Former U.S. Ambassador to Burundi, Robert Krueger, and exiled Rwandaise activist, Rusesabagina, were Jackson?s guests at the Rainbow PUSH coalition headquarters in Chicago for the Town Hall meeting on Saturday. James Kimonyo, Ambassador of Rwanda, joined the panel after showing up on Jackson's doorstep on Sept. 6 asking to be included, according to Rusesabagina.

As he stood before the crowd of Rwandaise refugees, Kimonyo alleged that Krueger, Rusesabagina and former U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda Robert Flaten, who served in Rwanda from December 1990 to November 1993, were funding the Paul Rusesabagina Foundation by dealing arms and that the arms would be used against the government in Rwanda. He and Ambassador Krueger and Ambassador Flaten, they are here today to get arms to attack Rwanda and I can assure you of that, Kimonyo alleged.

Both Krueger, a former U.S. Senator (Dem-TX) and Congressman, and Rusesabagina, author of "An Ordinary Man", cocked their heads in disbelief at Kimonyo's statements while the audience wailed in protest, calling Kimonyo a liar. Krueger served as the U.S. ambassador to Burundi in 1994 as Rwandans fled into the country during the Rwandan genocide, which divided the country?s minority Tutsi and majority Hutu ethnic groups. Rusesabagina, a Hutu, saved the lives of more than 1200 Tutsi civilians during the genocide by hiding them in the hotel he managed at the time.

Rusesabagina's heroism was depicted in the 2004 Academy Award-nominated motion picture, Hotel Rwanda. As a result of his courageous acts, President Bush awarded Rusesabagina with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

Jackson's intention in hosting the forum, which was sponsored by the Paul Rusesabagina Foundation, was to discuss the current state of Rwanda and Burundi, 13 years after the Rwandan genocide that took nearly one million lives in only 100 days. The discussion centered on the need for truth and reconciliation in both Rwanda and Burundi, it's neighboring country, which experienced its own genocide throughout the 90?s. It is estimated that anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 died in the Burundi genocide.

According to Kimonyo, Rwanda is at peace and reconciliation has already happened. Rusesabagina and Krueger argue that the country is still torn by resentment, hatred and vengeance as a result of the genocide.

Most believe that the genocide was a matter of Hutus killing Tutsis but Rusesabagina says thousands of Hutus were also killed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The RPF is a Tutsi political party headed by current Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Last November, Rusesabagina filed a criminal complaint with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, alleging that Kagame and other high-ranking RPF officers were responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide. The RPF is the current ruling party of Rwanda.

During the forum, Jackson called for truth and reconciliation commissions in Rwanda and Burundi, stating that such commissions had been successful in Lebanon and South Africa. Krueger and Rusesabagina share this desire, believing that reconciliation cannot occur in Rwanda until the truth of the genocide and subsequent counter-genocide is told. Choosing reconciliation is more difficult than choosing silence, Jackson acknowledged. Kimonyo caused an uproar in response to talks of reconciliation by saying "Don't waste your time with old issues."
Kimonyo's allegations against Rusesabagina were the latest in a line of accusations aimed at the internationally honored hero. Although it is widely known that Rusesabagina?s time during the genocide was spent harboring Tutsis from certain slaughter by the Hutu Interhamwe militia, the current Rwandan government has also falsely accused Rusesabagina of being a genocidaire.

In light of this latest accusation, both Rusesabagina and Krueger have reacted with humor and wonder. The two men, who have allegedly been running guns in South Africa, only met this June over the phone and later in the summer in person. Ambassador Krueger and Ambassador Flaten met for the first time in Chicago in July and were never posted in Africa at the same time. Krueger later joked that the Kinyarwanda-speaking Kimonyo's accusation was not to be seen as a misunderstanding. His difficulty was not with English. He may have had difficulty with the truth, but not with English.

Both Krueger and Rusesabagina have repeatedly spoken out against the current Rwandan government. I can tell you, I first met Paul Kagame in August of 1994. I went to his office. He was vice president then. I wrote down basically my impressions from then I said, as long as this man is the chief executive of the country, there will never be real democracy. I predicted that then and I would have to say it has been proven true, Krueger said on Sept. 7.

Although voicing his opinion regarding the 1994 genocide has resulted in numerous death threats against the Ambassador, Krueger says he had to speak out against the crimes of genocide. I have tried to live a life that respects human life and that's all that I care about.

After being accused of dealing arms and planning an attack on Rwanda, Krueger later made light of the situation by wondering aloud what the going rate for weapons was these days.

Later, Krueger said that he had never been accused of dealing arms before, even when he was targeted by the Burundi government. I was so outspoken about the genocide proceeding in Burundi, that two newspapers, on their front page, called for my assassination. The Burundi army ambushed my convoy, killing two and wounding eight. My car was hit with gunfire. Even my attackers there never accused me of trying to bring in arms to attack them. My only interest has always been peace and reconciliation. My heroes are Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., not perpetrators of violence.

Krueger's book detailing his time as U.S. Ambassador to Burundi, From bloodeshed to hope in Burundi: our embassy years during genocide? will be released on Oct. 2.

Rusesabagina's response to the allegation was similar. He spent the day laughing and joking with colleagues about the humor in envisioning himself as a gun-runner.

Despite the unexpected accusation by Kimonyo, Krueger counts the Town Hall meeting as a success for the Rwandan exiles living in America who spoke out during the forum. Here are Rwandans, who have come fleeing political or other persecution; they were able to enjoy the benefit of free speech and open discussion of their native land in a way in which they were comfortable. They were not putting their lives at risk. Most of those people seemingly did not think they would have that same liberty in their homeland.