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Rwandan Opposition Says Government Must Help End Violence

   Peter Clottey 28 June 2010

   The  leader  of  the  opposition  Democratic Green Party of Rwanda has
   called   on  President  Paul  Kagameâs  government  to  help  end  the
   escalating  violence  ahead  of  the  general  elections scheduled for
   August this year.

   Frank  Habineza  said  the  period  leading  up  to  the  election  is
   contributing to the ongoing violence.

   Habinezaâs  comments  follows  last  weekâs  shooting death of Leonard
   Rugambage, acting editor of the banned Umuvugizi independent newspaper
   in the capital, Kigali.

   âI  would  like  to  call  upon  the Rwandan President and the Rwandan
   government  to do all they can, in their means, to make sure that they
   control  the  situation. I would like to call upon him (Mr. Kagame) to
   increase  his  capacity  and to make sure that all Rwandans as, he had
   promised,  can  sleep  and wake up without any worry that someone will
   kill them,â he said.

   Rwanda President Paul Kagame

   Rugambageâs   death  has  reportedly  heightened  tension  among  many
   Rwandans  who  are  said to be fearful of a violent crackdown ahead of
   the August vote.

   Jean  Bosco  Gasasira, editor and publisher of the newspaper, is among
   those  blaming  the  government for the shooting death of Rugambage, a
   charge the government denies.

   Rwandaâs  Media  High  Council  (MHC)  and  the Association of Rwandan
   Journalists  (ARJ)  issued statements condemning the shooting death of
   Rugambage and demanded a thorough investigation.

   Local  media  quoted Eric Kayiranga, spokesman for Rwandaâs police, as
   saying  there  is  an investigation to ascertain the motive behind the
   killing of the acting newspaper editor.

   "It  is unfortunate. He was shot and died on the spot. We tried to get
   to the scene as fast as we could, but the gunman had fled in a car. No
   one  has  been  arrested  or  linked to this act, but the police (are)
   doing everything in its powers to trace the killers.â

   Opposition  leader  Habineza  said that Rwandans do not feel safe with
   the ongoing violence ahead of the vote.

   âWe  want  to  make  sure that the elections, which are coming up, are
   peaceful.  I  understand that (an) election is not the end of life; it
   is  just the beginning of a journey to democracy. So, we donât want to
   have any problem just because of (an) election,â Habineza said.

   Opposition  groups have often accused President Kagameâs government of
   strongly  resisting  any  dissent  by  refusing to register opposition
   parties  ahead  of  the  upcoming  election,  a  charge the government
   denies.

   Meanwhile,   analysts  say  the  escalating  violence  will  undermine
   Rwandaâs young democracy.

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