Rwanda survivors targeted
A spate of killings of those who survived the 1994 genocide in Rwanda has sent villagers fleeing from the southwest province of Gikongoro. Stanley Safari, a legislator in the Senate, says that there is increasing intimidation and murder attempts of genocide survivors and that public ridicule of survivors has become a culture in Gikongoro, the area in which the 1994 genocide plan was purportedly hatched.
The Government is now carrying out a nationwide inquiry into the security of genocide survivors. But Prosper Higiro, Vice-President of the Senate, warns that even though there have been steady reports of harassment of survivors, Government reaction has been slow. Four men who were due to testify in a genocide trial were recently tortured to death in Kaduha district by what authorities said was a marauding gang of genocide suspects and their sympathizers. Prime Minister Bernard Makuza says that at least 25 people have been arrested as a consequence.
In just four months, the 1994 genocide claimed an estimated million lives – primarily of the minority ethnic Tutsi, with some moderate Hutus also targeted. The country’s prisons are already crammed with 130,000 inmates accused of taking part in the killings. The Rwandan Government claims to have repatriated 3.3 million refugees who fled the 1994 death squads but is warning that if any of them took part in the genocide they will be tried.
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- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
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- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
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