AfroAmerica Network

Some people are confused about the title of “President” in the Kingdom of Spain.

For those not familiar with Spain political structure, based on the Constitution of Spain of 1978   the Prime Minister of Spain is  the President. Spain has both a King and a President.

The President of the Government of Spain (Spanish: Presidente del Gobierno), usually known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the Spanish head of government. By political custom established by Juan Carlos I of Spain since the ratification of the 1978 Constitution,The King of Spain nominates a candidate for the presidency who stands before the Congress of Deputies for a Vote of Confidence. Once confirmed by the Congress, the king officially appoints the candidate as President of the Government.  The current President is  José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

Brief, The Spanish head of government is known, in Spanish, as the Presidente del Gobierno. Literally translated, the title is “President of the Government” or alternatively “Chairman of the Government” In Spain he is simply called Presidente, meaning ‘President’.

This does not mean that you should say “republic of Spain”. Spain is a Kingdom with a King and a President.

The custom to name the head of government as “President” dates back to the reign of Isabella II of Spain, when the official title was Presidente del Consejo de Ministros (“President of the Council of Ministers”). Before 1833 the political figure was known as Secretario de Estado (“Secretary of State”), a denomination used today for junior ministers.

©2010 AfroAmerica Network

Madrid, Spain.

by AfroAmerica Network

http://www.afroamerica.net/AfricaGL

Spanish Citizens have asked their President, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, to decline his appointment by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to serve as Co-Chair of  the UN Millennium Development Goals Initiative along with the Rwandan Dictator,  General Paul Kagame. The key initiators of the petition against the appointment,  Joan Carrero, president, Fundació S´Olivar  and Bernat Vicens, president, Drets Humans de Mallorca, argue that the UN is a corrupt institution and that President Zapatero risks to go down in history as the President of Spain who shook the bloody hands and sat the same table with one of the worst criminal in human history.

The authors of the petition to the Spanish President write: “Mr. Zapatero: this denunciation is not against you, but rather for your sake. It’s the denunciation made by people who are deeply disappointed with your behavior concerning this current major conflict, a conflict in which nine Spanish nationals were murdered following orders from Kagame. It’s the denunciation by people who back then voted for you and even now don’t want to see you stoop so low. Don’t yield once again, Mr. President. Not this time, please. It would be far too humiliating. Be wary of those people who, whether outside or even inside your inner circle, lead you to such embarrassing situations. Don’t insult so many of us Spaniards who understand the meaning of what you are about to do. Now you can’t say you weren’t informed.  Or is it, rather, that you are paying off some ‘favor’ to those who call the shots in the world?

Mr. Zapatero, don’t be co-chair of the Millenium Goals with Kagame, don’t go down in history as the accomplice of such a fiend and his extremely powerful godfathers in their operations of global pillaging and deceit. They will be brought to light in the short run. Don’t lend them a hand, don’t stain your own hands with innocent blood. This attempt to clean up the image of this thug Kagame and of his criminal pillage of Congo is so blatant and preposterous that it will most certainly backfire.”

Click here to read the entire petition as obtained by AfroAmerica Network, or  visit AfroAmerica Network (http://www.afroamerica.net) in World Events pages

A former Rwandan refugee, now a US Citizen, Beatrice Munyenyezi, 40, who lives in  Manchester, New Hampshire was indicted on Thursday June 24, 2010,  on two counts of procuring citizenship unlawfully.  Federal prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Auerhahn, accused  Ms. Munyenyezi of crimes in 1994 Rwandan  tragedy.

Ms. Beatrice Munyenyezi happens to be the wife of Arsene Shalom Ntahobari and the daughter-in-law of Pauline Nyiramasuuko. Both Shalon and Nyiramasuuko are detained  by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwandan (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania where they are accused of the same crimes as Ms. Munyenyezi.

The prosecutors accuse Ms. Munyenyezi of lying when applying for US Citizenship. According to sources close to the defense, the allegations of lies appear preposterous, as  they prosecutors argue that she should have said she committed the crimes, which she obviously does not agree with. AfroAmerica Network has also obtained information  from the defense that Ms. Beatrice Munyenyezi could not in any way  humanly have been in a situation to commit crimes.

The case may also constitute a conflict of interest for the Prosecution. The Assistant US Attorney prosecuting the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Auerhahn, is the same who represented the US Immigration  in asylum application of Beatrice Munyenyezi’s sister, Prudence Kantengwa.

In Ms. Prudence Kantengwa’s case,  US Prosecutor Ms. Mary C. Kelly and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Auerhahn argued that Ms. Kantengwa  lied on her visa application at the US Embassy in Nairobi and on her …

Read on in our AfroAmerica Network in AfroAmerica Network Pages.

©2010 Copyright AfroAmerica Network

“I am a very privileged individual.  have seen how it works. They [Rwandan Security Services] made STASI and KGB look like amateurs. “

These are the words that Prof Erlinder, an American lawyer who spent 21 days in notorious Rwandan dungeons told journalists with emotion bordering to tears, upon his arrival at the Dulles Airport in Washington DC Metro Area on June 21, 2010.

STASI, the German Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit or MfS), was the East Germany official state security service.  The MfS was headquartered in East Berlin, with an extensive complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg and several smaller facilities throughout the city. Its brutal and bloody repression earned it the title of one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies in the World.

The old KGB (КГБ)  or Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti or Committee for State Security, was perhaps the most lethal secret police and dominated the lives of the people of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991.

Before the demise of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Block,  the STASI and KGB names brought chill down the spine of people both in the East and the West.

Now, according the Peter Erlinder who just relived in Rwanda dungeons and torture chambers the nightmare of the communist regimes, Rwanda has mastered the torture, repression and assassination game to beat the STASI and KGB.

He affirms that, although the Rwandan intelligence services tortured him , the common people cared for him, and he owes them his life.  He also said that initially, the Rwandan security services had planned to assassinate him.”My conclusion was

For More Read on on AfroAmerica Network, Rwanda and DRC Pages

The saga of the assassination attempt  on  the exiled Rwandan General Kayumba Nyamwasa may have taken another twist,  according to sources in South Africa and Rwanda.  These sources told AfroAmerica Network that  the South African police has already the group of six suspects, mostly ex Rwandan Patriotic Army officers, talking. The suspects are allegedly implicating General Jean Bosco Kazura as the  ring leader of the conspiracy to assassinate the  Rwandan General Kayumba Nyamwasa.

According to the same sources, it appears that General Jean Bosco Kazura was sent on a mission by the Rwandan Government to travel to South Africa and organize the assassination while the South African police was busy  with the opening of the FIFA Soccer World Cup.

After the death squad was put in place,  General Jean Bosco Kazura quickly returned to Rwanda, leaving the  squad  under the command of Francis Gakwerere.  To divert the attention, the Rwandan Department of Military Intelligence arrested General Jean Bosco Kazura upon his return. The motive of the arrest was to be able to deny the involvement of the Rwandan government in case  the  assassination attempt was discovered by the South African security services.

Contrary to the usually secrecy within the RPF,  the arrest of General Kazura, under the pretext of unauthorized trip outside the county by a high ranking military officer, was publicized allegedly to create a smokescreen.

If  these allegations turn out to be true,  the South African and Rwandan Government may be facing a serious diplomatic row.

©2010 AfroAmerica Network

Sources in South Africa tell AfroAmerica Network that a former Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA)  soldier is in custody, suspected of assassination attempt on the Rwandan exiled General Kayumba Nyamwasa. According to the sources, the suspect in police custody served  under General Kayumba Nyamwasa.

The man, only known as  Francis Gakwerere, is believed to be a Rwandan intelligence operative in South Africa. He is believed to have played the same role in Kinshasa from 1997-2002.  Lately, officially retired from Rwandan Defense Forces (aka RPA) ,  he shutles between Kigali and Johanesburg. However, he is not believed to be the shooter.  Rosette Nyamwasa, the General’s wife, claimed the shooter spoke swahili and was unknown to the family. Francis Gakwerere is himself  believed to be a family acquaintance.

According to various sources,  the South African police  has already 6 suspects in custody.

Rwandan General Kayumba Nyamwasa, exiled in South Africa,  Wounded in Assassination Attempt

by AfroAmerica Network

General Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former amy chief of staff and  Rwanda’s former Ambassador to India, was  shot and critically wounded in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday, June 19, 2010.

According to accounts by his wife, Rosetta Nyamwasa, a lonely gunman armed with a pistol fired two bullets one of which hit  her husband in the stomach. General Kaumba Nyamwasa tried to disarm the gunman after the pistol jammed. The  gunman fled the scene into a waiting car driven by a possible accomplice.

Rosetta Nyamwasa quickly  blamed the Rwandan Government for ordering the assassination,

Read more of AfroAmerica Network Rwanda and DRC Pages

In Today’s, June 17, 2010,  daily press briefing Mark C. Toner, Acting Deputy Department Spokesman joked about the sword, night-vision goggles and Bin Ladin T-Shirt with an X throought when about to address the questions about  release of the American Lawyer, Peter Erlinder, who has been illegally detained by the repressive Rwandan Government. The US exercised a great deal of pressure on the Rwandan Dictator to have the lwayer released “without conditions”.

Below is the exchange at the US State Department:

QUESTION: What were you doing here with a sword and night-vision goggles?

(Laughter.)

MR. TONER: All legitimate questions.

QUESTION: I –

QUESTION: And a bin Laden t-shirt with an X through it?

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: I hope they ask them what he was doing there. The Erlinder?

MR. TONER: Yeah, sure.

QUESTION: Please, don’t say you have a Privacy Act waiver –

MR. TONER: No.

QUESTION: — problem here.

MR. TONER: We would just like to say we’re pleased with the Rwandan court today – that the Rwandan courts today granted Mr. Erlinder an unconditional release on medical grounds. U.S. Embassy officials were present at the hearing and contacted Mr. Erlinder’s family immediately.

QUESTION: Does that mean that he can leave the country, no problem? Basically they dropped the charges or was this just bail?

MR. TONER: We don’t have all the legal details on today’s rulings. It’s our understanding that he will be able to travel freely once the orders for his release are transmitted to the proper authorities.

QUESTION: Travel, meaning leave the country?

MR. TONER: Yes.

Advice to Paul Kagame: A Wise Man Knows When to Stop; A Fool Stops at Nothing

I recently followed interviews and press comments by the Rwandan former General Kayumba Nyamwasa about his former comrade, the Rwandan Dictator Paul Kagame, who was rose from a humble beginning to become the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front rebels, and eventually the uncontested leader of Rwanda. From General Kayumba Nyamwasa’s comments, the RPF made a serious mistake, by violating the basic law on Tyrant as Niccolo Michiavelli warned us in his The  Discourses :

“When a people goes so far as to commit the error of giving power to one man so that he may defeat those whom they hate, and if this man be shrewd, it will always end in his becoming their tyrant. For with the support of the people he will be enabled to destroy the nobility, and after these are crushed, he will not fail in turn to crush the people; and by the time that they become sensible of their own enslavement, they will have no one to look to for succor. – Niccoló Machiavelli, The Discourses.

In times of need of a leader, disgruntled Ethnic Tutsis chose the unassuming Kagame to overthrow the Hutu government. Shrewd, calculator, and cunning, Kagame soon became their tyrant. General Kayumba Nyamwasa and Colonel Karegeya, as most of the Tutsi who invaded Rwanda from Uganda should not complain. A tyrant they created has become the crusher of the very people who enthroned him.

Continue in our AfroAmerican Network Pages in AfroAmerica Blog