Pretty good week for Rwanda

Rwanda has been in the news a couple times this week with some good news. Rwanda has joined the Commonwealth, despite not having been a British colony (neither was Mozambique), restored diplomatic relations with France, and is now land mine free. It's the first country to be land mine free, which the people who owned land with landmines are pretty stoked about, as you probably can imagine.

I'm wondering if restored diplomatic ties with France might mean the Franco-Rwandaise cultural center will re-open. Right now it's a vacant building and large lot right on the big traffic circle downtown.

Aid Watch Blog

I just wanted to link to this blog, called Aid Watch, without much commentary. I found this particular entry, African leaders advise Bono on reform of U2, amusing so am linking to that here, but the less satirical pieces are very interesting.

Rwanda World AIDS Day Theme

“Condom as a means of dual protection. Let’s talk about it, let’s access it, let’s use it: a fundamental right for all!”

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Acquittals

Earlier this week the ICTR acquitted 2 alleged genocidaires: Protais Zigiranyirazo and Hormisdas Nsengimana. I haven't been able to find much international press about these acquittals unfortunately, largely because all the accounts I've seen have been either completely lacking in detail or written by people with a firm agenda one way or another.

The New Times has run a piece asking precisely whose interests the ICTR is serving and yesterday there were protests in front of the ICTR office, which are expected to continue today. As the ICTR office is across town from me, I didn't witness these demonstrations - I work very close to the German embassy so got to see the demonstrations and vigils pretty regularly. Generally though, demonstrations in Rwanda are a restrained affair that begin and end as organized. All the same I received a Warden Message about avoiding the demonstrations.

What I have seen from other sources say the decision was based on a lack of evidence of planning for one and a mishandling of evidence for the other. It appears there is no lack of drama in the prosecution of the ICTR. I wish it was getting broader coverage though...

Enter the mercenaries

So after the coup and then the massacre, everyone was going to just freeze out the junta. Then, China gave the junta billions of dollars. And now South African mercenaries are training the junta's troops. Unfortunately neither China nor mercenaries are into the sanctions and embargo. It all is just so sad I don't even have a cynical comment to make about it.

Roar

IMG_1779, originally uploaded by l'exterieur.

Actually, the lions didn't roar. But we tracked them for a while, and the lioness even hunted a very small antelope. However, she lost interest after a bit - I think the several truck loads of onlookers discouraged her.

One truckload of young American women were actually in the back of a pick-up, rather than closed safari vans with the tops open for animal watching (see our baboon pic below). The girls were terrified being so close to the lions and had their driver park them behind our car for while so they could peer around us to see the lions. Our driver told them that the lion was just going to climb up the metal railing on the outside of their truck bed and fall on them. Of course, this did not happen.

Rest of the photos of the safari and Uganda should be up by late today on flickr.

HI-larious

IMG_1686, originally uploaded by l'exterieur.

First stop on our game drive was a bridge owned by a large troupe of baboons. As the tourists stopped to watch the baboons, this one snuck up behind them and tried to climb into their car. The whole game drive turned out to be an opportunity for people to learn to avoid baboons the hard way. At the ferry crossing - you had to cross a river to get to the best game - a pack of baboons hung out and enjoyed going through the trash can and attempting to break into the vehicles waiting to cross. Hilarious - particularly as one, annoyed there was nothing edible in the trash bin, proceeded to sit down in the middle of everyone waiting to cross, pull out his penis and then pee at the tourists trying to photograph him.

These guys managed to force the baboon back out of their vehicle without injury. Our guide and driver were both prepared with handy baboon-repelling sticks and kept a sharp eye out for baboons. On the drive into the park our driver explained that it is very important to not chase a baboon if he steals your bag. You have to just let him go. He'll run to the forest, dissassemble the bag and, if there is no food, he'll just leave everything in a heap. If you chase him, he'll just keep running.

One tented camp in the park had a warthog population that liked to sleep and linger around the restaurant facilities. Our eco-lodge had a collection of buffalo that liked to hang out and spent every morning milling around the football pitch by the staff quarters. Buffalo are pretty scary and have to be avoided. In fact, one morning, pre-dawn, I was returning from breakfast to our room and had to play hide and seek with a buffalo around one of the huts. Luckily, not being particularly brilliant or malicious, he lost interest and wandered off.