Author: Emil Lazarian

KARABAKH TALKS CALLED “NONSENSE” IN BAKU
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 12:54 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “There are no real negotiations over settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict but there is only an appearance,”
Azeri political scientist Zardusht Alizadeh stated. “None of the
parties wants to retract their positions. There is no real ground
for a compromise. Official Yerevan claims independence of Nagorno
Karabakh and its unification with Armenia.
Azerbaijan says it will never agree to give even part of its land
to Armenia. Outside these principles, there is no serious search
for a trade-off and appeal to public and international laws in the
negotiating process. Taking surface political interests, both the
parties to the conflict and the co-chairs are trying to find a solution
option in interests of the parties will become closer. However,
the interests do not become closer.
The parties make public that they will not make any trade-off. U.S
co-chair Matthew Bryza sated this. He said the parties do not seem
to withdraw from the core principles they insist on. But, one of the
parties need to withdraw from core principles in order to reach an
agreement,” the political scientist underlined.
Alizadeh also said “there are some strong forces, who are making
efforts for freezing and delaying the conflict.” The political expert
said the resolution of the conflict has reached a deadlock and the
negotiations are held only for appearance. Political scientist Vafa
Guluzadeh called the processes for the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict “nonsense”, reports APA.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LAST ECHELON WITH RUSSIAN MATERIEL LEFT GEORGIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 13:10 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The last echelon with materiel, being withdrawn
from Russian military bases in Georgia, left Tsalka station Tuesday,
reported Commander of the Group of Russian Troops in Transcaucasia
(GRTT), major general Andrey Popov.
Thus, Russia completed executing measures on withdrawal of equipment
and material means, planned for 2006 in accordance with the Agreement
between Russia and Georgia on the terms, order of temporary functioning
and withdrawal of Russian military bases and other military objects
of the GRTT.
“Plan of Withdrawal of Russian military bases from territory of
Georgia, formed for 2006, is fulfilled 100%. No failures are made in
time indicators or order of departure of equipment. All equipment and
reserves of material means, withdrawn from the territory of Georgia are
already in the military units in the territory of Russia and Armenia,”
Popov stated earlier in an interview with RIA Novosti.
In Popov’s words, after September 19 only mobile equipment will stay
in the 62nd military base in Akhalkalaki, which will ensure activities
of the military base up to the end of 2007 – the full closing of the
base, reports RIA Novosti.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN 2006 THE COST OF SCHOOL BOOKS INCREASES CONSIDERABLY
Mari Kinsturashvili 2006.09.19 15:30
Daily Georgian Times, Georgia
September 19.09.2006
The 2006-2007 school year starts on Monday, September 18, and while
some parents are busy running from one shop to another or to different
book fairs, others are still hesitating over which school to take
their cherished offspring. And although public school buildings have
been extensively repaired, most of them still are still being rebuilt,
even though the quality of education hasn’t gotten much better.
The high quality of education is one of the reasons why parents decide
to send their children to private schools. There are many private
schools in Tbilisi, which started appearing in the mid 90’s. They have
always had more comfortable conditions compared to public schools,
where pupils and teachers had to choose between freezing to death, or
dealing with the soot, the noxious smell and the smoke of an oil-stove.
Private schools often offered after-school groups, a widely varied
menu and pleasantly comfortable study conditions.
Generally almost all of the Georgian public and private schools cover
grades 1-11. Currently the final year of secondary school is grade
11. However in 2007, in order to become more closely alined with the
Western system, a mandatory grade 12 will be added. In addition to
the majority of Georgian (language) public schools, there are also a
number of public schools available to students where the language of
instruction is other than Georgian, e.g. Russian, Armenian, Turkish,
Ukrainian, Lithuanian, French, German, and Azeri. These schools are
located in the cities and regions, generally where their respective
ethnic groups reside.
There are a limited number of private Georgian schools. Among them
there are: Akhali Skola (“New School”), Atinati, the Educational
Complex – Georgian School, Jejili National School, Mermisi – a Tbilisi
Primary School, and Nakaduli the “School of Tomorrow”.
The most well-known private school in Tbilisi is St. George. It is
partly a boarding school and aims at “bringing up intellectual,
morally good and physically strong generations on the basis of
Georgian national traditions, spiritual values and recent pedagogical
experience. Modern methods of teaching and recent technology enable
professional teachers to instill students with the abilities of
self-realization and the desire to protect social interests.”
At most private schools, teachers compete heavily for
appointments. Advantage is given to teachers with the highest
corresponding education and professional qualifications. Teachers are
also expected to take students to Sunday mass once a week, as well as
to attend cultural arrangements and exhibitions, arrange excursions,
trips and sports competitions.
Many private schools focus attention on students’ work outside
class. Some offer a camp period, which gives students time to adopt
independent skills, and to get closer and acquainted with each other
and with teachers. This may be important for parents who are still
trying to find that perfect school.
At most private schools, in accord with the current educational
system reform in Georgia, the curriculum may be increased to
twelve years. Unlike public schools, every private school starts
their educational year on a different fixed date, which varies from
September first to October first.
But studying in the private schools is rather expensive. And very
often, as time passes, parents can hardly even afford to prepare for
the school year.
In 2006 the cost of school books and other supplies increased
considerably. Parents sometimes avoid buying books and supplies because
they do not know which classes their child will be in, even the week
before school starts.
In connection with the increasing cost of text books, Iza
Gogichaishvili, sales manager of Aisi, an educational publishing
house told the GT:
“We carefully watch the process, which starts after books are put
up for sale. After the book is put on the market, their price is of
no interest to us. In comparison with the last year, prices for new
text books even for those which have not changed, have considerably
increased.”
Tamriko Nachkebia, manager of the Matsne publishing house said:
“In 2006 we received many more orders for new school books than the
previous year. Some prices have increased because printing material
and paper have become more expensive.”
Nino, mother of three children told the GT, that she hasn’t started
buying school books yet, as she doesn’t really know what classes
her children will be taking, and is trying to avoid some useless
expenses. “We need no less than 100 GEL, just for the tenth grade text
books. And to prepare her three children for school it would take about
700 GEL, that is practically unaffordable, considering our salaries.”
On September 18, when the 2006 school year finally starts, there
will be many happy faces entering school, including the surprised
and frightened eyes of more than a few first-graders. But the smiles
on these faces were achieved by the sleepless nights and hard work
of their parents, who will finally feel a little calm after all the
stress of preparation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ZHELYU ZHELEV: SOLUTION OF KARABAKH CONFLICT LINKED WITH EUROINTEGRATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 15:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ To solve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict accession
to the EU and NATO should be expected for, President of the Balkan
Political Club, former Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev stated. In
his words, when all countries of the South Caucasus become EU and
NATO members, economic development will start and conflicts will
disappear on their own.
“Unexpectedly or incidentally the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be
solved. It should be expected until the parties become EU and NATO
members. And they will face peace without limits both for physical
persons and spiritual values,” he remarked. At that he underscored
that is it not possible to find a rational solution. “I have no doubts
that the solution will be found later. By deep conviction is that
it will be linked with European integration. However, giving exact
forecasts on developments is not necessary,” Zhelev said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II SUPREME PATRIARCH AND CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS ADDRESSED TO THE THIRD ARMENIA-DIASPORA CONFERENCE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Panorama.am
18:06 18/09/06
Your Excellency Mr. President,
Dear Brother in Christ,
and Beloved Participants of this Conference,
The convening of the third “Armenia-Diaspora” Conference under the
festive light of the 15th anniversary of re-established statehood
for Armenia and Artsakh, has filled our souls with joy. With
thanksgiving and praise to God, we have come to welcome you, the
honorable participants, and extend the blessings of the Mother See
of Holy Etchmiadzin to the deliberations of this conference.
Our motherland is once again united with her children in the same hopes
and aspirations, and also with the belief that together, we shall
traverse a new path of progress toward prosperity for our people;
toward strengthening of our spiritual and national life.
The difficulties and triumphs of the past fifteen years belong to
all our people. All of our people, those living in our homeland
and those dispersed throughout the world, experienced the elation
of independence, and in equal measure, confronted the dangers
threatening our freedom; we equally bore the difficulties on the path
of sovereignty and the creation of statehood; and together won the
victories and successes. Let us offer glory to God, that He blessed
the undivided efforts, love and devotion of our people to re-establish
the independent statehood of our homeland.
Every generation has its imperative. Today we are living in a
remarkably important epoch of our history.
The time has come, that our present capabilities, which are greater
through the free and independent life of our homeland and the
unobstructed ties with our diaspora, completely and perfectly serve
the prosperity, unity and solidarity of our people and the renaissance
of spiritual and national life everywhere.
It is this outlook which today inspires us and directs our paths. Our
gathering is called to pursue this supreme goal and to face the present
obligation. Yes, the possibilities to freely work are greater than
they were fifteen years ago, however the urgent issues which trouble
us are not few. The time has come, and we can no longer delay. In our
contemporary world, in the political realm, in the rapid development
of science, technology and communication, in the hour-by-hour narrowing
gap between economies and cultures, the Armenian people must be in the
forefront, and they shall turn their hopes for a peaceful and creative
life into reality through a strong state and a vibrant Diaspora. When,
at present, there are great changes in the communities of the Diaspora
– some getting smaller, new ones being formed – the creation of a new
structure for maintaining the Armenian identity is becoming imperative
to meet these developments. The construction of new churches and
schools, the complete and total reorganization of education, and the
triumph over the unnatural situation facing our Church life which
was inherited by this generation, have all become essential.
Before us all today is the imperative to reinforce Armenia and Artsakh,
to secure in every manner well-armed and competent armed forces, and
to insure progress in all realms. The just rights of Artsakh have
yet to be recognized, and the threat to renew hostilities against
our people continues. There are positive developments in our homeland
in the economic, social, educational and cultural spheres; however,
poverty, unemployment, under-employment and the export of our labor
force remain undefeated. The villages and rural settlements are in
a state of need and vulnerability. The plans for their improvement
and better future are the aims for this conference. We welcome the
initiative to improve the rural settlements, which today have a pivotal
significance in the development of the economic and social life of
our country and the well-being of our people. Together we shall find
the correct answers and decisions to all imperatives with a unified
spirit, through the united efforts of national and ecclesiastical
organizations, and possessing the power of our free statehood. During
the recent events in Lebanon, the importance of the support through
our state policy was evident. So that the role our state plays in
any situation be greater, we must see the vision of our developed
homeland and prosperous country as something near rather than far,
and which in itself is the aim of having independent statehood –
to create and build in a free environment, to form a secure and good
life, and to freely express our spiritual vitality. The strength and
progress of the homeland are the might and power of the Diaspora as
well. For continuous centuries, in good times and bad, in conditions
of ease and difficulty, the Diaspora has lived and has been maintained
with the dream of seeing the homeland free and returning to her. Today
the dream has become reality on this portion of our homeland, and
the faith in a free life for Armenia and Artsakh is also a reality,
which shall become for us the light which leads us forward.
We extend our Pontifical message and exhortation to all our people in
Armenia, Artsakh and dispersed throughout the world, to accomplish this
great and important homeland-building initiative of restoring villages
and rural settlements. The Armenian Church as well shall bring her
active participation to the realization of this project, which will
serve the welfare and prosperity of our nation. We believe that our
children, as always, will be standing in support of our homeland, and
our people will together build their native home, so that it may always
be the sanctuary of hope, the inspiration and axis of Armenian life,
and the consolidating strength of all Armenians. Our people, proud with
work, will forget about misery on their native soil. We shall present
to our children a country strong with a harmonious societal life,
bright with the light of faith, knowledge and culture – a Christian
nation – philanthropic, humanitarian and decent. May God’s spirit
of truth lead us all, and may our Lord’s grace and strength be our
helper, so that our plans and works bear good results and victories,
and from generation to generation, we shall tell the story of God’s
blessing in the lives of our people.
May the work and good initiatives of this conference be blessed.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI LEADER URGES TURKIC STATES TO “START OFFENSIVE” ON ARMENIAN LOBBY
ANS TV, Baku, in Azeri
18 Sep 06
[Presenter] All Turkic states led by Turkey and Azerbaijan should start
an offensive on the Armenian lobby. The creation of a second Armenian
state should not be allowed on occupied Azerbaijani territories,
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said at the 10th friendship,
brotherhood and cooperation congress of Turkic states and societies,
which is being held in Turkey’s Antalya. We are now over to Antalya
for more details. Ayaz Nizamioglu, a special ANS correspondent in
Antalya, is on the line. Hi Ayaz.
[Correspondent, by phone] Hello Anar. I want to say that the
Azerbaijani president’s speech at the congress ended approximately
10 minutes ago. He made numerous statements. I want to mention the
first one. He said that all Turkic states led by Turkey and Azerbaijan
should start an offensive on the Armenian lobby and that we would not
allow the creation of a second Armenian state on occupied Azerbaijani
territories. President Aliyev, who is attending the congress, also
said that Armenia and the Armenian lobby supporting it in the world
did not recognize Turkey’s borders and rejected the proposal to open
the archives of the Turkish government. In this way, they want to
introduce the so-called Armenian genocide to the world. In any case,
this will not be allowed and justice will be administered. Therefore,
Turkic states should shift their tactics from defence to attack. The
president added that one of the ways of struggling against the
Armenian lobby was to conduct forums of Turkic-speaking states in
Europe and other regions. This will give the Turkic-speaking states
a chance to fill the world in on their fair positions. The head of
state reiterated that Azerbaijan would liberate its lands from Armenian
occupation in any case and this would happen sooner or later. Touching
on the importance of the event, Aliyev said that relations between
the main leading members of the congress, Turkey and Azerbaijan,
were developing at the highest level and this should serve as an
example to all Turkic states.
Quote – we want the Turkic world to be united. The development of our
ties further strengthens every Turkic state. Our historical roots,
ethnic origin and national traditions draw us closer.
The Azerbaijani president also spoke about the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
[oil] and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum [gas] pipelines and said that they
were the whole Turkic world’s major projects. The Turkic states will
have a say in the world in a clearer and more determined manner with
these projects. At the end of his speech, Aliyev proposed to hold
the next congress of Turkic-speaking states in Azerbaijan.
[Passage omitted: minor details]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE RWANDAN DILEMMA VIS-A-VIS THE GENOCIDE
by The New Times
Africa News
September 17, 2006 Sunday
PART 1
Introduction
A dilemma can be defined as a state of uncertainty or perplexity
among competing options. The Rwandan dilemma vis-a-vis the Genocide,
which entailed the polarisation of Rwandans, is how to move forward
as one nation after the Genocide.
Rwanda as a nation has a long history of over 1000 years. It is a
joint project of Rwandans created through their chosen institutions
(Ubwami/Monarchy, Ubwiru/Constitution, Ubusizi/oral tradition,
Ingabo/Army, Ubucengeri/patriotism, etc). These institutions ensured
unity, stability and cohesion before colonisation.
On the other hand, colonialism completely re-engineered Rwanda into
different ‘races’ (Tutsi-Hamites, Hutu-Bantu, Twa-Pygmoids). This
racism was the root-cause of Rwanda’s tragedy that culminated into
the 1994 genocide.
The genocide process took one hundred years (1894-1994) beginning
with the first colonialist, and entailed entrenchment of negationisme
within the society. This came about in the colonial reconstruction of
the Rwandan society that forced Rwandans into their own self-denial
as one people, their heritage and historical social institutions
leading to the 1994 tragedy.
The dilemma, therefore, is whether Banyarwanda jointly own the tragedy
and bear its consequences. This dilemma can be accounted for by the
peculiarity of the Rwandan Genocide, which was between close relatives,
where siblings set upon each other and neighbour killed neighbour.
Contrasting it to the Holocaust or the Armenian genocide, the
Germans decimated the Jews and the Turks the Armenians. In both
these cases there is a socio-cultural difference between the victims
and perpetrators, as opposed to Rwanda which had no socio-cultural
difference between its people.
Therefore, while the Jews and the Armenians had a place to go to
after their genocides, Rwandans had nowhere to run to but live with
each other. Thus the resonance or echoes of polarity of Banyarwanda
after the genocide.
The Rwandan Genocide was possible through manipulation of the
traditional socio-cultural institutions such as the monarchy, Ingabo,
traditional media – the drums and horns to rally the populace for
a common cause. These included the monarchical decrees (guca iteka
or gushyira ingoma ku karubanda) that can be equated to presidential
decrees during the Genocide that compelled the populace to join in the
act. The use of Radio Television Libre de Mille Collines (RTLM) during
the genocide can be equated with the use of the traditional horn for
mobilisation for war and hunting expeditions (umuhigo, kwasira etc.).
Negationisme
The Rwandan dilemma begins with the denial of the Genocide. According
to Dr. Gregory H. Stanton of Genocide Watch, negationisme or denial is
the final of the eight stages in the continuum that is the genocide
process. In the eight stages, Classification of the victims, their
negative Symbolisation and Dehumanisation form the first three.
These are followed by Organisation of the potential perpetrators;
Polarisation of the society into enemies and allies; Preparation and
mobilization of the population; before the Extermination and supposed
purification of the society.
The last stage is the negation or Denial of the genocide, but which
is manifest in every stage in the continuum. Negationisme itself is
an in-built mechanism in all the stages of the process to assure
oneself that nothing wrong is being done, and propel the actors
to the next stage. Thus negationisme and genocide in this sense go
hand-in-hand-they are like Siamese twins (ni umwana n’ingobyi).
Negationisme is therefore a dilemma because not all Rwandans accept the
fact of the genocide, which has become a way of life predicated on the
“we-they” predisposition; that is, we the Hutu and they the Tutsi and
vice versa, and therefore not Rwandans but enemies and allies. The
post-genocide military campaigns will suffice to illustrate this
polarisation.
After committing the Genocide at the urging of the genocidaire regime,
Rwandans were persuaded to vacate the country, seeing it as having
been taken over by alien invaders, and created the biggest refugee
influx in the world. In a bid to recapture power, the genocidaire
regime in exile reorganised itself in the Congo refugee camps to
launch armed attacks into Rwanda.
This created the first concrete manifestation of negationisme that
continues to this day. To begin with, the genocidaires transformed
humanitarian assistance to the Rwandan refugees in the Congo into
military hardware and embarked on what came to be known as Operation
Insecticide.
Operation Insecticide entailed genocidal incursions in Northwest and
Southwest of Rwanda between 1995 and 1996. Note the term “insecticide”,
which symbolised their continued extermination of the Inyenzi (Tutsi
coachroaches).
Operation Insecticide internationalised the Rwandan conflict, and would
form the basis for the forced return of the Rwandan refugees in late
1996 with the RPF/A pre-emptive attacks on the armed genocidaires in
the refugee camps, that would be followed by the overthrow of their
ally, President Mobutu, in May 1997.
In October 1997, insurgence operations started in earnest in Rwanda
beginning with what would come to be known as The First Operation
Alleluia, which targeted Congolese Tutsi refugees in Gisenyi and
climaxed with the Mudende massacres. The Second Operation Alleluia
targeted Goma and Gisenyi, and was partly “successful” in Goma with
the capture of arms from Katindo.
This was followed by Operations Amen and Odyssey in the DRC in June
and July of 1999 and 2000, respectively, but both of which failed
due to RPF/A counter-insurgency operations in the country.
In May and December 2001, Operation Oracle du Seigneur got underway in
Rwanda, only to be crushed by the RPF/A counter-insurgency operations
under the command of General James Kabarebe that resulted in the
capture of the Armee de Liberation du Rwanda (ALIR) Commander,
Col. Evariste Bemera and his Chief of Intelligence. This capture,
which included 1,762 insurgents, effectively marked the end of
insurgency inside Rwanda.
Women, both mothers and wives of the insurgents, played a crucial role
in ending the insurgency, by persuading their sons and husbands to
end the rebellion and join hands with the new government of national
unity. This is a testimony of the women having transcended the dilemma
of polarity.
However, in September and October 2003, the failed Operations
Trompete and Tabara took place from South Kivu and saw the return
to Rwanda of the top FDLR commanders in their denunciation of the
insurgencies. And beginning 2004 to date, Operation la Fronde (sling)
has been going on and is doomed to fail with the return of other top
commanders, including Seraphin “Mahoro” Bizimungu and more recently
Lt Col Nsanzabera.
Note the Christian insinuation of the genocidal attacks with the names
given to the insurgency operations, i.e., Alleluia, Amen, Oracle du
Seigneur (Oracle of the Lord), Trompete (suggesting Joshua’s trumpet
as he entered Jericho in the Old Testament), and la Fronde (evoking
David’s defeat of Goliath with the deadly sling).
These insinuations suggest the Christian God’s blessings, thus giving
weight and credence to the negationisme of the continued genocide. It
suggests that the Christian God is for the genocidal tendencies and
the purification of “Christian” Rwanda from the Tutsi “infidels”
who are also “inyenzi” (cockroaches).
This religious fanaticism and tendencies also evoked the medieval
Christian crusades that supposedly had God’s blessings. It is no
wonder that in their fanaticism these insurgents have been listed as
international terrorist groups due to their mindless breach of peace
and destabilization in the region. Such naming of the insurgency
activities demonstrate how Christianity can be perverted and used
to condone genocidal acts and other crimes against humanity, which
constitutes a Christian dilemma par excellence in Rwanda.
PART 2
The continued denial of the Genocide notwithstanding, who then
is responsible? Responsibility for the Genocide, according to the
German philosopher Karl Jaspers, can be distinguished between types
of guilt and degrees of responsibility. The question of guilt deals
with individual and collective responsibilities, with the individual
and his or her relationship to others and to society.
Drawing from his Nazi German experience of the Holocaust that saw
the decimation of six million Jews during the Second World War,
Jaspers distinguished between four different concepts of guilt,
namely: criminal, political, moral and metaphysical.
Criminal guilt is defined by the law and established through
courts of law. It is evidence-based on the act and conduct of the
suspect who ultimately bears individual responsibility. However,
in Rwanda criminal responsibility became an issue because of the
overwhelming numbers of the suspected perpetrators. The challenge
was how to prosecute the large numbers, leading to the enaction of
the law categorising the perpetrators and establishing the Gacaca
justice system. Resorting to the traditional justice system, Gacaca,
underscores Rwanda’s resilience.
The current challenge is universal acceptance of the Gacaca process
by all Rwandans, as evidenced by those who recently fled to Burundi
to escape it or those who seem to be forced to attend the Gacaca
sessions as in the case of Ruhengeri (Musanze).
Political guilt, according to Jaspers, encompasses the actions of the
government as well as of the governed. Citizens bear the consequences
of the actions of their governments. They are subject to the State’s
power and dependent on the order that the State creates. However,
Jaspers insisted that everybody has a responsibility for how he or
she is governed.
To that extent political guilt is shared among the governments and the
governed. It is determined by the winning candidate in an election
whose power and will to judge is only restrained by his sense of
justice, political foresight, and respect for natural and international
law. In this sense, political guilt becomes collective responsibility.
In the Rwandan context, this means that the First and Second
Republics, which paved the way for the Genocide, could not have
done it by themselves without the overwhelming electoral support of
the governed, who continually returned the leaders to power with an
absolute majority of, at times, 99.9%.
In this sense, therefore, the majority of the population shares in the
political guilt, hence the collective responsibility. The dilemma is
failing to accept this political reality, of which many Rwandans —
including Hutu, Tutsi and Twa — previously lived in acquiescence.
This is despite the fact that the Genocide was committed in the name
of the Hutu.
Note that the Genocide was a political project based on demographic
majority disguised as “democratic”, “republican” and “revolutionary”
(demokarasi ya Rubanda nyamwinshi yakandamijwe ikigobotora ingoyi ya
cyami na gihake).
On the other hand, Jaspers established the concept of individual
moral guilt, which he posited as an absolute condition that everyone
is morally responsible for his or her actions, regardless of the
circumstances. He explicitly argues that following orders does not
exculpate (absolve) any individual, including the military. Moral
guilt is established through one’s conscience and through discourse
with friends and neighbours.
The dilemma is that, despite the ascribed political guilt, which
is collective, it does not absolve one from his or her own moral
responsibility, which has to begin with individual introspection
and self-examination. This lack of individual introspection and
self-examination vis-a-vis taking the moral responsibility accounts
for the current criticism of the general leadership in Rwanda. An
example of this criticism can be seen in those leaders adversely
mentioned in Gacaca who have failed to take moral responsibility.
Finally, the solidarity between fellow humans created the possibility
of what Jaspers calls metaphysical guilt. The belief in one human race,
transcending nations, races and conditions make everyone share in the
responsibility for injustice in this world, in particular for crimes
that happen in our presence or with our knowledge. If we fail to do
everything in our power to stop this crime from happening, we share
in the guilt.
In the choice between doing everything to save others and being
destroyed in the process or giving up in the face of insurmountable
obstacles, the morally innocuous (not intended to harm) choice for
one’s own life still produces a sense of failure and guilt.
The Rwandan Genocide was witnessed by the whole world, which failed
to act. This inaction entailed not just the superpowers, but each and
every individual belonging to the human race who did not do anything
in their power to stop the Genocide.
The immediate dilemma is the continued presence of the genocidaires
on the rampage in the region with the knowledge of the world, despite
the limited efforts to disarm and apprehend them.
Ultimately, the enormity of the Rwandan Genocide is beyond any human
reckoning or understanding. Thus Jaspers, discussing the German
dilemma, also observes: “[T]here remains the shame of that which is
always present, impossible to discover, merely to be explored.”
Sloganeering or even mounting placards merely denouncing the ideology
that informed the Genocide (Ingengabitekerezo) does not help in
understanding the complexity of the Rwandan Genocide. It is merely
being caught up in the rut of political posturing without addressing
the Rwandan dilemma.
However, there are many suspects who have taken it upon themselves to
own up the Genocide. One of the most illustrative examples is that
of a suspect who was found guilty by the Gacaca on a lesser charge
of pillaging but declared himself guilty of the greater charge of
genocide, saying he could not live with the guilt, a clear example
of assuming moral responsibility.
PART 3
The first challenge to the leadership is the full understanding
of the complexity of the truth about the Genocide. There are some
truths, foremost of which is the truth about the unity of the Rwandan
nation. It is this truth that has all along eluded Rwandans, including
many Rwanda scholars, since the coming of the colonialists and has
been about the Rwandan identity and how Rwandans historically related
to each other.
It includes the truth about their social relations and the alleged Hutu
“historical wounds” that continue to impact on the current social
discourse. It is also the truth about the social categorization of
Rwandans into different “races”.
There is also the truth about colonial reconstruction of the Rwandan
society that forced Rwandans into their own self-denial as one people,
their heritage and historical social institutions. These distortions
of the truth form the bedrock of the Rwandan dilemma.
Understanding these complexities of the truth is the beginning of
the Rwandan reconciliation.
The second aspect of the truth is the reality of the Genocide, which
is about the actors – that is, the victims, the perpetrators and
bystanders, and their respective roles. It is about who died and
his or her profile, so that in the process we restore honour and
dignity to the victims who have otherwise been represented as mere
statistics. The question will be who died, who killed them and who
witnessed it? When did they die? Where, how and why were they killed?
And, finally, where was he or she ‘buried’?
Many victims of the Genocide keep on being discovered in the most
unlikely and indecent places, including abandoned pit latrines
or cemented foundations of buildings. Many witnesses, including
guilty pleaders, are not willing to disclose the whole truth about
the Genocide. They only reveal the information that favours them and
hide that which is needed to aid in the unravelling of the truth in
the justice process.
Diverse victimhood
Victimhood also applies to the perpetrators, because in their very
act of genocide they too were dehumanised and continue to live with
individual guilt and shame for their roles in it. Many are, therefore,
traumatised. The leadership challenge is to fully appreciate the
diversity of victimhood and its implications in post-genocide Rwanda.
With the Genocide encompassing different actors — namely the
perpetrators, the victims and bystanders — it is in the admission
of the truth and assuming moral responsibility of what happened and
the role played by each and everyone that the reality of the Genocide
may begin to unravel.
The expected thoroughness of the Gacaca process, including the
national judicial system and the Arusha-based ICTR, is to facilitate
the establishment of the truth and therefore the criminal guilt of
the suspects. However the major challenge is with the Gacaca process,
which is yet to be fully owned by Rwandans and usually tends to be
undermined by some in the international community.
Some of the detractors of Gacaca are using the same political antics
of mobilizing sections of the population (i.e., Butare) claiming that
the Gacaca is the beginning of a “Hutu” genocide in vengeance of the
1994 Tutsi genocide.
The other leadership challenge is about the leaders’ political
responsibility emanating from the Genocide. This essentially brings
the question of credibility of the leaders already adversely mentioned
in the Gacaca process, and why they should continue in office. The
leadership should take political responsibility by individually
introspecting and examining themselves. This is a moral challenge
many leaders are reluctant to face — it may seem that leadership in
Rwanda is all about gainful employment.
Many of these leaders take cover under collective political guilt,
which allows them to shun individual responsibility for their
alleged roles in the Genocide. It is because of the shame and
assumed collective guilt (i.e., I was not the only one, all of us
are implicated) that Genocide has almost become a taboo subject to
discuss. The fact that such leaders do not talk about the Genocide
makes them vulnerable to blackmail by their peers and rivals who
assume the moral high-ground in the “we-they” (Hutu-Tutsi) polarity.
The cover of collective political responsibility ceases to be once
one becomes a leader, as he or she must be vetted and therefore take
individual responsibility for any alleged wrongs to society. It
is for these reasons that the public continuously questions the
credibility of their leaders, for which the only way out is taking
moral responsibility. For such leaders, moral renewal can be achieved
by introspection and self-examination to confront whatever doubts
and pangs of conscience they may have experienced and reassure the
questioning public. The challenge is that most of these leaders
vehemently deny any guilt, collective or otherwise.
For those on the moral high-ground, they should live with the fact
that they too are politically guilty. If we accept that the Genocide
was a process that took a century to consummate, then most of the
Rwandans living today would not be exempt from political guilt. It
is this that underscores the collective ownership of the tragedy and
lays the foundation for national reconciliation.
Reconciliation
Another major objective of Gacaca, apart from seeking, acknowledging
and recognizing the truth, is to develop and promote reconciliation
within the divided nation of Rwanda.
Reconciliation can only become a reality once the above-mentioned
denials, dilemmas and challenges are overcome. Reconciliation
therefore will meaningfully be accomplished by going back to ubumwe
bw’ Abanyarwanda. As the African proverb goes, when you want to
solve disputes, you do not take a knife to cut, but a needle to
sew. A Kinyarwanda approximation of the proverb would be: uca urw’
abavandimwe ararama.
Basing it on the truth, and whatever the grievance, Gacaca provides
the forum to continually dialogue on the challenges facing Rwandans
and provides a framework for concessions for the sake of a united
nation. Rwandans, in other words, should emphasize their commonalities
rather than their imagined differences and focus all their efforts
on national development, which in itself is a conflict resolution
strategy par excellence.
Conclusion
Despite the Genocide and the polarity it engendered, there are many
instances where Rwandans have individually transcended the myth of
differences between Banyarwanda.
A good example is that of the illustrious Nyange school girls who
refused to be separated into Hutu allies and Tutsi enemies as ordered
by insurgents (Abacengezi) in 1997, and opted to die in solidarity
as Rwandans.
Another example is that of Zula Karuhimbi who received The Campaign
Against Genocide Medal (CGM) for having saved over 100 Rwandans during
the 1994 Genocide.
There is also the example of Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) as a national
institution where former adversaries are working together, as opposed
to the sectarian Forces Armee Rwandais (FAR).
All in all, Rwanda has been “de-racializing” the society and being
all-integrative, so that citizenship is not based on descent but
residence as long as you subscribe to the “Rwandan dream”!
The article is based on a paper presented at the RDF Senior Officers
Seminar held on 24th and 25th August, 2006.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NO RESULTS ACHIEVED AFTER MAMMADYAROV-OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS MEETING
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 18 2006
No progress was registered after Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov’s meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Deputy
Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Hafiz Pashaev told “Trend” Agency. He
noted that the inclusion of the issue on frozen conflicts in the
agenda of the 61st sitting of the UN General Assembly agenda can be
considered positive. “It can be important from the perspective of
drawing the attention of the international community to the issue,”
Pashaev underlined, adding, “I do not think, however, that this will
have an impact on the resolution of the issue.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RATIONAL ARMENIAN CITIZENS DO NOT WANT TO FACE DEATH BY PROTECTING ADVENTUROUS POLICY OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT – AZERI MP
Author: J.Shahverdiyev
Trend
Today 19.09.2006
The concerns of Armenia on the development of Azerbaijan is clear,
politician Aydin Mirzazade, member of the Political Council of ruling
New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), Deputy Chairman of the Commission of Milli
Majlis [Azerbaijani Parliament] for Defense and Security, told Trend,
commenting on the statement made by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
on 18 September in the Republic Forum “Armenia-Diaspora”.
It should be mentioned that the President of Armenia stated that
the “heroic fight of Artsakh and the negotiation process is part of
the 15-year independence of Armenia”. Touching upon the statement
regarding the war from the Azerbaijani side, he noted that he does
not consider the comment warrants a reply because the victory in the
war was achieved due to the battle spirit of people.
Mirzazade stressed that the Armenian President tries to hold
parallel measures in response to the steps of the Azerbaijani
President. “Recently he conducted meetings with Armenian Ambassadors
abroad. In parallel with the Congress of World Azerbaijanis, a congress
of Armenian diaspora was held last year. Probably in the future, they
will try to repeat the steps of our President. But I do not think
that they will be able to achieve it. This is because the potential
of our President and Kocharyan are different. Azerbaijan is eager
to restore its territorial integrity, but Armenia wants to connect
itself to the land of neighboring countries,” Mizazade stressed.
The Politician emphasized that Armenian officials have increased
their public-speaking in this regard. But irrespective of their
foreign optimism, the social-economic development of Azerbaijan is of
great concern for them. “The statements of high battle spirit of the
Armenian army are mere words. If Armenian soldiers have occupied the
territory of Azerbaijan, then the Azerbaijani soldier will release
his lands. It is clear that in this relation, the patriotism and
battle spirit of Azerbaijan soldier are high enough,” he underlined.
Mirzazade stressed that over the recent period, Armenia tries to avoid
the negotiations. The politician added that the international community
has begun to take an objective position regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. “Today the leading European countries require to withdraw
Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories. Today the
development of Azerbaijan and the policy of the Azerbaijan President
will lead to primary goals, the restoration of territorial integrity,
and it will happen soon,” Mirzazade pointed out.
In addition, Mirzazade stressed that the internal and foreign policy
pursued by Azerbaijan is true. In this respect, Armenia cannot
keep pace with Baku. The concerns of Armenia on the development of
Azerbaijan is clear. “Because today Armenia does not possess the
previous military capacity and support in international areas, the
sensible Armenian citizen does not want to face death by defending
the policy of the Armenian President,” he underlined.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CATHOLICOS KAREKIN II: ARMENIAN DIASPORA’S DREAM BECOMES REALITY
REGNUM
September 19, 2006
“After 15 years, time has come to serve people, uniting forces of
Armenia and Diaspora. It is our ultimate goal, it is exactly here
that our nation’s prosperity source is,” the Catholicos Karekin II
is quoted by REGNUM correspondent to state on Sep 18 at the third
Armenia-Diaspora Forum’s opening ceremony.
“Armenian people should use its state government and Diaspora to keep
pace with economic development.
Besides, to strengthen spiritual values, it is necessary to build
new churches and schools. Armenia today faces numerous challenges,”
he stressed. Karekin II also emphasized the importance of programs
aimed at rural areas’ developing, considering it to be an important
element of the country’s social-economic development. Concluding,
the Catholicos reminded that Armenian Diaspora has been dreaming of
returning home for centuries; now, every opportunity is available to
realize the dream.
Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I noted that Diaspora’s participation
in Armenia’s life should not be restricted to economic
donations. According to him, Armenia’s main problems are the
issue of recognition of Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and
recognition of Nagorno Karabakh Republic independence – “Diaspora’s
participation in these programs will provide them with all-Armenian
understanding.” “This cooperation should be based on supreme
values. The building of Armenian nation should stand on a stable
foundation that should be built by us – the whole Armenianhood,”
Aram I stated.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress