A Candle For Remembering
May this memorial candle lights up the historical past of our beloved Country: Rwanda, We love U so much. If Tears could build a stairway. And memories were a lane. I would walk right up to heaven. To bring you home again. No farewell words were spoken. No time to say goodbye. You were gone before I knew it And. Only Paul Kagame knows why. My heart still aches with sadness. And secret tears still flow. What It meant to lose you. No one will ever know.
Why did Kagame this to me?
Can't forget. He murdered my mother. What should be my reaction? FYI: the number of orphans in Rwanda has skyrocketed since the 1990's Kagame's invasion. Much higher numbers of orphans had and have no other option but joining FDLR fighters who are identified as children that have Lost their Parents in Kagame's Wars inside and outside of Rwanda.If someone killed your child/spouse/parent(s) would you seek justice or revenge? Deep insight: What would you do to the person who snuffed the life of someone I love beyond reason? Forgiving would bring me no solace. If you take what really matters to me, I will show you what really matters. NITUTIRWANAHO TUZASHIRA. IGIHE KIRAGEZE.If democracy is to sell one's motherland(Africa), for some zionits support, then I prefer the person who is ready to give all his live for his motherland. Viva President Putin!!!
RPF committed the unspeakable
The perverted RPF committed the UNSPEAKABLE.Two orphans, both against the Nazi world. Point is the fact that their parents' murder Kagame & his RPF held no shock in the Western world. Up to now, the Rwandan Hitler Kagame and his death squads still enjoy impunity inside and outside of Rwanda. What goes through someone's mind as they know RPF murdered their parents? A delayed punishment is actually an encouragement to crime, In Praise of the ongoing Bloodshed in Rwanda. “I always think I am a pro-peace person but if someone harmed someone near and dear to me, I don't think I could be so peaceful. I would like to believe that to seek justice could save millions of people living the African Great Lakes Region - I would devote myself to bringing the 'perp' along to a non-happy ending but would that be enough? You'd have to be in the situation I suppose before you could actually know how you would feel or what you would do”. Jean-Christophe Nizeyimana, Libre Penseur
Hutu Children & their Mums
Look at them ! How they are scared to death. Many Rwandan Hutu and Tutsi, Foreign human rights advocates, jounalists and and lawyers are now on Death Row Waiting to be murdered by Kagame and his RPF death squads. Be the last to know.
Almighty God :Justice for US
Hutu children's daily bread: Intimidation, Slavery, Sex abuses led by RPF criminals and Kagame, DMI: Every single day, there are more assassinations, imprisonment, brainwashing & disappearances. Do they have any chance to end this awful life?
Killing Hutus on daily basis
RPF targeted killings, very often in public areas. Killing Hutus on daily basis by Kagame's murderers and the RPF infamous death squads known as the "UNKNOWN WRONGDOERS"
RPF Trade Mark: Akandoya
Rape, torture and assassination and unslaving of hutu women. Genderside: Rape has always been used by kagame's RPF as a Weapon of War, the killings of Hutu women with the help of Local Defense Forces, DMI and the RPF military
The Torture in Rwanda flourishes
How torture flourishes across Rwanda despite extensive global monitoring
Fighting For Our Freedom?
We need Freedom, Liberation of our fatherland, Human rights respect, Mutual respect between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority
Saturday, June 5, 2010
05-06-2010
Filed under: Africa, Human Rights/Free Speech
On Friday, American lawyer and law professor Peter Erlinder was arrested in Rwanda. His alleged crime is “genocide denial”, one of a set of offenses prosecutable in Rwanda under the 2008 “Law Relating to the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Ideology”. That law has been used to subject Erlinder’s client, opposition presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire, to house arrest since shortly after her return to Rwanda from the Netherlands. Erlinder knew that he was risking arrest in coming to Rwanda – he has been a fierce critic of President Kagame’s administration, is representing accused genocidaire Major Aloys Ntabakuze at the international tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania, and warned the US State Department and the Minnesota congressional delegation before making the trip. Rwanda is a fascinating and divisive place for people concerned with the future of Africa. For some, the country is a model of stability, economic growth and the empowerment of women. Michael Fairbanks, economic advisor to the Kagame government and influential management consultant, offers a passionate defense for the direction of the country in a recent column… so passionate that it appears to accuse of racism anyone who disagrees with his interpretation.
On the other hand, human rights and press freedom organizations have expressed concerns for years that Rwanda has been functioning as a one party state, putting insurmountable obstacles in the path of opposition parties and silencing independent media. This pressure appears to be increasing in the lead up to August presidential elections – in recent months, Rwanda has suspended two independent newspapers, forced a Human Rights Watch researcher out of the country, arrested an opposition leader and prevented two opposition parties from registering from participating in the election. These recent actions led US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson to comment earlier this week on the “worrying actions” taken by the Rwandan government.
I was last in Rwanda in 2002, helping Geekcorps set up a program to provide assistance to a Kigali-based technology firm which had been contracted to build a database to schedule and manage the Gacaca court system. What I remember most from visit was the way in which the genocide would creep into conversations at unexpected intervals. Coming into Kigali from Butare, my driver stopped at a shop on the outskirts of town, went inside and quickly returned with a frilly pink girl’s dress. I asked him how many children he had, and his response – “six – two of my own, and four of my brother’s who escaped the genocide” – quickly turned into a harrowing tale of searching for his nieces and nephews as they hid in the jungle. The genocide is still recent, raw history for everyone in the country, and it’s possible to understand why – given the role of the media in instigating violence – the Kagame government would seek to keep ethnic divisions out of media and politics.
There’s a fine line between preventing incitement to violence and silencing legitimate speech… and it’s not clear to me that the Kagame government has been on the right side of that line. In 2007, Michael Kavanagh reported for On The Media about a Rwandan radio soap opera – Musekeweya – which talks about the tensions between two villages, which are perpetually on the verge of mass violence. The parallels to Hutu/Tutsi conflict are apparent to everyone listening to the show (as much as 80% of the country), but the show stays out of trouble with the authorities by never explicitly mentioning Hutus or Tutsis.
More explicit dialog about what happened between Hutus and Tutsis in 1994 is now complicated by the 2008 Genocide Ideology Law, which is broad, vague and terrifies human rights and freedom of expression organizations. Article XIX released a detailed comment on the new law which reads, in part:
the definition of “genocide ideology” violates international law on genocide and “hate speech” in multiple ways. Furthermore, the system of penalties also breaches international human rights law, particularly with respect to children. We contend that the law is so contrary to international human rights law and humanitarian values that it is fundamentally flawed.
And this law now appears to be a useful tool for challenging political participation. When Victoire Ingabire returned to Rwanda, she visited the genocide memorial museum in Kigali and questioned why it didn’t commemorate any of the Hutus who died in the violence. This question led Kagame’s foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo to characterize Ingabire’s actions as “very deliberate, controversial ethnic politics, this woman really has a genocidal ideology”.
In interviews with US and UK media, Ingabire seems pretty far from expressing support for genocide – her issue appears to be the governments’ unwillingness to address violence against Hutu by Kagame’s conquering RFP army. In an interview today with the New York Times about the arrest of her lawyer, she said, “There was a genocide against the Tutsi, but there were also crimes against humanity, and Kagame doesn’t like to talk about that.”
I’ve been looking for information online today about Peter Erlinder, to get a sense for why the Rwandan government would risk a diplomatic conflict with the US over his arrest. In the process, I’ve been thinking a lot about a conversation I had yesterday with Jay Rosen about the role of explanatory journalism. Jay points out that, in a hyperlinked age, we can do ever so much better than providing a “nut graph”, a single paragraph designed to put a complex breaking story into context. Instead, we can link to careful, thoughtful background material designed to give deep explanation a story and create an appetite for more breaking news on said story. (Jay’s post on the idea of the National Explainer is very much worth reading.)
To understand Erlinder and his arrest, one needs deep explainers on the Rwandan genocide, the prosecution of instigators, the role of the UK, US and France and on alternative narratives for what happened in 1994 and immediately before and after. I’m not able to offer those deep explanations, but I’ll point to what I’ve found.
The William Mitchell College of Law offers strong support for their arrested faculty member and points out that, “Prof. Erlinder exemplifies the great tradition of lawyers who take on the representation of unpopular clients and causes.” The president of the National Lawyers Guild – which Erlinder presided over from 1993-97 – uses similar language to defend Erlinder as “a vigorous advocate in his representation of [Victoire Ingabire].”
It’s not quite that simple. Erlinder isn’t just defending an opposition politician – he’s been a critic of the history of the 1994 conflict and an advocate for an explanation of the Rwandan genocide that puts a great deal of the blame on the shoulders of Paul Kagame. In a commentary in Jurist, a website from University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law, Erlinder argues that Kagame was responsible for triggering the genocide by arranging the assassination of Rwanda’s president Juvénal Habyarimana and that Kagame’s troops killed tens of thousands of Hutu civilians in eastern Rwanda as they entered the country. He further asserts that a US/UK coverup has surpressed evidence about Kagame’s role in Habyarimana’s death, in part because the US wanted Kagame to take over the country and supported his rise to power. Some of what Erlinder asserts is consonant with an emerging understanding of what occurred in 1994 – human rights activist Alison Des Forges, who wrote what is considered the definitive account of the Rwandan genocide before her untimely death, had also criticized Kagame’s RPF for massacres of civilians in 1994 and for subsequent attacks on civilians and refugees in DRCongo… she had been banned from entering the country by the Kagame government. Other of Erlinder’s assertions – the US/UK coverup, notably – are strongly disputed. Erlinder attributes some of what he asserts about the coverup to Clinton administration official J. Brian Atwood, who strongly disputes Erlinder’s account of events.
Erlinder’s case relies on documents he had access to as a defense attorney at the international tribunal, on the unpublished Gersony Report, which (allegedly – the report has never been released and the author refuses to discuss the contents) reported attacks by Kagame’s RPF on civilians, and on statements from Carla Del Ponte, the outspoken ICTR prosecutor who raised questions about Kagame’s role in the 1994 genocide before complaints from the Kagame government led to her replacement. (The Rwandan government complained that prosecution of perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide was too important to be a part time job for a European prosecutor also tasked with prosecuting Yugoslav war criminals. Del Ponte believed that she was removed from the post when she announced her intention to prosecute Kagame.) The Rwanda Documents Project, an online archive of legal documents and opinion pieces from Professor Erlinder, offers an introduction to Erlinder’s arguments and supporting documents.
When I refer to Erlinder’s “case”, I mean that literally. Erlinder and other lawyers attempted to serve President Kagame with a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the widows of former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira when Kagame gave the commencement address at Oklahoma Christian University.
In other words, Erlinder had to know he’d be arrested when he came to Rwanda. The open question was whether his arrest would a) cause a diplomatic rift between the US and Rwanda, b) draw attention to Rwanda’s repressive speech and political environment and c) open discussion about the “received history” of the Rwanda genocide. So far, only b) seems to be coming into play. The Wall Street Journal wrote a helpful, if dismissive, editorial about Erlinder’s arrest, which advocates for his release while noting that: “Mr. Erlinder’s views seem foolish, offensive, and ultimately unhelpful to the cause of liberty he claims to champion. But therein lies the test of the free society: Tolerance of the foolish, the offensive, and even the unhelpful.” In other words, they’re putting Erlinder in the same bin as John Yettaw. (As of today, the US State Department has stated that they’re aware of Erlinder’s arrest, but said nothing beyond that statement.)
An “explainer” that puts Erlinder’s actions and motivations in context is no easy thing to provide. It needs to address the current elections, Rwanda’s political and speech environment, the conduct of the RPF in taking over the country in 1994, and, ultimately, the controversy over Habyarimana’s assassination. For a sense for just how fraught that last topic is, it’s instructive to look at this section on Wikipedia – it offers links to the three major theories offered for the assassination, which blame Hutu extremists, Kagame and the RPF and the French government. Each theory has its supporters, and the RPF/Kagame theory that Erlinder supports has the backing of French anti-terrorist magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière, who has issued arrest warrants for senior Kagame officials so they can be questioned about he case. (Needless to say, the Rwandan government and others cite reports that contradict Bruguière’s findings.)
Is Erlinder an unhelpful fool, as the WSJ asserts? A conspiracy theorist, as the Rwandan government alleges? A brave activist committed to uncovering the truth and righting an important historical wrong? Perhaps this is where we have to accept the limits of journalism and wait for the verdict of historians. BBC journalist Marc Doyle suggests that determining who assassinated Habyarimana could be “one of the great mysteries of the late 20th Century.” But if we’re going to understand Erlinder’s arrest, we need someone to explain, at minimum, the controversy and what Rwanda’s – and eventually, the US’s – reaction means.
© Source
The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a "time", yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverine
Friday, June 4, 2010
Posted on June 3, 2010 by sunkissed
I’m assuming Kagame and company, along with all his other sympathizers and apologists are celebrating the arrest of American lawyer, human rights champion, husband, and father, Professor Peter Erlinder. While this may seem like a hard blow to all human rights activists out there, do not fret. Professor Erlinder sacrificed himself for his cause. He knew Rwanda was hostile towards him, but he believed so strongly and so fiercely in his work, that he undertook the defense of victimized but resilient Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, despite the potential consequences.
Peter Erlinder knows he has broken through a manufactured and impenetrable level of obstruction created to protect Kagame and his aids. Through total commitment and perseverance, Peter discovered a central and hidden key truth that exposed the gross human rights violations, and life destruction committed by Kagame in the Great Lakes Region of Africa but also exposed those who helped Kagame make it a reality. Peter, through a fierce battle, continues to commit himself and his life to what he knows is the truth, and he is being punished for it.
And not punished for exposing the truth, but punished so that the real evil culprits continue to roam the world with impunity.
While they celebrate however, I hope the world takes note on what kind of person Kagame truly is, and how cruel and insidious he is. His true colors are showing, creating a perfect opportunity to open up dialogue and discuss frankly what happened in Rwanda in 1994 and for goodness sakes STOP PROTECTING AND REWARDING A CRIMINAL. The truth is, Kagame was no savior but an aggressor. He killed millions of people, and millions more died as a result of his aggression. Kagame should be charged and jailed for genocide crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide ideology. Holding Peter Erlinder hostage is his only way out of a conundrum he created around himself. But it’s only an illusion.
Through a tactical error, Kagame placed himself at a strict disadvantage by committing the first act of aggression. And this has always been Kagame’s way; committing the first act of aggression. He attacked a peaceful nation (twice – Rwanda and Congo), assassinated two Presidents (Rwandan and Burundian), and jailed Peter Erlinder unprovoked, as Peter was there to work on a human rights case for Victoire Umuhoza. And the publicity could not come at a worst time for Kagame.
So have your short lived “victory” enemies of peace, but it will be over in the blink of an eye. Should anything happen to Peter Erlinder under your watch, beware. The world is tuned in, watching your every move, analyzing your every word, and getting educated on the Professors work. So beware, should anything happen to the professor, you will only be immortalizing him in martyrdom, expediting your own self destruction.
It’s disappointing that the US government is not doing more to demand Peter Erlinder’s freedom. However, as difficult as it may be for all peace loving people out there to imagine, there is a silver lining in all of this. While they celebrate however, I hope the world takes note on what kind of person Kagame truly is, and how cruel and insidious he is. His true colors are showing, creating a perfect opportunity to open up dialogue and discuss frankly what happened in Rwanda in 1994 and for goodness sakes STOP PROTECTING AND REWARDING A CRIMINAL. The truth is, Kagame was no savior but an aggressor. He killed millions of people, and millions more died as a result of his aggression. Kagame should be charged and jailed for genocide crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide ideology. Holding Peter Erlinder hostage is his only way out of a conundrum he created around himself. But it’s only an illusion.
Through a tactical error, Kagame placed himself at a strict disadvantage by committing the first act of aggression. And this has always been Kagame’s way; committing the first act of aggression. He attacked a peaceful nation (twice – Rwanda and Congo), assassinated two Presidents (Rwandan and Burundian), and jailed Peter Erlinder unprovoked, as Peter was there to work on a human rights case for Victoire Umuhoza. And the publicity could not come at a worst time for Kagame.
So have your short lived “victory” enemies of peace, but it will be over in the blink of an eye. Should anything happen to Peter Erlinder under your watch, beware. The world is tuned in, watching your every move, analyzing your every word, and getting educated on the Professors work. So beware, should anything happen to the professor, you will only be immortalizing him in martyrdom, expediting your own self destruction.
Peter is a people’s champion. Working against an institutional oppression designed to maintain inequality and exploitation. His courage to attack such a pervasive an insidious institution, also known as Kagame, empowers other victims around the world, formerly petrified of speaking out to raise their voices in unison and defend their beloved human rights idol. People have the courage to denounce, and challenge fabricated stories that perpetuate the destruction of human life, all because Peter Erlinder dared to raise his voice.
So do not fret. Kagame has awakened a sleeping beast, and the movement to expose him, and to bring him to justice is only getting started. He has no idea what he has done.
We stand with you Professor. In solidarity. For peace. For Human Rights. For truth.
© World Press.com
The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a "time", yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverine
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAWYERS
UNION INTERNACIONAL DE ABOGADOS
INTERNATIONALE ANWALTSUNION
UNIONE INTERNAZIONALE DEGLI AVVOCATI
UNIÃO INTERNACIONAL DE ADVOGADOS
The UIA requests the immediate release of Professor Erlinder and that all charges against him be dropped
The UIA has learned of the arrest of Peter Erlinder on 28 May 2010. Peter Erlinder is a US law professor and attorney, who is also the president of an association of defence lawyers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He was detained while in Rwanda to defend Ms Victoire Ingabire, a candidate in the presidential elections of 9 August 2010. Ms Ingabire is under arrest and has been charged with "denying genocide, ethnic divisionism and terrorism".
Professor Erlinder is also accused of denying genocide. The UIA denounces this arrest.
Professor Erlinder was in Rwanda to advise Ms Victoire Ingabire and to assist her with her defence. In this context, he must benefit from the protection that results from the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990.
Moreover, the UIA wishes to emphasise that the Rwandan law of 23 July 2008 against genocidal ideology is widely open to criticism in that it allows charges to be brought against acts that are part of freedom of expression, as protected by several international conventions to which Rwanda is a party, such as, in particular, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The UIA therefore requests the immediate release of Professor Peter Erlinder and that all charges against him be dropped.About the Union Internationale des Avocats
The Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA - International Association of Lawyers) was founded in 1927 and is the oldest professional association, with several thousand individual members, as well as more than 200 bar associations, federations and organisations (representing nearly two million lawyers) from over 110 countries.
The main objectives of the UIA are to promote the basic principles of the legal profession; to contribute to the establishment of an international legal order based on the principles of human rights and justice among nations, through the law and for the cause of peace; to defend the moral and material interests of members of the legal profession.
For more information: http://dlh.uianet.org
uiacentre@uianet.org
Press contact:
Marie-Pierre LIENARD, Communication Officer mplienard@uianet.org
Julie GOFFIN, Human Rights and Defence of the Defence Co-ordinator / Permanent Representative at the International Organisations jgoffin@uianet.org
Union Internationale des Avocats
25 rue du Jour - 75001 Paris - France
Tel : +33 1 44 88 55 66 - Fax : +33 1 44 88 55 77
E-mail : uiacentre@uianet.org
www.uianet.org
Related articles:
- Congress.org I am writing about the arrest of Prof. Peter Erlinder in Rwanda last Friday morning.
- National Lawyers Guild demands Immediate release of Peter Erlinder, vigorous legal advocate arrested in Rwanda
- HRRF Press Release on Peter Erlinder Arrest in Kigali
- Rwanda: Release Peter Erlinder now.
- Statement from President and Dean Eric S. Janus on Prof. Peter Erlinder’s arrest in Rwanda
- Green Party Condemns Rwanda's Arrest of Minnesota Attorney Peter Erlinder
stroyed. ==> Wolverine
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
01-06-2010
Appel à la libération immédiate et sans condition de Peter Erlinder, avocat américain arrêté à Kigali le 28 mai 2010
France - L’Observatoire International des Avocats exprime sa plus vive préoccupation concernant l’arrestation de l’avocat Peter Erlinder à Kigali, capitale du Rwanda, et appelle à sa libération immédiate et sans condition.
DESCRIPTION DE LA SITUATION
Peter Erlinder a été arrêté vendredi 28 mai 2010 pour « occultation et négation du génocide des Tutsi » perpétré en 1994, selon ce qu’ont annoncé le parquet général et la police.
Aux termes d'une loi votée en 2003 au Rwanda, « toute personne jugée coupable d'avoir nié ou minimisé de façon grossière le génocide, d'avoir tenté de justifier le génocide ou détruit des preuves afférentes est passible d'une peine allant de dix à vingt ans de prison ». Son interpellation est survenue quelques jours après que le gouvernement américain ait exprimé ses craintes quant à la liberté d'expression au Rwanda à l'approche du scrutin présidentiel du mois d'août, comme l'ont déjà fait des ONG de défense des droits de l'homme.
En effet, mardi 25 mai 2010, le secrétaire d’Etat adjoint aux Affaires africaines, Johnnie Carson a affirmé devant une commission parlementaire à Washington qu’« en quelques mois, le gouvernement a suspendu deux journaux, annulé le permis de travail et refusé le visa à une chercheuse de Human Rights Watch, et arrêté (puis libéré conditionnellement) la dirigeante de l'opposition Victoire Ingabire ».
APPEL DE L’OBSERVATOIRE INTERNATIONAL DES AVOCATS
L’Observatoire rappelle que l’indépendance des avocats est l’un des principaux baromètres de la démocratie et de l’effectivité de l’Etat de droit. Il attire l’attention des autorités rwandaises sur les Principes de base relatifs au rôle du barreau, qui ont été adoptés par le huitième Congrès des Nations Unies pour la prévention du crime et le traitement des délinquants qui s’est tenu à la Havane (Cuba) du 27 août au 27 septembre 1990.
Principe n°16 :
« Les pouvoirs publics veillent à ce que les avocats a) puissent s’acquitter de toutes leurs fonctions professionnelles sans entrave, intimidation, harcèlement ni ingérence indue ; b) puissent voyager et consulter leurs clients librement , dans le pays comme à l’étranger ; et c) ne fassent pas l’objet, ni ne soient menacés de poursuites ou de sanctions économiques ou autres pour toutes mesures prises conformément à leurs obligations et normes professionnelles reconnues et à leur déontologie. »
L’OBSERVATOIRE INTERNATIONAL DES AVOCATS DEMANDE :
A l’Organisation des Nations Unies, à la Commission européenne et aux autres organisations Internationales, d’intervenir d’urgence auprès des autorités nationales rwandaises afin d’obtenir la libération immédiate de Peter Erlinder et la garantie en toutes circonstances que les avocats rwandais et étrangers peuvent librement exercer leur mission de défense au Rwanda.
Aux autorités rwandaises, la remise en liberté immédiate et sans condition de Peter Erlinder. Les autorités rwandaises se doivent de garantir en toute circonstance qu’aucun avocat ne peut être poursuivi en raison des causes qu’il défend.
Aux ordres professionnels et organisations d’avocats, d’apporter leur soutien à la demande de libération de Peter Erlinder et de réaffirmer ainsi l’indépendance de l’avocat, celui-ci ne pouvant en aucun cas être assimilé à la cause qu’il défend.Appel disponible à l'adresse : http://www.observatoire-avocats.org/avocats-menaces/2010/06/01/me-peter-erlinder/
Call for immediate release of Peter Erlinder, American lawyer arrested in Kigali on 28th May 2010
The International Observatory for Lawyers expresses strong concern about the arrest of Peter Erlinder in Kigali, and call for his immediate release without any condition.
Description of the situation
Peter Erlinder is a lawyer and law professor in William Mitchell College of Law in St Paul, Minnesota, and works as the lead defense counsel for top genocide suspects at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. He arrived in Kigali on 23th May 2010 to defend Victoire Ingabire, candidate for the next presidential elections in August 2010. She is accused of denying the genocide, collaborating with a terrorist organization and inciting ethnic hatred.
Peter Erlinder has been arrested on Friday 28th May 2010 for denying the 1994 genocide, according to the public Prosecutor and the police.
Under a 2003 law, persons condemned for denying or grossly minimizing genocide, attempting to justify genocide or destroy evidence related to it are liable to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 in prison.
The arrest comes days after the U.S. government expressed concerns about freedom of expression in the country ahead of August presidential polls, following similar criticism by international rights groups. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson affirmed that "in a period of months, the Government of Rwanda has suspended two newspapers, revoked the work permit and denied the visa of a Human Rights Watch researcher, and arrested (and subsequently released on bail) opposition leader Victoire Ingabire".
Appeal of the International Observatory for Lawyers
The International Observatory for Lawyers reminds that the independence of lawyers is a key barometer of democracy and the effectiveness of the rule of law. We draw attention of the authorities to Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, in Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990.
Principle 16:
“Governments shall ensure that lawyers ( a ) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; ( b ) are able to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad; and ( c ) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics.”
The International Observatory for Lawyers asks:
- To the Rwandan authorities, to release Peter Erlinder immediately. They must ensure all lawyers in all circumstances the free exercise of their defense mission.
- To the United Nations Organization, to the European Commission and others international organizations to intercede with the Rwanda national authorities on behalf of Mr. Peter Erlinder to invite them to take all necessary measures to lead to his release and to ensure him in all circumstances the free exercise of his defense mission, as well as all the others Rwandan and foreign lawyers in Ruanda.
- To professional organizations and lawyers associations, to provide their support to Mr. Peter Erlinder and to reaffirm in all circumstances, the free exercise of lawyers’ defense mission. http://www.observatoire-avocats.org/en/lawyers-under-threat/2010/06/01/peter-erlinder-rwanda/
Coordinatrice de l'Observatoire International des Avocats- OIA/ Coordinator of the International Observatory for Lawyers-IOL
Avocats Sans Frontières- France/ Lawyers Without Borders-France
8 rue du Prieuré - 31000 Toulouse
Tel ligne directe/direct line: +33 (0)5 34 31 78 79
Tel standard: +33 (0)5 34 31 17 83
Fax : +33 (0)5 34 31 17 84
Mail : observatoire@avocatssansfrontieres-france.org
Site internet/ web: http://www.observatoire-avocats.org/
***
Charlotte BENOIT (Ms.)
Coordinatrice de l'Observatoire International des Avocats- OIA/ Coordinator of the International Observatory for Lawyers-IOL
Avocats Sans Frontières- France/ Lawyers Without Borders-France
8 rue du Prieuré - 31000 Toulouse
Tel ligne directe/direct line: +33 (0)5 34 31 78 79
Tel standard: +33 (0)5 34 31 17 83
Fax : +33 (0)5 34 31 17 84
Mail : observatoire@avocatssansfrontieres-france.org
Site internet/ web: http://www.observatoire-avocats.org
The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a "time", yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverine
Monday, May 31, 2010
Burundi:
(28 May 2010) - A group of 18 national, regional and international organizations working on Burundi today expressed concern that space for independent human rights reporting may be diminishing following the Burundian government’s decision to expel the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Burundi researcher from the country. The organizations call on the Burundian authorities to reverse their decision and ensure that the rights to freedom of expression are respected.
This attack on independent human rights reporting came just days before Burundi’s communal elections on 24 May, the first in a series of five elections that are to take place in 2010. The elections are a crucial moment in Burundi’s history, a country recovering from more than a decade of civil war.
In a letter to the HRW researcher, Ms Neela Ghoshal, on 18 May 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation informed Ms Ghoshal that her accreditation as HRW’s representative in the country was withdrawn. She was asked to immediately stop her activities and to leave the country by 5 June 2010.
In the letter, the authorities cited a recent HRW report on pre-election violence as the reason for their decision. According to the letter, the report was biased against the government and the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party. They alleged it failed to give sufficient attention to the authorities’ attempts to overcome human rights violations in the pre-electoral period.
HRW stated in a 19 May release that they stand by the research noting that it documents human rights abuses by different groups, not just the ruling party and that the research respected professional standards of objectivity.
“The decision by the authorities is not only an attack on one highly respected rights activist but on independent human rights work in Burundi.” said Hassan Shire Sheikh, executive director of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project. “Given the importance of ensuring credible and impartial rights monitoring, the decision is concerning and gives the wrong signals at this crucial time in the country’s history.”
Ms Ghoshal has worked in Burundi for almost three years and documented a range of rights violations from mob violence to police abuses. Ms Ghoshal has an excellent record of engagement and collaboration with other human rights organizations working in Burundi, collaboration which has proven time and again to be effective in helping to advance key rights in the country.
“Coming just weeks after the de-facto expulsion of HRW’s researcher in Rwanda, this development may signal a worrying trend for independent international rights reporting in the region,” said Véronique Aubert, Africa deputy director at Amnesty International. “The international community should act swiftly to condemn expulsions of international human rights workers and call on Burundian authorities to re-instate HRW’s work authorisation.”
Recommendations
- To the Burundian authoritiesEnsure that rights to freedom of expression are respected.
Reinstate the work authorisation of Human Rights Watch’s Burundi researcher, Neela Ghoshal.
- To the international community
Call on the Burundian authorities to re-instate the work authorization for Human Rights Watch’s Burundi researcher.
Background
This week’s decision follows steps taken by Burundian authorities during the pre-election period to restrict space for freedom of expression and civil society activity.
On 23 November 2009, the Minister of Interior annulled the legal registration of the Forum for the Strengthening of Civil Society (FORSC), a respected civil society umbrella organization, citing irregularities in its registration application, an application previously approved by the same ministry in 2006. The ordinance banning the organization was subsequently suspended, but FORSC’s legal status has not been legally rectified.
Prominent Burundian human rights activist have faced harassment and acts of intimidation, including death threats during the pre-electoral campaign, as a result of their involvement in a campaign to ensure justice for the April 2009 assassination of anti-corruption activist, Ernest Manirumva, Vice President of Anti-corruption and Economic Malpractice Observatory (OLUCOME).
Days before the banning of FORSC in November 2009, FORSC’s President, Mr Pacifique Nininahazwe, received information of a potential plot to assassinate him. In March 2010, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, president of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH), and Gabriel Rufyiri, president of OLUCOME, stated they were under enhanced surveillance and warned of potential assassination plots against them.
Mr. Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, was summoned on 3 May 2010 by the prosecution to respond to questions about his work and involvement in the Ernest Manirumva campaign.
Supporting organisations :
Action by Christians against Torture Burundi (ACAT Burundi)
Action by Christians against Torture France (ACAT France)
Amnesty International (AI)
Civil Peace Service Programme Great Lakes (AGEH)
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Development and Peace
East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP)
EurAc (European Network for Central Africa)
Forum for the Strengthening of Civil Society (FORSC)
Front Line
Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO)
International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT)
International Refugee Rights Initiative
Ligue Iteka
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Observatory of Government Action (OAG)
Oxfam International
Refugees International
Burundi : Il faut protéger le suivi indépendant de la situation des droits humains
Les autorités doivent revenir sur leur décision d’expulser une employée d’une organisation internationale de défense des droits humains
(28 mai 2010) Un groupe de 18 organisations nationales, régionales et internationales travaillant sur le Burundi a déclaré craindre une limitation de l’espace dédié au suivi indépendant de la situation des droits humains, le gouvernement ayant décidé d’expulser la chercheuse de Human Rights Watch au Burundi. Ces organisations appellent les autorités burundaises à revenir sur leur décision et à garantir le respect du droit à la liberté d’expression.
Cette attaque contre les activités indépendantes de suivi des droits humains intervient quelques jours seulement avant les élections municipales au Burundi, le 24 mai – les premières d’une série de cinq scrutins prévus en 2010. Ces élections sont un tournant dans l’histoire du Burundi, qui sort de plus de 10 années de guerre civile.
Dans une lettre adressée le 18 mai 2010 à la chercheuse de Human Rights Watch Neela Ghoshal, le ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération internationale l’a informée du retrait de son agrément en tant que représentante de Human Rights Watch au Burundi. Il lui demandait de cesser immédiatement ses activités et de quitter le pays d'ici le 5 juin 2010.
Dans cette lettre, les autorités ont expliqué que leur décision était motivée par la publication récente d’un rapport de Human Rights Watch sur la violence dans la période préélectorale. Selon la lettre, ce rapport fait preuve d’un parti pris contre le gouvernement et le parti au pouvoir, le Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie au Burundi–Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD). La lettre continue que ce rapport ne prête pas suffisamment attention aux mesures prises par le gouvernement en vue de remédier aux atteintes aux droits humains émaillant la période préélectorale.
Dans un communiqué du 19 mai, Human Rights Watch a défendu son rapport, faisant valoir qu’il met en évidence des atteintes aux droits humains commises par divers groupes, et pas seulement par le parti au pouvoir, et que les recherches répondent aux normes professionnelles d’objectivité.
« La décision des autorités constitue non seulement une attaque contre une défenseure des droits humains très respectée, mais aussi contre le travail indépendant en faveur des droits humains au Burundi » a déclaré Mr Hassan Shire Sheikh, Directeur Exécutif du East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP). « Il est primordial d’assurer un suivi crédible et impartial de ces droits. De plus cette décision inquiétante délivre-t-elle un message néfaste au moment même où le Burundi se trouve à un tournant de son histoire ».
Neela Ghoshal travaille au Burundi depuis près de trois ans et a recueilli des informations sur tout un éventail de violations des droits humains – des enjeux liés à la justice collective aux exactions policières. Elle s’enorgueillit d’un excellent bilan en termes d’engagement et de collaboration avec d’autres organisations de défense des droits humains présentes au Burundi, collaboration qui s’est avérée à maintes reprises efficace pour faire progresser des droits essentiels dans le pays.
« Quelques semaines seulement après l’expulsion de facto de la chercheuse de Human Rights Watch au Rwanda, cette nouvelle mesure semble refléter une tendance préoccupante quant au suivi indépendant et international de la situation des droits humains dans la région » a indiqué Véronique Aubert, directrice adjointe du programme Afrique d'Amnesty International. « La communauté internationale doit réagir sans tarder en condamnant les expulsions d’employés d’organisations internationales de défense des droits humains et en demandant aux autorités du Burundi de rétablir l’autorisation de travail de Human Rights Watch».
Recommendations
- Aux autorités burundaises
Rétablir le permis de travail de la chercheuse de Human Rights Watch au Burundi, Neela Ghoshal.
- A la communauté internationale
Faire appel aux autorités burundaises afin qu’elles rétablissent le permis de travail de la chercheuse de Human Rights Watch.
Contexte
La décision prise cette semaine par les autorités burundaises fait suite à des mesures mises en place au cours de la période préélectorale pour restreindre la liberté d’expression et les activités de la société civile.
Le 23 novembre 2009, le Ministre de l’Intérieur a retiré son agrément au Forum pour le Renforcement de la Société Civile (FORSC), organisme respecté qui chapeaute plusieurs organisations burundaises représentant la société civile, invoquant des irrégularités dans sa demande d’enregistrement, lors même qu’elle avait été approuvée par le même ministère en 2006. La décision annulant l’agrément a par la suite été suspendue, mais le statut juridique du FORSC n’a pas été rectifié au niveau légal.
Par ailleurs, d’éminents défenseurs burundais des droits humains sont en butte à des actes de harcèlement et d’intimidation. Ils ont notamment été menacés de mort durant la campagne préélectorale, en raison de leur participation à une campagne visant à obtenir justice pour le meurtre en avril 2009 du militant anticorruption Ernest Manirumva, vice-président de l’Observatoire de Lutte contre la Corruption et les Malversations Economiques (OLUCOME).
Quelques jours avant que le FORSC ne soit interdit en novembre 2009, son président, Pacifique Nininahazwe, a eu vent d’un possible complot visant à l’assassiner. En mars 2010, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, président de l'Association burundaise pour la protection des droits humains et des personnes détenues (APRODH), et Gabriel Rufyiri, président d’OLUCOME, ont affirmé qu’ils faisaient l’objet d’une surveillance renforcée et avaient été avertis que des complots étaient sans doute ourdis contre eux en vue de les éliminer.
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa a été convoqué le 3 mai 2010 par le ministère public pour répondre à des questions sur son travail et sa participation à la campagne sur l’affaire Ernest Manirumva.
Organisations signataires :
Action Chrétienne contre le Torture Burundi (ACAT Burundi)
Action Chrétienne contre le Torture France (ACAT France)
CIVICUS: Alliance Mondiale pour la Participation Citoyenne
Amnesty International (AI)
Développement et Paix
East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP)
EurAc (Réseau Européen pour l'Afrique centrale)
Fédération internationale de l'Action des chrétiens pour l'abolition de la torture (FIACAT)
Le Forum pour le Renforcement de la Société Civile (FORSC)
Ligue Iteka
Front Line
International Refugee Rights Initiative
Observatoire de l'Action Gouvernementale (OAG)
Observatoire pour la protection des défenseurs des droits de l'Homme, programme conjoint de la Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'Homme (FIDH) et de l'Organisation mondiale contre la torture (OMCT)
Organisation inter-églises de coopération au développement (ICCO)
Oxfam International
Programme Service Civile pour la Paix Région des Grands Lacs (AGEH
Refugees International
© Amnesty International
The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a "time", yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverin
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