20091215

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwandan opposition presidential candidate Bernard Ntaganda denied that he was peddling genocide ideology and ethnic "divisionism" at a senate committee inquiry late on Monday.

Ntaganda, head of recently formed Social Party Imberakuri (PS-Imberakuri), said the accusations were baseless and may be politically motivated. The committee said the constitution obliged it to investigate all accusations against political parties.

Ntaganda was summoned to answer charges based on Rwanda's 2008 genocide ideology law, which officials say is necessary to prevent future violence.

Analysts say critics of the government, including journalists, civil society groups, political leaders, clergy and teachers, are frequently targeted by the law. One analyst said it was likely Ntaganda had been called in because he is the only registered presidential rival to President Paul Kagame.

"According to that law, it says you must provide proof, some speech, a written public letter, to write (something) in a newspaper," Ntaganda told Reuters. "They have no proof. I deny the charge."

The law is a highly sensitive issue in a country which has been completely rebuilt since the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus died.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it is broad, ill-defined and frequently used to serve political or personal interest. HRW says authorities have used it to eliminate certain views they deem inappropriate.

"What they accuse me of is based on rumours. There are no facts, no evidence... this is a clear testimony that they have no proof about those accusations," Ntaganda said.