31 Oct 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Fw: [haguruka.com] Rwandan Parliament Makes US Ally and Military Partner, Paul Kagame President for Life

On Friday, 30 October 2015, 21:20, "Nzinink nzinink@yahoo.com [haguruka]" <haguruka@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/rwandan-parliament-makes-us-ally-and-military-partner-paul-kagame-president-for-life/5485374

Rwandan Parliament Makes US Ally and Military Partner, Paul Kagame President for Life
By Charles Kambanda
Global Research, October 29, 2015
Region: sub-Saharan Africa
Theme: Law and Justice
9
19 0

76

Rwanda has never, since its independence from Belgium, experienced peaceful transfer of power from one "elected" president to another. Each president that grabs power declares himself the only Rwandan capable of ruling. Each regime comes in power because they want to remove the dictator from power and hand the mantle of state power to " the people." Change from one regime to another has always been bloody in Rwanda.
In 1994 General Paul Kagame defeated General Habyarimana after a bloody four year civil war. General Habyarimana had made himself " the father of the nation" and an irreplaceable president of Rwanda. General Kagame and his RPF/A waged the 1990-1994 war because General Habyarimana had closed all the possible venues for peaceful transfer of power. General Kagame and his RPF/A sounded determined to hand power over to " the people" after the war. Over a million Rwandans perished during the war.
General Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) party: More of the same
After the war and massacres that brought Gen Kagame and his RPF/A into power, Gen Kagame's diagnosis of Rwanda's problem was " bad political leadership and clinging on to power. To address this problem, Gen Kagame and his RPF/A wrote the 2003 Rwanda Constitution. Article 101 of the 2003 Constitution provides, inter alia , " no person shall be president for more than two terms". Each term is 7 years under the 2003 Constitution of Rwanda.
Gen Kagame's second and last term under the 2003 constitution of Rwanda is due to expire in 2017. General Kagame claims that no Rwandan is capable of leading the country and " the people" need him to consolidate his "achievements".
Constitutional amendment to keep General Kagame in office:
In a bid to legitimize his broad scheme to cling to power, Paul Kagame deployed his brutal security apparatus, at all levels of his administration, to compel " the people" to petition Parliament to change the law regarding term limits. Millions of Rwandans, including those who cannot read and/or write, "wrote" to Parliament " begging" for a constitutional amendment. The General then instituted a " constitutional review commission" which " consulted" the people before Parliament passed the constitutional review proposal on October 28th, 2015.
The new law of the jungle:
Parliament approved various amendments including Article 167 which provides that: Considering the citizen petitions preceeding [preceding] the coming into force of this revised Constitution that were informed by the nation-building achievements and creation of a sustainable development foundation, the President of the Republic completing the term of office referred to in Paragraph One of this Article may be re-elected for a seven (7) years term of office. The President of the Republic who has completed the term of office of seven (7) years referred to in [ ...] this Article may be re-elected as provided for by Article 101 of this Constitution.
Article 168: Senators Senators in office at the time of commencement. Article 167 comes under a Section termed " Transitional Provisions".
Article 101 provides that " The President of the Republic is elected for a term of office of five (5) years. He/she may be re-elected only once."
A most unusual law:
Article 167 read together with Article 101 has many implications.
First, the "amendment " has created an exception for the current president and military commander of Rwanda. Article 101 will be shelved until after seven years – the exceptional term created for him after 2017 – when Kagame will start running for a five year term, renewable only once, giving Kagame a chance to rule for 17 years after 2017. This is confirmation that "some animals are more equal than others " in this Animal Farm, thereby rendering the constitutional principle of equality before the law null and void.
Second, the law does not mention whether or not, if Kagame died or otherwise becomes incapacitated after 2017 but before 2024, Article 101 would come into force immediately. In any case, a constitutional provision ( the proposed Article 101) that shall not come into force until after 7 years is a most unusual law.
Third, the amendment creates " transitional provisions" in a constitution without a provisional government. "Transitional provisions" without a transitional government prove that what Kagame's junta has completed is a constitutional coup, not an "amendment to the constitution," as they call it.
Charles Kambanda is a Rwandan American attorney, a former law professor at the National University of Rwanda, and an apostate member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, now living in exile in New York City.
The original source of this article is Global Research
Copyright © Charles Kambanda, Global Research, 2015

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The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
When the white man came we had the land and they had the bibles; now they have the land and we have the bibles.
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[AfricaRealities.com] Rwanda: President Paul Kagame's comment on Tanzanian Elections

Rwanda: President Paul Kagame's comment on Tanzanian Elections

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tMIZ0E_Ha6_-R4NAxw_HM0Sjk2lz4wOIxkxF_Ls5JX98OQC5VoSK5crHUcTO0mrXoBrMQ2LrVuRLCfUQz5Wh11W7BuT2uualV0-WVJWtgjQPgb4WWAV_YywWVaZ3qFEpZTuTK2KC1Q3J/s1600/12193677_10200869435294317_5562978187277006920_n.jpg

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"Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate. Only Love Can Do That", Dr. Martin Luther King.

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Posted by: Nzinink <nzinink@yahoo.com>

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30 Oct 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Rwandan Parliament Makes US Ally and Military Partner, Paul Kagame President for Life

http://www.globalresearch.ca/rwandan-parliament-makes-us-ally-and-military-partner-paul-kagame-president-for-life/5485374

Rwandan Parliament Makes US Ally and Military Partner, Paul Kagame President for Life

By Charles Kambanda

Global Research, October 29, 2015

Region: sub-Saharan Africa

Theme: Law and Justice

Rwanda has never, since its independence from Belgium, experienced peaceful transfer of power from one "elected" president to another. Each president that grabs power declares himself the only Rwandan capable of ruling. Each regime comes in power because they want to remove the dictator from power and hand the mantle of state power to " the people." Change from one regime to another has always been bloody in Rwanda.

In 1994 General Paul Kagame defeated General Habyarimana after a bloody four year civil war. General Habyarimana had made himself " the father of the nation" and an irreplaceable president of Rwanda. General Kagame and his RPF/A waged the 1990-1994 war because General Habyarimana had closed all the possible venues for peaceful transfer of power. General Kagame and his RPF/A sounded determined to hand power over to " the people" after the war. Over a million Rwandans perished during the war.

General Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) party: More of the same

After the war and massacres that brought Gen Kagame and his RPF/A into power, Gen Kagame's diagnosis of Rwanda's problem was " bad political leadership and clinging on to power. To address this problem, Gen Kagame and his RPF/A wrote the 2003 Rwanda Constitution. Article 101 of the 2003 Constitution provides, inter alia , " no person shall be president for more than two terms". Each term is 7 years under the 2003 Constitution of Rwanda.

Gen Kagame's second and last term under the 2003 constitution of Rwanda is due to expire in 2017. General Kagame claims that no Rwandan is capable of leading the country and " the people" need him to consolidate his "achievements".

Constitutional amendment to keep General Kagame in office:

In a bid to legitimize his broad scheme to cling to power, Paul Kagame deployed his brutal security apparatus, at all levels of his administration, to compel " the people" to petition Parliament to change the law regarding term limits. Millions of Rwandans, including those who cannot read and/or write, "wrote" to Parliament " begging" for a constitutional amendment. The General then instituted a " constitutional review commission" which " consulted" the people before Parliament passed the constitutional review proposal on October 28th, 2015.

The new law of the jungle:

Parliament approved various amendments including Article 167 which provides that: Considering the citizen petitions preceeding [preceding] the coming into force of this revised Constitution that were informed by the nation-building achievements and creation of a sustainable development foundation, the President of the Republic completing the term of office referred to in Paragraph One of this Article may be re-elected for a seven (7) years term of office. The President of the Republic who has completed the term of office of seven (7) years referred to in [ ...] this Article may be re-elected as provided for by Article 101 of this Constitution.

Article 168: Senators Senators in office at the time of commencement. Article 167 comes under a Section termed " Transitional Provisions".

Article 101 provides that " The President of the Republic is elected for a term of office of five (5) years. He/she may be re-elected only once."

A most unusual law:

Article 167 read together with Article 101 has many implications.

First, the "amendment " has created an exception for the current president and military commander of Rwanda. Article 101 will be shelved until after seven years – the exceptional term created for him after 2017 – when Kagame will start running for a five year term, renewable only once, giving Kagame a chance to rule for 17 years after 2017. This is confirmation that "some animals are more equal than others " in this Animal Farm, thereby rendering the constitutional principle of equality before the law null and void.

Second, the law does not mention whether or not, if Kagame died or otherwise becomes incapacitated after 2017 but before 2024, Article 101 would come into force immediately. In any case, a constitutional provision ( the proposed Article 101) that shall not come into force until after 7 years is a most unusual law.

Third, the amendment creates " transitional provisions" in a constitution without a provisional government. "Transitional provisions" without a transitional government prove that what Kagame's junta has completed is a constitutional coup, not an "amendment to the constitution," as they call it.

Charles Kambanda is a Rwandan American attorney, a former law professor at the National University of Rwanda, and an apostate member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, now living in exile in New York City.

The original source of this article is Global Research

Comment on Global Research Articles on our Facebook page

Become a Member of Global Research

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"Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate. Only Love Can Do That", Dr. Martin Luther King.

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Posted by: Nzinink <nzinink@yahoo.com>

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29 Oct 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Tanzania poll: John Magufuli of CCM defeats Edward Lowassa - BBC News

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34669468

John Magufuli of CCM defeats Edward Lowassa

CMM supp — Image captionCCM supporters are celebrating the news in Dar es Salaam

Tanzania's governing CCM party candidate John Magufuli has won the presidential election with 58% of the vote, the electoral commission says.

His main rival Edward Lowassa has rejected the official results that gave him 40% of the ballots cast.

The opposition Ukawa coalition candidate earlier claimed he had won with 62% of the vote.

The elections on Sunday were the most fierce the governing party faced after 54 years in power.

John Magufuli, CCM: 8,882,935 votes - 58.46%

Edward Lowassa, Ukawa: 6,072,848 votes - 39.97%

Africa Live: BBC news updates

In Zanzibar, elections for the semi-autonomous archipelago's parliament and president were annulled on Wednesday.

Zanzibar's election chief Jecha Salum Jecha said the poll had been marred by gross irregularities, including rigging and physical fights between rival election commissioners.

The BBC's Robert Kiptoo in Tanzania's main city of Dar es Salaam says CCM supporters who had gathered outside the party headquarters began celebrating when the result was announced.

President Jakaya Kikwete, who is standing down after two terms in office, retweeted a CCM photo of Mr Magufuli and the accompanying words: "Our next Commander-in-Chief, Dr John Pombe Magufuli, the President-elect of The United Republic of Tanzania."

Abdallah Safari, vice-president of Chadema, one of the four opposition parties that make up Ukama, told the BBC that Tanzanians "have been robbed of their victory".

European Union observers said that the elections were "generally well organised" but "with insufficient efforts at transparency from the election administrations".

Teams from the African Union and southern African regional body Sadc said that the vote had largely been "free and fair", despite all groups raising concerns over the subsequent annulment of Zanzibar's local elections.

Tanzania's next president: John Magufuli

John Magufuli, CCM party's presidential candidate in Tanzania - July 2015 — Image captionJohn Magufuli is known as "The Bulldozer"

Aged 55, currently works minister in Tanzania's government
Nicknamed "The Bulldozer" for driving a programme to build roads across the country
Has promised change and to improve on the pace of progress laid down by the previous CCM government
Pledged to end power shortages and exploit Tanzania's natural gas discoveries
"My government will put emphasis on fighting corruption, job creation and industrialisation," he said before the vote

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"Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate. Only Love Can Do That", Dr. Martin Luther King.

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Posted by: Nzinink <nzinink@yahoo.com>

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27 Oct 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Brussels: Day of reflection on Victoire Ingabire’s heroic sacrifice [Includes audio]

http://sfbayview.com/2015/10/day-of-reflection-on-victoire-ingabires-heroic-sacrifice/

Day of reflection on Victoire Ingabire's heroic sacrifice

October 26, 2015

by Ann Garrison

KPFA Weekend News broadcast

Supporters in Brussels, Belgium, of Rwandan political prisoner Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza reflected on the fifth anniversary of her arrest and imprisonment today.

Transcript

KPFA Weekend News Anchor Sharon Sobotta: This week marked the fifth anniversary of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza's arrest and imprisonment in Rwanda. Ingabire attempted to run for president, against incumbent Paul Kagame in 2010, and went to prison instead.

Gloria Ushema holds up her copy of Victoire Ingabire's book of prison notes.

Gloria Uwishema holds up her copy of Victoire Ingabire's book of prison notes.

Today supporters of Ingabire and freedom for all Rwandans and all peoples of the African Great Lakes Region gathered in Brussels, Belgium, for a day of reflection on the meaning of Victoire Ingabire's heroic sacrifice.

KPFA's Ann Garrison spoke to Gloria Uwishema, who traveled from the Netherlands to the event in Brussels.

KPFA/Ann Garrison: Could you tell us about the event in Brussels today?

Gloria Uwishema: The event of today was about remembering the five years that Victoire has been in prison in Kigali; and hundreds of people were present – and you could see her spirit was really alive, as everybody was interested in how she'd been surviving the last five years in prison.

And there were a lot of testimonies – how people lived with her before she left Holland to go back to Rwanda. And it was actually very touching and emotional and a big reminder of what she stands for.

KPFA: Do you have any news of Victoire's case at the African Court of Human and People's Rights?

Gloria Uwishema: Nothing new, actually. They didn't announce anything new. And the one thing that was brought to our attention was the book that she wrote from the prison, and it covered her experience for the first three years, because it was collected from the letters she was writing for the first three years up to now, actually, a little bit.

Since she got to Rwanda, how she's been followed and how the RPF government have tried to manipulate every situation to make it seem as if she has committed crimes. And the book ends when she encourages people to stay believing in what she left saying, as she knew what she was going to do.

And the biggest message that we got from her today was that, if today she was proposed to be free, just for the sake of being free, she would reject that because she has decided to only come out of prison when what she's fighting for has come to realization and that is freedom and freedom of speech of every Rwandan in Rwanda.

The event of today was about remembering the five years that Victoire has been in prison in Kigali; and hundreds of people were present – and you could see her spirit was really alive, as everybody was interested in how she'd been surviving the last five years in prison.

KPFA: Was Victoire's family there?

Gloria Uwishema: Yes, her husband was there and he took time to talk to people who were there. And it was a very, very emotional speech, as he reminded us that they have been together for 27 years. He reminded us that Victoire was in the Netherlands in '94 and she then managed to have a manifestation [demonstration]. The husband told us a story that she was standing at the Parliament and she was just with two friends, asking for people to have action to save Rwanda.

And he reminded us the story when her family joined her in the Netherlands; and the moment the journalists asked her if she was happy that her family was there, her first reaction was, "Yes, I am happy but I will never rest until every Rwandan has the right to live where they want to live and has the right to have an opinion."

And at that moment, her husband became very emotional and he said, "Kagame, you are threatened by a woman because you know yourself she's strong enough and stronger than you. If she was a weak person, you would not imprison her."

"I will never rest until every Rwandan has the right to live where they want to live and has the right to have an opinion."

And in closing, he requested from everybody who was there to please always remember and support the wife who he has accepted that today she's no longer just a wife or a mother but a hero to every Rwandan who needs freedom for his country.

KPFA: And that was Gloria Uwishema, the Rwandan Dutch representative of the International Womens' Network for Democracy and Peace based in Brussels, Belgium.

In Berkeley, for Pacifica, KPFA and AfrobeatRadio, I'm Ann Garrison.

Oakland writer Ann Garrison writes for the San Francisco Bay View, Black Agenda Report, Black Star News, Counterpunch and her own website, Ann Garrison, and produces for AfrobeatRadio on WBAI-NYC, KPFA Evening News, KPFA Flashpoints and for her own YouTube Channel, AnnieGetYourGang. She can be reached at anniegarrison@gmail.com. In March 2014 she was awarded the Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize for promoting peace in the Great Lakes Region of Africa through her reporting.

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Posted by: JNepo <jnmani03@yahoo.com>

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Rwanda History

Pages

31 Oct 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Fw: [haguruka.com] Rwandan Parliament Makes US Ally and Military Partner, Paul Kagame President for Life

Rwandan Parliament Makes US Ally and Military Partner, Paul Kagame President for Life

[AfricaRealities.com] Rwanda: President Paul Kagame's comment on Tanzanian Elections

30 Oct 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Rwandan Parliament Makes US Ally and Military Partner, Paul Kagame President for Life

Rwandan Parliament Makes US Ally and Military Partner, Paul Kagame President for Life

29 Oct 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Tanzania poll: John Magufuli of CCM defeats Edward Lowassa - BBC News

John Magufuli of CCM defeats Edward Lowassa

27 Oct 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Brussels: Day of reflection on Victoire Ingabire’s heroic sacrifice [Includes audio]

Day of reflection on Victoire Ingabire's heroic sacrifice

Transcript

The event of today was about remembering the five years that Victoire has been in prison in Kigali; and hundreds of people were present – and you could see her spirit was really alive, as everybody was interested in how she'd been surviving the last five years in prison.

"I will never rest until every Rwandan has the right to live where they want to live and has the right to have an opinion."