[House Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
DEVELOPMENTS IN RWANDA
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH,
GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 20, 2015
__________
Serial No. 114-133
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California
DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TED POE, Texas BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
MATT SALMON, Arizona KAREN BASS, California
DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
MO BROOKS, Alabama AMI BERA, California
PAUL COOK, California ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas GRACE MENG, New York
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
RON DeSANTIS, Florida TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
TED S. YOHO, Florida ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
CURT CLAWSON, Florida BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania
SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee
REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin
DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan
LEE M. ZELDIN, New York
DANIEL DONOVAN, New York
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
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Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and
International Organizations
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina KAREN BASS, California
CURT CLAWSON, Florida DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee AMI BERA, California
C O N T E N T S
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Page
WITNESSES
The Honorable Robert P. Jackson, Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State. 5
Mr. Steven Feldstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State 12
Mr. David Himbara, coordinator for the USA and Canada, Democracy
in Rwanda Now (former aide to the President of Rwanda)......... 31
Major Robert Higiro, RDF, Retired, coordinator for Belgium,
Democracy in Rwanda Now........................................ 37
Ms. Sarah Margon, Washington director, Human Rights Watch........ 44
Mr. Willis Shalita, photojournalist and blogger.................. 53
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
The Honorable Robert P. Jackson: Prepared statement.............. 8
Mr. Steven Feldstein: Prepared statement......................... 15
Mr. David Himbara: Prepared statement............................ 34
Major Robert Higiro, RDF, Retired: Prepared statement............ 40
Ms. Sarah Margon: Prepared statement............................. 47
Mr. Willis Shalita: Prepared statement........................... 55
APPENDIX
Hearing notice................................................... 72
Hearing minutes.................................................. 73
The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress
from the State of New Jersey, and chairman, Subcommittee on
Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International
Organizations: Questions submitted for the record and responses
from:
The Honorable Robert P. Jackson................................ 74
Mr. Steven Feldstein........................................... 75
Major Robert Higiro, RDF, Retired.............................. 77
The Honorable Mark Meadows, a Representative in Congress from the
State of North Carolina: Questions submitted for the record and
responses from:
The Honorable Robert P. Jackson................................ 78
Mr. Steven Feldstein........................................... 80
Major Robert Higiro, RDF, Retired.............................. 82
DEVELOPMENTS IN RWANDA
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health,
Global Human Rights, and International Organizations,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:10 p.m., in
room 2200 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H.
Smith (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Smith. The subcommittee will come to order, and I want
to apologize for being a bit late. We did have some votes on
the floor, so I appreciate your indulgence.
Ladies and gentlemen, in 1994, as we all know, the east
African nation of Rwanda experienced one of the most horrific
genocides in modern times. An estimated 800,000 Rwandans,
mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderates among the ethnic Hutus, were
brutally murdered in a state-backed extermination campaign that
lasted for months.
Hutu-Tutsi tensions of course date back to colonial times
when the Belgians created a superior class composed of Tutsis,
shutting out Hutus from government jobs and higher education
despite the Hutus comprising about 85 percent of the
population. In 1959 and in 1960, tensions among the Hutus
exploded in a campaign that left 20,000 Tutsis dead, and
created about 300,000 Tutsi refugees.
As with this earlier genocide, the international community
watched largely from the sidelines during the 1994 genocide in
Rwanda as the death toll rose from April until July of that
year until the Rwanda Patriotic Front or RPF defeated the Hutu-
led government military. More than 2 million mostly Hutu
refugees flooded into the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
leading to continuing problems in that country. The RPF-led
Rwanda Government has criticized the United Nations for
sheltering Hutu participants in the genocide and for allowing
them to arm in refugee camps.
Over the years, the RPF has used the guilt of the
international community as a shield to prevent criticism of its
action. U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power referred to Ambassador
Susan Rice and her colleagues in the Clinton administration in
the 1990s as bystanders to genocide. She quotes Dr. Rice in the
2002 book, saying, ``If we use the word `genocide' and we are
seen as doing nothing, what will be the effect on the November
congressional election?'' she asked. Part of Rice's team during
those years was Gayle Smith, the current nominee to head the
U.S. Agency for International Development.
As far back as May 1998, I chaired a hearing, and I chaired
many hearings on the genocide, but this one included testimony
about the willful U.S. neglect in preventing the Rwandan
genocide. As recounted in an issue of the New Yorker magazine
at the time, a high-ranking Rwandan informant had warned the
U.N. leadership including Kofi Annan--and we actually had a
hearing on the famous facts that was sent, and we had the
reporter who broke that story, at a hearing--and the United
States about preparations for killing 3 months before they
actually began. And we all will recall that the U.N.
peacekeepers had actionable information that went unacted upon.
Furthermore, the United States has been accused not merely of
inaction, but also of obstructing preemptive multilateral
efforts to quell the crisis. Some have alleged that in the
words of Refugees International president Lionel Rosenblatt,
who also testified at my hearings and he said, and I quote in
pertinent part, ``The ball was not only dropped by the United
States, it was blocked by the United States.''
Paul Kagame, now President of Rwanda, was hailed as one of
``Africa's new leaders'' by Dr. Rice and her team during the
1990s and there has been no apparent change in their high
opinion of him since then despite what Deputy Assistant
Secretary Robert Jackson describes in several public
administration statements related to human rights concerns and
the ongoing dialogue with the Rwandan Government.
As a matter of fact, Secretary Jackson, that frankly and
that you very clearly and unambiguously point out that
activities that are seen by the government as possible threats
of national security or the political dominance of the
governing RPF are often met with intolerance and harsh
punishments. And you point out again, over the past year
Rwandans have quietly reported the disappearances and suspected
deaths of family members at the hands of the Rwandan security
services. These reports as you go on to say come from a wide
cross-section of Rwandan society cutting across geographic,
socioeconomic, and ethnic lines.
In the human rights report it is clear, though a little bit
ambiguous the way it is written, it says there are fewer
reports of disappearances and politically motivated abductions
or kidnappings than in previous years. But local human rights
organizations ceased investigating disappearances in 2012 after
reporting pressure from the government officials, including
threats and allegations of treason.
President Kagame, I would go on to say, has been considered
a hero on the international stage and has long been immune, and
I say this regrettably, to public criticism. However, human
rights reports about abuses in Rwanda have grown over the
years. And as I just quoted, there was much had been said by
our Deputy Assistant Secretary and others within the
administration.
In recent years there have been credible reports that the
RPF government has commissioned assassins to kill dissidents
living in exile who criticize the government or attempt to form
political associations or parties.
Several years ago, our Committee Chairman Ed Royce and I
were told face to face by Paul Rusesabagina of Hotel Rwanda
fame that the Rwandan Government had targeted him and was
behind several attempts on his life in Belgium. I mean people
can snicker and laugh, but frankly he told us that and he was
very worried about his own personal safety.
In early 2014, former Rwanda intelligence chief Patrick
Karegeya who had been living in exile in South Africa was found
murdered in his hotel room in Johannesburg. Karegeya was one of
two dissidents one of our witnesses today, former Rwandan Major
Robert Higiro, says he was asked to have killed. He was asked
to be the assassin. The assassination plot, he revealed, was
investigated and substantiated in a series of articles in
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, which interviewed Rwandan
exiles in South Africa and in Belgium.
Since 2012, this subcommittee has held a series of hearings
on the violence perpetuated by various militia in eastern DRC.
Perhaps the best known of them, the so-called M23, was
supported by Rwanda. This Congress has enacted restrictions on
some military assistance to Rwanda in response to its
involvement in militia activity in the DRC and involvement in
resource smuggling from that country, as uncovered in several
U.N. reports.
These charges of serious human rights and other abuses
would be troubling in any case, but Rwanda is country that has
enjoyed significant U.S. and international support. By largely
avoiding criticism of Rwandan human rights issues, the Bush and
Obama administrations raised assistance to Rwanda from $39
million in 2003 to $188 million. And some of it is for very
laudable goals, like U.N. peacekeeping and some of the health
initiatives including food security. But again, some of it has
been for other issues.
Rwanda's economy, due to donor aid, political stability and
favorable investor policies, has grown by an average of 8
percent over the last decade. Yet donors began reducing or
redirecting funds in 2012 because of Rwanda's role in
supporting M23. The growing reports of human rights abuses also
are leading to caution among donor nations about directly
supporting the Rwandan Government. And this hearing is to go
into focus on that.
We have two very distinguished witnesses I will introduce
shortly. I would like to yield to our distinguished Ranking
Member Karen Bass.
Ms. Bass. Thank you, Chairman Smith, for your leadership
and for holding today's hearing on Developments in Rwanda,
providing us the opportunity to discuss the nation's
challenges.
While Rwanda is geographically a small nation, its
condition and role in the stability of the Great Lakes region
is critical. I would also like to thank our distinguished
witnesses today, including Ambassador Jackson and Steve
Feldstein from the Department of State as well as several
members of the Rwandan diaspora and the international human
rights community. I look forward to hearing your varied
perspectives on both the successes and challenges of
developments in Rwanda.
As I often say, Mr. Chair, there are lots of challenges on
the continent of Africa and I am always concerned that focusing
on those challenges while very important it is also important
to talk about where there have been some developments. And part
of the irony of Rwanda in just two decades since the tragic
events of the 1994 genocide, the economy has been a bright spot
on the continent and has maintained steady growth every year.
According to the World Bank, Rwanda is on track to meet most of
the MDG goals by the end of 2015. And I know reports are that
the poverty rate has dropped. From a business perspective,
Rwanda is often considered one of the easiest places to do
business in sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the things that has always been interesting to me is
as I have received many international delegations and many
delegations from Africa is that Rwanda has made incredible
strides in empowering women to occupy seats in government. In
recent years the Parliament has grown to include an almost two-
thirds majority of women as they hold 64 percent of the seats
in Parliament.
But with all of this, the Rwandan Government has also faced
accusations from many in the international community of being
authoritarian and heavy-handed in its repression, of dissent
and political opposition. This repression has included threats
to journalists, detainment of political opponents, and even the
killing of political dissenters.
In view of both the spectacular economic and development
gains in Rwanda and the international community's concerns over
human rights and freedom of speech, association, and assembly
in the country, I hope that today's discussion will help to
illuminate the challenges in Rwanda and also perhaps provide a
pathway forward for where U.S. foreign policy should go. And I
yield back.
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Ms. Bass. I would like to now
introduce our first two very distinguished witnesses beginning
with the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African
Affairs, Robert Jackson. Ambassador Jackson previously served
as Ambassador to Cameroon as well as Deputy Chief of Mission
and Charge at the U.S. Embassies in Morocco and Senegal.
He also served at U.S. Embassies in Burundi, Zimbabwe,
Portugal, and Canada. At the State Department headquarters he
has worked in the commercial and consular sections and
conducted officer training. He has also performed oversight
work in the Office for the Promotion of Democracy and Human
Rights after 9/11. Ambassador Jackson has appeared before this
subcommittee several times and we are always appreciative of
his insights and his recommendations.
Then we will hear from Mr. Steven Feldstein who is the
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor and is responsible for its work in
Africa on international labor affairs and international
religious freedom. Previously Mr. Feldstein served as director
of the Office of Policy in the Bureau for Policy, Planning, and
Learning at USAID and served as counsel on the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee where he oversaw a portfolio that included
oversight of all U.S. foreign assistance agencies, budgets and
programs, State Department management operations, and
international organizations.
Mr. Ambassador, the floor is yours.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ROBERT P. JACKSON, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY
ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF STATE
Ambassador Jackson. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bass,
thank you very much for this opportunity to discuss U.S.
efforts to support the Rwandan Government and people as they
continue rebuilding their political, economic, and social
structures following the 1994 genocide. In the interest of
respecting the subcommittee's time, Mr. Chairman, I would like
to submit a longer version of my testimony for the record,
which you have, and just read a shorter version.
Mr. Smith. Without objection so ordered.
Ambassador Jackson. For Rwanda, as for many countries in
Africa, our policy is built around four interdependent and
mutually reinforcing objectives--one, to strengthen democratic
institutions; two, to spur economic growth, trade, and
investment; three, to advance peace and security; and four, to
promote opportunity and development. Rwanda has made enormous
strides in spurring economic growth and promoting development
while we continue to encourage further progress in ensuring
that Rwanda plays a constructive role in the region and
respects human rights and democratic principles.
Let me first talk about Rwanda's economic and development
successes. Rwanda has become a model of inclusive economic
growth and a world leader in leveraging development assistance
into socioeconomic gains for the vast majority of its people.
The United States and Rwanda share the belief that trade,
investment, technological development, and market forces are
keys to Rwanda's long term economic development. The commitment
of the United States to supporting Rwanda's economic and social
development is strong. USAID assistance to Rwanda's education
sector more than doubled from Fiscal Year 2012 to present, and
many American companies and community service organizations
have started operations in Rwanda in recent years.
We have been proud to partner with Rwanda in the last
decade as its economy has grown an average of over 7 percent
per year, as its infant and child mortality rates have been
halved, and as HIV and malaria rates have been reduced
dramatically with help from the President's Emergency Fund for
AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, and the President's Malaria Initiative
(PMI), respectively.
With regard to Rwanda's contribution to regional peace and
security, I would highlight that Rwanda is one of the world's
most active and effective U.N. peacekeepers, the fifth largest
contributor of troops in the world, despite its small size and
population. Its peacekeepers serve in many of the world's most
complicated conflicts including the Central African Republic,
South Sudan, and Darfur, and frequently distinguish themselves
by a willingness to take strong actions to protect civilians
under imminent threat of violence.
We have recognized Rwanda's leading role in peacekeeping
through its designation as a priority partner in President
Obama's Africa Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership. At the
same time, we continue to encourage Rwanda to play a
constructive role in in the Great Lakes region, and we were
pleased when Rwanda ended its support to the M23 rebellion in
eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and supported
the Nairobi declarations that ended that conflict.
We share Rwanda's continued concerns over the presence in
eastern DRC of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Rwanda, or FDLR, the armed group, and we are encouraging the
DRC Government, together with the U.N. peacekeeping operation
MONUSCO, to carry out effective counterinsurgency efforts
against this abhorrent armed group.
In the current crisis in Burundi, we have urged all
countries in the region, including Rwanda, not to take
unilateral actions and to work through multilateral frameworks
to support a peaceful resolution to the internal conflict
stemming from Burundian President Nkurunziza's decision to seek
a third term in violation of the Arusha Accord.
Unfortunately, however, Rwanda's record of building
democratic institutions and ensuring full respect for human
rights is mixed. In response to and to protect against further
destructive cycles of mass violence, the Rwandan Government has
developed a strong state with an intense commitment to internal
safety and security, national unity, and socioeconomic
development. As a result, on the positive side, Rwanda is a
country with low corruption and a strong record for combating
not only corruption but demanding high accountability and
performance from its public officials as well as ensuring
prosecution for those who break the law. Violent crime rates
are extremely low and have been dropping consistently over the
last decade.
Rwanda is a leader in combating trafficking in persons,
having put in place a comprehensive nationwide anti-trafficking
plan that it is aggressively implementing with NGOs and
partners. Rwanda is also a leader in promoting the rights of
disabled persons, and especially for elevating women to
positions of leadership in government.
As Congresswoman Bass noted, 63 percent of its Parliament
is female, thus Rwanda boasts the highest number of women
lawmakers anywhere in the world. And the rights of LGBTI
persons are respected.
There is also another side to the security coin, however.
Activities that are seen by the government as possible threats
to national security or the political dominance of the
governing Rwanda Patriotic Front, or RPF, are often met with
intolerance and harsh punishment. In some of these cases
suspected wrongdoers are submitted to the Rwandan judicial
system in a transparent manner, but in other cases they are
not. Over the past year, Rwandans have quietly reported the
disappearance and suspected deaths of family members at the
hands of the Rwandan security services. These reports, as you
noted Mr. Chairman, come from a wide cross-section of Rwandan
society cutting across geographical, socioeconomic, and ethnic
lines.
In recent years domestic human rights organization have
found it increasingly difficult to monitor and report on human
rights violations and abuses. Among international human rights
organizations, only Human Rights Watch maintains a permanent
presence in Rwanda. Its staff report surveillance and
occasional harassment by government officials and security
services. Restrictions on press freedoms in Rwanda continue to
be a serious concern. Human rights concerns are part and parcel
of our ongoing dialogue with the Rwandan Government, however.
We are concerned that political competition in Rwanda
continues to be limited. There are 11 registered political
parties, however, ten are aligned with the ruling RPF in a
government of consensus. Only one, the Democratic Green Party,
which advocates for policy alternatives and has taken a
position against the removal of term limit positions in the
constitution, has no seats in Parliament. We believe democracy
is strengthened by inclusive political processes and active
debate between parties and citizens. We continue to encourage
the Rwandan Government to ensure protection of political
freedoms particularly in the lead up to elections.
The upcoming 2017 Presidential election will be pivotal for
Rwanda's future. Our consistent message to President Kagame and
the Government of Rwanda, as it has been with other leaders in
Africa facing elections, is that political space should be open
to opposition parties that embrace peaceful democratic dialogue
and transition. This includes ensuring freedom of expression,
press freedoms, the ability of citizens to criticize the
government and ruling party, and the ability of all to campaign
freely for the candidates and causes they believe in.
We also believe that neither parties nor individuals should
seek to change constitutions to extend their terms in office
for personal or political gain. This is a principle that we
uphold throughout the world. As we are sadly witnessing in
Burundi, there are serious negative consequences when one group
limits the ability of others to participate fully in the
political process. In our view, the best way to ensure long
term stability and prevent violence is by making sure that all
peaceful voices are allowed to speak and be heard.
So while we applaud Rwanda's great development success, we
should not ignore the need for strong and transparent
democratic institutions that will lay the foundation for long
term stability and economic growth. As Rwandans have shown by
building a strong and dynamic country over the course of two
decades, they have the ability to meet difficult challenges
beyond all expectations. We will continue to work in
partnership with Rwanda to help it build the prosperous and
democratic country that Rwandans seek. I thank the
subcommittee.
[The prepared statement of Ambassador Jackson follows:]
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Mr. Smith. Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much for your
testimony. Mr. Feldstein?
STATEMENT OF MR. STEVEN FELDSTEIN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF STATE, BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. Feldstein. Thank you, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member
Bass. Thank you for holding this important hearing. I know it
has been several years since the committee last held a
dedicated hearing on Rwanda and I appreciate the opportunity to
speak today. Like Ambassador Jackson, I have a longer version
of testimony for the record I would like to submit.
Mr. Smith. Without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Feldstein. Great. Rwanda holds a very personal
connection for me. Fifteen years ago I first went to Rwanda as
a fellow with the International Rescue Committee. I spent a
year in the country supporting its efforts to recover from war
and genocide. Living in Rwanda had a profound impact on me. It
has been a key inspiration for my decision to pursue a career
in foreign policy and human rights.
Rwanda's progress since the 1994 genocide has been
remarkable. With an annual growth rate that has averaged 7
percent, with 1 million people removed out of extreme poverty,
with having achieved close to 100 percent primary school
enrollment, and with infant mortality down over 60 percent
since 1990, the accomplishments have been significant. Several
years ago I paid a return visit to Kigali and I found a city
profoundly changed. Modern office towers have replaced
dilapidated buildings, the streets were spotless thanks in part
to a widely acclaimed ban on plastic bags, new businesses seem
to be springing up daily such as coffee ventures supplying top
quality beans to U.S. brands like Starbucks and Peet's.
But this is only part of the story. Alongside Rwanda's
development progress there have been equally consistent efforts
to reduce space for independent voices and to diminish the
ability of the media, opposition groups and civil society to
operate. This space matters. It is essential not only for
democratic progress but for cementing Rwanda's impressive
economic and development gains.
We see three key trends in Rwanda's human rights situation.
First, political space in Rwanda and the overall human rights
environment continues to shrink. Second, this trend is
reinforcing the wrong lessons for Rwanda, particularly that a
country can continue to experience robust economic growth and
foreign investment even while repressing its citizens further
and reducing democratic space. This is not a sustainable path.
At some point, if unchecked, human rights violations will begin
to affect Rwanda's economic performance, stability, and foreign
investment. Third, Rwanda's human rights record is setting a
disturbing precedent for the region and continent. Other
countries are carefully watching Rwanda's model of economic
liberalization and political repression. My counterparts
frequently point to Rwanda and question whether protecting the
rights of their citizens matters if they can achieve
substantial economic development.
The answer of course is that protecting the rights of all
of Rwanda's citizens and residents matters immensely to
Rwanda's long term stability and prosperity, to its continued
positive economic trajectory, and to whether other countries
recognize they can follow a similar path to greater prosperity.
Rwanda can be a model for the region, or it can slip backwards
over time never truly fulfilling its potential.
We have articulated our concerns about Rwanda's human
rights record for many years directly to Rwanda's senior
leaders, including President Kagame, and we have highlighted
Rwanda's deteriorating situation through the State Department's
annual human rights report. The Department's 2013 report for
Rwanda noted that the government harassed, arrested and abused
political opponents and human rights advocates, disregarded the
rule of law, and placed significant restrictions on freedom of
expression, peaceful assembly and association, and the press.
It also highlighted reports that arbitrary or unlawful killings
took place both inside and outside Rwanda.
The credibility of elections provides an important
indication of the level of space for independent voices and
views. Unfortunately, Presidential elections in 2010 and
parliamentary elections in 2013 were beset by irregularities
both in the pre-electoral period and on election day. This
includes suppressing and denying registration to opposition
parties, security officials present at polling booths, multiple
voting, and local election officials filling out ballots in the
absence of voters. Rwanda's next Presidential election is in
2017, and we are cautiously hopeful that this election will
mark an improvement upon previous contests.
Our concerns about restrictions and fundamental freedoms
extend beyond electoral processes. The U.S. has expressed deep
concern about the arrest and disappearance of dozens of Rwandan
citizens as well as credible reports that individual
journalists are being threatened and sometimes directly
censored. Rwandan journalists routinely self-censor their work
and some journalists have been detained or threatened for
reporting deemed to be critical of the government.
Last year, the Rwandan Government shut down the BBC
Kinyarwanda broadcast because of a controversial documentary
about President Kagame and the genocide. We are concerned that
since establishing the Rwanda Media Commission as an
independent body the government has interfered with its work,
undermined its role as a sole regulator of media content, and
at times threatened commissioners. We are also deeply troubled
by what appears to be politically motivated murders of
prominent Rwandan exiles. This includes the December 2013
killing of former Rwandan Government official Colonel Patrick
Karegeya who was found dead in a hotel room in South Africa.
Months later, armed men raided the south African home of former
Rwandan Army Chief of Staff Kayumba Nyamwasa who had been
previously targeted for assassination attempts. President
Kagame's 2014 statements about consequences for those who
betray Rwanda has further heightened these concerns.
Also of deep concern are dozens of corpses, some bound and
wrapped in sacks, that appeared in Lake Rweru along the border
between Rwanda and Burundi in 2014. Four of those bodies were
recovered and buried in Burundi. Fishermen reported that on two
separate nights in September, Rwandan Marines attempted to
exhume the bodies, allegedly to return them to Rwanda. In
December, Burundi accepted an offer of forensic assistance
funded by the U.S. and several other donors for an African
Union-led investigation into the four recovered bodies. Rwandan
officials stated the government also supported a joint
investigation, but no investigation has been conducted. The
U.S. continues to press the African Union to move forward with
an investigation and accountability for those responsible.
Rwanda is an important ally. It is a respected contributor
to peacekeeping missions, it has rebuilt itself from genocide,
and it has achieved impressive development and economic gains.
I believe there is a bright future ahead for its people, which
is why Rwanda's current human rights situation is so personally
disappointing to me. Ensuring respect for freedoms of
expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and respect for
the rule of law are essential for cementing and building from
these gains. The United States will continue to urge Rwanda to
respect the rights of all its citizens. Thank you very much and
I welcome your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Feldstein follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
----------
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much for your testimony and for
being so thoroughly candid about your personal as well as
professional disappointment when it comes to the human rights
situation as practiced by the Rwandan Government.
Let me just ask you. One of our witnesses who will be
testifying, Robert Higiro, was in the military for a number of
years, and he was interviewed by General Dan Munyuza, who is
the director of military intelligence, who said, we have
decided to give you this job--kill General Kayumba, and the
colonel you just mentioned, Karegeya, who died of course, and
you mentioned that in your testimony as you concluded.
And I am wondering, in a couple of days a Bishop Romero
will be beatified by Pope Francis who was killed by all
indications by a right wing death squad in El Salvador. I
remember I had a meeting with President Duarte during the fight
when the fight was between the FMLN and between the government,
and I for one was one of those who believed passionately in
strong human rights conditionality, and it was contrary to the
Reagan administration. They didn't want it.
And I asked President Duarte about that, about the
conditionality, and frankly in an absolute moment of candor,
and refreshing candor, he said keep the human rights
conditionality. Because there were people, I gleaned from that
conversation, even within his own government that he did not
have confidence in or trust for. But there is concern that when
it comes to Kagame how high up does this go? Does it go to his
level? And when I interviewed and spoke to Robert, who again
will be testifying shortly, I asked him about that and the
answer, and he will tell it in his own words, was not a good
one in terms of complicity, if not outright direction, from the
very top when it comes to death squads, which both of you in
your testimonies have brought great, I think, focus upon. And I
thank you again for that candor.
It is great to be providing troops for peacekeeping and it
is great to have an economic model that seems to be flourishing
for some, but I think as you pointed out, the human rights
record is setting a disturbing precedent for the region and the
continent. That is very much of an indictment. What we all
hoped would be a turning of the page seems to be turning in the
opposite direction, and that was again your, Mr. Feldstein,
testimony just a moment ago.
So I wonder if you could tell us, have you tried to
interview Mr. Higiro? He is here, if not now in the near
future. He certainly has been very prominent and I think he
lives in some concern of a potential death squad coming after
him, and I say that with great sadness.
The others that you mentioned in your testimony, Mr.
Ambassador, which I thought was excellent, we expressed concern
in January of 2014 about the succession of what appeared to be
politically motivated killings of government critics in exile,
then you went through a whole long list. I am wondering, when
we raise that with Paul Kagame what is the response? Is it
denial? Is it we are committed to tracking down who committed
these extrajudicial killings, like in South Africa when they
tracked the colonel down.
What has been the response, and could you provide those
responses for the record if you don't have it with you today? I
would love to who is currently as I said the acting
administrator assistant I should say. He see them. And how high
up does it go? I mean, death squads are death squads and when
people are killing critics we have to be absolutely clear that
there is a penalty from our point of view to that kind of
behavior. Mr. Ambassador?
Ambassador Jackson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Allow me to
address your second and third questions. As for Mr. Higiro, the
State Department has certainly had contact with him. He is well
known and we will continue contacts with him. As for President
Kagame----
Mr. Smith. Before you leave that, did you find him
credible? Were you able to take any of that information? Was it
actionable? He has tape recordings that he shared with a
Canadian newspaper which seems to make a very clear case that
they attempted to hire him to do an assassination. He turned it
down, not just one but two, again putting his life at peril.
Did you hear those recordings yourself?
Ambassador Jackson. I have not heard the recordings, Mr.
Chairman, and----
Mr. Smith. Anybody at State?
Ambassador Jackson. I believe people at State have. Mr.
Feldstein may have more information about that.
Mr. Feldstein. I don't have personal information on this
specific case. I can say in general we have looked at a number
of the different allegations that have been mentioned in
testimony today and we do find a significant amount of those to
be credible, enough to warrant further discussion.
Mr. Smith. What is the response from Paul Kagame?
Ambassador Jackson. So I think President Kagame has been
very clear in his public and private statements and they have
been consistent that he is very concerned about people who he
sees in opposition. He appears to distrust any political
dissent and freedom of speech and fears another genocide, Mr.
Chairman, which does not in and of itself justify repression,
but it is certainly reflective of his mindset.
Mr. Smith. But in no way is a suitable excuse----
Ambassador Jackson. I agree.
Mr. Smith [continuing]. For killing people. Will you
interview our witness in the next panel?
Ambassador Jackson. I will make certain that my colleagues
renew their contacts with him, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Feldstein. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just add,
in terms of how far high up does it go and what are we looking
at when it comes to decision making, I think a lot of that is
still somewhat opaque, but I think one of the points that we
mention is the fact that there have been statements attributed
to President Kagame publicly that does talk about the threat
inherent to certain actors in terms of what they say and how
that affects the country. So I think the rhetoric has been
dangerous.
And I think the other thing that we do recognize is that in
terms of how Rwandan Government and the military is organized
it tends to be a fairly tightly controlled group that has very
close links to the very top. And so we can make some
assumptions that there is at least some knowledge of some of
the actions that have been documented in the human rights
reports and so forth.
Mr. Smith. Is there any evidence or is there any suspicion
on the part of the State Department that it is coming from the
top? I mean it almost begs credulity that somehow he is not
aware of it and perhaps not even directing it.
Ambassador Jackson. Mr. Chairman, I think there is a lot of
credible evidence suggesting that President Kagame is aware of
that. Whether he is ordering it or not is not entirely clear,
but certainly he is aware of it and awareness means he should
act upon it.
Mr. Smith. And he has not.
Ambassador Jackson. And to my knowledge he has not.
Mr. Smith. Chairman Royce asked that I ask you a couple of
questions with regards to VOA in Rwanda. He sent a letter a
couple of weeks ago to the Broadcasting Board of Governors,
BBG, expressing deep concern over their plan to end VOA local
language broadcasts in Rwanda. And he asked that I ask you,
does the State Department believe radio to be a powerful news
medium in Rwanda? Does State support the closure of VOA local
language broadcasts there? And do you believe the remaining
broadcasts in English and French will reach a broad audience
given the fact that a large majority still speak Kinyarwanda?
Ambassador Jackson. Mr. Chairman, the State Department
strongly supports continuation of the broadcasts in Kinyarwanda
and Kirundi. We believe that they are very useful, particularly
with the closure of the British Kinyarwanda service submissions
to Rwanda, and we hope that we can work with the Broadcasting
Board of Governors and this committee to ensure the
continuation of those broadcasts.
Mr. Feldstein. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I would echo those
sentiments extremely strongly. I think with the closing of the
BBC Kinyarwanda Service this is the last international service
available to a large portion of Rwandans that is broadcasting
Kinyarwanda that they can access and have information,
especially as we lead up to some very critical milestones
including the 2017 elections. So I think it is extremely
important to allow that access to information especially given
the fact that local sources are more and more self-censored if
not directly censored.
Mr. Smith. Let me ask you. The South African Government has
taken legal action against alleged assassins. Have any other
governments taken a legal approach in response to killings of
Rwandans abroad? For example, have the Belgians reacted in any
way?
Ambassador Jackson. Not to our knowledge, Mr. Chairman. But
the South African investigation of the murder in the hotel room
continues.
Mr. Smith. Let me just ask you. If again Kagame is at least
acquiescing to if not directly complicit in these
assassinations and attempted assassinations what would that do
to our response to his government and to him personally?
Ambassador Jackson. We are constantly reviewing our
relations and possible sanctions against leaders who violate
human rights. And Mr. Chairman, I want to be on the record
saying that in terms of our cooperation with the Rwandan Armed
Forces and security services we ensure that they are vetted in
compliance with the Leahy laws for not having committed gross
violations of human rights.
Mr. Smith. But how does that pan out when the director of
intelligence and other high ranking military people appear to
be complicit in these killings?
Ambassador Jackson. The appearance of complicity is the
issue, Mr. Chairman, and we are continuing to look into it.
Mr. Smith. Do we have a task force or a very dedicated
group of people trying to ferret out the information on this?
Because it seems to me this cries out, I mean if he is involved
with this or again acquiescing to it or in any way complicit, I
mean these are serious crimes.
Mr. Feldstein. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I think in terms of at
least how the connection between the allegations of gross
violations of human rights and the assistance that we provide
to Armed Forces we go through a very stringent vetting process.
Every name that either potentially will receive some type of
assistance or units that will receive assistance go through a
screening process that is done by a team of people both through
posts as well in Washington. It goes through a database, and so
far the names that have been submitted have proven to be clean.
I do think that when it does come to some of the allegations
that are mentioned, I don't think they extend extremely widely
into the broader Armed Forces.
I do think that they tend to be probably more localized in
a smaller cohort of people, but we do take very seriously every
single allegation and we are making sure to be very vigilant
about ensuring that the assistance that we provide on the
security side does conform to Leahy requirements.
Mr. Smith. Again I hope when all the information is out, if
he is clean, let us ascertain that. But if he is not and we are
unwittingly aiding and abetting him that would be a, and we
have done that before under administrations of both Republicans
and Democrats.
And what I am suggesting is that there needs to be a very
aggressive look to see what his complicity is with regards to
these extrajudicial killings. And you only have to intimidate
so many people to get everyone else to toe the line or at least
mute, and we know that with human rights groups not being
there, except for perhaps Human Rights Watch, that the
reporting becomes less robust because it is that much harder to
come by, people are less willing to talk. It has a chilling
effect, I would think, on the real snapshot of what is truly
going on in Rwanda.
I would just ask, Mr. Ambassador, you were somewhat
effusive when it came to trafficking and their record in
combating human trafficking. I know they have a national plan.
I have seen it. But my information suggests that last year they
were designated Tier 2 watch list, and you might recall I wrote
that law, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. I wrote the
watch list provision which we put in not as a parking lot, but
as a between, on the bubble between an egregious violator as
well and those who have a problem and they are trying to take
some action.
I don't see much change from last year to this when it
comes to investigations and actions, when it comes to
penalties, people getting jail sentences. You can do a lot to
put a superficial gleam on with a national plan, but if you
don't get people who are going to jail and getting real jail
time, breaking up brothels--and as you know, the opening
statement in the TIP Report couldn't be more condemning that
Rwanda and forced labor, sex trafficking and it goes on, about
some of these people are exported to other countries like
commodities.
I just hope that--and I know there is always a battle
between the TIP office and the bureaus--that when it comes to
the designation we will not err on giving Kagame a pass, but we
will say exactly what is happening on the ground in real terms
not in superficial terms, in terms of having a plan and saying
we are doing this and doing that when in reality it is not
being done. I just would urge you, just speak truth to power.
What you do in terms of the penalty phase which we wrote into
the law, that shoe drops later. That is largely up to you if
not exclusively up to you.
But getting it right, they are on the Tier 2 watch list now
and that is like a thread, I should say, an inch away from
being an egregious violator as a Tier 3 country. Mr.
Ambassador.
Ambassador Jackson. Mr. Chairman, the tier and the overall
trafficking report for 2014 are still being finalized so
decisions about rankings have not yet been made. However, I can
tell you, absolutely, that there have been prosecutions. There
has been a real effort at protection. We understand that more
than 3,000 children and women have received benefits of
services provided by the Rwandan Government and centers for
women who have been the victims of gender based violence and
children who have been in conflict. I am confident that will be
reflected in the report and I believe statistics about
prosecutions will show the trend.
I would say that I think what is significant in terms of
trafficking in persons is that the Rwandan Government has
ceased its support for M23 and therefore for M23's child
soldiering, and I feel it is important to recognize that. That
is a significant change from years past.
Mr. Smith. I don't think that should give them an enhanced
ranking, I mean that was so egregious that they were backing
M23 that it defies that they got away with it for as long as
they did. And Rwanda as you know does not offer trafficking-
specific aftercare for survivors and that is a very serious
omission, I would respectfully submit, on their part. I am
hoping that my distinguished friend and colleague Ms. Bass, she
wanted to ask some questions, will be returning shortly.
Again just to reiterate in a way, you will interview I hope
our witness as he comes forward in the next panel. And if you
could get back to us what Kagame's reaction to our protests,
and I assume demarches. Have we gotten to that point where we
demarche him on the extrajudicial killings? How have we
conveyed our displeasure over these killings, assassinations?
Ambassador Jackson. Mr. Chairman, I was in a meeting with
President Kagame last summer on the margins of the U.S.-Africa
Leaders Summit. I can assure you that we raised our human
rights concerns with him forthrightly.
Mr. Smith. And did we do it with specific names of murdered
individuals and for a clear explanation as to what their
understanding of it is and whether or not they were complicit
in any way? I expect a denial on the complicity part, but it is
not until certain colonels and certain people are being
indicted and convicted that we can take seriously that they are
against extrajudicial killings.
And that is exactly what we argued in the '80s with the
FMLN and the Duarte government. Okay, where are the
convictions? How many people have you grabbed and put behind
bars for slaughtering people including Archbishop Romero, and
my understanding is the killers have never been found on that
case. So do you get down to that level?
Ambassador Jackson. We do not usually get to that level,
Mr. Chairman. However, the human rights report documents in
great detail individual cases, and I will defer to my colleague
here about the release of the next human rights report. But I
believe it is imminent.
Mr. Feldstein. Yes, we intend to make an announcement in a
short period about the release of the human rights report.
Really, at this point it has just been a matter of finding the
right moment in the Secretary's schedule to allow that to
happen given the importance that we have placed with having him
actually deliver this year's report.
Mr. Smith. And could you give me your assurance that you
will interview Mr. Higiro and have your relevant staff if
necessary listen to those recordings? Because they are
devastating.
Mr. Feldstein. Yes, absolutely. I will take that back to my
colleagues and we will make sure that they connect with them.
Mr. Smith. Ms. Bass?
Ms. Bass. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. You were probably
aware, Ambassador Jackson, that a few weeks ago I was involved
along with Chairman Royce and probably Chairman Smith as well
in expressing concerns over the VOA. And I was just wanting to
know if you could comment about that especially if, what you
think about that whether or not we will be able to keep VOA
open and on the air in Rwanda.
Ambassador Jackson. Congresswoman Bass, as I said to
Chairman Smith, I want to assure you that we believe VOA's
broadcast in Kinyarwanda and Kirundi provide an enormous
service. They are the only source of outside information in
local languages for many of the people who listen to them, and
we strongly support their continuation.
Ms. Bass. Well, with that maybe you could talk about kind
of where we are in our relationship with Rwanda. The thrust of
U.S. funded programs to increase civil society, what is the
dialogue? I mean it is often said in these hearings that we
send messages to the government about one subject or another,
but it is not really clear what the response back is. And I
believe Chairman Smith was asking you questions along those
lines when unfortunately I had to leave. But it is one thing
that we send messages, what are the messages back?
Ambassador Jackson. So for Fiscal Year 2015, we have set
aside $2 million for programs on rule of law and civil society
strengthening.
Ms. Bass. So tell me what that means. Give me an example.
Ambassador Jackson. So I don't know. Let me give an example
from another country because I don't have the facts for Rwanda
in front of me. But for civil society strengthening in
Cameroon, where I was last posted overseas, we brought in
Freedom House to do seminars training to help the civil society
groups do fundraising. And one of the really remarkable results
of that was that the civil society groups decided to form their
own coalitions, because one of the struggles that we have had
in Cameroon has been that civil society has been so fractional
and divided.
So our goals in these programs are to bring people to
together to advocate for common causes, and I would envision
the same type of program in Rwanda. As for rule of law
programs, across Africa we are working with judiciaries to help
them to be stronger, more organized, more independent and----
Ms. Bass. Is that accepted in Rwanda?
Ambassador Jackson. I would have to get back to you on
that. And I would like to defer to my colleague on some of
DRL's programming, if I may.
[The information referred to follows:]
Written Response Received from the Honorable Robert P. Jackson to
Question Asked During the Hearing by the Honorable Karen Bass
In its new Strengthening Participation and Accountability (SPA)
program, USAID has identified specific themes for which it seeks
proposals from local civil society organizations to strengthen systems
and processes to ensure rule of law, strengthen the role of civil
society in development, and empower citizens to exercise their rights.
Among the identified themes is strengthening the rule of law, where
``rule of law'' means that laws are knowable and understandable by all,
apply to all, and apply to all equally. Through SPA, USAID seeks to
strengthen the rule of law in Rwanda, by improving the skills of
judges, prosecutors, lawyers and other legal practitioners, and
establishing effective oversight mechanisms, so that the justice sector
institutions are able to perform their functions effectively,
particularly as they relate to upholding laws protecting women and
members of vulnerable populations. Moreover, rule of law may be
strengthened and government accountability fostered by facilitating
lawyers and human rights groups' engagement in public interest
litigation. By strengthening the rule of law, USAID/Rwanda will
strengthen the institutions and frameworks that make it possible for
civil society to engage in open debate regarding respect for civil
liberties and human rights and participate effectively in decision-
making.
Mr. Feldstein. Thank you, Congresswoman Bass. I would also
have to defer in terms of the specifics of the Rwanda program.
But we do have a couple different things that we use that are
applicable across Africa. These include specific human rights
defenders programs that when there are dissidents or activists
under duress we are able to provide needed assistance to help
them find a safe space. We also have broader civil society
strengthening programs. That means trainings outside of the
country as appropriate to help build their capacity and ability
to exert leadership at the right moments.
I think one of the challenges in Rwanda, as I mentioned and
as we document in the human rights report, is that they have
fairly restrictive NGO registration laws. They watch very
carefully the activities of different civil society groups. Any
time a group moves across sort of an invisible line when it
comes to political activity or human rights activity there
tends to be a pretty stern, quiet reaction. And so that has
really led to a chilling effect when it comes to the ability of
civil society to operate in a free and fair manner.
Now I think there is a broader amount of space available
for service provision NGOs who do more development and
humanitarian assistance work and I think that is something that
is a positive. But on this sort of more political human rights
front we have had a lot of problems in terms of finding groups
that we can work with who aren't subject to the type of
restrictions I mentioned.
Ms. Bass. Can you describe some of the service programs
that we fund in Rwanda?
Mr. Feldstein. There is a range of those, and I would defer
that more toward colleagues at USAID in particular. But in my
prior experience, I know they range from health programs to
agriculture to other of the sort of standard run of development
programs that USAID oversees.
Ms. Bass. So what about our security assistance to Rwanda
specifically?
Ambassador Jackson. Let me address that, Congresswoman
Bass. So our security assistance is primarily in terms of
peacekeeping training and support for Rwandan peacekeeping.
Rwanda is involved in eight peacekeeping operations with 5,500
soldiers and police involved in those operations. We, you may
recall, suspended at the direction of this Congress our
international military education and training programs in 2012.
The plan is to resume those this year. So our security
assistance has been focused on supporting Rwanda's deployments
in peacekeeping operations.
Ms. Bass. What are we resuming this year?
Ambassador Jackson. International military education and
training.
Ms. Bass. What does that mean?
Ambassador Jackson. So this is primarily bringing officers
and enlisted men from Rwanda to the United States for specific
training programs.
Ms. Bass. That is one of the things that is always
confusing to me about our policy. Because we are going to
criticize the government for their human rights record and then
we are going to train their military. So it is like which one
is it?
Ambassador Jackson. I respectfully submit that you need to
do both. And it is important to train the military in order to
make sure that they do not commit gross violations of human
rights and that they are effective peacekeepers.
Ms. Bass. Yes. It is just that it seems like some of the
time it doesn't turn out that way, right? So I would like to
ask, not to put you on the spot here but maybe you could get
back to me with some of the specific democracy programs.
Ambassador Jackson. I will have to get back to you on that.
[The information referred to follows:]
Written Response Received from the Honorable Robert P. Jackson to
Question Asked During the Hearing by the Honorable Karen Bass
Our democracy programs in Rwanda are designed to encourage dialogue
among political parties, civil society organizations (CSOs), youth, and
the media. These programs are:
The Civil Society Support Program (CSSP); a $1.4 million
contribution to a multi-donor fund designed to strengthen the
operations and effectiveness of local organizations operating in
Rwanda. The key objectives of this program are to strengthen the
capacity of independent local civil society organizations (CSOs) to
engage with the Government of Rwanda (GOR) as more equal and effective
partners on public policy, and rights and development issues, and to
facilitate opportunities for the GOR and CSOs to engage on such
policies and issues. It also allows us to more easily coordinate
assistance to CSOs with other donors.
The Strengthening Participation and Accountability
(SPA) Program: This activity will be up to $7 million,
implemented through a call for proposals. Proposals will be
requested from Rwandan CSOs, or international NGOs and Public
International Organizations to implement grants that strengthen
systems and processes to ensure rule of law, strengthen the
role of civil society in development, and empower citizens to
exercise their rights.
Promoting Civic Engagement in Political Processes
(PCEPP) Program: This activity, an up to $10.7 million
investment, will seek to increase civic engagement and policy
dialogue in Rwanda's political and electoral processes. During
the upcoming elections, PCEPP will support increased free
speech, policy debate and civic awareness throughout the
electoral cycle. Activities will strengthen civil society
engagement on public dialogue, policy advocacy and oversight;
strengthen the media's professionalism and ability to generate
issue-based public policy dialogue, provide independent and
objective information to citizens, and objectively report on
the government's actions; and enhance civil society provision
of civic education that informs and empowers citizens.
LAND Project: 2012-2017, planned investment of $12
million. The primary goal is to strengthen the resilience of
Rwandan citizens, communities and institutions and their
ability to adapt to land-related economic, environmental and
social changes. The project primarily does this through
producing evidence-based research led by Rwandan civil society
and research institutions on the GOR's land policies and
through communication and advocacy efforts to ensure citizens
are aware of, and engaged in, land policy issues.
Human and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD):
2012-2017, planned investment of $15 million. The project
supports the Government of Rwanda's efforts to develop a more
responsive civil service that meets the public service needs of
Rwandan citizens. It will also help civil society organizations
(CSOs) become more capable of contributing to the development
of the country through training and skill-building efforts. The
goal of the project is to improve the overall performance of
targeted institutions to support Rwanda's development goals and
long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
Youth for Human Rights: 2014-2017, planned total
investment of $350,000: Youth for Human Rights (Y4HR) works to
build the leadership and advocacy skills of young Rwandans
(both women and men) to better understand and be able to stand
up for their own rights and the rights of vulnerable
communities.
Ms. Bass. And then I am also interested in to what extent
we fund Rwandans versus fund U.S. contractors to do work in
Rwanda. How much of it goes to NGOs that Rwandans run?
Ambassador Jackson. I will have to get back to you on that.
[The information referred to follows:]
Written Response Received from the Honorable Robert P. Jackson to
Question Asked During the Hearing by the Honorable Karen Bass
Of funding provided by the USG for democracy programs in Rwanda in
FY 2014, $9.3 million of a total of $111.9 m in FY 2014 was provided
directly to Rwandan NGOs to program.
Ms. Bass. No, no. That is what I was asking. I know that
you don't know that now. You made reference, I believe,
Ambassador Jackson, in your opening remarks to Burundi. And I
was wondering if you could expand on that in terms of what is
happening obviously in relation to Rwanda, but I don't remember
exactly what you said and I want you to expand on that.
Ambassador Jackson. So in Burundi we see protests
continuing following the coup attempt. The protests have now
gone on ever since President Nkurunziza's party nominated him
for a third term and he was----
Ms. Bass. I am sorry. I don't think I was clear. I was
meaning specifically Rwanda's role. I am familiar with what is
going on.
Ambassador Jackson. Rwanda's role in Burundi has been very
constructive from my point of view. President Kagame has been
very outspoken about the need for President Nkurunziza to
respect the Arusha Accord, and Rwanda has been very welcoming
to refugees. And President Kagame has participated in the
meetings with other regional leaders to attempt to persuade
President Nkurunziza to restart dialogue with the opposition
and create an environment that will be conducive to free and
fair elections.
Ms. Bass. And by the way, the general that attempted the
coup?
Ambassador Jackson. General Niyombare's whereabouts as far
as I know remain unknown.
Ms. Bass. Was he one of the ones we trained?
Ambassador Jackson. Pardon?
Ms. Bass. Was he one of the ones we trained?
Ambassador Jackson. I would have to get back to you. I am
not aware.
[The information referred to follows:]
Written Response Received from the Honorable Robert P. Jackson to
Question Asked During the Hearing by the Honorable Karen Bass
Major General Godefroid Niyombare attended the 2010 African Land
Forces Summit in Washington at U.S. expense. Our records do not
indicate that we have provided training to Niyombare.
Ms. Bass. Okay, thank you.
Mr. Smith. Follow up on my friend's question. With IMET
being resumed or in the process of being resumed, again Robert
Higiro today will testify and will reiterate what he has said
before that the director of military intelligence, Colonel Dan
Munyuza was the one who--and he has got this on tape--said,
``We have decided to give you this job. You have to go to South
Africa and take out General Kayumba and Colonel Karegeya.''
Now my question is when we are doing training, and as you
said it is officers as well as others, will this man be left
out of that training? I mean it seems to me that if this is
true he ought to be indicted for conspiracy to commit murder.
Is that on your radar screen? Do you know this man, the
colonel?
Mr. Feldstein. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think this is one
of those cases that precisely falls into the Leahy vetting
requirements. So for anyone who would be submitted by the
Rwandan Government for participation in the IMET program we
would extensively go through all the different allegations that
are there, different public accusations and so forth, assess
the credibility and then make a determination about whether
this person would be barred or not by law. I think with a
person like this who is so publicly connected to some of the
allegations that we have discussed, I would assume that that
name wouldn't come forward anyway.
Mr. Smith. Let me ask you if I could, is Colonel Dan
Munyuza, do you know of him? He is the director of military
intelligence.
Mr. Feldstein. It is a name I am familiar with. I haven't
personally met him.
Mr. Smith. What is your take on him? Is this a credible
allegation? He is the one on the tape who is saying--and the
BBC carried this and of course the Canadian newspaper that, we
can listen to it if you would like--that he was trying to hire
Higiro for this assassination.
Mr. Feldstein. I think the allegations carry a lot of
weight. I think when it comes to the investigations taking
place in South Africa related to this incident we are waiting
to see what the judicial process does.
Mr. Smith. What are we doing regarding this man? I mean
does our military intelligence, does our State Department
interface with him as well? I mean if he is an alleged killer,
an assassin or at least someone who puts people up to it, what
is your view of this man?
Mr. Feldstein. From a democracy standpoint I have not have
any contact with him and I couldn't answer for other colleagues
on that. I am not sure.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Jackson.
Ambassador Jackson. I have not had any direct contact with
him, and given the nature of our training programs I would have
to get back to you to see if there is any contact, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Smith. Could you?
Ambassador Jackson. Yes.
[The information referred to follows:]
Written Response Received from the Honorable Robert P. Jackson to
Question Asked During the Hearing by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith
U.S. Embassy Kigali's Regional Security Office maintains regular
contact with senior Rwandan National Police leaders in order to ensure
the security of the Embassy and American citizens in Rwanda. As the
Deputy Inspector of Police--the second most senior position in the
Rwandan National Police--the Regional Security Office has infrequent
contact with Colonel Dan Munyuza on matters related to embassy
security.
Mr. Smith. It is very important. We will make that a part
of the record. Okay, Ms. Bass, anything else?
Ms. Bass. No, thank you.
Mr. Smith. We thank you very much, gentlemen. We will have
some additional questions we will submit for the record. But it
is concerning, disconcerting to me that the director of
military intelligence have allegations pending against him, and
you have to get back to me on that, back to us as a
subcommittee. I wish you would have known that. And I wish
something would, if it is true and maybe it is not credible,
but it would appear that when you get a phone message and it is
recorded we have methods and ways to ascertain whether or not
it is an accurate tape recording. So please get back.
I would like to now welcome our second panel--and thank you
again, gentlemen--beginning with Mr. David Himbara who is an
educator, political economist, and author currently working as
a consultant focusing on African economic reform. A Rwandan
native, Mr. Himbara spent a total of 6 years working for
President Paul Kagame as head of strategy and policy in the
office of the President and a principal private secretary to
the President. Tasked with improving national competitiveness,
Mr. Himbara spearheaded efforts that ultimately improved
Rwanda's ranking in the World Bank's annual Doing Business
Report, from 143rd to 67th out of 183 countries. Prior to his
time in Rwanda he was based in South Africa working as a
private consultant.
We will then hear from Major Robert Higiro who served as an
officer in the Rwandan military from 1990 to the year 2010.
Major Higiro ran several training operations and commanded
troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the African
Union's peacekeeping force in Sudan among other missions. Last
year, the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, reported that
Major Higiro was one of several men hired to assassinate
Rwandan dissenters living in exile. Despite living in exile
thousands of miles from Rwanda, he remains concerned about his
own security and believes that he is being hunted.
We will then hear from Mr. Willis Shalita who is a Rwandan
American freelance photojournalist who writes about African
affairs. In 1999, on the fifth anniversary of the genocide
against the Tutsi, he wrote an opinion editorial that was
recognized by the San Francisco Chronicle as the best national
opinion editorial of the year. He is a retired special
investigator from the California State Bar.
We will also hear from Ms. Sarah Margon who is the
Washington director of Human Rights Watch. Prior to joining
Human Rights Watch she was an associate director of sustainable
security and peacebuilding at the Center for American Progress
where she researched and wrote on a wide range of issues
including human rights, foreign aid, good governance, and
global conflicts and crises. She also served in the Senate as
staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs,
been a senior policy advisor to Oxfam America and worked at the
Open Society Institute. She also testified before this
subcommittee several times. So welcome back.
Mr. Himbara?
STATEMENT OF MR. DAVID HIMBARA, COORDINATOR FOR THE USA AND
CANADA, DEMOCRACY IN RWANDA NOW (FORMER AIDE TO THE PRESIDENT
OF RWANDA)
Mr. Himbara. Thank you, Mr. Chairman Smith, Ranking Member
Bass. First of all, I thank you very, very much indeed for your
leadership for holding this hearing. Secondly, I also submitted
my----
Mr. Smith. Without objection, your full statement and any
attachments, for all of our witnesses, will be made a part of
the record. So proceed as you would like.
Mr. Himbara. Let me also thank you very, very much indeed
for your leadership in trying to save the VOA Kinyarwanda/
Kirundi service. For God's sake that is now the only remaining
link to the outside world for Rwanda. After the closure of the
BBC there is nothing out there. Let me also take the
opportunity to say that in fact the chairman of the Independent
Media Commission just fled, just a week ago. So this space,
space is shrinking, shrinking. So that VOA, Mr. Chairman, help
us.
Now going back now to my presentation. As was mentioned I
worked for President Kagame twice, in 2000 to 2002. It didn't
work out, when I decided to leave back to South Africa where I
used to live, out in good terms. 2006, he invites me back. We
sort ourselves out. He says, no, you can come back and lead the
economic reforms, some of the things you were hearing, which I
did up to January 2010. I fled.
And one of the issues was actually the same, same
celebrations of the economic miracle, statistics that are not
really credible. I always stood my ground and said, Your
Excellency, we are analysts, monitors, reviewers. So we can't
cook statistics. I throw some statistic here that people can go
out and look for themselves. If you see, for example, poverty
reduction, one would say, well, 43 percent of the population
are poor. You go to the World Bank or IMF, if you use $1.20 as
a definition that is the globally accepted definition, 63
percent live under that. If we use another global accepted
definition, $2 a day, 83 percent of Rwandans are poor. So
people are mistaking the clean streets of Kigali as measure of
development.
So anyway that was my conflict. I said no. We develop, but
development is not a lie, it is not a prestige, no it is hard
knocks of policy making. So I fled, and when I fled to South
Africa then that is really when my problems began. Chased,
chased, chased. Then in 2013, 2014, after the death of my
colleague Karegeya, same town, Johannesburg, I think I thought
that was a good sign. I fled then from South Africa. So I went
back to Canada. The Canadian Government itself monitors me and
other colleagues because we are not safe, but I do say I can
sleep a little more peacefully than staying in Johannesburg.
Now the human rights situation, I really don't have much to
add beyond what the colleagues earlier on presented, but what I
can add on though is the angle that most reports fail to
capture. They fail to capture four things. First of all, if we
look at the human rights situation, the horrific situation in
Rwanda, we have to, we divide prior to 2012 as a phase, then
after 2012. Then in those two periods we look at the targets,
who are the targeted types. We look at the official stance. We
look at the global environment in Rwanda. And then we look at
the impact on development.
So let us look at the target between those two periods.
Prior to 2012, the targets for harassment, imprisonment, or
even killings like political opponents or media, so individuals
like Victoire Ingabire, Deo Mushayidi, these are the people
wanted to compete that are now in jail. We look in terms of
killings, we look at people like Seth Sendashonga. We look at
the opposition leader basically beheaded in 2010. So the media
types, editors. So really that period the targets are clear and
predictable. It is either political or media types.
But now when we go now into post-2012 it is no longer, it
is no longer just that. No. Three months ago, President
Kagame's personal doctor, Dr. Emmanuel Gasakure, shot in a
police cell, killed. Gustave Makonene, this is the coordinator
for Transparency International, strangled. Kagame's personal
driver killed. So whereas in the prior period, as I said, it is
clear the targets, but now it's almost random.
Okay, now, number two, the difference between the two
periods. Prior to 2012, the official stance or the official
attitude was deny, deny, deny. Post-2012, no, it is
celebration. President Kagame himself after Karegeya died said
no, we did not kill him but I wish we did. Moreover, people
like him is only when and how. Of all places, that was said in
a breakfast prayer. Then 2 months later, again the President
Kagame say, oh those people who are making noise about the
human rights, no, no, no. We are not only going to imprison
people, we are shooting them. We are going to shoot them in
broad daylight. All this is in the public domain. So that is
difference number two.
So the difference number three between the prior and post-
2012, prior 2012 you see the environment was basically, the
environment kind of the usual dictatorial regime. The usual
dictatorial regime is where for ordinary folk you just live on
and there is no problem. The people who are problems are those
high up in politics. But you see this is no longer the
situation. The situation now is actually we are not talking
about dictatorship, we are talking about now is a totalitarian
state. Seeking to control. So as we move and drive fear into
the population.
So as we move to 2017 with this business of constitution,
the villages, the towns, they are being forced to sign up to
say we want a constitutional amendment. So what you are going
to see then in Rwanda is not people demonstrating against the
third term, but rather people demanding that the man stays. It
is orders. In Rwanda, the smallest administrative unit in the
system is called ``nyumba kumi.'' That means ten houses. Every
ten houses are watched by one individual. And as you move on,
the whole state machinery, driving fear, is well established.
Okay. The last difference between the two periods, the
impact on development. Again you hear how Rwanda is a great
success story. Prior to 2012 you see underground the government
was grabbing business, business, business. Not on surface, you
wouldn't know it. Even American companies like Chevron,
property grabbed, but those was kind of underground. But now in
this current period, there is no apology for grabbing business.
A $20 million mall, UTC, in the center of Kigali is grabbed and
because the owner does not live there. It is like saying, so in
UK if I said, well, since Bill Gates does not live in UK we are
grabbing Microsoft. Pure madness. So it is that environment
then that really, it is anti-developmental.
So let me now conclude. We thank you again for holding this
hearing. We thank you for fighting for the VOA. We also
encourage you that we take this, I saw those hard questions you
were posing. So I think we need to keep on that, perhaps even
think of a congressional resolution that can seriously have an
impact on policy change toward Rwanda. I thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Himbara follows:]
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Mr. Smith. Mr. Himbara, thank you so very much for your
testimony. I would like to now ask, Mr. Higiro, if you would
proceed.
STATEMENT OF MAJOR ROBERT HIGIRO, RDF, RETIRED, COORDINATOR FOR
BELGIUM, DEMOCRACY IN RWANDA NOW
Mr. Higiro. Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, members of
the subcommittee, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I think
my name has been mentioned several times. I am Robert Higiro. I
was born in Uganda because my parents lived there after being
forced out of Rwanda in 1959. So I share the same background
with the President because he was also raised in Uganda as a
refugee.
I was part of the force that seized control of Kigali in
1994 which actually led to the falling of the former Hutu
regime and brought an end to the genocide in Rwanda. I did work
for two decades with the Rwandan Military and served in
different capacities. I had two tours as a peacekeeper--one
with the African Union, the initial launch of the full
peacekeeping, and another one with the United Nations/African
Union Hybrid mission which is still ongoing.
On returning home, that was 2010, I only learned that I had
been de-commissioned and out of job. What that means in Rwanda
is that no single investor or businessman is going to work with
you because it means you are disfavored from the system. So as
my colleague just mentioned it is a controlled business
environment. So I went to Uganda to pursue business
opportunities, but not so long I was summoned back to Rwanda
and I was questioned about my links with the former Army Chief
of Staff, General Kayumba Nyamwasa, and former National
Intelligence and Security chief Colonel Patrick Karegeya. These
two officers had of course fallen out with President Kagame and
had fled to South Africa. This happened to me but even to other
many officers.
The most recent example are Colonel Tom Byabagamba who
actually protected President Kagame since 1990 until recently
in 2010 or 2012, looking after Kagame, protecting him. He was a
deputy sector commander in southern Sudan as a peacekeeper.
When he got home he was taken straight to prison. Same happened
to General Frank Rusagara, military attache in the United
Kingdom. After his services, straight to prison. David Kabuye
served for a long time, straight to prison, and many, many,
many others.
The military we are talking about today is no longer there.
He has young boys doing the peacekeeping. But all the top
colors that actually helped him get into power, they are either
in cells, dead, running, all over the world. Others are idle in
the country which is a very dangerous aspect when it comes to
national security.
Well, after my interrogation I was suspicious. I knew that
something is wrong that they wanted to use me for that job as
usual. Having served 20 years I knew exactly why they summoned
me, and I was met by the military leadership. It was not long
my former trainees warned me that if I don't leave the country
I would be in danger. So I fled to Senegal, thinking that if I
go as far as possible they will forget all about me.
But a few months, 2 or 3, somebody was sent by the Director
of Military Intelligence Dan Munyuza to tell me that they have
a job for me. He calls me directly and tells me that they have
sat down and decided to give me a job, and the job was to go to
South Africa and eliminate former Chief of Staff General
Kayumba Nyamwasa and former National Security and Intelligence
chief Colonel Patrick Karegeya.
And there is a question you asked, I should state on the
record, is Kagame involved and up to where? When Munyuza,
Director of Military Intelligence, is giving me a mission he is
only quoting the President. Now I was desperate and I needed
time to think about it, because I know that whether you do the
job or not you are going to die anyway. So I called Colonel
Patrick, gave him the story, and we agreed that I go to South
Africa and play by Dan's motions.
I went to South Africa. We discussed between me and General
Nyamwasa and Colonel Patrick, how to go about it. So we agreed
that I should gather as much evidence as possible by recording
each and every conversation of the instructions over this
assassination plan which could be used like we are using it
today. So I recorded these conversations for over 7 months, and
eventually I told Munyuza of course that I could do the job.
And he said he would offer up to $1 million for the job.
We went on and on--modalities, the weapons to be used, what
he wants me to do, how to do it, etc., etc., and then
eventually couldn't send in the money because we were waiting
for the money to come in which would add on this evidence. But
he started saying that the boss was saying, he tells me, we
should wait, wait until you eliminate them first before you are
paid. And I knew something is wrong, and then I had to flee
South Africa. I went to Uganda, crossed to Nairobi and
eventually found myself in Belgium where I live today as a
dissident like others.
In Rwanda, like others, I am a wanted man. Abroad I am on
the hit list. Like him, like anybody else. Well, like you said,
or the previous speakers, on the New Year's Eve of 2014 Kagame
achieved his wish and that is when Colonel Patrick Karegeya was
found strangled in a Johannesburg hotel. I should add here that
some of these individuals involved are known. We know them.
South Africa is conducting the investigations. We are waiting.
But we know some of these individuals. General Kayumba Nyamwasa
has survived, I think, three assassination attempts in South
Africa. The first one he was actually shot but he didn't die.
The others, they would find him in a different location and it
has been three or four times. He is still living, we don't know
for how long.
For me, when this happened, when Patrick died, I decided to
find a leading newspaper, the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and
Mail, and shared my story. I gave them access to the tapes.
These tapes were independently verified and translated. This
paper went as far as interviewing former military officers and
they confirmed, indeed, the voice belongs to Munyuza. And not
only that but particularly as you are telling them, Department
of State we can verify this voice, if the government says, no,
this is not Dan Munyuza then they should give us the official
voice of Munyuza and we compare with the one I have. If it is
not true, then well it is not.
I cannot go again over the list of Rwandans who were
assassinated abroad and in the country. You have talked about
it. He has talked about it. We have submitted a copy of that.
It is a long one. But the reality is tragic.
I would like to end with a message to my fellow Rwandans,
Hutus and Tutsis have much to attain for with regard to
another. Like me, many Tutsis support the establishment of
truly independent courts that would follow these crimes
committed by President Paul Kagame and his allies. If you allow
me I will read you this quote from Mandela in 1994. I quote,
``Out of the experience of an extraordinary human
disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society
of which all humanity will be proud. The time for the
healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge
the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build
is upon us.''
I sincerely thank the subcommittee for its time and
interest, and respectfully ask for help, and the help of the
entire U.S. Congress, to urge Rwandans to put aside their
divisions--regional, political, and ethnic--and work peacefully
together to end this repressive regime. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Higiro follows:]
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Mr. Smith. Mr. Higiro, thank you very much for your
testimony and for your courage, both you and Mr. Himbara coming
forward as you are knowing that there are risks. And I thank
you. Ms. Margon?
STATEMENT OF MS. SARAH MARGON, WASHINGTON DIRECTOR, HUMAN
RIGHTS WATCH
Ms. Margon. Thank you. I will just give a bit of a
shortened version. I did want to thank you, Chairman Smith and
ranking member, for holding this really important hearing--I
know it has been a longtime interest--and for inviting me to
testify. I am glad to be part of it and also to even out the
gender balance on the panel a little bit. So thank you.
Twenty-one years after the genocide, Rwanda has come a long
way. By any measure, there has been real concrete improvement
in terms of economic growth and access to public services. I
won't go over the indicators that were mentioned on the last
panel, but I do think it is worth noting the country is on
track to meet the Millennium Development Goals as you said, Ms.
Bass, for 2015, and the Parliament is majority female at nearly
65 percent.
By the sounds of it, Rwanda is not a country in crisis. It
is a country where things work. But in reality, it is only some
things that work. The same government that has helped so many
Rwandans out of poverty and propelled the country's economic
growth has done so while severely restricting the fundamental
civil and political freedoms of many.
Indeed, gains are undermined by two persistent trends. One,
systematic domestic repression that stifles, sometimes very
violently, dissent, opposition, and independent thought; and
two, repeated cross-border meddling and support for abusive
armed rebel groups in neighboring Democratic Republic of the
Congo, or the DRC. International and regional attention of
Rwanda has usually been when it has gone cross-border into the
DRC, and this has happened at least four times since 1996.
I, today, would like to talk much more about the domestic
issues, because I think actually it is within this environment
that government accountability and transparency need to begin.
Because, in fact, if there had been a viable civil society and
media, perhaps the authorities in Kigali might have stopped
their meddling operations and other adventures abroad.
Rwanda is a country of double realities. Visitors are
impressed with the facade, the apparent security. But it is a
smokescreen, because many Rwandans live in fear and not just
because of the legacy of genocide but because the current
government--the only one since the end of the genocide in
1994--runs the country with a tight grip on power. Indeed, the
ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, dominates all
aspects of political and public life.
This is not new. It has been a constant feature since the
end of 1994. Civil society is weak as a result of years of
state intimidation, infiltration, and heavy, heavy
administrative burdens. Activists have fled, and the one
remaining domestic human rights organization was taken over by
members sympathetic to the government in 2013. My organization,
Human Rights Watch, is falsely accused of supporting the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or the FDLR,
time and time again.
Along similar lines, the Rwandan media remains heavily
dominated by pro-government views with most journalists unable
or unwilling to investigate and report on sensitive issues. To
be fair, the Rwandan Government did introduce new media laws
and reforms in 2013, which enshrine journalists' rights to
freedom of opinion and expression, but for the most part these
reforms haven't translated into any reality because of years of
intimidation that have led to self-censorship and a decreased
interest in investigating alleged abuse or even dissent.
The Rwandan Government invokes the need to prevent a
resumption of ethnic violence as justification for restricting
freedom of expression. The practice is disingenuous because it
silences all forms of dissenting criticism including many that
have nothing to do with ethnic violence, and that is a tactic
that could end up reversing Rwanda's apparent stability and
even its economic successes.
Despite abundant evidence of serious repression by the
Rwandan Government there has been muted international
criticism. Kigali enjoys strong support from donor countries
like the U.S., international financial institutions such as the
World Bank, and a range of other political actors and
independent foundations. The absence of a comprehensive policy
approach to address Rwanda's disregard for fundamental rights
is stark. Rwanda is held up as the all too rare model of
successful development in Africa so the focus stays there. The
repressive domestic environment is treated as an ancillary
problem or not treated at all mostly because, it seems, it is
just too difficult to reconcile this bad narrative with the
more positive one.
But there is good reason beyond moral considerations for
donor governments and all others to consider all at the same
time. In 2011, the World Bank's World Development Report argued
that peace is most likely to endure if Rwanda's political space
is gradually opened up, and it also argued that post-conflict
stability premised on economic growth and strong leadership,
but without political liberalization in the long term may have
a finite duration and possibly a dramatic ending. His
conclusion is an important warning for this Congress,
particularly with the Fiscal Year 2016 budget for foreign
operations approaching.
So what does this mean for U.S. policy? I will make a
couple very quick recommendations. For starters, the
administration and Members of Congress should keep speaking out
against abuses by the Rwandans. Recent statements have had a
tremendous impact. Rwandan officials' insistent denials of
repression in their country make it clear that the statements
matter. International legitimacy is very important to the
Rwandan Government. It wants to be a regional player and
condemnation of poor domestic behavior doesn't fit that model.
So please keep up the pressure.
Second, I won't go over the VOA again, but Human Rights
Watch does support the full funding of VOA, and I was very
pleased to hear State Department say that as well. Thank you
both for your leadership on that issue as well as the chairman
and ranking member of the full committee.
I would also urge you and the administration to push the
Rwandan Government to permit the development of a truly
independent civil society by allowing human rights groups to
operate freely. This is not going to be easy. I note that while
it was said on the earlier panel that there is $2 million for
the Fiscal Year 2015 budget, if you look at the Fiscal Year
2013 budget, USAID spent $3.2 million on democracy and
governance in Rwanda, but only $500,000 of this went to civil
society and none went to support the rule of law and human
rights.
Sorry?
Ms. Bass. Where did it go?
Ms. Margon. I don't know. You can't find that information
too publicly. I can try to look. But the absence of the funds
doesn't mean there isn't engagement on the issue. What worries
me is that because there is no funding specifically allocated
for human rights and the rule of law and more money for civil
society, there is no strategic approach being invoked to
address these issues in a difficult environment. So I would
encourage Congress, and the subcommittee in particular, to
engage very robustly on this issue.
Finally, I will just say that the United States should use
its prominent role at the World Bank and with other financial
institutions to urge broader guiding principles that are not
only rooted in the freedom from want but also the freedom from
fear. I will close by saying that I am aware of concerns
expressed by some in the administration and also here in
Congress that a more public stance on Rwanda's domestic
environment would undermine the bilateral relationship between
Rwanda and the United States. But the U.S. often underestimates
its own leverage and becomes overly cautious. The U.S. may need
Rwanda for peacekeeping and other issues, but Rwanda needs the
U.S. too. So the U.S. should continue refining its policy on
Rwanda and send a strong signal of support to the many citizens
who crave the freedom of expression and greater political space
but haven't had access to it. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Margon follows:]
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Mr. Smith. Appreciate it very, very much. Mr. Shalita?
STATEMENT OF MR. WILLIS SHALITA, PHOTOJOURNALIST AND BLOGGER
Mr. Shalita. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bass, other
members of the panel, it is an honor to be invited to speak
before you at this hearing. Thank you very much. The diverse
viewpoints included here demonstrates your commitment toward
strong partnership between the United States and Rwanda. No
topic is closer to my heart, Mr. Chairman.
My name is Willis Shalita and I am a proud American, but
also a very proud Rwandan. But at one time, Mr. Chairman, I had
no country. In the early '60s, hundreds of my fellow Rwandans
were expelled from our homeland. I lived in exile in Uganda up
until Idi Amin's reign of terror made me a refugee for the
second time.
Mr. Chairman, I have lived under a dictatorship. I know how
it feels. I know what to look for. I am here to tell you today,
Rwanda is not a dictatorship. Forty-two years ago America
welcomed me into this country. I found a home and also my
vocation as a special investigator for the State Bar of
California. My job was to separate fact from fiction, build a
strong case, and testify under oath about my findings. I did so
hundreds of times, Mr. Chairman, over my 28-year career as an
officer of the court. Today I work primarily as a writer with a
focus on Rwanda.
After the genocide, 1 million Rwandans lay dead. No one had
any real idea how to render justice, survivors and
perpetrators, much less how to live together again. Twenty-one
years later, Mr. Chairman, the country stands out. Rwanda leads
the world in women's representation in Parliament. Mr.
Chairman, things don't happen where there are no conducive
conditions.
Rwanda ranks number one among low-income countries in the
World Bank's annual Doing Business index. Professor Paul Farmer
of Harvard Medical School found that the Rwandan health system,
``achieved some of the steepest declines in premature mortality
ever documented anywhere.'' Funding from the United States
played an important role.
As has been said, Rwanda is the fifth largest troop
contributor to U.N. peacekeeping missions. Religious freedom is
protected in Rwanda. An attempt to criminalize homosexuality
was defeated in Rwanda. Rwanda is socially conservative, but
gays and lesbians need not worry about government interference
in private matters.
Now Mr. Chairman, at this point you may be thinking, ``Yes,
but,'' but why does there have to be a ``but''? The facts are
real. The data comes from trusted, independent sources. Is
Rwanda perfect? Not even close. But the best way to uncover its
flaws is to go to Rwanda where the most scandalous data about a
country is made public by its own institutions. Go attend a
citizen outreach meeting and tell me if you think Rwandans are
too intimidated to tell truth to power. I say not.
So why do we often find ourselves adrift in this strange
Bermuda Triangle of confusion when it comes to Rwanda? To
prepare for this hearing, Mr. Chairman, I put my investigator
hat back on. How is it that individuals who once proudly
contributed to Rwanda's success now calmly assert that the
country is some kind of tropical North Korea? Mr. Chairman, the
answer is simple and facts simpler than I thought--money and
politics.
The House lobbying database records that my fellow witness,
Dr. Himbara, hired the top-tier firm in 2014 paying them
$190,000. If he can afford that sum on his own, then I want
whatever consulting gigs he has. And Mr. Chairman, if the money
isn't his, then this subcommittee deserves to know the source
of this money. Democracy in Rwanda Now, DIRN, registered this
domain, this is his outfit. They registered their domain a week
ago around the same time this hearing was announced. Was
something wrong with whatever affiliations were being used
before? This subcommittee needs to know.
I note that Mr. Higiro, here, is a senior cadre of the
Rwandan National Congress, a foreign political party whose
leaders seek the violent overthrow of the Rwandan Government
and they even collaborate with the FDLR, a genocidal terrorist
organization. Mr. Chairman, people have a right to seek
influence provided they follow the rules. But until we know who
know who foots the bill and why, there is no way to assess the
credibility of claims made by this shadowy network. Maybe I am
naive, Mr. Chairman, but my experience is that truth is more or
less free for the picking. But if you want people to believe
lies, well, that is going to cost you.
References have been made about trials or fake trials and
imprisonments of Rwandans. Mr. Chairman, I am here to tell you
that trials in Rwanda are open. There has been confidence
expressed in the Rwandan judicial system by countries like the
U.S., Canada, Norway, Denmark, who have extradited people who
had bloody hands during the genocide against Tutsi.
Mr. Chairman, this malicious campaign damages the strong
bilateral relationship between Rwanda and America, but we must
not let cynicism prevail over common sense and core human value
that my beloved two countries share in equal strength and
measure. Mr. Chairman, I will submit a longer presentation for
the record. Thank you, sir.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Shalita follows:]
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----------
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Shalita. Let me just ask you, Mr.
Shalita, the Globe and Mail in an article by Geoffrey York and
Judi Rever, which is a very extensive piece that they did, an
investigative piece, they point out, and I quote them in
pertinent part, that
``The investigation by The Globe and Mail found a
common thread in interviews about plots to murder
exiles: Rwandan agents search for vulnerable people
within the social circles of their targets and then put
pressure on them or offer them money in exchange for
their cooperation. In some cases, the agents go back
repeatedly to the same potential assassins even if they
failed to do the job, urging them to do what they were
paid to do.''
You have heard today witnesses, two, who have personal
knowledge. One with recordings that I have asked and I will
continually ask the State Department to review. I find it
appalling that they have not done so yet, and maybe they have
and somebody will emerge and say, oh, I have done that. But it
certainly has not percolated to the point where the
policymakers, the Acting Assistant Secretary, and of course Mr.
Feldstein have any knowledge of. They have to get back to us on
that. And then of course Mr. Himbara who was literally there
with him and was part of a team on the economic side. Are you
saying this isn't true?
Mr. Shalita. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to
respond to that. Having been an investigator for 28 years, let
me say this. Allegations are simply that. I welcome your
request that these allegations, these accusations, be verified
by independent persons. Let me say this, Mr. Chairman. The
South African Government looking into General Nyamwasa's
attempted assassination has not finished its investigation, so
how do we rush the conclusion that the Rwandan Government was
involved?
Mr. Smith. Well, before I go into our other witnesses, just
let me say, and even Acting Assistant Secretary Jackson pointed
out that they expressed concern in January 2014 about the
succession of what appeared to be politically motivated
killings of government critics in exile. And then we went
through a long list of--he did not elaborate when asked and I
am sure he will get back, but I think there are people very
concerned within our U.S. Department of State.
I think Ms. Margon is probably very concerned about these
people who are turning up dead. And when South Africa and other
nations do take actions to investigate, and it is very hard to
cross borders especially to really get to the truth of what is
happening and when and where, but when you see a pattern,
reasonable men and women say there is a real problem here. And
as Mr. Higiro said, and I thought that was very telling, that
when statements are made by the director of intelligence about
killing he is only quoting the President. That is a pretty
strong allegation.
Ms. Bass. Yes, if you don't mind, Mr. Chair, if you could
yield. Didn't the--you said that the South Africans were still
investigating, and I thought the South Africans expelled the
Rwandan representatives. No? I thought they had.
Mr. Shalita. Thank you, Ranking Member. No, if I can
correct you, the South African Government has come to the
conclusion that the alleged assassins were from Rwanda. The
conclusion, Madam Member, has not been made that the Rwandan
Government was involved. We live in America where you are
assumed innocent until proven otherwise. There is no conclusive
evidence.
Ms. Bass. No, no. But I thought they expelled the Rwandan
diplomats. So it wasn't just that it was a Rwandan that they
said committed the crime, but I thought that they kicked out
the diplomats. They did not kick out the Rwandan Ambassador in
South Africa?
Mr. Shalita. Thanks again. During the exchange of words, as
happens always, the Rwandan Ambassador was asked to leave. But
soon thereafter Rwanda sent back another Ambassador and we
have, Rwanda has an Ambassador in Johannesburg.
Mr. Smith. Let me just ask you further on this. If Paul
Kagame is not in any way complicit in any of this nor his
director of national intelligence, would you then support and
would the Rwandan Government support an international team of
investigators who would have unfettered access to information
to people so that they can investigate this and go to source
material, look at logs, look wherever the investigation takes
them? Because otherwise I would be concerned about a whitewash,
again more people dying.
I am very worried that this is in escalation, not in
decline, especially as Mr. Himbara mentioned earlier. The two
phases, political opponents but now it has morphed into his
driver and other people who are selected for killings, and it
just raises serious questions about how wide and how deep this
will go in terms of the killings.
So would you support? Do you believe the administration
would support? I am talking about the Kagame administration,
unfettered access and investigation by an international team of
maybe under U.N. auspices or AU auspices who would get to the
bottom of this?
Mr. Shalita. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the question. As I
stated before, I don't speak for the Rwandan Government. I am
here on my own as an American Rwandan who is interested in what
goes on in my country. Mr. Chairman, your question is above my
pay grade, but I will join with you having an independent body
investigating these allegations. Again, Mr. Chairman, these are
nothing but allegations.
Mr. Smith. Again, we did invite you to join us. The Embassy
of Rwanda requested that. And I want all sides at all times on
something so important as this to be present at the table. So I
would hope you would take that back and join us in asking that
Kagame allow that kind and even embrace it. If I were innocent
and I were in his shoes I would demand that there be an
international investigation to clear my name. There is nothing,
as Proverbs says, more important than one's name. The Book of
Proverbs. If your name is tarnished you invite people who have
no political agenda whatsoever to go in and uncover the truth.
Mr. Shalita. Mr. Chairman, again I was asked by the Rwandan
Embassy to come and testify because they know of my passion
about what goes on in Rwanda. I have no affiliation. I have no
place in making decisions like you are asking for. However, let
me say this, Mr. Chairman. I would support you fully, 100
percent, to send an independent organization to look into
allegations. Again, Mr. Chairman, these are nothing but
allegations, and making allegations doesn't make a witness
believable or not believable. It should be put to test and all
evidence should be brought in and verified.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Himbara, did you want----
Mr. Himbara. Thank you, Chairman. I think the ranking
member Karen Bass, she got it right. The court case on the
attempted assassination of Nyamwasa, the original one, was
settled in court. And the result of that case while that no, it
is not actually the Ambassador that was kicked out, no, the
Ambassador of Rwanda is the only person that was left. All the
other diplomats were expelled.
And it is important to hear what the judge said. This South
African judge said, well, we are sending these four people to
jail for this attempted assassination, but actually the people
who should be in this court are authorities in Rwanda. That is
clear. Then farther north in Sweden, Sweden expelled a Rwandan
diplomat for harassing a Rwandan diaspora. Down south in UK,
the Metropolitan Police, also the Scotland Yard had to send
warnings to British Rwandans to watch out because they were
targets. But for the South African case. It is a done deal.
Absolutely. You are right, yes.
Mr. Smith. I just want to ask a couple other questions and
we will get back. Let me ask Mr. Higiro, in your opinion is the
U.S. Department of State pressing an investigation into the
killings and the alleged conspiracy to assassinate well enough,
aggressive enough? Have you been interviewed by anyone? Have
your tapes been analyzed from CIA to U.S. Department of State
as far as you know? And where is Colonel Dan Munyuza, the
Director of Military Intelligence. Is he still in that position
in Rwanda or has he been dismissed? Where is he?
Mr. Higiro. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dan Munyuza actually
was moving with me. I was employing him indirectly. So he
started this when he was the Director of Military Intelligence,
but we have the Chief of External Intelligence who is supposed
to be dealing with people like us who are supposed to be killed
outside the country.
So because of the way they thought I am going to do
something great and become a hero as they told me, he was moved
from the Director of Military Intelligence to the Director of
External Intelligence. So I continued with him. When the
mission aborted, he was taken to prison straightaway and then
he was brought back, he is now the deputy national police
commander, but he is still in Rwanda.
Let me make something clear. It doesn't really matter where
Dan Munyuza or Jack Nziza, what post they hold in the
government or in the military or in the police. It is just a
shadow for them to do what they are supposed to do. These are
two gentlemen who get direct orders from the President. They
are the ones who have killed almost everybody that has died.
Seth Sendashonga they are talking about, was killed by Jack
Nziza in Nairobi when he was a diplomat there. It doesn't
matter where they are.
But I am going to defend my colleague, Mr. Shalita. I feel
sorry for him. I feel sorry for Rwandans who are here. I feel
sorry for the diplomats in these Embassies of Rwanda. They are
told what to say. There are lines they can't cross--and you can
see him. He doesn't really have even that information. They
don't even feed him the information to support to them. He
doesn't know anything about these cases. He is an American. He
has been in America. He has never lived in Rwanda. He doesn't
understand what is going on.
But to the passion he talked about, he thinks the country
is moving in a good direction. And I am sure he is going to
find out more after this hearing and probably we are going to
talk about it. So that is the truth.
And to the other question of the State Department, they
have not done that so far. They have never----
Mr. Smith. They have not.
Mr. Higiro. They have never reached me. They have never
reached me, but I have shared this with the Belgian Government
and I think they know. Because of course when you are asking
asylum we need to give such evidence as to support our criteria
to be recognized.
And still on that point, I would request to clarify that
even where we are we are not safe, and the governments like you
asked, the department responsible. They think it is a joke or
not very serious, but it is very serious. The widow and
children to the late Colonel Patrick Karegeya who was strangled
in South Africa, are here in U.S., but they have been denied
asylum up to now because of this conspiracy. I am not accusing
them but there is a problem. They are like prisoners. They
don't move out of view. It is the current situation.
You can take it from them and find out what is the problem?
What kind of criteria does this family that their own father
and husband was strangled in South Africa does not fulfill for
them to get asylum in this democratic country? It is a big
issue. The conventions, the Geneva Convention are clear, but
something is wrong somewhere. Even us in Belgium, in Europe, in
Africa, the refugees from Rwanda, let us talk about the
kidnapping of Lieutenant Mutabazi to Rwanda. It was against the
law, but the Ugandan Government has never said anything about
that. The UNHCR has never said anything about that, but it was
wrong.
The wife and the children to this lieutenant are somewhere
in a camp in Uganda. The children are not going to school. She
was supposed to be taken somewhere. She is still there. So are
we doing enough? Are the strong countries doing enough on what
we are talking about? Absolutely not.
We are here. I put my life on the line to come here and
say, look here, the crime is this, and I do this in many
different capacities and I talk to different Rwandans--Hutus,
Tutsis--I do it every day, every day, every day. I talk to
whoever I meet. I have talked to different diplomats. But
nothing is being done. Thank you.
Ms. Bass. Sure. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I
guess I want to ask that, the two of you, and feel free to
chime in, Ms. Margon. What is Kagame's motivation? I mean I am
assuming that you are saying he is going to run again for a
third term. What is his motivation? If he is so strong why does
he need to do this?
Mr. Higiro. Thank you. The third term thing is complicated
now. I think he might have talked about it. What even Mr.
Shalita believes is that the Rwandans love Kagame. Kagame is
going to have a youth gathering in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday.
Do you know the number? Seven hundred young boys and girls. Do
you know where they are coming from? Rwanda, the diaspora here,
Canada, Europe. Do you know who funds them to go there? The
government. The money you give him.
Ms. Bass. The money we give him.
Mr. Higiro. Yes.
Ms. Bass. You are saying he is flying Rwandans in from all
of those countries?
Mr. Higiro. Flying Rwandans, yes.
Ms. Bass. They don't live in Texas?
Mr. Higiro. Not everybody is in Texas. And they have to
feed, they have to sleep. I mean it is not my----
Ms. Bass. Well, he is having a rally of Rwandans in Texas
and he is flying them from all over the world to be there?
Mr. Higiro. Yes.
Ms. Bass. So what you are saying is that he does not have
the support at home? I mean why does he need to assassinate
people all over the world?
Mr. Higiro. What should I say? I mean we fought a very
complicated war from 1990 to 1994. The Rwandans have
experienced, mention any single crime which has not been
committed in Rwanda. What does the President want that I don't
want for Rwandans?
Ms. Bass. You want to respond to that? Why does he need to
do that?
Mr. Himbara. There are several reasons why. First, remember
that already the U.S. had to apply for immunity for President
Kagame. He made history here from a lawsuit. That is one. That
is from the widows of the Presidents that were shot down. This
government applied for immunity for him. The Congo Mapping
Report, the U.N. mapping report concluded that there is enough
material there to indict Kagame for genocide.
Ms. Bass. So he is doing this so that he doesn't have
witnesses around when he did?
Mr. Himbara. The moment he leaves power the immunity is
gone. That is one reason.
Ms. Bass. Okay.
Mr. Himbara. There are so many people that he has offended,
so that is one. Number two, this so-called development that
people are talking about, do you know the biggest companies
that actually control that run the economy? It is the Rwandan
Patriotic Front companies. The holding company is called
Crystal Ventures Limited. It controls just about everything.
So President Kagame, he wears three hats. President of
Rwanda, chairman of the party, but also the leading
businessman. So the Rwandan version of capitalism is crony
capitalism. He loses that office, who knows where that business
empire will be?
Ms. Bass. Okay. So Mr. Shalita, everything that you have
said is, is that I guess is that there is no proof of anything.
Everything is just allegations?
Mr. Shalita. What we have heard here today, and having been
an investigator for 28 years investigating the best lawyers in
this country, I hear nothing but allegations. If there are
facts why not share them with you?
Ms. Bass. Well, I think that Mr.----
Mr. Shalita. I resent the fact that my fellow witnesses
here, they think they are entitled, well, they are entitled to
their opinion but they are not entitled to their own facts. Let
me say something, Mr. Chairman. The allegations----
Mr. Smith. Again, we have a man who has recorded the
request that he assassinate two individuals that the Toronto
newspaper and the BBC found credible. To my chagrin, and I am
sure that of the ranking member, our own State Department has
not even listened to those tapes. I mean that is evidence. That
is evidence. Of course there is a due process stream that needs
to be followed, but when you get multiple allegations with
streams of evidence, it begs the question why are we looking
the other way and acting as if none of it is credible.
Mr. Shalita. With all due respect, Mr. Chairman, what the
newspaper in Canada says is not evidence. It is not a legal
institution.
Ms. Bass. Well, no, let me just ask you. Let me just ask
you this. And I will get to you. But let me just ask you this.
As an investigator, if there are tapes would you then want to
have a tape of the voice of the person who the allegation is
made about? Because there is enough science to prove whether or
not it is the same person. It doesn't seem to be that deep.
Mr. Shalita. I have not listened to the tape. I have read
the transcript in its entirety.
Ms. Bass. I know. I am just saying as an investigator
wouldn't that conclude?
Mr. Shalita. I would want the real voice of Colonel Dan
Munyuza to compare with----
Ms. Bass. Right. That is what I am saying.
Mr. Shalita [continuing]. What is alleged this gentleman
has.
Ms. Bass. Right. So if that was done, wouldn't we be able
to know?
Mr. Shalita. If it was done, yes. I would absolutely agree
with you.
Ms. Bass. Okay. I mean it is just hard to believe that
there is just allegations and nothing has ever been proven.
Mr. Shalita. Well, for instance, Mr. Higiro has made an
allegations that Rwandans are being flown to Texas. I live in
Austin, Texas. I want to go on the record and challenge him.
Tell me where there is Rwandans.
Ms. Bass. Okay. Well, actually I would like to just ask Ms.
Margon--for my part if you don't mind, Mr. Chair, I will
conclude my questions by just asking you to respond to both
sides of what I asked.
Ms. Margon. Sure. I also wanted to respond to your point
about what Rwandans want in the next election. Human Rights
Watch hasn't done an investigation into what happened in South
Africa, and as I understand it the South Africans have
undertaken an investigation themselves. The outcome remains
unknown to date, so we do still have that. I think what we are
looking at as an organization whose currency is their
independent research is that we have repeatedly documented a
climate of fear and incredibly violent tactics that have been
used against dissenters in Rwanda. It is a government that is
maintaining its power through a strategy and approach of that
type.
We have seen it with disappearances that we documented from
March until November 2014, which we put out in a report on
which the State Department also commented on. That is not a new
thing. It is still happening to some degree although it seems
to be at a lesser one. But repeatedly the decimation of
independent voices is not simply because there wasn't money for
it or because people felt they could do better things like go
into business. It was because they were afraid for their lives
and they have fled the country, many still living in fear,
outside borders.
And so while we haven't done research on this specific
issue, I did want to put it within the broader context of what
we are looking at, which is a government that is maintaining a
very tight, and in some cases very aggressive and violent, grip
on power. In terms of your questions about what Rwandans want,
I think it is hard to tell. Nobody knows what Rwandans want
because they are afraid to speak out. If you look at the past
elections of the President, it is, I think it was 76 percent
for the last Parliamentary elections in 2013. And then in 2010
it was about 93 percent in favor of Kagame. Who knows how many
of those people actually wanted the President and his party to
win? Most people I would say based on our research are too
afraid to do anything else.
You are looking at an environment that may not on election
day, let us say, be free and fair as we start to think about
the 2017 elections. But it is an overarching context which we
have seen in other countries on the continent, including as we
will see this weekend in Ethiopia, an overarching election
environment which is not at all conducive to a legitimately
free and fair election. It is important to think about that
when you think about what the people of Rwanda are doing and
saying.
Ms. Bass. I am sorry. Just, I mean a little comparison
though. The Ethiopian diaspora is very active and there is also
a lot in Ethiopia that I think is very well known. So I think
with Rwanda, unless I am just not aware of it, there just
doesn't seem to be that level of activity. I don't know if
whether it is social media or not. Maybe the Rwandan diaspora
is active in other countries. I don't--yes.
Mr. Himbara. Let me tell you why it is very difficult to be
active while we are in communities. It is very difficult for us
to be active.
Ms. Bass. In Rwanda.
Mr. Himbara. Even here. So now I am going to say something
that I held back because I will cry, but also because it will
put my brother into danger.
Mr. Smith. Maybe you shouldn't.
Ms. Bass. You made your point. Your point is clear.
Mr. Himbara. But I think I need to put it out here on the
record anyway.
Ms. Bass. I would prefer you not. Let me just move on.
Mr. Shalita, then I will come back to you.
Mr. Shalita. Is the Rwandan diaspora very active? Very
active. For the record, for the last 3 years every September
more than 5,000 Rwandans meet on Rwanda Day. Is that active or
what?
Ms. Bass. Where?
Mr. Shalita. The last year was in Atlanta. The year before
that was in Chicago. The year before was in Boston. This
addresses the fact that we are very active. I have been very
active on Rwandan issues probably before Mr. Higiro was born.
Look at my blog.
Ms. Bass. I will.
Mr. Shalita. Look at the social media----
Ms. Bass. All right.
Mr. Shalita [continuing]. Of Rwandans exchanging their
views on the country. And they are all not supportive of
President Kagame. And most of these come from Rwanda, for the
record.
Ms. Bass. Okay. Let me go back and allow you to finish and
then I am done.
Ms. Margon. The only point I was going to make is that I
think Ethiopia is a much larger country with a larger
diaspora--which happens to be centered in Washington--which may
be part of the reason you hear from them more regularly. But
also I do think when you look from our objective perspective,
you do see similar issues of development success being put
forward. And our attempt or our effort is not to undermine the
successes that are real and important to the actual people who
are receiving them, but to look at the other side of the coin
and figure out how better to integrate the two for the long
term gain of the country overall.
Ms. Bass. Okay.
Mr. Higiro. So can I say something? Compliment something?
Ms. Bass. Yes, go ahead.
Mr. Higiro. Just like I said before, Mr. Shalita whatever
he sees, we see. Let me give you an example of what he is
talking about. A few months in Belgium, Brussels, they had a
conference of about 40 Presidents and Heads of State. President
Obama inclusive. The only President that had demonstrations is
Paul Kagame. There are two sides. One side singing and praising
him, another side against him. And you ask yourself, what kind
of specialty, why is Rwanda unique? Why is it that amongst 40
heads of state one single President is having this? Think about
it. What is wrong? Why does the Rwandans have to put a lot of
effort in receiving Kagame wherever he goes? What is the
problem?
There is something called Rwanda Day. If you don't go there
it is a problem. Then you never back home. That is one. Two, in
Belgium now, I am going to give a specific example. If you are
Rwandan and you probably have obtained the nationality, Belgian
nationality, if you want to go to Rwanda you need an
invitation. Just think about that. Do you know why? It is
because they want to control, people in the diaspora, and
connect them to where they are going. Why? Because they think
people like us are sending messages to Rwanda. So they want to
know who is from Belgium, where did he land? Which house is he
staying in? As simple as that. I mean what are we talking
about?
Look at the region. This starts from Congo. What happened
in Congo? How many times did we go to Congo? And Mr. Shalita
should understand that I have the credibility to talk about
this. I have served that state for a long time, since I was
little. I grew up in that system. I know each and everything. I
was in the Congo, for the record, once, twice. When we took
over Congo in 1997 and fell to Kabila, the old Kabila, we were
called back swiftly, and they relaunched again for a coup
d'etat which didn't materialize. We ended up in Angola. We
fought wars you can't even imagine. We fought our ally Uganda
in Kisangani. You know that? What does the guy want from Congo,
we have got Uganda.
President Museveni has made peace with President Kagame
because he was disturbing him. He was actually funding their
opposition. President Kagame has publicly stated that he is
going to hit President Kikwete of Tanzania when time comes. It
is public information. So what are we talking about? It is all
out there. It is not a secret. Thank you.
Mr. Smith. We are going to have to conclude the hearing,
but I just want to make a couple of final points. We will
follow up on requesting that Kagame allow an investigative unit
maybe under U.N. auspices or AU auspices that would go wherever
the evidence takes them, and to interview without fear of
retaliation those men and women that have been intimidated.
I think, Ms. Margon, you make a very good point about the
climate of fear, the use of violence. I remember Greg Simpkins
and I on one trip to Darfur, before we got there we went to
Ethiopia. We met with President Meles. It was soon after
several people were gunned down in post-election violence in an
election that was anything but free and fair. And we met with
President Meles who was absolutely dismissive of the violence.
Matter of fact, when we left I actually, and Greg and I worked
very hard on this, wrote a bill called the Ethiopia Freedom,
Democracy, and Human Rights Advancement Act with benchmarks.
And when the House flipped to Democratic control, my ranking
member and good friend and now sadly deceased, Donald Payne,
took it up and it became his bill. It was Payne-Smith. First it
was Smith-Payne.
And the idea was that we have got to be serious about human
rights. And I can think of no more important issue than
protecting people from violence, beatings. I have heard of
almost like a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde type of, the face that Kagame
gives to the Western world and to Westerners versus what he
does to his own people. And that is really very, very
disconcerting especially since there is a seemingly a pattern
of extrajudicial killings.
So we need to get to the bottom of this. This subcommittee
is committed to it. Again I think at great risk to yourselves
you have come forward. Mr. Higiro, I just can't say how deeply
I respect, and as well as you, both of you for coming forward.
I am sure the other human rights groups would love to operate
freely and in an unfettered fashion. You are not. You are
trying and we all appreciate that. But there are risks to the
people who bear witness to the truth, so thank you again for
that work you are doing, Ms. Margon. We are going to follow up
on this. I hope to hear back from the State Department on what
they are doing.
Again, Ambassador Jackson made some very good comments
about their concerns, but we got no sense as to what the return
mail showed when we raised these issues. How do we do it? He
said one was done on the fringes of another of the African
meetings. Here that doesn't cut it. This should be our
Ambassador, this should be our top people and our mission in,
as well as the Assistant Secretary and right up to the
Secretary level, even President Obama, raising these issues
face to face with details about individuals; otherwise human
rights get short shrift.
I have been in this Congress 35 years and I get so angry,
and that is the only word to describe it, whether it be China
or Rwanda or as it was even under the Bush administration in
Ethiopia, when Meles was able to claim a robust commitment to
peacekeeping but that doesn't provide a whitewash for serious
human rights abuse. We welcome that that they are deploying
peacekeepers, but it is not a whitewash and can never be so
construed. So yes?
Mr. Shalita. One final point, Mr. Chairman, and thank you
for your leadership. I think this committee will be interested
in finding out why Mr. Higiro was dishonorably discharged. Once
you find that out, then, Mr. Chairman, ask yourself this
question. Somebody who is dishonorably discharged, would this
be the same individual given a task to go and commit an
assassination?
Mr. Smith. I want to just say very clearly that that needs
to be taken with a grain of salt big-time. When you are the
focus of a government retaliation or a death threat, I mean
whistleblowers don't fare well anywhere whether it be the
United Nations where many have been summarily dismissed.
And I have held hearings and done work along those lines to
protect those who speak out against corruption at the United
Nations, or within our own U.S. Government. I mean we are
always passing new laws, enhanced protection for whistleblowers
because they get the back of the hand anywhere in the world
including in the U.N. or the United States, and I would
respectfully submit in Rwanda as well.
Again we have credible newspapers. The BBC is a credible
news media organization that have looked into this and can now
with articles and recordings, they get retaliated against too.
So let us not forget that. That Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, if
there are death squads being deployed to kill the diaspora and
the political opponents or as you said, Mr. Himbara, then phase
two, even others, we need to get to the bottom of it. And we
owe it to the Rwandans who deserve not a country where there is
a climate of fear but where there is a robust democracy where
human rights and economic prosperity go hand in hand. So thank
you for your testimonies. The hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:33 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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