[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE Greens in the US protest violent attempts to suppress Rwanda Green Party

[Green Party of California Updates]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, November 2, 2009


Greens in the US protest attempts by the government of Rwanda to suppress the
Democratic Green Party of Rwanda

• Statement from party founder Frank Habineza; government officials use
obstructions, security forces use violence to prevent Rwandan Greens from
meeting; breaking news posted at
http://www.gp.org/campaigns/international/rwanda/index.php

• The Fall 2009 issue of Green Pages, the Green Party's national publication,
is now online: http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States today expressed
solidarity with the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR,
http://rwandagreendemocrats.org) and condemned attempts by Rwandan government
security forces to sabotage the party and prevent it from holding its historic
first national congress.

On October 30, over 600 members and supporters of the new party came from all
over Rwanda to Kigali, the capital, to present their notarized signatures for
the DGPR's registration dossier with the Ministry of Local Government.  They
were driven away by police, while a meeting that was underway was violently
attacked by unidentified men who called out their support for the ruling
Rwanda Patriotic Front, while he was throwing a chair into the crowd.  Police
interrupted and canceled the meeting and arrested DGPR members who tried to
restrain the disruptors instead of the disruptors themselves.

According to DGPR founder Frank Habineza, the attacks were no accident: “We
have established the man who started the shouting and threw chairs (on October
30th) is an ex-soldier in the Rwandan army and a former employee of Military
Intelligence."

For more information on the incident, see "Police halts Green Party congress
'due to insecurity'", Rwanda News Agency, October 30, 2009,
(http://www.gp.org/campaigns/international/rwanda/Rwanda-News-Agency.pdf) and
"Arrests and broken bones at 1st Rwandan Green Party Congress" by Annie
Garrison, Green Change, October 30
(http://network.greenchange.org/news/10878-arrests-and-broken-bones-at-1st-rwandan-green-party-congress).
  The Green Party of the United States has set up a web page featuring breaking
news from Rwanda (http://www.gp.org/campaigns/international/rwanda/index.php).

On October 2, more than 900 members and supporters had traveled to a similar
meeting in Kigali, only to be told by the Nyarugenge District Mayor that even
though the Greens had secured a location and a notary, it had to resubmit its
request for permission to hold the meeting.

The party has met with similar official obstructions ever since it was
launched on August 14, 2009, at a press conference in Kigali with an audience
that included representatives from the Embassies of the US, Sweden, and the
Netherlands, as well as the BBC, SABC, Newvison-Uganda, Africa Press Agency,
and Umuseso Newspaper (http://www.rwandagreendemocrats.org/spip.php?article23).

"We protest all violence and obstruction aimed at peacefully organizing
political parties throughout the world.  We especially deplore actions taken
to prevent our fellow Green Parties in other nations from participating in the
political process.  The Rwandans who've been blocked, intimidated, and injured
by provocateurs are heroes in the struggle for democracy," said Steve Herrick,
co-chair of the International Committee of the Green Party of the United States.

US Green Party leaders have encouraged Americans outraged by the political
repression and violence to complain to the Rwanda Embassy in Washington, DC
(http://www.rwandaembassy.org / Contact Page
http://www.rwandaembassy.org/contact.html).

"Although far more brutal, the hostile actions undertaken by Rwandan
officials, police, and security forces against Greens mirror the efforts taken
by many Democrats and Republicans in office in the US to keep keep Greens and
other parties' candidates off the ballot.  In Pennsylvania, Green candidates
face the threat of personal financial ruin for trying to run.  In many states,
biased ballot access rules privilege major party candidates and bar all
others.  As Americans and as Greens, we demand democracy -- in Rwanda, in the
US, and everywhere," said Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry of the
Black Caucus of the Green Party of the United States.  Ms. Curry is helping to
prepare an international summit on the situation in Rwanda.


• Unedited statement by Frank Habineza, founder of the Democratic Green Party
of Rwanda and one of the three African Greens representatives on the 12-member
Global Green Coordination (http://www.globalgreens.org/ggc/ggc_homepage):

Its indeed been a terrible day, the man who started the shouting and threw
chairs, we have established that he is an Ex-Soldier and a former employee of
Military Intelligence, the other three people who joined him, one of them had
something like a gun-pistol, it was also seen by the US Envoy and Netherlands
Envoy and many others.

This was a well planned sabotage done by security operatives.  Another guy was
also from the Local Defense Forces.  The police was not helpful at all. It
looked like they were compromising us.

What is surprising though is that the police has released the guys who caused
trouble and rather arrested our members one of them a mother.  Thankfully our
members have been released but made statements at the police.  They were asked
why they decided to be members of our party.

Several people are injured, one Lady is in intensive care.  Her Back is having
a problem.  Am still finding out how many are injured.

Keep us in prayers,
Frank Habineza


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections
• Green Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Petition to the Rwandan Government to Register the Democratic Green Party of
Rwanda
The Green Party of Canada, October 7, 2009
http://www.greenparty.ca/blogs/103/2009-10-10/rwandan-green-party-struggles-receives-help-global-greens

"A Sad Day for Democracy - Government interferes with establishment of Green
Party in Rwanda"
By Mike Feinstein, Green Pages, Fall 2009
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1913

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the
United States
Fall 2009 issue now online
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


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