Six human rights workers flee in fear of arrest

Six officials of a Rwandan human rights organisation have fled the country for fear of arrest following a recommendation by a parliamentary commission for the disbandment of their organisation for allegedly harbouring genocidal ideas, an official told IRIN on Thursday.

The vice-president of the Rwandan League for Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (Liprodor), Francois Xavier Byuma, said the six had fled to neighbouring Uganda eight days ago. "All those fleeing are scared for their security and fear to be arrested after that report [was] made by parliament," Byuma said. "The number could grow bigger as most of our members and staff are now scared."

Rwandan police confirmed the departure of the officials. "It is true that six of their members have fled the country," Theos Badenge, the police spokesman, said.

A parliamentary commission of inquiry recently recommended the Liprodor's dissolution, along with four other civil society organisations, for allegedly being sectarian and promoting ethnic division. However, the government has not made a decision on the issue.

Under Rwandan law, promoting ethnic differences is a punishable crime. Ethnicity was the main reason for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, during which 937,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed, according to government figures.

Liprodor is a human rights monitoring body, which in the past has been critical of the government’s record on promoting and protecting human rights.

Since the parliamentary commission made its recommendation, international human rights organisations have expressed concern over the move, calling on the Rwandan government to reject the recommendation.

"Dissolving Liprodor would call into question the Rwandan government’s commitment to such basic human rights as freedom of expression and association," Alison Des Forges, a senior adviser to the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement last week.

The other affected NGOs are the Forum des organisations rurales, Souvenirs des parents, SDA-Iriba and 11.11.11, a Belgian-based organisation with a local agency.