Author: Publisher

{A Young man aged 28 whose name was unidentified was found hanged under a mango tree with a rope on his neck.
The incident occurred yesterday in Remera Sector of Ngoma District located in the Eastern Province of Rwanda.}

The body was discovered by a local farmer who later called security agents to take over the man’s corpse on a tree.

Speaking to IGIHE, the Executive Secretary of Nyamagana Cell, Habiyaremye Saratien, confirmed the death of that young man, however, added the secretary, the origin of the deceased is not yet known. Currently, his body is in Kibungo hospital for post-mortem.

He warned residents over committing suicide in case they have problems they should approach their local leaders to find solutions to their problems together.

{French is Dead. If it’s the only language you speak, you’d have access to less than 4% of humanity knowledge and ideas. That’s very limiting.}

In United States more than 300,000 new book titles and editions are published every year. In United Kingdom this number is 206,000. Where does France stands?

In France only 63,000 new book titles and editions are published every year. This is 5 times less than the Unites States and 3 times less than United Kingdom. This means a person who is only literate in French would have 8 times less access to information and knowledge than a person who is is literate in English.

In Burkina-Faso, only 12 new book titles and editions are published every year. In Mali 14, in Benin 84, in Madagascar 119, and in Egypt 9,022 the highest ranking African country.

How does French stands in scientific publications?

In terms of academic and scientific articles, Unites States produced about 3 millions scientific articles over the last ten years, United Kingdom 700.000 articles. Where does France stands? 500.000 articles. It means that a person who is literate in French would have 7 times less access to scientific publications than a person who is literate in English.

In fact, this number is much higher because all other countries mainly publish their scientific articles in English as all major scientific reviews, journals and publications are in English.

What about the number of scholarly journals and publications by language

Only 4% of scholarly journals and publications are in French.

What about the size of Wikipedia by language?

On Wikipedia there are more than 4 millions articles in English, with more than 600 millions edits, 1,447 admins and more than 18 millions users. Wikipedia in French is 3 times less, comprising 1,2 millions articles, 93 millions edits, 181 admins, and only 1,5 million users.

What about the number of content per language on the Internet?

The internet has about 634 million websites pages, and 54% of the content is in English and only 4% in French. French is in fact marginal on the Internet, which is now the collective brain of humanity.

What about Film and video production by language?

Only 3% of film and video content are in French.

What about Newspapers and magazines production?

Only 2% of Newspapers and magazines are in French. Less than Hindi.

French is really Dead.
If it’s the only language you speak, you have access to less than 2% of the humanity knowledge.

Slowly, we will start classifying French as an indigenous language spoken by only 60 millions people in a small country in Europe, and few other micro-countries or Regions like Belgium, Quebec, Switzerland. What’s an Irony!

Some French colonies in Africa still speak that language, but recently there is a huge movement to move away from that colonial heritage to embrace English. Rwanda was the first African country to replace the French language by English. The reason is simple, Rwanda doesn’t export perfume, cosmetics and fashion clothes, therefore the country doesn’t need such a sophisticated and rich language.

Gabon has also made it clear to steer the country to English language, as the President Ali Bongo is amazed by what Rwanda has accomplished in so little time. ( Excusez-moi, text in French).

France itself, just has took notice of the huge shift, and will introduce English into all its schools and universities.

When it comes to Science and Technology, Business and Commerce, French is a dead language. English is the language that could open faster the developing countries to the world and help them access up-to-date information, and become more competitive.

{On 13th December, Her Excellency the First Lady Mrs Jeannette Kagame is unveiling 20 homes constructed for orphans, in Rubavu district. Unity Club, under the leadership of the First Lady, started work on these new homes in 2012. Mrs. Kagame will also treat close to 500 children from Western Province to a Christmas party.}

In 2011, Unity Club began supporting orphans living in the ‘Noel de Nyundo’ orphanage. This orphanage, which has about 592 orphans, was selected because it has some children who are over 18 years of age, still living there. In partnership with the National Children’s Commission, Unity Club began advocacy efforts to assist orphans find families, so that they can grow up in a healthier space.

The First Lady believes that: ‘As parents it is our responsibility to love, nurture and protect our precious Rwandan children. It is our mission to do everything we can, to support them in building a solid foundation for their future.’

Unity Club made a pledge to construct 20 homes for orphans over 18 years, to help them start a new life, away from the orphanage. The National Children’s Commission and ‘Home and Hope for Children’ selected and prepared 24 children who will live in the 20 new homes. The children will be followed up for the next 2 years.

Unity Club was created in 1996 to unite and reconcile Rwandans and promote peace. The First Lady is the President of the organization, which is made up of past and present government leaders and their spouses.

{The Congolese government signed a peace deal on Thursday with the M23 rebels it had been fighting until they laid down their arms last month, ending weeks of wrangling over the terms of an agreement.}

The deal apparently concludes the most serious rebellion in Congo in a decade but analysts say the region remains fragile, not least because the agreement does not address the status of other armed groups.

M23 is the latest incarnation of the Tutsi-led insurgents who have battled Congo’s government in its mineral-rich eastern region since 1996, in an evolving conflict that has caused the deaths of millions from violence, hunger and disease.

“Today the DRC (Congo) government and M23 have respectively signed declarations reflecting the consensus reached during the Kampala Dialog on steps necessary to end the armed activities of the M23,” said a joint communique.

Two declarations were signed which together comprise 11 points agreed on by the parties, said the communique, signed by President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Joyce Banda of Malawi.

These include a decision by the M23 to end the rebellion and transform itself into a political party, an amnesty to M23 members only for acts of war or insurgency and the demobilization of former M23 members.

It included agreement on the release of those held by Congo for war or rebellion and called for the return of those displaced by fighting. It also called for the formation of a committee to handle property and land that was confiscated, stolen or destroyed.

No blanket amnesty

“The document is very clear: there is no blanket amnesty. Those who are presumed to have committed criminal behavior in terms of international law, war crimes or crimes against humanity will not be reinserted into society,” said Congo government spokesman Lambert Mende.

“There will be justice, and no blind amnesty. Whether justice is done here in Congo or in the Hague, it does not matter,” he said, adding that the deal was signed at State House in Nairobi.

There was no immediate comment from former M23 rebels.

“We have been conducting some talks to try to conclude the dialog between the two parties (M23 and Kinshasa) and I am informed this evening the final document was signed in Nairobi,” James Mugume, Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary.

U.N. experts have accused Uganda and Rwanda of backing the rebels during the uprising. Both countries deny the charge.

Last November, M23 rebels occupied Goma, a town of a million people and the capital of North Kivu province on the border with Rwanda. They withdrew under intense diplomatic pressure that led to the opening of talks in Uganda.

However, the fall of Goma led to a revamping of Congo’s army and the strengthening of the U.N. force and its mandate in Congo.

When peace talks faltered, rebels were driven from all the remaining towns they occupied in a process that ended in November.

Kinshasa and the rebels failed to seal a deal last month after a dispute over what it should be called. The rebels were ready to sign a peace agreement but Congo’s negotiators wanted to call it a declaration, reflecting the rebels’ defeat.

The difficulty of concluding a deal highlighted deep-rooted regional tensions after the fighting.

Thursday’s communique signaled the end of peace talks held under the auspices of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Southern African Development Community region.

{{VOA}}

{Rwanda-FDU Leader Victoire Ingabire accused on charges of threatening state security and public order verdict is set for this Friday morning in Kigali. The Supreme Court has announced.}

Ingabire was initially sentenced by high court 8years in jail.

Speculations on social networks say Ingabire verdict by Supreme Court is seen to be reducing to five years. Other rumors say 2 years but IGIHE can’t confirm the set verdict.

{Rwanda refused formal requests to assist a British police investigation into genocide suspects living in the UK, the BBC has been told.}

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has revealed in 2010 it asked for what is known as “mutual legal assistance” to help the Metropolitan Police.

A UK resident accused of genocide anywhere in the world since 1991 can be put on trial in Britain.

Rwanda’s high commissioner to the UK says they are working with the CPS.

Williams Nkurunziza told the BBC: “Why would the UK or anyone who is interested in the delivery of justice be interested in trying genocide suspects in the UK? The people that desire to see justice being done are not in the UK, they are in Rwanda”.

In 2009 Rwanda sought to extradite four men living in the UK who it claimed had been involved in the genocide.

The UK High Court refused, ruling that if Dr Vincent Brown; Charles Munyaneza; Celestin Ugirashebuja; and Emmanuel Nteziryayo were returned to Rwanda, there would be “a real risk” they would suffer “a flagrant denial of justice”.

The following year, the law was amended to allow suspects to be prosecuted in Britain.

The CPS says it contacted the Rwandan Government about the four men on behalf of Counter Terrorism Command at the Metropolitan Police.

It says: “The specific allegation being investigated in this case was genocide.”

An application for “mutual legal assistance” in a case like this would usually mean a request for evidence.

The CPS told the BBC: “The timing, nature and scope of the request were based upon the police investigation.”

According to the CPS, the Rwandan government rejected all four applications.

Mr Nkurunziza told the BBC he is only aware of two such requests.

He said his country is currently working with the CPS in a renewed attempt to extradite those it suspects of being involved in the genocide.

Earlier this year the same four men and a fifth suspect, Celestin Mutabaruka, were arrested and face a full extradition hearing in March 2014.

The High Court heard in 2009 that the four men deny being involved in the genocide and it is understood Mr Mutabaruka also denies the allegations against him.

Mr Nkurunziza says Rwanda has reformed its legal system and its prisons and added: “The ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) has transferred cases to Rwanda for trial. Countries like Norway and Canada have extradited people back to Rwanda to stand trial and I believe UK should be able to hold the same view.”

He dismisses concerns from Human Rights Watch that a fair trial cannot be guaranteed and that the judiciary in Rwanda is not independent. He says the views of countries which have “assessed the system… carry greater weight than Human Rights Watch”.

One of the five men Rwanda is trying to extradite is Dr Vincent Brown, known originally as Vincent Bajinya. He told BBC Radio 4’s PM Programme: “There’s no fair trial in Rwanda.”

He says he denies the allegations against him and wants to clear his name: “I am prepared to face any fair trial anywhere in the world – anywhere else where I can get it.”

He says he had hoped he could face a trial in Britain.

“I wrote so many letters to the Crown Prosecution Service in this country. I wrote letters to the British police asking them to investigate me. I was willing to collaborate with the police. But nothing has happened,” he said.

There have been trials of genocide suspects in Germany, Canada and the Netherlands but Rwanda’s High Commissioner says trials should take place where the crimes were committed.

Mr Nkurunziza says: “Our view is all genocide suspects, wherever they are, should be tried in Rwanda.”

A spokesman from the Crown Prosecution Service told the BBC: “There is no current domestic investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Vincent Bajinya and others. Without an investigation in the UK, a domestic prosecution cannot take place.

“All of the evidence in this case is with the Rwandan authorities and they have requested extradition. CPS prosecutors are now acting on behalf of the Rwandan authorities in these proceedings under the normal rules for extradition matters.”

The Metropolitan Police declined to comment.

{The spectacular surrender of Bosco Ntaganda, known as the “Terminator”, is one of the main events marking 2013 at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Congolese general gave himself up in March this year. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the event, saying it would “advance the cause of peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as the fight against impunity in the region”.}

It was on January 12, 2006 that the ICC Prosecutor at the time, Luis Moreno Ocampo, filed a first request asking the Court to issue an arrest warrant for Bosco Ntaganda for war crimes. The suspected crimes were committed in 2002 and 2003 in Ituri, eastern DRC, in connection with activities of the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (known by its French acronym FPLC), the armed wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC). The arrest warrant was issued on August 22 the same year by judges Claude Jorda, Akua Kuenyehi and Sylvia Steiner. It was first placed under seal and then unsealed on April 28, 2008. The three judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Ntaganda was third in command of the FPLC, after the chief commander Thomas Lubanga and Floribert Kisembo. The arrest warrant says it was in that capacity that the suspect went several times to FPLC training camps where children under 15 were conscripted and then sent to the battle front under his supervision.

{{Named army General}}

Despite the arrest warrant, Ntaganda was integrated into the regular Congolese army under an agreement with the government in Kinshasa in March 2009. He was named a general and spent his days untroubled in his stronghold of North Kivu. His former boss, Thomas Lubanga, was not so lucky. The ex-head of the UPC was arrested in 2006 and in the ICC’s first judgment on March 14, 2012, was found guilty of war crimes. Convicted for conscripting children under 15 and using them to fight, Lubanga was sentenced on July 10 the same year to 14 years in jail. He has appealed. Following the Lubanga judgment, human rights organizations called attention to the fact that Ntaganda was suspected of the same crimes and was still at large under the protection of Congolese president Joseph Kabila. At that time Kabila considered that arresting the former rebel commander would endanger the fragile reconciliation process in the east of the country. Meanwhile the ICC Prosecutor was working on another arrest warrant based on new evidence, some of it gathered during the Lubanga trial. The Court issued a new arrest warrant on July 13, 2012 for murder, rape and sexual slavery, persecution, attacking the civilian population and pillaging. “Born in Rwanda but raised in Congo”

Ntaganda deserted the army several weeks before the second arrest warrant was issued. He was joined by other deserters who said it was because the government was not fully implementing the March 23, 2009 agreement. And so the M23 rebel movement was born. No doubt aware of the risk of choosing an internationally wanted man as its military boss, the M23 chose someone else. And on March 18 this year Ntaganda turned himself into the American embassy in Kigali asking to be transferred to the ICC in The Hague. The circumstances under which he left the DRC are still not clear. In any case, on March 22 Ntaganda joined Lubanga in the ICC prison in The Hague. Three days later he made his initial appearance before the Court, where the judge made sure he understood the charges against him and verified his identity. “My name is Bosco Ntaganda,” he said. “I only have those two names, the names my parents gave me. As you know, I was in the army in Congo. I was born in Rwanda but I grew up in Congo. I am Congolese.” The suspect addressed the Court in the Rwandan language. His confirmation of charges hearing is set to start on February 10, 2014. However, human rights organizations say he should also be tried for crimes committed in North Kivu, another region of eastern DRC.

Hirondelle News Agency