Paul Kagame is seen by some as a liberator. But critics say Rwanda is simply secure for individuals who toe the road

Last updated Jun 24, 2022

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Under his rule, the East African nation has emerged from the ruins of a devastating 1994 genocide that left practically a million folks useless to be hailed by Western allies because the mannequin for progress in Africa.

In a latest assembly between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta, the US acknowledged it nonetheless had a robust bilateral partnership with Rwanda but in addition raised considerations about human rights within the nation.

In a report final 12 months detailing human rights practices in Rwanda, the US State Department recognized “significant human rights issues” that vary from “unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government” to “forced disappearance by the government,” amongst others.

Critics say the successes of Kagame’s authoritarian rule have come on the expense of human rights within the nation.
Rwanda is that this week internet hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) within the capital Kigali, the primary gathering of Commonwealth leaders in 4 years. Prince Charles, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are amongst world leaders attending.
The UK is ermerging as considered one of Rwanda’s strongest allies and PM Johnson stated in interviews from CHOGM that criticism of Rwanda relies on “stereotypes of Rwanda that is now outdated.” UK Home Secretary Priti Patel lately brokered a £120 million ($147m) cope with Rwanda to ship asylum seekers to the East African nation, an accord that hangs within the steadiness after a last-minute intervention by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Patel described Rwanda as “a safe haven for refugees” because the UK vowed to push forward with the controversial scheme.

‘No secure haven’

Far from being a “safe haven” for refugees as claimed by Patel and others within the UK authorities, Rwanda has been accused by human rights teams of treating refugees badly.

In 2018, no less than 11 Congolese refugees had been killed when Rwandan police opened fireplace on the Kiziba refugee camp and Karongi city as refugees protested cuts to their meals rations, Amnesty International reported on the time. Rwandan authorities advised CNN the nation’s police resorted to taking pictures to regulate a gaggle of violent protesters and stated it was an remoted incident.

Rwanda had beforehand acquired refugees from Israel.

According to Israeli media, among the refugees deported to Rwanda between 2014 and 2017 had been struggling to outlive, with some destitute. Many of the refugees have fled Rwanda whereas some others who selected to stay within the nation have been denied official paperwork by Rwandan authorities, resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of some, Israeli media Haaretz reported.

The UK/Rwanda asylum deal comes lower than a 12 months after the UK’s International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, stated she was displeased with Rwanda’s refusal to probe human rights abuses as really helpful by the British authorities.

Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa Director at Human Rights Watch, advised CNN lately that “the UK has cynically decided to change its position on Rwanda… it’s going to ignore the human rights abuses in Rwanda and claim that it is a safe and acceptable country to send refugees to, to justify this cruel and immoral program.”

He added that Rwanda is a secure nation solely for individuals who toe the road.

“Just because Rwanda is clean and is safe for the Westerners doesn’t necessarily translate to safety for all Rwandans. Rwanda is a safe country for Rwandans if you keep your head down and don’t ask any questions or challenge anything. The moment you step up and start to question something or have an independent opinion and express it, Rwanda becomes a very difficult country to live in. These Western countries need to recognize that,” Mudge added.

A spokesperson for the Rwandan authorities declined to touch upon HRW’s allegations, dismissing the company as “a discredited source.”

Mudge described the UK-Rwanda asylum deal as an affront to the Commonwealth’s values.

“The UK is ostensibly the leader of the Commonwealth and this is an abdication of one of the pillars of the Commonwealth, which is the fundamental respect for human rights,” he stated.

Refugees despatched from the UK would comprise numerous nationalities, however Rwandan Foreign Minister Biruta stated the asylum program will solely be for folks looking for asylum within the UK who’re already within the UK and would exclude refugees from Rwanda’s neighbors such because the DRC, Burundi, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The UK authorities had stated this system was focused at curbing people-smuggling networks and discouraging migrants from making harmful sea journeys to the UK.

From genocide to progress

To his supporters and Western and Asian allies, President Kagame is a liberator who has modernized and remodeled Rwanda, a former Belgian colony.

His get together, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), has been in energy for the reason that finish of the civil battle in 1994, with Kagame serving as vice-president and protection minister till 2000 after which president for the final 22 years.

Kagame unified the nation after the genocide, working to abolish the divisive phrases “Hutu” and “Tutsi” and to combine the 2 cultures.

The positive factors made in Rwanda below his rule are simple.

Rwandan authorities spokesperson Yolande Makolo advised CNN the nation has made exceptional progress within the final 28 years, citing elevated life expectancy, near-universal healthcare, and low corruption ranges within the nation.

According to the World Bank, Rwanda has witnessed “strong economic growth … accompanied by substantial improvements in living standards.” A report by the World Bank in 2020 acknowledged that the nation additionally has been profitable in “reducing administrative corruption … from an accepted practice to one that is regarded as illegitimate and, once identified, one that is punished.”

Rwanda additionally ranks 1st amongst 13 low-income economies and seventh among the many 27 economies of Sub-Saharan Africa for its innovation capabilities on the 2021 Global Innovation Index.

The nation has additional endeared itself to the West by advancing gender equality and making a female-dominated cupboard. Around 61% of its parliamentary seats are held by ladies.

Kagame has been aggressive in attracting international direct funding into the nation. In 2018, the Rwandan authorities signed a three-year promotional cope with English Premier League facet Arsenal “as part of the country’s drive to become a leading global tourist destination, using ‘Visit Rwanda’ messaging,” the English soccer membership stated in a press release.

Arsenal’s female and male workforce jerseys have featured the ‘Visit Rwanda’ brand on their left sleeve ever since.

Crackdown on opposition

However, such positive factors however, Kagame’s rule has been characterised by extensively reported human rights abuses.

The Freedom within the World 2022 Report by Freedom House discovered that “while the regime has maintained stability and economic growth, it has also suppressed political dissent through pervasive surveillance, intimidation, torture, and renditions or suspected assassinations of exiled dissidents.”

Rwandan opposition politician Victoire Ingabire was the presidential candidate of the Unified Democratic Forces (UDF) get together within the 2010 Rwanda presidential elections and says she is a sufferer of Kagame’s crackdown on dissent.

She advised CNN she had left the Netherlands, the place she lived together with her household, to play an energetic function in Rwandan politics however ended up being jailed on what she says had been trumped-up prices of terrorism and threatening nationwide safety by the Kagame regime.

“I was arrested in 2010 and spent eight years in prison. In 2018, I was released by a presidential pardon which came with the condition that I couldn’t leave Rwanda freely without government permission. Three times I have asked for permission to visit my family in the Netherlands but the government did not respond to my request,” Ingabire stated.

Rwandan opposition politician Victoire Ingabire pictured in a Kigali court in 2011.

Rwandan authorities spokesperson Makolo advised CNN Ingabire “was tried and convicted of serious crimes including complicity in acts of terrorism and promoting genocide ideology.”

Makolo added that: “Ingabire had her conviction commuted after she appealed for clemency, however her criminal record remains because her crimes were proven beyond doubt.

“As a part of this deal, she has to request to go away the nation, as does anybody else in the identical scenario.” Makolo did not comment further on the status of Ingabire’s requests to leave the country.

Ingabire said she challenged her imprisonment at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights — established by the African Union — in 2014 and was acquitted three years later after the court found that the Rwandan government had violated her rights.

Ingabire says she now lives in fear.

“I’m afraid for my life … as a result of you do not know what can occur to you when you’re a member of the opposition,” she told CNN via a phone call.

“If you criticize the federal government, you might be labeled as an enemy of the state, and you then’re arrested and put in jail … President Kagame doesn’t tolerate criticism towards his regime.”

Makolo did not respond to the specific incidents Ingabire spoke about. She, however, accused Ingabire of making “baseless claims” against Rwandan authorities.

“Despite being labeled as an opposition politician, she (Ingabire) has no discernible coverage platform, she would not supply options that may assist enhance our nation. She solely makes use of her platform to make baseless claims in regards to the authorities. This would not assist advance our nation’s progress,” Makolo stated.

A hostel that housed Rwanda genocide survivors prepares to take in people deported by the UK

Responding to the widespread experiences of abuse, Makolo stated Rwanda couldn’t be characterised as a rustic with no respect for human rights.

“This characterization bears no relation to the nation I do know … A central precept of Rwanda’s reconstruction has been making certain that each single particular person is handled … as a human being — that signifies that we don’t tolerate discrimination of any type. This is enshrined in our structure and upheld by our dedication to the rule of legislation,” Makolo told CNN.

Another outspoken critic of Kagame is Paul Rusesabagina, who was last year convicted of terrorism-related charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison by a court in Kigali. Rusesabagina, who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda,” was renowned for saving more than a thousand Rwandans during the country’s genocide by sheltering them in the hotel he managed.

He was accused by Rwandan prosecutors of being involved with the National Liberation Front (FLN), an armed wing of the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD). Rusesabagina admitted to having a leadership role in the MRCD but denied responsibility for attacks carried out by the FLN.

His family says he was not given a fair trial and was kidnapped while overseas and returned to Rwanda in August 2020. Rusesabagina told the New York Times in a video interview he was en route to Burundi on a private plane to speak to churches on August 28 but found himself surrounded by soldiers in Rwanda when he woke up.

Speaking to CNN at the time, Kagame denied claims that Rusesabagina was kidnapped and renditioned to Rwanda.

“It was very correct and authorized,” Kagame said of Rusesabagina’s arrest.

“If he was working with any person in Burundi in the identical plot of destabilizing our nation, and the identical particular person, for instance, determined to drive him to Kigali — the particular person he was working with, and he had trusted — and the federal government was working with that particular person he trusted, how does the federal government turn into culpable for that operation?” he added.

‘Rwanda is a poor country’

In addition to raising human rights concerns around the asylum deal, opposition politician Ingabire says that high unemployment rates in Rwanda will prevent the refugees deported by the UK from building lives there.

“There is a excessive charge of unemployment in Rwanda, particularly among the many youth. … What will occur to the refugees when the British authorities stops funding their lodging? They do not have a future in Rwanda,” Ingabire said.

She also considers Rwanda’s economic growth a myth, as poverty remains prevalent in the country’s rural areas. According to the UN’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, poverty rates in rural parts of the country stand at 42%, far higher than in cities at 15%.

“Outside Kigali, there are not any infrastructures as what you see in Kigali. The Rwandan authorities has not elevated employment throughout the nation, that’s the reason we’ve the vast majority of poverty within the rural areas,” Ingabire told CNN.

The government declined to comment on Ingabire’s claims.

africa Rwanda's Paul Kagame is viewed as a liberator. But critics say the country is only safe for those who toe the line - CNN

Paul Kagame is seen by some as a liberator. But critics say Rwanda is simply secure for individuals who toe the road

‘No secure haven’

From genocide to progress

Crackdown on opposition

‘Rwanda is a poor country’

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