This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. (February 2012) Don't speak French? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the French article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|fr|Banyarwanda}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

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Banyarwanda (literally "those who come from Rwanda") actually means the people of Hutu, Tutsi and Batwah. Some lived on the present territory of the DRC before colonization, while others have migrated from neighboring Rwanda in waves. They live in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. There are 1 million Banyarwanda in Uganda. They live in Western Uganda; Umutara and Kitara are the centers of their pastoral and agricultural areas.

See also[link]

Rwanda portal

• Banyamulenge

Notes[link]

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza (born 3 October 1968) is a the Chairperson of the Unified Democratic Forces (UDF); a coalition of Rwandan opposition parties with a large base of active members in Rwanda, Europe, United States of America and in Canada. She was a party candidate for Rwanda's August 2010 elections, but was ultimately barred from running.^[1] She is currently under arrest in Rwanda on charges of terrorism and threatening national security.^[2]

Family and career[link]

Married and a mother of three, she trained in commercial law and accounting and graduated in business economics and corporate management in the Netherlands. Victoire worked as an official of an international accounting firm based in the Netherlands where she was in charge of its accounting departments in 25 branches in Europe, Asia and Africa.

In April 2009, she resigned from her function to dedicate herself to a political career and to prepare her return to her homeland and, as the head of her political party, to contribute to rebuilding of her country. In January 2010, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza returned to her country, after 16 years in exile, as the main leader of the Rwandan political opposition.^[3]

Political career[link]

Since 1997, Umuhoza has been involved in the struggle of the Rwandan political opposition in exile. Umuhoza has been quoted as saying "My objective is to introduce Rwanda to the rule of law and a constitutional state where international democratic standards are respected, where nationalism will at last be the cornerstone for all public institutions."^[4] Her political activities are centered around the idea of a state of justice where individuals choose their associations based on their shared political aspirations rather than their ethnic or regional background.^[5] She has also been vocal in calling for more women's empowerment in Rwanda.^[4]

In 1997, Umuhoza joined the Republican Rally for Democracy in Rwanda.^[6] A year later, she became the President of its Netherlands branch and in 2000, she was nominated President of RDR at the international level.

From 2003 to 2006, she occupied the post of President of the Union of Rwandan Democratic Forces UFDR (French: Union des Forces Démocratiques Rwandaises), the main coalition of political opposition parties and personalities in exile, of which RDR is an active member.

Unification of the democratic opposition[link]

The fight for a unified political opposition in exile dominated her political career. The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) continued to monopolize power in Kigali, criminalizing, persecuting or co-opting any resistance.^[7] Inside the country, opposition to the RPF-led regime in Rwanda is almost non-existent. Only diaspora-based associations were able to mount an opposition attempt to Kagame regime but divisions and political rivalries in diaspora did not make this possible. In favor of fundamental change and reconciliation, she gradually changed the pace of the struggle towards a unified opposition with peaceful means ^[8] to stand up to the challenge of offering to Rwandans an alternative to Paul Kagame's regime.

In November 2004, in Amsterdam, Netherlands she organized a conference known as the "Forum on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region" which was followed by the Amsterdam Initiative with the aim to create the new platform for cooperation.^[9]

In October 2005, Victoire initiated contacts with other opposition organizations and organized an all-inclusive meeting for all Rwandan civil society associations and political parties. A consensus of common front against Paul Kagame's regime was finally reached.^{[citation needed]}

Starting from April 2006, she participated in the creation of the United Democratic Forces (FDU) and was elected President of the political platform. FDU has a goal to install the rule of law in Rwanda, underpinned by the respect of democratic values enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights and other international instruments relating to democracy and good governance.^[10]

Victoire actively participated in Highly Inclusive Inter-Rwandan Dialogue (HIIRD) project in Barcelona, Spain in 2004, 2006 ^[11] and in April – May 2009 ^[12] under the auspice of Mr. Juan Carrero Saralegui, the Peace Nobel Prize candidate ^[13] and of Mr. Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, the Peace Nobel Prize and Mr. Federico Mayor Zaragoza, the Vice-president of the Alliance of Civilization.^[14]

She proposed following emblematic reforms calling for change in daily life of all Rwandans and the way they relate to politics: Creation of a Committee of Truth, Justice and Reconciliation to help Rwandans towards true reconciliation; Introduction of a non-political commission in charge of rewriting and interpretation of the actual history of Rwanda; The passing of a bill for the right to private ownership and for protection of the weakest members of the public, for the guarantee by the law of equal opportunity and access to credit and employment for all citizens.

One month after she arrived back in Rwanda in January 2010, together with other two political opposition party leaders already in the country, she formed a Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties, putting together their efforts to widen the political space for the opposition parties and to strengthen the democratic process in Rwanda.^[15]

Support of the union sector[link]

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza is a founding member of many associations and foundations in the union sector: Association Contact, Dialogue et Actions Caritatives (CODAC) which seeks to give moral, legal advice and material support to the survivors of the Great Lakes region in the Netherlands or in their region; Association URAHO of women refugees from Rwanda in the Netherlands, focusing on getting Rwandese women out of isolation and helping them integrate into Dutch society, to assist non-accompanied children and asylum seekers; Fondation PROJUSTITIA-Rwanda, committed to fighting in favor of fair justice for all victims of the Rwandan tragedy; HARAMBE, platform of African women’s associations in the Netherlands committed to promoting development of African women on the continent. Umuhoza was also member of the executive committee of ZWALU, a platform bringing together foreign women in the Netherlands to promote their emancipation.^{[citation needed]}

Criticism[link]

On her arrival in the country in January 2010, to honor the victims of Tutsi genocide, she visited the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Centre. In her speech, she stressed that those who committed Tutsi Genocide as well as those who committed other war crimes and crimes against humanity should be brought before the courts of justice.^[16][17]

However, her critics argue that her speech, condemning the Genocide committed against Tutsi and denouncing other serious crimes against humanity and war crimes, was perceived by some as minimising or denying the Tutsi genocide.^{[citation needed]} She's also criticised for promoting ethnic divisions among Rwandans, stating that ethnic groups shouldn't be a taboo.^{[citation needed]}

Publications[link]

Umuhoza is the author of numerous articles and publications where she expressed her views on important issues pertaining to current events in her country and that of the Great Lakes region. Among others:

• "What is the Outlook for Peace in Central Africa? " (translation) (2001),
• "International Justice After the Crisis in Rwanda" (translation) (2002),
• "Conflicts in the Great Lake region of Africa: Origins and Solution Proposals" (translation) (2003),
• "National Reconciliation As a Requirement for Security and Sustainable Peace in Rwanda and in the Countries of the African Great Lakes" (translation) (2004),
• "Pleading for a True National Reconciliation in Rwanda, Requirements for Sustainable Peace" (translation) (2005).

References[link]

External links[link]

• UDF Organization Website
• Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Website
• What is the Outlook for Peace in Central Africa?
• International Justice After the Crisis in Rwanda
• National Reconciliation As a Requirement for Security and Sustainable Peace in Rwanda and in the Countries of the African Great Lakes

Faustin Twagiramungu (born 1945 in Cyangugu province) is an ethnic Hutu politician in Rwanda. He was prime minister from 1994 until his resignation in 1995, the first head of government appointed after the Rwandese Patriotic Front captured Kigali. He then exiled himself to Belgium for nearly a decade.^{[citation needed]}

Twagiramungu stood as an independent candidate in the Rwandan presidential election of 2003. Running on a platform of full employment, regional security, and progressive taxation, he accused the government of attempting to silence his views. In the final count, he placed second (out of three) with 3.62 percent of the vote. He initially did not accept the result, claiming that the incumbent Paul Kagame was leading the country towards a one-party system.^{[citation needed]}

He attended university in Quebec, Canada, during the 1960s, during which time he met René Lévesque. ^[1]

References[link]

• ^ Dallaire, Roméo A., 2003. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, Toronto: Random House Canada.

External links[link]

• Faustin Twagiramungu official website

v t e Prime Ministers of Rwanda Grégoire Kayibanda • office abolished, 1962-1991 • Sylvestre Nsanzimana • Dismas Nsengiyaremye • Agathe Uwilingiyimana • Jean Kambanda • Faustin Twagiramungu • Pierre-Célestin Rwigema • Bernard Makuza • Pierre Habumuremyi

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