22 Dec 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on Rwandan Constitutional Referendum | whitehouse.gov

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/12/19/statement-nsc-spokesperson-ned-price-rwandan-constitutional-referendum
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The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
December 19, 2015
Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on Rwandan Constitutional Referendum
The United States is disappointed that a referendum was called on short notice to amend the Rwandan constitution and introduce exceptions to term limits. While we commend the people of Rwanda for peacefully exercising their civic rights, we regret that the arrangements for the referendum failed to provide sufficient time and opportunity for political debate on the merits of the proposed provisions.
The United States continues to be concerned by long-standing restrictions on peaceful assembly, association, and free expression in Rwanda. We urge the Government of Rwanda to enable the full and unfettered exercise of these fundamental freedoms as the country moves toward local elections in 2016, presidential elections in 2017, and parliamentary elections in 2018.
The peaceful transfer of power from one leader to another is the hallmark of stable, prosperous democracies. President Kagame, who in many ways has strengthened and developed Rwanda, now has an historic opportunity to enshrine his legacy by honoring his commitments to respect the term limits set when he entered office. By doing so, President Kagame would establish a credible foundation for democracy in Rwanda, reinforce the substantial progress that has been achieved towards sustained peace and prosperity for all Rwandans, and set a laudable example not only for Rwanda, but for the region and the world.
As President Obama has stated, great leaders throughout history "forged a lasting legacy not only because of what they did in office, but because they were willing to leave office and transfer power peacefully." The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Rwanda in their effort to ensure a strong, stable, democratic, and prosperous future.
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Posted by: Nzinink <nzinink@yahoo.com>

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21 Dec 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] UN Appoints Rwandan General as Head of Darfur Peacekeeping Despite His Senior Rank During Rwandan-Backed Rebellion in Congo | Foreign Policy Journal

"

Africa · News & Analysis
UN Appoints Rwandan General as Head of Darfur Peacekeeping Despite His Senior Rank During Rwandan-Backed Rebellion in Congo

by Judi Rever December 19, 2015 2 Comments
This is not the first dubious appointment of Rwandan generals to major UN peacekeeping operations.

Army chief of staff Major General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi lays a foundation stone for a health center in Mubare, Rwanda (Rwanda Government)

The United Nations has hired a Rwandan general to head a peacekeeping force in Darfur, despite his previous role as army chief of staff at the height of a deadly, Rwandan-backed insurgency in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
On Monday the United Nations and the African Union jointly announced that Rwandan Lieutenant General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi had been appointed force commander of UNAMID, a hybrid mission that provides security and humanitarian assistance in war torn Sudan.
The decision was taken despite General Kamanzi having served as one of the most senior military figures in Rwanda when the country supplied troops and weapons to a brutal militia in eastern Congo.
General Kamanzi was named army chief of staff in July 2012, just as Rwanda stepped up efforts to recruit soldiers, including children, and provide arms, ammunition and fighters for the M23, which was eventually routed by a UN intervention brigade.

Kamanzi was responsible for 'command, control and management' of Rwandan army services when M23 militia members were accused of the worst atrocities. At the time, M23 members slaughtered and raped Congolese civilians, and pillaged a string of communities in the DRC, according to Human Rights Watch and UN staff.
One of the militia's warlords, Bosco Ntaganda, is now facing war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court.
In November 2012, the UN's Group of Experts concluded that "Rwandan officials exercised overall command and strategic planning for M23." Their report said Rwanda clearly violated the arms embargo and sanctions regime.
Despite these findings and General Kamanzi's senior position during that period, the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) said Friday he was properly screened and the UN did not have any specific information on him breaking international or humanitarian law.
"In line with the 2012 policy on Human Rights screening of UN personnel for senior appointments, the UN screened Lt Gen Mushyo Frank Kamanzi, the recommended candidate for the post of Force Commander for UNAMID, against available information from throughout the UN system" a UN peacekeeping official said.
"In the absence of specific information on Lt Gen Kamanzi's involvement in violations of international human rights or humanitarian law, DPKO recommended the candidate for appointment. As per standard practice, if anyone has further information, we ask them to share it with the UN," the official added.
DPKO relies in part on the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to conduct its screening for candidates.
Requests for a comment from the OHCHR this week went unanswered.
This is not the first dubious appointment of Rwandan generals to major UN peacekeeping operations.
From 2009 until 2013, Rwandan General Patrick Nyamvumba served as UNAMID force commander, despite evidence gathered at a UN tribunal that he headed a death squad targeting Hutu civilians during the genocide.
"Nyamvumba should have been charged with war crimes," a former investigator with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) told this journalist.
"Many people gave testimony against him. We had enough evidence to indict him 25 times over."
"We were told to stop our investigations," he said. "The United Nations and the ICTR were all about politics," he lamented.
Nyamvumba ran the notorious Training Wing during the genocide and reported directly to Paul Kagame, head of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPA) and now president.
The ICTR investigator called Kagame's army 'highly disciplined.'
"Nothing was done by the RPA or by any soldier that was not approved by 'number 1,'" he said, referring to the president.
"Kagame is ready to kill any Hutu. But anyone else who gets in his way or bothers him will disappear," said the former investigator, who worked on major ICTR cases prosecuting Hutu génocidaires and for the Special Investigations Unit that probed RPA crimes.
Another Rwandan general hired to head a UN force in Mali, has also been linked to war crimes committed against civilians.
Former colleagues said Major General Jean Bosco Kazura, who served as force commander of the UN stabilization mission MINUSMA until December 2014, was deputy commander of Nyamvumba's death squad that operated in the prefectures of Byumba and Kibungo during the genocide in areas cleared of former Rwandan Hutu army forces.
Under their supervision, thousands of Hutu men, women and children were rounded up and murdered, some dumped in mass graves and others brought to Akagera National Park where they were burned and incinerated, according to testimony from former Tutsi officers.
The officers said that after the genocide, Generals Nyamvumba and Kazura also oversaw the transport of Hutu male recruits from all areas of Rwanda to killing grounds near the Gabiro training barracks and in other areas of Akagera Park, which were off limits to NGOs and UN personnel.
In 2008, UN peacekeeping came under fire for renewing the contract of Lieutenant General Emmanuel Karenzi Karake as deputy commander of UNAMID, months after he'd been indicted by Spain in a case of universal jurisdiction. The Spanish court charged Karake with war crimes and genocide committed in Rwanda and the DRC when he headed Kagame's Directorate of Military Intelligence from 1994 until 1997.
Rwanda, Paul Kagame, Congo, UN
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Qouted From: UN Appoints Rwandan General as Head of Darfur Peacekeeping Despite His Senior Rank During Rwandan-Backed Rebellion in Congo | Foreign Policy Journal
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2015/12/19/un-appoints-rwandan-general-as-head-of-darfur-peacekeeping/

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Posted by: Nzinink <nzinink@yahoo.com>

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20 Dec 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Fw: DHR USA: " Paul KAGAME MUST GO". " Paul KAGAME, STOP TRAINING AND ARMING THE BURUNDIAN REBELLION"

USA: " Paul KAGAME MUST GO". " Paul KAGAME, STOP TRAINING AND ARMING THE BURUNDIAN REBELLION" http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/press-release/chairman-royce-statement-rwanda-referendum

Chairman Royce Statement on Rwanda Referendum

Media Contact 202-225-5021

DEC 18, 2015

Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) released the following statement on today's constitutional referendum in Rwanda that would allow President Kagame to remain in office through 2034:

"This referendum is a big step backward for democracy. President Kagame's move toward a third term, persisting human rights abuses, and Rwanda's recruitment and arming of refugees to sow strife in the tinderbox that is neighboring Burundi are damaging Rwanda's story of recovery and rebuilding from the horrific genocide 20 years ago.

"At his remarks to the African Union this summer, President Obama addressed the situation directly when he said 'nobody should be president for life… your country is better off if you have new blood and new ideas.' Other African leaders will now be watching to see how the Obama administration and President Kagame's powerful friends around the world respond."

NOTE: Last year, Chairman Royce urged Secretary Kerry to reevaluate U.S. engagement with Rwanda – including future assistance – in light of numerous attempted attacks and killings of Rwandan dissidents and exiles speaking out against the Kagame regime.

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Posted by: Alfred Nganzo <alfrednganzo@yahoo.com>

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[AfricaRealities.com] African leaders who won't stand down

African leaders who won't stand down

BOOKMARK

PRINTRATING

Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has now led Congo-Brazzaville for more than 31 years, and Paul Kagame, Rwanda's head of state since 1994

By AFP

Posted Sunday, December 20 2015 at 13:53

Even the fate of Blaise Compaore, who was ousted after a bloody uprising in 2014 after 27 years as president of Burkina Faso, has not been enough to deter other African leaders from clinging to power long after their constitutions demanded they go.
In 2015, two African presidents amended their constitutions to allow them to seek another term -- or more.

Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has now led Congo-Brazzaville for more than 31 years, and Paul Kagame, Rwanda's head of state since 1994, both ordered referendums which will allow them to run again in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
In neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila is due to stand down in 2016 after 15 years at the helm, but fears are mounting he too could stay on as the country endures a period of uncertainty.

The president has shown no sign of preparing to leave office and is now calling for a "national dialogue" to allow for a peaceful vote. Opponents view the demands as a trap, which could allow his supporters to put off polls for two to four years until they can organise "credible" elections.

Meanwhile, to the east of the DR Congo, Burundi has been in crisis since April, when president Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term in a move that even some in his own camp judged unconstitutional.
The situation deteriorated when Nkurunziza was re-elected in July, on a ballot that was boycotted by the opposition. The country has since spiralled into violence and there are fears in the international community this could break out into genocide.

"The limit of two presidential terms in African constitutions goes back to the late 1990s," said Thierry Vircoulon, associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
"It was a lesson drawn from (the results of) autocratic regimes and presidency for life," he told AFP.

- Testing the limits -But these limits were quickly broken, beginning with Togo in 2002, followed by Chad and Uganda in 2005, where Idriss Deby Itno and Yoweri Museveni have been in power since 1990 and 1986 respectively.
Constitutions in Angola, Djibouti and Cameroon have also been changed to allow incumbents to stay in power, as well as in Zimbabwe, where 91-year-old Robert Mugabe has been president since 1980.

"The basic tendency (in central Africa) over the last few years has not between towards greater democracy, but in the opposite direction," said Vircoulon.
"Civil wars and peace agreements have not changed the way of doing politics in these countries," he added.
But this has not been the case everywhere on the continent.
In Burkina Faso, it was Compaore's attempts to change the constitution which led to a popular uprising and pushed him into exile in October 2014.

After a year which saw an attempted putsch, the people of Burkina Faso in November elected a new president in polls which were judged to be transparent and credible.
In Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, Muhammadu Buhari's victory in March presidential elections led to the first democratic transfer of power in the country's history.
In a recent note, however, strategic consulting firm Control Risks said it was "unlikely" the changes in Burkina Faso and Nigeria would bring about others elsewhere in Africa in 2016

African leaders who won't stand down



				African leaders who won't stand down Even the fate of Blaise Compaore, who was ousted after a bloody uprising in 2014 after 27 years as president of Burkina Faso, has not been enough to deter other Afr...

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Posted by: Alfred Nganzo <alfrednganzo@yahoo.com>

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22 Dec 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on Rwandan Constitutional Referendum | whitehouse.gov

Briefing Room

Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on Rwandan Constitutional Referendum

21 Dec 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] UN Appoints Rwandan General as Head of Darfur Peacekeeping Despite His Senior Rank During Rwandan-Backed Rebellion in Congo | Foreign Policy Journal

UN Appoints Rwandan General as Head of Darfur Peacekeeping Despite His Senior Rank During Rwandan-Backed Rebellion in Congo

20 Dec 2015

[AfricaRealities.com] Fw: DHR USA: " Paul KAGAME MUST GO". " Paul KAGAME, STOP TRAINING AND ARMING THE BURUNDIAN REBELLION"

Chairman Royce Statement on Rwanda Referendum

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[AfricaRealities.com] African leaders who won't stand down

African leaders who won't stand down