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WikiLeaks Rwanda: French Anti-Terrorism Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere Consulted With French and US Government to Indict Rwandan Paul Kagame and His Top Aides; Warned the US Against Better Relations with Rwanda

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

WikiLeaks Documents:  Bruguiere Consulted With US Government to Indict Rwandan Officials For Terrorism

Based on the  US State Department’s secret documents leaked by WikiLeaks and obtained by AfroAmerica Network, t 

he anti-terrorism French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere consulted with  both the French

and the US governments for the indictment of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his closest and top associates in the terrorist attack against the plane  and the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana.  According to the documents, Bruguiere pressed the US Government  to isolate General Paul Kagame’s government.

In the document sent on January 26, 2007 to the US State Department, the ambassador in Paris, Craig Stappleton summarized Bruiguiere’s sentiments:

“Operational relations between  France and the U.S. were excellent, Bruguiere said… He confirmed that he had conferred with GoF [NDLR: Government of France] officials, including President Chirac, on  the timing and fallout of his issuance of arrest warrants against top Kigame aides and warned against better U.S. relations with Rwanda. Bruguiere also confirmed rumors that he will likely be leaving the top terrorism court to pursue political ambitions.

Judge Bruguiere also confirmed that the Government France  expected violent reactions of Paul Kagame against French interests and people in Rwanda:

“Bruguiere confirmed that he had consulted within the  GoF on his issuance of arrest warrants in the cases brought  against nine of President Kagame,s top aides for  assassination of President Habyarimana and three French aircraft crew (see reftel A). He said he presented his decision to French officials, including President Chirac, as his independent judicial right, but chose to consult with them because he was convinced of the need to coordinate timing with the government. Bruguiere said he was not surprised by Rwanda,s official reaction, and said that the GoF had prepared for what it thought would be a violent response against French nationals. He praised his own decision to move forward, adding that the international community had a certain moral responsibility, and that his actions were in the pursuit of justice. Bruguiere was satisfied that the nine individuals he listed could not leave Rwanda without fear of arrest, but was doubtful the ICTR would take up the case.

(COMMENT: Bruguiere,s presented his case in a very professional manner, but he did not hide his personal desire to see Kagame,s government isolated. He warned that closer U.S. ties with Rwanda would be a mistake.

END COMMENT) “

 

The US Ambassador expressed his satisfaction with Judge Bruguiere and appeared to be relieved that the judge was going to leave behind an institution:

“ 7. (C) Since 1982 Bruguiere has been one of the leading  players in the French fight against terrorism, and he is  considered a leading world expert in terrorism. He has been the chief of the French counterterrorism court, created in 1986, since its inception. He has survived at least one direct assassination attempt, and is the most visible counterterrorism figure in France. Bruguiere,s ambitions  have now turned to the political, however. He told us that he is likely to run for a parliamentary seat later this year.

Bruguiere also casually mentioned that a cabinet post (Minister of Justice) would be his first choice. His  departure will be a loss to the court, but it has become a solid institution under his tutelage and it,s clear that  Bruguiere intends to stay an active part of the C/T community.“

©AfroAmerica Network, November 2010.

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WikiLeaks, Rwanda, and DR Congo (Part 2)

According to the secrets documents leaked by WikiLeaks,  US State Department officials  and Diplomats in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo were asked in April 2009 about crop yields, H.I.V. rates and China’s quest for copper, cobalt and oil in Africa.

We can understand the concern about  China, copper,  cobalt and oil. But what is about the crop yields and HIV rates: to prepare for more aid the impoverished countries run by some of the most brutal dictators in the World?

©AfroAmerica Network, November 2010

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UN Panel of Experts Report on DR Congo: War promoted chaos, increased hardship, looting,  and alliances among rebellions

Monday, November 29, 2010

Picture: General Gabriel Amisi Kumba, akaTango Fort, Second in Command of FARDC accused of enriching himself in the war.

In a lengthy report  published on November 29, 2010  with number S/2010/596 (see here) and of which AfroAmerica Network has obtained a copy, UN Panel of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) affirm that the war against rebels has failed and only provoked chaos, increased hardship on the population and enriched Congolese government military (FARDC) officers, especially General  Gabriel Amisi Kumba aka Tango Fort, Second in command of FARDC.

“ President Joseph Kabila has publicly recognized that the involvement of

criminal networks within the Forces armées de la République démocratique du

Congo (FARDC) in the illegal exploitation of natural resources has created a conflict

of interest with the army’s constitutional security mandate. This involvement has led

to pervasive insubordination, competing chains of command, failure to actively

pursue armed groups, amounting in certain cases to collusion, and neglect of civilian

protection. Criminal involvement can range from illegal taxation, protection rackets

and indirect commercial control, to more direct coercive control. Taken together, the

consequences of this involvement in the exploitation of natural resources by

networks within FARDC are an important cause of insecurity and conflict in the

eastern part of the country,” says the Report in its introduction.

The report also points to the increased repression within Rwanda and especially to the flight of former Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) high ranking military officers and attempts by various Rwandan rebellions to form alliances:

Para 73. Several independent sources, including one in Kampala and one within FPLC,

informed the Group that FRF had agreed to join the FPLC coalition, all alleging,

without providing further details, that those contacts may have been facilitated by

Kayumba Nyamwasa, the dissident former Rwandan general


Para 163. Another challenge to the CNDP integration process has been the collaboration

of certain former CNDP officers with armed groups. MONUSCO debriefings with

former combatants repatriated to Rwanda indicate communication and collaboration

between certain elements within CNDP and FDLR in 2010 (see paras. 87 and 88).

164. In addition, according to credible testimony from various sources, former

CNDP officers have been in contact with Rwandan political dissidents in South

Africa, including Patrick Karegeye, the former head of Rwandan intelligence, and

Lieutenant General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who survived an assassination

attempt in June 2010 in Johannesburg. The Group directly witnessed a conversation

between Karegeye and former CNDP FARDC officers in the eastern part of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo in September. According to United Nations

sources and combatants interviewed by the Group, Kayumba may have sent an

emissary to meet with FDLR, FPLC and Mai Mai leaders in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo in February.

 

Para 102. The Group has received numerous credible reports of contacts aiming to

reunite FDLR-FOCA and RUD-Urunana initiated by Kanyamibwa, who is based in

New Jersey. His brother, Emmanuel Munyaruguru, who is the RUD representative in

Norway, was chosen to mediate between the parties. A former FOCA combatant

close to “Colonel” “Kalume” Nzabamwita, commander of the reserve brigade,

confirmed that FOCA-RUD reconciliation was the main topic of a week-long

meeting of commanding officers held in April 2010.

 

On the basis of the report, UN Security Council adopted a resolution, SC/10096 extending sanctions and the mendate of the UN Experts to November 30, 2017 (Here)

 

©AfroAmerica Network, November 2010.

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Photo: Ms. Victoire Ingabire, one of the opposition leader imprisoned in Rwanda.

The  US State Department’s secret documents leaked by WikiLeaks and obtained by AfroAmerica Network show that the US Embassy in Rwanda was asked to collect information on Rwandan political and military leaders and opposition figures and groups. The requested information in a memo from Secretary of State to the Embassies in Kampala, Bujumbura, Rwanda and Kinshasa sent on April 16, 2009, covered extensive areas, including divisions within Rwandan dictator General Paul Kagame’s inner circle and military, repression against dissenting Tutsis and opposition Hutu figures, links with terrorist networks and Chinese influence.

For more visit AfroAmerica Network World Events at http://www.afroamerica.net and check article: WikiLeaks’s Secret Documents Point to US Concerns over Divisions  Kagame’s Inner circle, Terrorism, Repression, and Chinese Influence

©AfroAmerica Network 2010.

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Rwandan President General Paul Kagame Cited in Viktor Bout Saga

Picture: Victor Bout and Rwandan soldiers

The Rwandan Government led by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group that eventually took power in Rwanda in July 1994 after one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th Century has been cited in the criminal probe against the alleged  Russian arms trafficker, Viktor Bout, sources tell AfroAmerica Network.

Viktor Bout, a former Soviet military intelligence officer was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand  in 2008. He was subsequently extradited to the US  on November 16, 2010 after a lengthy and arduous legal process. In the US, he faces the charges of arms trafficking, conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiracy to kill US officers or employees and conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile.

Viktor Bout  created air transport companies in the 1990s and made a lot of money shipping cargo mostly in Africa and the Middle East during the 1990s and early 2000s,  sometimes working for the United Nations and  the US.

But eventually, he became too greedy.   Aside these legitimate businesses, he allegedly contracted with and worked for rogue groups and governments. These illegitimate businesses are at the root of his legal troubles.  He is accused of having worked for the former Liberian  warlord and president  Charles Taylor, the rebels of UNITA in Angola, and other rebel groups in Africa and Middle East, including terrorists.

However,  the serious accusations  are related to the work he did for Hezbollah in Lebanon and Al-Quaida in Afghanistan and the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA)  in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo  (DRC).

Already on August 10, 2002, AfroAmerica Network  reported on the links between the Rwandan Patriotic Front Government  and military intelligence and Viktor bout (see our August 10, 2002 article titled:  USA: Kagame links with Al-Qaeda probed by USA in African Great Lakes Archives, here)

The article was based on reliable sources that had told AfroAmerica Network that Kagame, his cronies, and the Rwandan Government’s   links with Al-Qaeda organization were being  probed by USA Intelligence services and the Justice Department . These links were found to date from the guerrilla war era against Habyalimana’s regime and had intensified with the illegal exploitation of natural resources in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the fueling of  invasion  of the Congo.

In this web of international terrorism, arms trafficking, illegal mineral trade, invasion and civil wars, Paul Kagame himself  was allegedly found to be the central piece around which the following key figures  and organizations gravitated. The relations were allegedly handled by  Colonel Patrick Karegeya, then Kagame’s right hand man and Director of the infamous External Intelligence Office (ESO),  Colonel Jack Nziza, Kagame’s henchman and the Director of the notorious Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), Colonel  Dan Munyuza,Colonel Jack Nziza’s deputy in Congo and General Kabarebe, the Rwandan Army Chief of Staff.  Colonel Patrick Karegeya, Jack Nziza, and General Kabarebe were  said to be working with Viktor Bout (or Butt), Sanjivan Ruprah,  Faustin Mbundu, and Mugunga, Paul Kagame’s brother-in-law,  all allegedly  involved in  arms dealing and with close contacts with Al-Qeada.

Other people cited in the case were: Andre Bumaya, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs  and President of Islamic Democratic Party, Hadj Harelimana, the Representative of Muslims in Rwanda. Hadj Harelimana is on the record for supporting September 11, 2001 attacks against the USA, during a BBC interview, Major Karasira, Ernest Habimana, Emmanuel Kamanzi,  Francis Gakwerere (For more recent articles  on Francis Gakwerere see our August 5, 2010 article titled: “Captain Francis Gakwerere: Portrait of a Professional Assassin in World Events) , and Alfred Kalisa.

Colonel Patrick Karegeya, eventually fell out  with General Paul Kagame and  has been running for his life in the last couple of years (See articles on Patrick Karegeya and Kayumba Nyamwasa in AfroAmerica Network World Events archives)

Recently, AfroAmerica Network has obtained fresh information confirming that the Rwandan Patriotic Front and General Paul Kagame are at the center of Viktor Bout’s involvement in the Rwandan and Congolese wars. He is accused of supplying the weapons to the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) and its rebel proxies and obtained minerals and other natural resources in return (see picture of Viktor Bout interacting with Rwandan Patriotic Army operatives (see picture above).

According to the sources, Viktor Bout owned a air transport company Air Cess based in  Kigali Rwanda.  One of his aircrafts, with the plate number  3D-SBW,  was shot down by Zimbabwean and rwandan Hutu rebels in  Kalemie, Eastern DRC  in 2002.   The incident raised questions in the United Nations but Rwandan Paul Kagame, while accepting personally working with Viktor Bout in the past,  said he had severed the relationship. But it appeared that at the very moment, Viktor Bout was a personal guest of General Kagame and lived in Paul Kagame’s house.
From 2002 to 2006, General Paul Kagame and Viktor Bout allegedly created other companies, including Air Bus, based in Goma, and acquired multiple aircraft cargo carriers, three with the following plate numbers: 3C-KKL,  3C-KKJ, and 3C-KKR.
Finally, the relations between General Paul Kagame and Viktor Bout  soured when Paul Kagame failed to pay back a debt of  over US $ 20, 000, 000 owed to Viktor Bout. At that time, the international justice was catching up with Viktor Bout and he had to slip out of Rwanda quickly, leaving behind the fortune for Paul Kagame and his cronies to benefit.
Now, with Paul Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA)  cited in the  Viktor Bout saga, it would be possible to finally uncover the can of worms, a dirty bag of blood money and  minerals and genocide in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

©AfroAmerica Network , November  2010

 

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Photo: Rakiya Omaar.

German news media, Die Tageszeitung  or TAZ, has reported that after the demise of the FDLR political leadership, new alliances and coalitions may soon take place in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to TAZ, the most likely shift of alliances will involve  RUD-Urunana taking over the Rwandan rebels of the Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) and then forming a strategic coalition with the troops of the former  Rwandan Army Chief of Staff and Ambassador to India, General Kayumba Nyamwasa (see AfroAmerica Network articles on General Kayumba Nyamwasa in World Events archives).

In the October 13, 2010 article titled  “Der Krieg der Rebellen ist nicht vorbei (The War of the Rebels is not over, here ), TAZ reports that despite the recent arrests of the FDLR entire political  leadership based in Europe and high profile defections to Rwanda, FDLR remains a strong force and has massively recruited.

At the same, TAZ adds that for the first time in nine years, FDLLR troops have started to infiltrate troops into Rwanda and planning major operations, after reconquering the territories lost in 2009 and early 2010 to the FARDC.

TAZ appears to assert that to achieve success, two major alliances  are required: RUD-Urunana absorbing FDLR and then the new organization allying with General Kayumba Nyamwasa’s forces.

For More visit AfroAmerica Network World Events Pages: Possible International Collaboration Between RUD-Urunana and General Kayumba Nyamwasa, Reports German News Media Taz at htpp:/www.afroamerica.net

©AfroAmerica Network, 2010.

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Soldiers of the Congolese Defense Forces (FARDC) have been  battling attacks launched by  coalition of Rwandan Hutu, Burundian Hutu, and Congolese  rebels  for the last three days. The attackers from the Tutsi Force Republican Federalist (FRF), the Rwandan Hutu of the  FDLR and Burundian  Hutu of the FNL (Front
National Liberation)  lanched their operations over the weekend, killing more  dozens of FARDC soldiers and wounding a score.

The fighting have been going on in the Minembwe, Fizi, and Uvira area, in South Kivu. This follows the recent series of defections by Tutsi of CNDP to form  new rebellions (See our recent article: CNDP Troops Desert FARDC; General Kayumba Suspected in AfroAmerica Network World Events)

©AfroAmerica Network, 2010

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CNDP Troops Desert FARDC; General Kayumba Suspected

Photo:  Late Ms. Emmerita Munyeshuri

Sources in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) tell AfroAmerica Network that  troops from the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) recently integrated within Congolese Government Armed Forces (FARDC) have started to defect to form a new armed rebellion.  According to the same sources,  the Rwandan Department of Military Intelligence suspect General Kayumba Nyamwasa to be behind the desertions.

The CDNP was headed by  the renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda who is in jail in Rwanda. General Nkunda was funded and supported by the Rwanda Government in his bloody armed rebellion against the DRC government over half a decade. He fell out with Rwanda when he dared to criticize Rwandan President General Paul Kagame, accusing him of using Congolese Tutsis to achieve his goals of looting the DRC. He was arrested in January 2009 while a guest of the Rwandan Government. He has been in jail awaiting
trial since then.

For more visit AfroAmerica Network (http://www.afroamerica.net) in World Events Pages)

©AfroAmerica Network, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

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Photo: Hutu Young Men Massacred

According to sources at the United Nations, the UN Security Council is under pressure to examine the UN Mapping Report in the month of November 2010.  However, the sources add that the chances of the UN Security Council, led by the United Kingdom for November 2010, will is unlikely. The UN Mapping Exercise reports published on October 1, 2010 documents war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the Tutsi minority  Rwandan Patriotic army against the Ethnic Rwanda Hutus refugees and Congolese Hutu in Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1993-2003.

The report has raised controversy, but is widely accepted as the most objective detailed account to date of the crimes of genocide committed against the Hutus by the Rwandan Tutsi army.

Over the month, November 2010, The UN Security Council is expected to renew the DRC Sanctions regime and the mandate of the group of experts . The resolutions concerning the two bodies expire on November 30, 2010.

For More Read on on AfroAmerica Network (http://www.afroamerica.net) in our World Events Pages

©AfroAmerica Network, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

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Photo: Rakiya Omaar, Jean De Dieu Mucyo and Gerald Gahima

The Norwegian  Royal Attorney/Prosecutor  Marit Formo has dismissed a criminal  case leveled by the Rwandan Government against a former Rwandan high ranking military officer, Major Emmanuel Munyaruguru. In the October 10, 2010 letter notifying the Prosecutor’s decision to Norwegian authorities,  a copy of which AfroAmerica Network has received, the Royal Prosecutor judged that all the charges of crimes committed in Rwanda contained in the case 891050 opened against Major Emmanuel Munyaruguru following the charges filed by the Rwandan Government have been dismissed on the grounds that no crime has been proven [NDLR: Statement by Royal Attorney Marit Formo for those who understand the Norwegian language: “ Kripos Underretter med dette om at forholdet i straffesak 8910580 (mistanke om straffbare forhold i Rwanda i 1994) for deres vedkommende er henlagt på grunnlag av at intent straffbart forhold anses bevist.”]

For More on the case, the actors involved, and the implications, visit AfroAmerica Network (http://www.afroamerica.net) in World Events Pages and read the article: Rwandan Accusations Against Major Munyaruguru Dismissed by Norwegian Royal Prosecutor

©AfroAmerica Network, October 2010

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