International
Rusesabagina arrest will never halt Rwanda’s foreign relations
The
arrest of Paul Rusesabagina in Kigali on August 28, 2020, caused a hullabaloo
of sorts, with so-called rights activists calling it kidnapping. The
68-year-old is serving 25 years in jail after being tried and convicted of terrorism
by a Rwandan court in September 2021.
His
arrest and trial was followed by numerous campaigns, by his backers, demanding his immediate
release, or else, they threatened, Rwanda would be sanctioned. But who would
sanction Rwanda, and for which reasons? Trying a terrorist? Rwanda should, instead, be appreciated for
this achievement – arresting, bringing to court, and putting a terrorist where
he belongs, behind bars.
The
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) linked terrorism to
international crimes. Some terrorist acts can constitute crimes against
humanity provided that a terrorist attack is part of a widespread or systematic
attack directed against a civilian population or war crimes when committed
during armed conflicts.
In
some situations, terrorist acts may also constitute genocide if they were
committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,
racial, or religious group, as such.
“States
are required to prosecute and hold the perpetrators of terrorist acts accountable
for their actions in a manner duly reflecting the seriousness of the offence,
in accordance with international human rights law, international refugee law,
and international humanitarian law, and within the rule of law,” states the
ICCT.
Rusesabagina’s
case does not seriously impact Rwanda’s foreign relations with other countries or
its standing within the international community. No government or international
organization sanctioned Rwanda, and the country experienced no diplomatic
crisis as a result of this case.
No serious
government can stand with a terror convict.
Rusesabagina
was elevated, by his Western backers, into a Hollywood ‘hero’ through the
fictitious “Hotel Rwanda” film. At the beginning of his trial, he showed signs
that he may eventually atone for his crimes. But as the case progressed, faced
with overwhelming evidence pinning him on atrocities he masterminded as boss of
the MRCD and its military wing, FLN, he recoiled and boycotted trial.
But
as rules of procedure of Rwandan courts prescribe, the trial continued in his
absence. A court of appeal upheld his 25-year sentence, in April 2022.
Jonathan
R. Beloff, a researcher focusing on the Great Lakes Region and East Africa, has
in 2022 revealed that Rwandan foreign policy has remained relatively resolute
in promoting state interest and security, and was not seriously impacted.
He
observed that the most prevalent condemnation of Rusesabagina’s arrest and
trial stem from foreign human rights critics rather than state governments. International human rights organizations
including Human Rights Watch and global government institutions like the
European Union, journalists and academics used the arrest to repeat existing
narratives criticizing Rwanda’s post-genocide development.
“Rwandan
human security does not incorporate protecting Rwandans who promote ethnic
divisions but instead protects those accused by a third actor as being a member
of Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa.
Rusesabagina’s
involvement and leadership of several antagonist political groups such as the
MRCD, FLN and PDR-Ihumure threaten not only state security by committing
terrorism, but the promotion of ethnic divisionism,” reads Beloff”s research
article.
Rusesabagina’s
family is in big business; collecting huge sums of money the same way their
adoptive father did; preparing fundraisers for the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina
Foundation, which their father used to obtain funds to sponsor terrorist attacks
on Rwandan soil.
Their
donors continue pouring in cash, unknowingly, thinking that they are
contributing to humanitarian causes yet they are sponsoring terrorism, and
supporting criminal individuals who are filling their own pockets.