Gossip: On the grapevine

Archbishop Kolini rejects invitation His reasoning is loud and clear. Rwanda’s Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini explains why he consciously rejected the invitation from his Anglican counterpart, Archbishop Williams, to attend to this year’s Lambeth conference, in New Orleans. After receiving the invitation, our scouts say that Kolini called for an immediate meeting, advising his fellow Episcopes who were invited not to attend. Speaking from South Africa, where he was on an evangelical mission, Archbishop Kolini told our scouts on phone that he did not see any reason for attending the conference organised by Archbishop Williams, because the way the former interpret the Bible is different from the latter’s. “They [Archbishop Williams and some of his fellow Episcopes] have a philosophical understanding which contradicts the Biblical teachings,” said Kolini. To them homosexuality is neither a sin nor a crime. They disagree with the Biblical aphorism that Jesus is the ‘Way, Truth and Life’. And they also believe that it does not matter which way one takes, so long as it leads to God. He added that, the combination of all those misleading beliefs prompted us to reject their invitation. After all, there was nothing big apart from eating, drinking and a little Bible studying. Meanwhile, Rwanda is not the only country that rejected the invitation; other countries include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and Sydney. These too have already declared that they will not attend due to the same reasons. Archbishop Williams is said to be worried and sending messages to the rest of his Anglican leaders worldwide with cries following the negative replies from his invitees. Life is a song for an incredible tribe Former star photographer, Nicky Lewin, who was recently in the country, has recorded the music of the Batwa. What might have started as a work assignment, has become a personal mission for photojournalist Nicky Lewin from Manningtree. During his trip in the country, Nicky encountered scenes which he was able to portray as stunning images; the music also captured his spirit. He said: “To make sure that I wasn’t imagining the strange gift of music the Batwa seemed to possess, I brought recordings back to the UK and played them to professional musicians from the classical and session world for their expert opinion. The result was the same...total amazement. Nicky said Rwanda is increasingly becoming an attractive place for visitors. The country has gone a long way since the dark days of 1994, and is at present one of the safest countries in the region to visit. The streets are clean and a tree planting law is not only adding to the ascetic quality of the country, but is also installing environmental pride among the country’s citizens. French author in court French writer and journalist, Pierre Pean, was on Friday charged before the 17th chamber of the correctional tribunal of Paris; for conniving in racial slandering, racial provocation and hatred. The charges follow the message in his book about the Rwandan genocide - “Noires Fureurs, Blancs Menteurs (Black Furies, White Liars)”. François Xavier Ngarambe, former President of Ibuka, said he is trying to mobilize Rwandans living in Europe, to support the local media to follow the trial. Meanwhile, Mr. Claude Durand, who edited Mr. Pean’s book, is also charged in the court. DJ bags it with a wish called Rwanda Rwanda’s policy of banning plastic bags has made a wish come true for Glasgow DJ Heather Suttie in her fight against trash. Despite being one of the world’s poorest countries, Rwanda has imposed a total ban on plastic bags to protect the environment. In December, Radio XFM presenter, Heather launched a campaign urging shoppers to join the green revolution by using one less plastic bag a day. Celebrities such as Travis Frontman and Fran Healy backed the XFM presenter to wedge war on plastic carrier bags which litter streets and pollute the environment. We hear that, the radio presenter is now wedging a war on litter and rubbish strewn on streets. The Evening Times recently moved to name and shame people fined for dropping litter. According to Heather, Rwanda is one of the few countries in the world that have won the battle against litter. She also said that her decision to copy Rwanda’s policy came to light when the nation’s President, Paul Kagame, was in Glasgow to receive an honorary degree for successfully helping to stabilise the country after the 1994 mayhem. Besides protecting the environment, the ban has also had an impact on animal life, with cattle no longer choking on discarded bags in Rwanda. Kabila pulls out at the last minute Drama unfolded, when President Joseph Kabila reluctantly walked out of the peace talks at the last minute, and instead appointed Interior Minister Denis Kalume as his representative. The incident that happened last Sunday saw a delegation of 10 rebels, including their leader Laurent Nkunda, under the guard of U.N troops, meeting with members of the government for peace talks in the provincial outpost of Goma. During the meeting, Kalume dismissed suggestions that the peace meeting was about “power sharing” or “amending the Constitution”. He however added that everyone was free to talk. Kalume reportedly said, finding the solution to existing problems in the country is a necessity and a national priority. In the meeting, Nkunda accused Congo’s army of supplying the Hutu extremists with arms, while Congo in turn accused Nkunda of soliciting for support from regional neighbours. Meanwhile, an estimated 800,000 people are said to have fled their homes in Eastern Congo last year as a result of clashes between Nkunda’s men, the army and other rival groups. Ends