VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #0382/01 1141707
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241707Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2660

UNCLAS KIGALI 000382 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C AND DRL 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM KJUS RW
SUBJECT:  National Reconciliation a Top Priority for Rwanda 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  During an April 20 meeting with Ambassador, 
National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) 
Executive Secretary Fatuma Ndangiza described NURC's primary 
role as promoting national reconciliation through civic 
education.  Since 1999, NURC has conducted surveys, 
including a nationwide survey on gacaca and reconciliation, 
promoted income-generating activities linked to 
reconciliation, facilitated development of history 
textbooks, and conducted workshops and "solidarity camps." 
Ndangiza pointed out that gacaca, unlike Rwanda's classical 
court system, provides space for "reconciliatory justice." 
Gacaca gives perpetrators an opportunity to confess and to 
come to terms with their crimes, she said, and brings 
together all the parties in their shared goal of seeking the 
truth.  Ndangiza, who previously served in the Ministry of 
Gender and Family Promotion, also commented that child 
prostitution is not as significant a problem in Rwanda as 
the large number of households headed by children due to 
parents killed in the Genocide.  End summary. 
 
Culture of Inclusion 
-------------------- 
¶2.  In an April 20 courtesy call by Ambassador on NURC 
Executive Secretary Fatuma Ndangiza, Ndangiza described 
NURC's history and mission, its successes, and biggest 
challenges.  The Commission was established by parliament in 
March 1999 in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide.  The 1992- 
1993 Arusha peace negotiations had identified the need for a 
mechanism to promote stability and "a culture of inclusion" 
in Rwandan society.  NURC was thus established to provide a 
forum for discussing the critical question of unity and 
reconciliation in view of Rwanda's long history of 
discrimination based on ethnic divisions. 
 
¶3.  According to Ndangiza, the Commission's primary role is 
to educate Rwandans on peaceful co-existence and national 
unity, to combat exclusion, and to promote equality.  Unlike 
other similar national commissions, such as those in South 
Africa or Sierra Leone, whose primary goal is the search for 
the truth, NURC's core mission is to show Rwandans how much 
they have in common and to educate them on how to promote 
their similarities rather than their differences for 
positive change.  The big challenge, she said, is achieving 
reconciliation among perpetrators of the Genocide, its 
survivors, and victims' families, and building trust among 
all Rwandans. 
 
Nationwide Genocide Survey 
-------------------------- 
¶4.  In 2002, NURC conducted a nationwide survey representing 
all segments of Rwandan society to elicit views on the 
genocide and reconciliation, and in particular their views 
on what divided Rwandans and whether reconciliation is 
possible.  Among the factors cited as contributing to the 
genocide were bad governance and leadership, a culture of 
impunity, and a weak judiciary.  Ndandiza asserted that 
prior to the genocide and prior to RPF rule, people 
committed crimes without any consequences, and in most cases 
the judiciary was "manipulated by the executive."  Poverty 
and the high rate of illiteracy also contributed to 
widespread ethnic discrimination and enabled the planners of 
the genocide, most of whom were educated, to manipulate the 
illiterate poor masses into executing their plan. 
 
Emphasis on Civic Education 
--------------------------- 
¶5.  Ndangiza noted that NURC aims to educate the masses to 
question authorities as a preventive measure against 
recurrence of genocide.  NURC educates the populace at the 
community level on their civic rights and obligations, 
conflict management, and peacebuilding through workshops and 
"solidarity camps" modeled on "ingando," small, traditional, 
community-based focus groups used since pre-colonial times 
for civic education and reflection.    During one-month 
"solidarity camps," participants from various sectors of 
Rwandan society learn about their history, reconciliation, 
democracy and human rights, reflect on the causes of the 
genocide, and learn to manage conflict.  There are 
solidarity camps for youth, for university students, for 
workers in the informal sector, and for genocidaires.  In 
addition, there are solidarity camps specifically focused on 
addressing the immediate infrastructure needs of the 
community, such as construction and repair of houses.  These 
participatory camps reflect NURC's view that Rwanda's 
problems need to be resolved by Rwandans, not by outsiders. 
 
Confessions of Genocidaires 
--------------------------- 
¶6.  In 2003, President Kagame made the decision to 
provisionally release detained genocidaires who had 
confessed their crimes.  As a result, between 2003 and 2005, 
about 50,000 genocidaires were released from prison.  When 
asked by the Ambassador whether most of them were genuinely 
remorseful or whether they had confessed just to be 
released, Ndangiza commented that confessions among young 
people (ages 14-18) tended to be genuine while confessions 
among adults were more mixed, with some truly remorseful and 
others merely seeking reduction of their sentences. 
Nevertheless, she said, confession in and of itself is a 
positive step.  She noted that in 1998 and 1999 (prior to 
gacaca) it was very difficult for genocidaires to accept 
their role in the genocide, as they continued to believe 
that they had performed their civic duty.  Gacaca provided 
the space for "reconciliatory justice."  Unlike the 
classical court system, gacaca provided the opportunity for 
perpetrators to confess and come to terms with what they had 
done. 
 
Tool of Reconciliatory Justice 
------------------------------ 
¶7.  Ambassador acknowledged the challenging task of 
reconciliation.  He observed that gacaca is aimed at two 
admirable but different goals -- rendering justice and 
promoting reconciliation -- and that going from the 
theoretical to reality and achieving both goals might be 
difficult.  Ndangiza acknowledged that it's a challenge, and 
pointed out that reconciliation needs to be understood from 
a broad perspective.  She pointed out that it's very 
important to Rwanda that everyone sit together and seek the 
truth.  She noted that prior to gacaca there was a tendency 
to globalize the guilt of genocidaires.  Gacaca provided an 
opportunity to establish individual guilt or innocence and 
brought together perpetrators, victims and other witnesses 
in the common goal of seeking the truth.  In that sense, she 
said, gacaca has been contributing to reconciliation. 
 
¶8.  Asked whether most Rwandans perceive gacaca as fair and 
respect the panels of judges, Ndangiza cited the 2002 
nationwide opinion survey conducted by NURC shortly after 
the pilot phase of gacaca began in June.  The survey 
indicated that 90 percent of the population believed gacaca 
was working despite concerns in some areas.  Victims 
expressed doubts as to whether the process would elicit the 
actual truth.  Victims and perpetrators alike expressed 
concerns over face-to-face confrontation and fears of 
possible intimidation.  Some believed that leaders would not 
participate in the process.  The majority of respondents 
perceived most gacaca judges as fair, although they believed 
that some of them might have participated in the genocide 
themselves. 
 
¶9.  The 2002 survey reflected divergent views on 
reconciliation.  Most perpetrators were interested in 
reconciliation, while most victims were interested in 
finding the truth because they believed that without truth 
there could be no reconciliation.  Some believed that the 
type of preaching in gacaca - its emphasis on forgiveness 
over justice or truth - might confuse Rwanda's many 
churchgoers.  Others expressed concerns that people in the 
countryside might not participate. 
 
¶10.  Ndangiza noted, however, that Rwandans were excited 
about the gacaca process once it started.  She noted a key 
correlation between the level of community participation and 
local leadership, with generally higher community 
participation in areas where the leaders themselves 
participated and mobilized the population, and less 
participation in areas where leaders were less involved in 
the process. 
 
Reconciliation Initiatives 
-------------------------- 
¶11.  One of NURC's strategies is to promote income- 
generating activities linked to reconciliation between 
perpetrators and survivors and victims' families.  NURC has 
facilitated the return of some perpetrators to their home 
communities to ask for forgiveness and work for the 
community, such as rebuilding houses for victims' families. 
 
¶12.  Ndangiza noted that some perpetrators have confessed to 
their crimes outside of gacaca through community 
associations (most of them located in eastern and southern 
Rwanda), which provide a supportive environment with no 
intimidation where perpetrators are more willing to tell the 
truth and victims more willing to openly share their story. 
In Butare alone, there are over 60 such associations where 
survivors, perpetrators, and victims' families come together 
for income-generating activities.  Ndangiza noted that 
returnees from the 1959 exodus of mostly Tutsi refugees have 
served as facilitators in these associations.  In areas of 
massive concentrated genocide, such as Gisenyi and 
Ruhengeri, there have been fewer such initiatives. 
 
¶13.  Ndangiza said that when she was in the Bugesera area 
near the Burundi border, she was told that most of the local 
leaders had participated in the genocide and that they had 
panicked and fled the country when gacaca started.  The 
local leadership in that area is weak, she said, and not 
interested in educating the population about gacaca.  She 
noted that they are still teaching the people the "wrong" 
history, distorting the facts and, in some cases, even 
creating a climate of mistrust.  She believed that might 
change if there is good leadership to promote reconciliation 
and to educate the populace on gacaca. 
NURC, with support from UNHCR, is planning an intensive 
sensitization program on the role of reconciliation, 
starting with the local leadership.  It is also developing 
leadership training and additional programs for youth to 
address high unemployment among youth, one of the factors 
that contributed to the genocide. 
 
¶14.  Subsequent to its 2002 survey on gacaca and 
reconciliation, NURC conducted surveys on democratization 
and decentralization, and this year another survey on gacaca 
(scheduled for release in June), as well surveys on the 
draft land law and democratization. 
 
RPF Involvement in the Genocide 
------------------------------- 
¶15.  Ambassador noted that one of the criticisms of gacaca 
is that it addresses only the crimes of the genocidaires and 
not those allegedly committed by the RPF, and asked what has 
been done to address this seeming disparity.  Ndangiza 
responded that many of the cases of RPF soldiers who 
allegedly committed atrocities during the civil war are 
still in military courts, and that there are avenues of 
justice for them.  She added that NURC recognizes this as a 
legitimate concern and is planning to organize a debate on 
it once the gacaca trials are under way so that people will 
understand those killings as different from the genocide 
killings and will not be confused.  (Note:  While RPF 
elements were, in fact, responsible for some of the 
retaliatory killings in 1994, it was on a relatively limited 
scale compared to those committed by Hutu extremists. 
Individual RPF soldiers have been tried and convicted for 
their crimes in the military court system.  End note.) 
 
Challenges and Next Steps 
------------------------- 
¶16.  As with most government agencies in Rwanda, staffing is 
a challenge for NURC.  With the recent government 
retrenchment, NURC now has a reduced staff of only 35, but 
works closely with civic organizations and has 720 part-time 
volunteers at the grassroots level.  Another challenge, in 
the immediate term, is sensitizing the community at the 
local level to the root causes and consequences of the 
genocide and the critical role of national reconciliation. 
NURC is mobilizing churches and civil society in this 
effort. 
 
¶17.  In addition, a team of researchers hired by NURC for a 
15-month project is researching Rwandan history to develop a 
fact-based history book that focuses on the positive aspects 
of Rwanda's history, such as its economic and cultural 
history.  Another group from the University of California is 
working with the National University in Butare and the 
Ministry of Education in developing an interactive 
methodology for teaching history.  Ndangiza expressed the 
hope that in 2007 people would discuss Rwanda's history with 
these two new history books. 
 
Child Prostitution 
------------------ 
¶18.  Although the issue does not fall within her current 
portfolio, Ndangiza previously served in the Ministry of 
Gender and Family Promotion, and Ambassador took the 
opportunity to ask about the extent of child prostitution in 
Rwanda.  Ndangiza commented that it is not a very 
significant problem and that the GOR does not have any 
statistics.  Churches and NGOs have undertaken efforts to 
rehabilitate prostitutes.  The bigger problem, she said, is 
the large number of households headed by children, a by- 
product of poverty and the genocide that left many children 
with only one or no parents.  She suggested, however, that 
research on the root causes of child prostitution could be 
useful. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶19.  Gacaca, although readily acknowledged by the GOR as 
imperfect, is facilitating the difficult reconciliation 
process by bringing together all parties at the community 
level and providing Rwanda with its only forum for open 
discussion of the genocide.  The GOR's recognition that the 
issue of crimes by RPF elements must be addressed and its 
plans to hold a debate on a contentious issue that has drawn 
pointed criticism are positive signs.  Post recognizes that 
Ndangiza's criticism of local leaders teaching the "wrong" 
history and the pre-1994, pre-RPF government as ineffective 
is the GOR party line, but finds it credible nonetheless. 
Post will closely watch and report opposition views.  The 
immediate challenge of gacaca will be adjudicating the 
thousands of genocide-related cases beginning this year and 
holding accountable those responsible for the genocide; the 
longer-term, overarching, perhaps more difficult, goal is 
achieving national reconciliation.  While NURC recognizes 
and acknowledges the difficulty of achieving these 
potentially conflicting goals, its current focus on civic 
education at the grassroots level is producing tangible 
results. 
 
Arietti