Deux semaines après la découverte du meurtre commis à Johannesburg et attribué au régime de Kigali par l'opposition, le chef de l'Etat rwandais avait averti, en une claire allusion au sort de M. Karageya, mais sans le nommer : « La trahison a des conséquences. Quiconque trahit notre cause ou souhaite du mal à notre peuple deviendra une victime. » Qui donc a tué Patrick Karegeya ? M. Kagamé enfonce le clou dans le dernier numéro de l'hebdomadaire Jeune Afrique : « Le terrorisme a un prix, la trahison a un prix, déclare-t-il. On est tué comme on a soi-même tué. Chacun a la mort qu'il mérite. »

Le président reproche à ses opposants de chercher à parasiter l'anniversaire du génocide et les accuse de préparer des « actes terroristes ». Il est vrai qu'en août 2010, au lendemain de la réélection pour sept ans de Paul Kagamé émaillée d'attentats à la grenade à Kigali, le colonel aujourd'hui éliminé avait déclaré : « Le changement ne peut pas venir par l'élection, mais par des moyens violents. » Mis au ban du régime en 2004 après une décennie à la tête des services secrets,emprisonné puis exilé en 2006, le colonel Karegeya, cofondateur du Rwanda National Congress (opposition), n'est pas le premier haut responsable tutsi, fidèle du président, rival potentiel et détenteur de secrets d'Etat, à être mis à l'écart.

Quatre jours avant d'être tué, probablement pas strangulation, Patrick Karegeya avait adressé à un groupe religieux basé aux Etats-Unis une lettre terriblement accusatrice : « Jamais depuis l'époque d'Idi Amin [le dictateur sanguinaire au pouvoir en Ouganda entre 1971 et 1979] les services de sécurité d'un Etat n'ont terrorisé un pays à un degré où ceux du Rwanda répandent la peur et la terreur sur les citoyen de ce pays », a-t-il écrit le 28 décembre. Charles Rwomushana, un analyste ougandais indépendant cité par l'agence Associated Press, va dans le même sens : Paul Kagamé, dit-il, veut « gérer les généraux en instillant la peur » car il souhaite se reposer sur « une nouvelle génération » d'officiers n'ayant aucun lien direct avec la rébellion qui l'a conduit au pouvoir.

L'éviction, en 2013, de l'influent ministre de la justice Tharcisse Karugarama, hostile à un troisième mandat du président que l'actuelle Constitution n'autorise pas, semble participer de cette même stratégie. Ce contexte tendu peut expliquer le crescendo de la critique américaine d'un régime dont les réels succès économiques, sociaux et sécuritaires ont longtemps justifié les faveurs de Washington. Longtemps, la culpabilité née de la cécité et de l'inaction occidentales au moment du génocide de 1994, culpabilité que le régime sait parfaitement exploiter, a étouffé toute velléité de reproche.

TENSIONS RAVIVÉES AVANT LE 20^e ANNIVERSAIRE DU GÉNOCIDE

En 2010, après l'assassinat et l'arrestation de plusieurs chefs de l'opposition,Washington avait stigmatisé « une série d'actions inquiétantes (…) qui constituent des tentatives de restreindre la liberté d'expression ». En juillet 2013, après la publication d'un rapport de Human Rights Watch décrivant la coopération de Kigali avec les rebelles du mouvement M23 en République démocratique du Congo, les Etats-Unis avaient haussé le ton en « exigeant que le Rwanda mette fin immédiatement à toute forme d'aide » à ce mouvement.

Conséquence, le M23, instrumentalisé par le Rwanda pour contrôler les richesses de son voisin congolais, a été vaincu militairement par les forces armées de la RDC en novembre. Face à ces contentieux, les autorités de Kigali ont toujours manié la rhétorique anti-impérialiste. Paul Kagamé dit aujourd'hui ne pas accepter la logique selon laquelle « seules les grandes puissances ont le droit et l'intelligence de dire qui est terroriste et qui ne l'est pas ». Et un représentant du Rwanda à l'ONU a invité les Etats-Unis à « s'occuper d'Al-Qaida et [à] laisser les Rwandais s'inquiéter du terrorisme auquel ils font face ».

A l'été 2012, Washington avait gelé sa modeste assistance militaire – 200 000 dollars annuels (147 000 euros) – pour cause de recrutement d'enfants-soldats dans les rangs du M23. A la fin 2012, Londres, autre grand allié du régime Kagamé, a annoncé le gel de son aide budgétaire. L'approche de l'anniversaire du génocide, qui va braquer l'attention du monde entier sur ce petit pays, pourrait raviver les tensions. Les opposants sont dénoncés non seulement comme des « terroristes » mais comme des « révisionnistes » désireux de jeter le trouble sur la mémoire des massacres qui, en cent jours, d'avril à juillet 1994, ont causé la mort de 800 000 personnes, des Tutsi pour l'essentiel.

source

U.S. condemns opponent's murder and his remar

The U.S. has condemned the recent assassination of Patrick Karegeya Rwanda's former spy chief in South Africa and also expressed "deep concern" with President Paul Kagame's comments that seemed to endorse the murder.

The U.S. additionally was "troubled" by the apparent assassination of other political exiles from Rwanda, says Ms. Jen Spokesman, the State Department's top spokesperson.

Last weekend, while addressing a national prayer breakfast meeting Kagame said: "You cannot betray Rwanda and get away with it. There are consequences for betraying your country."

"Anyone who betrays our cause or wishes our people ill will fall victim. What remains to be seen is how you fall victim," Kagame also said, without naming Karegeya or anyone else.

South African Police are investigating the murder of Col. Karegeya who was found New Year's day in a hotel room apparently strangled to death. Police found curtain strings and a bloodied towel inside a safe in the hotel room.

Separately Mozambique Police have announced the detention of at least four suspects in the case, including a Rwanda military officer, Lt. Col. Francis Gakwerere, according to media reports.

Thursday during a media briefing in Washington, D.C., Jen Psaki, the U.S. State Department's top spokesperson said: "We condemn the murder of former Rwandan Government official Colonel Patrick Karegeya in South Africa, where he lived in exile. We welcome the South African Government’s prompt and thorough investigation into his death and await the outcome of that investigation. We also welcome their statement pledging – from January 9th, so just last week – to leave no stone unturned in bringing to justice those involved in this criminal act."

Psaki also added: "And let me also say we are troubled by the succession of what appear to be politically motivated murders of prominent Rwandan exiles. President Kagame’s recent statements about 'consequences' for those who betray Rwanda are of deep concern to us."

Karegeya was a founder of the opposition party Rwanda National Congress; he and many of his party colleagues were once close associates of Kagame. The party leaders, including exiled former Rwanda army chief of staff Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who also survived two assassination attempts in South Africa, say Kagame was responsible for Karegeya's murder.

Three Tanzanians and three Rwandans are currently being tried in South Africa for the attempt to kill Gen. Nyamwasa in 2010.

Kagame's support in the West, including by media, has dropped rapidly since a U.N. report condemned him for creating M23 the army blamed for committing war crimes in neighboring Congo.

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

Dank voor uw interesse in de journalistieke producties die hieronder zijn:

1. Kagame beschuldigd van genocide
2. Hero of Hotel Rwanda Calls Kagame a War Criminal
3. Het gaat om een strijd tussen invloedsferen
4. Congolese Maffia Elite-gangsters president Joseph Kabila en zijn Rwandese ambts Maffia-genoot Paul Kagame
5. "Het gaat om een strijd tussen invloedsferen"
6. Kagame gezuiverd van blaam uitbreken Rwandese genocide
7. Een virus

Macht maakt corrupt en absolute macht

Staatssecretaris Teeven heeft met Rwanda afgesproken dat Nederland en Rwanda elkaars onderdanen kunnen dwingen terug te keren. Teeven maakte de afspraak tijdens een bezoek aan het Afrikaanse land.

Teeven: sommige vluchtelingen bleken oorlogsmisdadigers

USA

28th December, 2013

Dear Mr. Coe,

Re: Ending the Crisis in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region through Dialogue On behalf of the Rwanda National Congress (RNC)

Former Rwandan spy chief Patrick Karegeya’s body was discovered on New Year’s Day.

I am writing to inform you that the current situation in Rwanda is one of those that ought to be of the greatest and urgent concerna to those in the international community who have genuine concern about international peace and security in general and in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa in particular. The majority of the people of Rwanda, we believe, share a common perception that policies of the international community have not reflected principled support for the development of democratic and inclusive institutions, respect for the fundamental rights of citizens and accountability of public officials for gross violations of human rights.

I write this letter to share our views on the political situation in Rwanda and on the role that you can play in advancing freedom and promoting long term stability and peace in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region.

The status of governance in Rwanda.

The people of Rwanda have for a very long time been exposed to repressive government, leading to recurrent violent conflict. This violence reached its peak with the genocide of 1994. I have no doubt that you are well aware of the deprivation and immense suffering that recurrent conflict has occasioned to millions of Rwandans. I also acknowledge that the Government of Rwanda has, with the assistance of the international community, made significant progress in restoring public order, re-establishing effective state institutions, and rebuilding the country’s economy during the period since 1994. Unfortunately, the reconstruction efforts that Rwanda has undertaken since the genocide are not rooted in democratic values, respect for human rights and broad inclusion. As stated in the Rwanda Briefing document that four former colleagues of Rwandan President Kagame ( including myself) published in August 2010, “there is more to Rwanda and Paul Kagame than new buildings, clean streets, and efficient government than President Kagame’s famous friends in high places in Europe and America care to admit.

Rwanda is essentially a hard-line, one-party, secretive police state with a façade of democracy …”

The ruling party, the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), has closed space for political participation. The RPF does not tolerate political opposition or open competition for power. President Kagame does not allow opposition parties to be registered, let alone operate freely. Media outlets that are critical of the government are either shut down by the government or forced to close operations as a result of attacks against their journalists.

The Government of Rwanda has now closed down all the independent media outlets the country once had. Civil society organizations independent of the government operate under draconian restrictions that make the exercise of their role as watchdogs over government impossible. The people of Rwanda have no liberty to discuss, nor decide, how they should be governed. The Rwanda Government is controlled by a small group of Tutsi military officers and civilians from behind the scenes.

The political system marginalizes the majority of the population from political participation.The Government of Rwanda relies on severe repression to stay in power. The RPF government relies on a wide range of laws, administrative practices and terror to restrict citizens’ enjoyment of political freedoms. Institutions of the state continue to subject real and imagined critics of the government to a wide range of human rights violations including arbitrary arrests and detentions and involuntary disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

The security services, all exclusively controlled by Tutsi military officers, that are responsible for keeping President Kagame in power enjoy absolute impunity for grave human rights abuses. Many members of opposition parties, civil society groups, independent media outlets and individuals suspected of being opponents of the regime have been hunted down, arrested, tortured, imprisoned or killed by agents of the state. Victims of state sponsored terror who have lost their lives over the recent past include Andre Kagwa Rwisereka (Vice-President of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda), Jean Leonard Rugambagye (Deputy Editor of Umuvugizi Newspaper) and John Rutayisire.

Rwandans are Victims of a Corrupt World Money that finances unspeakable crimes Inside and outside of Rwanda

The Rwanda Government has deployed a very large number of intelligence operatives in countries across Africa, Europe and North America to hunt down and kill opponents of the regime. Many members and leaders of opposition parties including ; Bernard Ntaganda, President of the Social Imberakuli Party; Victoire Ingabire President of the FDU-Inkingi Party ( recently sentenced to 15 years in jail; and, Deo Mushayindi of PPD Imanzi Party, remain in detention and so do some innocent relatives of opposition leaders. The Rwanda Government continues its relentless persecution of government critics. The most recent victims of this persecution include independents journalists and opposition leaders, all of whom have been sentenced to long prison terms, some after trials in absentia that did not meet international standards of fair trial.

The climate of repression that prevails in Rwanda has forced many government officials including two former Prime Ministers, two former Speakers of Parliament, and a host of former Ministers, former Judges, senior government officials, Military officers, journalists and Human rights activists to join hundreds of thousands of their compatriots in exile. As a result of the repression that security services helping President Kagame are responsible for, Rwanda is a country engulfed by fear.

Not since the days of Idi Amin have the security services of a state terrorized a nation to the extent to which Rwanda’s security services have visited fear and terror upon the country’s citizens. The climate of fear and terror that prevails in Rwanda does not permit Rwandan society to freely discuss the very grave problems facing the country and to find solutions to those problems.

President Paul Kagame’s leadership

The grave political crisis that Rwanda is facing is largely a result of President Kagame’s relentless pursuit of absolute power. Rwanda’s first post-genocide government included a range of other political groups that had campaigned for democratic reform during the early 1990s. Rwanda’s experience with broad-based multi-party government came to an end after only a year. Then Vice President Kagame drove the opposition leaders who were part of that government from office on account of their criticism of human rights abuses by members of the Rwandese Patriotic Army. From then on, President Kagame embarked on a mission to emasculate all party and state institutions and to craft a state controlled in every aspect by a single person who wields absolute and unaccountable power. Rwanda is not only a one party state; it is also a state governed by one man. President Paul Kagame exerts absolute control over both the ruling party (RPF) and the government.

Crime is not random  it is either planned or opportunistic Andre Rwigasira, the Vice President of Green Party of Rwanda

All institutions of the state are controlled by the President. The country’s political system lacks checks and balances. The judiciary and the legislature do not have any independence. State institutions, especially law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and security services, serve to protect President Paul Kagame’s political monopoly instead of protecting the fundamental human rights of citizens and executing their constitutional mandates. President Kagame’s absolute control of the entire machinery of the state affords him protection from being held accountable for his many serious crimes, some of which have led to horrendous consequences for innocent civilians both inside and outside Rwanda.

President Kagame is one of Africa’s most ruthless dictators. He is a corrupt leader who lives a lavish lifestyle that is out of step with the abject poverty of the majority of the people of Rwanda. President Kagame has used his time in office to amass personal wealth of unprecedented proportions in the Eastern and Southern African region. The business conglomerate (Crystal Ventures formerly Tri-Star Investments, and the military-led Horizon Group) owned by his political party, which for all practical purposes is his personal property, has extensive corrupt business relations with the state. RPF business entities have priority when government is issuing licenses for the most lucrative sectors of the country’s resources. Business entities owned by the RPF and close family and friends of the President receive the bulk of the government’s procurement contracts. Domestic and foreign investors seeking business opportunities in Rwanda are often compelled to go into partnership with the RPF as a condition for being allowed to do business in Rwanda. The RPF finances its various businesses with preferential financial backing from state-owned banks, insurances companies, and the national social security fund. Because they benefit only a small group of people, the business activities of the RPF promote social inequality and undermine national stability. The involvement of the RPF compromises the integrity of very many of its members, including President Kagame, because of the conflict of interest that they are involved in day to day in making official decisions affecting the party’s business interests.

The RPF’s business arm already controls a big part of the country’s economy, about 80% by some credible estimates. One example that demonstrates the depravity of Kagame’s corruption is the case of luxury jets that President Kagame uses for his personal and official trips. The planes, Global Expresses made by Canadian Aircraft manufacturer Bombadier, cost more than US 60 million dollars each.

President Kagame also bears personal responsibility for some extremely serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, that have been committed against innocent civilians in both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. President Kagame will not shrink from committing any crime in order to stay in power. He does not have respect for the sanctity of human life and that is why he is always prepared to resort to murder of political opponents ( and Heads of State ) to deal with peaceful challenges to his rule.

President Kagame bears responsibility for Rwanda’s failed transition to democracy and the political impasse that his attempts to cling to unaccountable power has given rise to. President Kagame’s manipulation and abuse of institutions of state to harass political opponents and stifle dissenting opinions continues to be condemned by virtually every reputable international human rights organisation, and many major media outlets and prominent scholars and journalists, including some who have previously been supportive of President Kagame.

Potential consequences of the policies of the Rwanda Government Rwanda, as demonstrated, still face many difficult challenges in its experience of nation building in the aftermath of violent conflict. It is generally acknowledged that Rwandan society remains deeply divided along ethnic lines. The country’s transition to democracy has been unsuccessful.

The human rights situation in the country remains a matter of grave concern. Citizens lack access to fundamental human rights. State security agencies commit grave human rights abuses with impunity. The country is peaceful, but many observers are of the view that recurrence of very violent conflict may be inevitable, at least in the medium to long term. President Kagame claims to have made progress in developing Rwanda, and argues that human rights, including rights relating to political participation, are not a priority for the development process. Nevertheless, concerns over the country’s progress in engendering reconciliation and creating a democratic system of government raise questions about the sustainability of Rwanda’s social and economic advances and the potential for renewed conflict.

The situation that prevails raises serious questions about the country’s future. Are the country’s development achievements sustainable? Can Rwanda continue to be peaceful while the government continues to be repressive and the majority of the people consider the government illegitimate? How do we balance individual freedoms and the requirement for a stable community? How should citizens respond when rulers mistake the state to be their personal estate and deprive their subjects of their inalienable rights?

We firmly believe that the violent conflicts that Rwanda has experienced over the past half century are rooted in issues revolving around governance.

The still president of Rwanda Paul Kagame Should be arrested and brought to justice - No comments -

The RPF government, we assert, has failed to effectively address the root causes of conflict in Rwandan society. As a result, Rwanda is in a situation of serious crisis. The only path to sustainable peace and development in Rwanda is a system of government that has popular legitimacy, includes all communities of Rwanda and is committed to the respect of fundamental human rights, especially the integrity of the person and the right to political participation. Economic development in post conflict societies that is not rooted in democratic values, respect for human rights, and broad inclusion is not sustainable.

We are convinced that violent conflict is virtually certain to return to Rwanda if the present government does not heed calls for dialogue and agree to a process of peaceful political reform leading to democracy. The results of the substantial development assistance that the international community has extended to Rwanda since the end of the genocide could be very swiftly undone in the event of such conflict, with grave implications for the whole Great Lakes region and international peace and security.

The role of the international community in supporting democratic change and building sustainable peace in Rwanda

President Kagame has exploited the failure of the West to stop or prevent the 1994 genocide to silence critics of his opposition to democratic change and the human rights practices of his security services. The tolerance that the international community has exhibited towards Paul Kagame’s excesses continues to fuel impunity and is an obstacle to lasting peace and sustainable development in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Western indifference to President Kagame’s human rights record and stand on popular political participation is incomprehensible to the majority of Rwandans, and it alienates them. Stability and development do not substitute for liberty and freedom.

In view of the grave consequences that a return to violent conflict in Rwanda would entail, the RNC and its partners hold the view that peace and security in Rwanda should be a matter of international concern.

The international community ought to support the seeking of democratic change, inclusive government and respect for human right in Rwanda on account of several reasons, including the following:

a) Empowering the people of Rwanda to realize the full range of their human rights: The people of Rwanda continue to be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy some of the most fundamental human rights, including rights relating to integrity of the person, freedom of expression and political participation. The Kagame regime relies on repression to maintain this status quo. The people of Rwanda are much entitled to be relieved of this tyranny as citizens of Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya whom the international community is supporting to make the realization of their human rights a reality.

b) Promoting international peace and security: In the absence of democratic reforms, the policies of the present government of Rwanda are likely to lead to a return to violence in the country. A system of government that deprives citizens of fundamental human rights, especially the right to political participation and the integrity of the person, cannot last indefinitely. Change in Rwanda is inevitable; the issue is whether change will be negotiated and peaceful, or violent and imposed, again, by the victors of a bloody armed conflict. Political change is necessary to avert violent conflict that repressive government in Rwanda has made almost inevitable. A return to violent conflict in Rwanda would further destabilize the Great Lakes region of Central Africa.

What you can do to help all Rwandans

There are even more important reasons why we, as Christians, are invited to radical inclusion, in truth, that leads to freedom, peace and reconciliation. I have read with a lot of interest the vision and mission of The Fellowship that is inspired from the scriptures: “Once you were not a people, but now are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. “- I Peter 2:10 For a society like ours that has witnessed past and ongoing trauma, with all communities becoming victims and perpetrators, the question of forgiveness and mercy cannot be overemphasized. As brothers and sisters who are otherwise united by one nation and one language, we have sinned against each other.

The alienation from God and from each other has consequently inflicted untold suffering on our society as a whole, and to our neighbors in the region. We can face the future with hope if we talk to each other truthfully and learn to forgive each other. In the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” – Matthew 18:15-17.

Equally inspired by these words of wisdom from the One we serve, our organization is planning to organize an international conference on Rwanda this coming year, around March, 2014. The idea is to invite stakeholders in Rwandan society (Government, Church, Civil Society and Opposition organizations, including those that are armed, etc..) to talk candidly about the state of affairs in our beloved country and how we can build the future together. Understandably, this is a very difficult proposition, given the fact that such a culture of dialogue, give and take is evidently lacking in our society. Yet, we can only imagine the dangerous alternatives to the dialogue and peace. We have informed the United States Government, and the Governments of France, Belgium, Tanzania and South Africa about this idea. While they all note how difficult this will be, they appreciate how timely, important and urgent it is.

Could you help us in this important endeavor to get Rwandans talk to each other? As we look forward to the coming year, we are reminded of the prophetic words of the Prophet Isaiah, echoed many centuries later by our Lord and King, Jesus Christ: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD.” -Luke :18-19.

The hands of the millions of Rwandans who enter 2014 afflicted, brokenhearted, captive in fear, and prisoners beckon all of us to action. It is an invitation we cannot ignore.

I wish you and your family a Happy New Year.

In Christ, Colonel Patrick Karegeya

Co-founder and Member of the Executive Rwanda National Congress (RNC)

E-mail: Tel: Encl: Founding Declaration of the Rwanda National Congress

Edited and formatted by Jennifer Fierberg