In a statement released on September 14, 2016 by one of the Rwandan main opposition parties, the New Rwandan National Congress, led by former members of the current Rwandan ruling military organisation, Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the party leaders have accused their former comrandes of having planned, executed and covered up the genocide of Hutus, a Rwandan ethnic group, through an international "scandalous conspiracy of silence as a means to deny genocide against the Hutu."
One of the signatories is Dr Theogene Rudasingwa, the new party chairman. Dr Theogene Rudasingwa was Secretary General of the RPF, the Private Adviser to
General Paul Kagame when he became president and, most importantly, the first ambassador to United States for the RPF government.
"Since 1994, Rwanda and the international community invested tremendous resources in acknowledging, documenting, remembering and bringing to justice the perpetrators of the genocide against Tutsi. Sadly, though well documented by the international community and known by the victims, there has never been an acknowledgement that the crimes committed against the Rwandan Hutu fully satisfy the definition of genocide according to the Genocide Convention of 1948." the statement reads.
The statement lists specific names of current officers forming the military junta ruling Rwanda. According to the statement, "These military officials were responsible for the shooting down of the plane in which President Juvenal Habyalimana of Rwanda and President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi were killed, triggering the genocide against Tutsi. Many officers and men of Rwanda Patriotic Army/Rwanda Defence Forces have been tools of this clique in unleashing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide on Rwandan Hutu in Rwanda and across the Democratic Republic of Congo, as documented by various reports, including the U.N. Mapping Report on DRC of 2010."
Perhaps in an effort to explain why it took more than 20 years to accuse their former colleagues and comrades, those who signed the statement said that:
"The New Rwanda National Congress [their political party] has, after a long and careful deliberation decided to rise to the historic responsibility of naming the crimes committed against the Rwandan Hutu in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo by their rightful name, genocide. Compelling evidence demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that members of the Hutu community were deliberately and systematically killed; that conditions were inflicted on them calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part; and that serious bodily and mental harm has been caused to them."
They went on to explain that "In the interest of Rwanda’s current and future generations, it is equally our duty and obligation to name the masterminds of the genocide against the Rwanda Hutu. From its founding in 1990 until now, the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) of the Rwanda Patriotic Army (now Rwanda Defence Forces) has been the vanguard of decisions and actions that have brought untold suffering to Rwandans and people of the Great Lakes region."
Those who, according to statement, allegedly executed the genocide against Rwandan Hutu include "the following military officers, all Tutsi former refugees from Uganda, who have been at the heart of DMI’s genocidal agenda:
- President Paul Kagame: President of Rwanda
- Lt. General Kayumba Nyamwasa: First Vice Coordinator Rwanda National Congress
- Lt. General James Kabarebe: Minister of Defence, Rwanda
- Lt. General Charles Kayonga: Rwanda’s Ambassador to China
- Lt. General Patrick Nyamvumba: Chief of Defence Forces, Rwanda
- Lt. General Karenzi Karake: Advisor to the President, Rwanda
- Lt. General Fred Ibingira: Reserve Chief of Staff, RDF, Rwanda
- Major General Sam Kaka: Retired, Former RPA Chief of Staff
- Major General Jack Nziza: Chief Inspector, Ministry of Defence
- Major General Emmanuel Gasana: Chief of Police, Rwanda
- Colonel Dan Munyuza: Deputy Chief of Police"
According to sources close to Rwandan National Congress and New Rwandan National Congress, the conflict between Lt. Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa, also on the list, and Dr Rudasingwa had simmered for several months before it exploded in the open with a statement released on July 1st, 2016, by Dr Rudasingwa, announcing the split from his former ally, Lt. General Kayumba Nyamwasa (See Rwanda: What Do you Do When Opposition Dismantles Itself?FDLR, now RNC).
In the July 1st statement, Dr Rudasingwa had pointed out that "through the disruptive influence of Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa and his Tutsi military allies, and the acquiescence of Hutu elements in the Bureau of the Executive Committee, a proposal for the reformed statute of the organization was deemed unimportant and shelved, without giving a chance to the Executive Committee, the Political Bureau and RNC members to discuss it. ".
With this new statement, several puzzling questions have been.
There is vast amount of research testimonies and documented accounts confirming that the Rwandan Patriotic Front planned and organized a genocide against Hutus in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. United Nations Mapping Reports of 2010 has documented a methodical investigation results that led to the same conclusion. Hence the main question is why did Major Dr Rudasingwa, a former high ranking military officer of RPF, personal advisor to General Paul Kagame and the first RPF ambassador to the most greatest power in the World, the USA, and hence one the most trusted and insider persons in the early years of the RPF has decided to come out and make such grave accusations? Asked that question by BBC, Dr Rudasingwa said that time has come to tell the truth.
The three leaders of "New-RNC" said they plan to convene "under the auspices of the RWANDA TRUTH COMMISSION, the First International Conference on Genocide Against Rwandan Hutu, 9–11 December, 2016, Capitol Hill, Washington D.C, USA, to deliberate on the implications and follow up on this matter of highest historic significance." and have called upon " the international community to bring to justice the perpetrators of genocide against the Rwandan Hutu as provided for by the 1948 Genocide Convention." and "all Rwandan people to painfully sermon the will and courage to acknowledge and remember both the genocide against Tutsi and the genocide against Hutu."
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