Jubilee Action Report - Rwanda

8/8/2019 Jubilee Action Report - Rwanda

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JUBILEE ACTION REPORT

October 2004

RWANDA

The Killing Continues The Legacy of the Rwandan

Genocide


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1.0 Purpose

1.1 Between Sept 26th to Oct1st 2004, a Jubilee Actiondelegation including LordAlton, and journalist BeckyTinsley travelled to Rwanda.

1.2 The purpose of the trip wasto gain a fuller understandingof the cause and legacy of the1994 genocide, to visit siteswhere an estimated 800,000people were killed over a

period of 100 days and toassess the prospects for

Rwandas future. We listened to the testimony of survivors, and visited projects forwidows, abandoned children, orphans and people with HIV/AIDS. We also metNGOs, leaders of civic society, religious leaders and politicians to discuss theprocess of achieving reconciliation and justice, and rebuilding the nation. Welearnt more about the residual problems in the neighbouring Democratic Republicof Congo where genocidal militias remain in exile with dire consequences for allconcerned.

Above: Jubilee Action delegation with President Kagame

2.0 Narrative and History

2.1 As Rwandas colonial power, the Belgians instituted identity cards classifyingmost of the population as either Hutu, who made up the majority, or as Tutsi. After

independence in 1962 Rwanda was ruled by Hutu-dominated governments,including a period of one-party rule under the Hutu President Habyarimanabetween 1972 and 1994. During this time the Tutsi minority (making up 15%)were excluded from power, denied university education, and restricted to a fewprofessions like teaching and nursing. Consequently many Tutsi becamebusinessmen, and comprised a large part of Rwandas middle class.

2.2 Discrimination and ethnic hatred resulted in widespread massacres of Tutsi in1959 after which many Tutsi went into exile, particularly in Uganda. Furtherviolence followed, and as a reaction some Tutsi in Uganda, including the current

President, Paul Kagame, formed the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) and its armedwing, the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA).


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2.2 The RPA invaded Rwanda in 1990 but were halted by the Forces ArmeeRwandaises (FAR). Unrest and dissatisfaction continued, and in April 1994President Habyarimana signed a power-sharing agreement in Arusha, but on hisway back from Tanzania his plane was shot down.

2.3 This event is widely understood to have been the pre-arranged signal the Hutumilitia, the Interahamwe, had been waiting for: roadblocks went up across thenation, and the systematic and coordinated killing of Tutsi and moderate Hutubegan. It is thought 100,000 Interahamwe spearheaded the genocide, supported byHutu peasants who had been indoctrinated with ethnic hate propaganda againsttheir neighbours. Between 800,000 and a million people were murdered, and it isbelieved at least 200,000 Tutsi women were raped.

2.4 From their base in Uganda the RPA invaded and reached Kigali by July,

fighting off a coalition of FAR, Interahamwe and supporting Zairean troops whoretreated into Zaire. Since 1994 they have used their bases in exile to menace localethnic Tutsi in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well asTutsi in Rwanda and Burundi. Their presence in eastern DRC has also contributedto the continuing violence and massive bloodshed there (see previous JubileeAction report on DRC).

2.5 Meanwhile, in 1994, a government of national unity was formed with PasteurBizimungu, a Hutu, as president, and Paul Kagame, the Tutsi commander of theRPA, as his deputy. In effect the RPF have since dominated Rwandan government

and institutions, and when Bizimungu resigned in 2000 Kagame becamepresident. He was later sentenced to 15 years in prison by the KagameGovernment on allegations of inciting genocide.

2.6 In late 1996 the RPA backed a rebellion in eastern DRC (then still called Zaire)which destroyed the Hutu/Interahamwe/ex-FAR refugee camps, and precipitatedthe downfall of Mobutu Sese Seko. A million refugees returned to Rwanda, butmany genocidaires, as they are known, escaped. They remained in eastern Zairefrom which they continued to attack northwest Rwanda.

2.7 In 1998 Rwanda and Uganda together backedrebel militia in DRC ostensibly to eliminate theInterahamwe/ex-FAR. They defeated the combinedforces of Zimbabwe, Chad, Angola and Namibia whowere supporting DRC, leading to a stand-off withMobutos successor Laurent Kabila. By the time aceasefire was signed in Lusaka in autumn 1999 therebels had taken large parts of the north and east, atthe cost of millions of civilian lives. A further

agreement, brokered by South Africa, was needed in


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2002 before Rwandan forces began to withdraw from DRC.

Left: David Alton pays his respects at the Murambi Genocide site

2.8 Rwanda continues to have interests in the vast mineral wealth of eastern DRC,

and it is accused of using local militias to impose their will in the area and to fightagainst remaining Interahamwe/ex-FAR groups who are believed to number about8,000. Equally Rwanda accuses DRC of arming and supporting Interahamwe/ex-FAR militia and their allies who have been killing and terrorising the ethnic Tutsipopulation in eastern DRC. We used most of our one hour meeting with PresidentKagame to raise Rwandas continuing conflict with the DRC.

2.9 The Rwandan economy is based almost completely on agriculture (coffee,sugar cane, bananas) of which the majority is peasant subsistence farming. It lacksthe huge mineral wealth of neighbouring DRC, or an industrial base. It currentlyimports goods it could be manufacturing for itself, and there is potential to developa more value-added agricultural export business, given effort and imagination.

2.10 Rwanda suffers from deforestation (another consequence of the war) and soilerosion. Its economy is vulnerable to both world commodity prices, and the cost ofoil. The continuing violence in DRC restricts regional trade and discouragesinward investment.

3.0 The Consequences of Genocide: Political Freedom and Human Rights inRwanda

3.1 The Rwandan Government is currently struggling to strike a balance betweenallowing free speech, and defeating once and for all the genocidal ideologyresponsible for inspiring millions of people to participate in the murder, betrayal,and looting of their fellow Rwandans.

3.2 Everyday, in every encounter we had, we were reminded that people have good

reason to be apprehensive to the point of paranoia about allowing people to makederogatory comments about the ethnic minority Tutsis, or to deny the genocideoccurred. We are also sensitive to fears that the exiled Interahamwe and ex-FARwish to destabilise the country by force. We met many people who either fear fortheir lives, or are receiving threats, or have actually been attacked by those whobelieve their testimony will put them in prison. We took evidence of genocidairesreleased under the Gacaca and returning to their communities to commit revengeattacks on those who testified against them. 30 Tutsi survivors were reported tohave been killed in June 2004 in Butare.

3.3 The aspiration of the Government, recited by all and sundry in positions ofpower and by many NGOs, is that the Gacaca system will bring about justice and


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reconciliation, given time. We were constantly told that the future lies in allpeople regarding themselves as Rwandans first, and Hutu and Tutsi second.Although we agree with the importance of national identity, history suggests thattrying to wish away ethnic awareness is futile and counter-productive. You can

remove ethnic identity from ID cards (good) but not from memory. Co-existence ,mutual respect and power sharing would be a more productive course.

3.4 There has been criticism of the dominant role taken by the Tutsi minority ingovernment, the army and throughout society. We would question whether theHutu majority has a big enough stake in Rwandas future, and if there is a role forpower-sharing structures, and confidence building measures to bring aboutreconciliation through practical, everyday cooperation in rebuilding Rwanda.Although acutely conscious that Britain failed the Rwandan people in 1994, wesuggest that we might now make a small contribution by sharing our experiences

of building cross-community institutions in Northern Ireland (see:recommendations).

3.5 Human Rights Watch recently catalogued its concerns about the suppression ofthe free press, the imprisonment or exile of political opposition figures, and the96% (sic) President Kagame received in recent elections. Our impressions, fromspeaking to people as varied as 14 year old rape victims, Hutu genocidaireprisoners, town mayors, social workers, and government ministers, was that theKagame administration is determined to silence criticism or divergence from theagreed path forwards. One local health worker in Butare claimed that political

dissidents are first warned and then imprisoned for criticising the government.

3.6 A vital element in this strategy iseliciting confessions of guilt fromprisoners, and encouraging them toprovide information on who plannedthe genocide, in exchange for theirfreedom: the Gacaca process. In everyprovince, citizens are being trained to

chair Gacaca tribunals, to ensurevictims are able to confront theirattackers, and that witnesses can givetestimony. Whilst the planners of the

genocide and those who raped are considered category one prisoners, and do notqualify for parole, the rest have the chance to confess.

Left: Category 1 prisoners in Nyanza prison responsible for the worst acts of genocide in 1994.

3.7 We visited Nyanza prison and watched in admiration as the countrysProsecutor General, Jean de Dieu Mucyo, urged the five thousand genocidaires(male and female) gathered before him in the prison yard, to confess their guilt,


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submit to the Gacaca process, and go home to their families. Given his ownpersonal loss during the genocide, his commitment to resolving the future of theprisoners was doubly impressive. On a practical level Rwanda cannot afford tokeep 70,000 genocidaires in prison indefinitely, and if they want to reconcile their

shattered nation, we concluded there are worse ways to go about it than the Gacacaprocess.

3.8 Some doubts remain about the validity of the confessions from the point ofview of the victims and survivors. The President of the Rwandan Survivors Fund(SURF) told us of her disappointment when she was able to confront the killer ofher husband and children, only to find he felt no remorse. We also heard prisonerssay they were under pressure from fellow Hutu not to confess or implicategenocidaires who have avoided punishment so far. Some less skilled Hutu freelyadmitted they preferred to stay behind bars where they were given three meals a

day, rather than to face the economic hardships in the outside world.

3.9 Whether the Government will succeed in persuading the majority Hutupopulation that the genocide was wrong remains to be seen. Tutsi unease at the trueintentions of their fellow Rwandans is understandable, given the undercurrent ofgenocide denial, and threats to witnesses and survivors. They are not allowed tokeep weapons at home, but the tension within the community was apparent.

3.10 We note the importance of learning from experiences in the formerYugoslavia, where the International War Crimes Tribunal has been careful to hold

each community to account for the atrocities perpetrated on each other. Croatianand Bosnian generals allegedly responsible for war crimes against Serbians have

been arrested and put on trial at TheHague.

3.11 Until 2003, Carla del Pontewas the Prosecutor for theInternational War Crimes Tribunalresponsible for both Rwanda and theformer Yugoslavia. She believesthere was political pressure from theRwandan Government for herremoval because she was urging theinvestigation of the members of theRPA suspected of reprisal killings.

Left: David Alton with the Prosecutor General - Mr. Mucyo.

3.12 If this indicates a subjectivity or an unwillingness to accept that there wasretaliatory violence on Hutu civilians, then this would not bode well for theRwandas future.


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3.13 Being even handed, and being seen to be even-handed, could be an importantelement in trying to assure one part of the community in Rwanda that even thoughthe other part of the community bore the greater brunt of the horrors of genocide,they have not been absolved of atrocities they in turn committed, even if they were

smaller in scale. We were struck by testimony from Hutus who suffered greatly in1994 when up to 100,000 were killed by the RPA when they invaded the country.We also heard of mass reprisal killings in1996, and we believe that until theseevents are acknowledged openly and justice is delivered, the level of resentment inthe Hutu community will severely damage attempts to unite and reconcile thenation.

3.14 We urge President Kagame to embrace the political benefits that could accruefrom an admission that atrocities, reprisals, and large scale revenge killings werecarried out by the RPA in 1994 and 1996. We were pleased to read an interview

given by President Kagame to the BBC during the tenth anniversarycommemorations in which he accepted RPA responsibility for killings of Hutu. Weurge him to build upon this by bringing to justice those responsible for atrocities in1994 and 1996, and so to assure the whole community of his governmentsintention to apply justice evenly, irrespective of ethnic background.

3.15 We were concerned to learn that six well-respected NGOs who are the subjectof a Parliamentary Report have had no opportunity to defend themselves againstthe extremely serious charges of inciting genocidal ideology. To accuse anorganisation of using divisionist language damages the credibility of the NGO

concerned, and the rules of natural justice require there to be a transparent and fairmeans of examining the evidence and presenting a legal defence.

3.16 In discussions with officials at the Commission for Human Rights, and withJean de Dieu Mucyo, the Prosecutor General, we raised this issue, and urged themto allow a full and open judicial process, giving the NGOs concerned the right todefend themselves. Officials were unwilling to explain exactly what the individualsat the NGOs are alleged to have said or done, and we remain concerned that well-intentioned NGOs or other groups in civil society will be subject to harsh and

arbitrary punitive measures. We hope Rwanda will study the ways in which Britainis currently legislating against the incitement to racial and religious hatred. We alsotrust that reference to our anti-discrimination laws, evolved and refined overdecades, might be of some use. We were also concerned that if every criticism ofthe government were to be labelled as inciting genocide, it would devalue the useof the word and minimise the enormity of what actually took place.

3.17 Similarly, we are alarmed by reports from Human Rights Watch aboutopposition politicians, who have not previously promoted ethnically divisiveviews, now being accused of divisionism. The most startling example of this is

the former president of Rwanda, who is in prison awaiting Gacaca, although hewas a military supporter of President Kagame during the Genocide. We have also


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heard of other long-standing members of the RPF and RPA, who faithfully servedtheir cause throughout the years of struggle, and whose credibility has suddenlybeen challenged, and who are now accused of promoting genocidal ideology.

3.18 Human Rights Watch has catalogued the cases of a number of democraticpoliticians who have expressed criticism of the Government, and who are now inexile, fearing for their safety and liberty. HRW also questions the reportedcrackdown on press freedom, and the suppression of healthy, pluralist dissent.

3.19 We were told by the authorities that they come down on genocidal ideologyswiftly and surely. While we are sensitive to the reasons why any ethnic slurs orgenocidal denial must be firmly dealt with, we are concerned that genuine freespeech may be sacrificed, and a system of informing and the censorship of well-intentioned political criticism and debate may arise as a consequence.

3.20 We are pleased there are now several independent radio stations in Rwanda,but were dismayed to learn each station had been required to sign a commitment toavoid political subjects. We are acutely aware of the role played by the media indisseminating hate ideology and propaganda during the genocide. For the future,we hope Rwanda will gradually appreciate the benefits of allowing free speechwithin a framework of legal guarantees for the respect of minority rights, humanrights, anti-discrimination and mutual tolerance.

3.21 As friends and admirers of Rwanda we hope our concerns about the slide

towards repressing free speech will be taken as they are meant: constructively. Weare hugely impressed by the way in which Rwanda is being reconstructed, by thelack of corruption, and by the efficiency of the Government which is an example toall in the region. We share the Governments aspirations to pull all Rwandanstogether, emphasising what they share, rather than what divides them. But we arealso concerned about the potential backlash from an overzealous rewriting ofhistory, and from denying fair comment. From our meetings with politicians,religious leaders and activists across Rwanda, we are confident Rwanda is strongenough to allow full and informed national political debate.

3.22 In Butare we were deeply impressed by the personal friendship and publicleadership of the Catholic and Episcopal (Anglican) bishops, Bishop Msgr.Philippe Rukamba and Bishop Venuste Mutiganda. They are both involved inreconciliation and social projects. In Kigali we visited the Catholic Cathedral, metwith Protestant church leaders and talked with faith-led individuals and groupsabout a whole host of impressive initiatives.

3.23 As mentioned above, we met Antoine Rutayisire of African Enterprise whosebook, Faith Under Fire, details the stories of individual Christians who resisted

the genocide. We heard of pastors who lost their lives , and of a group of nuns whorefused to abandon the children in their care, and were brutally murdered.


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3.24 Antoine Rutayisire is involved in a coalition seeking to encourage Christiandialogue and engagement. He also told us that the position of the church is verycomplex: it has taken many different positions and reconciliation is not a popularconcept. It often sits on the fence.

3.25 It is also clear that during the genocide individual pastors, priests, andChristian leaders either collaborated in the killing or failed to speak out

prophetically against theslaughter.

3.26 Fatuma Ndagije,Executive Secretary of theNational Unity andReconciliation Commission,

alleged that the deceasedCatholic Archbishop,Nsengungiyuva, had beeninvolved in planning theHutu attacks on the Tutsis.At Nyanza Prison we talkedto one of two Episcopalpriests who are prisoners,Musominali Paulin, who

was accused by a parishioner of betraying her husband. He has been waiting for

seven years to be tried for a charge he strenuously denies. He told us that atNyanza there is a Baptist pastor, and two Seventh Day Adventist pastors, and that aCatholic priest had been in the prison, but under the Gacaca system he had beenreleased (and is back in his post in his parish). Musominali raised an interestingaspect of Gacaca when he said, some confess to things they have not done inorder to secure release. Why should a man confess to a crime he did not commit?

Left: Murambi Genocide site in South-West Rwanda.

3.27 Notwithstanding individual acts of bravery during the genocide, the failure

of the church to be more outspoken is partly to do with theover-identification ofindividual denominations with one ethnic group of the other, and the failure toinform individual believers and parishes/fellowships in the duties that go withChristian citizenship. In facing the future the church must learn hard lessons fromthis experience.

3.28 Our visit to the Murambi Genocide Site in the south west of Rwanda served toremind us of the hellish reality of Rwandas recent past. Murambi was a technicalcollege, to which children from a nearby orphanage, went there to take shelter.They believed the French garrison there would protect them. Instead, so we weretold, the French soldiers stood by and watched as the Interahamwe hunted down


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local Tutsis, as they are reported to have done throughout the country, deliveringthem to what became the mass graves of Murambi.

3.29 Fifty six thousand bodies were found there, and we walked from classroom toclassroom, viewing 852 remains that have been disinterred. Within a few days ofthe massacre, a volleyball court had been built on top of one of the mass graveswhich, we were told, the French then used in their leisure time. We saw the site ofwhere the French raised their flag while the killings proceeded withoutimpediment. Meanwhile, at the UN, French diplomats were working in concertwith Secretary General Boutros Ghali (cf family connections) to withhold anyinformation about the genocide from the Security Council as it occurred.

3.30 The French position was unquestioningly supported by Britainsrepresentative to the UN and in the House of Commons by the Foreign Secretary at

the time.

3.31 Frances role in allegedly training FAR, and supplying them with satellitetelephones with which to coordinate the killing from community to community,deserves special mention, but equally we were constantly aware on our trip aroundRwanda that Britains record in 1994 is nothing to be proud of. However, while theUK is now the biggest donor to Rwanda (37m in 2003-4), France has given verylittle, has refused to examine its role in the run up to the genocide and during it,and denies any moral responsibility. We agree with President Clintons reflectionthat the failure to act in the Rwanda genocide was the greatest regret of my

Presidency a view shared by the British Aid Minister of the time, BaronessChalker.

4.0 The Consequences of Genocide: HIVAIDS

4.1 We are a generation in transition, carrying the wounds of the past, and tryingto shape the future. (Antoine Rutayisire)

4.2 With every personal connection we made in Rwanda we were reminded thatthe consequences of the 1994 genocide are still making a profound mark on almost

all aspects of life. There is great continuing hardship for widows who survived thewar, in particular those who were raped and are now HIV positive. However,because of the genocide women in Rwanda are more aware of HIV/AIDS thanelsewhere in the region, and we trust this will assist the spread of awareness aboutthe need for testing. In many respects, the fatalities of HIV/AIDS represent acontinuing genocide in Rwanda.

4.3 There are 260,000 orphans in Rwanda, of whom 65,000 are HIV positive, andthe Presidents office told us they classify one million children as vulnerable.

Given that the total population of Rwanda is eight million, it is clear the country


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faces an enormous challenge. Every year, 40,000 children are born to HIV-infected mothers.

4.4 Of the 100,000 Rwandans who need HIV treatment, only 4,000 are currentlyreceiving anti-retro viral (ARV) medicines. Disgracefully the internationalcommunity decided to prioritise the treatment of HIV positive prisoners, most ofwhom participated in the genocide, as their victims died of AIDS or struggled tosurvive, the perpetrators of the genocide received three meals a day andARV. This perverse situation was compounded by the knowledge that those whocould testify against them would die before they could go to trial. This grotesqueiniquity is finally being corrected, and the Presidents office told us they hope tohave virtually everyone who needs treatment receiving ARVs within five years.However there are only 274 doctors serving a population of eight million inRwanda, and we applaud efforts to train survivors and victims to administer home-

based care.

4.5 In our meeting with the Minister for Health for HIV, Dr Innocent Nyaruharira,we agreed that a campaign to help school children become AIDS-aware wouldprovide a great opportunity to explain that in the case of consenting sex, AIDS is100% preventable but 100% fatal. We gave the Minister to Towards an Aids-free generation, a primary school level book produced in Africa. It was agreedthis book would be highly appropriate for distribution to every pupil in Rwanda.We also gave the Minister a copy of the secondary school level book, Aids andYou with the same purpose in mind.

4.6 We also met Colette Cunningham of World Relief who is responsible fordelivering World Reliefs portion of the US Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDSRelief (PEPFAR). Colette told us that for once, thanks to the US, there is money.It will change the face of AIDS in Africa.

5.0 The Consequences of Genocide: Orphans

5.1 Forty per cent of all 10-14 year olds in Rwandaare orphans. 26% of all children in Rwanda areorphans and the UN forecasts this will rise to 32% in2005. There are 6000 child-headed households inKigali alone. The Rwandan Government isencouraging a policy of allowing extended orphanfamilies to live together and manage their own lives,with modest financial support, rather than puttingchildren in orphanages. Many live a hand-to-mouth

existence, and are burdened with remarkableresponsibilities at a young age, but we were


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impressed by how optimistic and ambitious the children we met were.

Left: Two orphans at Kabuga.

5.2 We spoke to children as young as 14 who were running households of four or

five, at the same time as attending school, earning money to support their families,and coping with the legacy of having lost their parents either to AIDS or thegenocide.

We visited the Peace Village, just outside Kigali, where 52 children live in acommunity of ten simple but well-built homes. Gratien Gatete, age 24, told us hismission was to have a career in which he could create jobs for as many people aspossible. During the genocide Gratiens life was saved by a Hutu man whorecognised him and told the Interahamwe he was his brother. The man hid Gratienand five other people for days until he could escape. Of Gratiens nine siblings,three survived. One of his sisters, Marie Rose, has saved when a Hutu priestrescued her and took her to a doctor: she had been cut with a machete twice on herhead, and on her back and arms, and left for dead. The priests mother took thegirl over the border into DRC, cared for her for two years and on her return re-united her with her brother. Gratien now lives with his surviving siblings andcousins, and they help each other to solve daily problems and to make sense oftheir experiences, he said. We have formed a community, and we stick together .

5.3 Gratien spoke for many we met when he told us he was glad the truth was

finally coming out through the Gacaca system of local truth and reconciliationtrials. At least now I know where my parents were killed, and where they areburied. However it disturbs him to see his brothers killer on the streets, andwishes the genocidaires were still in prison. (Under the Gacaca system, prisonerswho confess before village trials are released from prison, unless they are thehighest category of killer who planned the genocide or committed rape).

5.4 When we met Jean-Pierre Kanyandekwe at his home in the Peace Village hewas still badly bruised from a beating the previous week. He feared his muggingwas part of a pattern of attacks on Tutsi survivors who know the identities of

genocidaires and might therefore testify against them at Gacaca hearings. The shy,thin 26 year old told us he had faith that the rule of law would deter wide scalereprisals, but, as he said, We live together in our country but we dont love eachother.

5.5 Jean-Pierre was 13 during the genocide. He escaped by carrying a sack ofcooking charcoal on his back for miles, past Interahamwe checkpoints, pretendingto be a trader heading for Burundi. Jean-Pierre does not know who killed hisparents, but he understands that the man who killed his brother is in prison, waitingto be released. He confessed at Gacaca, and he told them how and where he killedmy brother, but he did not apologise or ask for forgiveness.


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5.6 Life has been particularly harsh for orphans like Jean-Pierre who were betweenthe ages of 10 and 15 during the genocide because they had to quit school to carefor their remaining young family members. Now they have no skills to sell, andcannot afford to go back to school to get an education. Jean-Pierre sells cabbages

in the market, but when he was younger he had wanted to be a teacher.

5.7 At the Peace Village we also met Gihozo Christian (aged 4) who is the firstchild in the village to be born to an orphan. Perhaps Gihozo represents new life forsuch a traumatised country.

5.8 Every person we met had their own traumatic story of bereavement. Nineteenyear old Constance works at a garage during the day to provide for her foursiblings. At night she attends computer classes and hopes to one day have aninformation technology career. Constance was nine at the time of the genocide, and

she survived by hiding beneath the body of a dead boy. As she was escaping themilitia, she came across the corpses of her father, aunt and two sisters, but shenever found her mothers body. Constance and her four siblings lived with anotheraunt after the war, but the aunt got married and the new husband beat the childrenand eventually threw them out. Constance had heard about the work of the SolaceMinistries in Kigali and approached them for advice. They found her a housewhere she now lives with her family.

5.9 Constance is grateful for having a roof overher head, but she told us it was more important

that she had dependable adults she could come tofor support. She also finds it invaluable to discusseveryday problems with other child heads ofhouseholds, although she insisted the mosthealing benefit of her involvement with theSolace Ministry was finally being able to tell herstory.

5.10 Another orphan survivor, John BoscoGasangwa, from Butare, agreed. After thegenocide no one wanted to talk about what hadhappened, and we children went around with ahuge pain in our hearts. For years I felt so

depressed and despondent, and I didnt know what the point of living was. Then Iwas able to talk to others who had experienced the same horrors, and it wasamazingly healing.

Left: Constance was nine years old when she survived the genocide.

5.11 Although the Rwandan Government favours the creation of child-headedhouseholds, the scale of the orphan problem means there are still many


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orphanages, some of which cater for abandoned babies too. Despite the difficultcircumstances at Reverend Ngondos Foundation in Kigali, we were struck by thedetermination of the children to make the most of school and become professionalssuch as lawyers and doctors. Ngondos orphanage has 41 children, most of whom

are genocide survivors or the offspring of people who have died of AIDS. A few ofthe children are HIV positive, and we were concerned that there appears to be nospecial provision in Rwanda for dealing with the medical problems of child AIDSsufferers, or their eventual demise. Although the other children at the orphanageare supportive of the ones with AIDS, we wondered how they were expected tocope with their medical needs.

5.12 There is currently only one hospice in Rwanda with just 10 beds and nochildrens hospice, something World Reliefs Colette Cunningham hopes tochange in the future. However next year World Relief hopes to train church

volunteers in palliative care and to support Home based palliative care with HBCkits and volunteer training. She explained that $28m from the PEPFAR has beenallocated to the Community Based NGO partners in Rwanda, one of which beingWorld Relief. Initially the church, which is still greatly respected in Rwandan life,was reluctant to get involved in AIDS, but it has now committed itself to using itspivotal position in the community to mobilise for life. Increased financialassistance is being used to train pastors and volunteers in each province to identifyorphans and vulnerable children and to make sure they are tested, given nutrition,support and treatment within the community. However Colette Cunninghamwarned us that Rwanda has a very young population, growing rapidly, and already16% of the 20-24 age group are HIV positive.

5.13 Another challenge presented by the growing population, and the huge numberof orphans, is in education. Before the war teaching was one of the few professionsopen to Tutsi, and they were wiped out en masse during the genocide. As aconsequence there is a now a severe shortage of both educators and school places.Rwanda recently made primary education free for all, and classes of 30 suddenlybecame classes of 200.

5.14 Many people we spoke to expressed reservations about the quality of the statesystem. If you pay $2 a year to go to the village school, what do you expect? saidone parent who prefers to make sacrifices to send her children to private schools.There are not enough places in state schools, so there is a large private sector. Wewere told a reasonable education would cost $200 a year, a huge sum, given thataverage earnings are $280 a year in Rwanda.

5.15 Church groups running orphanages or supporting child headed householdshad no choice but to pay for their children to go privately, and to supply uniforms,books and transportation costs. This is a financial burden on already overstretched

NGOs caring for orphans, and we hope the international community will earmarkfunds to enable the Rwandan Government to provide free education of orphans, a


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vulnerable group which, as has been mentioned, often selflessly put the needs oftheir extended families before their desire to go to school.

5.16 The Government ministers we met, such as Angelina Muganza, Minister ofState for Public Service, Skills Development, Vocation training and Labour, wereacutely aware of the need to skill their young people and encourage them awayfrom the belief that they can work on the land as their parents generation had.Educate the women and you educate the nation, she said, describing initiatives toget girls to study science subjects in particular.

5.17 The United Nations estimates that 98% of children witnessed someone beingkilled during the genocide. We cannot begin to adequately evaluate the long termrepercussions for both the survivors and those who perpetrated the murders. BenKayumba of Solace Ministries put it, I used to look at every face I passed on the

street or in a crowds and wonder if they had killed my family. It took me a longtime to stop thinking everyone was evil.

5.18 Antoine Rutayisire believes many young people are burdened by feelings ofgreat anger that they have been unable to express, not least because others,particularly adults, have wanted to avoid the subject. Groups like Solace Ministriesorganises forums where survivors can give testimony, but generally there are veryfew arenas in which young people can confront the past, grieve or express theirresentment.

5.19 How are the children of the generation who committed the atrocities going tomake sense of the behaviour of their parents? Rutayisire wonders. What are wegoing to do with children who were so brainwashed by propaganda that they killedtheir own mothers and desecrated their bodies?

5.20 John Bosco Gasangwa is a survivor, now at university, who found it changedhis life to meet with other orphans to talk about his experiences. He felt profoundlyempty and alone until he heard what another boy his age went through. This boyhid behind a fence when the Interahamwe came for his father. His father was avery tall man, and so the militia first cut off his legs, then cut him in half at themiddle, and finally cut off his head. Then the boy watched as the same menattacked his pregnant mother and cut her open.

5.21 In Rwanda every orphan has a similar horror story, but Rutayisire, who runsAfrican Enterprise in Rwanda, is optimistic, and believes young people are nowgrowing up in a much less corrosive environment, without ethnic labels. Nowthey may discriminate in private, but hopefully the next generation will put itbehind them. We are a generation in transition, carrying the wounds of the past,and trying to shape the future.


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6.0 The Consequences of Genocide: Widows

6.1 The story of one woman we met represents the dire consequences of thegenocide still being visited upon Rwandas women. The past ten years of BertrudeMukandigos life encapsulate all that has flowed from the 100 days of murder. Onthe day when the genocide reached her town of Guro, Bertrude was raped by eightdifferent men. On subsequent days she was raped again repeatedly by soldiers whotormented her as if returning and violating her were a game. She became pregnantand HIV positive as a result, and the baby she gave birth too was also HIV

positive.

6.2 The men who raped herescaped across the border. One ofthem returned from the refugee

camps in 1996, and when shepassed him in the street he wasinitially afraid she would reporthim to the authorities. Due partlyto the stigma attached to rape inRwanda and due to her decision toforgive her perpetrators, Bertrudetold him he had nothing to fear.

Left: Bertrude's story encapsulated the plight

of Rwanda's widows.

6.3 She married a man who, it emerged was also HIV positive, and they had twochildren, one of whom has Downs Syndrome, and other of whom is HIV positive.Her husband has now died, leaving her with three children, and no extended familynearby. As if that were not bad enough, the man who raped her began to threatenher, fearing she would go to the Gacaca to denounce him. His threats have becomemore frequent and frightening, made worse for her by the knowledge that genocidesurvivors across Rwanda are being hunted down and intimidated and in some caseskilled.

6.4 An example of this intimidation is the story of one of Bertrudes friends whowas attacked and raped with a stick and who is still in hospital. Bertrude is terrifiedbecause she is receiving threatening letters, and wants to move to an area whereshe is among friends and feels safer. Sadly she lacks the money to relocate at will.When asked what the police were doing about the intimidation, she explained thatin country areas there are too few police to respond. Jubilee Action has committedto raise the funds to re-house her, but we are acutely aware her plight is shared bymany thousands of genocide survivors.

6.5 The Interahamwe systematically used rape as a weapon of war throughout thegenocide period, knowing it would shame and humiliate their victims, particularly


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in a traditional society in which rape stigmatises the female victim. Human RightsWatch estimates that more than 200,000 women were raped in the course of the100 days, and many more were made widows. The rate of HIV/AIDS amongwidows is twice the national average as a result of the genocidaires programme of

ethnic extermination.

6.6 At Solace Ministries in Kigali we attended a widows support meeting at whichwomen listened to each others testimony about their experiences during thegenocide, and the hardships since. Many had scars on their arms, heads and facesfrom machete cuts, and some were missing hands. Each had an extraordinary story:witnessing their husbands, siblings and children killed; hiding from the murdererswho were often their neighbours and friends who had suddenly turned on them,calling them snakes and cockroaches; travelling across country to try to findrefuge; and being raped by genocidaires. Since the killing stopped, some of them

they have suffered from the stigma of rape; some have become HIV positive,infected by the men who raped them; most have had trouble finding somewhere tolive and work; and all have struggled financially.

6.7 Another feature common to the widows lives is the difficulty in coming toterms with what they saw, and talking about their experiences. Solace provides asupportive forum for widows to come together, as well as practical help, trainingwomen in handicrafts such as soap-making, toy-making and weaving to help themgenerate income. They also have a bakery and a pineapple plantation producing12,000 fruit a year currently, and aiming for 50,000 next year. In addition Solace

has fields outside Kigali in which they grow mushrooms, beans and sweetpotatoes.

6.8 We met Patricia, a tall, elegant woman with a quick smile, who is the presidentof the community association of 35 widows in Kabuga. There the widows makesoap and weave baskets to support themselves. They said they feel safer livingtogether in the same community, and they were very aware of the threats togenocide survivors who witnessed killings and are potential witnesses at Gacacahearings. As she said, The devil of death is still operating in this region.

6.9 Jean Gakwandi, who started Solace in 1995, recognised an enormous need forcomforting and understanding, putting people in touch with deeply suppressedemotions. He now runs special camps for the most profoundly traumatised, and hasfound it is only with time that the widows are able to admit what had happened tothem. Often it takes months or years before it emerges they were raped, and themSolace arranges HIV testing.

6.10 Those who test positive receive nutrition, and as much medical treatment asSolace can afford. Currently, 23 out of a total of 350 HIV positive widows are

getting ARV, with 49 on the waiting list. They all attend twice monthly meetingsto share their problems, fears and experiences of living with HIV or AIDS. The


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cost of treating people is falling, and will be further reduced due to Kenyan-produced generics, but the current $160 a month for ARV alone is a fortune in acountry where the average annual income is $280.

6.11 Solace is also training widows to provide counselling and health education toother women in the same situation. In addition they have collected testimony, anactivity we increasingly realised is vital to countering genocide-denial charges (seebelow: Human Rights). Solace make a point of integrating HIV positive suffererswith healthy women in each of their work and training areas, aiming to buildsupport mechanisms for when they become ill and need help. They have foundthat HIV sufferers survive longer when they live and work with uninfected people,and healthy people in turn lose their fear of HIV and AIDS. Solace also has ahome-based programme of support for AIDS sufferers. We were both moved andimpressed by the work being done at Solace, and by the commitment, efficiency

and humanity of Jean Gakwandi, Ben Kayumba and the others.

6.12 Women have a tough enough time in Rwanda because in their traditional rolethey carry the burden of working in the fields, walking miles twice a day to fetchwater, raising the family and taking care of their house and husband. We were toldon many occasions that women are not given enough say in whether or not theyconsent to sex or marriage or the use of condoms. In some areas custom has it thata widow can be claimed by the male relatives of her dead husbands family andforced to marry one of them. There is also pressure on young girls to becomesexually active at puberty, with little consideration given to their wishes. The fight

against AIDS in Rwanda has not been helped by hostile male attitudes toabstinence, monogamy and condoms, nor by a reluctance to discuss suchpreviously taboo subjects.

6.13 Josephine Uwamariya of HealthUnlimited runs a weekly radio soap opera,called Urunana (hand in hand) which ismodelled on the Archers, in which socialproblems such as HIV/AIDS, rape and

domestic violence are dramatised. It is ahugely popular programme reaching 60% ofthe population - although men are known toconfiscate the household radios in annoyanceat its message.

Left: Rwandan Warriors in Butare.

6.14 A member of our delegation, Dr RichardRowland of Judah Trust, has run AIDSawareness programmes across Rwanda inwhich sensitive subjects are broached through


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drama. Despite these excellent initiatives, and the wholehearted commitment of theRwandan Government to tackle AIDS, general ignorance and truculent maleattitudes make it an uphill struggle at a grassroots level. It is very encouraging thatRwanda leads the world in female parliamentary representation (48%) and women

government members (30%), and we trust and believe their influence is alreadybeing felt throughout society. This partnership of men and women will be requiredto re-shape attitudes and behaviour.

6.15 When we met President Kagame we asked him if he would spearhead a publicinformation campaign to educate Rwandan men about HIV/AIDS and sexualhealth. Given the respect in which President is held across the country, we felt itcould be invaluable to use his standing to get the message across. He agreed withthis suggestion. He was also supportive of an initiative to put primary school booksdesigned to teach children about HIV/AIDS in schools. Dr Richard Rowland gave

him an example of the book produced and used in Zimbabwe towards an AIDS-Free generation.

7.0 The Consequences of Genocide: the Democratic Republic of Congo

7.1 Another lasting and devastating consequence of the genocide is the ongoingviolence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (see opening narrative). Ourmeeting with the Rwandan president was timely because Prime Minister Bernard

Makusa had just signed an agreement with DRCs President Kabila at the59th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

7.2 When we met President Paul Kagame at his offices in Kigali, we encouragedhim to pursue and persist with his attempts to build a personal bridge to DRCsPresident Joseph Kabila. We referred to the lessons of Northern Ireland peaceprocess, and urged him to put in place confidence building measures such asexchanging diplomatic representatives with Kinshasa. He was receptive to attemptsto establish and maintain dialogue with Kabila personally, and DRC, and we hopeto propose a tri-partite Inter Parliamentary Union dialogue, bringing politiciansfrom DRC and Rwanda to Britain.

7.3 We also met the Hon. Evariste Kalisa, a member of the Rwandan Parliamentwho chairs the Human Rights Committee. He told us of the Amani Forum (theGreat Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace) which he helped found in1998. Based in Nairobi, the Forum includes Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzinia, Kenya,Zambia and Burundi but not yet DRC. President Kagame told us that he stronglywelcomed such initiatives and said that the ideal way forward would be a bilateralDRC/Rwandan military force to deal with the militia and to assist DRC restore

sovereignty over its territory. We were impressed by the Presidents commitmentto forging a personal and close working relationship with President Kabila.


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7.4 Although we are acutely conscious the UK did nothing to help Rwanda when itneeded it in 1994, President Kagame made it clear to us that he values thefriendship and active help of the United Kingdom.

8.0 Recommendations:

8.1 Conflict

8.1.1 Rwanda deserves the support of the international community in their concernfor the rights of the ethnic Tutsi population in eastern DRC. We call upon the DRC(as we have Rwanda) to commit itself to stopping the flow of arms and support tomilitia within eastern DRC which continue to harass and kill the ethnic Tutsi

population. We also call upon the international community to respond to Rwandasconcerns.

Specifically we urge the UK government to use its role as a permanent member ofthe UN Security Council to demand the clarification of MONUCs mandate inDRC. We call for a consistent mandate to be acted upon and publicised sufficientlyto let the local population know what they can expect from UN peacekeepers.

8.1.2 We urge Rwanda and DRC to establish embassies in each others countries assoon as possible. We also urge them to begin a process of constructing confidence

building measures and joint institutions between the two nations, their politicians,business leaders, civil society groups and churches. Moreover we urge theleadership of both Rwanda and DRC to develop the personal relationships fromwhich so much reconciliation and practical progress can flow.

8.1.3 We welcome the Amani Forum initiative and hope the DRC will support it.We believe it provides a very helpful model of building multinational institutionswhich can further mutual understanding, air differences and lead to constructiveengagement.

8.1.4 We commend Rwanda for being the first nation to send peacekeeping troopsto Darfur. We urge the Rwandan army to maintain its high levels ofprofessionalism.

8.1.5 We commend the British Government for its overall support for Rwanda, andfor maintaining relationships between the two countries through regular ministerialvisits. However we think it is vital for the Foreign Office to recognise the scale andimpact on the region of the conflict in DRC, and therefore to visit DRC andestablish equally strong ties.


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8.1.6 Leading on from recommendation 5) above, we believe Britain is uniquelyplaced to act as an honest broker between DRC and Rwanda. Just as an outsider,Senator George Mitchell, helped to make the Northern Ireland peace process work,so it may be that Britain could play a useful role in facilitating dialogue between

DRC and Rwanda. The British Government should commit itself to playing thisrole, recognising how interconnected so many of the regions problems are.

8.2 Advocacy:

8.2.1 We applaud the training of judges and court officers throughout Rwanda tohandle the huge backlog of Gacaca trials. We recognise the enormous strides thathave been made in rebuilding the nations system of justice. We therefore urge theRwandan Government to strive to protect the human rights of all its citizensthrough a legal system that is transparent and fair.

8.2.2 We urge the Human Rights Commission to establish and maintain a properdialogue with human rights NGOs, recognising that an exchange of views can beinvaluable for both sides, and that Rwandas friends around the world need to bereassured about the countrys commitment to democracy, human rights, andfostering an open society.

We also urge the Human Rights Commission to demonstrate its independence fromgovernment by questioning the suppression of constructive dissent and politicalopposition within Rwanda, and by pressing for the prosecution of those responsible

for crimes against all parts of the community during and after the genocide.

We urge them to benefit from decades of trial and error in Europe by examiningexisting European Union and British laws which guarantee human rights, andbalance freedom of speech with the need to prevent ethnic hatred anddiscrimination.

8.2.3 We applaud the decision by the international community to provide fundingto develop an infrastructure to provide HIV/AIDS treatment for women who wereraped and infected during the genocide, however late it might be.

8.2.4 We commend President Kagame for agreeing to spearhead a publicinformation campaign to educate Rwandas men about HIV/AIDS and sexualhealth.

8.2.5 We applaud NGOs such as World Relief for providing books appropriate forsecondary schools.

8.2.6 We urge the Prosecutor General and the Ministry of Justice to bring to justiceperpetrators of genocide from all parts of the community and to apply justice, andwhat is more, be seen to apply justice equally. We commend the work of the


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International War Crimes Tribunal in the former Yugoslavia in striving to hold toaccount members of all sections of the population who violated the human rights ofothers, and we believe their work should be of interest to the RwandanGovernment in its attempts to bring true reconciliation to Rwanda.

8.2.7 The central role of the church in promoting national cohesion, reconciliation,and a recognition of human dignity should both be recognised and encouraged. Thecourage of those who resisted the genocide should be celebrated and taught as aninspiration to others, and where the church failed, appropriate public admissionshould be made and lessons learnt.

As a priority, western churches should devote resources to helping the Rwandanchurch, and parish-to-parish, fellowship-fellowship relationships should be forged.

8.2.8 The Governor of Butare province told us that he would like to see Butare cityto twin with a British city. Since an admirable proportion of the Rwandans we metare ardent supporters of Liverpool Football Club, Liverpool would make a goodchoice. Its association with Africa and its own suffering during World War IIcommend it but there are other obvious cities such as Coventry. The Foreign andCommonwealth Office might like to facilitate this request.

8.2.9 We commend the efforts by SURF and the Solace Ministries to compile anarchive of testimony from genocide survivors, so long as they reflect the sufferingand experiences of the whole community.

8.3 Children:

8.3.1 We encourage NGOs to actively promoteAfrican solutions to Rwandas problems, pointingout African success stories and projects appropriateto Rwanda. For instance we commend the ScriptureUnion of Zimbabwes primary school textbook,Towards an Aids-free generation. On womensissues, we also urge that the success of projects run

by African women should be a model for initiativesin Rwanda. For instance we commend the work ofDr Phylista Onyango in Nairobi as a model tocreate self-help commercial initiatives.

Left: Child born inside Nyanza Prison.

8.3.2 We commend to Dfid the application of thewomens organisation MOGAR, whose President is Josephine Irene Uwarmariyaof the proposed project to redress and prevent acts of sexual gender violence.


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8.3.3 We applaud the Rwandan Government for making primary education free toall. We urge the international community to direct its resources to programmesaimed at providing free education, books and uniforms to Rwandas orphans. Webelieve this would remove a great financial burden from overstretched NGOs and

church groups struggling to provide for orphans.

8.3.4 We applaud the enthusiasm of the Rwandan Government for cultivatingcomputer literacy. We urge the international community to focus its programmeson supporting and enhancing the teaching of information technology to bothchildren and adults in Rwanda.

8.3.5 We recognise that the genocide and the fast rate of population growth haveplaced great burdens on the Rwandan education system. The decision to makeprimary education free has meant that classes of 30 have grown to 200. We urge

the international community to direct its aid at programmes for training many moreteachers, retraining existing teachers, and enhancing the quality of education.

8.3.6 We recognise that the medical profession was decimated in the genocide andwe urge the international community to prioritise programmes aimed at trainingnew doctors and retraining existing medical professions to prepare for thechallenges of a rapidly growing population, HIV/AIDS etc.

8.3.7 We recommend that World Relief incorporates the cost of printing Towardsan Aids-Free generation into the current PEFFAR programme, so that every

schoolchild in Rwanda may receive a copy; and that the proposal for a childrensAIDS hospice in Rwanda and the development of palliative care be made an urgentpriority.

8.3.8 We welcome the Rwandan Governments commitment to provide AIDStreatment to street children, and we will be recommending to Jubilee Action that

they support the work of the Catholicand Episcopal Bishops of Butare inrelation to their work with streetchildren and commercial sex workers.

8.3.9 We recommend Jubilee Actionresponds practically to assist theorphans of genocide by supportingeducation, health, housing and ITprojects; in addition should continue topromote dialogue internally in Rwandaand externally in the DRC.

9.0 Conclusion


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9.1 We re-iterate our enormous gratitude to our hosts and for their commitment infacilitating our visit and in patiently answering our inquiries.

9.2 We were visiting the country just after Rwanda had commemorated the10th Anniversary of the genocide.

Left: David Alton with the first child of an orphan at the Peace Village.

9.3 At many of the sites where the killings occurred, we saw the words NeverAgain.

9.4 Rwandan people need to forgive one another, if the country is to be healed andenabled to move on, and if such shocking events are not to be repeated in a futurebloodbath. But Rwanda should never be asked to simply Forgive andForget. Rwanda does need to forgive but it must also remember. Theinternational community also needs to remember.

9.5 If we learn nothing from our failure to prevent the deaths of 800,000 people and from what we saw in DRC and later in Darfur that seems to be the case ittruly will be unforgivable. It would also make a mockery of the cry of the deadthat such crimes against humanity should never be allowed to happen again.

10.0 Contact Information

Jubilee Action

St. Johns, Cranleigh Road

Wonersh, Surrey

GU5 0QX

Tel 00 44 1483 894 787 Fax 00 44 1483 894 797

www.jubileeaction.co.uk
http://www.jubileeaction.co.uk/http://www.jubileeaction.co.uk/

Documents

Jubilee Action Report - Rwanda