Rwanda: Cartographie des crimes
Rwanda: cartographie des crimes du livre "In Praise of Blood, the crimes of the RPF" de Judi Rever
Kagame devra être livré aux Rwandais pour répondre à ses crimes: la meilleure option de réconciliation nationale entre les Hutus et les Tutsis.
Let us remember Our People
Let us remember our people, it is our right
You can't stop thinking
Don't you know
Rwandans are talkin' 'bout a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
The majority Hutus and interior Tutsi are gonna rise up
And get their share
SurViVors are gonna rise up
And take what's theirs.
We're the survivors, yes: the Hutu survivors!
Yes, we're the survivors, like Daniel out of the lions' den
(Hutu survivors) Survivors, survivors!
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights
et up, stand up, don't give up the fight
“I’m never gonna hold you like I did / Or say I love you to the kids / You’re never gonna see it in my eyes / It’s not gonna hurt me when you cry / I’m not gonna miss you.”
The situation is undeniably hurtful but we can'stop thinking we’re heartbroken over the loss of our beloved ones.
"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom".
Malcolm X
Welcome to Home Truths
The year is 1994, the Fruitful year and the Start of a long epoch of the Rwandan RPF bloody dictatorship. Rwanda and DRC have become a unique arena and fertile ground for wars and lies. Tutsi RPF members deny Rights and Justice to the Hutu majority, to Interior Tutsis, to Congolese people, publicly claim the status of victim as the only SurViVors while millions of Hutu, interior Tutsi and Congolese people were butchered. Please make RPF criminals a Day One priority. Allow voices of the REAL victims to be heard.
Everybody Hurts
“Everybody Hurts” is one of the rare songs on this list that actually offers catharsis. It’s beautifully simple: you’re sad, but you’re not alone because “everybody hurts, everybody cries.” You’re human, in other words, and we all have our moments. So take R.E.M.’s advice, “take comfort in your friends,” blast this song, have yourself a good cry, and then move on. You’ll feel better, I promise.—Bonnie Stiernberg
KAGAME - GENOCIDAIRE
Paul Kagame admits ordering...
Paul Kagame admits ordering the 1994 assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda.
Why did Kagame this to me?
Inzira ndende
Search
Hutu Children & their Mums
Rwanda-rebranding
Rwanda-rebranding-Targeting dissidents inside and abroad, despite war crimes and repression
Rwanda has “A well primed PR machine”, and that this has been key in “persuading the key members of the international community that it has an exemplary constitution emphasizing democracy, power-sharing, and human rights which it fully respects”. It concluded: “The truth is, however, the opposite. What you see is not what you get: A FAÇADE”
Rwanda has hired several PR firms to work on deflecting criticism, and rebranding the country.
Targeting dissidents abroad
One of the more worrying aspects of Racepoint’s objectives
was to “Educate and correct the ill informed and factually
incorrect information perpetuated by certain groups of expatriates
and NGOs,” including, presumably, the critiques
of the crackdown on dissent among political opponents
overseas.
This should be seen in the context of accusations
that Rwanda has plotted to kill dissidents abroad. A
recent investigation by the Globe and Mail claims, “Rwandan
exiles in both South Africa and Belgium – speaking in clandestine meetings in secure locations because of their fears of attack – gave detailed accounts of being recruited to assassinate critics of President Kagame….
Ways To Get Rid of Kagame
How to proceed for revolution in Rwanda:
- The people should overthrow the Rwandan dictator (often put in place by foreign agencies) and throw him, along with his henchmen and family, out of the country – e.g., the Shah of Iran, Marcos of Philippines.Compaore of Burkina Faso
- Rwandans organize a violent revolution and have the dictator killed – e.g., Ceaucescu in Romania.
- Foreign powers (till then maintaining the dictator) force the dictator to exile without armed intervention – e.g. Mátyás Rákosi of Hungary was exiled by the Soviets to Kirgizia in 1970 to “seek medical attention”.
- Foreign powers march in and remove the dictator (whom they either instated or helped earlier) – e.g. Saddam Hussein of Iraq or Manuel Noriega of Panama.
- The dictator kills himself in an act of desperation – e.g., Hitler in 1945.
- The dictator is assassinated by people near him – e.g., Julius Caesar of Rome in 44 AD was stabbed by 60-70 people (only one wound was fatal though).
- Organise strikes and unrest to paralyze the country and convince even the army not to support the dictaor – e.g., Jorge Ubico y Castañeda was ousted in Guatemala in 1944 and Guatemala became democratic, Recedntly in Burkina Faso with the dictator Blaise Compaoré.
Almighty God :Justice for US
Killing Hutus on daily basis
RPF Trade Mark: Akandoya
Fighting For Our Freedom?
KAGAME VS JUSTICE
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Published : Tuesday, 08 June 2010, 9:23 PM CDT
■ He’s accused of revisionism, revising history. Peter Erlinder years before found mountains of documentation at the UN about Rwanda’s history. He read them and discovered that the history of Rwanda is the history that’s told in the documents.
■ He actually found that there was a civil war going on there for 4 years preceding the last 3 months when the alleged genocide took place.
■ The civil war was the causation of the genocide. By doing this work, he encountered the wrath of the Rwandan government.
■ He was trying to help the defense of an opposition presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, who was arrested for “denying the genocide” and when Peter Erlinder arrived in Rwanda, he was arrested on the same charge.
■ Rwanda President Paul Kagame has discredited presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.
■ We don’t know in the US, what’s really going on in Rwanda. The US is supporting Kagame’s war in the East Congo, the war is being fought over minerals and rights to minerals.
■ Those minerals are used in cell phones.
■ Help Peter Erlinder: Contact the US State Department and urge them to take an active role.
■ Rwanda President Paul Kagame put 7 people on a list of those he would like to see assassinated, Peter Erlinder was on that list.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Erlinder, a human rights attorney has represented unpopular causes and clients, including one FOX 9 interviewed in March of 2009. 20 years ago, Elsie Mayard met Professor Erlinder. She says Erlinder was there when nobody else would help her.
"He mean the whole world to me because of how much he cared what happened to me because he protected my constitutional rights," said Mayard.
Appearing weak in court on Monday, a Rwandan judge denied bail for Erlinder who is charged with denying Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Erlinder was in the country helping with the legal defense of an opposition leader, who wants to run for president.
Bruce Nestor of the National Lawyers Guild says Erlinder's prosecution threatens the ability of all attorneys to defend their clients.
"I’m afraid it looks like this is not something that's going to be over in the near term but is going to require our long term work and effort to bring peter back here to the twin cities," said Nestor.
In Minnesota, Senator Amy Klobuchar says they are working hard to bring him home.
"We have been pushing to have an expedited hearing so that he can at least be out on bail and at best be able to go home to his family. His wife and daughter and that's what we've been working on," said Klobuchar.
In the run up to the national election, the administration of Rwandan president Paul Kagame has engaged in increasing repressive tactics including shutting down independent media and jailing opposition candidates and their supporters under a vague charge of “genocide ideology”the same charge Professor Erlinder is now accused of.
The “Genocide Ideology Law” is vaguely worded, requires no link to any genocidal act, and can be used to criminalize a wide range of legitimate forms of expression. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and even the U.S. State Department have denounced it as a tool of political repression. The Kagame administration has used it widely to target political opponents.The Obama administration has done little to address Professor Erlinder’s situation. The state department and US embassy have referred to this incident as “a local matter.” This is because the US backs the Kagame regime.
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
***
We MUST stand with courageous lawyers! Vigorous legal defense is NOT a crime! FREE PETER ERLINDER NOW!
***
We MUST stand with courageous lawyers! Vigorous legal defense is NOT a crime! FREE PETER ERLINDER NOW!
***
- Supporters of detained U.S. Attorney Peter Erlinder marched for him on Tuesday in hopes of freeing him from the Rwandan prison.
■ He’s accused of revisionism, revising history. Peter Erlinder years before found mountains of documentation at the UN about Rwanda’s history. He read them and discovered that the history of Rwanda is the history that’s told in the documents.
■ He actually found that there was a civil war going on there for 4 years preceding the last 3 months when the alleged genocide took place.
■ The civil war was the causation of the genocide. By doing this work, he encountered the wrath of the Rwandan government.
■ He was trying to help the defense of an opposition presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, who was arrested for “denying the genocide” and when Peter Erlinder arrived in Rwanda, he was arrested on the same charge.
■ Rwanda President Paul Kagame has discredited presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.
■ We don’t know in the US, what’s really going on in Rwanda. The US is supporting Kagame’s war in the East Congo, the war is being fought over minerals and rights to minerals.
■ Those minerals are used in cell phones.
■ Help Peter Erlinder: Contact the US State Department and urge them to take an active role.
■ Rwanda President Paul Kagame put 7 people on a list of those he would like to see assassinated, Peter Erlinder was on that list.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Erlinder, a human rights attorney has represented unpopular causes and clients, including one FOX 9 interviewed in March of 2009. 20 years ago, Elsie Mayard met Professor Erlinder. She says Erlinder was there when nobody else would help her.
"He mean the whole world to me because of how much he cared what happened to me because he protected my constitutional rights," said Mayard.
Appearing weak in court on Monday, a Rwandan judge denied bail for Erlinder who is charged with denying Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Erlinder was in the country helping with the legal defense of an opposition leader, who wants to run for president.
Bruce Nestor of the National Lawyers Guild says Erlinder's prosecution threatens the ability of all attorneys to defend their clients.
"I’m afraid it looks like this is not something that's going to be over in the near term but is going to require our long term work and effort to bring peter back here to the twin cities," said Nestor.
In Minnesota, Senator Amy Klobuchar says they are working hard to bring him home.
"We have been pushing to have an expedited hearing so that he can at least be out on bail and at best be able to go home to his family. His wife and daughter and that's what we've been working on," said Klobuchar.
In the run up to the national election, the administration of Rwandan president Paul Kagame has engaged in increasing repressive tactics including shutting down independent media and jailing opposition candidates and their supporters under a vague charge of “genocide ideology”the same charge Professor Erlinder is now accused of.
The “Genocide Ideology Law” is vaguely worded, requires no link to any genocidal act, and can be used to criminalize a wide range of legitimate forms of expression. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and even the U.S. State Department have denounced it as a tool of political repression. The Kagame administration has used it widely to target political opponents.The Obama administration has done little to address Professor Erlinder’s situation. The state department and US embassy have referred to this incident as “a local matter.” This is because the US backs the Kagame regime.
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
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
[Since 1994, the world witnesses the horrifying Tutsi minority (14%) ethnic domination, the Tutsi minority ethnic rule, tyranny and corruption in Rwanda. The current government has been characterized by the total impunity of RPF criminals, the Tutsi economic monopoly, the Tutsi militaristic domination with an iron hand, and the brutal suppression of the rights of the majority of the Rwandan people (85% are Hutus), and mass-arrests and mass-murder by the RPF criminal organization.=>ASIF]
As many of you know, the American lawyer, Peter Erlinder has been unjustly imprisoned in Rwanda.
- "Does the American administration know how much it is ashaming itself in allowing Kagame and his team of RPF to mistreat an American citizen in this way ?
- Does the American administration realize that the money which it pays Kagame and his gang to feed on comes from the taxes paid by the ordinarily American citizens ?" AH.
- What is the difference between P. Erlinder and other Americans or Westerners hijacked in Somalia, Afganistan or Irak? => Deeper Insight!
Professor Erlinder, a faculty member at William Mitchell College of Law in the United States and president of the Association des Avocats de la Defense (ADAD), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Defense Lawyers Association, was arrested by the government of Rwanda under the leadership of president Paul Kagame.
Erlinder has been arrested in the course of his representation of Rwanda’s opposition leader and presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire. A Rwandan court has now ruled that Peter must remain in jail without bail.
"Violations must be punished", President Obama. What's wrong with that with The current Rwandan tyrannical regime? 10,000,000 Rwandan and Congolese people mass-slaghtered by the Kagame regime
Erlinder has been arrested in the course of his representation of Rwanda’s opposition leader and presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire. A Rwandan court has now ruled that Peter must remain in jail without bail.
"Violations must be punished", President Obama. What's wrong with that with The current Rwandan tyrannical regime? 10,000,000 Rwandan and Congolese people mass-slaghtered by the Kagame regime
We are gathering for an impromptu rally today, Tuesday June 8 and also an advocacy meeting on Wednesday June 9 to raise further alarm about Erlinder's unjust detension and heighten demands for his immediate release.
Please join us IMPROMPTU RALLY: 5-6:30pm Tuesday, June 8, Embassy of Rwanda, 1714 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. Please bring signs and placards.
ADVOCACY/OUTREACH Strategy MEETING: 3:30pm Wednesday June 9. In Person: Institute for Policy Studies 1112 16th St., NW Washington, DC 20036; Suite 600 Nearest Metro: Farragut North.
Rwanda (Kigali) - OSAC monitors and reports on regional security for American businesses operating overseas. Below is the most recent content and daily news for Rwanda.
The power of horror in Rwanda - Kagame's rehabilitation: Punishment
The american people should Not be surprised to have such an humiliating Kagame's attitude and arrogance. Check it out here below:
Reason : the dictator Paul Kagame has Clinton and Blair as advisors.Nowonder why they only work with African dictors like Paul Kagame the president of Rwanda who now by UN and Human rights Organization, killed millions of hutu, tutsi and more than 6 million Congolese.
What do they care about BLACK people?? How could dare Bill Clinton invite the mass-killer and grant him award? Let's be back to the main reaon of Kagame's hatred, arrogance, etc.: Are we still talking about the "Civilized world"? Are we still convinced we belong to "Free World"? If so, why Rwandan RPF criminals are not brought to the bar of Justice?
According to Erlinder: “The arrest of Madame Ingabire in the run-up to the 2010 election is a carbon copy of Kagame’s tactics in 2003 when all serious political challengers were jailed or driven from the country, including former Kagame loyalists, like the former president and prime minister, Pasteur Bizimungu and Faustin Twagiramungu. G.W.Bush'S RACIST DEMAGOGUERY : "KAGAME IS A MAN OF ACTION. HE GETS THINGS DONE. RESULT: 9,5 MILLION MASS-MURDERED RWANDAN AND CONGOLESE PEOPLE
Free Peter Erlinder Paul Kagame from DRCongo.tv on Vimeo.
Kagame issues death threats against foreigners too
In late February 2010 leaked notes, in the original in the Kinyarwandan language, purported to report Kagame’s meeting with Rwandan ambassadors, who had not yet gone into exile. In the meeting, Kagame allegedly targeted some seven non-Rwandan lawyers, journalists and academics for public discrediting or assassination.
Kagame had Erlinder’s name on his “hit list” even before Erlinder took on Ingabire’s defense, presumably for his role in genocide-planning acquittals in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Military-1 trial.
Erlinder said: “According to U.N. Security Council-commissioned reports of 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2008, the Kagame regime is responsible for more than 6 million deaths in the Congo, hundreds of thousands in Rwanda, which is confirmed in Spanish and French indictments, issued in 2006 and 2008. (See indictments of French Judge Bruguiere, November 2006, and Spanish Judge Merelles Abreu, February 2008.)
Evidence of Kagame/RPF crimes and cover-up
Join protest to free Peter Erlinder: June 8, 2010, 5:00 p.m.
The National Lawyers Guild has planned a protest to free attorney Peter Erlinder: Tuesday, June 8, 5-6:30pm. In front of the Embassy of Rwanda,1714 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
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Recently, U.S. political scientists Dr. Alan Stam of the University of Michigan and Dr. Christian Davenport of Notre Dame have analyzed data from all reported crimes in Rwanda during 1994 and have concluded that more Hutu were killed or brutalized than Tutsi before and after the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) seized power in July 1994. This analysis, together with the “conspiracy and planning” acquittals of former top military officers in the ICTR Military-1 case has called the entire theory of a “planned genocide” into question.
Ingabire defense team demands safe passage
Now that their client has been temporarily released, the Ingabire defense team insists that President Gen. Kagame and Rwanda’s justice minister and chief prosecutor, as well as others associated with the Kagame regime, military and police, and their major funders in the U.S. and U.K. all demonstrate respect for democratic principles and the rule of law by
(a) the immediate return of all computers, political or personal documents and other items seized from Madame Ingabire’s home;
(b) removal of all restrictions on Madame Ingabire’s ability to campaign for the votes of the Rwandan people, including the return of her passport and elimination of police reporting requirements;
(c) full recognition of her political party, the FDU, and the Green Party and other Rwandan opposition political parties;
(d) full access to the press and the media by opposition parties and candidates and an end to intimidation tactics against opposition political activities, as well as
(e) safe passage for members of Ingabire’s defense team.
KIGALI (Reuters) – Three Rwandan opposition parties have asked the United States to use its influence to help resolve social and political tension in the country before the presidential election in August.
The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through 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
Does he ignore that Paul Kagame is believed to be the Rwandan mass-killer? Think about IT. 11 Awards-winning mass-murderer granted by different US Academic Institutions!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Posted by News on Jun 6th, 2010 and filed under POLITICS, WORLD.
[Since 1994, the world witnesses the horrifying Tutsi minority (14%) ethnic domination, the Tutsi minority ethnic rule, tyranny and corruption in Rwanda. The current government has been characterized by the total impunity of RPF criminals, the Tutsi economic monopoly, the Tutsi militaristic domination with an iron hand, and the brutal suppression of the rights of the majority of the Rwandan people (85% are Hutus), mass-arrests and mass-murder by the RPF criminal organization.=>ASIF]
KIGALI (Reuters) – Three Rwandan opposition parties have asked the United States to use its influence to help resolve social and political tension in the country before the presidential election in August.
Rights groups say the government and the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) have become increasingly intolerant of dissent and criticism in the run-up to the vote, which President Paul Kagame is widely expected to win.
In an open letter last week to the U.S. ambassador in Kigali, Stuart Symington, and seen by Reuters on Sunday, the three-party coalition said: “We strongly believe that your leverage as the ambassador of the United States of America in Rwanda can help diffuse tensions as the presidential elections loom and… (the) military crisis deepens.”
Regional analysts say the flight of a former army chief, the arrest of two senior officers and a military reshuffle since the beginning of the year are signs of a growing rift between Kagame and top aides in the RPF and the army.
The parties in the coalition, the Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties in Rwanda, are PS Imberakuri, the Democratic Green Party and the United Democratic Forces. PS Imberakuri is the only registered party in the group.
The coalition asked for U.S. assistance in opening up politics, changing anti-genocide legislation and guaranteeing the security forces remained outside politics, and sought a postponement of the ballot, due take place on August 9, to allow more time to ensure it is transparent and free.
“Unless (development) efforts are underpinned by democracy, freedom and the rule of law, the achievements in that area will not be sustainable,” the parties said.
In recent months, a series of unexplained grenade attacks in the capital have killed several people and injured dozens.
Kagame has rejected the allegations of discord with his generals and has said the officers who had been exiled and arrested were guilty of corruption.
“There should be accountability at every level. It doesn’t matter whether you are a general, a president, an ordinary citizen, an MP or a minister, there should be a sense of accountability,” he told a Ugandan newspaper last month.
In Washington, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson told Congress last month Rwanda had suspended two independent newspapers, arrested a high-profile opposition figure, expelled a human rights researcher and prevented two opposition parties from registering.
Rwanda rejects accusations of clamping down on opponents and says the government has pursued dialogue and accepted opposing views since the 1994 genocide.
(Editing by Andrew Dobbie)
© News Blog
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
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Bruxelles, le 4 juin 2010
Le 2 juin 2010, le réseau des ONG européennes pour l’Afrique Centrale a appris avec horreur et consternation que le militant des droits de l’Homme, Floribert Chebeya, avait été retrouvé mort dans sa voiture à Kinshasa. La veille, il avait été convoqué par le bureau de l’inspecteur général de la police nationale, le général John Numbi. Chebeya et son chauffeur, Fidèle Bazana Edadi, ne sont jamais rentrés de ce rendez-vous. Le lendemain matin, la dépouille de Chebeya a été retrouvée. Quant à Fidèle Bazana, il est porté disparu jusqu’à ce jour.
Plusieurs membres d’EurAc ont collaboré durant de nombreuses années avec Chebeya et/ ou les associations qu’il animait (la Voix des Sans Voix - VSV et le Réseau national des ONG de la défense des droits de l’Homme - Renadhoc) : tous ont été impressionnés par l’engagement, l’intégrité et la gentillesse de Floribert. Ce dernier, conscient des risques qu’il courait, n’a pour autant jamais cessé d’interpeller les régimes successifs du Zaïre et de la RDC sur le respect des droits de l’Homme. Nous craignons qu’il n’en ait payé le prix ultime. Les ONG européennes travaillant en Afrique Centrale, réunies à Bruxelles les 3 et 4 juin dans le cadre de l’Assemblée générale d’EurAc, tiennent à exprimer leur immense tristesse et indignation à l’annonce de la mort violente de leur partenaire, collègue et ami.
Nous présentons nos condoléances profondes et notre solidarité à la famille Chebeya, à la VSV et au Renadhoc. Nous exprimons notre inquiétude face à l’augmentation, depuis le début de l’année 2009, du nombre de meurtres, d’intimidations, d’arrestations arbitraires et d’autres violations des droits de l’Homme commises à l’encontre de journalistes, d’animateurs de la société civile et d’acteurs de la vie politique.
Nous demandons à l’Union Européenne et à ses Etats-membres de :
- demander aux autorités congolaises de rendre, après qu’ait été pratiquée une autopsie par un médecin légiste indépendant, la dépouille de Floribert Chebeya à sa famille ;
- demander aux autorités congolaises que la clarté soit faite immédiatement sur le sort de Fidèle Bazana Edadi ;
- exiger une enquête internationale indépendante sur les conditions de la mort violente de Floribert Chebeya afin que les auteurs de ce crime puissent être identifiés, traduits en justice et condamnés ;
- contribuer de façon proactive à la protection de l’espace dans lequel la société civile et la presse pourront jouer leur rôle démocratique ainsi qu’à l’élaboration d’un plan conjoint des différents acteurs de la communauté internationale pour la mise en œuvre des Lignes Directrices pour la protection des militants de droits de l’Homme et des journalistes en RDC, comme adoptées par le Conseil de l’Europe en juin 2004.
Kris Berwouts
Directeur EurAc
Rue des tanneurs 165
1000 Bruxelles
Kris.berwouts@eurac-network.org
Tel mobile: +32 485 070 852
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
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
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I am Jean-Christophe Nizeyimana, an Economist, Content Manager, and EDI Expert, driven by a passion for human rights activism. With a deep commitment to advancing human rights in Africa, particularly in the Great Lakes region, I established this blog following firsthand experiences with human rights violations in Rwanda and in the DRC (formerly Zaïre) as well. My journey began with collaborations with Amnesty International in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and with human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and a conference in Helsinki, Finland, where I was a panelist with other activists from various countries.
My mission is to uncover the untold truth about the ongoing genocide in Rwanda and the DRC. As a dedicated voice for the voiceless, I strive to raise awareness about the tragic consequences of these events and work tirelessly to bring an end to the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)'s impunity.
This blog is a platform for Truth and Justice, not a space for hate. I am vigilant against hate speech or ignorant comments, moderating all discussions to ensure a respectful and informed dialogue at African Survivors International Blog.
Genocide masterminded by RPF
Finally the well-known Truth Comes Out.
After suffering THE LONG years, telling the world that Kagame and his RPF criminal organization masterminded the Rwandan genocide that they later recalled Genocide against Tutsis. Our lives were nothing but suffering these last 32 years beginning from October 1st, 1990 onwards. We are calling the United States of America, United Kingdom, Japan, and Great Britain in particular, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany to return to hidden classified archives and support Honorable Tito Rutaremara's recent statement about What really happened in Rwanda before, during and after 1994 across the country and how methodically the Rwandan Genocide has been masterminded by Paul Kagame, the Rwandan Hitler. Above all, Mr. Tito Rutaremara, one of the RPF leaders has given details about RPF infiltration methods in Habyarimana's all instances, how assassinations, disappearances, mass-slaughters across Rwanda have been carried out from the local autority to the government,fabricated lies that have been used by Gacaca courts as weapon, the ICTR in which RPF had infiltrators like Joseph Ngarambe, an International court biased judgments & condemnations targeting Hutu ethnic members in contraversal strategy compared to the ICTR establishment to pursue in justice those accountable for crimes between 1993 to 2003 and Mapping Report ignored and classified to protect the Rwandan Nazis under the RPF embrella . NOTHING LASTS FOREVER.
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Everything happens for a reason
Bad things are going to happen in your life, people will hurt you, disrespect you, play with your feelings.. But you shouldn't use that as an excuse to fail to go on and to hurt the whole world. You will end up hurting yourself and wasting your precious time. Don't always think of revenging, just let things go and move on with your life. Remember everything happens for a reason and when one door closes, the other opens for you with new blessings and love.
Hutus didn't plan Tutsi Genocide
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