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The Rwandan authorities has a fame for focusing on opponents overseas, at occasions violently, mentioned U of C historical past professor John Ferris
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The arrest of an Alberta Mountie accused of sharing police knowledge with the federal government of Rwanda is one other wake-up name for a Canada ill-equipped to cope with such intrusions, say lecturers.
On Tuesday, RCMP mentioned Const. Eli Ndatuje, 36, is dealing with three costs associated to the sharing of “non-top-secret” info from the power’s data system, an act they referred to as a nationwide safety breach.
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The Safety Data Act breach of belief cost alleged he “did deliberately and with out lawful authority talk, or try to speak, safeguarded info on the Canadian Police Data Centre system to a international entity, to wit the Republic of Rwanda.”
RCMP have launched few particulars on the alleged breach however two College of Calgary professors who analysis international interference and nationwide intelligence say that if the allegations are true, they might revolve across the Rwandan authorities amassing private info for use in opposition to Rwandan neighborhood members in Canada important of the regime of President Paul Kagame.
“They’ve received numerous political opponents who nonetheless criticize the (Rwandan) authorities,” mentioned political scientist Jean-Christophe Boucher.
“They could possibly be on the lookout for prison data for individuals who have ties to Rwanda — it permits you to blackmail households . . . manipulate and intervene with the lives of Canadians.”
He mentioned the variety of international actors interfering with or harassing folks in Canada is rising.
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“It’s clear there’s increasingly more nations (doing this) if you pull on the thread,” mentioned Boucher.
However he mentioned Canada is poorly positioned to counter such interference, with International Affairs Canada fielding solely 11 workers members to look into allegations.
“The federal authorities may be very back-footed on this, there’s not numerous assets dedicated to this,” mentioned Boucher.
“I’m glad we’re taking this significantly — for a very long time we’ve been overly indulgent and naive.”
The accusations in opposition to Ndatuje ought to come as no shock given the Rwandan authorities’s fame for focusing on opponents overseas, at occasions violently, mentioned U of C historical past professor John Ferris.
“They’ve a really clear document of pursuing political rivals exterior Rwanda in a murderous vogue,” mentioned Ferris, an knowledgeable on nationwide intelligence.
Mounties say the alleged safety breach dates again to April 2022, and doesn’t seem very subtle given how rapidly it was uncovered, he mentioned.
However he mentioned the arrest ought to imply Rwandans in Canada important of that nation’s authorities needs to be involved about being probably focused with their private info doubtlessly compromised.
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A big portion of the Rwandan diaspora arrived in Canada following the 1994 genocide wherein about 800,000 folks, largely ethnic Tutsis, had been slaughtered by the hands of Hutus, say the teachers.
In a 2023 report, Human Rights Watch named Canada as one in all a number of nations the place the Rwandan diaspora has been focused for intimidation by the Kagame’s ruling Rwandan Patriotic Entrance.
“The management, surveillance and intimidation of Rwandan refugee and diaspora communities and others overseas might be attributed partially to the authorities’ want to quash dissent and preserve management,” states the report.
“By refusing to return to Rwanda and thru their capacity to criticize the Rwandan authorities from exile, refugees and asylum seekers additionally inherently problem the picture the authorities search to mission — one in all a rustic from which individuals don’t flee.”
The report goes on to say “the Rwandan authorities has sought to make use of world police co-operation, together with Interpol Crimson Notices, judicial mechanisms, and extradition requests to hunt deportations of critics or dissidents again to Rwanda.”
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One outstanding former Kagame ally who now lives in Toronto, Prof. David Himbara, has accused the regime of relentlessly harassing him for his criticism of it.
A spokesman for the Rwandan Canadian Society of Calgary mentioned he’s not conscious of any Rwandan authorities harassment of his neighborhood.
And the top of a nationwide Rwandan-Canadian group referred to as allegations of diaspora intimidation bogus.
“(The authorities) discover out these are baseless accusations and nobody has come to see me about them,” mentioned Alan Patrick Ndengara, president of the Rwandan Neighborhood Overseas in Canada.
“Rwandans in Canada are protected by Canada — we consider in our establishments and (the Rwandan authorities) can do no hurt to us.”
He mentioned the neighborhood in Canada numbers about 40,000.
Officers with International Affairs Canada and the Rwanda Excessive Fee in Ottawa didn’t return requests for remark.
Ndatuje is charged with breach of belief, breach of belief in respect to safeguarded info beneath the Safety of Data Act and unauthorized use of a pc.
He’s to look in courtroom in Crimson Deer on March 11.
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
X: @BillKaufmannjrn
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