By: Edmund Kagire,Jason Straziuso, The Associated Press
Paul Rusesabagina smiles after receiving an honorary degree from the University of Guelph on Tuesday, June 12, 2007. Rusesabagina, the former manager at the Mille Collines hotel, saved more than 1,200 people from slaughter during the Rwandan genocide and inspired the Academy Award-nominated film "Hotel Rwanda."
KIGALI, Rwanda - The Rwandan hotel manager portrayed by Don Cheadle in the movie "Hotel Rwanda" could face charges by Rwandan authorities over allegations the man sent money to opposition commanders, Rwanda's top prosecutor said.
But the former manager, Paul Rusesabagina, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he hasn't sent any money to Rwanda in years, and that the government is launching a smear campaign against him because he has opposed President Paul Kagame in the past.
Rwanda's top prosecutor, Martin Ngoga, said Rusesabagina helped finance what he described as terrorist activities in Rwanda by helping fund commanders with the FDLR, or Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. No formal charges have yet been filed.
Ngoga said he is asking U.S. officials for assistance in gathering evidence. Some of the financial transactions he alleges were criminal originated in San Antonio, Texas. Rusesabagina has a house in Texas but said he has never sent money to Burundi or Tanzania as is alleged by Ngoga.
"Those who want to continue considering him as a hero can go on," Ngoga told a news conference late Tuesday. "We consider him a serious criminal suspect who has been financing FDLR and we are challenging whoever speaks on his behalf to tell us whether he never sent money to these FDLR commanders we have in custody."
After his story was publicized in "Hotel Rwanda," Rusesabagina was hailed as a hero around the world. Former U.S. President George W. Bush gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, the highest civilian honour in the U.S.
However, the government of Rwanda did not view him as a hero after Rusesabagina began criticizing the regime of Kagame, who has since called Rusesabagina a "manufactured hero," according to Terry George, the director of "Hotel Rwanda."
Rusesabagina, 56, who was released from a hospital operation last week to find that his home in Brussels, Belgium had been broken into and documents stolen, says he has done nothing wrong.
"It is the latest step in a campaign against me by the Rwandan government that has included public insults, lies and physical harassment," Rusesabagina said.
"My foundation is advocating for a truth, justice and reconciliation process to try to foster sustainable peace in Rwanda ... but anyone who opposes Kagame inside or outside the country is treated with this kind of harassment."
More than 500,000 Rwandans, mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Kagame, an ethnic Tutsi, has tried to downplay the role of ethnicity in post-genocide Rwanda, and people in the country rarely refer to themselves as Hutu or Tutsi and can face charges for speaking publicly about ethnicity.
Human rights groups accuse Kagame's regime of iron-fisted control and of silencing opposition politicians and media outlets. Human rights groups and other critics decried the arrest of several opposition figures in the lead-up to Rwanda's August president election, and noted that several others were killed or attacked under suspicious circumstances.
The potential charges against Rusesabagina appear to be intertwined with those against Victoire Ingabire, a Hutu opposition politician who was jailed earlier this month on charges of forming a terrorist group.
Ingabire earlier this year sought representation by Peter Erlinder, a U.S. lawyer who was jailed by Rwandan authorities for about three weeks when he arrived in Rwanda in May to meet with Ingabire. Erlinder was welcomed back to the U.S. in July by Rusesabagina, and the two appeared together on a news program.
"The Kagame regime is beginning to show signs of desperation and lashing out in all directions," Erlinder said Wednesday, adding that the Rwandan government has been working toward charges against Rusesabagina for some time.
"He's already been declared persona non grata by Kagame several years ago," Erlinder said.
Ngoga said that the FDLR commanders in Rwandan custody have given evidence against both Ingabire and Rusesabagina.
Ngoga said Western Union money transfers by Rusesabagina were sent to two commanders in the FDLR with the aim of recruiting fighters for a new military wing of FDU-Inkingi, which is the political party headed by Ingabire.
"We are not talking in general terms, we are mentioning the names, the transactions which were done from San Antonio, Texas," Ngoga said. "It was received in Dar es Salaam and Bujumbura and sent by Paul Rusesabagina himself."
Rusesabagina told AP that the last time he sent money to Rwanda was in 2002 or 2003, and that it totalled at most 1,000 euros ($1,380). He said he supports Ingabire and other opposition candidates through press releases from his foundation and advocates for free, fair and open elections without violence or human rights abuses.
Rusesabagina said he was just released from the hospital following surgery and that when he went to his home in Belgium he discovered someone had broken in his house and stolen documents that are written in a Rwandan language.
"I am asking myself what a Belgian thief might want with documents with only a Rwandan could read?" Rusesabagina said.
___
Associated Press reporter Jason Straziuso contributed from Nairobi, Kenya. Associated Press writer Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
MN Law Prof. Discusses Expected Charges In Rwanda
A Minnesota law professor jailed in Rwanda earlier this year on allegations that he minimized that country's 1994 genocide said Friday he has "no doubt" he'd be killed if he returned to Rwanda to face expected charges.
Peter Erlinder, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., spoke to The Associated Press a day after Rwanda's chief prosecutor, Martin Ngoga, said he would charge Erlinder with genocide denial, based on articles Erlinder wrote that were published on the Internet.
Erlinder said Friday that formal charges against him had not been filed, but he expected them to be. He said he would follow his attorneys' advice, but when asked if he thought he would be killed if he returned to Rwanda, he replied, "I have no doubt."
Erlinder has been a lead defense attorney for the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which is prosecuting Rwandans charged with participating in the mass killings. He was arrested May 28 after going to Rwanda to help an opposition leader who wants to run for president. A judge released him June 17 on medical grounds.
Since then, an opposition leader and an opposition journalist have been killed, and a former Rwandan general who is in exile has been shot. Erlinder's former client, opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, was arrested this month, accused of being involved in the formation of a terrorist organization.
More than 500,000 Rwandans, mostly ethnic Tutsis but some moderate Hutus, were massacred by Hutus during the 1994 genocide. The massacres ended when mostly Tutsi rebels led by current Rwandan president Paul Kagame defeated the extremists.
Erlinder has said the official version of events is wrong and it's inaccurate to blame one side. He said killings by Hutus of Hutus who were protecting Tutsis would not be genocide under the U.N. definition, but may count as war crimes or crimes against humanity. He also said the tribunal ruled last year that there was insufficient evidence to support the view that the genocide was a conspiracy planned long in advance. He said other researchers have concluded that more Hutus than Tutsis may have been slain.
"These are not my conclusions, these are conclusions of others," Erlinder said. "Essentially I'm being accused of reporting evidence and the conclusions of others. That's really what lies behind the criminal charges against me."
Meanwhile, a United Nations report released Oct. 1 accuses Rwandan troops and rebel allies of slaughtering tens of thousands of Hutus in Congo in the 1990s. The report outlines many incidents that qualify as crimes against humanity, or possibly genocide if taken together, by the Rwandan army, which was hunting down rebel Hutus.
At the time of the report's release, the genocide suggestion angered Rwandan officials. Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo called it "flawed and dangerous from start to finish."
A message left with the Rwandan Embassy in Washington was not immediately returned Friday. The U.S. Department of State had no immediate comment on the possible charges against Erlinder.
Erlinder said his prosecution could have larger implications: If defense attorneys aren't immune from prosecution by Kagame's government, U.N. tribunal defendants won't be able to get any meaningful representation.
"It means all the defense counsel for the U.N. tribunal have got to say, 'How do we do our job?' They have to go to Rwanda, and their investigators have to go to Rwanda," he said. "How can the tribunal function? It's almost impossible."
Peter Erlinder, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., spoke to The Associated Press a day after Rwanda's chief prosecutor, Martin Ngoga, said he would charge Erlinder with genocide denial, based on articles Erlinder wrote that were published on the Internet.
Erlinder said Friday that formal charges against him had not been filed, but he expected them to be. He said he would follow his attorneys' advice, but when asked if he thought he would be killed if he returned to Rwanda, he replied, "I have no doubt."
Erlinder has been a lead defense attorney for the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which is prosecuting Rwandans charged with participating in the mass killings. He was arrested May 28 after going to Rwanda to help an opposition leader who wants to run for president. A judge released him June 17 on medical grounds.
Since then, an opposition leader and an opposition journalist have been killed, and a former Rwandan general who is in exile has been shot. Erlinder's former client, opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, was arrested this month, accused of being involved in the formation of a terrorist organization.
More than 500,000 Rwandans, mostly ethnic Tutsis but some moderate Hutus, were massacred by Hutus during the 1994 genocide. The massacres ended when mostly Tutsi rebels led by current Rwandan president Paul Kagame defeated the extremists.
Erlinder has said the official version of events is wrong and it's inaccurate to blame one side. He said killings by Hutus of Hutus who were protecting Tutsis would not be genocide under the U.N. definition, but may count as war crimes or crimes against humanity. He also said the tribunal ruled last year that there was insufficient evidence to support the view that the genocide was a conspiracy planned long in advance. He said other researchers have concluded that more Hutus than Tutsis may have been slain.
"These are not my conclusions, these are conclusions of others," Erlinder said. "Essentially I'm being accused of reporting evidence and the conclusions of others. That's really what lies behind the criminal charges against me."
Meanwhile, a United Nations report released Oct. 1 accuses Rwandan troops and rebel allies of slaughtering tens of thousands of Hutus in Congo in the 1990s. The report outlines many incidents that qualify as crimes against humanity, or possibly genocide if taken together, by the Rwandan army, which was hunting down rebel Hutus.
At the time of the report's release, the genocide suggestion angered Rwandan officials. Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo called it "flawed and dangerous from start to finish."
A message left with the Rwandan Embassy in Washington was not immediately returned Friday. The U.S. Department of State had no immediate comment on the possible charges against Erlinder.
Erlinder said his prosecution could have larger implications: If defense attorneys aren't immune from prosecution by Kagame's government, U.N. tribunal defendants won't be able to get any meaningful representation.
"It means all the defense counsel for the U.N. tribunal have got to say, 'How do we do our job?' They have to go to Rwanda, and their investigators have to go to Rwanda," he said. "How can the tribunal function? It's almost impossible."
Friday, October 22, 2010
RWANDA TO SUMMON AMERICAN LAWYER TO FACE GENOCIDE DENIAL CHARGES
Arusha, October 21, 2010 (FH) – Rwandan Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga said Wednesday that his country would summon American lawyer Peter Erlinder, a defence counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in the coming few weeks to face charges of genocide denial.
‘’It is going to happen very soon. I would say in a couple of weeks,’’ Ngoga told a press conference jointly conducted by the Spokesperson of the ICTR, Roland Amoussouga.
Erlinder is lead counsel for genocide-convict Major Aloys Ntabakuze who has appealed against life imprisonment sentence rendered by ICTR on December 18, 2008. His appeal is yet to be heard.
Ngoga’s statement follows a recent decision by the Appeals Chamber of the Tribunal on a motion filed by Ntabakuze.
‘’We have a substantive case against Erlinder,’’ Ngoga pointed out , adding that ‘’genocide denial is not acceptable. It doesn’t matter wherever you come from.’’
He explained that if Erlinder does not respond to the summons he would be a fugitive and Rwanda would opt to use the Interpol, to track him down for his arrest. ‘’He is a lawyer and he knows the consequences of jumping bail,’’ he warned.
‘’We will proceed as planned to prosecute him for genocide denial and make sure that throughout the process we are not infringing his functional immunity as defence lawyer of the ICTR,’’ Rwandan Prosecutor General emphasized.
In its decision of October 6, the Appeals Chamber recognized the functional immunity of the defence counsels in the course of executing their duties in defence of their clients before the ICTR.
‘’The small reference to a particular document that was seen to be infringing his immunity will be withdrawn from our charge sheet,’’ Ngoga said.
Erlinder went to Rwanda to defend the opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire of unregistered United Democratic Forces (UDF-Inkingi) party, who wished to run for presidency alongside President Paul Kagame and who has herself been charged with genocide denial.
‘’It is going to happen very soon. I would say in a couple of weeks,’’ Ngoga told a press conference jointly conducted by the Spokesperson of the ICTR, Roland Amoussouga.
Erlinder is lead counsel for genocide-convict Major Aloys Ntabakuze who has appealed against life imprisonment sentence rendered by ICTR on December 18, 2008. His appeal is yet to be heard.
Ngoga’s statement follows a recent decision by the Appeals Chamber of the Tribunal on a motion filed by Ntabakuze.
‘’We have a substantive case against Erlinder,’’ Ngoga pointed out , adding that ‘’genocide denial is not acceptable. It doesn’t matter wherever you come from.’’
He explained that if Erlinder does not respond to the summons he would be a fugitive and Rwanda would opt to use the Interpol, to track him down for his arrest. ‘’He is a lawyer and he knows the consequences of jumping bail,’’ he warned.
‘’We will proceed as planned to prosecute him for genocide denial and make sure that throughout the process we are not infringing his functional immunity as defence lawyer of the ICTR,’’ Rwandan Prosecutor General emphasized.
In its decision of October 6, the Appeals Chamber recognized the functional immunity of the defence counsels in the course of executing their duties in defence of their clients before the ICTR.
‘’The small reference to a particular document that was seen to be infringing his immunity will be withdrawn from our charge sheet,’’ Ngoga said.
Erlinder went to Rwanda to defend the opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire of unregistered United Democratic Forces (UDF-Inkingi) party, who wished to run for presidency alongside President Paul Kagame and who has herself been charged with genocide denial.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
St. Paul attorney facing denial-of-genocide charges in Rwanda
By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune
A St. Paul law professor jailed last spring in Rwanda will be criminally charged with denying the genocide that devastated that country in the early 1990s.
Rwanda's chief prosecutor, Martin Ngoga, said Peter Erlinder will be charged with denying the genocide. Erlinder, a law professor at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul was arrested in May and was released in June on bail.
Ngoga made his remarks in Arusha, Tanzania, where the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is based.
Erlinder, 62, is a well-known human rights lawyer who represented Victoire Ingabire, a Hutu leader who unsuccessfully challenged President Paul Kagame in last August's 9 elections.
Ingabire was arrested in April on a charge similar to Erlinder's -- denying the genocide of the nation's Tutsis.
More than 500,000 Rwandans, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were massacred by Hutus during the 1994 genocide. Erlinder contends it's inaccurate to blame one side. He believes Rwandan authorities intended to make him disappear when he was arrested but his contact with a U.S. diplomat saved him.
Earlier this year, Erlinder helped file suit in U.S. federal court alleging that Kagame helped incite the violence that triggered the genocide. He also has raised questions about Kagame's complicity during his work before the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal, which is weighing Rwandan war crimes.
Erlinder was imprisoned for 21 days before Rwandan officials released him and allowed him to fly home.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A St. Paul law professor jailed last spring in Rwanda will be criminally charged with denying the genocide that devastated that country in the early 1990s.
Rwanda's chief prosecutor, Martin Ngoga, said Peter Erlinder will be charged with denying the genocide. Erlinder, a law professor at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul was arrested in May and was released in June on bail.
Ngoga made his remarks in Arusha, Tanzania, where the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is based.
Erlinder, 62, is a well-known human rights lawyer who represented Victoire Ingabire, a Hutu leader who unsuccessfully challenged President Paul Kagame in last August's 9 elections.
Ingabire was arrested in April on a charge similar to Erlinder's -- denying the genocide of the nation's Tutsis.
More than 500,000 Rwandans, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were massacred by Hutus during the 1994 genocide. Erlinder contends it's inaccurate to blame one side. He believes Rwandan authorities intended to make him disappear when he was arrested but his contact with a U.S. diplomat saved him.
Earlier this year, Erlinder helped file suit in U.S. federal court alleging that Kagame helped incite the violence that triggered the genocide. He also has raised questions about Kagame's complicity during his work before the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal, which is weighing Rwandan war crimes.
Erlinder was imprisoned for 21 days before Rwandan officials released him and allowed him to fly home.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Rusesabagina Challenges the UN to take the Next Steps to End the Culture of Impunity in Rwanda
Paul Rusesabagina, Founder and President of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF), today challenged the United Nations to take the next logical steps after the release last week of the “Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1993-2003, The Report of the Mapping Exercise.” He asked the UN to take next steps to investigate the crimes that the Rwandan Government has perpetrated within Rwanda and to pursue legal action on the charges outlined in the report.
Rusesabagina said “During the Rwandan Genocide, as I struggled day after day to save the 1,268 people under my watch at the Mille Colline Hotel in Kigali, I often thought the UN had stopped caring about the people of Rwanda. But, the release of this report, and, the idea that the world will now be better informed about the realities in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, makes me believe that the UN has not completely forgotten about my fellow Rwandans.”
“Now, the UN, and the International community, must continue to push Rwanda and the countries of the Great Lakes region and end the culture of impunity once and for all,” said Rusesabagina. “I most strongly urge the United Nations to pursue the charges outlined in the report until justice is served for the victims.”
In addition to pursuing the Court cases, the HRRF also asks the United Nations to look at not only the crimes that have take place inside the Congo, but also those crimes that the Rwandan Government has committed with in Rwanda.
The report is an important first step for the more than 5 million innocent victims of murder, rape, and crimes against humanity in the Congo. The Rwandan government and others in the region are shown to have used the Congo as a killing field while they plundered the natural resources to fuel this conflict and line their pockets.
"A full and independent international investigation is needed for all of these allegations. It is essential that the Rwandan government and others involved not be allowed to use the threat of withdrawing its peace keepers, or any other political motives, as an excuse to halt the important justice process that is only beginning with this report,” Rusesabagina said.
Rusesabagina urges the use of the full power of the United Nations to look in to the atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity that the Rwandan government has perpetrated against innocents throughout the region, including inside the country of Rwanda. "The Congolese government has already noted that it may not have the ability to pursue all of these charges, and thus international action to pursue justice for the victims is clearly needed."
He concluded, “This UN mapping report highlights the need for a truth, justice and reconciliation process that can bring lasting peace to the region. We hope that the United Nations and the international community will stand with the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation as we push for the next steps and work to end the cycle of impunity in the region.”
Friday, October 1, 2010
Paul Rusesabagina Applauds UN Report
Paul Rusesabagina, Founder and President of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF), today applauded the release of the “Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1993-2003, The Report of the Mapping Exercise” and the idea that the world will now be better informed about the realities in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
“My Foundation has worked for years to educate the international community about the reality of life in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region and to advocate for a Truth and Reconciliation process to heal the people of the region and stop the violence. There have been atrocities, human rights violations, and war crimes and yes, even genocide, committed by all the sides in the Rwandan civil war and since then. This report acknowledges that truth.” said Rusesabagina.
This report validates critiques that the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation and many other human rights organizations have been making of the Rwandan Government in recent years.
The recent election brought internal repression in to the public view. This report is an essential recognition by the UN that the current Rwandan government has been involved for years in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the plundering of the Congo.
Dr. Brian Endless, Senior Advisor to the HRRF noted that “The report is an important step for the more than 5 million innocent victims of murder, rape, and crimes against humanity in the Congo. The Rwandan government is shown to have used the Congo as a killing field while they plundered the natural resources to fuel this conflict and line their pockets.”
The report shows that Rwanda and the region are still far from peace and reconciliation since the 1994 genocide and that the violence has continued. The fact that the Rwandan government is fighting a proxy war in the Congo is clearly shown by this report. This document is an important step for the future of the region that highlights the need for a truth, justice and reconciliation process that can bring lasting peace to the region.
“My Foundation has worked for years to educate the international community about the reality of life in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region and to advocate for a Truth and Reconciliation process to heal the people of the region and stop the violence. There have been atrocities, human rights violations, and war crimes and yes, even genocide, committed by all the sides in the Rwandan civil war and since then. This report acknowledges that truth.” said Rusesabagina.
This report validates critiques that the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation and many other human rights organizations have been making of the Rwandan Government in recent years.
The recent election brought internal repression in to the public view. This report is an essential recognition by the UN that the current Rwandan government has been involved for years in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the plundering of the Congo.
Dr. Brian Endless, Senior Advisor to the HRRF noted that “The report is an important step for the more than 5 million innocent victims of murder, rape, and crimes against humanity in the Congo. The Rwandan government is shown to have used the Congo as a killing field while they plundered the natural resources to fuel this conflict and line their pockets.”
The report shows that Rwanda and the region are still far from peace and reconciliation since the 1994 genocide and that the violence has continued. The fact that the Rwandan government is fighting a proxy war in the Congo is clearly shown by this report. This document is an important step for the future of the region that highlights the need for a truth, justice and reconciliation process that can bring lasting peace to the region.
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