Saturday, January 14, 2017

Rwandan genocide fugitive may be hiding in NZ 12/01/2017 By Simon Wong

Rwandan genocide fugitive may be hiding in NZ

12/01/2017
By Simon Wong

Photographs of victims line the walls of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum (Reuters)

Rwanda's government says a wanted man accused of crimes against humanity relating to the country's 1994 genocide is living in New Zealand.

The Rwandan National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) says Pheneas Nzaramba could be living under an assumed name to evade arrest, but admits he may not even be in the country anymore.

It is not known how long Nzaramba could have been living in New Zealand.

If you know anything about Pheneas Nzaramba, email simonwong@mediaworks.co.nz

He faces charges of genocide and extermination in his role in the 1994 atrocity against the Tutsi people - specifically in the Nyakizu area of the country.

A NPPA spokesman said official documents were sent to New Zealand last week, "but these people keep on changing their address".

UK-based political scientist Dr Phil Clark, who specialises in conflict and post-conflict issues in Africa, says the situation is typical of those trying to hide from justice for their part in the massacre of as many as 800,000 Tutsi people.

"It's not surprising that Rwandan genocide suspects would end up living as far away as New Zealand. Many middle- and high-ranking suspects, especially if they were part of the government machinery in 1994, were wealthy and had the means to travel afar."

He says most Western countries wouldn't have been aware of what was happening during and after the genocide, so couldn't vet those who arrived on their shores.

Rwanda commemorated the 20th anniversary of the genocide in 2014 (Getty)

Dr Clark says both governments have been working together for around six years, and they've gathered enough evidence of the whereabouts of suspects, including Nzaramba.

The Ministry of Justice declined to confirm any details from the NPPA, saying it "does not comment on or confirm individual cases until they are before the courts or otherwise in the public domain".

Amnesty International research and policy manager Carsten Bockemuehl says if the reports are true, both countries need to work together to make sure the accused are brought to justice.

"New Zealand must never be a safe haven for war criminals and mass human rights abusers."

But the New Zealand Government must "tread carefully" when it comes to extradition.

"There is a real risk that criminal suspects would not get a fair trial and their lives could be in danger in Rwanda, which is a repressive state that continues to stifle opposition."

Nzaramba one of three fugitives

But Nzaramba isn't the first genocide fugitive believed to be in New Zealand recently; the NPPA says two others have also been possibly hiding out here.

One of them, Enock Ruhigira, was arrested in Germany in July last year after landing at Frankfurt Airport.

Ruhigira, 65, is currently under house arrest as extradition proceedings are considered, The New Times reports.

Dr Clark says while none of them are "widely known" in Rwanda, they could have held prominent local positions during the genocide years.

The country has been relentless in hunting down genocide fugitives, even having its own government tracking unit. It has prosecuted more than 400,000 suspects in more than 1 million trials over the past 12 years, Dr Clark says.

"The idea, then, that some individuals have escaped this comprehensive justice by fleeing overseas goes against Rwanda's entire push for justice."

NZ not the only refuge of genocide fugitives

But Dr Clark says New Zealand is "hardly alone" as a refuge for suspected genocidaires. They've also turned up in other Western countries with "highly sophisticated intelligence and security structures", including the US, Canada, France, the UK and Australia.

He says the NPPA has found suspects in more than 20 countries, and has led prosecutions in foreign courts, as well as extraditions to Rwanda.

The mass exodus of those allegedly involved in the genocide is akin to what happened following the Holocaust, when Nazi party members fled overseas, he says.

Concentration camp guards are still facing justice, with trials as recently as June 2016.

The genocide

Between April and July 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic majority murdered as many as 800,000 people - mostly of the Tutsi minority.

Along with the deaths, the United Nations says an estimated 150,000 to 250,000 women were also raped.

It started on April 6 with the deaths of the Presidents of Burundi and Rwanda, when the plane they were in was hit in a rocket attack. This incited weeks of severe violence.

In the aftermath, many officials, soldiers, militia and 1.4 million civilians fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where thousands died of waterborne diseases.

In November 1994, the United Nations Security Council set up the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, with the first suspects brought before the court in May 1996.

The court convicted then-Prime Minister Jean Kambanda to life in prison and was also the first international court to convict a suspect for rape as a crime against humanity and of genocide.

Newshub. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/01/rwandan-genocide-fugitive-may-be-hiding-in-nz.html

Monday, December 22, 2014

Santa's unlikely helpers visit Wellington's sick children

By Simon Wong

Online Reporter

Wellington Children's Hospital got some special Christmas visitors today, and none of them were Santa.

Four United States marines brought dozens of donated gifts for children who won't be home for Christmas.

The marines were on a different kind of mission today, delivering gifts to the Wellington Children's Hospital.

The delivery was part of the Toys For Tots programme helping spread festive cheer to those who need it.

Families say spending Christmas in hospital is trying but the marines join forces with staff to make the experience as cheerful as possible

"It's just hard not knowing when she's going to get better. She's got a twin brother she's really missing," guardian Elaine Gousmett says.

Father Leon Zhang says his family has spent the past two Christmases in hospital.

"The nurses and doctors are very helpful. It's pretty sad that we can't spend Christmas with family at home but we have to."

The marines say they're just honoured to be putting smiles on children's' faces.

"I don't normally say it a lot, but I actually love children. So to be able to give them toys and make their Christmas that much better is amazing for me," says Staff Sergeant Richard Neeley.

Since the programme started 67 years ago more than 450 million toys have been distributed worldwide and for the children who will spend the festive season here it's definitely brought some Christmas cheer.

3 News

Top political gaffes 2014: Election special

By Simon Wong

Online Reporter

Monday 22 Dec 2014 10:35 a.m.

You may have forgotten already, either intentionally or not, there was a general election this year.

It got pretty crazy, some would even say it reached "peak cray".

There was a lawsuit from a famous rapper, a few misplaced "jokes" and comments, a blow out or two by MPs and party press secretaries, and a little book about dirty politics -all before the country even got to the polls.

With the end of the year approaching and "Best of" lists seemingly mandatory, this election special of top political blunders condenses the most weird and sometimes farcical moments from the campaign trail.

'Rap God' Eminem sues the National Party:

Well, not Marshall Mathers himself, but publishers of his copyright. When National's campaign ad was released – the one with the row boat, remember? – it had a few people rapping to a very familiar tune. The legal action was started, with allegations the ad used the rapper's hit 'Lose Yourself' from the film 8 Mile. Campaign manager Steven Joyce insisted it was "pretty legal" and the party used music from a recognised production music supplier. His response was picked up by British satirist John Oliver who made light of the situation on his US show.

Key calls Kim Dotcom a 'sugar daddy'

It was a comment from the Prime Minister on RadioLIVE which drew criticism of him being sexist, after calling Dotcom Internet Party leader Laila Harre's "sugar daddy" because he bankrolled the party. He stood by his comments, saying if he wasn't putting up the $3 million for the campaign, "she wouldn't be there". Harre, unsurprisingly, found the comment deeply offensive. The money didn't matter in the end anyway, because the party's high risk strategy of coat-tailing into Parliament on Hone Harawira's Te Tai Tokerau seat failed spectacularly.

David Cunliffe's wife outed as Twitter bully

If you think politicians were under pressure during the election campaign, spare a thought for their families. Under David Cunliffe's leadership, the Labour Party suffered one of its worst defeats in its almost 100 year history. His wife Karen Price apologised for setting up an anonymous Twitter account to attack Cunliffe's rivals and critics, citing post-election "media pressure". She said sorry and later deleted the account.

Winston's joke hits the Wong note:

New Zealand First's campaign launch was derailed by a joke he made in his speech, which was labelled racist by some. He insisted his "two Wongs don't make a white" joke was funny and anyone didn't laugh were the "language Nazis". The Race Relations Commissioner kind of defended him, saying while it was inappropriate, it wasn't racist. Members of the Chinese community claimed the comment was pretty old school, but still "seriously off base".

Colin Craig's music knowledge criminal

Throughout the campaign, at least according to the seemingly innumerable polls, the Conservative Party could have conceivably made it into Parliament. And with a star on the rise, the party's leader Colin Craig allowed 3 News to spend some time with him on the election trail. When asked what his favourite New Zealand band was, he said he was loyal to Dave Dobbyn "or Police or something like that". But hang on. The Police as in quintessential English rock band featuring Sting?

Puffed up little blowout

Remember the Internet Mana Party? Their election launch at Western Springs College, on the same day as the National Party, was meant to set the tone for their election campaign, and in hindsight, it actually kind of did. The event was going relatively smoothly until it was thrown into disarray by press secretary Pam Corkery who verbally abused journalists wanting to talk to the Internet Party's founder Kim Dotcom about hacking. She coined one of the more colourful phrases of the campaign trail: "You puffed-up little s**t".

Hone takes the high road on cannabis

The other half of the Internet Mana alliance also had a bit of a blowout, after Mana leader Hone Harawira walked away from an interview with political reporter Tova O'Brien after one question about a U-Turn by Mana around the legalisation of cannabis. Mana had been one of the toughest opponents of decriminalising cannabis, but the party changed its stance to be more in line with the Internet Party which was for it.

Labour candidate's less than positive comment

Labour's "Vote Positive" slogan suffered some very negative media coverage after candidate Steve Gibson, ranked 56 on the list, made a derogatory comment on a Facebook post about Prime Minister John Key.

Gibson called Mr Key "Shylock", referring to a villainous Jewish money lender in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, apparently oblivious to its meaning. But regardless of that, the phrase "nasty little creep with a nasty evil and vindictive sneer" also made it into the post – no confusing that one. Gibson apologised and deleted the comment and was given a final warning from the party's top brass.

It didn't end there for Gibson though. Following Labour's disastrous election loss, he attacked the party saying it should have someone like him – "an outsider" - to lead it.

Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!

OK, it's not really a gaffe, but ACT Party's newest candidate and subsequent leader David Seymour burst onto the political scene with an unintentionally viral video introducing himself and showing off his beloved Epsom electorate. The video was shared left, right and centre, but Seymour took the inadvertent attention in his stride, making the most of the media coverage. 3 News reporter David Farrier caught up with Seymour on Epsom's leafy streets to talk to him about the video. "The thing about making a video that may go viral is that you don't know you're doing it until it's too late."

A question of trust

In the second leaders debate, Labour leader David Cunliffe got tripped up on by John Key on crucial details of the party's flagship, but complex Capital Gains Tax. Key asked Cunliffe whether a house in a trust would be exempt from the tax, but he stumbled in his answer. Key attacked his opponent on the policy, but he too got his facts wrong saying the family home in a trust would be included in the tax (they weren't), and 300,000 homes were in trusts whereas the census shows it's more like 215,000. Cunliffe clarified the position the next day, explaining he wanted to be "dead sure" of the facts before answering.

Honourable mention:

Judith Collins attacks the media:

An honourable mention goes to Judith Collins who had a bizarre interview with 3 News reporter Brook Sabin. It came in the wake of Maurice Williamson's resignation as minister over a political scandal involving a Chinese businessman in May and pressure over her connection to export company Oravida of which her husband is a director. Ms Collins was being attacked relentlessly by Opposition MPs and under constant pressure from media about a trip she made to the company's Shanghai office during an official trip. She verbally attacked TVNZ journalist Katie Bradford, claiming she'd asked her for help getting her ex-partner a job with the police – something Ms Bradford denied.

3 News

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Shaolin monks give buskers run for money

Buskers have been known to frequent Wellington's streets filling them with music, but a new group has arrived in town and they're causing a bit of a stir.

Sixteen Shaolin monks from the Henan province of China are in the capital for this year's World of Wearable Arts event which starts tomorrow, performing at the closing show themed Kingdom of the East.

But aside from their stage show, the group will also be performing for free four times between today and Wednesday.

The first was for a lunchtime crown this afternoon at Civic Square, where hundreds gathered to watch the 15 minute show.

The group will also be performing on Friday outside the TSB Arena, on Saturday outside Te Papa and on Wednesday in Midland Park. All performances start at 1pm.

3 News

Buskers have been known to frequent Wellington's streets, but a group of Shaolin monks has arrived in town and they're causing a bit of a stir. Read the article >

http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/shaolin-monks-give-buskers-run-for-money-2014092415?ref=photo

Monday, September 15, 2014

Dotcom's bombshell revealed – reports

Kim Dotcom's evidence in his so-called Moment of Truth has come out with an email directly linking Prime Minister John Key to his extradition, but a spokesperson for the man meant to have written it says it’s a fake.

Dotcom's long-touted event at Auckland's Town Hall tonight was set to prove Mr Key knew about him before the raid on his Coatesville Mansion in January 2012.

The Prime Minster is adamant the first he heard about the Megaupload founder was on January 19 - the day before Dotcom and six others were arrested on a number of charges including copyright infringement.

The New Zealand Herald reports Dotcom's bombshell evidence is an email from October 27, 2010 and is alleged to be from Warner Brothers chairman and chief executive Kevin Tsujihara to Michael Ellis, a senior executive at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) which lobbies for Hollywood studios.

The email reads: "We had a really good meeting with the Prime Minister. He's a fan and we're getting what we came for. Your groundwork in New Zealand is paying off. I see strong support for our anti-piracy effort.

"John Key told me in private that they are granting Dotcom residency despite pushback from officials about his criminal past. His AG will do everything in his power to assist us with our case. VIP treatment and then a one-way ticket to Virginia.

"This is a game changer. The DOJ is against the Hong Kong option. No confidence in the Chinese. Great job."

However, Warner Brothers says the email is fake.

Studio senior vice president for worldwide communications Paul McGuire said Mr Tsujihara didn't write or send the alleged email.

"He never had any such conversation with Prime Minister Key."

Mr Key today said all the meetings he had with Mr Tsujihara were in public and in the presence of other people.

He had only been made aware of the email shortly before talking to journalists this afternoon.

"I do not believe that [email] to be correct. I have no recollection of the conversation that's alluded to in the email," he said.

"In the end we'll dig down and get to the bottom of it, but we don't have any record of it."

However, later this afternoon, Mr Key issued a statement which said the alleged conversation with Mr Tsujihara never happened.

"The conversation allegedly reported on in the email did not take place," the statement says.

"People will see this for what it is."

Labour leader David Cunliffe says if the email is true, Mr Key needs to resign.

"If true, the email would prove that the Prime Minister has lied repeatedly and directly to the New Zealand people. It would be grounds for his resignation as Prime Minister," Mr Cunliffe said.

"National's whole campaign has been built around the credibility of one man and that credibility is now called into the most serious question."

He says if Mr Key wants to show the email is a fake, he needs to release meeting records and all documents with correspondence with Warner Brothers dating from 2010 which needs to be "immediate and full".

Dotcom's immigration file needs to also be released which Mr Cunliffe believes would show whether political influence was involved in his immigration clearance.

Meanwhile, American journalist Glenn Greenwald has claimed US National Security Agency (NSA) documents obtained by Edward Snowden show the GCSB has engaged in widespread domestic spying and he'll reveal more details about it at the meeting.

Mr Key strongly denies the assertion, saying he will resign if it is proven the GCSB was proven to have conducted mass surveillance.

He has also pledged to declassify documents proving he is right, but only once the documents Mr Greenwald has are released tonight.

"It's incumbent on them to release those documents, but when they do we'll counter it," Mr Key said on Sunday.

"We are absolutely rock solid in our position."

Today, Mr Key said if Mr Greenwald's mass surveillance claims were specifically about New Zealanders, he was wrong.

"We do collect information in foreign environments which we share with our partners, but not in New Zealand about New Zealanders."

He says the GCSB does not collect wholesale metadata or data of New Zealanders and did not use its Five Eyes partners to circumvent the law.

Mr Cunliffe said he hoped Mr Key was right.

"Questions based on whatever is revealed in the next few days are for the Prime Minister to answer. And New Zealanders will place a lot of weight on the answers that he gives."

Mr Key also called Mr Greenwald a "loser" and Dotcom's "little henchman" following his claims, and Mr Cunliffe thinks New Zealander's deserve better than resorting to name calling.

"He's developing a habit of this, and I think people will want to judge it on the evidence," Mr Cunliffe said.

Dotcom's event will also include, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and international human rights lawyer Robert Amsterdam.