The Rwandan authorities has a popularity 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 information with the federal government of Rwanda is one other wake-up name for a Canada ill-equipped to cope with such intrusions, say teachers.
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 information 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’d revolve across the Rwandan authorities accumulating private info for use in opposition to Rwandan group members in Canada crucial of the regime of President Paul Kagame.
“They’ve acquired plenty of political opponents who nonetheless criticize the (Rwandan) authorities,” mentioned political scientist Jean-Christophe Boucher.
“They may very well be on the lookout for felony information for individuals who have ties to Rwanda — it lets you blackmail households . . . manipulate and intrude with the lives of Canadians.”
He mentioned the variety of international actors interfering with or harassing individuals in Canada is rising.
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“It’s clear there’s increasingly international locations (doing this) once 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 employees members to look into allegations.
“The federal authorities could be very back-footed on this, there’s not plenty of assets dedicated to this,” mentioned Boucher.
“I’m glad we’re taking this critically — 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 popularity for focusing on opponents overseas, at occasions violently, mentioned U of C historical past professor John Ferris.
“They’ve a really clear file of pursuing political rivals exterior Rwanda in a murderous trend,” mentioned Ferris, an professional on nationwide intelligence.
Mounties say the alleged safety breach dates again to April 2022, and doesn’t seem very subtle given how shortly it was uncovered, he mentioned.
However he mentioned the arrest ought to imply Rwandans in Canada crucial of that nation’s authorities needs to be involved about being presumably 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 during which about 800,000 individuals, largely ethnic Tutsis, have been slaughtered by the hands of Hutus, say the teachers.
In a 2023 report, Human Rights Watch named Canada as certainly one of a number of international locations 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 could be attributed partially to the authorities’ want to quash dissent and keep management,” states the report.
“By refusing to return to Rwanda and thru their skill to criticize the Rwandan authorities from exile, refugees and asylum seekers additionally inherently problem the picture the authorities search to undertaking — certainly one of 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 distinguished 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 group.
And the pinnacle 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 Group Overseas in Canada.
“Rwandans in Canada are protected by Canada — we imagine in our establishments and (the Rwandan authorities) can do no hurt to us.”
He mentioned the group 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 below the Safety of Data Act and unauthorized use of a pc.
He’s to look in court docket in Crimson Deer on March 11.
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
X: @BillKaufmannjrn
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