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The situation of the church in Rwanda
The Constitution establishes the right to religious freedom, but in some cases the authorities restrict this right. Public gatherings must be authorised, including religious ones. Authorisation, however, is not required if the meeting is organised by a religious group known to the authorities.
Religious groups are obliged to gather in their places of worship as the authorities do not wish such meetings to be held in private homes. It is compulsory to inform the authorities immediately about any meetings held at night, even religious ones and even if held in private locations.
Furthermore, the government wishes to attend various different religious ceremonies. For example, at weddings the bride and groom are asked to make their vows while touching the national flag. Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to do this and suffer serious consequences. As a comprise solution, very often Jehovah’s Witnesses place their hands on a Bible that is in turn placed on the national flag.
Those who disturb a religious ceremony or a minister of religion in the exercise of his duties are committing a crime that is punishable with a fine and/or a prison sentence of up to six months.
Political organisations based on an ethnic, tribal or religious basis are forbidden as are all those that could result in discrimination.
Non-profit organisations, including religious ones, are obliged to register. There is strict control over religious organisations. Groups must provide information concerning their objectives and the activities planned so as to obtain temporary authorisation. Some religious groups, however, operate without authorisation.
Religious instruction is provided in state schools and can be replaced by a course on morals. Both Catholic and Islamic private schools operate in the country.
The tragedy of 1994
The civil war began in 1990 between the Hutu ethnic group, then in power, and the Tutsi minority. The war culminated in the slaughter which, starting in 1994, eventually resulted in more than one million victims. There were three million refugees and about 120,000 people were arrested, most of whom are still imprisoned and awaiting trial. In about 100 days, between April and July 1994, Hutu extremists massacred between 500,000 and 800,000 people, mainly belonging to the Tutsi ethnic group. Survivors have spoken of how their communities were attacked not only by armed units, but even by ordinary citizens, following the soldiers. Thousands more were then massacred during the Tutsi revenge. The killings continued until the entry into the capital Kigali of the troops of the (mainly Tutsi) Rwandan Patriotic Front, which has been in power ever since. Thousands more, this time Hutus, were subsequently killed in revenge by the Tutsi, some in incursions into the refugee camps in Congo (then Zaire). By the time the massacres ended, about 10% of the population had been killed and the country’s agriculture and infrastructure had been destroyed.
Tens of thousands were arrested by the new Tutsi government for the massacres and there was instantly the serious problem of ensuring they would all be tried fairly. In 1996 a law was passed to punish crimes against humanity, and civilian and military courts were set up to try those charged as responsible for the massacres. Four types of crimes were established; the first two concern those who organised the genocide and participated in mass killings or individual murders, while the other two concern crimes such as looting, and wounding people. The ordinary justice system could not, however, judge such large numbers of people within a reasonable timeframe, which was necessary so as to allow for national reconciliation, because there could have been many innocent people among those arrested. Hence a decision was reached to resort to traditional courts, called Gacacas (‘grass’ in the local Kinyarwanda language). These are people’s courts that usually address local issues. In every Rwandan city a Gacaca was set up with the task of judging those accused of crimes belonging to the last three categories (those accused of having organised the genocide were to be tried by the normal courts or by the International Court in Arusha, Tanzania, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda). In fact those not accused of having organised the genocide were people of secondary importance, i.e. those who had carried out the orders of their superiors, soldiers and ordinary people. The formula involving the Gacaca tribunals envisaged the participation of the entire local community so that the truth could be publicly made known. This was a cathartic process that all could take part in. Many of those who were guilty asked their victims or their relative for forgiveness, and received it.
In order to try the over 818,000 people accused, the government often speeded up procedures in the Gacacas, even giving them the power to impose life sentences. The procedures of these courts do not however respect international standards for fair trials. For example, there are no lawyers present in these hearings, neither prosecutors nor defence lawyers, and these roles are assumed by those taking part in the trial. This might be suitable for resolving local quarrels, but not for passing judgement on extremely serious crimes. Sentences are passed by a people’s jury of nine people.
According to media reports, some trials held by the Gacacas were vitiated by false charges, corruption and problems in summoning defence witnesses. After the closing of the Gacacas, new charges were to be brought in ordinary courts.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, situated in Arusha, began trials in 1996 and during the period addressed by this report had only passed judgement on half of the about 90 cases presented, in spite of the fact that most of the accused are in prison. Initially its mandate was expected to last until December 2010, a period considered sufficient for completing all the trials. However, in December 2009 the court’s mandate was extended to 2012, albeit amidst bitter criticism, above all over the fact that those standing trial for the killings are exclusively of the Hutu tribe.
Following the genocide very severe laws were introduced against genocidal ideologies and those propagating them. Many however believe that the practical result has been an undue restriction of freedom of expression and widespread fear of being branded with the shameful accusation of instigating genocide, which can have serious social consequences, and in some cases exposing people to assault in the media.
The law in fact applies not only to actions but also to statements and speeches that could be perceived as incitement to hatred. The law’s wording is also extremely vague and in order to constitute a crime it is not necessary for such incitements to have caused an act of genocide. For example, the law punishes with sentences ranging from 10 to 25 years in prison, those responsible for the ‘dehumanisation’ of a given group of people, ‘deriding the misfortune of others’ or ‘instigating malevolent feelings’. The law can punish children with sentences of up to 12 months, to be spent in a rehabilitation centre, and young people aged between 12 and 18 with prison sentences of between 5 and 12½ years. Moreover, the charge of ‘genocide denial’ is occasionally levelled against those who have attempted to re-establish a dialogue between the two ethnic groups.
Catholics
Among the hundreds of thousands of people accused of genocide or crimes linked to it, there are also members of the Catholic Church, including priests. Both the Gacacas and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda have sentenced some Catholic priests, some for serious crimes (though never for direct involvement in the killings), while many others have either been acquitted or no case has been found to answer. However, the authorities, the politicians and some sections of the local and international media have taken advantage of such cases to accuse the Catholic Church of having played an important role in the genocide, and those Christian believers sentenced have often been presented by some sections of the media as proof of this alleged important and secret role of the Church in the massacre – even to the extent of referring to the convicted person simply as a ‘priest’ or ‘a nun’ without even stating their identity.
More generally, critics have accused the Catholic Church of seeking to protect priests and nuns found guilty of genocide and of not wishing to acknowledge its responsibilities. These critics forget the extremely heavy toll paid by the Rwandan Church, with many of its faithful among the dead, as well as 248 consecrated persons who were victims (4 bishops, 103 priests, 65 nuns and 47 brothers, of various congregations).
The Church in turn has been critical of the manner in which the State has managed the trials of the authors of the genocide, with thousands of people arrested and imprisoned, even for years, awaiting trial, and with many cases tried in a perfunctory manner. In inviting the nation to reconciliation, Bishop Servilien Nzakamwita of Byumba recalled that responsibility for the massacre was widespread, and even international.
He added that as soon as the slaughter had ended and the situation was once again brought under control by the new authorities, the Catholic Church had begun its pastoral work of reconciliation. Bishop Nzakamwita also recalled that, 15 years after the events, “there are still people detained, awaiting justice in order to put an end to the stalemate, and among them there are undoubtedly some who are innocent.”
Although the Catholic Church is actively involved in the national reconciliation process and tries to heal the still-open wounds, it is still discriminated against by the authorities in a variety of ways that are always significant. For example, in April 2009, during the week of remembrance of the genocide, the government restricted the celebration of a number of religious activities, such as baptisms.
Sources
Fides
MISNA
Amnesty International
BBC
CNN
L’Osservatore Romano
Vatican Radio
U.S. Department of State – 2009 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom
www.corriere.it
www.cathnews.com
How you can help
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supports several projects in Rwanda. You can support these projects by donating via their national offices.
Below you can find one or more finished projects ACN supported in the past.
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Like their fellow Rwandans throughout the country, the people of Kibeho have been deeply traumatised by the consequences of the bloody Civil War between Hutu and Tutsi in the 1990s. Together with her 40 or more fellow Pallottine Sisters, Sister Marta is doing everything in her power to ease the suffering of the thousands of refugees, of sick and hungry people whose plight has been virtually forgotten by the Western world. And indeed, the presence of the Pallottine Sisters greatly helps to ease the burden of their daily lives. Read more >>
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"God is rich in grace", says Pallottine Sister Marta Litawa. It is a phrase that might fall easily from the lips of someone living in material comfort in the Western world. But Sister Marta lives in Rwanda, where the murderous civil war in the 1990s between Hutu and Tutsi claimed somewhere in the region of 800,000 human lives and left a trail of misery, trauma and sickness in its wake. Read more >>
Statistics
Population: 10.28 Million
Christian Population: 8.85 Million
Religious statistics:
Christians 86.1%
Ethnoreligionists 8.8%
Muslims 4.8%
Others 0.3%
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Kibeho