"Am I an enemy of the state?"

Interview with Dr. Frank Habineza (DGPR)

"Am I an enemy of the state?" Rwanda's 'green' presidential candidate challenges 30-year ruling party grip

[The Green Era is Coming] ④ Interview with Frank Habineza, President of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda

2023.6.6. Seunghoon Woo (Member of International Committee of Green Party Korea, International Development Activist)

* 이 글은 2023년 6월 6일 프레시안에 한국어로 기고한 기사 ["내가 국가의 적?" 30년 여당 독주 뚫는 르완다의 '녹색' 대선 주자]의 영어 번역본입니다. This is an English translation of an article originally published in Pressian on 6 June 2023.

한국어 기사(Korean version): http://www.pressian.com/pages/articles/2023060517332404299

"내가 국가의 적?" 30년 여당 독주 뚫는 르완다의 '녹색' 대선 주자

Rwanda's green run doesn't stop at the ‘wall of 99%'

In May, Frank Habineza, the leader of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and a sitting member of parliament and deputy chairman of the committee on social affairs, announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. It will be his second presidential bid since 2017 and a rematch with three-time President Paul Kagame, who won nearly 99 per cent of the vote in the last presidential election with 98 per cent turnout.

At the time, Habineza finished third in the election, receiving 0.5 per cent of the vote, less than an independent candidate. But the long-distance running enthusiast wasn't deterred. In the subsequent 2018 general election, he entered parliament with one other party politician. It was the first time in the party's history that the party gained seats in the parliament, and without pausing, Habineza declared his candidacy again in the next presidential election.

Members of the Democratic Green Party vote during the 2018 National Congress ⓒDGPR

The path to getting the Democratic Green Party's name on the ballot was not a smooth one. It is not easy for opposition parties in Rwanda to oppose the ruling party or offer an alternative. In a country still haunted by the memory of the genocide, which claimed more than 800,000 lives in around 100 days 29 years ago, the line between free speech and the other acts blamed for genocide, such as divisiveness and incitement, is sometimes blurred.

When Habineza and his colleagues founded the Democratic Green Party in 2009, they faced harassment, intimidation, and violence from an unidentified group of people. When their deputy leader was found dead in the morning, Habineza was forced to seek asylum in Sweden.

Delivering on the 70 per cent pledge, the politics of creating space 

Dr. Habineza returned to Rwanda in 2012, and in 2013, the Democratic Green Party was finally registered. As its name suggests, the Democratic Green Party seeks to realise both a democratic and a green state. In Rwanda's political landscape, where the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front is overwhelmingly supported by the people, driving high economic growth and emphasising national unity, reconciliation and sustainable development, the Democratic Green Party's work means 'creating space' for opposition and ecological parties to act.

Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda ⓒFrank Habineza

The Democratic Green Party focused on policies close to people's lives. While some of the major pledges announced by the party in the run-up to the last general election included pushing for climate change policies, supporting clean industries, establishing a constitutional court, and holding special retrials for political prisoners, many of the pledges were more pro-people, such as mandating the installation of facilities to collect and utilise rainwater, introducing a minimum wage, and ensuring farmer participation in the country's regional crop allocation process. Recently, the party announced that it had fulfilled 70 per cent of its general election pledges. 

The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda's narrative is less focused on the green transition or the climate crisis that other greens tend to focus on. Instead, topics such as democracy, human rights, health, and social security are more prominent. This may be a result of considering more 'urgent' issues, such as the survival of people and the party, but more than that, I got the impression that they don't particularly distinguish between society and the environment, democracy and environment protection. In many African countries, where the climate crisis has become a part of everyday life before anywhere else in the world, environmental activism has become synonymous with social justice movements for better distribution, human rights, and democracy. 

During my involvement in a rural development project in Rwanda, the farmers I met were always talking about climate change. From increasingly unpredictable seasons, extreme rainfall and droughts, to housing insecurity, rising prices and growing poverty, they were already linking their daily lives to climate change.  

The “international community,” such as the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), seems to see Africa as no more than a victim of climate change, but African environmentalism, which is at the forefront of the climate crisis, has the power to liberate our confined imaginations.

Frank Habineza campaigning during the 2017 presidential election ⓒDGPR

The power of green politics across borders

Just as the Democratic Green Party's platform transcends social and environmental justice, Habineza's journey is also "transnational". He was born in Uganda, where his Rwandan parents were fleeing political persecution, returned to Rwanda after the end of the genocide, started environmental and civic activism in Rwanda, fled to Sweden for two years to escape death threats and returned to Rwanda to run for president.

Speaking at the 2017 World Green Party Congress in Liverpool, England, ahead of his first presidential election, he noted the harsh political environment in many African countries and said, “We hope that in this election we will have a chance to win and that you will stand with us so that we don’t become like men who left elections and going into prison spend there for five years. I hope you understand even if I go to prison you continue to be standing with me (…) I hope you continue standing with us because it’s a struggle for human rights, a struggle for dignity, a struggle for protection of our natural resources, it’s struggle for peace.” In this way, the politics of the Rwandan Democratic Green Party becomes the politics of everyone. Fortunately, he did not go to prison after the election and is now a member of parliament. And he's coming to Korea this week to attend the 2023 Green Party Congress.

Habineza will be speaking at the "BIODIVERSITY AND LAND" session on the second day of the Congress about the Rwandan Democratic Green Party's goals for biodiversity.

I spoke briefly with Habineza via email and messenger beforehand, with half excitement at the opportunity to meet him in Songdo and half concern that he might have lost his ‘critical spirit' after becoming a member of parliament. Here are some of the highlights of our interview.

Q. In an interview a few years ago, you mentioned that you love to run, do you still run these days? What do you think is the beauty of running? 

Habineza: Yes, I do jogging but more long-distance running [ cross-country] I do 10km in the morning at least three times a week. I also go swimming and I like it so much. I developed a new hobby a few months ago, playing golf. The good thing about doing all these sports activities is to help keep me healthy and fit to lead. But also to help fight stress and get clear thoughts.

 

Q. I recently read that you recently visited your alma mater, the University of Rwanda. You have been involved in environmental activism since you were a university student, right?

Habineza: Yes, I visited the University of Rwanda last weekend, but specifically to see the trees I planted twenty years ago when I was still a student. I started an environmental protection association when I was a fresher at the university in 1999; we called it the Rwanda Wildlife Club and had a club at the university called the UNR Wildlife Club. Through this, I mobilised several students to get involved in environmental conversation activities and wildlife protection. We planted thousands of trees in the university and the neighbouring communities. I developed a love for the protection of the environment and wildlife when I was still young at home and later in secondary school. I used to be the caretaker of birds and several small wildlife animals, which used to be frequent at home, as I used to stop people who wanted to persecute them. That love developed into activism afterwards.

Q. What inspired you to found the Rwandan Democratic Green Party in such a challenging political environment?

Habineza: At the time of founding this party, the situation was so hard, that people could hardly express their political opinion in public. Every time you said something opposite, they would term you an enemy of the state, and you would face serious consequences. The same was the case for journalists; they were persecuted when they published negative stories about the government; some were deported; and others were forced into exile. I was a journalist as well and had seen the same thing happen to me. Political parties were also not allowed to function properly, they couldn’t function beyond the capital city, and at the provincial level, they were not allowed to have contact with the population. The environmental degradation was at a high rate: national parks and reserves had been re-settled in people, a lot of park areas had been turned into grazing fields and agricultural farms, soil erosion was rampant, pollution of water resources was very high, poor mining methods led to several deaths, and so on. We just said enough was enough, and we started a new political party to bring about genuine democratic change.

Q. You've spent your first five years in Parliament. So how have your five years as an MP and as a Green politician been?

Habineza: I am still in Parliament; we shall spend six years. Thanks to the new electoral calendar, I would say that the five years we have spent in Parliament have been adventurous; even though we are few in numbers, we have been able to make a significant contribution and have had at least 70% of our key promises in the manifesto implemented. We have therefore become the second active party in the country after the ruling party.

Q: Have you had any rewarding experiences in your work with the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda recently? 

Habineza: As mentioned above, 70% of our promises have been achieved, which makes us so happy and relevant. It has also shown the government that having different ideas is also healthy and we are not enemies of the country, as some had thought.

Q. I've heard that you're running in next year's presidential election. After 2017, you will once again be competing against President Kakame, who had 99 per cent of the vote, and I saw you once say in an interview: "Of course, people say the president is going to win. Okay, but at least there is a chance for people to give their ideas.” What will be the main messages or ideas you will spread during this campaign?

Habineza: Our message will continue to press for full implementation and granting of fundamental freedoms of expression, political assembly, media, respect of human rights and so on. We shall continue to campaign for participatory democracy, which leaves no one behind and puts people at the centre. We will continue our work for social and economic justice, better agricultural methods, especially the use of organic manure and no pesticides, as they cause cancer and other diseases, We will campaign for food security and food safety, and we will put more measures in place to combat climate change through mitigation and adaptation mechanisms. We have to deal with floods, set up early disaster warning systems and so on.

Frank Habineza campaigning during the 2018 general election ⓒDGPR

Q. You talked about achieving the 70% pledge, out of all the pledges you've made, can you share one policy that you think has been the most meaningful or effective?

Habineza: We had a strong campaign message on land rights, we campaigned for total ownership of land, and we had 20 20-year leaseholds, which the government now accepted and put on 99-year renewable. We campaigned for the removal or reduction of land taxes from 300 frw to 100 frw per SqM, and finally, the government agreed to put it at 80 frw. We campaigned for giving all schoolchildren a hot meal at school. The government made it a law and introduced a school feeding programme for all schools. We have many achievements, indeed.

Q. Even after the country became a so-called 'developed' country, economic growth still outweighs agendas related to the environment or climate in Korean society. How do Rwandan citizens feel about the environment and development? 

Habineza: People still don’t respect a lot of environmental laws and other related regulations, they still farm or build near water bodies, yet the law says 50 metres; they still practice poor mining methods; and last week some people were killed in a mine; they still pollute water resources. We conducted a study and have full evidence. Soil erosion is still at its highest level. This is a continuous struggle. There's also the issue of poor mining; we had a couple of people die in the mines last week, and there is water pollution from the mines. My party has done a lot of research on this, and we've been able to gather a lot of evidence, so it's a fight that we're going to continue to pursue. 

Q. What is the agenda for Global Greens and the African Green Federation (AGF) to work together on?

Habineza: I think there is a need for transboundary research to create alternatives for better environmental protection and support for parties that are struggling in authoritarian or military regimes. 

Q. What are your dreams for the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda?

Habineza: To become the strongest party in Rwanda and lead the Country under our democratic and green vision.

Q. Rwanda is such a fascinating country, if you had to introduce just one thing to Korean citizens, what would it be? 

Habineza: We have mountain gorillas, these animals are the closest to human beings, like 99%; they can come and #VisitRwanda. (Visit Rwanda is a government campaign to promote tourism and investment in Rwanda. It has made headlines by partnering with famous football teams Arsenal (England) and Paris Saint-Germain (France). Author's note)

Q. Do you have any final words for the Korean readers? 

Habineza: We pray for total peace in the Korean Peninsula, the total cessation of war and total avoidance of the use and testing of nuclear weapons.