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Rwanda | No 4| July to August 2007

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Rwanda | No 4| July to August 2007 Rwanda | No 4| July to August 2007 RWANDA | Trends in Conflict and Cooperation As in previous years the government of Rwanda placed little emphasis on 1 July (the 45th anniversary of Independence) but focused more on 4 July that marks the 13th anniversary of the fall of Kigali and the end of the genocide. The event was highlighted with medals of merit awarded by the Rwandan army, with President Paul Kagame receiving the highest distinction. On 20 August, Kagame attended the sixth Summit of the EAC Heads of States, which discussed options to strengthen the regional structure and potential future cooperation with the EU. Rwanda’s consolidated anchorage Eastward is further highlighted by anti-global terrorism training workshops for National Police, Army and Airforce officers, as well as the planned participation as an observer in the forthcoming Commonwealth meeting in Kampala. As a response to the President’s encouragement, diverse groups of people such as students, MPs, Muslim followers and businessmen, Rwandan and other, have displayed empathy with the victims of the genocide by visiting and making monetary contributions to the national genocide Memorial of Gisozi, in the district of Gasabo. However, such ‘acts of patriotism’ are often organized institutionally, thus do not necessarily represent spontaneous demonstrations of empathy. The finding on 31 July, of a mass grave of 136 Tutsi victims in Nyagatovu, district of Huye, after a repenting genocide perpetrator admitted his role in the killings 13 years after the events, demonstrates the slowness of the process of remorse and reconciliation in the country. Another case is that of 70-year-old Nyagahutu of the district of Musanze who was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for genocide ideology as he was found with leaflets which conveyed disapproval of genocide memorials. The continuous repatriation of alleged illegal Rwandan refugees from Tanzania places strain on camps which are trying to accommodate them. The expulsion of 154 families on 9 July to camp Mukor Mududu, new ultimatums made on Biharamuro Rwandans to leave Tanzania within 30 days or face prosecution, and the spillover of some of the refugees into Uganda and Eastern Congo, illustrate the complexity of the situation. While the expelled persons have enjoyed support from public and private sectors inside Rwanda (food, home utensils and medicine), the source of the problem has been largely unaddressed at the diplomatic level. Internationally, on 5 July in Brussels, the Court of Justice sentenced Bernard Ntuyahaga, former Major of the FAR, to 20 years in jail for charges related to the murder of ten Belgian soldiers of the UNAMIR peacekeeping mission and other persons. He was found not guilty for the murder of then Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. On 20 July in Paris, French Prosecution arrested two genocide suspects; Roman Catholic priest Wenceslas Munyeshyaka and former prefect Laurent Bucyibaruta, but then released them on 1 August as the ICTR arrest warrant was invalid. The two men have been the object of international warrants by the ICTR for 12 and 7 years respectively, thereby calling into question the motives of the Paris Court of Appeals and the efficiency of the ICTR. The failure to apprehend alleged perpetrators has motivated two organizations, Redress and African Rights, to set up a network to track down Rwandan genocide suspects, particularly in Europe. International donors have continued to provide aid in the past months, with several of them opting for direct budget support for the government. For example, Sweden USD23 million to the operational budget 2007-2008; Japan USD1 million for poverty eradication; the Netherlands Euros 3.5 million for the Government Auditor’s office; Switzerland CHF2 Million and the World Bank USD11 million for the Transport sector. Additionally, Poland has promised to assist in the construction and maintenance of genocide memorial sites, Canadian company ACOTEX aims to donate HIV/AIDS medication free of charge and China has promised to strengthen the IT bases of the country. Rwanda continues to promote itself internationally through events such as the 10th Rwanda International Trade Fair held from 23 August to 3 September. Rwanda’s reputation suffered one major setback with the UNDP 2007 Human Development Report on Rwanda, 'Turning Vision 2020 into Reality', which found that Rwanda had spent 10% of international aid on its defense budget, and that the country had lost 50.2% of the its forest cover from 1990 to 2000. The government of Rwanda made harsh critiques, refuted the facts and finally obtained an Addendum Corrigendum outlining UNDP’s alleged inaccuracies. The people in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning that took part in the elaboration of the report were reprimanded for failing to identify the inaccuracies in the UNDP Report before its was made public. FAST Update | Rwanda| No | July to August 2007 The collapse of a building on 12 July at Peage, Kiyovu that killed three and injured five employees, resulted in an inquiry that led to: the arrest of the two engineers, Eugene Ruberakurora and J. Eric Mutagoma for negligence; the company owner, Assinapol Rwigara, was sought out by the police and went missing from 27 July to 16 August, two generals, Frank Rusagara and retired Commandant in chief of the RDF, Sam Kanyemera (Alias General Kaka) were arrested and detained for allegedly obstructing the police and helping Rwigara escape arrest. When Rwigara resurfaced on 16 August, he declared that he went into hiding due to threats made on his life. Doubts on the real motivations behind the arrests continue to loom. Another case of contested arrest and detention is that of journalist Gerard Manzi of Umeseso, who was arrested on 22 August, for allegedly raping a young girl, then subsequently proven not guilty and released on 29 August. Lastly, the July Human Rights Watch Report accused Rwandan Police of killing at least 20 detainees since November 2006. Police Commissioner Rwigamba responded that the Police acted in self-defense and as a last resort. The abolition of the death penalty in Rwanda on 8 June removed one of the principal obstacles for sending genocide suspects to be prosecuted in Rwanda. Former UNAMIR Commander Romeo Dallaire called on the Canadian government to repatriate Leon Mugesara, a Rwandan accused of masterminding the 1994 genocide. The abolition means that 606 persons who were sentenced to death have since had their sentence changed to life in prison. In order to reduce the prison population, the government has created a community service punishment (the Travaux d’intérêt Général or TIG) for those released on parole. The presence within communities of many freed repenting genocide perpetrators, poses numerous security challenges, causing Mayors, Police and security personnel to hold security meetings with the population to sensitize them towards Conflictive Events August 2006 to August 2007 genocide survivors, warn them of the tension in Eastern DRC, and encourage them to report infiltrators. Meanwhile, the National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions announced that as of 31 May 2007, 100,507 of their 108,732 cases have been completed. A recent high profile case is that of human rights activist François Xavier Byuma, who was sentenced to 19 years in jail on 18 August in Biryogo. Human rights organizations have demanded a reconsideration of the trial due to procedural irregularities and inequitable circumstances. The regional stability was influenced by discussions surrounding the disarmament of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the diverse roles of the countries involved, namely the DRC, Rwanda, Source: FAST event data Burundi and Uganda. Shortly after declaring that the DRC and other regional governments were determined to disarm the FDLR if they were not willing to repatriate peacefully, the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) temporarily suspended military operations against the FDLR on 11 August, in the name of peace and stability in the region. On 26 to 27 August, talks were resumed, leading to an outlining of tasks of the Intelligence Fusion Cell as a knowledge source, and the set up of a Joint Planning Cell, composed of heads of departments, to develop operational plans to neutralize the Great Lakes Region forces. On 30 August, the FDLR accused Rwanda of providing renegade General Laurent Nkunda with arms and soldiers, and on the same day, in Rugari, Kivu Nord, war broke out between the FARDC, supported by MINUAR peacekeeping forces, and the armed group of renegade Laurent Nkunda. This eruption of conflict is likely to change the country stability (see Graph). The outbreak of conflict in Kivu Nord between the FARDC and dissident Nkunda’s army places more tension on the cooperation between the governments of Rwanda, DRC, Burundi and Uganda, particularly related to the sharing of natural resources and trade agreements. The insecurity in the region places Rwanda in the limelight and could deter international donors or investors such as China or the US from it, although this has not been the case so far, as President Kagame takes care of broadcasting an image that matches with donors expectations. While the abolition of the death penalty will, in the long term, provide a positive environment for justice and reconciliation, Rwanda requires the assistance of other countries to have genocide perpetrators returned and will have to take concrete steps towards the implementation of the new prison laws. Further, this could place added pressure on Rwandan courts which would have to be adequately equipped to undertake more cases. Contact FAST International is the early warning program of swisspeace, FAST International covering 25 countries/regions in Africa, Asia and Europe. Based in Country Team: Rwanda Bern, Switzerland, the program is funded and utilized by an Sonnenbergstrasse 17 international consortium of development agencies, including the 3000 Bern 7 Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the Canadian International Switzerland Development Agency (CIDA), the Swedish International Development [email protected] Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swiss Agency for Development and www.swisspeace.org Cooperation (SDC).
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