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
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
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
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
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