Canadian Author and Activist
Romeo Dallaire has greatly enabled the “Butcher of Africa’s Great Lakes” region. The Canadian general’s fairy tale has repeatedly justified Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame who has once again unleashed horrible violence in Congo. Two months ago a man in front of me at Salon du livre de Montréal asked Dallaire if his “opinion of Rwanda... Continue Reading →
While the Canadian government questions whether Nicolas Maduro really won 51% of the vote in Venezuela’s presidential election it has no trouble with Africa’s most bloodstained dictator claiming 99%. Ottawa also has no trouble supporting the Rwandan government despite UN experts accusing it of aggression. Two weeks ago, Paul Kagame ‘won’ 99.18% of the vote... Continue Reading →
Imagine a Canadian MP travelled to Moscow and posted a parable by Vladimir Putin on kindness. What might the media reaction be? Turns out a Liberal MP did the equivalent in Africa and has so far escaped any criticism. During a trip in which she met Rwanda’s foreign minister and innovation minister London West MP Arielle Kayabaga posted... Continue Reading →
An invasion of a neighbouring country that breaks international law. Tremendous death and destruction. An authoritarian government with a long-time ruler who crushes any opposition. But not Russia and Ukraine. The contrast between Rwanda’s invasion of Congo and the much more widely reported conflict in eastern Europe is stark. A brutal dictator who has... Continue Reading →
In a world of vast injustice, one cannot expect a government’s foreign policy to be principled or consistent. But there should at least be some limit to hypocrisy. On June 16 Justin Trudeau spoke with Rwandan president Paul Kagame about this week’s Commonwealth Summit in Kigali. Half the government’s readout about the discussion was devoted... Continue Reading →
Justin Trudeau wants us to know he’s buddies with Africa’s most ruthless dictator. At the recent African Union Summit in Ethiopia Trudeau met Paul Kagame. The Prime Minister’s press people released a photo of him laughing with the Rwandan President and announced that the two discussed the upcoming Commonwealth summit Trudeau is set to attend... Continue Reading →
Shame on Unifor. Applauding Roméo Dallaire is wrong and giving him an award named after Nelson Mandela is simply embarrassing. At its convention in Québec City next week Canada’s largest private sector union is set to give Dallaire its Nelson Mandela Award, which is supposed to go to an individual advancing the cause of... Continue Reading →
Toronto Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri claims to be an ambassador for Africa. But, his embrace of the most bloodstained African leader makes a mockery of any pan-Africanist pretenses. On July 26 Ujiri traveled to Kigali to visit Rwandan president Paul Kagame. He was photographed next to the ruthless dictator sporting a T-shirt with a small... Continue Reading →
Is Roméo Dallaire a genocide denier? After a (question free) talk at Concordia University this week I followed the famous Canadian general out of the room to ask why he still supports ruthless dictator Paul Kagame. Kagame is the individual most responsible for the mass slaughter in Rwanda in mid-1994 since his forces invaded the... Continue Reading →
It is time to call a technical foul on Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri for his ties to one of the world’s most ruthless dictators. Through his Giants of Africa charity Ujiri has bestowed legitimacy on Paul Kagame even as local newspapers document the Rwandan president’s violence. Before their December 5 game against the... Continue Reading →
Rwanda’s tragedy has been exploited for many purposes. Add slandering a pro-Palestinian activist to the list. Since I wrote this article about the Jewish Defense League last month, Toronto’s Alex Hundert has repeatedly labeled me anti-Semitic. The self-declared “anti-fascist” tweeted at Pacific Free Press, Rabble, the NDP and others to “cut ties” with me. In... Continue Reading →
Like children’s fairy tales, foreign policy myths are created, told and retold for a purpose. The Boy Who Cried Wolf imparts a life lesson while entertaining your five year-old niece. Unfortunately foreign policy myths are seldom so benign. The tale told about Romeo Dallaire illustrates the problem. While the former Canadian General rose to prominence... Continue Reading →
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