MONTHLY POLITICAL ROUNDUP

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000380 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/29/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM RW SUBJECT: MONTHLY POLITICAL ROUNDUP REF: A. KIGALI 323 ¶B. KIGALI 369 Classified By: Amb. Arietti for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) This edition of the monthly political roundup includes: - Minister of Information Battles Independent Media - RPF Meets on Genocide, Defense of Government Policy - Spillover of Spanish Indictments - Genocide Fugitive Reaches Out to GOR? - National Electoral Commission on Track - ICTR Panel Turns Down First Case Transfer Minister of Information and Independent Media - Tensions Continue -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) There continued to be fallout from the expulsion of three independent Rwandan journalists from a May 2 event commemorating World Press Freedom Day by Minister of Information Louise Mushikiwabo (ref A). International press freedom groups including Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists issued press releases condemning the action and citing government "contempt" for the press as particularly high in Rwanda. Mushikiwabo defended the move in interviews with pro-government newspapers The New Times and Focus, and in a debate with Charles Kabonero, an expelled journalist, broadcast on BBC radio. Mushikiwabo was critical of international press freedom organizations, saying they "lacked objectivity." She called for increased professionalism among journalists in Rwanda and promised to "put an end to business as usual" for independent journalists who published "lies and blackmail." ¶3. (SBU) Discussions in Parliament of the draft media law formed the backdrop to ongoing tensions between the Minister of Information, independent journalists, and international press rights bodies. The draft law preserves libel as a criminal offense, but does narrow defamation of public officials to three categories -- Rwandan head of state, foreign heads of state, and heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations in Rwanda. It sets a minimum capital amount of 6 million Rwandan francs (approximately 10,000 USD) for Rwanda newspapers to be registered, despite objections from some members of Parliament. ¶4. (C) Comment: The Minister of Information's hard-line stance on independent journalists, focused on their supposed unprofessionalism and hostility to the Rwandan government, show a certain stubborn unwillingness to appreciate how the issue plays abroad (despite her 23 years in the U.S.) -- Rwanda is winning no friends for itself on the issue of freedom of the press. End comment. RPF Political Bureau Meets -------------- ¶5. (C) The political bureau of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) convened May 10 and discussed changes to the Rwandan constitution, RPF communication strategy, and the nomination of candidates to the East African Community Legislative Assembly (EACLA). Over protestations from Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama and Ombudsman Tito Rutaremara, the assembled members agreed to seek amendment to the Rwandan constitution, officially naming the 1994 genocide the "Tutsi genocide." President and party head Paul Kagame was supposedly "astonished" by opposition to the proposed change, which he argued reflected the truth of the 1994 tragedy. Kagame also reportedly used the forum to encourage RPF members to "stand and defend" Government of Rwanda (GOR) QRPF members to "stand and defend" Government of Rwanda (GOR) policies against foreign criticism and to "defend national interests with confidence." Party members also nominated candidates to the EACLA, all of whom were elected by Parliament two days later. ¶6. (C) Comment: Decisions by the RPF Political Bureau, under the strong leadership of President Kagame, generally become government policy in short order; first the party decides, then the government and its multi-party cabinet. The reach of the RPF's rhetorical shift regarding the ethnic dimensions of the genocide can already be seen in the local media's increasing use of the term "Tutsi genocide." While perhaps historically defensible and an example of the GOR's concern over the indictments issued by the French and Spanish judges, which are seen here as reflecting the power of some in the Hutu diaspora to either deny that a genocide took place or insist that it was a "double genocide," such a shift does not bode well in a society in which reconciliation and the creation of a new, ethnicity-free national identity are primary goals. End comment. Spanish Indictments Create Problems Elsewhere -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosemary Museminari canceled a May 7 visit to Belgium after the government there said a member of her delegation, Lt. Col. Joseph Nzambwita, could be arrested upon arrival due to his presence on the list of Rwandans indicted by a Spanish judge (ref B). Shortly after the cancellation, the pro-government New Times carried a story on the issuance of Belgian visas to Rwandans, calling the process "inhuman." A follow-up editorial on the topic suggested Belgium should adopt a visa issuance model similar to that of the U.S. and cautioned against maintaining a process they deemed "a colonial hangover." ¶8. (C) Comment: The Spanish indictments are proving to be more than an abstract affront to the GOR's sense of sovereignty and stance against universal jurisdiction -- real constraints are emerging for government delegations traveling to Europe and elsewhere. Other nations' obligations under their own legal systems to evaluate the French and Spanish indictments and grant them some pro forma validity is brusquely rejected here. GOR irritation is palpable, and has the potential to create new diplomatic and political tensions. End comment. Norway? No way -------------- ¶9. (U) Felician Kabuga, sought by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for his role in financing the 1994 genocide, was reported by African Press International, an online media source, to be in Norway and willing to negotiate his surrender to the GOR instead of having his case heard by the ICTR in Arusha. GOR officials said they had not received any formal communications from Kabuga or his representatives, nor from the Norwegian government. They dismissed the idea of holding talks with Kabuga to broker his return to Rwanda and cautioned that the report may have been false. The ICTR maintains Kabuga continues to hide in Kenya. According to media reports, the Government of Kenya recently froze some of Kabuga's assets located there. ¶10. (U) Comment: The report of Kabuga's presence in Norway has not been confirmed by other sources and it may well be a hoax. Kabuga or those who assist him in Kenya may have planted the story as a distraction to efforts to track him down there. End comment. National Election Commission reports good progress -------------- -------------- ¶11. (SBU) In a May 29 meeting with donors, officials from the Q11. (SBU) In a May 29 meeting with donors, officials from the GOR National Election Commission (NEC) presented an update of their accomplishments and remaining tasks ahead of the September 15 legislative elections. The NEC has adopted and begun implementing an election calendar and voter education campaign. It is working to recruit and later train 62,000 electoral agents who will assist in the conduct of the elections across 15,000 polling stations. Voter registration continues apace, with an estimated 4.7 million voters eventually to be registered electronically. The GOR has funded over 70 percent of the NEC's budget, and international donors have committed to fund the gap. ¶12. (SBU) The NEC plans to invite election observers from sister NECs in other African countries as well as from local and international NGOs and the donor community (some 2500 election observers monitored the 2003 legislative elections). Political parties will also be able to participate in election monitoring at polling stations. Groups not invited to observe by the NEC will be subject to an accreditation process that NEC officials said had not yet established but that would "be in line with international standards." ¶13. (SBU) NEC officials invited donors to attend regular consultations with the NEC and to offer advice and suggestions. They further encouraged donors to keep the NEC informed of events as the elections approach. "You will know things we do not -- please share them with us," said the NEC Commission Chairman. Finally, they emphasized the importance of continued financial assistance to meet their budgetary gaps. ICTR Judges Reject First Attempt to Transfer Case to Rwanda -------------- -------------- ¶14. (U) In a May 28 decision, a three-judge panel of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) denied the application by ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Jallow to transfer Yussuf Munyakazi to Rwanda for trial. The panel cited three main reasons for denying the application: technical problems with Rwanda sentencing structure, the inability of Rwanda to ensure a fair trial, focusing particularly on a lack of judicial independence, and problems with witness protection programs in Rwanda. The court did cite with approval Rwanda's "positive steps" to facilitate referral, and hoped that the ICTR would, "if Rwanda continues along this path," be able to refer future cases. ¶15. (SBU) Pol/Econ Chief spoke briefly on May 29 with Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama about the ICTR panel decision. In a subdued tone, Karugarama called the decision "unjustified" and "unfair," but noted his government's requirement to "respect the court's decision." Karugarama said he assumed that Jallow would file an appeal in the case, and the GOR would participate, as it had at the initial hearing, with the filing of a friend-of-the-court brief. ¶16. (C) Comment. Sections of the ICTR legal panel's legal opinion cite Rwanda's continuing fulminations against the French and Spanish judges, who indicted senior Rwandans for war crimes, as evidence of the GOR's antipathy to judicial independence -- a conclusion that will likely both appall and flabbergast the Rwandan government. As other transfer cases before other panels of judges at the ICTR are yet to be heard, we do not think we will see angry denunciations of the ICTR - yet. End comment. ARIETTI