[LETTERS] HRW is a political tool used against Rwanda

Editor, RE: “Pay no attention to HRW and others of their ilk” (The New Times, July 23). No country or NGO can do better for our people than ourselves. I know of no other person or group of people who can teach Rwandans what justice means; no one can teach us how important social justice is to us as a nation and to the people individually. There are lessons we can draw from others but we are qualified enough to know how security is very costly when spilled. It doesn’t require Rwandans any lecture how it feels when one is harassed in any form without a cause because we were harassed in many ways for decades until when we said enough is enough. HRW’s cheap sentiments always come with a reason and at a calculated time. However, truth can be stubborn, it always does come out. It doesn’t make a sense; it doesn’t require any formal education to reason on the recent report. Torturing people because they are economically undesirable? That’s an insult to Rwanda. Rwanda is enjoying peace and security to its fullest in the history of the country. In fact, if Rwanda National Police were to share statistics of crimes committed every year, the number of serious crimes committed are dropping drastically every year than I believe any country across the continent. If the report is based on “ignorance” by comparing rehabilitation centers (Iwawa) with torturing camps, then there is a serious problem on data collection. However, I believe this is done deliberately. Elsewhere, police officers apprehend innocent people and shoot them six bullets over the chest.This has no place in Rwanda, where police is friendly, welcoming and professional. Yulian **************************** Each time you see a report on Rwanda by this George Soros-owned outfit and its lifelong obnoxious leader, it is always wise to go back and read Richard Johnson’s March 19, 2013 expose of this organisation. The very first paragraph of “The Travesty of Human Rights Watch on Rwanda” says it all: “What HRW does on Rwanda is not human rights advocacy. It is political advocacy which has become profoundly unscrupulous in both its means and ends. HRW’s Board of Directors should hold Executive Director Kenneth Roth and the HRW personnel who cover Rwandan issues accountable for this travesty, which has dangerous implications for Western policy toward Rwanda and for the overall credibility of Western human rights advocacy. ...” Lest anyone think this debunking of HRW’s ‘work’ on Rwanda might be from a Rwandan official understand that this excellent expose was by a retired American diplomat who got to know Rwanda during his wife’s own diplomatic assignment in Kigali. Clearly, the HRW’s Board of Directors have failed to bring Mr. Roth in order and have allowed him to continue his personal vendetta on Rwanda. A positive outcome of the HRW political activism on Rwanda is that it has helped remove the scales from many Rwandans’ eyes about the true nature of Western ‘human rights’ organizations that use human rights as a cover behind which to try to undermine disobedient governments of developing countries. Knowing they lie on Rwanda means I believe nothing they claim on any other country, including those whose governments I dislike. I consider all their reports lies until I get corroborative support from more credible sources. Mwene Kalinda

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[LETTERS] HRW is a political tool used against Rwanda