MONTHLY POLITICAL ROUNDUP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KIGALI 000325 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/06/08 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RW SUBJECT: MONTHLY POLITICAL ROUNDUP REF: A. KIGALI 269 ¶B. KIGALI 266 ¶C. KIGALI 002 Classified By: Ambassador Michael R. Arietti, reason 1.4 (B/D) ¶1. (SBU) This edition of the monthly political roundup includes: - Four Political Parties In Breach of Financial Regulations - Minister of Justice Campaigns Against "Judicial Sadism" - Killings of Genocide Survivors Climb? - Fighting "Genocide Ideology" Ombudsman Criticizes Four Parties -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On April 3, Ombudsman Tito Rutaremara presented his yearly report to the Senate, listing numbers of complaints received, numbers of cases resolved, and numbers of referrals made to the police and prosecutor's office. By far the most newsworthy item concerned his yearly listing of those public officials who had not disclosed their assets to his office, as required by Rwandan law. Four small political parties also failed to declare their assets, and in comments that hit the local headlines, the Ombudsman called upon the Senate to consider dissolving them, or not allowing them to participate in the September Chamber of Deputies elections. Officials of all four parties, the Ideal Democratic Party (PDI),the Democratic Union of the Rwandan People (UDPR),the Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR) and the Party for Progress and Concord (PPC),quickly promised to either meet the requirements of the statute, or claimed they had in fact already declared their party assets. ¶3. (C) In comments to pol/econ chief April 24, Senate Vice President Prosper Higiro noted that the Senate only had authority to refer serious infractions by political parties to the High Court, which then adjudicates the matter (with a right of appeal to the Supreme Court). He commented that this was "not a really serious issue," and there was "no sentiment" within the Senate to refer the case to the courts. "This is more a matter of training and capacity-building then a legal problem, " he said. Minister of Justice Campaigns Against "Judicial Sadism" -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) On April 18 in Addis Ababa, Rwandan Justice Minister and Attorney General Tharcisse Karugarama presented a statement to assembled African Union (AU) Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General condemning the principle of "universal jurisdiction" cited in recent indictments against 
senior Rwandan officials and military officers. Karugarama framed the issue as one in which politically-motivated judges abused the principle "to serve their neo-colonial ambitions to control and dominate the targeted countries" of Africa. He said the revisionist take on the Rwandan genocide within the French and Spanish indictments (see Embassy view in reftel) was a form of "judicial sadism" and labeled them collections of "falsehoods, gossip and rumors." Karugarama recommended the AU adopt a resolution condemning the French and Spanish indictments, and that universal jurisdiction not apply over independent sovereign states except after examination and approval by the UN. He finally called for further study of the issue by the AU. ¶5. (U) Following Karugarama's remarks, the assembled AU Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General issued a declaration naming the abuse of universal jurisdiction "an affront" to the sovereignty of states and formalizing a request for a comprehensive legal study and recommendations Qrequest for a comprehensive legal study and recommendations on the principle to be completed by July. ¶6. (U) In an April 23 address to the International Association for Court Administrators in Dublin, Karugarama continued his campaign against "foreign judges who have been compromised to join a network of genocide revisionists and deniers," and called for other governments to adopt legislation criminalizing the Rwandan genocide. Karugarama described Rwanda,s own judicial "innovations and KIGALI 00000325 002 OF 003 achievements" in dealing with the aftermath of the genocide, and negatively compared the pace of the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to Rwanda,s gacaca court system, especially given the latter,s lack of resources. Karugarama again criticized universal jurisdiction and the French and Spanish indictments as "shocking and paradoxical." ¶7. (SBU) Comment. Karugarama's statements on universal jurisdiction in general and on the French and Spanish indictments in particular can be added to the ongoing Rwandan chorus condemning the documents. End comment. Killings of Genocide Survivors Rising? -------------- ¶8. (C) The President of Ibuka, a genocide survivors' organization, made several speeches in April decrying an increase in insecurity for survivors and witnesses. Contacted by political assistant May 5, the Ibuka secretary general reported nine killings of survivors since January 1, killings which he attributed to the actions of suspected or convicted genocidaires (Note: many of those convicted have been released from prison, awaiting assignment to TIG community service work). For the 2007 calendar year, Ibuka reported 15 killings of survivors. ¶9. (C) Comment. Eight of the nine killings Ibuka reported occurred in either March or April, which generally are heightened months for tensions between genocide suspects and survivors and witnesses (see ref A). Although we would expect the numbers to lessen in the next several months, the trend for the year is worrying. End Comment. Fighting "Genocide Ideology" -------------- ¶10. (C) On April 17, President Kagame saluted forty thousand teachers attending a national solidarity rally at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, the culminating event of a two week series of district level camps for teachers around the country. The rallies were meant to promote national reconciliation, and inculcate the nation's corps of teachers against "genocide ideology." A months-long nationwide campaign, consisting of workshops, rallies, meetings with parliamentarians, and other events has been conducted by various government bodies in the wake of reports of genocide ideology in the nation's secondary schools (ref B). The camps were conducted under the "Intorero" banner, or "those who are honest and correct," a subset of "Ingando" camps and rallies, which encompass a wide variety of civic education camp activities. Several days after the rally at Amahoro Stadium, the new Minister of State for Education, Theoneste Mutsindashyaka, who has primary responsibility for secondary school education, made remarks critical of a number of Jehovah's Witnesses who either declined to participate in the teacher solidarity camps or who left after initially attending them. Jehovah's Witnesses leaders told emboffs April 23 that local officials imprisoned two Jehovah's Witnesses teachers on April 9, and that several teachers "fled" their schools after refusing to attend the camps. ¶11. (C) In late April, the Chamber of Deputies debated a parliamentary report on genocide ideology, and considered recommendations to the executive branch to focus on the Southern Province and border areas with Burundi, where Deputies believed relations between Hutus and Tutsis were, some Deputies claimed, "particularly problematical." While noting that reports of genocide ideology appeared to have Qnoting that reports of genocide ideology appeared to have declined in other areas of the country, the Deputies collectively called for renewed action to reduce its occurrence in the Southern Province. Earlier this month, the Chamber passed and referred to the Senate a draft genocide ideology bill, with stiff penalties for ill-defined expressions of that ideology. Ministry of Justice contacts told us that the bill was drafted without the input of the their ministry or other executive branch offices. This and other donor missions are communicating to the GOR the many failings of this ill-considered draft legislation. ¶12. (C) Comment. Ethnic tensions in Rwanda are rarely discussed beyond the rubrics of "genocide ideology" and "divisionism," theoretical and policy straight-jackets which KIGALI 00000325 003 OF 003 make open dialogue difficult. The new Minister of State for Education has a history of ill-considered statements, and we are hopeful that cooler heads will prevail regarding the participation of a tiny religious minority in the solidarity camps. The larger issue Rwandans must grapple with is this: can two groups officially required to deny their existence as distinct ethnic groups find a way to speak to each other and build a common future? End comment. ARIETTI