Longman Interviewed on Paul Rusesabagina & Kagame Regime

Timothy Longman, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA), was interviewed for two articles – one in NBC News and one in il manifesto – in which he discussed Paul Rusesabagina, his arrest and trial, as well as democratic freedoms in Rwanda.
In the NBC News article, titled “He was praised after the movie ‘Hotel Rwanda,’ now Paul Rusesabagina faces terrorism charges,” Longman discusses Rusesabagina’s criticism of Rwandan President Paul Kagame. This staunch criticism has resulted in Rusesabagina’s arrest, something Longman said was no surprise considering the President’s intolerance for criticism.
The second article, titled “Ruanda, l’eroe accusato di terrorismo e il dittatore “buono” (Rwanda, the hero accused of terrorism and the “good” dictator), explores the link between the assassination of the Italian ambassador to the Congo, the trial of Paul Rusesabagina, and the regime of President Paul Kagame. As Longman explains in the longform interview, all these events and people are linked. From President Kagame’s continued retaliation against dissidents and self-proclaimed status as a “good dictator” to the imprisonment of Rusesabagina, Longman concludes stating that the Rwandan government wants its opponents to know they can reach them no matter where they are.
Professor Timothy Longman is a Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Pardee School, Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, and acting Director of the African Studies Center at Boston University. His current research focuses on state -society relations in Africa, looking particularly at human rights, transitional justice, democratization, civil society, the politics of race and ethnicity, religion and politics, and women and politics. He has published two books based on his research in Rwanda: Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda (Cambridge University Press 2011), and Memory and Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda (Cambridge University Press 2017). Read more about Professor Longman on his faculty profile.