Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIGALI496
2006-05-25 06:24:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kigali
Cable title:  

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRAZER'S ROUNDTABLE WITH

Tags:  PGOV KDEM PREL PHUM KMCA RW CG 
pdf how-to read a cable
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FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2799
INFO RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA PRIORITY 1502
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KIGALI 000496 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/FO, AF/C, AND DRL
MCC FOR SHERRI KRAHAM AND MATT MCLEAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL PHUM KMCA RW CG
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRAZER'S ROUNDTABLE WITH
RWANDAN PARLIAMENTARIANS


Classified By: Amb. Arietti for reasons 1.4(b),(d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KIGALI 000496

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/FO, AF/C, AND DRL
MCC FOR SHERRI KRAHAM AND MATT MCLEAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL PHUM KMCA RW CG
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRAZER'S ROUNDTABLE WITH
RWANDAN PARLIAMENTARIANS


Classified By: Amb. Arietti for reasons 1.4(b),(d).


1. (SBU) Summary. During a roundtable discussion April 5
with Rwandan parliamentarians and a separate call on the
president of the Rwandan Senate, Assistant Secretary Frazer
addressed recent developments in the Great Lakes region,
human rights issues, the role of parliament in Rwandan
society, and the pace of reconciliation in the country.
The parliamentarians expressed gratitude for Dr. Frazer,s
interest in the FDLR issue, which they suggested has been
overlooked by the international community. The A/S noted
the importance not only of the international community and
Congolese government putting pressure on the FDLR to leave
the Congo, but also of the GOR creating positive conditions
in country that would serve as a pull factor in bringing
the fighters home. The parliamentarians strongly defended
Rwanda,s human rights record, arguing that complaints by
former government officials overseas are intended to ensure
themselves a comfortable life of exile rather than the
result of a genuine fear of persecution in Rwanda.
End summary.

--------------
Regional Stability
--------------


2. (SBU) A/S Frazer opened her call on Senate President
Dr. Vincent Biruta with a discussion of lingering regional
instability, notably the continued presence of the FDLR in
the DRC. The A/S noted the importance of putting into
place both push and pull factors to encourage FDLR fighters
to leave the Congo and return to Rwanda: they should feel
that they can return to a better life in Rwanda and be
confident that they will have the space necessary to
exercise their political rights. Biruta welcomed A/S
Frazer,s interest in the FDLR, noting that Rwandans have
the impression that the FDLR issue is being forgotten by
the international community. With reference to political
space, Biruta commented that as long as Rwanda,s laws are

followed, FDLR members are free to establish a political
party or join an existing one after they return to the
country: they could not, however, be allowed to form a
political party outside the country. A/S Frazer noted that
while parties can be formed anywhere, they need to be
registered in their home country.


3. (SBU) During the roundtable discussion with
parliamentarians representing a cross-section of political
parties, MP Gideon Kayinamura (RPF),who hails from
northwest Rwanda, along the Congolese border, noted that
there is more trade between western Rwanda and the Congo
than there is between western Rwanda and Kigali. Relations
between the two countries have improved tremendously, he
said, adding that non-state actors can be dealt with
effectively within the framework of the joint verification
mechanism in place. Noting historic, economic, and ethnic
ties among Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC, Kayinamura called
for revival of the Economic Community of Great Lakes States
(CEPGL) so that economic development can contribute to
regional stability. Noting that he himself is an
agro-businessman, Kayinamura claimed that the ex-FDLR
combatants who returned to his region of Rwanda are the
happiest workers because life in Rwanda is so much better
than the life they experienced in Congo.


4. (C) Senator Joseph Karemera (RPF) expressed concern
that the international community is not doing enough to
encourage the FDLR to return to Rwanda. Noting that no
ex-combatant has ever returned to the Congo, Karemera
wondered why this fact is not publicized more widely. A/S
Frazer noted that she frequently heard during her
conversations in the DRC that the FDLR had two concerns
about their return to Rwanda. First, senior FDLR members
may be seeking amnesty in Rwanda (the USG, she noted, does
not have a position on the issue). Second, the FDLR might
be concerned about being able to operate as a political
entity in Rwanda. This concern, the A/S noted, was raised
especially in conversations with MONUC officials.


5. (SBU) Karemera suggested that conditions in Rwanda must
be measured against the progress of reconciliation. For
example, the recent release of 40,000 prisoners (charged
with lesser crimes committed during the genocide) is a huge
incentive for FDLR fighters to return to Rwanda but it was
a tense issue domestically that had to be dealt with
carefully. Genocide survivors, he said, are now accusing
the GOR of granting amnesty to genocidaires.

KIGALI 00000496 002 OF 003



--------------
Defending Rwanda,s Human Rights Record
--------------


6. (SBU) A query by A/S Frazer about the state of human
rights in Rwanda sparked an animated defense of the
political climate in Rwanda. Senator Joseph Karemera
argued that the political environment in Rwanda is quite
open: there are 11 political parties operating in the
country, seven of which are represented in parliament;
there have never been fewer Rwandan refugees in the
country,s history; none of Rwanda,s 13 newspapers face
harassment from the government; and the human rights
abuses that do occur cannot be said to be institu-
tionalized. Additionally, he noted, ex-combatants
comprise 60 percent of the RDF. Karemera argued that
Rwanda,s genocide resulted from the denial of rights to
a certain segment of society; the 2003 constitution seeks
to avoid a repeat of that situation by preventing a
winner-take-all system. Hence the Forum of Political
Parties, which was created to avoid friction, to permit
decision by consensus, and to provide assistance to
parties bedeviled by internal strife. Senator Odette
Nyiramilimo (PL) added that the Rwandan culture of ceding
the floor to one,s elder, sometimes taken as a lack of
freedom, already is changing with the advent of new
newspapers and radio stations. It is the first time, she
said, that Rwandans of her generation (born in the 1950s
under a monarchy) have lived with such freedoms.


7. (SBU) Returning to the issue of human rights, the A/S
noted that many in the international community have the
perception that Rwanda is not as free as it could be and
that two factors contributing to that perception are the
criminal charges against former President Bizimungu and
irregularities observed during the 2003 elections.
Concerning Bizimungu,s case, the parliamentarians noted:
1) that he was charged with violating a law he himself
created, and 2) that he was brought to trial faster than
the cases being heard (by the ICTR) in Arusha. Karemera
stressed that Bizimungu had been trying to mobilize people
along ethnic lines by stating that genocide would happen in
Rwanda again. Ambassador Arietti noted that other than
embezzlement, all of the charges against Bizimungu stem
from criminal association laws; the division between
criminal and political association is difficult to
identify. Assistant Secretary Frazer added that as Rwanda,s
institutions mature and as society is better able to cope
with internal divisions, it will be important that they be
given more leeway and greater opportunity for freedom of
expression.


8. (SBU) With respect to the former MDR party, which was
criticized in a 2002 parliamentary report which called for
it to be banned, Karemera recalled that since 1994 the MDR
had always been a part of the government coalition, not in
opposition. It had been beset by serious internal
divisions, which led to its breakup. Many MDR members
then joined other parties and remain active in political
life. The current Prime Minister, for example, is a former
MDR member. The MDR was never banned. The parliamentarians
adamantly argued that those political figures who have
sought asylum/refugee status outside Rwanda have done so for
personal gain rather than out of a genuine fear of
persecution. Rwanda, they said, has a strong tradition of
former government officials hopping on a plane to Europe or
North America as soon as they are dismissed from office.
This culture persists, they suggested, because the state
still offers the best economic opportunities in Rwanda:
removed from office, the officials are not likely to find
comparable opportunities in the local private sector and
thus look to go abroad to seek their fortunes. In order to
be permitted to remain in a country, they seek asylum
status. Citing a couple of recent examples, the parlia-
mentarians argued that former Speaker of the Assembly Joseph
Seberenzi--despite enjoying asylum outside Rwanda--regularly
returns to the country to visit his family but comes via
overland routes to avoid receiving Rwandan entry/exit
stamps. Valens Kajeguhakwa, a former RPF deputy whom the
group noted is a Tutsi himself, fled Rwanda to avoid charges
of embezzling public funds.


9. (SBU) Commenting on allegations of irregularities during
the 2003 elections, Senator Nyiramilimo acknowledged that
the Liberal Party (of which she is a member) did have party
workers who were detained by members of the Local Defense

KIGALI 00000496 003 OF 003


Force. But, she said, those workers were quickly released
once party leaders learned of their detentions. In her
opinion the 2003 elections were the first free elections in
the country,s history.

--------------
Parliament Finding its Footing
--------------


10. (SBU) While acknowledging that a lack of funding and
sufficient professional staff limit parliament,s ability to
initiate legislation, the group stated that Rwanda,s
legislature is not merely a rubber stamp for the executive
branch. Senator Biruta assured the A/S that parliament is
free and that parliamentarians vote as individuals, not as
members of a group. All legislation introduced by the
executive branch is scrutinized and, at times, rejected.
Biruta identified increasing parliament,s research and
analysis capabilities as a top priority. The
parliamentarians said that President Kagame recently
defended parliament to ministers who complained of being
treated too harshly by its oversight committees. Biruta
noted, for example, that the senate,s human rights
committee not only questioned relevant GOR officials about
a reported secret detention center but also sent a Senator
along with representatives from human rights organizations
to verify the officials, testimony. The A/S commented that
the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) could be used to
help strengthen the legislature,s capabilities since
accounts are tailored to each country,s specific needs.

--------------
Reconciliation: A Long Road Ahead?
--------------


11. (U) With respect to the progress of reconciliation
efforts in Rwanda, Karemera said that much progress had
been made with Rwandan youth but that there is "a long road
to travel for those who imbibed" the genocide ideology:
many of these people have not yet changed. Nyiramilimo
noted that the senate recently completed a one-year study
to determine whether genocide ideology persists in Rwanda.
The work--carried out by 22 academics--has not yet been
released but suggests that genocide ideology is very much
alive in Rwanda. The report currently is being translated
into English and should be made public in the near future.


12. (U) Karemera closed the meeting by thanking the USG
for its continued support of Rwanda,s reconstruction
--singling out the US for its assistance to the gacaca
process when its development had stalled--and expressed
a desire for the Rwandan legislature to continue to
cooperate with and learn from other democratic nations.
ARIETTI