By Brian Flood | Fox News
‘Full Frontal’ host recently visited Rwanda, fawned over country’s coronavirus vaccination process. The Human Rights Foundation sent a scathing letter to far-left comedian Samantha Bee, accusing her of whitewashing Rwanda’s dictatorial regime during a recent segment on TBS’ “Full Frontal” that celebrated the way the nation treats refugees.
“We are writing to express concern about how Rwanda’s dictatorial regime will likely exploit your segment ‘Rwandans and the UNHCR Are Treating Refugees with Empathy,’ to whitewash its long history of grave atrocities against refugees and refugee camps in the region following the country’s 1994 genocide, as well as its ongoing deadly repression against Rwandan dissident refugees living outside of Rwanda,” the Human Rights Foundation wrote.
The segment in question featured the “Full Frontal” host visiting Rwanda, where she fawned over the country’s coronavirus vaccination process. Bee praised Rwanda for vaccinating refugees and even found a Rwandan to mock Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. She gave a quick recap of the nation’s history of accepting refugees and implied that Americans are racist because they feel Africa only creates problems for the rest of the world.
The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that aims to promote and protect human rights across the globe. It sent the letter to inform Bee that Rwanda is “ruled by the brutal dictatorship of Paul Kagame — a former warlord who achieved the stability and development accredited to him by committing grave atrocities” which United Nations investigators have labeled “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.”
“While celebrating the people of Rwanda for their positive and welcoming attitude toward refugees is commendable, praising the government of Rwanda for its policy toward refugees lends Kagame’s murderous regime undeserved legitimacy and provides it with the false appearance of humanitarianism, openness, and tolerance,” the foundation added. “Rwanda’s regime is actively attempting to distract the international community from the extensive crimes that it has committed both in the past and present, including those against refugees.”
The Human Rights Foundation then urged Bee to engage in a dialogue with victims of Kagame’s regime, “make clear that your efforts to highlight the lives of refugees in Rwanda are not an endorsement of Kagame’s brutal regime or policies” and make a public statement addressing her opinion on the matters.
“Given your status as a public figure who advocates for social justice, especially for refugees, we believe that you have a responsibility to take a moral stand — that which is against Kagame and his brutal government… Your viewers and supporters in the United States and across the world look to you to provide truthful and contextual reporting and entertainment on some of the most current and pressing issues,” the letter concluded. “We urge you to deny Kagame’s regime the opportunity to use and manipulate your global influence, in order to whitewash its extensive crimes against refugees and others in the region.
TBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brian Flood covers the media for Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @briansflood.
