DATE=3/23/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RWANDA PRESIDENT (L)
NUMBER=2-260514
BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS
DATELINE=NAIROBI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The president of Rwanda has resigned
(Thursday) following a power struggle with the
country's military. As Correspondent Scott Stearns
reports, it is the latest change following allegations
of corruption and mismanagement.
TEXT: Pasteur Bizimungu resigned as president just
days after accusing parliament of disobedience for
failing to respect his choice of ministers. He tried
to block a new cabinet for more than a month, but when
legislators moved to swear-in the new officials, Mr.
Bizimungu stepped-down in a letter to the Supreme
Court.
National Assembly Speaker Vincent Biruta takes over as
interim president until the cabinet and parliament
decide on a new leader. The move does not leave much
of a power vacuum in Rwanda.
Vice President and Minister of Defense Paul Kagame
remains the ultimate authority. But Mr. Bizimungu's
resignation upsets the appearance of ethnic balance in
Kigali.
Like more than 80-percent of Rwanda's population, Mr.
Bizimungu is an ethnic Hutu. When rebels from the
Tutsi minority took power six-years ago, they made Mr.
Bizimungu president, in part, as an effort to show
they were not an exclusively Tutsi movement.
Rebels stopped the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsi and
politically-moderate Hutu, killing that was
orchestrated by the former government army and ruling-
party militia - all Hutu. Those responsible for the
violence fled to what was then Zaire and began a
series of cross-border raids until they were flushed
out in a Rwandan-backed rebellion against Zairian
dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
Most of the Hutu refugees then came home. Some stayed
behind and are now fighting against another Rwandan-
backed rebellion aimed at toppling Congolese leader
Laurent Kabila.
Throughout his time in office, Mr. Bizimungu tried
hard to show he had some real power in government, but
most Hutu largely discounted him as a Tutsi puppet.
The end finally came when Mr. Bizimungu clashed with
the military over investigations into charges of
corruption. He opposed that campaign, saying
legislators were wrong to go after Prime Minister
Pierre Celestin Rwigema, a fellow Hutu who resigned in
February over allegations of mismanagement.
It is unclear what the 49-year-old former president
will do. There is little room for political
opposition in Rwanda. Military leaders last year
prolonged a transition to civilian rule for another
five-years, saying ethnic tensions are still to high
for elections.
Critics say Tutsi leaders are stalling because they
know they will never win a free and fair vote when
Tutsis account for less than 15-percent of the
population. (SIGNED)
NEB/SS/GE/RAE
23-Mar-2000 11:24 AM EDT (23-Mar-2000 1624 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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