African Great Lakes Observer

Kagame is losing a grip on the country BY Robert Mukombozi (an investigative Rwandan journalist exile in Australia. He is currently studying a Masters of Journalism and Mass communication at Griffith University. ) http://www.newslineea.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=278:kagame-is-losing-a-grip-on-the-country-&catid=74:robert-mukombozi-&Itemid=73 This year 2010 has gone down not generally well on the global political arena. The United States especially has had a very turbulent wind up of its politics as a result of the wikiLeaks revelations.Of course Rwanda and US relations were not an exception among other governments whose relations with Washington was shaken by the leaking of secret diplomatic cables. The American embassy in Kigali moved fast to calm the worries, praising Rwanda in the area of fighting HIV/AIDS and increasing agricultural production but actually it was a very diversionary diplomatic gesture. As a result of the cables, Mr Pau...

Translation from: Helmut Strizek, Clinton am Kivu-See. Die Geschichte einer afrikanischen Katastrophe. Frankfurt/Main 2011, Peter Lang Publishing Group. 408 pages; ISBN 978-3-631-60563-9. (pp. 12-16) Summary of Events An Escape from Africa and its Consequences The 3 October 1993 will go down as a fatal date for American policy in Africa. Eighteen Americans and a Malaysian lost their lives in the twelve-hour Battle of Mogadishu, and over 1,000 Somalis became victims of the wild shootouts that ensued after the Americans had been surrounded. However, the worst for Washington, was to have the cameras of the international press witness a (white) dead American soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by Aidid’s militia. Bill Clinton was furious and single-handedly made a decision that would have far-reaching consequences. He decided to withdraw all American soldiers from UN peacekeeping missions in Africa within the next six months. In the future, American ...

Public Protest in London In front of the Department for International Development To request Immediate Release of Victoire Ingabire and other Rwandan Political Prisoners, or otherwise stop UK aid to Paul Kagame's regime   Friday 26/11/10 from 12.00 am to 3.00 pm Department for International Development DfID 1 Palace Street London SW1E 5HE The objectives of the protest are: · to request from UK, EU, US to put pressure on Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, to open up Rwandan political space, to free all political prisoners including Victoire Ingabire, Chair of FDU-Inkingi , to form a Transitional Government of National Unity including the real political opposition which would aim at preparing Free and Fair Elections , to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission · to request justice from the UN by setting up an International Criminal Tribunal for Congo (ICTC) to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide committe...

On 4 February 2002, a Rwandese delegation comprising General James Kabarebe, Deputy Chief of Staff and now acting Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), Major Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa, special adviser to the Rwandan dictator General Paul Kagame and Mr. Jean de Dieu Mucyo, Rwandan Minister of Justice, and other officials arrived in Washington on an official visit. General James Kabarebe, along with General Paul Kagame and other members of their inner circle are responsible of numerous and still unpunished acts of genocide against Hutus, war crimes, crimes against peace and humanity committed by the RPA in Rwanda since October 1990 and Democratic Republic of Congo since August 1996. They are also allegedly linked to international criminal networks active in the black market in arms, diamonds, gold and other forms of wealth which continue to fuel wars in Africa.  These international criminal syndicates supply them with all kinds of weaponry used in their massacres of civi...

By Ruben Koops Radio Netherlands Worldwide 12 November 2010 Victoire Ingabire was refused bail on Friday by the Rwandan High Court in Kigali on the grounds of being a security threat to the Rwandan state. After a heated debate between public prosecutor Bonavanture Ruberwa and Ingabire’s legal team, led by lawyer Gatera Gashabana, Judge Johnston Busingye ruled that she had to stay in prison. According to the public prosecutor, there are new factors in her case that demand Victoire Ingabire to stay in custody. “We are very happy with this verdict, because there are new developments in the case.” Ruberwa said. “We are preparing the final file on her case. I expect that we can send it to the court on Sunday”. The prosecutor would not say what the new evidence is. Devastated Ingabire’s husband Lin Muyizere is devastated by the ruling: “I expected that she would be released today, this is an enormous blow.” According to Muyizere, today’s ruling is another episode in a political tr...

09.11.10 - ICTR/KAREMERA - PRESIDENT OF MRND MILITIA WORKED FOR RPF, ACCORDING TO WITNESS Arusha, November 09, 2010 (FH) - Former close Protection Officer for Rwandan President Paul Kagame alleged before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Tuesday that President of Interahamwe militia of the ruling MRND party in 1994, Robert Kajuga worked for the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) now in power in Kigali. ‘'It is not only Kajuga who worked for the RPF but there were many others from the government.'' Aloys Ruyenzi, former close protection officer to President Kagame told the court in the defence case of the former MRND President, Mathieu Ngirumpatse. When asked by Don Webster, the Prosecuting counsel to say more about Kajuga, Ruyenzi responded ‘'he was Tutsi working for the RPF to kill members of the population.'' Earlier during examination in chief by defence co-counsel, Frédéric Weyl, the witness explained ‘'RPF did not care to kill ...

Kagame, Bashir: Birds of the same feather… "In fact it is too late. I don't know why I didn't invite him for my inauguration…" Those were the words Kagame used, while responding to a question as to why he didn't invite Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir for his inauguration ceremony last month. For those who know a thing about African politics, it was a real surprise to see Gen. Bashir missing, as all other African despots especially from west and central Africa were in Kigali, albeit for an MDG meeting at the time. Apparently, Kagame and Bashir have a lot in common that I think the latter should have been the chief guest in Kigali when Kagame was crowned. The two are army generals who seized power through the gun, established ruthless military governments in their respective countries and are among the world's worst dictators; they both feature on 'Foreign Policy's list detailing the 23 'worst of the worst dictators' released recently. Simp...

Former ambassador to the U.S. Theogene Rudasingwa says opposition leader Victoire Ingabire is a freedom fighter who should not be in jail By James Butty | Washington, D.C. VOA News 27 October 2010 A former Rwandan ambassador to the United States and former chief of staff to President Paul Kagame has called on Rwandans to continue their peaceful resistance to what he called Mr. Kagame’s state-sponsored terrorism. This comes as a Rwandan court Tuesday denied bail to opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, who was arrested earlier this month on charges of forming a terrorist group. Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire Theogene Rudasingwa told VOA that Ingabire is a freedom fighter who should not be in jail. “My comment is first of all to ask why she should be in jail because Ingabire is not a terrorist as they charged her. In My opinion, I think she’s a freedom fighter, and she’s paying a price for that,” he said. In denying Igabire a bail Tuesday, the court said she could c...

By Ambrose Nzeyimana The Rising Continent October 21, 2010 Agence France Presse (AFP) reported this week that Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, visited Rwanda on Sunday and Monday . The visit happened just after two major events in Rwandan politics which, if not carefully managed, could damage irreversibly the image of Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president, his country, and particularly many world personalities who have been closely associated with the rebuilding of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. These events could as well have a negative resonance on the views of citizens of Rwanda and more widely the Great Lakes region about countries and foreign leaders backing the Rwandan president. The two events are in order of importance and chronology the publication of the UN report titled, ‘Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the C...

By Christopher Black Center for Research on Globalization September 14, 2010 On August 26, the French newspaper Le Monde revealed the existence of a draft UN report on the most serious violations of human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo over an eleven-year period (1993-2003).1 The massive draft report states that after the Rwandan Patriotic Front's takeover of Rwanda in 1994, it proceeded to carry out "systematic and widespread attacks" against Hutu refugees who had fled Rwanda to neighboring Zaire (now the DRC) as well as against the Hutu civilian population of the DRC in general. Crucially, it concludes that the pattern of these attacks "reveal[s] a number of damning elements that, if they were proven before a competent court, could be classified as crimes of genocide."2 The draft report was leaked to Le Monde out of the plausible fear that its most damning facts and charges against the armed forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front and President Pau...

By The Proxy Lake October 17, 2010 The Rwandan directory of military intelligence DMI in collaboration with national police force may have masterminded the conspiracy to indict and eliminate Madam Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza with charges of participating in terrorist activities. Army General Rwarakabije On a tip off from an informant from Kagame’s secret services, the exiled Umuvugizi newspaper Chief Editor Jean Bosco Gasasira revealed that the plan to eliminate Madam Victoire Ingabire was engineered by Colonel Dan Munyuza assisted by Army General Rwarakabije. General Rwarakabije was asked to find an agent to play a central role to carry out the plan. He was tasked to hire a Hutu ethnic agents from FDRL that can be as reliable as easily influenced to collaborate in the Machiavelli plan, Umuvugizi Newspaper revealed Sunday 17 th October. The Newspaper confirmed that “General Rwarakabije picked one of his men from FDRL, a certain Major [Vital] Uwumuremyi who arrived in Rwan...