THANK YOU FOR COMING TO PROTEST AGAINST THE DICTATOR PAUL KAGAME AT YALE UNIVERSITY

Dear all,

Thank you for signing our open letter to Yale's President Salovey and Professor Shapiro concerning President Kagame's recent lecture at Yale. Thank you, also, to those of you who were able to attend the human rights teach-in that preceded the lecture. Ultimately, 265 people signed the letter and approximately 50 people attended the teach-in. We are so grateful for your engagement, especially given the University's mere six-day notice of President Kagame's visit. 

HE PAUL KAGAME AT YALE UNIVERSITY

With your help, we were able to engage with President Kagame regarding his human rights record. For those of you who were unable to attend his lecture, a brief recap is provided below. 

• President Kagame's prepared speech focused on Rwanda's "right to achieve the ends of development in our own ways" and the ways in which the West has wrongly spoken from "a position of moral superiority."
• There were a number of questions that engaged with President Kagame's human rights record. Moderator David Simon asked President Kagame whether there is space for democracy and human rights to expand in Rwanda without sacrificing peace and stability. An audience member asked about Human Rights Watch's documentation of hundreds of unlawful, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and another audience member asked about freedom of speech in Rwanda.
• President Kagame's responses denied the veracity of claims of human rights abuse and argued that "perception looms larger than facts." On freedom of speech and political dissent, he responded that there is "a lot of space," that the perception of repression comes from outsiders, and pointed to the fact that 9 political parties exist. On arbitrary arrests and detentions, he responded that they were "old stories that keep being repeated but are false." 

Some relevant press coverage: Yale Daily News and New Haven Register.

In terms of the University's role, we are seeking a dialogue with the administration about Yale giving honors to individuals accused of serious human rights violations and allowing foreign security officers to intimidate members of our community. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any follow-up questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Alisha Bjerregaard, Human Rights Clinical Teaching Fellow, Yale Law School

Louisa Brown, Post-Graduate Fellow, Schell Center for International Human Rights, Yale Law School

Elizabeth Leiserson, Student, Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic,Yale Law School

Hope Metcalf, Lecturer, Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, and Executive Director, Schell Center, Yale Law School

James Silk, Clinical Professor of Law, Lowenstein Clinic, and Director, Schell Center, Yale Law School

Alyssa Yamamoto, Student, Lowenstein Clinic, Yale Law School