VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #0727/01 2101035
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291035Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3048

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000727 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C, AF/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2016 
TAGS: KDEM KPAO PGOV PHUM UNESCO RW
SUBJECT: NEW HIGH COUNCIL OF THE PRESS APPOINTMENTS 
UNCONTROVERSIAL AND UNINSPIRED 
 
Classified By: PAO Brian George for reason 1.4 (D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  In June the GOR confirmed new appointments 
for the country,s nine-person High Council of the Press 
(HCP), which is charged with both regulation of the media and 
promotion of press freedom in the country.  It is hoped that 
this iteration of the Council (this is the second Council to 
be appointed since the HCP,s creation in 2003) will be able 
to avoid the personality conflicts that plagued its 
predecessor.  The quest for internal harmony is reflected in 
their choice of president--a senior and genial newspaper 
editor unlikely to seek confrontation.  Few members of 
Council appear to possess the experience, desire, or gravitas 
necessary to turn the HCP into a body that is respected by 
the media, other government bodies, or the public at large. 
Nonetheless, the HCP secretariat is optimistic that the body 
will emerge as an important institution as the capacity of 
its staff grows.  The Embassy is working to support this 
process of capacity building through a UNESCO Media Support 
Fund grant and by utilizing the International Visitor program 
and other PD tools.  End Summary. 
 
New Members of the HCP 
------------------------- 
¶2. (C) On July 11, the nine-person Council elected its 
office-bearers (president, vice-president, and secretary). 
Father Dominique Karekezi, editor of the Catholic Church,s 
Kinyamateka newspaper (Rwanda,s oldest paper) and the only 
hold-over from the original High Council, was elected 
president.  Fellow HCP member Ines Mpambara attributed his 
election to 1) his status as the eldest member of the 
Council, and 2) his non-confrontational personality. The 
first HCP was plagued by internal divisions which stemmed 
from personality clashes that contributed to the premature 
departure of the HCP,s first president.  Karekezi is an 
affable, experienced journalist but is unlikely to take any 
action that will pit him against the government.  Charles 
Nahayo, technical director of the public broadcaster 
(ORINFOR), was elected vice-president and Thais Ruboneka, a 
junior faculty member from the National University of 
Rwanda,s (NUR) School of Journalism, was elected secretary. 
Both of the latter are relatively junior GOR appointees. 
 
¶3. (U) The remaining members of the Council are: 
 
--David Kibuye, managing director of the pro-government &New 
Times.8 Kibuye is a retired Rwandan Defense Force (RDF) 
officer who worked for the Rwandan Patriotic Front's (RPF) 
bush radio station during its guerrilla war.  He represents 
the private media. 
 
--Dr. Venuste Karambizi, currently a lecturer at the 
Universite Libre de Kigali.  Karambizi worked as a journalist 
prior to the genocide; joined the RPF shortly before the 
genocide began; and worked for a time in the MFA.  He 
represents civil society. 
 
--Ines Mpambara, currently executive director of the Ministry 
of Health,s communications office and formerly deputy 
director of the NUR,s School of Journalism.  Mpambara 
studied in the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship and has a 
reputation as a free thinker.  She represents the government. 
 
--Gabrielle Uwimana, international media monitor at the 
Ministry of Information.  Uwimana worked with the Embassy to 
organize a recent conference on political communication for 
government spokespersons.  She is a strong advocate for 
capacity building among Rwandan journalists and will take her 
appointment to the HCP very seriously.  Trained as a teacher, 
she had no experience in the media field prior to assuming 
her current position.  She represents the government. 
 
--Prince Bahati, chief editor at the Adventist Church,s 
radio station.  Bahati is a recent university graduate and 
works for a small, niche market station.  His selection seems 
to reflect a lack of interest on the part of private radio 
stations--perhaps because of their strong focus on music 
rather than news programming--in the HCP.  He represents the 
private media. 
 
--Dr. Laurien Nyabyenda, a medical doctor who also represents 
an NGO focused on family planning issues.  He represents 
civil society. 
 
A (Lack of) Vision for the Future? 
------------------------------------- 
¶4. (C) Early indications are that only a few members of the 
Council have both a desire to strengthen the HCP and a vision 
of how that can happen. During meetings with PAO, neither 
Karekezi nor Kibuye (who was rumored to have been a candidate 
for the HCP presidency and, by virtue of his position as 
 
director of the &New Times8 is one of the most influential 
members of Rwanda,s press) offered a vision of what role 
they would like the HCP to play.  Despite the HCP,s many 
shortcomings, they also were unable or unwilling to share any 
ideas about how the body could be strengthened.  Mpambara 
(protect), who enjoyed a strong reputation during her tenure 
at the NUR, said she was surprised by the overall lack of 
quality of the HCP members. (Comment: Any blame for the 
weakness of the members should be shared equally by the 
private media, civil society organizations, public media and 
the Government, each of which was responsible for its own 
nominations. End comment).  She sees it has her role on the 
HCP to ask a lot of questions and make sure that her 
colleagues at least debate the important issues. (Comment 
Particularly striking was the seemingly indifferent attitude 
of Karekezi, given his position as president and the fact 
that he brings to his new position three years of experience 
on the HCP.  When pressed by PAO concerning the Council's 
apparent lack of interest/involvement in some high profile 
cases concerning Rwandan journalists or media outlets, 
Karekezi asked &What do you expect us to do?8 given that 
the HCP has no authority over organizations such as the 
Rwandan National Police and other government agencies.  That 
being said, Mpambara said she was more disappointed by the 
selection of vice president and secretary than by Karekezi,s 
election as president.  Having a weak president would not 
necessarily be a bad thing, she noted, if the other members 
of the Council could steer him in the direction they want. 
End comment) 
 
¶5. (U) Despite, or perhaps as a result of, the apparent 
weakness of the Council, Patrice Mulama, executive secretary 
of the HCP, expressed confidence that the organization will 
in time become an important and respected institution. 
Mulama recognizes that his staff needs additional training in 
order to fulfill the organization's mandate and is open to 
outside support.  To that end, PAO worked with Mulama to 
develop a request for UNESCO Media Support Funds to provide 
training for HCP staff and members on media law and 
regulation, media ethics, and to help the organization 
develop a communications and advocacy strategy that will make 
it more effective in fighting turf wars with other GOR bodies 
and make it more responsive to domestic and international 
constituencies.  All parties in Rwanda recognize, however, 
that the development of quality independent journalists is 
critical to enshrining press freedom in the country.  There 
continues to be high level interest in the creation of a 
media training institute in Kigali to provide working 
journalists--a large percentage of whom have no formal 
training in the field-- with an opportunity to improve their 
skills.  Preliminary indications are that USAID will be able 
to contribute toward the establishment of this training 
institute.  If the funding is confirmed, the announcement 
will be received enthusiastically by the GOR and private 
media alike. 
 
THURSTON