National Reconciliation a Top Priority for Rwanda

UNCLAS KIGALI 000382

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C AND DRL

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM KJUS RW
SUBJECT: National Reconciliation a Top Priority for Rwanda



1. Summary: During an April 20 meeting with Ambassador,
National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC)
Executive Secretary Fatuma Ndangiza described NURC's primary
role as promoting national reconciliation through civic
education. Since 1999, NURC has conducted surveys,
including a nationwide survey on gacaca and reconciliation,
promoted income-generating activities linked to
reconciliation, facilitated development of history
textbooks, and conducted workshops and "solidarity camps."
Ndangiza pointed out that gacaca, unlike Rwanda's classical
court system, provides space for "reconciliatory justice."
Gacaca gives perpetrators an opportunity to confess and to
come to terms with their crimes, she said, and brings
together all the parties in their shared goal of seeking the
truth. Ndangiza, who previously served in the Ministry of
Gender and Family Promotion, also commented that child
prostitution is not as significant a problem in Rwanda as
the large number of households headed by children due to
parents killed in the Genocide. End summary.

Culture of Inclusion
--------------

2. In an April 20 courtesy call by Ambassador on NURC
Executive Secretary Fatuma Ndangiza, Ndangiza described
NURC's history and mission, its successes, and biggest
challenges. The Commission was established by parliament in
March 1999 in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. The 1992-
1993 Arusha peace negotiations had identified the need for a
mechanism to promote stability and "a culture of inclusion"
in Rwandan society. NURC was thus established to provide a
forum for discussing the critical question of unity and
reconciliation in view of Rwanda's long history of
discrimination based on ethnic divisions.


3. According to Ndangiza, the Commission's primary role is
to educate Rwandans on peaceful co-existence and national
unity, to combat exclusion, and to promote equality. Unlike
other similar national commissions, such as those in South
Africa or Sierra Leone, whose primary goal is the search for
the truth, NURC's core mission is to show Rwandans how much
they have in common and to educate them on how to promote
their similarities rather than their differences for
positive change. The big challenge, she said, is achieving
reconciliation among perpetrators of the Genocide, its
survivors, and victims' families, and building trust among
all Rwandans.

Nationwide Genocide Survey
--------------

4. In 2002, NURC conducted a nationwide survey representing
all segments of Rwandan society to elicit views on the
genocide and reconciliation, and in particular their views
on what divided Rwandans and whether reconciliation is
possible. Among the factors cited as contributing to the
genocide were bad governance and leadership, a culture of
impunity, and a weak judiciary. Ndandiza asserted that
prior to the genocide and prior to RPF rule, people
committed crimes without any consequences, and in most cases
the judiciary was "manipulated by the executive." Poverty
and the high rate of illiteracy also contributed to
widespread ethnic discrimination and enabled the planners of
the genocide, most of whom were educated, to manipulate the
illiterate poor masses into executing their plan.

Emphasis on Civic Education
--------------

5. Ndangiza noted that NURC aims to educate the masses to
question authorities as a preventive measure against
recurrence of genocide. NURC educates the populace at the
community level on their civic rights and obligations,
conflict management, and peacebuilding through workshops and
"solidarity camps" modeled on "ingando," small, traditional,
community-based focus groups used since pre-colonial times
for civic education and reflection. During one-month
"solidarity camps," participants from various sectors of
Rwandan society learn about their history, reconciliation,
democracy and human rights, reflect on the causes of the
genocide, and learn to manage conflict. There are
solidarity camps for youth, for university students, for
workers in the informal sector, and for genocidaires. In
addition, there are solidarity camps specifically focused on
addressing the immediate infrastructure needs of the
community, such as construction and repair of houses. These
participatory camps reflect NURC's view that Rwanda's
problems need to be resolved by Rwandans, not by outsiders.

Confessions of Genocidaires
--------------

6. In 2003, President Kagame made the decision to
provisionally release detained genocidaires who had
confessed their crimes. As a result, between 2003 and 2005,
about 50,000 genocidaires were released from prison. When
asked by the Ambassador whether most of them were genuinely
remorseful or whether they had confessed just to be
released, Ndangiza commented that confessions among young
people (ages 14-18) tended to be genuine while confessions
among adults were more mixed, with some truly remorseful and
others merely seeking reduction of their sentences.
Nevertheless, she said, confession in and of itself is a
positive step. She noted that in 1998 and 1999 (prior to
gacaca) it was very difficult for genocidaires to accept
their role in the genocide, as they continued to believe
that they had performed their civic duty. Gacaca provided
the space for "reconciliatory justice." Unlike the
classical court system, gacaca provided the opportunity for
perpetrators to confess and come to terms with what they had
done.

Tool of Reconciliatory Justice
--------------

7. Ambassador acknowledged the challenging task of
reconciliation. He observed that gacaca is aimed at two
admirable but different goals -- rendering justice and
promoting reconciliation -- and that going from the
theoretical to reality and achieving both goals might be
difficult. Ndangiza acknowledged that it's a challenge, and
pointed out that reconciliation needs to be understood from
a broad perspective. She pointed out that it's very
important to Rwanda that everyone sit together and seek the
truth. She noted that prior to gacaca there was a tendency
to globalize the guilt of genocidaires. Gacaca provided an
opportunity to establish individual guilt or innocence and
brought together perpetrators, victims and other witnesses
in the common goal of seeking the truth. In that sense, she
said, gacaca has been contributing to reconciliation.


8. Asked whether most Rwandans perceive gacaca as fair and
respect the panels of judges, Ndangiza cited the 2002
nationwide opinion survey conducted by NURC shortly after
the pilot phase of gacaca began in June. The survey
indicated that 90 percent of the population believed gacaca
was working despite concerns in some areas. Victims
expressed doubts as to whether the process would elicit the
actual truth. Victims and perpetrators alike expressed
concerns over face-to-face confrontation and fears of
possible intimidation. Some believed that leaders would not
participate in the process. The majority of respondents
perceived most gacaca judges as fair, although they believed
that some of them might have participated in the genocide
themselves.


9. The 2002 survey reflected divergent views on
reconciliation. Most perpetrators were interested in
reconciliation, while most victims were interested in
finding the truth because they believed that without truth
there could be no reconciliation. Some believed that the
type of preaching in gacaca - its emphasis on forgiveness
over justice or truth - might confuse Rwanda's many
churchgoers. Others expressed concerns that people in the
countryside might not participate.


10. Ndangiza noted, however, that Rwandans were excited
about the gacaca process once it started. She noted a key
correlation between the level of community participation and
local leadership, with generally higher community
participation in areas where the leaders themselves
participated and mobilized the population, and less
participation in areas where leaders were less involved in
the process.

Reconciliation Initiatives
--------------

11. One of NURC's strategies is to promote income-
generating activities linked to reconciliation between
perpetrators and survivors and victims' families. NURC has
facilitated the return of some perpetrators to their home
communities to ask for forgiveness and work for the
community, such as rebuilding houses for victims' families.


12. Ndangiza noted that some perpetrators have confessed to
their crimes outside of gacaca through community
associations (most of them located in eastern and southern
Rwanda),which provide a supportive environment with no
intimidation where perpetrators are more willing to tell the
truth and victims more willing to openly share their story.
In Butare alone, there are over 60 such associations where
survivors, perpetrators, and victims' families come together
for income-generating activities. Ndangiza noted that
returnees from the 1959 exodus of mostly Tutsi refugees have
served as facilitators in these associations. In areas of
massive concentrated genocide, such as Gisenyi and
Ruhengeri, there have been fewer such initiatives.


13. Ndangiza said that when she was in the Bugesera area
near the Burundi border, she was told that most of the local
leaders had participated in the genocide and that they had
panicked and fled the country when gacaca started. The
local leadership in that area is weak, she said, and not
interested in educating the population about gacaca. She
noted that they are still teaching the people the "wrong"
history, distorting the facts and, in some cases, even
creating a climate of mistrust. She believed that might
change if there is good leadership to promote reconciliation
and to educate the populace on gacaca.
NURC, with support from UNHCR, is planning an intensive
sensitization program on the role of reconciliation,
starting with the local leadership. It is also developing
leadership training and additional programs for youth to
address high unemployment among youth, one of the factors
that contributed to the genocide.


14. Subsequent to its 2002 survey on gacaca and
reconciliation, NURC conducted surveys on democratization
and decentralization, and this year another survey on gacaca
(scheduled for release in June),as well surveys on the
draft land law and democratization.

RPF Involvement in the Genocide
--------------

15. Ambassador noted that one of the criticisms of gacaca
is that it addresses only the crimes of the genocidaires and
not those allegedly committed by the RPF, and asked what has
been done to address this seeming disparity. Ndangiza
responded that many of the cases of RPF soldiers who
allegedly committed atrocities during the civil war are
still in military courts, and that there are avenues of
justice for them. She added that NURC recognizes this as a
legitimate concern and is planning to organize a debate on
it once the gacaca trials are under way so that people will
understand those killings as different from the genocide
killings and will not be confused. (Note: While RPF
elements were, in fact, responsible for some of the
retaliatory killings in 1994, it was on a relatively limited
scale compared to those committed by Hutu extremists.
Individual RPF soldiers have been tried and convicted for
their crimes in the military court system. End note.)

Challenges and Next Steps
--------------

16. As with most government agencies in Rwanda, staffing is
a challenge for NURC. With the recent government
retrenchment, NURC now has a reduced staff of only 35, but
works closely with civic organizations and has 720 part-time
volunteers at the grassroots level. Another challenge, in
the immediate term, is sensitizing the community at the
local level to the root causes and consequences of the
genocide and the critical role of national reconciliation.
NURC is mobilizing churches and civil society in this
effort.


17. In addition, a team of researchers hired by NURC for a
15-month project is researching Rwandan history to develop a
fact-based history book that focuses on the positive aspects
of Rwanda's history, such as its economic and cultural
history. Another group from the University of California is
working with the National University in Butare and the
Ministry of Education in developing an interactive
methodology for teaching history. Ndangiza expressed the
hope that in 2007 people would discuss Rwanda's history with
these two new history books.

Child Prostitution
--------------

18. Although the issue does not fall within her current
portfolio, Ndangiza previously served in the Ministry of
Gender and Family Promotion, and Ambassador took the
opportunity to ask about the extent of child prostitution in
Rwanda. Ndangiza commented that it is not a very
significant problem and that the GOR does not have any
statistics. Churches and NGOs have undertaken efforts to
rehabilitate prostitutes. The bigger problem, she said, is
the large number of households headed by children, a by-
product of poverty and the genocide that left many children
with only one or no parents. She suggested, however, that
research on the root causes of child prostitution could be
useful.

Comment
--------------

19. Gacaca, although readily acknowledged by the GOR as
imperfect, is facilitating the difficult reconciliation
process by bringing together all parties at the community
level and providing Rwanda with its only forum for open
discussion of the genocide. The GOR's recognition that the
issue of crimes by RPF elements must be addressed and its
plans to hold a debate on a contentious issue that has drawn
pointed criticism are positive signs. Post recognizes that
Ndangiza's criticism of local leaders teaching the "wrong"
history and the pre-1994, pre-RPF government as ineffective
is the GOR party line, but finds it credible nonetheless.
Post will closely watch and report opposition views. The
immediate challenge of gacaca will be adjudicating the
thousands of genocide-related cases beginning this year and
holding accountable those responsible for the genocide; the
longer-term, overarching, perhaps more difficult, goal is
achieving national reconciliation. While NURC recognizes
and acknowledges the difficulty of achieving these
potentially conflicting goals, its current focus on civic
education at the grassroots level is producing tangible
results.

Arietti