Journalist seeks asylum in Belgium

A locally prominent Rwandan journalist, Yvonne Uwanyiligira, who fled her country has surfaced in the Belgium capital, Brussels, and is seeking asylum. She told IRIN that she fled on 29 July after being accused of collaborating with an outlawed political party, the PDR-Ubuyanja, led by the jailed politician, Pasteur Bizimungu. Uwanyiligira said she was also accused of stealing money and equipment from the Centre for the Promotion of Free Speech and Tolerance in the Great Lakes (CPLTGL), of which she was the executive secretary. "It's a common accusation made against people who flee the country," she said. "I didn't steal anything. I have already committed myself to my chairman to refund the CPLTGL's money, which I spent on transport for myself and my four children." Uwanyiligira joined the CPLTLG after being dismissed in November 2001 from her post of director of the Media House in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. She was accused at the time of mismanagement and attending a workshop in Burkina Faso "without authorisation". "The climate of fear is becoming widespread in Rwanda. Despite the new media bill, there is no freedom of the press," she said.