[RwandaLibre] "It would be a stretch to call Rwanda a true democracy": The Olympia World Affairs Council

John Dodge: Olympia-based group has been a world teacher for the past 30 years

jdodge@theolympian.comJanuary 19, 2014

It's a little-known fact that for the past 30 years, South Sound
citizens with an abiding interest in global affairs have had a place
to go each month to learn about politics, cultures and economies
across the world.

The Olympia World Affairs Council, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group,
provides the monthly forum, inviting expert speakers on international
issues and events to share their insights with a curious public.

The Olympia-based group is one of nearly 100 councils around the
country that function independently but under the umbrella of the
World Affairs Council of America, which has been dedicated since 1918
to the mission of engaging and educating the American public on global
issues.

The founding members saw the council as a way to combat an
isolationist foreign policy embraced by many Americans at the end of
World War I. The world stage of the early 20th century stands in sharp
contrast to that of the early 21st century, when technology and a
global economy link us all like never before.

The free public meetings of the Olympia World Affairs Council take
place at 7:30 p.m. the third Thursday of the month, September through
May, at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW, Olympia.

About 75 council members and nonmembers gathered last week to hear
Thurston County Commissioner Karen Valenzuela share some of her
experiences from a trip last June to Rwanda, with a 21-member
delegation organized by the Seattle-based Center for Women and
Democracy.

Valenzuela painted a picture of a hilly, landlocked country in
southeast Africa still healing from 100 days of government-backed
genocide in 1994 that claimed the lives of up to 1 million people,
mostly minority Tutsis killed by the majority Hutus.

Reminders of the horrific, not-too-distant past are everywhere. They
include bullet holes in the side of the parliament building in the
national capital city of Kigali, a grim symbol of the fierce battle
waged between the national army and Gen. Paul Kagame's Rwandan
Patriotic Front, which brought an end to the worst of the genocide.

Today, women make up 64 percent of the members of parliament, which is
the highest percent of women in any governing body in the world, noted
Beth Doglio, one of four Olympia women who were part of the June
delegation. This African nation of 12 million has seen the wisdom of
empowering women.

At the same time, it would be a stretch to call Rwanda a true
democracy. Free speech and a free press are not allowed. There is no
viable opposition to the Rwandan Patriotic Front, and the 2013
parliament elections tightened Kagame's rule as president. The
country's constitution as written would not allow Kagame to seek a
third term, but the new parliament is expected to change that.

"A lot of political questions remain," Valenzuela said. "Is the
president Rwanda's savior or someone who will never leave office?

In a trip with many highlights, Valenzuela's encounter with a family
of gorillas in the mountainous country of Volcanoes National Park
stood out. The former archaeology student at the University of
California at Berkeley paid $500 for the four-hour guided park trek.
But she says it was money well spent: The funds raised by the Rwanda
National Park Service are used to preserve and protect gorilla habitat
and their imperiled numbers — a highly endangered 800.

One final note from Rwanda that caught the fancy of the
environmentally conscious commissioner: Rwanda has a national ban on
plastic bags.

For more information on the Olympia World Affairs Council, go to
olympiawac.org. The group always is looking for new members.

John Dodge: 360-754-5444 jdodge@theolympian.com

http://www.theolympian.com/2014/01/19/2938589/groups-been-world-teacher-since.html


--
SIBOMANA Jean Bosco
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***Transmission Time Interval (TTI) on Sunday January 19th, 2014:
TTI=13H45-20H30, heure de Montréal.***Fuseau horaire domestique: heure
normale de la côte Est des Etats-Unis et Canada (GMT-05:00)***


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