KPFA Weekend News Anchor: Oct. 14 marked the sixth anniversary of Rwandan political prisoner Victoire Ingabire’s arrest, and Oct. 24 will mark the 20th anniversary of Rwanda and Uganda’s invasion and occupation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. KPFA’s Ann Garrison filed this report on these intertwined anniversaries.
KPFA/Ann Garrison: Victoire Ingabire’s international supporters used social media and the hashtags #IngabireDay and #HastaVictoireFREE to announce that they have named the anniversary of her arrest and imprisonment “Ingabire Day.” In December 2013, Rwanda’s Supreme Court upheld Ingabire’s conviction for conspiring with terrorists, encouraging Rwandans to rebel, and “genocide ideology,” which means challenging Rwanda’s constitutionally codified and legally enforced history of the Rwandan massacres of the 1990s.
Here is Ingabire speaking in 2010, the year she attempted to run for president against Paul Kagame, but went to prison instead:
Victoire Ingabire: I would like you to understand that this trial is politically motivated, because I am accused of being a divisionist. For us, where RPF [Rwandan Patriotic Front] sees divisionism, we see political pluralism. They have to accept the diversity of our society and see how it can be used positively. It is the only way to end cycles of violence in our country.
I am accused of having genocidal ideology. It is a crime that every opponent of this government is accused of. For us, where the Kagame regime sees this genocidal ideology, we see the right of memory and recognition of all the victims because we believe that is the only way to achieve a true reconciliation in our country. FULL STORY