Rwanda’s Increasingly Authoritarian Climate

ANJAN SUNDARAM, AUTHOR, “BAD NEWS: LAST JOURNALIST IN A DICTATORSHIP: Yes. So, I mean, there have been conflicting accounts of what exactly happened Paul, but the Union Rights organizations that I follow seem to indicate that Paul was forcibly extradited or kidnapped to Rwanda from Dubai, he was on route to Rwanda in Dubai, and six hours after he arrived in Dubai, he was bundled into a plane, and by his own account, he woke up in Rwanda.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Let me just play this little clip. It is actually Paul inside the Kigali prison system and court system, giving an interview to the “New York Times” but he was surrounded by, you know, the law and order officials in Rwanda. Let’s just listen to this clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RUSESABAGINA: When I arrived in Dubai, there’s someone from Burundi who was — who had hired a private jet, and that private jet was supposed to take us from Dubai to Bujumbura. It took us from Dubai to Kigali. Well, I was taken somewhere, I do not know where. I was tied. My legs, my hands, my face. I could not see anything. I don’t know where I was. Yes, after those three days I have been treated very, very well. Yes. I’m not complaining of anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So, that’s interesting. He gives a dramatic account of what happened, and then he says, I’m being treated very well, I’m not complaining about anything. We understand that he was — you know, obviously there were government officials sitting in on that interview. What have you been able to learn? Any more about his treatment?

SUNDARAM: I think one should look at this trial not expecting any justice from it, but rather seeing it as a show of force, Kagame’s — show of power by Kagame. And I would look back to the arrest and death of the singer, Kizito Mihigo, earlier this year. Kizito won the Havel Prize this year for creative dissent and he was found dead in the Rwandan prison cell. But shortly after he sang about killings that Kagame had conducted, he was accused of terrorism, evidence was produced that can’t be challenged or verified in any open or transparent way, and he was produced much like Rusesabagina was in front of police officers and he began to incriminate himself. It became a farcical (ph) theater. And I would imagine some similar theater would be forced upon Mr. Rusesabagina in Rwanda simply so he stays alive.