Paul Rusesabagina Brussels , December 2, 2006
124 Avenue Baron Albert d’Huart
1950 Kraainem , Belgium
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England
Buckingham Palace
London, England SW1A 1AA
Your Majesty the Queen of England ,
I would like to start this important letter with an open heart confession: in the wake of the staggering events of the last 2 weeks regarding the 1994 Rwandan tragedy, it would be a crime against civilization, England and all of humanity if I kept silent after learning that Rwandan President Paul Kagame was planning a trip to London from December 3 to December 6, 2006.You need to know that President Kagame is an unrepentant criminal facing innumerable charges for crimes of war, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide, and until he fully comes clean before the international community, he should not be allowed anywhere near your Majesty.
The issuance on November 23, 2006 by French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière of international arrest warrants against 9 close collaborators of President Kagame for downing the presidential aircraft on April 6, 1994 and killing everyone on board, including two African presidents and three French nationals, is the closest humanity has come to dealing directly with the root causes of the Rwandan genocide, and may finally pave the way to genuine reconciliation among Rwandans. For that reason, humanity must remain together to hold off attempts by the RPF government in Kigali to politicize and derail the on-going judicial system from running its full course.
Your Majesty, allow me to submit a few critical elements of information to your utmost wisdom and appreciation in the hope that you will come to the rescue of Rwandans:
1) If President Paul Kagame had any semblance of love for Her Majesty the Queen and the Brish people, he would have called for an independent international investigation into the Bwindi massacre of 1999 in Uganda where British, Australian, and New Zealander tourists were butchered by unknown assailants. Instead, using torture, his forces engaged in the blatant framing of innocent suspects who now have been cleared by American courts. Many believe that Kagame’s men carried out this heinous butchery.
2) If President Paul Kagame were innocent and had nothing to hide, he would have called for an independent international investigation into the shooting down of President Juvenal Habyarimana’s jet, the criminal act that started the genocide, and let justice exonerate him in the eyes of the world. He has decided not to.
3) If President Kagame had any coherence to his actions, he would have allowed such an independent investigation to validate his claims that Hutu extremists are the ones who downed Habyarimana’s aircraft. He has chosen not to.
4) If President Kagame were a civilized man, he would refrain from resorting to brinkmanship tactics by starting out an empty, all-out diplomatic and political confrontation with the French government instead of letting a judicial process run its course. He has resolved not to.
5) If President Kagame were civilized, he would not have ordered his forces to round up people in Kigali last week, and force them to participate in smoke-screen demonstrations against France to put on a show and make it look like the people were behind him.
6) If President Kagame had any decency and humanity left in him, he would not have gone on the air and asserted with much contempt when asked who shot down Habyarimana’s airplane: “I don’t know and in fact to risk sounding cynical, I don’t care” (Paul Kagame’s interview with Reuters New Agency on November 29, 2006). After all, a Rwandan President and other Rwandan officials, a Burundian President and his collaborators, as well as French nationals, were killed on that doomed flight. From his own admission, he does not care.
7) It has become evidently clear that the RPF’s war campaign as a rebel group and its government policy while in power were entirely based on a brittle edifice of lies and sophism. Today, the RPF regime is on the brink because this edifice is beginning to crumble. At this critical juncture of our national history, the biggest favor Her Majesty the Queen and the Honorable Prime Minister could grant us, is to help quicken the collapse of this regime for the rise of freedom and reconciliation among all Rwandans by delegating, defending and supporting all international instruments of justice to carry out their job of dismantling these lies, because only full justice will save Rwanda.
8) Finally, for your full information I am attaching a copy of my “Letter of Complaint” and a “Compendium of RPF Crimes from October 1, 1990 to Present” that I filed with the United Nations Security Council against the RPF government and army for crimes committed against my family and the rest of the Rwandan population. I am convinced that after reading these documents, you will feel nothing but deep compassion for the terrorized people of Rwanda .
Your Majesty, please allow me in conclusion to express to you and all the people of England my deepest gratitude for your assistance to the people of Rwanda during all our times of need, and also my sincerest sympathies to the families of the British citizens brutally murdered at the Bwindi National Park in Uganda in 1999. We hope that the real killers will be apprehended and tried.
Most respectfully,
Paul Rusesabagina
CC:
- Prime Minister Tony Blair
- Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett
- Lord Speaker Baroness Hayman
- Commons Speaker Michael Martin