[Rwanda Forum] Rwanda : Paul Kagame envisage de céder le pouvoir à un nouveau dirigeant



https://www.aa.com.tr/fr/afrique/rwanda-paul-kagame-envisage-de-c%C3%A9der-le-pouvoir-%C3%A0-un-nouveau-dirigeant/2864296

Rwanda : Paul Kagame envisage de céder le pouvoir à un nouveau dirigeant

AA / Tunis / Mourad Belhaj

Après 23 ans passés à la tête de l'Etat, le président rwandais Paul Kagame a exprimé son désir de se retirer et de céder le pouvoir à un nouveau dirigeant.

C'est ce qui ressort d'un point de presse conjoint tenu à Kigali avec son homologue kenyan, William Ruto, qui effectue une visite de deux jours au Rwanda. Kagame a qualifié cette retraite d'"inévitable", annonçant qu'un plan de succession était en cours de discussion au sein du Front patriotique rwandais (FPR), le parti au pouvoir dans le pays.

Paul Kagame a affirmé qu'il ne tenait pas nécessairement à choisir son successeur, mais plutôt à créer un environnement propice à l'émergence d'une nouvelle génération de dirigeants.

"Cette discussion est menée au sein de notre parti depuis 2010, mais les circonstances, les défis et l'histoire du Rwanda nous ont imposé d'autres priorités", a t-il déclaré.

Ces déclarations interviennent quelques jours après la tenue du 16ème congrès du Front patriotique rwandais (FPR), à Rosoruru près de la capitale rwandaise Kigali, au cours duquel Consolee Uwimana a été élue vice-présidente du parti, devenant ainsi la première femme à occuper ce poste depuis la création du FPR en décembre 1987.

Le président Kagame, qui dirige le FPR depuis 1998, a toutefois conservé son poste de président.

Il convient de rappeler qu'un référendum controversé, organisé en 2015 au Rwanda, a supprimé la limite constitutionnelle de deux mandats présidentiels, ce qui a permis à Paul Kagame, au pouvoir depuis 2000, de briguer un troisième mandat.

Seulement une partie des dépêches, que l'Agence Anadolu diffuse à ses abonnés via le Système de Diffusion interne (HAS), est diffusée sur le site de l'AA, de manière résumée. Contactez-nous s'il vous plaît pour vous abonner.

### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###

[Rwanda Forum] Re: Le Canada coupe 3 M$ en financement à l’OIF après un sondage interne dévastateur | TVA Nouvelles



Le Canada coupe 3 M$ en financement à l'OIF après un sondage interne dévastateur | TVA Nouvelles

https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2023/04/03/le-canada-coupe-3-m-en-financement-a-loif-apres-un-sondage-interne-devastateur-1

Le Canada coupe 3 M$ en financement à l'OIF après un sondage interne dévastateur

Raphaël Pirro | Agence QMI 

| Publié le 3 avril 2023 à 17:56 - Mis à jourle 3 avril 2023 à 19:03

Le Canada va couper 3 millions de dollars en financement à l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) après un sondage interne dévastateur sur le climat de travail et une série de décisions controversées de la secrétaire générale Louise Mushikiwabo. 

Dans une lettre datée du 2 avril obtenue par l'Agence QMI, la ministre des Affaires étrangères Mélanie Joly déplore des faits «troublants» et met en cause un «recul» dans les méthodes de gestion de l'organisation.

«Nous le répétons sur toutes les tribunes, le Canada a une tolérance zéro envers le harcèlement sexuel. Notre engagement au sein des grandes familles multilatérales dont nous faisons partie est également indissociable des valeurs de transparence, de saine gestion et de redevabilité», explique la ministre Joly à Mme Mushikiwabo.

• Écoutez la rencontre Dutrizac – Dumont diffusée chaque jour en direct 7 h via QUB radio :

Une consultation interne auprès de 209 des quelque 300 employés de l'OIF fait état d'un piètre climat de travail : 44 % des répondants pensent avoir été victimes de harcèlement moral au travail et 9 % de harcèlement sexuel.

Le document, obtenu par l'Agence QMI, révèle que 46 % n'ont pas été en mesure d'en parler ou de le signaler, et 75 % de ceux qui en ont parlé pensent que «cela n'a pas abouti» en résultat concret.

Confrontée à ces données lors d'une réunion récente du Conseil permanent de la Francophonie, la secrétaire générale aurait balayé le sondage du revers de la main en évoquant les «biais» des répondants et en remettant en question la méthodologie du sondage, selon une source au gouvernement fédéral.

«La réponse a démontré à quel point ce n'était pas rassurant pour les prochaines étapes et pour le système», a déclaré cette source.

Plus de pouvoirs au sommet

À la gestion des cas de harcèlement s'ajoute aussi une série de décisions de Louise Mushikiwabo sur la restructuration de l'organigramme de l'OIF.

La secrétaire générale s'est arrogé certains pouvoirs au détriment d'autres cadres de l'OIF, incluant la Québécoise Caroline St-Hilaire, récemment nommée au poste numéro 2 de l'OIF, celui d'administratrice.

Entre autres choses, Louise Mushikiwabo a profité de la période de flottement de deux semaines avant l'entrée en fonction de Caroline St-Hilaire pour lui retirer le choix des représentations à l'international, en plus d'avoir procédé à de nombreuses nominations discrétionnaires.

Ces changements – «faits sans préavis, sans consultation et en l'absence d'administrateur», déplore Mélanie Joly dans sa lettre – ont contribué à la décision de la ministre de couper temporairement le financement pour au moins une année.

L'argent sera plutôt reversé à d'autres «opérateurs et institutions afin d'appuyer leurs mandats respectifs, en appui aux populations francophones».

«Nous espérons voir des changements tangibles sur ces questions dans les prochaines semaines et les prochains mois», souligne la ministre.

Les 3 millions $ représentent l'entièreté de la contribution volontaire du Canada à l'OIF. La contribution totale du pays à l'OIF s'élève à plus 15 millions d'euros par année.

2023 : Un sondage interne décrit un climat toxique à l'OIF.

2021 : Notre bureau d'Enquête révèle que la secrétaire Louise Mushikiwabo a dépensé 120 000 $ pour s'installer dans un nouvel appartement, dont le loyer est de 18 000 $ par mois.

2018 : L'OIF met en place de nouvelles règles de transparence financière.

2016 : Le Journal révèle que Michaëlle Jean a dépensé un demi-million $ pour l'aménagement de son appartement de fonction et la hausse de ses frais de déplacement.

2016 : Mme Jean dépense 50 000$ US pour un séjour de quatre jours au prestigieux hôtel Waldorf Astoria de New York.

### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###

On Apr 4, 2023, at 8:29 PM, Nzi Nink <nzinink@yahoo.com> wrote:



Le Canada va couper 3 millions de dollars en financement à l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) après un sondage interne dévastateur sur le climat de travail et une série de décisions controversées de la secrétaire générale Louise Mushikiwabo. 

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/04/03/le-canada-coupe-3-m-en-financement-a-loif-apres-un-sondage-interne-devastateur-1

### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###

[Rwanda Forum] Le Canada coupe 3 M$ en financement à l’OIF après un sondage interne dévastateur | TVA Nouvelles

Le Canada va couper 3 millions de dollars en financement à l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) après un sondage interne dévastateur sur le climat de travail et une série de décisions controversées de la secrétaire générale Louise Mushikiwabo. 

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/04/03/le-canada-coupe-3-m-en-financement-a-loif-apres-un-sondage-interne-devastateur-1

### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###

[Rwanda Forum] How American intelligence agencies have been outplayed and made helpless by Rwandan stealth secret agents – Echos d'Afrique



How American intelligence agencies have been outplayed and made helpless by Rwandan stealth secret agents – Echos d'Afrique

http://www.echosdafrique.com/20230403-how-american-intelligence-agencies-have-been-outplayed-and-made-helpless-by-rwandan-stealth-secret-agents

### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###

[Rwanda Forum] The Yearslong Fight To Get Paul Rusesabagina Out of Rwanda - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/03/world/africa/hotel-rwanda-rusesabagina-kagame.html

How the U.S., Family and Hollywood Freed the 'Hotel Rwanda' Hero

Paul Rusesabagina, depicted in the 2004 film about genocide in his country, was reunited with his family last week. It took years of pressure to get him out of Rwanda, where he was convicted on terrorism charges.

April 3, 2023Updated 10:53 a.m. ET

Paul Rusesabagina in a prisoner uniform after being abducted and captured, outside the court in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, in 2020.Simon Wohlfahrt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Rwanda's leader was in combative form last December when, on a visit to Washington, he was asked about his country's most famous political prisoner, and his personal foe.

No amount of U.S. pressure could "bully" Rwanda, President Paul Kagame said, into releasing Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier whose heroism during the 1994 genocide inspired the movie "Hotel Rwanda."

"Maybe make an invasion and overrun the country — you can do that," he added tartly, at an event during the Biden administration's U.S.-Africa Summit for leaders from around the continent.

Nevertheless, early the next morning, one of Mr. Kagame's top aides met quietly with President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, to discuss the terms of a potential release.

It was a key step in a complex, secretive effort to free Mr. Rusesabagina, which culminated on Wednesday in his return to the United States, where he was reunited with his tearful family at a U.S. Army base in Texas.

"All of us crumbled when we saw him," his daughter, Anaïse Kanimba, 31, said in an interview.

The freeing of Mr. Rusesabagina, a 68-year-old dissident and permanent U.S. resident, was not only a triumph for quiet, patient diplomacy. It resolved a growing burden in Washington's relationship with a small yet important African ally that punches above its weight on the continent, and is accused of stoking a conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that could explode into a regional war.

Paul Kagame, Rwanda's president, during the "Walk to Remember" in 2019, part of the 25th commemoration of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.Yasuyoshi Chiba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Rusesabagina's plight also presented a delicate challenge for the United States as it seeks to reset its relations with African countries to counter surging Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.

That has meant shoring up ties with leaders like Mr. Kagame, a prickly authoritarian whose achievements in rebuilding Rwanda after the genocide have been overshadowed by a repressive rule that brooks no dissent — a trend that Mr. Rusesabagina's case has come to symbolize.

Josh Geltzer, the deputy homeland security adviser to Mr. Biden, described the monthslong talks over Mr. Rusesabagina as an effort to overcome a "real bilateral irritant" and an "unacceptable state of affairs."

Still, some American officials were not always convinced they should rescue the Rwandan prisoner.

Mr. Rusesabagina was lionized globally after the 2004 release of "Hotel Rwanda," which depicted him as savior of more than 1,200 people at the luxury hotel he managed during the genocide.

But in Rwanda, Mr. Rusesabagina's vocal criticism of Mr. Kagame led him into exile in Belgium, then the United States.

He vanished in August 2020, days after leaving his Texas home on what he thought was a trip to Burundi. Rwandan agents tricked him into boarding a private jet that flew him to the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where he was detained, charged with terrorism and, after what legal experts called a deeply flawed trial, sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.

His family campaigned vigorously for his release with the help of celebrities like Don Cheadle, the actor who portrayed Mr. Rusesabagina in "Hotel Rwanda," and Scarlett Johansson. But the State Department was slow to embrace his cause — partly because of his status as a non-American citizen, and also because of the murky nature of Rwandan accusations that he had financed an armed group that had killed civilians, a U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Don Cheadle, left, who played Mr. Rusesabagina, right, in the film "Hotel Rwanda," at its premiere in 2004.Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

Still, powerful U.S. senators took up Mr. Rusesabagina's case on both sides of the aisle, including Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, and Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho and the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Writing letters and, at one point, withholding $90 million in aid to Rwanda, the senators pressed the government to help.

They got results in May 2022, six weeks after the court appeal process ended, when the State Department formally declared Mr. Rusesabagina as "unlawfully detained" — a status that shot his case up the administration's list of priorities. But the effort immediately ran into difficulties.

---

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That same day, Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, the commander of U.S. forces in Africa, flew into Kigali where he was pictured alongside a smiling Mr. Kagame. Mr. Rusesabagina's supporters were infuriated to learn that General Townsend hadn't even raised the case with the Rwandan president — a sign, some senators said, of conflicting American priorities in Rwanda.

Mr. Rusesabagina's family turned up the heat on Rwanda by filing a $400 million lawsuit in a U.S. court that named Mr. Kagame. The Rwandan leader was also coming under Western scrutiny for his country's ties to M23, a rebel group in eastern Congo that was pitching the region into chaos. He denied any links, but relations with the United States were growing strained — a crisis that formed the backdrop of a visit to Rwanda by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in August.

Mr. Blinken pressed Mr. Kagame about Mr. Rusesabagina, an unmistakable signal that the case had become an American priority. Four days later, John Tomaszewski, an aide to Mr. Risch, visited Mr. Rusesabagina in prison. He showed Mr. Rusesabagina the proposed text of a letter from the prisoner requesting a pardon from Mr. Kagame.

Mr. Rusesabagina said he was willing to give it a shot.

"Paul's family had doubted he would go ahead with the letter," Mr. Tomaszewski said. "But Paul was being pragmatic."

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda last year.Andrew Harnik/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Things began to move quickly. State Department officials worked quietly with Mr. Rusesabagina's family to include language in the letter that would placate Mr. Kagame as well as a suggestion that, if released, Mr. Rusesabagina would cease his vociferous criticism of Rwanda's government.

Family members said they disliked those concessions, but went along with them.

In November, the White House, led by Mr. Sullivan, took over the secret negotiations. The Rwandan side was led by Mauro De Lorenzo — an American-born, onetime Africa researcher at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington who had taken Rwandan citizenship and become a staunch defender of Mr. Kagame's policies.

It was Mr. De Lorenzo who arrived at 8 a.m. at Mr. Sullivan's office the day after Mr. Kagame's bellicose outburst, in the first face-to-face talks over the possibility of freeing Mr. Rusesabagina.

After that, the discussion shifted to how a release might happen, American officials said. While the Rwandans did not demand money or a prisoner exchange, they wanted the family to drop the lawsuit. They insisted on retaining Mr. Rusesabagina's criminal conviction. And they wanted the United States to issue a statement opposing "political violence" — the kind of violence that Rwanda had accused Mr. Rusesabagina of leading.

The United States agreed to those demands, leading to Mr. Kagame's first public hint of a possible release on March 13.

Still, the Rwandans were highly sensitive about the optics of releasing a prisoner they had long insisted was a terrorist mastermind. Mr. Kagame didn't want to be seen as caving to American pressure.

So he turned to Qatar, an investor in Rwanda that has often used its vast gas wealth to help resolve international crises.

Mr. Rusesabagina with his lawyer Ryan Fayhee at the St. Regis hotel in Doha, Qatar, last month, days after Mr. Rusesabagina's release. Here, the former prisoner enjoyed his first glass of wine in several years.Ryan Fayhee

When Mr. Rusesabagina was released from prison on the night of March 24, American diplomats drove him straight to the home of Qatar's ambassador to Rwanda, where he spent three nights.

When Mr. Rusesabagina flew out of Kigali on March 27, it was aboard a Qatar government jet.

U.S. officials flew with Mr. Rusesabagina to the Qatari capital, Doha, where he was welcomed by his American lawyer, Ryan Fayhee. The two men checked into the luxury St. Regis hotel, where the former prisoner enjoyed his first glass of wine in several years.

On Wednesday, they arrived in Houston, where Mr. Rusesabagina was transferred to a military medical facility near his home in San Antonio that specializes in treating survivors of trauma. (The basketball star Brittney Griner was treated at the same facility after her release from Russia in December.)

Two days later, Mr. Rusesabagina was back home, surrounded by his wife, six children and supporters who had campaigned for his release. They popped champagne, shared a barbecue and sang "God Bless America."

That same day, his lawyers formally dropped the lawsuit against Mr. Kagame. But Rwanda still faces several lawsuits in Africa, Europe and the United States related to Mr. Rusesabagina's arrest, Kate Gibson, his lead attorney, said.

Mr. Rusesabagina with his family at his homecoming to Texas, on Friday, seen in a handout image from the family.Wayne Abbott

Another issue is also outstanding: whether Mr. Rusesabagina, now safe on American soil and arguably more famous than ever, will stick to his commitment of cutting back on criticism of his old enemy, Mr. Kagame.

Declan Walsh and Abdi Latif Dahir reported from Nairobi, Kenya, and Michael D. Shear from Washington.

### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###

[Rwanda Forum] Nta gishya kwa RPF Inyenzi-Inkotanyi

Rwanda: FPR-Inkotanyi yatoye Paul Kagame na Consolée Uwimana nk'abayikuriye bashya - BBC News Gahuza

Rwanda: FPR-Inkotanyi yatoye Paul Kagame na Consolée Uwimana nk'abayikur... Paul Kagame yongeye gutorerwa gutegeka FPR-Inkotanyi indi myaka itanu iri imbere, umwanya ariho kuva igihe yasim...

Les règles non écrites du groupe terroriste et génocidaire FPR toujours respectées depuis son usurpation du pouvoir au Rwanda:

- 1998: Président du groupe: le Mwami roitelet Tutsi Paul Kagame , V/ Président: Agakingirizo Hutu de Service. Dans ce cas,  Christophe Bazivamonk'inopfu. Secrétaire Exécutif: Un extrémiste Tutsi ayant vécu sous le régime Habyarimana. Dans ce cas, François Ngarambe.

- 2023: Président du groupe: le Mwami roitelet P Kagame. V/Président: ,Agakingirizo Hutukazi de service Consolée Uwimana. Secrétaire Exécutif: Un extrémiste Tutsi ayant vécu sous le régime Habyarimana et dans ce cas, Wellars Gasamagera!

In Eternum...Amen.

[Rwanda Forum] Iteka rya Perezida no 015/01 ryo ku wa 25/03/2023 ritanga imbabazi.



Iteka rya Perezida no 015/01 ryo ku wa 25/03/2023 ritanga imbabazi.

https://www.minijust.gov.rw/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=65605&token=f7bcd0fed92671ea396b1b11716a35f39cd2730b

### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###