KIGALI - AMNESTY International has blasted Rwanda's laws on genocide ideology, which the campaigning group says are being used to suppress political dissent.
"The ambiguity of the "genocide ideology" and "sectarianism" law means Rwandans live in fear of being punished for saying the wrong thing," said Erwin van der Borght, Africa Programme director at Amnesty International.
"Most take the safe option of staying silent."
The laws were introduced to prevent inflammatory speech in the years following the 1994 genocide.
Hutu militia slaughtered 800000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the genocide, which was ended when rebel leader Paul Kagame - now president - led his forces to power.
Kagame is accused of repressing political opposition through a variety of tactics. This month he won a landslide re-election when faced by no credible opposition parties.
Rival politicians and critical journalists were arrested and charged with "genocide ideology" in the run-up to the election - among them Victoire Ingabire, leader of the opposition Unified Democratic Forces.
Ingabire was arrested after she called on the government to recognise that invading Tutsi forces had also slaughtered Hutus.
Amnesty International said even lawyers and human rights workers were unable to define exactly what "genocide ideology" meant.
It said it hoped a review of the law announced in April this year would lead to amendments and that past convictions under the law would be reviewed.
Rwanda is very touchy about attempts to provide a different narrative on the genocide.
The government this week threatened to pull its troops out of UN's peacekeeping missions if the UN published a report accusing Rwandan forces of massacring Hutus after the genocide.
Amnesty slams 'genocide laws'
KIGALI - AMNESTY International has blasted Rwanda's laws on genocide ideology, which the campaigning group says are being used to suppress political dissent.
"The ambiguity of the "genocide ideology" and "sectarianism" law means Rwandans live in fear of being punished for saying the wrong thing," said Erwin van der Borght, Africa Programme director at Amnesty International.
"Most take the safe option of staying silent."
The laws were introduced to prevent inflammatory speech in the years following the 1994 genocide.
Hutu militia slaughtered 800000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the genocide, which was ended when rebel leader Paul Kagame - now president - led his forces to power.
Kagame is accused of repressing political opposition through a variety of tactics. This month he won a landslide re-election when faced by no credible opposition parties.
Rival politicians and critical journalists were arrested and charged with "genocide ideology" in the run-up to the election - among them Victoire Ingabire, leader of the opposition Unified Democratic Forces.
Ingabire was arrested after she called on the government to recognise that invading Tutsi forces had also slaughtered Hutus.
Amnesty International said even lawyers and human rights workers were unable to define exactly what "genocide ideology" meant.
It said it hoped a review of the law announced in April this year would lead to amendments and that past convictions under the law would be reviewed.
Rwanda is very touchy about attempts to provide a different narrative on the genocide.
The government this week threatened to pull its troops out of UN's peacekeeping missions if the UN published a report accusing Rwandan forces of massacring Hutus after the genocide.
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