US rebukes Rwanda about human rights
BDlive - AFP - 16 hours ago
BY NICHOLAS KOTCH , 2014-06-06 07:59:11.0
THE US has signalled to Rwanda's hardline government that there is a
limit to its support, particularly when human rights are deemed to be
under threat.
The US state department rebuked Rwanda on Wednesday for holding people
incommunicado and threatening journalists.
"The US is deeply concerned by the arrest and disappearance of dozens
of Rwandan citizens in Rwanda over the past two months," spokeswoman
Marie Harf said.
The US called on President Paul Kagame's government to respect
international human rights law and freedom of expression. Kigali
replied that in all instances, police and security agencies had acted
lawfully.
"Accused individuals are entitled to, and receive, due process --
suggestions otherwise, including claims of 'disappearances', are
false," said Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo.
The US has been the central African country's principal supporter
since a 1994 genocide in which up to 800,000 people, mainly from the
Tutsi minority, were killed.
Mr Kagame and the previously exiled Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) have
held power since taking it after ending the violence.
Rwanda has one of the best armies on the continent, but military
threats lie in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Chief among them is the FDLR, consisting of Rwandan Hutus, who
committed the genocide or who defend it.
Ms Mushikiwabo said Rwanda was dealing with a "security challenge" in
the north of the country. The FDLR was recruiting and infiltrating,
and was responsible for fatalities there, she said.
"Such acts are designed to terrorise the population and undermine the
security that has enabled Rwanda to achieve significant progress over
the past 20-years," the government said.
The US and Rwanda have crossed swords before.
Washington suspended about $200,000 in military aid in October to
punish Kigali's support of M23, a group of anti-FDLR rebels in eastern
Congo.
Analyst David Zounmenou of the Institute for Security Studies, said
this was symbolic, but that US policy did appear to be shifting and
was less indulgent under President Barack Obama.
"That is what I read into the state department's statement yesterday," he said.
Washington voiced its concern after a Human Rights Watch report found
more people had disappeared or been detained in Rwanda since March. It
said some might be in military custody on suspicion of FDLR alignment.
One of Rwanda's most prominent opposition figures, Bernard Ntaganda,
vowed on Wednesday to return to politics after being released at the
end of a four-year prison sentence for threatening state security.
"I am going back to politics as an active player and because I am not
a loser in politics.
"I was jailed for political reasons, that's why I will not give up,"
he said in an interview with a local radio station. - With AFP.
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