Peter Erlinder's remark at the August 3rd Press Briefing at the National Press Club, Washington DC

Professor Peter Erlinder was amongst the speakers at the press briefing on August 3rd before the Rwandan "Sham" Presidential Elections of August 9th. He shared with the audience his work as an ICTR lawyer and his current case with the Rwandan justice system.

Speakers:

Paul Rusesabagina, Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (sent written statement due to medical reasons)

Peter Erlinder, International Humanitarian Law Institute of Minnesota, William Mitchell College of Law

Pascal Kalinganire, Organization for Peace, Justice and Development in Rwanda and Great Lakes Region (OPJDR)

Claude Gatebuke, Rwandan genocide survivor and activist

Rwandan Elections: Implications for Peace and Stability in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region

A call for Change in US Policy from Supporting Strongmen to Supporting Strong Institutions

President Obama said, in his 2009 speech in Accra, Ghana, that America should support strong institutions and not strong men. However in the case of Rwanda, this has been no more than rhetoric. Rwandans, like most Africans, cheered Obama's election, hoping that it might signal a new, more peaceful and cooperative relationship between the U.S. and Africa, but Obama has expanded AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command, and now he remains silent as Rwanda's strongman, President Paul Kagame, prepares a sham presidential election to retain his brutal grip on power.

We are calling on President Obama and the U.S. State Department not to recognize the legitimacy of Rwanda's upcoming August 9th election results and to stop militarizing Africa and supporting repressive regimes.

Who: International Humanitarian Law Institute of Minnesota, William Mitchell College of Law, Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, Foundation for Freedom and Democracy in Rwanda, Foreign Policy In Focus, Africa Faith and Justice Network, Africa Action, Friends of the Congo, Mobilization for Justice and Peace in Congo, Shalupe Foundation, Chicago Congo Coalition and Organization for Peace, Justice and Development in Rwanda and Great Lakes Region (OPJDR).

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• paul
• kagame
• rwanda
• elections
• congo
• museveni
• kabila
• uganda
• victoire
• ingabire
• peter
• erlinder

[Bazompora]

@Clemequerry

And under business, one must understand resource theft (remember Iraq?).

[Clemequerry]

@RWANDA4DEMOCRACY .Did you also know that USA, UK fair on top of OIL trade in the world yet thy are not the world's biggest oil producers.

So it doesnt matter who produces what, its about who does business better.

[RWANDA4DEMOCRACY]

Peter Erlinder is our hero he has made the world understand what we have been subjected to by the US government that has a role model democracy but it does not want other countries especially Rwandans to enjoy the same democracy in their country simply because of of its interests in illegal mining in the DRC...did you know that Rwanda in 2005 was the world's leading Diamond exporter and yet me as a Rwandan geologist we have no such minerals underneath the soil of Rwanda