Twenty-seven years after facing a historic genocide leaving about 800,000 dead, Rwanda now finds itself stuck in an oppressive democracy moving closer and closer towards an autocracy. Endorsed by the Country's Supreme Court, a petition signed by more than 3.7 million people rejected and condemned President Paul Kagame's efforts to amend the new constitution (2004) and seek to stay in office until at least 2034. Besides disobeying unified calls against power abuse and authoritarianism, Rwandan efforts to support the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF party) by dismantling opposing campaigns and suppressing public criticism of the authoritarian government through violence "could jeopardize the country's stability in the long run," as announced in the Congressional Research Service's 2021 report.
Silencing critics through the use of violence is familiar ground for the Rwandan government. In one recent example (Feb 2021), a man named Seif Bamporiki, a Rwandan exile, was shot while sitting in his truck in Cape Town, South Africa. A friend of Bamporiki was able to escape unharmed. In another example, former Rwandan Intelligence Chief Patrick Karegeya was strangled to death in a hotel room in Johannesburg. In another case, a former army chief and member of the Rwanda National Congress (RNC) was shot in Johannesburg. The Rwandan government is criticized internationally by many countries and the United Nations regarding suspected human rights abuses, personal security, and the continued oppression of dissidents and the people of the country as a whole.
Other countries in the region aren't far behind on their way to autocracy as well. In 2005, a change to the Ugandan constitution allowed their President to continue to run for reelection for at least three more five-year terms. In Burundi, their President directly violated and disregarded their constitution by running and winning a third term. And in Congo, their President ignored criticism of power abuse by staying in office for 19 years and jailing opposition leaders.
Rwanda is no less guilty of power abuse and the blatant disregard for public opinion than these other countries. Despite efforts by President Kagame to gain and retain power at any cost (including leading a 1994 RPF revolution against an even more oppressive government), he still reportedly won reelection in 2017, gaining about 99% of the vote. This shouldn't come as a surprise. If the Rwandan government will send operatives across borders to protect their power by slaughtering exiled opposition leaders, why wouldn't they forge election results? And, even if the results are legitimate, the Rwandan people know no more than what information is spread by the overwhelmingly dominant RPF party. Without a platform for political opponents, democracy cannot prevail in a country. Without contest, there really is no "election" at all. Winning 99% of a "vote" against whatever opposition leader is lucky enough to not be exiled and assassinated isn't much of a "win" at all. The RPF's 27 years of continued efforts to dismantle opponents and retain power are not in the best interests of democracy in Rwanda. On paper, elections, opponents (such as the RNC), pardons for women who underwent abortions (which are strictly outlawed in the country), improvements from genocide, and categorization as a "democracy" all look great. However, taking a closer look inside will provide an abundance of evidence suggesting a threat to basic principles of democracy and a move towards Kagame's autocracy.
References:
Chutel, L., & Dahir, A. (2021, February 22). Rwanda opposition figure is killed in South Africa. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/world/africa/rwanda-seif-bamporiki-killing.html
Country dashboard. (2021). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://fragilestatesindex.org/country-data/
Herrera, A. (2019, April 12). Abortion pardons in Rwanda leave rights ACTIVISTS HOPEFUL. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-04-12/abortion-pardons-rwanda-leave-rights-activists-hopeful
Rwanda genocide: 100 days of slaughter. (2019, April 04). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26875506
Rwanda: In Brief [PDF]. (2021, February 23). Washington DC: Congressional Research Service, from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R44402.pdf
Rwandan President Paul KAGAME could rule UNTIL 2034 after VOTERS lift limits. (2015, December 19). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/19/rwandan-president-paul-kagame-could-rule-until-2034-after-voters-lift-limits
No comments:
Post a Comment