KIGALI - Security officials have refuted a report published by a Ugandan newspaper which claimed that security organs arrested hundreds of people ahead of today’s US President George Bush’s visit.

The Daily Monitor on Sunday published a story titled ‘Rwanda holds hundreds ahead of Bush’s visit’ but Rwandan officials refuted the details of the article yesterday.

The Police Spokesman Inspector Willy Marcel Higiro said that the paper’s report was extremely false. Higiro said that such operations have been on before Bush’s visit and they will continue even after the US President leaves. He said that it is the police’s duty to maintain order and discourage idling.

 "It’s a continuous process,” he stressed.

He said that the number of people reportedly arrested indicated in the story is totally wrong. "The reporter is misleading the public; everything in his story is wrong,” he lamented.

The story also alleged that the Police would impose harsh measures to those found with no identifications. But Higiro said that there are laws and the Police don’t impose harsh measures on people.

The Spokesman of Rwanda Defence Forces, Maj. Jill Rutaremara, also refuted the story, accusing of the reporter of consistently misquoting him.

The article claimed several security agencies were backed by the US Secret Service to carry out the operations.

However, Rutaremara emphasized that the US is not in anyway involved in Rwandan internal security issues.

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