But while they proudly assist in community projects in front of the television cameras, Rwandan journalists and opposition party members languish in prison for daring to criticise the government. The UK's attitude towards Rwanda's human rights record is based on an artificial and short-sighted analysis. Despite an outward appearance of calm, Rwanda is a fragile country ruled by fear. The deep mistrust resulting from the genocide has been exacerbated by a government which does not tolerate criticism and keeps a close watch on all its citizens – Tutsi as well as Hutu – to ensure that no one is stepping out of line. Rwanda may score highly in terms of some development targets, but can its people really flourish in an environment in which they risk arrest, prolonged detention or, in the worst case scenario, death, simply for speaking their minds? If the UK is genuinely committed to inclusive development in Rwanda, it should use its influence to press for political openness and freedom of speech, and recognise that greater respect for human rights will enhance rather than threaten its development gains. The gravity of the situation in Rwanda may have finally hit home with British policy-makers in May when two Rwandan nationals living in the UK were warned by the police of credible threats to their security. This, if nothing else, should surely trigger a serious and honest review of UK policy towards Rwanda. Human Rights Watch has long been calling for such a policy review. In this context we provided evidence to the International Development Committee for its inquiry into the UK Department for International Development (DFID)'s work on the Great Lakes region. Human Rights Watch is not calling for DFID to halt aid to Rwanda, but to attach a much higher priority to human rights – a message in line with DFID's commitments, at least on paper. In 2006, the UK and Rwanda signed a ten year memorandum of understanding, which includes explicit commitments on human rights. Yet the UK has remained conspicuously silent when Rwanda has breached these commitments. Similarly, DFID's operational plan for 2011-2015 talks of dialogue to help open political space and of "the UK's ability candidly to raise and resolve issues of concern with the [Rwandan] government". But until its programmes reflect these priorities, these words will be little more than lip-service. Even while using the language of human rights, DFID's operational plan appears to be making excuses for abuses: "The constraints on rights and freedoms are to some degree explained by Rwanda's post-genocide context," it states. This does not bode well for DFID's resolve to uphold its own commitments towards promoting human rights. As they weigh up the evidence before them, the members of the International Development Committee may find themselves pondering the same question as the journalist: "Why does our government continue to support this regime so uncritically?" By confronting ministers with the human rights realities in Rwanda, the committee could help trigger that much-needed policy review. The committee could also encourage the UK government to support independent civil society organisations and human rights defenders in Rwanda, many of whom have been ground down by years of threats and intimidation. The re-emergence of a strong, independent domestic human rights movement could be a critical stepping stone towards inclusive development, peace and genuine democracy in Rwanda. Carina Tertsakian is a Senior Researcher in the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch's evidence to the International Development Committee can be found at http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/06/23/submission-uk-international-development-committee-idc

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Fw: *DHR* Canada: Stop Training Militia Members for Rwanda

 

Canada: Stop Training Militia Members for Rwanda (http://www.salem-news.com/articles/august022011/rwanda-rfp-tr.php)  Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa for Salem-News.com The Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) has re-established a one-party, authoritarian system of government that is even more repressive than the government that was in power prior to the genocide. Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa (KIGALI, Rwanda) - RWANDA NATIONAL CONGRESS The Right Honorable Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A OA2 Canada VERY URGENT 2nd August, 2011 Dear Rt. Hon. Harper, Re: PETITION FOR THE PREVENTION, SUPPRESSION AND PUNISHMENT OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES OF MILITIA GROUPS IN THE SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF RWANDA ON CANADIAN TERRITORY We, the members of the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), hereby petition the Government of Canada and the Council of Gatineau City to cancel a program of the Government of Rwanda to recruit Canadian citizens and Rwandans living in Canada into a Rwandan militia group and provide indoctrination and military training to the group in Gatineau city. The training of the 'Intore' militia is scheduled to take place from August 4th to August 8th, 2011. In the early 1990s, elements of the Government and party that were in power at the time established, trained and armed militia groups, known as Interahamwe and Impuzamigambi, to help them resist and frustrate popular demand for democratic reform. Members of these militia groups, comprising mainly the youth, were indoctrinated to violently defend the agenda of the dictatorial regime that was in power at that time, by harassing, hunting down and killing government critics, especially members of opposition political parties. The Interahamwe and Impuzamigambi militia degenerated into murderous gangs that became very instrumental in carrying out the genocide against the Tutsi and crimes against humanity and other gross human rights violations against opponents of the regime. Political leaders who were opposed to democratic reform used these militia groups to carry out atrocities in which hundreds of thousands of innocent Rwandan men, women and children perished. The Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), the rebel group that took over government after the genocide, has failed to lead the country to democracy. Instead, the organization has re-established a one-party, authoritarian system of government that is even more repressive than the government that was in power prior to the genocide. The Government that rules Rwanda today has no legitimacy in reality and in the perception of the people of Rwanda. The RPF Government of Rwanda maintains its hold onto power through acts of repression, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings of critics and opponents of the regimes. Persons who have been targeted by these acts of persecution include political leaders, journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society activists. These acts of politically motivated persecution and violence have been committed in and outside Rwanda, and especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and have been documented throughout the years by all major international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, and the United Nations Human Rights Commission, to name but a few. Over the past several years, the current Government of Rwanda and President Kagame have established, indoctrinated, provided military training to, and created and armed two new militia groups, known as the Local Defence Forces and Intore. Members of the Intore militia in particular include recruits living in foreign countries, including Canada. The modus operandi of these new militia groups is similar to that of the Interahamwe and Impuzamigambi militia of the early 1990s. The Local Defence Forces and Intore receive both ideological and military training to prepare them for the tasks of suppressing legitimate exercise of civil and political rights by Rwandans who are not members of the RPF. The objective of Local Defence Forces and Intore is to harass and, if necessary, liquidate all political opposition to the regime, including critics of the government living in foreign countries such as Canada. President Paul Kagame regularly and personally attends part of the training and the passing out parade for the Local Defence Forces and Intore. The Intore militia training in Canada is scheduled to be conducted in Gatineau, Quebec from 4th-8th August, 2011. The objective for the establishment of a Canada branch of the Intore militia is to persecute Rwandans living in Canada and the United States of America who are critical of President Paul Kagame. It is also likely that some of the members of the Intore militia trained at the Canadian camp may in future be deployed in Rwanda where they are likely to be involved in torture and extra-judicial killings of political opponents of the Government of Rwanda and to commit war crimes, war against humanity and other offences against innocent civilians in Rwanda. We are apprehensive that some of the militia members who participate in the training in question will be used to intimidate and possibly harm the lives of critics of the Rwandan government living in Canada and the United States. We consider it extremely regrettable that the Government of Rwanda should be permitted to organize indoctrination and military programs of militia groups which are instruments of repression and the suppression of the fundamental and inalienable human rights of the people of Rwanda. We are appalled in particular that youth who are Canadian citizens should be exposed to indoctrination that preaches intolerance of the political views of other citizens and incitement to participate in criminal activities against opponents of the Rwandan government of the day. In view of these worrying developments, we wish to draw to your urgent attention, and to the attention of the Canadian government and public, the following facts: 1. President Paul Kagame is a notorious war criminal who has caused horrendous loss of innocent lives in both Rwanda and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 2. President Kagame is a dictator who has suppressed the Rwandan people's aspirations for freedom by outlawing opposition political parties, closing independent media outlets, restricting the freedom of civil society organizations to hold government accountable and torturing, imprisoning and sometimes killing government critics. 3. It is against the values of Canada that a dictatorial regime which denies its people of fundamental freedoms should be allowed to indoctrinate hatred and intolerance among Canadian youth. 4. It is a flagrant and intolerable violation of the laws of Canada for the Government of Rwanda to recruit and train, on Canadian territory, Canadian and Rwandan youth into a criminal militia entity that is an instrument of political repression and is likely to be used to commit grave human rights abuse inside Rwanda and in foreign countries, including Canada. 5. The Canadian government will in future be held accountable for the violations of international human rights laws and international humanitarian laws that may be committed by such unofficial militia of the Government of Rwanda whose development the government of Canada is facilitating indirectly by allowing such training to take place on Canadian territory. Members of the opposition movement, especially its leaders who now languish in prison in Rwanda on account of their political views and many Rwandans who aspire for political freedom do not countenance how the Canadian Government would condone and allow such actions of the dictatorial regime of President Paul Kagame. 6. It is most regrettable that the city of Gatineau will host the activities to support a murderous leader who has committed heinous acts of human rights violations at home and in neighboring countries. In view of the foregoing, we call upon the city of Gatineau, the province of Quebec and the Canadian Government to: (1) Cancel the training of Intore militia that is scheduled to be conducted at Gatineau, Quebec,from 4th to 8th August, 2011; (2) Monitor the criminal activities of Rwandan diplomatic and under-cover personnel in charge of organizing the training of the above-mentioned militia; (3) Prosecute agents of the Rwandan Government known or found to be planning criminal or terrorist activities against Rwandan and Canadian citizens on Canadian territory; (4) Warn the Government of Rwanda to stop all criminal activities which endanger the lives of Rwandans and Canadian citizens of Rwandese ancestry living in Canada whom the Government of Rwanda is persecuting because they are critical of the Rwanda's government; (5) Demand an end to persecution (including arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, involuntary disappearances and extra-judicial killings) of government opponents and critics and their relatives; (6) Condition the provision of the development assistance that Canada extends to the Rwandan government on political reforms, including opening up political space for political participation and allowing opposition parties and civil society to function freely; (7) Ensure that the financial aid that Canada provides to Rwanda does not fund operations of entities and individuals serving the Government of the Rwandan state that are involved in terrorist or criminal activities or activities that violate fundamental human rights; and, (8) Advise the Government of Rwanda to agree to a comprehensive dialogue with the opposition on ways for resolving the political impasse engulfing Rwanda. Rwanda's tragedy of 1994 left so many in the international community, including Canada, with a sense of guilt that they wish they had known and done better to prevent or stop the carnage that engulfed Rwanda, leaving more than a million of its citizens dead. Unfortunately, Rwanda's tragedy continues unabated. It is the expectation of the majority of Rwandans that Canada will support all Rwandans to build a free, united, democratic, stable and prosperous Rwanda that will begin to reconcile and heal at last. If Canada is unable to provide help to respond to the plight of ordinary Rwandans, at least it should do no harm. As the English sayings go: "a stitch in time saves nine", and "forewarned is forearmed". Please accept, the Right Honorable Prime Minister, the assurances of our highest consideration. Sincerely, Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa Co-ordinator Rwanda National Congress (RNC) Contact: E-mail: ngombwa@gmail.com Copy: 1. Hon. Mayor Marc Bureau, City of Gatineau 2. Hon. William J.S.Elliot, Commissioner, Royal Canadian Mounted Police 3. Hon. John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs _________________________________ Submitted by: Jennifer Fierberg, MSW; a correspondent, Assistant Editor, and Volunteer Coordinator for NGO News Africa through the volunteer project of the UN. Jennifer is also the media co-coordinator and senior funding executive for The Africa Global Village (www.africaglobalvillage.com)

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Britain and EU increase aid to Ethiopia while ignoring human rights warnings

Britain and the EU have increased aid to Ethiopia while ignoring repeated diplomatic warnings of human rights abuse and concerns that Western funding is being used as a tool of repression by the country's regime.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/ethiopia/8681975/Britain-and-EU-increase-aid-to-Ethiopia-while-ignoring-human-rights-warnings.html

Britain and EU increase aid to Ethiopia while ignoring human rights warnings

Britain and the EU have increased aid to Ethiopia while ignoring repeated diplomatic warnings of human rights abuse and concerns that Western funding is being used as a tool of repression by the country's regime.

By Bruno Waterfield, Brussels

10:30PM BST 04 Aug 2011

An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and BBC Newsnight has found that as Ethiopia is hit by drought and famine, communities are being denied basic food, seed and fertiliser for failing to support Meles Zenawi, the country's authoritarian leader.

Senior Brussels officials ignored 61 email warnings from its EU ambassador in Ethiopia about human rights abuses, evidence that European governments, including Britain, were prepared to turn a blind eye to repression in order to woo a key African ally.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism investigation has also gathered evidence of continuing ethnic cleansing, mass detentions, the widespread use of torture and extra-judicial killings by Ethiopian government forces.

The Daily Telegraph understands that last summer the EU failed to condemn crack downs on opposition politicians and journalists in return for Ethiopian support in critical climate change negotiations in December 2009.

Ethiopia receives £1.8 billion in development aid every year, with Britain the second largest donor after the US.

This year the UK will hand out £290 million, not including the £48m in emergency aid announced last month, a 24-fold increase over the past decade. The EU provided a further £152m last year.

Leaked emails reveal that both the EU and Britain failed to act on confidential daily diplomatic telegrams from Timothy Clarke, the EU's former ambassador in Ethiopia.

The emails were sent over three months in the days after elections in 2005 and express increasing concern about reports of murders and arrests of thousands of civilians by government forces.

"Basic human rights abuses are being committed by the government on a daily basis - the EU must respond firmly and resolutely," he wrote on June 12 2005.

Despite the warnings, Brussels commended Ethiopian conduct of the elections a pattern that was mirrored in 2010 when the EU welcomed as "an important moment in the democratic process" a result that saw Zenawi's regime won 99.6 per cent of the vote amid reports of widespread human rights abuses.

Ana Gomes, a Portuguese MEP who was the chief election observer for the EU during the 2005 Ethiopian elections, has accused European officials of "watering down all the most difficult passages" which detailed repression.

"There is this industry of aid not only in the European Commission but in the different member countries, namely those who are the biggest aid donors to Ethiopia, like Britain, like Germany who want the business to continue as usual because they have their own interests at stake," she said.

A spokesman for the EU diplomatic service said: "Protection of human rights is a priority for the EU and it features prominently in our dialogue with all external partners. This also applies to the EU dialogue with Ethiopia, where we raise human rights issues regularly."

Rwandans don’t need to claim genocide or else to feel or honour their losses

Rwandans don't need to claim genocide or else to feel or honour their losses

Christopher Black, Lead Counsel, General Ndindiliyimana

Source: Posted on July 27, 2011 by therisingcontinent 

Discussions on how to call atrocities committed in Rwanda since October 1^st, 1990 and in the whole Great Lakes region of Africa since 1996, this until today, appear ongoing. They may not even have an end at any time. As evidence, even survivors of the holocaust continue reminding the world that what happened to the Jews in Hitler's Germany was genocide. It is their right to do so.

However, motives of those who fight nails and toes out to claim that mentioned atrocities were genocide or else seem often not genuine or disinterested. They come out as defending a brand name instead of a humanitarian cause. I lost lots of my family, friends and neighbours in the Rwandan atrocities. The Rwandan government even denies thousands of survivors the right to be called survivors, only because they are Hutus. Yet Tutsi survivors seem to have become magnets to attract external aid and enrich the Tutsi ruling elite. Those still alive among the two ethnic groups who have been marginalised are imprisoned or treated as citizens of second class. (Read more...)

"Les grands ne sont grands que parce que nous sommes à genoux: levons-nous" ( Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud)

Eugène Shimamungu
Blog: http://editions-sources-du-nil.over-blog.com/
Site: http://www.editions-sources-du-nil.fr/

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