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September 5, 1996
PRESS RELEASE Nº86
USAID involvement in funding an RPF school set up to dispense military science and political education
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Recent revelations about USAID involvement in funding an RPF school set up to dispense military science and political education,reminiscent of the communist era , at the GISHARI School in MUHAZI commune, are stunning and leave no more shade of doubt about the growing US military cooperation with the RPF regime. It may be recalled that the school is under the Ministry of Defence.
This follows revelations made in the latest joint report of Human Rights Watch /Africa and Fédération Internationale des Droits de l'Homme ( see report dated 26th July 1996) about a recent deployment of a team of 9 US marines to train the monolithic RPF army. The team was joining another contingent of so called US demining experts present in Rwanda since the early days of RPF regime in 1994 .
Indeed, in its issue of Friday August 30 - Sept. 2 ,1996 ,a ugandan paper , the Monitor, wrote at its front page that a contingent of ugandan police instructors was in Rwanda to train the rwandan police force . The paper went on to reveal that the program was sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development ( USAID ) under a program of rehabilitating the justice system in Rwanda! Ironically the parent ministry for the project is that of Defence and not of Justice.
The confirmation of the program and the source of funding was given by the spokesman of the Ministry of Defence.
One would recall that USAID is already funding the RPF secretariat, while other political parties are suspended indefinitely.
On top of legitimizing the already perturbing military hold of Uganda on Rwanda , the USAID funding to the GISHARI School raises a number of questions :
1. Why would the US administration try against all odds to prove that imparting military science and political education to the RPF "police " will enhance justice in Rwanda ?
2. What is the rationale of funding a military program while innocent civilians are starving in western part of the country and in the refugee camps across the border ?
3. What criteria was used in selecting ugandan instructors given the fact that President Museveni is on record grilling the ugandan police as recently as June 1996 for being very corrupt and inefficient?
4. How will the program contribute in easing congestion in the over 300 detention centres ,a thorn in the whole rwandan justice flesh ?
5. How can one explain the dilemma of having on one hand a growing military cooperation between the US administration and the RPF regime and on the other the growing international concern over the escalation of violence against the civilian population perpetrated by the RPF security services particularly the Army( see United Nations High Commission for Human Rights; Field Operation in Rwanda. Killings of civilians during militayr operations in Western Ruhengeri Prefecture, 6-8 August 1996. pg 1) that is becoming the biggest beneficiary of US aid ?
RDR believes that in the interest of the United States as champion of democratic values and defender of human rights, and in the name of humanity, the USAID funds to GISHARI school should be reallocated into more pro -people projects instead of wasting them in upgrading RPF instruments of coercion and political indoctrination.
