Students seek asylum in Kampala

Some 36 Rwandan university students are seeking asylum in Uganda,
reportedly fearing that their lives were in danger in Rwanda. A UNHCR official told IRIN on Tuesday the agency know about the case and was "trying to verify the students' account" with its office in Kigali. The students, born in Uganda to Rwandan parents, had moved back to Rwanda after the 1994 genocide and, finding it difficult to study in French at university level, staged a protest on 16 August that resulted in some
arrests. "The demonstration was against the government policy of the introduction of compulsory French language... they were perceived as opponents of the government," the students told UNHCR. The semi-official 'New Vision' newspaper reported on Tuesday that some 40 Rwandan students camping at the Old Kampala police station since 7 December had alleged political persecution and were seeking refugee status.