Peaceful protests end as Rwandans demand the release of Gen Karake

After six days of peaceful demonstrations against the arrest of Lt Gen Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, protestors yesterday reluctantly agreed to appeals by City of Kigali mayor to end protests. For nearly a week, the protestors had blocked the KBC-Kacyiru road, saying that they would only leave the embassy after Gen Karake returns. Mayor Ndayisaba (C) and Police brass join Kigali residents to end the peaceful demonstrations at the British Commission in Kigali yesterday. City mayor Fidele Ndayisaba,told the protesters that their messages and outrage had been heard both in the country and across the world. He added that time had come to use other channels to continue making themselves heard. The City urged the demonstrators to end the protests after Police raised concerns of road safety and public order including noise pollution. “We know that you are peaceful protestors, you passed through all the right channels to stage the protests and we thank you. However, business and traffic around the area has become very slow. On top of that, we have security concerns, so we kindly request you to stop the demonstrations,” Celestin Twahirwa, the Police spokesperson, said. Aisha Uwera speaks on behalf of fellow protesters requesting Mayor Ndayisaba to allow them demonstrate until Gen Karake is freed. The protests broke out early last week after Gen Karake, who had been on official duty, was stopped by the UK immigration officials from boarding a flight back home. He was arrested based on highly controversial indictment by a junior Spanish judge. The indictment has been widely referred to as politically motivated after it emerged that it had links to the FDLR. Protesters join hands to show solidarity on the last day of demonstrations yesterday at the British commission. “We want to put an end to the arrogance of the West and demand the immediate release of Gen Karake. He did nothing wrong to be forcefully asked to stay in Britain. Although the mayor and the police have asked us to put an end to the demonstrations, it doesn’t mean that we shall not follow up on his situation,” said Saddam Gasasira, one of the demonstrators from Nyarugenge District. Gasasira wasn’t the only person who was reluctant about ending the demonstrations. Saddam Gasasira (R) sings along with the demonstrators as Mayor Ndayisaba (R) looks on. Vincent Gashugi, another protestor, said he was determined to camp at the British High Commission until the General is released. “People think that it’s impossible but I don’t think they know the Rwandan spirit. I will stay here for as long it takes until Karake is released. I don’t understand how someone who liberated us turns out to be a criminal,” Gashugi said. “I don’t want to go home without assurance that Karake will be back. It makes no sense for me to spend days here and all of a sudden I am asked to go home because we are disrupting business. If the mayor gives me satisfactory answers, then I will consider going home,” said Fabrice Ndayambaje, a resident of Kicukiro District. However, the mayor, together with the Police spokesperson, assured the protestors that everything is being done to make sure that Gen Karake returns home. Protesters peaceful leave the British Commission after the request made by the Mayor of City of Kigali. “Our institutions will use all means necessary to ensure the return of Gen Karake. I can also reliably inform you that the African Union has added its voice to the illegal detention of Karake and we are being heard. As your mayor, I kindly ask you to end the peaceful demonstrations and wait to see what comes out of the channels that are being used,” the mayor appealed. It was at this point that the protestors, at the request of Gasasira, the lead protestor agreed that they will leave but on condition that the mayor will go with them to convince other protestors camped at the back entrance of the British High Commission. The mayor walked with the protestors who were chanting patriotic songs and the same message was relayed to the protestors at the back entrance. Eventually, all protestors agreed to leave the area but asked the mayor to give them regular updates on what is going on with the General’s case. Mayor Ndayisaba requests protesters to end the peaceful demonstrations at the British Commission yesterday. Politically motivated case In 2008, Spanish judge Fernando Andreu Merelles indicted 40 former and current senior Rwandan government officials. His research, it later emerged, was funded by non-governmental organisations that had links to the terrorist group, FDLR, which was formed by architects of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. A 2009 UN Experts report trashed the indictment, saying it was biased, inconsiderate and flawed. Interpol refused to act on the indictments as it did not meet the minimum threshold. The protesters chant songs prior to mayor Ndayisabas request to end the peaceful demonstrations. WikiLeaks cable A 2008 cable sent by the then American ambassador to Rwanda, Michael R. Arietti, described the indictments as “outrageous and inaccurate.” “The Spanish indictment of 40 Rwandan military officers offers an un-recorgnisable version of some of the most painful and violent episodes in Rwanda’s history, distorting the established record, inventing mass killings,” the cable reads in part. The cable further tells how the Spanish judge was used by NGOs linked to FDLR for their own benefit. *************** Reactions Several high ranking officials, authors and researchers have similarly trashed the indictment as well as the allegations. Andrew Mitchell, a British member of parliament, said the arrest was a misuse of the European Arrest Warrant system. “It’s being used by the supporters of the genocidal regime against those who stopped the Genocide,” said Mitchell. The demonstrators on the last day of the peaceful demonstrations. (All photos by Doreen Umutesi) Philip Gourevitch, who has covered Rwanda extensively, also questioned the legitimacy of the indictment and Karake’s arrest. “Why now are these indictments invoked after KK (Karenzi Karake) and others named visited UK and EU without problem for many years?” he wrote on his Twitter handle. The African Union, in a communiqué released yesterday also added its voice to those who don’t agree with the arrest and condemned it in the strongest terms possible. “We stress that the arrest is politically motivated and underscores the fact that arrest warrants issued by individual non-African Judges and other non-African legal systems are a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of African states and constitute an attempt to subordinate African legal systems to those of non-African states,” the communiqué reads in part. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Peaceful protests end as Rwandans demand the release of Gen Karake