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Intimidation alleged in Rwanda
poll
According to Amnesty International, Mr Twagiramungu was
effectively banned from campaigning, with his key activists arrested or
"disappeared", and his leaflets impounded.
Alison Desforges of Human Rights Watch said yesterday:
"If this society is not yet ready to participate in a free and open
voting exercise, it should not participate. Kagame cannot have it both ways -
calling it democratic, yet keeping it under tight control."
James Astill in Cyangugu
The Guardian (London)
Allegations of intimidation and rigging marred Rwanda's
first democratic election yesterday, an event
widely seen as a barometer of the country's
recovery from the 1994 genocide.
As Rwandans formed orderly queues outside polling stations shortly
after dawn, none doubted that President Paul Kagame would
be swept back to power.
Mr Kagame, a former Tutsi rebel leader who toppled Rwanda's
murderous Hutu-fascist regime which was held responsible
for the slaughter of 500,000 people, has solid support
across the country.
"We now have peace and security," said Emmanuelle
Bijogo, apparently sounding the view of the
majority, as he waited to vote in Kigali, Rwanda's
capital. "If Kagame is removed, there'll be
trouble."
Casting his vote nearby, Mr Kagame heralded the election as
a watershed in his nation's violent history. "It's a big democratic
step that has been taken by our country," he said. "Rwandans
are happy, including myself, that we have
been able to make this huge stride."
Not all Rwandans agreed. Campaigners for Faustin Twagiramungu,
Mr Kagame's only serious challenger, reported allegations
of intimidation by Mr Kagame's soldiers across the country.
In Cyangugu, Mr Twagiramungu's hometown in south-western
Rwanda, voters were reluctant to speak to the Guardian
at polling booths. But in dusty side streets, away
from the soldiers monitoring the booths, people were seething.
"When I voted for Twagiramungu, an officials grabbed
the ballot and told me not to waste his time and
vote again. When I voted again for Kagame they
accepted it," said a man who gave his name as
Jean. "Most people in Cyangugu want Twagiramungu,
but of course Kagame will win."
Another voter, Felicien, said: "Today is a
catastrophe: people are forced to vote for Kagame,
people are afraid of being imprisoned if they
don't. I voted for Twagiramungu, but whether my
vote will be counted, I don't know."
A moderate Hutu, Mr Twagiramungu was accused of inciting
genocide in the run-up to the election by state media, despite
losing 32 relatives in the 1994 massacre and escaping himself
after being rolled up in a tarpaulin and smuggled to
Kenya.
According to Amnesty International, Mr Twagiramungu was effectively
banned from campaigning, with his key activists arrested
or "disappeared", and his leaflets impounded.
Alison Desforges of Human Rights Watch said yesterday:
"If this society is not yet ready to
participate in a free and open voting exercise, it
should not participate. Kagame cannot have it both
ways - calling it democratic, yet keeping it under tight
control."
Copyright 2003-2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited
The Guardian (London)
August 26, 2003
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