U.N. Inaction Threatens "Mass Killings" in Africa, Asia

Inter Press Service (Johannesburg)

28 February 2008
Thalif Deen
United Nations

The international failure to respond aggressively to the killings in Sudan, and more recently in Kenya, is threatening the spread of genocide and ethnic cleansing in other parts of Africa, a London-based human rights organisation warns.

Mark Lattimer, executive director of Minority Rights Group International (MRG), predicts that "mass killings" will continue in 2008 -- if the international community refuses to take decisive action.


He says that over half of the 20 countries in the world where people are most under threat of genocide are in Africa, including Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad and the Central African Republic.

Chad, one of the new trouble spots in Africa, has risen 14 places up the rankings table since 2007.

Widening inter-communal violence in the eastern part of the country has seen civilian communities targeted in the fighting between black toroboro militias and Arab fighters -- a cruel replica of the ethnic conflict now familiar across the border in the Darfur region of neighbouring Sudan, according to MRG.

In Asia, MRG singles out three countries -- Burma (Myanmar), Afghanistan and Pakistan -- as potentially dangerous, while Iraq is described as the "most dangerous" in the Middle East.

In its 2008 global ranking of "Peoples Under Threat", MRG says that "alarmingly, states widely described to be stable, such as Kenya, have been catapulted up the table -- disputed elections in December 2007 exposing the tribal fault-lines in Kenyan society where competing political interests overlapped with ethnic differences."

In the rioting and "ethnic cleansing" that followed a contentious election, more than 1,000 Kenyans were killed. But neither the United Nations nor the European Union (EU), both of which expressed concern over the killings, took any concrete action.

Pakistan and Iran, both bordering Afghanistan, have risen significantly in the rankings this year.

"The fallout from military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq continues to spread to neighbouring states," says Lattimer, "and is now engulfing whole new communities in the threat of violent conflict."

The threat of mass killings comes at a time when the United Nations is seeking to implement the principles of "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P), adopted by the 192-member U.N. General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit in New York.

The R2P concept originated in a 2001 report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty.

William Pace, executive director of the New York-based Institute for Global Policy, told IPS that after the "historic and very surprising endorsement" of R2P by the heads of all states, and the backing of R2P in two Security Council resolutions in 2006, R2P lost momentum in 2007 due to a variety of reasons.

This, he points out, was mostly connected to "the always difficult transition from one (U.N.) secretary-general to a new one"-- from Kofi Annan who ended his term in December 2007 and Ban Ki-moon who took over in January 2008.

However, with the appointment by Secretary-General Ban of Francis Deng from Sudan as the new special advisor/representative for the prevention of genocide, and Ed Luck from the United States as special advisor to advance the implementation of R2P inside the U.N. institutions, "We expect important progress in 2008".

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also taking important steps forward, said Pace, who is also the Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).

He pointed out that the recent launching of the new Global Centre for R2P, with Andy Knight from Barbados as its new leader, is the first of several major NGO initiatives to support R2P, "in what is hoped will become a vital new tool for peace in our new century."

"The first decade, so far, has been as disastrous and unsuccessful in preventing war crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity," said Pace.

However, civil society from all regions are committed to making old peace tools, like the United Nations, and new tools like the International Criminal Court (ICC), and R2P work, so millions of lives will be saved, he added.

The new global institute, dedicated to improving international responses to genocide and mass atrocities, was inaugurated on Feb. 14. It is housed at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Centre of the City University of New York.

Described as an independent research and advocacy organisation, it says it "will make this doctrine (R2P) a reality." In a statement issued during its inaugural, the Centre said: "The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a call to action on behalf of populations at risk, and seeks to eradicate a legacy of inaction that has led to the loss of millions of lives during the Holocaust and in Cambodia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Darfur."

Since Feb. 8, according to Human Rights Watch, Sudanese government troops and Janjaweed militias have attacked and bombed villages in West Darfur, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing tens of thousands more, with little response so far from the U.N. Security Council.

Asked if the U.N. appointments of Luck and Deng would advance the cause of R2P, Lattimer of Minority Rights Group International told IPS: "The U.N. special representative on the prevention of genocide and now the new special advisor on R2P are the first U.N. mechanisms with a specific mandate on genocide prevention and have a great potential to focus early U.N. action to prevent killing".


Their ability to make a difference will of course depend on the availability of accurate early warning information on groups under threat, he said.

Perhaps the first practical example of the United Nations acting to implement R2P is in the current situation in Kenya, he argued.

Although much of the debate around R2P has focused on armed humanitarian intervention, the greatest chance for the United Nations in general, and these two posts in particular, to make a difference is in preventive diplomacy at an early stage to stop mass killing before it starts.

Asked about "unilateral" U.N. interventions to prevent genocide,, Lattimer said: "The United Nations is a multilateral organisation composed of member states, so it can't intervene 'unilaterally'."

But if the question is about armed or forceful intervention, then there have been a number of such interventions, he pointed out.

They are authorised under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter and need to be mandated by the Security Council acting "to maintain or restore international peace and security" -- not quite the same as preventing genocide or mass killings, but the Council has explicitly agreed that deliberate targeting of civilian populations in armed conflict may constitute a threat to international peace or security.

Lattimer also said that past Chapter VII interventions include Kuwait, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda and East Timor.

In Rwanda and Bosnia, he said, the U.N. missions were unable to stop genocide. By contrast the mission in East Timor was widely seen as successful, bringing to an end a widespread pattern of gross human rights violations by the Indonesian army and by militias.

Some current U.N. peacekeeping missions, which have Chapter VII enforcement powers, play a vital role in preventing ethnic killings, including those in Cote d'Ivoire and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, although their record of success is mixed, he declared.

France Arrests Another '94 Genocide Suspect

The New Times (Kigali)

29 February 2008

Felly Kimenyi
Paris

France has arrested another Rwanda Genocide suspect, the second to be apprehended on her territory in two months.

Claver Kamana, who has been on the list of top Genocide suspects wanted by Kigali, was on Tuesday arrested from France's eastern town of Annecy, officials have confirmed.


Rwandan prosecutors say the arrest came after Rwanda issued his international arrest warrant through Interpol.

"The Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit compiled and sent Kamana's indictments and arrest warrant in August last year," Prosecution spokesman, Jean Bosco Mutangana, said yesterday.

Mutangana coordinates the tracking unit, which is composed of prosecutors and police officers.

He said the Government of Rwandan is already preparing a document to request for Kamana's extradition to Rwanda for trial.

On January 7, France arrested another Genocide fugitive, Lt. Col. Marcel Bivugabagabo, who also faces a possible extradition to Kigali.

And another Genocide fugitive, Isaac Kamali, also arrested in France last year after he had been deported from the US, is awaiting a court decision on Rwanda's extradition request.

The examination of the transfer request of Bivugabagabo is also set for March 18 at the Court of Appeal of Toulouse, southern France.

"It is a good progress and cooperation from the French judiciary. They have arrested two people since the year began which is an indication that the French government is keen on bringing to book Genocide perpetrators," Mutangana said.

Kamana, who was on the executive committee of the Mouvement Republicain National pour la Democracie (MRND), the party that masterminded the 1994 Genocide, is accused of having spearheaded killings in the former Runda commune, Gitarama prefecture, now in the Southern Province.

"He was among key financiers of the infamous Radio Television des Milles Collines (RTLM) - a hate radio," Mutangana said.

According to the indictment, Kamana is accused of six counts including Genocide, complicity to Genocide and several other ordinary crimes such as formation of a criminal gang.

"He personally transported militiamen to killing sites and chaired various meetings that incited militias to commit Genocide," said Mutangana.

Apart from the trio, France is holding in custody three other Rwandan suspects arrested at the request of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) based in Arusha, Tanzania.

The three are Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, Laurent Bucyibaruta (the former prefet of Gikongoro prefecture) and Dominique Ntawukuriryayo, a former sous-prefet of Gisagara in the Southern Province.

ICTR has since requested France to prosecute Munyeshyaka - who was two years ago sentenced in absentia to life in prison by the Rwandan Military Tribunal - and Bucyibaruta.

As for Ntawukuriryayo, a French court last week sanctioned his transfer to ICTR for trial.

Other Western countries holding Genocide suspects include Britain, Finland, Holland and the United States.

Hearings on Rwanda's request for extradition of four men detained in Britain are set to resume next month, while the other three countries have one Rwandan suspect in custody each.

"We are expecting more fugitives to be arrested because we have received various rogatory commissions from different countries to investigate the crimes committed by fugitives in their respective countries," said the prosecution spokesman.

Mutangana said that the Government of Rwanda is also in talks with several African countries to ensure that Genocide fugitives holed up there are apprehended.

"We are particularly in touch with Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia," he added.


He said that the reason African countries have not made many arrests compared to European nations was lack of capacity to track the movements of the wanted fugitives.

"In Africa, it is not easy to monitor their movements from one country to another; it is easier in Europe because they track fingerprints," he said. No single Genocide fugitive has been arrested in any African country for over the past ten years on Rwanda's request although last week Tanzania arrested Callixte Nzabonimana after ICTR, which itself sits in that country, indicted him.

Most of these fugitives are said to be moving freely from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to southern African countries such Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia where they are believed to be conducting businesses.

The 1984 Wajir Massacre in Kenya

2008-02-25
announcement by the Kenya Somali Community of North America

February 25, 2008, is exactly 24 years since the horrific massacre that took place when the Kenyan security killed over 400 Somali men. Today, we are submitting a memo to the Kenya High Commission in Ottawa at 415 Laurier Avenue East Street from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm. This is to mark the 24th anniversary of the Wajir Massacre. This act of genocide occurred in 1984 in Wagala near Wajir. The massacre itself occurred following the rounding up of five thousand Somali men and their removal to the Wagala air strip, while their homes were being burnt to the ground. The men were detained within a barbed wire enclosure over a four day period, forced to strip and denied food and water. The massacre has been devastating to the morale of Somalis, the majority of whom are too intimidated to take any action in case of further reprisals.

To the Somalis, the Wajir Massacre is one of the gravest in a sad history of brutal massacres, including Malkameri in 1996, Garissa in 1980, Madogashe in 1982 and Bagala in 1989. Since none of these massacres has ever been investigated, the pattern of repression of the Kenyan Somali people continues.

Hundreds of families of victims of the Wajir Massacre are in the Bula Jogoo area of Wajir and are still in a state of destitution depending solely on relief aid. They have never been compensated for the massacre by the Kenyan government. At the time of the Wajir Massacre there was an international outcry and many western countries showed their concern and protested to the Kenyan government. Among them were Canada, Britain, United States of America, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Finland, Australia, Austria, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands and Belgium. The Kenyan government has, for the first time, admitted that the horrific Wajir Massacre occurred sixteen years ago and that hundreds of ethnic Somalis were killed in the Wajir district in the northeastern province of Kenya during this massacre.

We, the Kenyan Somali Community of North America, are calling on the Kenyan Government to take the following actions immediately:

- Appoint an independent commission of inquiry into the Wajir, Garissa and Malkameri Massacres. - Compensate the bereaved families of the 381 people that the Kenyan government admitted had been massacred by its security forces.

- Immediately bring to justice those who were responsible for these heinous crimes

Spreading Western Values by the Sword

02/18/2008

By Abid Mustafa

Whenever western governments mention weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and Muslims in the same breath, the western media immediately breaks into wild frenzy warning its people that a catastrophic event of epic proportions is about to unfold.

Old European fables of Muslims spreading Islam by the sword are reinvented to convey the impression that Muslims are extremely dangerous, highly irresponsible and pay scant regard to human life. Hence the mantra of disarming Muslim countries of WMD has become the rallying cry of the West directed against the Muslim world.

In some cases the arguments are extended to justify the West’s ongoing policy of regime change in Syria, Iran and perhaps Pakistan. However, a close study of Islamic rule in the past contradicts the popular western myth that Muslims are bloodthirsty people anxious to wipe out the rest of mankind in the name of Islam.

The same however, cannot be said about the West. The West armed with its secular doctrine and materialistic world-view proceeded to exploit, plunder and colonise vast populations in order to control resources and maximise wealth.

In pursuit of these newfound riches the West succeeded in destroying civilisation such as the Incas, American Indians, Aztecs, and Aborigines. Those who survived colonisation were forcibly converted to Christianity, stripped of their heritage and sold into bondage to western companies. For the indigenous people of Africa, India, Asia, Middle East and others, the promises of freedom quickly evaporated and were replaced by colonial rule. Rather than show remorse towards such atrocities the West could only gloat at its achievements.

Technologies such as cannons, pistols, steam engines, machine guns, aeroplanes, mustard gas etc only hastened the acquisition of colonies and the exploitation of its people. Resistance offered by the natives towards their colonial masters was met by brute force – often resulting in the destruction of entire communities. When the West was not destroying the natives they were too busy annihilating each other in a desperate bid to cling on to their precious colonies. World Wars I and II are prime examples of the destructive nature of western values.

This is a description of the Old World where countries like England, France, and Germany built empires and accumulated immense wealth on the death and destruction of millions of innocent people. Is the New World (America leading the West) any different today?

Take the example of the New World and its relationship with Afghanistan and Iraq. Liberation has become occupation; democracy has given way to colonial rule, devastation is termed as precision bombing and the slaughter of innocent Muslims is described as collateral damage. Meanwhile, American and British oil companies are queuing up to exploit the oil wells of Iraq and transport the energy reserves of the Caspian Sea to Europe via Afghanistan.

The Islamic Khilafah in the past never treated mankind in such a barbaric fashion. Neither did the Khilafah spread Islam by force nor destroy civilisations. When Islam spread to Egypt, many Coptic Christians did not embrace Islam and today they still number approximately 7 million. Likewise, when India was opened up to Islam the inhabitants were not coerced into accepting Islam. India today has a population of more than 750 million Hindus.

Compare this to extermination of Muslim and Jews in the courts of the Spanish Inquisitors during the much-coveted European renaissance. Those Jews that survived this Spanish holocaust, were warmly welcomed by the Ottoman Caliphate. In Islamic Spain they flourished and became important members of the Islamic society.

Today the world has more to fear from the destructive nature of western values than WMD. In the past these values were enforced upon nations either through direct colonial rule or through tyrannical regimes loyal to the West. Presently, the greatest danger-facing mankind is the constant threat of the West imposing its values on the rest of the world through WMD.

-Abid Mustafa is a political commentator who specialises in Muslim Affairs. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com

By Inviting Bush We Are Dishonouring Ourselves

by Hamza Mustafa Njozi (2008-02-12)

“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men” – Abraham Lincoln


It would seem to me that there are certain moral limits beyond which no one can cross without forfeiting one’s honour and human dignity. Our seemingly voluntary decision to invite and to entertain a hated war criminal for four days in our beautiful land will probably go down in history as marking the darkest moment in our political history so far. I recall, not without pride, that in 2003 as members of the University of Dar es Salaam Academic Assembly [UDASA], we prevented the then U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania from visiting the Mlimani main campus. The university’s long-standing intellectual tradition was too noble to be soiled by a representative of a war criminal who was, and still is, butchering innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is as it should be. Intellectuals should keep the beacon of freedom and justice burning even during the darkest night of unbridled tyranny.

And now, Kwame Nkrumah’s worst fears have come to pass. Tanzania, a former Frontline State, is feverishly preparing itself to participate in a macabre dance with the deadliest twenty-first century harpy, “a monster who entices its victims with sweet music.” Tanzania is apparently following the footsteps of Uganda and Ethiopia. In whose interest? Let us begin by listening to the sweet music as performed by the U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania and sickeningly echoed by some of our leaders.

The Sweet Music of Economic Gain

According to the American Ambassador, Mr. Mark Green, President Bush’s visit to Tanzania will stimulate investment because for four days the world media would focus on Tanzania. Of course, Mr. Green dismissed claims about Bush’s keen interest to station AFRICOM in Tanzania. Instead, Bush’s noble intentions include intensifying the fight against malaria and Aids. To this end, Tanzania will receive $818.4 million to fight Aids. During the visit, Bush would also highlight his country’s commitment to improving health in Africa. In summary, the iron spine of the argument justifying Bush’s trip is economic gain, both, actual and prospective.

Unless if Tanzanians wish to fall prey to racist reasoning, Mr. Green’s story is nothing but an attempt to disguise ignoble motives beneath a glittering façade of altruism. Why should Mr. Bush be so concerned about improving the health condition of Tanzanians and at the same time use the most sophisticated weapons to kill and maim, with zest and ruthlessness, the Iraqis and Afghans and now the Somalis? Why? Is it because we are black and they are Arab? In his recent State of the Union Address, Mr. Bush, amid cheers from his sycophants, vowed to heighten his hawkish policies world wide. And yet, Mr. Bush is so kind and altruistic to Tanzanians. Why? Of course we know from history that even the sordid intentions of tyrants are always dressed up in glowing principles. Hitler occupied Czechoslovakia because he wanted to promote peace and social welfare for all; Mussolini invaded Ethiopia because he wanted to liberate the savages; Japan invaded China to create an earthly paradise; the US and UK invaded Iraq because Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction; and so on and so forth.

Thomas Jefferson on Profession of Noble Intent

Commenting on the famous claim by the British Imperialists that they were fighting for the liberation of mankind, Thomas Jefferson, wrote, as quoted in Noam Chomsky’s Hegemony or Survival, "We believe no more in Bonaparte’s fighting merely for the liberties of the seas, than in Great Britain’s fighting for the liberties of mankind. The object is the same, to draw to themselves the power, the wealth, and the resources of other nations."

“A century later,” writes Chomsky, “Woodrow Wilson’s secretary of state, Robert Lansing, commented scornfully on ‘how willing the British, French or Italians are to accept a mandate’ from the League of Nations, as long as ‘there are mines, oil fields, rich grain fields or railroads’ that will make it a profitable undertaking.’ These ‘unselfish governments’ declare the mandates must be accepted ‘for the good of mankind’: ‘they will do their proper share by administering the rich regions of Mesopotamia, Syria, & c.’ The proper assessment of these pretensions is ‘so manifest that it is almost an insult to state it’. (p. 48)

To their credit, American leaders saw through such pretensions, and dismissed them for what they were. They knew the real motive was to grab the wealth and resources of other nations. We should apply the same standard in assessing the noble intent of Mr. Bush.

The Transparency of American Motives

Since the Americans know that their real motive is to pillage and loot the wealth and resources of other nations, they have often demonstrated by their behaviour that they must have unhindered access to all resources of the world. To achieve this end, they have stationed military bases all over the world. The goal of their grand strategy is to prevent any challenge to the power, position, and prestige of the United States. Since securing the supplies of oil enables the Americans to have power over her rivals and competitors, successive US governments have bombed, occupied or controlled countries with rich oil deposits. According to a government daily newspaper Habari Leo of 21 July 2007, an American oil company Helvey International and Petronet International of South Africa have signed a $313 million oil exploration contract in Tanzania. In view of how American oil companies have fleeced other oil rich countries like Ecuador, this does not augur us well. No wonder, suddenly, Bush, loves Tanzanians! Why not invite the Chinese who need no military bases, who have invaded no country and who give the best offer? If what has befallen other countries is any barometer, the Americans will need a military base in Tanzania. Military presence is necessary to ensure total control of this vital resource as well as the continued pillage of our gold mines.

Of late USAID has increased its activities in Tanzania. Commenting on the role of USAID in promoting the American Empire, John Pilger notes in Freedom Next Time:

Illuminating how America exported ‘democracy to the world’, the head of USAID, Andrew Natsios, described ‘aid’ as ‘a key foreign policy instrument’. Wishing to leave no doubt about what he meant, he said, ‘Foreign assistance helps developing and transition nations move toward democratic systems and market economies; it helps nations prepare for participation in the global trading system and become better markets for U.S. exports. (p.265)

John Perkins has lent to the same verdict the weight of his considerable weight as a professional Economic Hit Man [EHM]. He says the job of an EHM is:

To encourage world leaders to become part of a vast network that promotes U.S. commercial interests. In the end, those leaders become ensnared in a web of debt that ensures their loyalty. We can draw on them whenever we desire – to satisfy our political, economic, or military needs.

Acccording to John Perkins, EHM “funnel money from the World Bank, UASID, and other foreign ‘aid’ organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources” (p. ix).

Bush’s Visit and AFRICOM

The U.S. Ambassador has repeatedly and vehemently dismissed the disquieting reports that one of the objectives of Bush’s visit to Tanzania is to persuade our leaders into accepting to host the hated AFRICOM. Still, the signs and portents are too consistent to brush aside. According to Assistant Secretary of Defence for African Affairs, Theresa Whalen, the mission of AFRICOM will be to promote diplomatic, economic and humanitarian aid for African countries. In recent months, the U.S. Ambassadors, Michael Retzer and Mark Green have conspicuously [ and somewhat undiplomatically] attempted to show the shiny face of the U.S. Army. On 20 July, 2007 the US Ambassador opened a primary school in Chake Chake, Pemba. The school was built with the support of the US military base in Djibouti. The U.S. Navy Captain Wright from the U.S. CJTF-HOA, and the Country Director of USAID attended this important humanitarian function! Mwananchi of 10 November 2006 reported about a Tshs. 3.2 billion U.S assistance to the police laboratory. Habari Leo of 28 November 2007 reported that our police force received 100 hand-cuffs, 50 tape-recorders, 2 laptops, and a camera. Mwananchi of 8 December 2007, reported about the U.S. pledge to increase military assistance to Tanzania to the tune of $70 million under the Acota programme. Mwananchi of 6 December 2007, the U.S. Ambassador addresses students of Kinondoni Secondary school who are under USAID’s Stay Alive programme. Mwananchi of 22 November, 2007 the U.S. Ambassador visits and assists an orphanage in Arusha. Mwananchi of 22 November 2007, the U.S. Army helps a Handeni Hospital with equipments worth Tshs. 6 million. The U.S. Army stationed in Tanga involves itself with helping in the repair and rehabilitation of schools, dispensaries, bore holes and other social activities. Mwananchi of 12 January 2008, an American Army officer distributes toys to school children of Mbagala. Mwananchi of 17 January 2008, USAID officials give academic prizes to outstanding science students. Mtanzania of 10 January 2008, USAID praises the educational achievements of Zanzibar. USAID was handing over text books for Zanzibar secondary schools published by the University of South Carolina. The ceremony was part of the celebrations to mark 44 years of the Zanzibar Revolution. The Zanzibar Minister of Education did not seem to notice the tragic irony of the entire ceremony!

It may be instructive to recall that on 6 November 1933, Hitler responded to his political opponents by saying, “Your child belongs to us already…What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.” Four years later he said, “This new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing.” Yes, new textbooks were written and new curricula developed.

After 44 years of Independence we are delegating this role to USAID. And USAID has nothing but praise for us!

The Boomerang Effect of the Global Media

The prediction that Tanzania would benefit economically because for four days the world media would focus on Tanzania is nothing but a cruel hoax. If this claim were true, Bush himself would have been the first beneficiary. He enjoys the publicity of the world media throughout the year. Yet, he is probably the most hated leader alive today. He is so hated that he becomes a huge security risk wherever he goes. In their book, America Alone, Harper and Clarke note that America’s militarism has brought about such a rise in world-wide anti-American feeling that:

When the president travels, he must do so in a locked-down security bubble: eight hours here, sixteen hours there, never more than thirty minutes from an airport, no press conferences, no meeting the people, no seeing of the sights. American representative overseas tell us that in many small ways their jobs have become more difficult…(p. 311).

Tanzania under Mwalimu Nyerere received very negative publicity from Newsweek, Time, The Economist, and other leading Western magazines and newspapers. And yet, as a nation we commanded respect throughout the world. The U.S. print and electronic media had nothing but praises for Tony Blair. And yet, unlike the leaders of Germany and France who took a principled stand against America’s unprovoked military aggression in Iraq, Blair’s enduring political image is that of a contemptible poodle of Uncle Sam and his otherwise great country as the 51st State of America!

In 2001 the U.S. Congress passed a bill which directed the government to cut off military aid to all countries which ratified the International Criminal Court treaty, unless they pledged never to surrender American criminals to the International court. Tanzania took a principled stand. It refused to bow to American pressure. Uganda bowed to the U.S. Bush praised Museveni as a shining example of African statesmen. To the rest of the world, Museveni had metamorphosed from a revolutionary African leader to a docile American pupil. In this regard, for some of us, it is a huge embarrassment when the number one war criminal in the world, who should be facing charges in the Hague, showers praises on our leader. No amount of positive media coverage may possibly help Senator Obama win votes in the U.S. if he were for four days to dine and go sight-seeing with Osama bin Laden in the beautiful land of Afghanistan! The situation would certainly be far worse if Osama were to shower praises on him. Likewise, Tanzania will irreparably tarnish her image by allowing the blood-drenching Bush to land in Tanzania, let alone to entertain him for four dark days.

When Fidel Castro or Nelson Mandela visited Tanzania, the country virtually came to a standstill. Thousands upon thousands of Tanzanians braved the rain and the scorching sun to welcome them at the airport. The rest thronged the streets out of respect and admiration. What a contrast with the forthcoming visit of Mr. Bush. For the first time since Independence, a state visit by a foreign head of state is greeted with fierce debates about the wisdom of allowing him to come! His presence is not an asset but a political liability.

Ominous Signs on the Wall

One ominous result of our close association with the American Empire, which may not be intended but inevitable, is the radical shift in our foreign policy. You cannot unequivocally support the rights of the Palestinian people against the Zionist occupation of their land and at the same time win the praise of Mr. Bush as an exemplary statesman. America is backing Israel to the hilt. We used to support the Palestinian people. To this day there is in Sinza area a hospital named after Palestine. The Palestinian people provided us with their doctors in appreciation of our political solidarity with them. We have to make a choice. We either maintain our stance against oppression and foreign occupation and court the displeasure of Mr. Bush or join the oppressors and win the unqualified praise from Mr. Bush and his so-called world media. It seems we value the empty praises of Mr. Bush more. This is a political tragedy.

The clearest example of this shift was observed when in 2006, the Israelis with the open support of the U.S. and UK launched their ill-fated war against Hezbullah in Lebanon. Tanzania was at a loss. The incompatibility of running with the hare and hunting with the hound confronted us. As country after country issued statements to condemn Israel, Tanzania kept quiet. And when we could no longer keep quiet, we issued a feeble and disappointing statement which provoked the anger of most Tanzanians. For the first time, Tanzania spoke with an uncertain voice. We condemned both, the aggressor and the victim! Even that feeble statement was eclipsed in virtually all print and electronic media! The Americans were happy. We were on the side of oppressors. We qualified to send a peace-keeping force to Lebanon! This, again, is a very bad omen indeed.

On the question of Somalia, once again, Tanzania is supporting the war-lords who were recruited and funded by the U.S. The Somali people rejected and defeated them. Peace returned in Somalia. The U.S instructed Ethiopia to intervene militarily. As a result, the biggest humanitarian crisis now is not in Darfur but in Somalia. However, since the principal architect of the crisis in Somalia is America, the suffering of the Somali people is not covered in the so-called world media. Uganda has dutifully sent her army to Mogadishu to give political life support to the American puppets. Tanzania has accepted the role of training the police force of Bush’s henchmen in Mogadishu. We are allowing America to divide us. In whose interest?

In short, as we go closer and closer to the armpit of the U.S. we shall quite inevitably, recede further and further from our former Third world allies. Americans and Europeans are granted visa at the airport here in Dar es Salaam. Egyptians, our long-standing allies and fellow Africans have to apply for visa and await clearance before they can travel to Tanzania. We invite investors from America, and we organize the Sullivan meeting. We discourage investors from the Middle East. America does not like them. The president has made many trips abroad. I do not recall if he has visited Iran, where we do not even have an Embassy. And yet, Iran bailed us out at a very critical moment when the country had no fuel. When our president was in Cuba to attend the NAM conference, he did not pay a courtesy call to Fidel Castro! From Cuba he went to the U.S. These are ominous signs on our political wall.

The Hawk and the Pigeons

In the Fables of Aesop there is a story of the hawk and the pigeons which is worth recalling as we invite Bush in Tanzania:

Some pigeons had long lived in fear of a hawk, but since they had always kept on the alert and stayed near their dovecote, they had consistently managed to escape their enemy’s attacks. Finding his sallies unsuccessful, the hawk now sought to use cunning to trick the pigeons.
“Why,” he once said, “do you prefer this life of constant anxiety when I could keep you safe from any conceivable attack by the kites and falcons? All you have to do is to make me your king, and I won’t bother you anymore.”
Trusting his claims, the pigeons elected him to their throne, but no sooner was he installed than he began exercising his royal prerogative by devouring a pigeon a day.
“It serves us right,” said one poor pigeon whose turn was yet to come.

The moral of the story is that some remedies are worse than the disease itself.

Let me end as I began with a quotation:

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”
--Abraham Lincoln.

*Hamza Mustafa Njozi is a Senior Lecturer in Literature and current Chair in the Department of Literature at the University of Dar es Salaam.

what is Bush doing in Africa and Rwanda=

George Bush Visits Africa to promote the US Africa Command
Horace Campbell look at Bush's visit as an attempt to further militarize the continent and consolidate US holding

18 February 2008 - Horace Campbell (The writer is Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University.)
Source: www.pambazuka.org

One year after the announcement that he United States government was going to accelerate the militarization of Africa, President George Bush is embarking on a journey to Africa to coerce African societies to align themselves with the neo-conservative agenda of the present US administration. President George Bush will visit five African countries between February 15 -21. The countries are Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda and Tanzania. George Bush is a lame-duck President who cannot visit real global players so this visit to Africa is an effort to shore up the credentials of the neo-liberal forces in Africa while promoting the conservative ideas of abstinence as the basis of the fight against the HIV -AIDS pandemic.

Exactly one year ago, in February 2007, President Bush of the United States of America announced that the Defense Department would create a new Africa Command to coordinate U.S. government interests on the continent. Under this plan all governmental agencies of the US would fall under the military, i.e, USAID, State Department, US Department of Energy, Treasury, and Department of Education etc. Already within the US academic community, the interests of the Pentagon has been placed before all other interests.

In pursuance of the plans for the militarization of Africa, the US Department of Defense announced the appointment of General William "Kip" Ward (an African American) as Head of this new Military command. On September 28, 2007, Ward as confirmed as the head of this new imperial military structure and on October 1 2007, the new command was launched in Stuttgart, Germany. The major question that is being posed by African peace activists and by concerned citizens is, why now? Why is a lame duck President seeking to gain more support in Africa?

One answer may lay in the diminished power of the United States in the aftermath of the Fiasco in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will maintain in this reflection that it is urgent that peace activists who want reconstruction and transformation in Africa oppose the plans for the remilitarization of Africa under the guise of fighting terrorism in Africa.

Why Now?

At the end of World War II the United States had emerged as a leading political, economic and military force in world politics. It was in this period when the US established unified military command structures such as the European Command, the Pacific Command, the Southern Command, the Northern Command, and Central Command. Each command covers an area of responsibility (AOR). When this command structure was being refined, Africa was an after thought in so far as the United States had relegated the exploitation of Africa to the former European colonial exploiters. Hence, Africa fell under the European Command with its headquarters in Germany. Africa had not been included in the geographic combatant commands in so far as it was expected that France, Britain, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Portugal and other colonial powers would retain military forces to guarantee western 'interests' in Africa. The collapse of the Portuguese colonial forces in Mozambique, Angola, Guinea and Sao Tome and the collapse of the white racist military forces in Rhodesia gradually led to a rethinking by the US military. During this period the US had labeled all African freedom fighters as terrorists. When the US was allied with Osama Bin Laden and Jonas Savimbi, Nelson Mandela had been branded a terrorist.

Central Command

After the Iranian revolution in 1978-1979, the US established the Central Command. CENTCOM based in Florida, USA was responsible for the US military activities in East Africa and the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia and the Sudan). The Pacific Command based in Hawaii was responsible for the Comoros, Diego Garcia, Madagascar and Mauritius. Added to these commands in six continents are the logistical command structures such as the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), Space Command (SPACECOM), the Strategic Command (STRATCOM), the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the Transport Command (TRANSCOM).

At the end of the era of formal apartheid, the US military had established the Africa Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) with the goal of supporting humanitarianism and ending genocide. It was this same US government that had lobbied the United Nations to withdraw troops from Rwanda in the midst of the fastest genocide in Africa. Two years later, the US supported the militarist forces in Burundi even while publicly renouncing the genocidal violence and the war in Burundi.

Throughout this period, the US military had been cautious about involvement in Africa in the aftermath of the experience in Mogadishu/Somalia in 1993. This caution changed after the events of September 2001. In the next year the USA updated its ACRI "plans" to organize the African Contingency Operations Training Assistance (ACOTA). Under ACOTA, African troops were supposed to be provided with offensive military weaponry, including rifles, machine guns, and mortars. The Africa Regional Peacekeeping Program (ARP) was also established in order to equip, train, and support troops from selected African countries that are involved in "peacekeeping" operations. Additionally, the US government launched a Pan Sahel anti-terrorism initiative (later called Trans Sahara Counter Terror Initiative). Behind these grand mutations lay one clear fact. The USA wanted to control the oil resources from Africa. Presently Africa supplies more petroleum to the USA than the Middle East and US corporations wanted the US military to guarantee the dominance of US oil conglomerates.

Exposing US militarism and the failures in the Middle East

After launching two major wars from the United States Central Command, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq pointed to the reality that high technology weapons cannot guarantee military superiority in battles. It was in the face of the quagmire that the US faced in Iraq when the United States government announced the formation of a new command structure called, Africom.

What did we learn from the visit of George Bush to the Middle East in January 2008? Even the friends and allies of the USA (such as the leadership of Saudi Arabia and Egypt) warned that the US could not get anywhere as long as the issue of the Israeli occupation of Palestine does not end. And, lo and behold, the people of Gaza took matters in their hands a few days after the visit of Bush to Egypt to bring home to the world the reality that there can be no peace in Palestine when there is illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands along with the expansion of Jewish settlements in Palestine. By breaking out of the blockade of Israel and breaking through the walls that divided Gaza from Egypt. The citizens of Gaza were literally breaking the silence in the international community over the crimes against the peoples of Palestine. In the process these citizens placed the Egyptian leadership on the defensive and clarified the true alliance between Israel, Egypt and the United States. In the face of the protracted struggles of the Palestinian peoples, the future of US domination in the Middle East remains unclear, hence the political leadership in the USA is seeking new bases of support in Africa to base US troops and to strengthen the US oil corporations. In other parts of North Africa there are leaders who proclaim support for the rights of the self determination of the peoples of Palestine yet, covertly and overtly work with the government of the USA.

The governments of Morocco and Algeria, in particular, stand out as military allies of the USA while posturing that they oppose Israeli occupation. The government of Algeria is an accomplice in fabricating terrorism in the Sahel in order to justify its military alliance with the USA. Similarly, the government of Libya projects itself as a progressive government but is seeking to ingratiate itself with the neo-conservative forces in Washington. Both Algeria and Libya are important producers of petroleum and natural gas.

African Oil -The real objective

The invasion of Iraq, the instability on the border between Turkey and Iraq (with the threat of a Turkish invasion of Iraq), the stalemate over the future of Lebanon and the continued struggles for self determination in Palestine has sharpened the contradictions between imperialism and the peoples of the Middle East. In the face of this situation there are scholars who have argued and presented evidence that the government of the United States has been "fabricating terrorism" in Africa. This fabrication of terrorism carries with it racial stereotypes to support US military action in Africa. The hypocrisy of the US government in this region is manifest in the fact that while there is a major campaign against genocide and against genocidal violence in Darfur, the government of the USA cooperates with the government of the Sudan on the grounds of "intelligence sharing to fight terrorism." It is in the Sudan where the neo-conservatives are stoking the fires of war in order to get access to the oil resources of the Sudan.

Under the guise of fighting terrorism the government of the US has been involved in many illegal activities such as kidnapping citizens in the so called extraordinary rendition.

Challenging the European Union and China in Africa

The changed realities in the Middle East and in Africa have been accompanied by a new activist posture of China in Africa. Outmaneuvered in Asia by China and challenged by the rising democratic forces in Latin America, the spaces for the accumulation of capital by US capitalists are dwindling.

In the past, when there was a crisis such as the period after the Vietnam War, the USA could transfer the crisis to other countries via the IMF. But the European Union has challenged this calculus and created the Euro as an alternative to the US dollar.
It will not be possible for the IMF to transfer the crisis to Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East or Latin America.
This means that there is only one area of the world where the US imperialists will have free rein. This is in Africa. It is also in Africa where there is a movement against the economic terrorism of neo-liberalism and the unjust conditionalities of the IMF and World Bank.

African responses

Thus far the majority of African states have refused to host the Africa Command. Despite the aggressive military and diplomatic efforts by the US government, not even the closest "partners' of the imperialists have supported this call for the Africa Command. There is only one state (Liberia) that has openly called for the basing of the US Africa command on African soil. Though the United States has 5,458 "distinct and discreet military installations around the world there are pressures from the military-industrial and oil complex for the USA to have more effective resources in Africa to defend US capitalism.

For the past twenty years the US government had been building political assets in Kenya to pave the way for 'security cooperation." Kenya would have been one of the stops on this visit but the political struggles in Kenya made it impossible for George Bush to visit Kenya. It is this country that has participated in the so called extra-ordinary rendition.
More than 90 persons were captured with apparent U.S. involvement after they fled fighting in Somalia. The prisoners were rendered on a plane chartered by the Kenyan government into secret detention in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Uganda would have been another stop on the visit, but the continued war in the North and the clear dictatorial character of the Museveni government made this stop undesirable.

One other undesirable ally is Ethiopia. The government of Meles Zenawi has joined in the efforts to fabricate terrorism in Somalia and has invaded Somalia. Yet, despite this alliance, Bush and the planners in Washington did not deem it safe for Bush to visit Ethiopia.
Bush could not go to South Africa at this time because Jacob Zuma is the President of the ANC. He could not go to Nigeria because the Nigerians are opposed to the so called war on terror. So Bush had to find a country where he could go to. The US settled on Tanzania and Rwanda.

In West Africa, the US President is going to Benin, Liberia and Ghana. It will be the task of the political activists and democratic forces in these societies to demonstrate against the US and the plans for Africom in West Africa.

Peace loving citizens must oppose the militarization of Africa.

In 1980 when the US Central Command was being debated the citizens of the Middle East and North Africa did not sufficiently engage the full meaning of this new military structure. After the militarization of the Middle East, five major wars and millions dead, it is urgent that peace activists oppose the plans to bring Africa closer into this arc of warfare.

The quest for peace in Africa has been sharpened by the crude materialism of the present period and the intensified exploitation of Africans in the era of plunder and looting. Contemporary looting of Africa is hidden behind the discourses of liberalization, privatization, the freedom of markets and the Global war on terror.
Racist images of war and "anarchy" and "failed states" are mobilized by the international media to justify the launch of the US military command structure for Africa. Those who support real cooperation, solidarity and anti racism must oppose the US Africa command.

We should remember the statement of the columnist of the New York Times, Thomas Friedman who had written, 'The hidden hand of the market will never work without the hidden fist - McDonald's cannot flourish without McDonnell Douglas, the designer of the F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley's technologies is called the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.'

Bush Returns to Africa

Twisted Priorities

By EVE BACHRACH
Counterpunch February 16 / 17, 2008

This week, President Bush sets out on his second state visit to Africa. The six-day trip will take him to Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda and Tanzania. Yet it is far from clear what the people of Africa stand to gain from the visit. A lame duck president with a hostile Congress at home, Bush has little to offer the continent but platitudes.

President Bush has used his presidency to make a succession of grand statements on human rights and democracy, which he has then followed by returning to his own reactionary agenda. The man who campaigned as a "compassionate conservative" has in fact governed with a callous disregard for human life. There was nothing compassionate about his invasion and subsequent abandonment of Afghanistan. And nothing compassionate about launching a second war in Iraq designed to make multinational corporations rich and test out neoliberal ideas of pre-emptive war and "exporting" democracy.

And so on the eve of his Africa trip, it's worth exploring exactly what policies he intends to implement when he makes rosy promises to the African continent.
Since his January 2008 State of the Union address to Congress, much of the focus of his visit has been on the promises Bush made regarding HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) promises $30 billion over five years for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. But fully one third of that money is required to go to "abstinence-only" education--programmes popular with Bush's base back home but proven ineffectual time and again. The bill also makes outreach work with sex workers, a key constituency in the fight against AIDS, nearly impossible.

PEPFAR is dressed up to sound like a compassionate plan to help the millions of Africans affected by AIDS, but in fact it sacrifices the suffering of millions to right wing talking points. Helping those in need is never as important as throwing a bone to Bush's base: extreme rightwingers and big business.
When it comes to alleviating the crushing poverty faced by so many Africans, President Bush is guided by the same twisted priorities. According to a White House statement, Bush is seeking to spur development by discussing how the United States can support "free trade, open investment regimes and economic opportunity" in Africa. Poverty reduction is a noble aim, but these prescriptions will not achieve it. Instead they will make rich corporations richer while stagnating--if not destroying--local economies.

The Bush administration preaches the gospel of free trade as a cure-all. But free trade, especially as practised by the US, falls short on a number of key levels. While refusing to allow developing countries to protect their own fledgling economies, the US has not recognised the hypocrisy in its own agricultural subsidies. Each year, billions of dollars in "aid" goes to large-scale farmers across the country, and the harmful effects are felt around the world. The US subsidies, and subsequent overproduction of key crops, artificially drive down global prices and have been found illegal by the WTO. One recent study found that if US cotton subsidies were removed, the price of cotton could rise by as much as 14%. The extra income in the pocket of a West African farmers--20 million of whom rely on cotton for income--could feed millions of children each year.

On the other side of the equation is the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a Clinton-era measure that has undergone several mutations under Bush. AGOA largely removed tariffs and quotas on a number of goods imported to the US from 39 African countries. In exchange for this, African governments were forced to accept American foreign investment and harmful financial liberalisation.

Since the measure went into effect, imports from Africa to the US have more than quadrupled. But real benefits have been illusive. While jobs have increased, decent work is still hard to find. Labourers working well over 12 hours a day still fall short of taking home a living wage. The executive director of the International Labour Rights Forum, Bama Athreya, said: "Our goal shouldn't simply be to provide any job through our trade policy, but to provide really decent jobs that come with dignity, respect, and the possibility that these workers can prosper in the future and expect a better life for their children."

Workers haven't seen benefits in the short term, and long-term development is also unlikely to materialise. The textile industries in many of Africa's least developed countries are entirely dependent on foreign capital. Asian companies have set up factories on the continent, and domestic growth in the industry has been nil. And as Chinese exports flood global markets, African textiles have decreased for two years running, making a future upturn increasingly unlikely.

But he's not all bad. In his most recent State of the Union address, President Bush did at least ask Congress to approve a measure that would allow 25% of the US food aid budget to go towards buying food grown locally in developing countries, rather than only benefiting US exporters as it has until now. Such a measure would increase emergency response times, benefit local farmers and prevent economic disasters when markets are flooded with cheap American produce. Bush has announced this plan four years running now. This year, as before, Congress is expected to stop it in its tracks.

Eve Bachrach lives in London, where she works for War on Want. She can be reached at: EBachrach@waronwant.org

P.S. to sum it all up: the Monster from Washington's visit to Africa is the most serious form of evironmental pollution the continent has had to endure for years

Extradite Murwanashyaka, Survivors ask German President

The New Times (Kigali)
8 February 2008
Posted to the web 8 February 2008
Daniel Sabiiti
Kigali

Genocide survivors have asked the visiting German President Horst Köhler to help extradite the leader of a genocidal force, Ignace Murwanashyaka, from the European nation.
The call was made yesterday by representatives of IBUKa, the national umbrella of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide survivors, during yesterday's open discussion between President Köhler and Gacaca judges at the Rwanda Institute of Administration and Management (Riam) in Muhanga District, Southern Province.

Murwanashyaka is the leader of the DR Congo-based Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which is largely composed of elements responsible for the Genocide in which an estimated on million people perished.
He flew to Germany two years ago from DR Congo in breach of a UN travel embargo, and his group was blacklisted by regional governments and the U.S. as a terrorist group.
The survivors said continued existence of FDLR in DR Congo coupled with such individuals as Murwanashyaka was a threat to the recovery and development achievements the country has registered fourteen years down the line.
And the Executive Secretary of IBUKA Benoit Kaboyi told The New Times in Kigali that it was important for survivors to underline the problem of Murwanashyaka's continued presence in Germany, from where he has continued to spread genocide propaganda with revisionist tendencies.
"It is important that such an individual is stopped," he said.

Köhler said that the process to act against Murwanashyaka had begun and that a decision by German judiciary was awaited.
The German President said that the process of attaining unity and reconciliation through Gacaca jurisdictions is an important lesson for Germans and the entire world.
Köhler, who is in Rwanda on a three-day visit, was in company of his wife, Eva Louise Köhler, and Christian Clages, the German ambassador to Rwanda.
The visiting President was welcomed by Protais Musoni, the Minister of Local Government, Fidel Ndayisaba, the Governor of the Southern Province and Domitila Mukantaganzwa, the Executive Secretary of Gacaca jurisdictions.
Köhler said that talking to the local Gacaca judges was an opportunity to learn the actual process of Gacaca court proceedings and said he would share the lessons with Germans back home.
"I have come to talk to the judges so that I can understand and get the real feel of how justice is delivered in this sense, and how unity and reconciliation has been achieved through these local courts" Köhler said.
He added that: "This experience is so different from the German justice system and the lessons will be important for my country to understand the reality so that we can better help Rwanda's justice system"
Köhler posed various questions to the judges, representatives of IBUKA and the area residents.
The visiting President sought explanations on how Gacaca judges ascertain the authenticity of testimonies from Genocide suspects, how the Gacaca has helped re-unite Rwandans and the integrity of Gacaca judges.
"I have come to learn from the Gacaca system in Rwanda, especially on how the judges are able to find the truth and trust the testimonies of suspects; without any political influence in the process.
"How do you differentiate the truth from lies, and how independent and are the decisions of (Gacaca) courts in order to deliver justice to Rwandans?" Köhler asked.
In response, the judges said that the Gacaca jurisdictions are based on the Rwandan traditional justice system and that it offered the best chance for attainment of participatory justice, reconciliation and truth after the 1994 Genocide.

One of the judges explained: "We mainly to the Gacaca law and analysis of the truth is determined based on the testimonies from suspects, witnesses and as well as other residents."
The judges also stressed that participation of Rwandans was pivotal in attaining the truth and that the decision of judges reached after a panel of seven people has voted on the issue at hand.
The German President said he was pleased to draw lessons from Rwanda's experience and promised that his country would take a lead role in supporting the government to meet it goals of unity and reconciliation.

Parliament Passes Tough Law Against Genocide Revisionism

Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)
8 February 2008
Posted to the web 8 February 2008

Kigali

Lawmakers on Friday voted through a controversial new law aimed at putting a halt to increasing cases of Genocide revisionism, known here as 'Genocide Ideology', RNA reports.
Members in the Lower House unanimously backed the law introduced recently following damning revelations showing gruesome cases in which school children were involved in ethnically motivated abuse.

'Genocide ideology' is a term used to describe the notion that Genocide perpetrators used to instill a hate campaign that created divisions.
Before the Genocide, a carefully crafted strategy dating back to colonial times under the Belgians, people were classified into Hutu, Twa and Tutsi. These identifications were put in national IDs essentially engraining the notion into everybody as belong to this or that group. During the mass slaughter, the hunted were simply sieved by help of the IDs.
The previous law instituted non-utilization of ethnicity in any form in a move the authorities had wanted to create a population that looks at 'Rwandan' first and superior to any other distinctions.

Under the new law, guilty children less than 12 years will be locked up in rehabilitation centres for not more than 12 months.
Anybody that kills another out of the influence of 'Genocide Ideology' or is involved in a plot to kill will go to jail for the rest of their life - which is the highest criminal punishment in Rwanda.
Under no circumstances shall there be any review of the punishment slammed on the guilty. This essentially means there will no option where the jailed guilty is pardoned or their prison term is reduced.
A guilty person on 'Genocide Ideology' for the second time will go back behind bars for life, the law asserts.
However, for the first occurrence, the accused will be liable to face between 10 to 25 years and a fine ranging from Rwf. 200.000 ($360) to 1 million ($1900).
The law is yet to go to the Upper House - the Senate - for further consideration and is likely to sail through with ease and urgency considering the motivation behind it.
The law was motivated by a parliamentary commission report in December last year which showed there was evidence that some Rwandan schools were encouraging a platform to promote "genocide ideology". The MPs' inquiry came up with a list of 11 schools, where students rebuked each other depending on which ethnic group they came from.

President Paul Kagame will also have to look through the law, as the final hurdle before it becomes final.
In 2002, President Paul Kagame kicked out a controversial article on Genocide revisionism in the media bill in which parliament wanted a death penalty for journalists guilty of promoting hate in any way using the media.
Lawmakers recently launched a major campaign that should take them to all schools around the country sensitizing students on the problem. There will be billboards across the country inscribed 'Never Again'. Parents are supposed to ensure that their children do not develop such bad characters, with the help of educationists.

La privatisation de la violence

Mercenaires & sociétés militaires privées au service du marché, de Xavier Renou
Publié par Survie et Agir Ici
Présentation :
La marchandisation s’étend désormais au domaine de la « violence légitime », un secteur en plein essor qui représenterait déjà un bénéfice annuel de plus de 100 milliards de dollars.
Les mercenaires de jadis sont aujourd’hui les employés de « sociétés militaires privées » parfaitement légales qui, renvoyant à un passé révolu l’image sulfureuse des « chiens de guerre », tentent de se construire un rôle respectable dans la fiction d’un marché dispensateur de paix et de démocratie. Elles proposent pourtant à leurs clients (États, firmes multinationales, mouvements armés divers) les habituelles prestations d’ordre militaire : opérations de déstabilisation, combat, conseil en stratégie, logistique, etc. C’est ainsi, par exemple, qu’une firme dont la mission officielle de « formation à la transition démocratique » conduit au bombardement de civils recevra la bénédiction aussi bien de son client que des instances de contrôle.
Parce qu’elles font pleinement jouer le mécanisme de circulation entre les secteurs militaires privé et public - l’une d’elles a recruté successivement l’ancien secrétaire à la Défense de Ronald Reagan, l’ancien secrétaire d’État James Baker et l’ancien président des États-Unis George Bush père -, les sociétés mercenaires influent de plus en plus sur les politiques de « défense ».
Parce qu’elles se mettent au service des multinationales qui exploitent les pays du Sud dotés en ressources minières, ces sociétés agissent comme les gardiens d’un ordre économique qui maintient dans la plus grande dépendance des pays en principe libérés depuis plusieurs décennies du joug colonial.
Les sociétés militaires privées seraient-elles l’instrument privilégié du retour de l’impérialisme ?

Chercheur en sciences politiques, Xavier Renou est responsable de la campagne « Désarmement nucléaire » de Greenpeace France.

Subsidy cuts boost Africa’s sugar producers

Ben Zwinkels
The European Union agriculture ministers have recently agreed to cut the prices offered to European sugar farmers by 36 percent, bringing the European Union sugar rules into line with global frameworks. African sugarcane producers are among the first beneficiaries.

This change was demanded of the European Union after the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled earlier this year that its existing 40-year-old guaranteed pricing system was illegal. The WTO's judgement followed a formal complaint from Sugar Cane Producing Countries. Countries like Australia, Brazil and Thailand will now benefit from a reduction in subsidised European sugar on the global marketplace, along with other smaller sugar producing countries in Africa like Uganda, Cameroon, Rwanda and Kenya.

In the past international campaigning groups for poor countries have highlighted many times the absurdities of agricultural subsidies, by focusing on those for sugar, a product that developing countries are especially good at producing.

The sugarcane raw material generates sugar, anhydrous alcohol (a gasoline additive) and hydrated alcohol for the internal and external markets, with different price and demand dynamics. Supplying these markets without significant variations requires planning and management efforts.

Over centuries, this had been carried out by local governments, starting in the decade of the 90's, in a process that was concluded in 1999, responsibility was totally transferred to the private sector, and what exists today is a free market system without subsidies, where sugar and alcohol prices are set according to variations in supply and demand. Sugarcane prices are set according to raw material quality, to prices effectively obtained by the final producers and their percentage participation in the products' final price.

Brazil is the largest world sugarcane producer, followed by India and Australia. On average, 55% of Brazilian sugarcane becomes alcohol and 45% sugar. The sugarcane plant offers one of the most cost-effective renewable resources among those renewable energy options that are readily available in developing countries.

It is a highly efficient converter of solar energy and, in fact, has the highest energy-to-volume ratio among energy crops. It is a highly diversified resource, offering alternatives for production of food, feed, fibre and energy. Such flexibility is valuable in the developing world where fluctuations in commodity prices and weather conditions can cause severe economic hardships.

It is expected that the abolished subsidies by the European Union on European sugar farmers will lead to more production of sugar cane in the developing countries, especially in Africa. International sugar prices are ruling now around USD 350 a tonne, which is good news for sugar mills also in Africa.
The Ugandan sugarcane production for example is already since a long time an important crop. One of the leading companies in the sugarcane industry in Uganda now is the Madhvani Group, which started the Kakira Sugar Works in 1940 near the pristine shores of Lake Victoria.

The creator of the Karika Sugar Works was the Indian Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani, a man with great vision, who settled himself in 1912 in Jinja in Uganda. With little more than brains and an outgoing personality, he set up his own trading concern - his first step into a business that would later account for 10% of Uganda's GDP.

Nowadays Kakira Sugar Works is a successful sugar cane plantation of 9.500 ha with a workforce of 7.500 staff and workers. The company cooperates with over 4.000 out growing farmers supplying sugar cane to the factory. The social infrastructure includes staff housing, electrical distribution systems, roads, a hospital and 12 schools for employees’ children.

With the abolished subsidies on sugar in Europe more possibilities will be created for Africa Sugar Cane companies. Kakira Sugar Works is already working on a major expansion programme in order to increase out growers land under cane to 13.000 hectares - with subsequent expansion to 18,000 hectares in the next 2-3 years.

In this respect the Madhvani Group will contribute substantially to guiding the out growers with initial seeds, crop cultivation and harvest methods. All this will lead to an annual increase of more than 160.000 tons of sugar.

On the processing site Kakira Sugar Works is actually realising an important investment in the modernisation of the production plant and is creating a co -generation capacity of 21 MW of electricity, which will be delivered to the National Grid on a 24 hours/day basis.

Co -generation capacity will be possible by using “bagasse”, which is a by-product of the processing plant and creates now a substantial added value by producing electricity for at least two middle sized towns in Uganda. The Madhvani Group in Uganda can be proud of their constant efforts in developing the private sector in that country and in creating local knowledge for sustainable growth and ownership.

The absurdities of agricultural subsidies on sugar in Europe have shown that the system obstructed the African agricultural development. With the new policy in hand Africa is now able to become a real player in the international agricultural business.

Ben Zwinkels is a Senior Investment Officer of the Equity Department at the Netherlands Development Finance Company FMO

CHAD

Mr Sarkozy has claimed France's right to interfvene in Chad when he deems this necessary. France has a long-standing tendency to support dictatorships in Afica. Not so surprising when one remembers that many of those dictators came to power with the support of France. Chad is one of these cases.The present Chadian government headed by mr Idriss Deby Itno is a usurper governement, illegal through a coup against the lawfully elected president Yorongar in 2001. Sarkozy supports the present dictator there. Not in the interest of Chad. France does not give a hoot about the interests of African nations. All that counts are the interests of France. And the spineless European leaders of course will sing to Sarkozy's tune.

Rusesabagina's Smear Campaign Against Country Leaders Continues

The New Times (Kigali)
18 January 2008
Posted to the web 18 January 2008

Felix Muheto
Kigali

While Rwanda still mourns the Genocide perpetrated 14 years ago against more than 1 million Rwandans, Paul Rusesabagina, a self-proclaimed hero fallaciously claims having saved 1,268 people that took refuge in the Hotel des Milles Collines in 1994.

He still continues to cultivate a negative image of Rwanda among the Rwandan Diaspora, friends of Rwanda as well as other foreigners - though lately with little success.

This was evidenced by a number of conferences and interviews Paul Rusesabagina had these last months with different personalities in order to attempt different ways of promoting his disingenuous ideology based on sectarianism that he uses as a playing card to vilify the government in Rwanda.

In the same vein, Rusesabagina convened a conference in Brussels on November 24, 2007, that intended to entrench his negative propaganda. As our readers might recall, we described how access to that conference was denied to Rwandans who do not belong to his extremist ethnic-based ideology by a security cordon that was manned at the entrance by the most extreme among his followers.

The access was also restricted in favour of some foreigners who share his negationism of the Rwandan Genocide such as the recently indicted French writer Pierre Péan whose book, "Noires fureurs Blancs menteurs", alleges the existence of a "Double Genocide", a revisionist attempt to alter realities of the well-known history of the 1994 Genocide with other false comparisons. Fortunately, as it is so easy to discern the malicious intention of the propaganda he advocates, the conference was attended by a small number of participants, but Rusesabagina later on lied to the international media that the conference was welcomed and attended by many people.

Similarly on the closing of the EU-ACP summit that was held in Kigali last November, Rusesabagina himself, having realized that foreign delegates might have been aware of the significant steps that have been made by the Rwandan government, organised an interview with a Dutch journalist called Raymond Frenzen, the founder and chief-editor of EUX.TV, in order to persuade him that whatever good is done in Rwanda benefits Tutsis at the expense of the Hutus.

Whereas discrimination in Rwanda is a crime according to the Rwandan Constitution, Rusesabagina still perpetuates the tool that was unfortunately the cause of the 1994 Genocide. As written previously, he benefited out of the heinous crime of the 1994 Genocide and it is hence not surprising that he is trying the same tools in the hope of its incarnation. He is, however, living in history. Rwandans have said no to ethnic ideology and it is actually a transcended subject and disappeared with the collapse of the Habyarimana dictatorial regime. The present government of national unity and reconciliation has a single concern which is the development of its citizens and empowerment of all on an equal base, different from the past when policies of exclusion and discrimination prevailed. This is an issue that is easily perceptible by even a primary school kid in present Rwanda.

In the article entitled "Hotel Rwanda; the Sequel - Rusesabagina seeks Truth and Reconciliation for Rwanda" published by Dutch journalist Raymond Frenzen, Paul Rusesabagina persuaded him that anti-retroviral medicines benefit only Tutsis at the expense of Hutu HIV positive patients. It would seem by this as if the Genocide continues, and that Aids is used as one of the new weapons. Unfortunately for messrs Rusesabagina and Frenzen there is not a shred of evidence supporting this allegation; although it clearly shows the true colors of Rusesabagina, the unscrupulous self-styled hero.

First of all ethnic-based identity aspects are illegitimate in current Rwanda. Unlike the previous regimes, ethnic based identity cards were banned by the current government and all are now viewed and identified equally as Rwandans.

Secondly, unless Rusesabagina wants people to believe that blood tests can identify the ethnic group to which one belongs, this would be in perfect line with his genocide ideology. On the contrary, Rwandans wouldn't agree with Rusesabagina's claims that Hutus are still being systematically and pervasively discriminated against. Indeed, retired U.S. chemistry teacher Albert Schlueter, now working with students in Rwanda on a voluntary basis, took an offensive with a recent commentary written locally by Cheadle's cinematic namesake; he insists that in fact much progress is being made and openly seen by whoever happens to visit or stay in Rwanda at present.

Another deceptive piece of information that Rusesabagina gave the journalist and published in the afore-mentioned article is that in Rwanda there is a police force that is not known to so many people called the "Local Defense Forces". Honestly, this is something that can only be questioned by somebody only deliberately bent on conveying a terribly negative image of Rwanda's administration for some hidden motives. The Local Defense Forces are known to be persons of integrity chosen by the population itself to take part in the maintaining of security in their local sectors or cells. This is well known by everybody in Rwanda, foreign or local, and nobody complains about it; and to be precise they are well known to the population because they work closer to them and are selected on merit by the very people they serve. In addition to that they are managed by the people themselves at their respective lower levels.

In his wicked plan of carrying on doing his discreditable propaganda, on January 2, Paul Rusesabagina declared his wish to lobby US Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton to support the establishment of his groundless 'Truth and Reconciliation Commission". However, if followed up, the latest revelations that Mrs. Clinton pressed his husband to intervene during the 1994 genocide, although in vain, he would have understood that it is unlikely that someone who saw what was happening and recognized it for what it was, genocide, would let herself be lured by falsehoods and clumsy allegations like he keeps making against the current regime.

Obviously, Rusesabagina's view of one group of Rwandans, who have been described as being in the minority, as controlling all the various districts and cell positions, as well as the elected Parliament, is mathematically impossible and exploits colonial-inspired hatred.


Finally, Rusesabagina's views take Rwanda back to Habyarimana's policy of ethnic identification and he had better know that genuine Rwandans have said in one voice that "Never Again". Rusesabagina's self-described family history makes this point clear. One of his parents is Hutu and the other Tutsi and this is common among Rwandans, he said. Instead of being Rwandan he is still inclined and insisting on the use of discriminative ethinism for his own selfish ends.

The Habyarimana government, following the colonial example, forced an identity on him, and he wishes to perpetuate identity politics, even though most experts agree that one of the causes of conflict is identity politics. Rusesabagina's views take Rwanda back to the colonial period, if not the Genocide-promoting policies of the Habyarimana government, and this leads every good thinker to ask himself/herself how such a Hollywood-made "hero who saved people" now turns his sword towards the very people he claims to have suffered for

One can reasonably rule out his pretended heroism and consider him an opportunist and a mere discriminative agent.

UN Employee is Genocide Criminal

Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)
17 January 2008
Posted to the web 17 January 2008

Kigali

The UN Tribunal for Rwanda has not acted to reprimand one of its employees Mr. Ephrem Gasasira despite a Genocide trial due to start in which he is also accused by witnesses, African Rights said on Thursday in a new report.

On January 18, the trail of Father Hormisdas Nsengimana, a Roman Catholic priest resumes at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), but interestingly, his alleged key ally during the Genocide Mr. Gasasira works with documentation department at the ICTR in Arusha - Tanzania.


African Rights claims Mr. Gasasira was president of the Court of Appeal in Nyanza (now part of Southern Province) in 1994. The campaign organization says Mr. Gasasira is accused by the same witnesses of working closely with Father Nsengimana to ensure a successful Genocide in Nyanza.

The trail of Father Nsengimana began on June 22 last year but was adjourned six days later.

Before the trial for the cleric began, African Rights apparently informed the tribunal about the allegations against Mr. Gasasira, with respect to both the intimidation of witnesses, and the charges that he took an active part in the Genocide.

However, Gasasira remains at the ICTR in Arusha, and in mid-January 2008, the witnesses remain fearful for their lives, as they prepare to leave for Arusha, the organization says in its report: 'Undermining Justice From Within Ephraim Gasasira and Father Hormisdas Nsengimana's Trail at the ICTR'.

It is not the first time Rwandan employees of the costly UN court have come under scrutiny for their past in Rwanda.

Genocide suspect Joseph Kanyabashi posed as ICTR investigator in Rwanda in order to gain access to information about several protected witnesses, and tried to discourage them from going to testify at the tribunal.

Mr. Simon Nshamihigo, a former prosecutor with a provincial court in Rwanda managed to get a posting with the same tribunal. He would later be put to book. Others are Mr. Joseph Nzabirinda and Mr. Callixte Gakwaya.


In another very controversial twist in the history of the United Nations in Rwanda, Mr. Callixte Mbarushimana, a former United Nations employee linked to the Genocide was awarded thousands of dollars in compensation by the same organisation.

African Rights says the tribunal needs to do more to protect the identities of witnesses in the trail of the catholic priest whose family and former followers in Butare (now part of Southern Province) - are threatening them. In some cases, as the organization alleges, witnesses have been bribed not to testify.

The protection of witnesses invited by the Tribunal for its trails remains a thorny issue and some have alleged that court officials deliberately reveal their identities. Government of Rwanda and Genocide survivors have also angrily complained about the treatment they receive from examining attorneys.

Rights Body Accuses ICTR Staff of Intimidating Witnesses

The New Times (Kigali)
18 January 2008
Posted to the web 18 January 2008

Edwin Musoni
Kigali

Human rights watchdog, African Rights (AU) has protested alleged intimidation and threats against witnesses in the case of Father Hormisdas Nsengimana who is currently held at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

The trial of Fr. Nsengimana began on June 22 last year and lasted six days before it was adjourned to today, January 18.


But in a 15-page protest report issued yesterday, African Rights said key prosecution witnesses were intimidated as away of discouraging them from going to Arusha to testify against Nsengimana.

The rights body gives a number of people accused of failing justice and that those involved are residents of the former Nyanza, Butare Prefecture (now Southern Province), where Nsengimana had worked and lived during the 1994 Genocide. They include a fellow-priest as well as Nsengimana's relatives.

Those implicated include Ephrem Gasasira, an ICTR staff who is currently working in the documentation department at the tribunal.

Gasasira was president of the Court of Appeal in Nyanza in 1994, and is himself accused by the same witnesses of working closely with Nsengimana to perpetrate genocide in Nyanza and beyond.

'Before the trial began in June, African Rights informed the ICTR about the allegations against Gasasira, with respect to both the intimidation of witnesses, and the charges that he took an active part in the genocide,' the AU report says.

It also indicates that if Gasasira remains at the ICTR in Arusha, witnesses would be fearful for their lives as they prepare to leave for Arusha.

Nsengimana was the rector of Christ Roi Secondary School in Nyanza, in the commune of Nyabisindu in 1994.

Government Says Tony Blair Gesture is Not Unusual

Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)

18 January 2008
Posted to the web 18 January 2008

Kigali

Former British Premier Tony Blair is widening his post-premiership portfolio by becoming an unpaid adviser to the Rwandan government of President Paul Kagame and authorities here are saying he is just among a host of others "partners" that "want to help Rwanda", RNA has established.

According to The Guardian newspaper, in the first indication of the kind of work Mr. Blair would like to undertake in Africa, he has dispatched a three-strong team to Rwanda to see how he will be able to help build the capacity of the once war torn government.

The Press Secretary in the Office of the President Ms. Yolanda Makolo confirmed to RNA on Friday that such a gesture from Mr. Blair was in the works but declined to part with any more details.

Ms. Yolanda also confirmed that the three-member team was already in the country and the President Kagame and Mr. Blair "have spoken".

The team includes Ms. Liz Lloyd, former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Blair and an Africa specialist. Another is his former Number 10 private secretary Ms. Kate Gross and Mr. David Easton, a former McKinsey's consultant. Number 10 is the official residence of the British Prime Minister.

"The fact is Mr. Tony Blair is a friend of the President and he has offered to assist in capacity building.and he is exploring how that is feasible", Yolanda said.

According to her, the team is "here to explore how this can work". She also said the issue is still in the early stages "that is why he has sent a team here to explore how it could workout.

Mr. Blair has always taken the view that government capacity, good governance and fighting corruption are vital to development, The Guardian reported. Since leaving office Blair, who has often said he is ashamed that the world stood aside during the Rwandan civil war, has met President Kagame to discuss how they should work together.

Mr. Blair has apparently been impressed by the way Rwanda has transformed itself since the 1994 genocide and believes he can raise funds to help the government. The country already has the second highest growth rate in Africa, but half the government's budget is based on overseas aid.

The former prime minister showed his commitment to Africa in office by setting up the African Commission and, in 2005, working with Gordon Brown to build big financial pledges during the British presidency of the G8 industrialised nations.

In the same year his wife Cherie visited Rwanda to see the war graves, and attend some of the court hearings held to try perpetrators of the Genocide. She addressed a major regional Women parliamentarians' conference in Kigali and attended a Gacaca court session. Mr. Blair himself has only met President Kagame on several occasions in London.

Blair's officials stressed that his work will be unpaid. He will be seeking to raise funds for the future consultancy. The Rwandans have already set a up a programme with the British government to pinpoint bottlenecks to growth, including the lack of export growth and the role of the private sector.

The daily also reports that Mr. Blair received criticism last week after it was revealed that he had taken a highly paid job as an adviser to J P Morgan, the blue chip US bankers.

MPs in Bid to Stamp Out 'Genocide Ideology'

published in The Nation (Nairobi)

18 January 2008
Posted to the web 18 January 2008

Kezio-Musoke David
Kigali

Rwanda's parliament has called for an extraordinary session. The session is distinctive in nature because it seeks to discuss the findings of an evil that is believed to have steered the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

This evil, referred to as "genocide ideology", according to the findings, is slowly creeping back into the society. And this time through a cross-section of Rwanda's secondary schools.


It all started late last year when a report presented to parliament by a team of MPs investigating the existence of "genocide ideology" since August 2007 revealed an alarming rate of cases of its existence in several secondary schools around the country.

"Genocide ideology" is a term used to describe the notion genocide perpetrators used to instill a hate campaign that creates divisions among two distinctive groups, usually ethnic groups.

These ideologies cause differences based on individual characteristic features, religion, race and tribal sentiments. But, ideologies are usually baseless and are used by leaders to incite hate against one another in order to yield power and control of resources. Adolf Hitler used the same principle of "genocide ideology" against Jews, describing them as parasites, bacteria and viruses.

Hitler's Nazi ideology revolved around the fantasy of Germany as a living organism containing virulent Jewish micro-organisms. Genocide on Jews was undertaken as a form of immunology, a struggle to kill pathogenic cells in order to save the organism.

In colonial Rwanda, the Belgians who served partially as colonialists identified each Rwandan with identification card as Hutu or Tutsi and this kind of division is believed to have bred all sorts of genocide ideologies.

The repeated references to "Hutu" and "Tutsi" labelling is feared to have continued to promote animosity among a section of some Rwandans, something that has prompted ethnographers to stop recognising the two as distinct ethnic groups.

They speak the same language, practise the same religions and share the same cultures.

The report presented to a parliamentary plenary session in December last year showed that there was evidence that some Rwandan schools were encouraging a platform to promote "genocide ideology".

Different uniforms

According to the New Times, a daily English newspaper, authorities in a school called Association pour la Culture, l'Education et le Development Integre de Mataba in Gakenke District, were found to have introduced and encouraged different uniforms for genocide survivors.

The MPs are now querying that motive. The MPs' inquiry came up with a list of 11 schools, where students rebuked each other depending on which ethnic group they came from.

Some students are reported to have developed a habit of writing to each other anonymous genocide-fuelling letters. One of the letters presented as evidence said, " ni inzoka, baraturambiye kandi tuzabica", which is literally translated to mean " they are snakes. We are fed up with them and we will kill them".

The report says that at the Institute Prespyterien de Kirinda, Karongi District in Rwanda's Western Province, there were hostile actions against a genocide survivor.

A cross-section of some students were found torching their colleague's clothing. Led by MP Donatilla Mukabalisa, the investigating team told their colleagues that in one particular school they found writings similar to the infamous ten "Hutu Commandments", which were once published in the former extremist Kangura newspaper, inciting violence against their victims, in the wake of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

The killings were sparked off by the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana in a plane crash in April 1994 and ended when rebels led by Paul Kagame, the current president seized power mid 1994.

Rwanda's parliamentarians have gone ahead to demand an immediate enactment of the law to punish those who harbour these kind of genocidal sentiments.

One MP, Juvénal Nkusi, said the law will not only protect genocide survivors in schools but also cure the country of an ideology that dragged Rwanda into the massacre of more than a million Rwandans in 1994. The report quoted the alarming rate of "genocide ideology" in two Northern Province schools, at 97 per cent.

This is something that prompted parliament to probe two Cabinet members, Dr Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya, the Minister of Education, and her junior Joseph Murekeraho to explain their progress in containing the problem. The duo's explanations didn't really convince the law makers, labelling them careless. Dr Mujawamariya said the fact that there is prevalent genocide ideology in some schools does not mean that she, as the custodian of the education system in the country, is a subversive politician.

"We are not behind it and let me say that we are devising tough measures to stamp out the problem," Dr Mujawamariya told enraged MPs.

Parliament thereafter set up a six-man commission to help Dr Mujawamariya to further scrutinise the probe report.


In one case, Ms Alphonsine Musabyayezu the headmistress of Gakiarage Primary School in Nyagatare, Eastern Province was suspended by authorities and parents over "genocide ideology".

It is alleged that the headmistress dismissed and transferred teachers in the school basing on ideological leaning.

Ms Musabyayezu is also reported to have suspended the English section at the school, without any consultation with district leaders, a clear manifestation of her ill motives. Though Rwanda, a former French colony, is predominantly Francophone, her joining the East African Community and her application to join the Commonwealth has seen the English language being introduced as a compulsory part of the curriculum in recent years.

Launching a new drive to fight genocide ideology, State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary of Education, Mr Joseph Murekeraho, addressed 600 head teachers at Lycee de Kigali and told them that school disciplinary committees will be introduced with powers to inspect and review students' behaviour on a daily basis. "It's shameful to hear of 'genocide ideology' in the education sector, which is expected to transform our society from such a horrific mind-set," Mr Murekeraho said. Mr Narcisse Musabeyezu, the Secretary General in the Ministry of Education, said that genocide ideology in schools was a litmus test to the elite who are expected to uphold the future socio-economic revolution of this country.


Under their national umbrella body, Rwanda Federation for Directors of Secondary Schools, school directors have come out to boost joint efforts to fight genocide ideologies.

The federation's vice chairman, Mr Peter Claver Kabanda, has suggested the establishment of "Never Again, Unity and Reconciliation" clubs in all schools.

Vice Speaker of Parliament Mr Denis Polisi is quoted in the local press late last week saying that the major reason for calling for an extraordinary session is to discuss the report of the commission and draw measures to contain the genocide ideology in schools.

Trial of Catholic Priest Resumes Before UN Court

Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne)

14 January 2008
Posted to the web 15 January 2008

Arusha

The trial of Abbot Hormisdas Nsengimana, a Catholic priest accused of genocide and crimes against humanity, resumed Monday before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), reports Hirondelle News Agency.

It is the first trial to resume after the end of year festive holidays.

During 1994 genocide, the priest, who has pleaded not guilty, was vice-chancellor of the College of Christ the King of Nyanza, southern Rwanda, one of the most prestigious schools of the country.

The prosecution Monday called a witness who worked at the College of Christ the King and claimed that the accused had ordered death of a Tutsi identified as Kayombya, who lived in the vicinity of the College.

Presenting himself as "an old man who can neither read nor write", the witness alleged that the victim was never seen again.

"I never saw him again (...) I concluded that they killed him", he told the court, without elaborating further.

Nsengimana was arrested in March 2002 in Yaounde, Cameroon, and was transferred to the ICTR detention facility in April, the same year.

The accused is among other three Rwandan Catholic priests indicted before the UN court over their roles in the 1994 killings.