DATE=4/21/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=KAGAME / RWANDA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-261593
BYLINE=TODD PITMAN
DATELINE=KIGALI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Rwanda's Paul Kagame will take the oath of
office to become president on Saturday in a swearing-
in ceremony in the Rwandan capital. But as Todd
Pitman reports from Kigali, analysts warn the
country's leaders are becoming more intolerant of
opposition.
TEXT: Paul Kagame, the rebel leader credited with
ending Rwanda's 1994 genocide, was overwhelmingly
elected president on Monday during a special joint
session of parliament and the cabinet.
Few observers were surprised to see Mr. Kagame, a
Tutsi, accede to his new post, but party insiders say
he did so reluctantly. Analysts say he had earlier
rejected the position, in part out of a fear of
antagonizing the country's Hutu majority.
The vote came three weeks after the resignation of
Pasteur Bizimungu, who held the job since 1994. He
stepped down after falling out with senior officials
of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (R-P-F).
After the genocide, the R-P-F set up a transitional
government of national unity composed of Hutus and
Tutsis opposed to the former regime.
But critics say the reins of power are concentrated in
the hands of a small group of English-speaking Tutsis
who grew up in exile in neighboring Uganda.
In recent months, authorities have sought to silence
an increasingly vocal opposition, particularly among
disaffected Tutsis from the ex-diaspora and survivors,
who feel excluded from the corridors of power.
Former speaker of parliament, Joseph Sebarenzi, a
Tutsi accused of favoring a return of Rwanda's exiled
king, resigned his post in January and fled the
country. Several independent journalists who have
criticized the government have also fled the country
in recent weeks.
A string of unsolved assassinations in Kigali earlier
this year - most notably that of Assiel Kabera, one of
Mr. Bizimungu's close advisers - has done little to
ease fears among the population.
But many believe President Kagame is sincerely
committed to ethnic reconciliation and eventual
democracy, not an easy task in a country that in the
past has been so divided along ethnic lines. (SIGNED)
NEB/TP/GE
21-Apr-2000 09:50 AM EDT (21-Apr-2000 1350 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
