General
How Formula 1 is driving itself into the arms of a dictator in Rwanda
- Ludo van Denderen
One compliment after another was uttered. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FOM CEO Stefano Domenicali and racing legend Jacky Ickx; all praised President Paul Kagame for organising the event at the FIA Gala in Rwanda. Kagame himself announced a bid to hold a Grand Prix, to the delight of Ben Sulayem. Apparently, it is irrelevant that Paul Kagame is a dictator, who has political opponents imprisoned, in a country where press freedom does not exist and human rights violations are widespread.
Critics have been arguing for years that Formula 1 should not venture into countries like Saudi Arabia and China, where human rights are not so closely observed. Big money rules, however, and so F1 makes annual stops in Jeddah and Shanghai - because it brings in tens of millions. There will also be criticism if F1 and the FIA accept Rwanda's offer to host a Grand Prix there.
President Kagame's appearance deceives
Anyone who saw him standing like this during the FIA Gala in Kigali, Rwanda's capital, would quickly suspect that Paul Kagame is a friendly guy, smiling broadly and proud to shake Max Verstappen's hand when he received his trophy for the world title.
But appearances are deceiving. Kagame is a man who has been tightly in charge for 24 years in a country torn apart by a bloody civil war in the years before he took office. He put an end to that, initially making him popular in Rwanda. Now, there is not much choice for another leader.
Free elections have not been held for decades, in advance, and Kagame will emerge victorious - most recently just under six months ago. Independent observers again argued that there was no fair ballot. Moreover, the UN recently published a report stating that Rwanda is stealing the metal tantalum from neighbouring Congo only to export it.
The world watches in silence
The international community watches it all in silence. Why? Take Britain, which made a deal with the regime in Kigali to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda. Too much shouting about human rights is not exactly good for business and would jeopardise the deal. Better to keep quiet then, it seems.
Formula 1 always argues as a counter-argument to a Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia or China that it is actually good to go there because then the human rights conversation can be had on the spot. It is still unclear whether Ben Sulayem and Domenicali also had that conversation in Rwanda with Paul Kagame.
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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