Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KIGALI822
2007-09-17 08:00:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kigali
Cable title:  

GOR TOUGHENS STANCE AGAINST "IRRESPONSIBLE"

Tags:  PHUM PGOV KDEM RW 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIGALI 000822 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM RW
SUBJECT: GOR TOUGHENS STANCE AGAINST "IRRESPONSIBLE"
JOURNALISTS

Classified By: Ambassador Michael R. Arietti for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIGALI 000822

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM RW
SUBJECT: GOR TOUGHENS STANCE AGAINST "IRRESPONSIBLE"
JOURNALISTS

Classified By: Ambassador Michael R. Arietti for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
)


1. (C) Summary. A panel of Government of Rwanda (GOR)
officials, including four Ministers, on September 9 used a
weekly call-in program broadcast by state-owned TV Rwanda and
Radio Rwanda to launch verbal attacks against certain members
of Rwanda's independent media, who they accused of
cooperating with "negative forces" and Rwanda's "enemies" to
undermine the security of the country. Several Ministers
threatened to make greater use of Rwanda's laws to prosecute
journalists who defame government officials, criticize
President Kagame, or publish stories deemed to undermine
national security. The Justice Minister, who was also a
participant in the call-in show, attempted to temper the
collective remarks, noting the importance of a free press and
the key role it plays in a democratic society. The
statements reflected the GOR's growing frustration with what
it perceives to be unfounded, irresponsible, and damaging
pieces written by the directors of a handful of small,
independent Rwandan newspapers, especially "Umuco,"
"Umuseso," and "Umuvugizi," all of whom have had running
verbal and legal battles with the GOR. This latest episode
highlights the GOR's continued difficulty in reconciling its
commitment to a free and fair press with its strong desire to
control the image of Rwanda and of President Kagame that is
projected to internal and external audiences. End summary.


2. (SBU) While GOR officials regularly bemoan the lack of
professionalism among Rwanda's journalists and have on
occasion criticized members of what they consider Rwanda's
opposition media, the comments of several ministers on
September 9--which were made during a regular call-in program
conducted in the format of a town hall meeting--were their
strongest verbal attack yet. The seriousness of the message
was reinforced by the identities of those delivering the
message: Finance Minister James Musoni, Internal Security
Minister Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana, Rwanda National Police
(RNP) Spokesperson Willy Marcel Higiro, Rwanda Defense Forces
(RDF) Spokesperson Major Jill Rutaremara, and Information

Minister Laurent Nkusi. Rutaremara accused some unnamed
journalists of receiving support from the FDLR and Paul
Rusesabagina. Minister Musoni asserted that the negative
reporting is led by individuals who want to destabilize the
country. Minister Harelimana labeled individuals who insult
President Kagame as "enemies of the nation" who are
attempting to destroy the nation "starting from the head."
Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama, who also participated
in the program, took a more conciliatory line toward the
journalists, noting the important role played by a free press
in a democratic society, and disassociating himself from the
more extreme remarks.


3. (SBU) The proximate causes for the outburst appear to be
a series of articles in "Umuseso" recently that directly
criticized President Kagame, made unsubstantiated accusations
of RDF officials' corruption and mistreatment of current and
former RDF soldiers, and alleged poor morale within the army,
and by the persistent publication in multiple outlets of what
GOR officials consider defamatory articles based on unsourced
information. For example, "Umuseso" has accused senior RDF
officials of pocketing funds intended for RDF soldiers
participating in the AU peacekeeping mission in Sudan,
despite the fact that it is common knowledge in Rwanda that
the funding shortfall is due to the AU's failure to reimburse
the GOR for its troop contribution. More recently, "Umuseso"
accused Finance Minister Musoni of taking a 10 percent
kickback on an emergency fuel acquisition initiated during
his term as Commerce Minister without furnishing any evidence
to support this allegation.


4. (SBU) Although the GOR has reserved its bitterest
criticism for those writing in Rwanda's vernacular papers, it
has not hesitated to go on the offensive against unfavorable
stories that appear in the international press. On August 3,
Allan Thompson, professor of journalism at Carleton
University and the director of the Rwanda Initiative, which
has brought a dozen visiting journalism faculty to teach at
the National University of Rwanda's School of Journalism and
has placed short-term trainers at several to Rwanda's media
outlets, felt the need to publish an apology to President
Kagame in the pro-government "New Times" for the content of a
weblog posted by investigative journalist and Rwanda
Initiative trainer Gary Dimmock. Dimmock, who completed a

KIGALI 00000822 002 OF 002


one-month stint at the Rwanda Independent Media Group, which
publishes "Umuseso" and English-language counterpart
"Newsline," wrote in his weblog that he was "unimpressed" by
President Kagame during a presidential press conference he
attended and suggested that Rwanda's journalists were
probably smarter than their president. The posting generated
strong protests from the Office of the President and even
some calls for suspension of the Rwanda Initiative, which is
the largest externally-supported program to develop Rwanda's
media.


5. (SBU) The GOR's desire to manage Rwanda's international
image is further evidenced by its relationship with "New
Times." The paper, whose board is comprised entirely of GOR
officials and senior RPF members and is chaired by National
Security Services Director Emmanuel Ndahiro, highlights the
positive achievements of the GOR and of those donor countries
and organizations who support the government. Several
journalists and editors reportedly have been fired from the
paper for publishing stories that were deemed to have
portrayed the country in a negative light. According to John
Honderich, a former editor of the "Toronto Star," who served
as a consultant to "New Times" under the Rwandan Initiative,
the President's office also insists on prior approval of all
photos of President Kagame that appear in the paper.


6. (C) The GOR's growing frustration with the negative
content of some of Rwanda's independent newspapers appears to
have prompted members of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front
(RPF) to rescue financially struggling "Focus," an
English-language bi-weekly established in 2006 that has taken
a generally pro-government editorial line while attacking
individual government officials and agencies for alleged
incompetence. Because of its financial problems, "Focus"
appeared only twice in the first half of 2007. By the end of
May the Government reportedly was exploring means of ensuring
the paper's continued publication and it is now widely
reported by sources within government and outside that
members of the RPF have taken a controlling share (75-80
percent) of the paper. "Focus" re-started regular
publication in late August.


7. (C) Comment. We judge press freedom to have diminished
this year in Rwanda, given the several prosecutions of
journalists for offenses under both the divisionism and
genocide ideology statutes and regular criminal statutes, and
the combative rhetoric sometimes on display by government
authorities, such as during the radio call-in show. However,
we feel compelled to note that harsh criticism of the
government and senior officials appears frequently and
critical papers such as "Umuco," "Umuseso," and "Umuvugizi"
are permitted to publish on a regular basis. The GOR appears
genuinely perplexed as to these outlets' motives and
frustrated by the continued publication of negative articles
based on incomplete, inaccurate, or fabricated information.
Its approach to dealing with these publications continues to
swing between conciliation and aggression. Having attempted
without success to appeal to the journalists' conscience,
professional ethics, and patriotism, it appears that the some
GOR officials believe that the threat of legal sanction is an
additional means of encouraging Rwanda's journalists to act
in ways those officials would judge more responsible. End
comment.
ARIETTI