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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIGALI 000862 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV RW
SUBJECT: GETTING TO KNOW SOCIALIST PARTY LEADER 
JEAN-BAPTISTE RUCIBIGANGO 
 
KIGALI 00000862  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador W. Stuart Symington for reasons 1.4 (b) (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:   The president of the Rwandan Socialist 
Party, an intellectual and Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) 
veteran whose family was killed during Rwanda's political 
violence of the late 1950s, is strongly pro-American and 
critical of China.  He leads a small party which is aligned 
with the RPF, and espouses equal distribution of wealth, 
justice, a significant state role in the economy, and the 
provision of social services.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Poloff met November 30 with Rwandan Socialist Party 
(PSR) president Jean-Baptiste Rucibigango at the latter's 
house, which is on a small compound at the end of a pitted 
dirt road and is modestly furnished.  He drives an 
older-model Mercedes that is in poor mechanical condition, 
and noted with pride that Rwanda's chief of defense, Gen. 
James Kabarebe, was a neighbor and lived in similarly modest 
accommodations. 
 
¶3. (C) Rucibigando said his party's aims were to ensure 
equitable distribution of wealth, justice for all, and a 
social safety net including health and pensions.  A 
parliamentarian who serves on the foreign affairs committee, 
he also spoke at length about Rwanda's relations with the 
United States and other countries.  He is very pro-U.S. and 
pro-UK, saying "the Anglo-Saxons were the only ones who never 
killed any Rwandans," and spoke favorably of the British 
colonial practice of indirect rule.  Rucibigango said 
Africans were very appreciative that President Obama was in 
the White House, and praised President Bush for providing 
large amounts of USG assistance in combating HIV/AIDS and 
malaria.  The U.S. economy, with its recent increases in 
state involvement and spending, was close to an ideal 
economy, and the USG needed to devote greater USG attention 
and resources for Africa in general and Rwanda in particular, 
in part to ward off the threat from al-Qaeda and other Muslim 
extremists.  The U.S. should send more 
Peace Corps volunteers, offer more scholarships and 
exchanges, promote more English-language teaching, and both 
countries should consider creating a Rwanda-America 
friendship society.  He was supportive of AFRICOM, and 
thought it would be "good" if the U.S. were to station four 
to ten thousand troops in sub-Saharan Africa, provided they 
were not armed with nuclear weapons. 
 
¶4. (C) In contrast, China's economy was "exploitative," 
Africans had greater cultural differences with Asians than 
with the West (virtually no Chinese married Rwandans, whereas 
many Westerners had married Rwandans), and the Chinese 
Embassy in 2004 had refused to meet with Rucibigango and the 
PSR.  As for Europeans, Rwanda had had a long experience of 
European intervention and colonialism, and much preferred the 
New World over the Old World, especially France and Belgium. 
The latter had distorted and deformed Rwandan society 
beginning in the 1920s, creating artificial ethnic divisions 
where none had existed ("my family became Hutu and then Tutsi 
at different times," according to colonial authorities' 
definitions) and continuing through independence in 1962. 
Rucibigango noted that his grandfather had respected Kaiser 
Wilhem II's Germany, however. 
 
¶5. (C) Discussing Rwanda's current situation, Rucibigango 
said Western-style democracy was a good way to share power, 
but noted that it took centuries to develop in the West, 
Qbut noted that it took centuries to develop in the West, 
among populations that were relatively well-educated. 
Democracy needs to be adapted to local realities, he 
continued, explaining that it would take generations for 
there to be reconciliation and acceptance in Rwanda, because 
it was difficult to change the mentality and thinking of 
adults.  Rwanda's goal was to emulate the United States in 
becoming a "melting pot" and forging national unity.  "If you 
can do it with hundreds of groups, we should be able to do it 
with three." 
 
¶6. (C) Describing his past, Rucibigango said he was born in 
Rwanda in 1953 but fled to Burundi in 1959 after his family 
was "decimated" during massacres of Tutsis at that time.  He 
has little memory of his parents, and keeps a photograph of 
his older sister (who died in 1959) displayed in his living 
room at home.  Rucibigango won a scholarship to study under 
the Jesuits in Burundi, as had education minister Charles 
Murigande and Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) secretary-general 
Francois Ngarambe, and first became politically active in 
¶1968.  Bujumbura was a hotbed and a base for many 
revolutionaries at that time; "I used to wave Mao's Little 
 
KIGALI 00000862  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Red Book," he added.  He joined the Rwanda Patriotic Front 
full time in 1991, serving from 1991-1993 in north and 
northwestern Rwanda as a broadcaster and propagandist with 
the RPF's Radio Muhabura.  Rucibigango was clearly proud of 
his wartime service and the RPF's discipline and organization 
(in marked contrast with Laurent Kabila's movement in the 
DRC).  Many comrades died for the cause, but it was worthy, 
and before any action, RPF commanders consulted with their 
troops.  During the war, countries from around the 
world-including Kenya, China, France and then-Zaire, either 
sent forces to Rwanda to fight against the RPF or provided 
other support to the former government.  During this time, 
the USG was ignorant, not malignant, he said, and made the 
mistake of relying on France and Belgium for advice about 
Rwanda. 
 
¶7. (C) Rucibigango was on a mission within territory held by 
the then-government when the genocide began in 1994, and 
after the RPF's victory, spent 1994-96 building national 
radio and television stations back up from scratch.  In 
1996-97, he served as a communications officer with Laurent 
Kabila's rebel movement in the DRC.  He joined the PSR during 
the late 1990s or early 2000s, when it was having leadership 
problems, and was elected to parliament three times, most 
recently in 2008 and 2003, and is currently serving as the 
president of the Political Party Forum (a position that 
rotates among political parties).  Rucibigango is widowed 
with three kids ranging in age between 15 and 18.  He speaks 
French and some English, and has written several books and 
essays. 
 
¶8. (C) Note:  The PSR was created in 1992 by Dr. Medard 
Rutijanwa and Jean-Baptiste Mberabahizi.  Mberabahizi was a 
member of parliament but left Rwanda in 1996, claiming to 
have serious disagreements with the RPF-led government.  He 
is currently the secretary-general and spokesman for the 
FDU-Inkingi, an umbrella organization which consists of 
several exile political groups and which is headed by 
opposition figure Victoire, herself a declared candidate for 
the 2010 presidential elections.  Rutijanwa is still in 
Rwanda but is no longer a party member.  During parliamentary 
elections in 2008, the PSR fielded candidates as part of an 
RPF-led coalition, winning one seat (held by Rucibigango). 
The PSR announced recently that it will not field a candidate 
for the upcoming presidential elections, but within the past 
several weeks it has conducted at least two grassroots 
meetings in districts outside of Kigali.  End Note. 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT: Incongruous as it may seem given his 
background as an avowed socialist, former liberation fighter 
and admirer of Che Guevara (whose picture hangs on the wall 
at Rucibigango's home and was featured prominently at a 
recent PSR meeting), Rucibigango is a very staunch supporter 
of the United States and closer bilateral relations.  As a 
party, the PSR is one of the smaller ones and appears to be 
closely aligned with the RPF--Ombudsman and senior RPF figure 
Tito Rutaremara delivered remarks at the PSR's general 
assembly meeting last month--but Rucibigango's independent 
personality suggests he is no one's stooge.  His recent 
appointment as Political Party Forum president (a rotating 
position) puts him in a position to influence both the GOR 
and the newer political parties as Rwanda prepares for 
presidential elections next summer.  END COMMENT. 
Qpresidential elections next summer.  END COMMENT. 
SYMINGTON