Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIGALI727
2006-07-29 10:35:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kigali
Cable title:  

NEW HIGH COUNCIL OF THE PRESS APPOINTMENTS

Tags:  KDEM KPAO PGOV PHUM UNESCO RW 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #0727/01 2101035
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291035Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3048
C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000727 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C, AF/PD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2016
TAGS: KDEM KPAO PGOV PHUM UNESCO RW
SUBJECT: NEW HIGH COUNCIL OF THE PRESS APPOINTMENTS
UNCONTROVERSIAL AND UNINSPIRED

Classified By: PAO Brian George for reason 1.4 (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000727

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C, AF/PD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2016
TAGS: KDEM KPAO PGOV PHUM UNESCO RW
SUBJECT: NEW HIGH COUNCIL OF THE PRESS APPOINTMENTS
UNCONTROVERSIAL AND UNINSPIRED

Classified By: PAO Brian George for reason 1.4 (D)


1. (C) Summary. In June the GOR confirmed new appointments
for the country,s nine-person High Council of the Press
(HCP),which is charged with both regulation of the media and
promotion of press freedom in the country. It is hoped that
this iteration of the Council (this is the second Council to
be appointed since the HCP,s creation in 2003) will be able
to avoid the personality conflicts that plagued its
predecessor. The quest for internal harmony is reflected in
their choice of president--a senior and genial newspaper
editor unlikely to seek confrontation. Few members of
Council appear to possess the experience, desire, or gravitas
necessary to turn the HCP into a body that is respected by
the media, other government bodies, or the public at large.
Nonetheless, the HCP secretariat is optimistic that the body
will emerge as an important institution as the capacity of
its staff grows. The Embassy is working to support this
process of capacity building through a UNESCO Media Support
Fund grant and by utilizing the International Visitor program
and other PD tools. End Summary.

New Members of the HCP
--------------

2. (C) On July 11, the nine-person Council elected its
office-bearers (president, vice-president, and secretary).
Father Dominique Karekezi, editor of the Catholic Church,s
Kinyamateka newspaper (Rwanda,s oldest paper) and the only
hold-over from the original High Council, was elected
president. Fellow HCP member Ines Mpambara attributed his
election to 1) his status as the eldest member of the
Council, and 2) his non-confrontational personality. The
first HCP was plagued by internal divisions which stemmed
from personality clashes that contributed to the premature
departure of the HCP,s first president. Karekezi is an
affable, experienced journalist but is unlikely to take any
action that will pit him against the government. Charles
Nahayo, technical director of the public broadcaster
(ORINFOR),was elected vice-president and Thais Ruboneka, a

junior faculty member from the National University of
Rwanda,s (NUR) School of Journalism, was elected secretary.
Both of the latter are relatively junior GOR appointees.


3. (U) The remaining members of the Council are:

--David Kibuye, managing director of the pro-government &New
Times.8 Kibuye is a retired Rwandan Defense Force (RDF)
officer who worked for the Rwandan Patriotic Front's (RPF)
bush radio station during its guerrilla war. He represents
the private media.

--Dr. Venuste Karambizi, currently a lecturer at the
Universite Libre de Kigali. Karambizi worked as a journalist
prior to the genocide; joined the RPF shortly before the
genocide began; and worked for a time in the MFA. He
represents civil society.

--Ines Mpambara, currently executive director of the Ministry
of Health,s communications office and formerly deputy
director of the NUR,s School of Journalism. Mpambara
studied in the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship and has a
reputation as a free thinker. She represents the government.

--Gabrielle Uwimana, international media monitor at the
Ministry of Information. Uwimana worked with the Embassy to
organize a recent conference on political communication for
government spokespersons. She is a strong advocate for
capacity building among Rwandan journalists and will take her
appointment to the HCP very seriously. Trained as a teacher,
she had no experience in the media field prior to assuming
her current position. She represents the government.

--Prince Bahati, chief editor at the Adventist Church,s
radio station. Bahati is a recent university graduate and
works for a small, niche market station. His selection seems
to reflect a lack of interest on the part of private radio
stations--perhaps because of their strong focus on music
rather than news programming--in the HCP. He represents the
private media.

--Dr. Laurien Nyabyenda, a medical doctor who also represents
an NGO focused on family planning issues. He represents
civil society.

A (Lack of) Vision for the Future?
--------------

4. (C) Early indications are that only a few members of the
Council have both a desire to strengthen the HCP and a vision
of how that can happen. During meetings with PAO, neither
Karekezi nor Kibuye (who was rumored to have been a candidate
for the HCP presidency and, by virtue of his position as

director of the &New Times8 is one of the most influential
members of Rwanda,s press) offered a vision of what role
they would like the HCP to play. Despite the HCP,s many
shortcomings, they also were unable or unwilling to share any
ideas about how the body could be strengthened. Mpambara
(protect),who enjoyed a strong reputation during her tenure
at the NUR, said she was surprised by the overall lack of
quality of the HCP members. (Comment: Any blame for the
weakness of the members should be shared equally by the
private media, civil society organizations, public media and
the Government, each of which was responsible for its own
nominations. End comment). She sees it has her role on the
HCP to ask a lot of questions and make sure that her
colleagues at least debate the important issues. (Comment
Particularly striking was the seemingly indifferent attitude
of Karekezi, given his position as president and the fact
that he brings to his new position three years of experience
on the HCP. When pressed by PAO concerning the Council's
apparent lack of interest/involvement in some high profile
cases concerning Rwandan journalists or media outlets,
Karekezi asked &What do you expect us to do?8 given that
the HCP has no authority over organizations such as the
Rwandan National Police and other government agencies. That
being said, Mpambara said she was more disappointed by the
selection of vice president and secretary than by Karekezi,s
election as president. Having a weak president would not
necessarily be a bad thing, she noted, if the other members
of the Council could steer him in the direction they want.
End comment)


5. (U) Despite, or perhaps as a result of, the apparent
weakness of the Council, Patrice Mulama, executive secretary
of the HCP, expressed confidence that the organization will
in time become an important and respected institution.
Mulama recognizes that his staff needs additional training in
order to fulfill the organization's mandate and is open to
outside support. To that end, PAO worked with Mulama to
develop a request for UNESCO Media Support Funds to provide
training for HCP staff and members on media law and
regulation, media ethics, and to help the organization
develop a communications and advocacy strategy that will make
it more effective in fighting turf wars with other GOR bodies
and make it more responsive to domestic and international
constituencies. All parties in Rwanda recognize, however,
that the development of quality independent journalists is
critical to enshrining press freedom in the country. There
continues to be high level interest in the creation of a
media training institute in Kigali to provide working
journalists--a large percentage of whom have no formal
training in the field-- with an opportunity to improve their
skills. Preliminary indications are that USAID will be able
to contribute toward the establishment of this training
institute. If the funding is confirmed, the announcement
will be received enthusiastically by the GOR and private
media alike.

THURSTON