...African Union, the country had made significant progress toward political pluralism, but parties were still “not able to operate freely” and faced legal
sanctions if accused of engaging in divisive acts. The government’s continuing campaign against divisionism discouraged debate or criticism of the government and resulted in brief detentions and the holding of one political prisoner, former minister Ntakarutinka. All political organizations were constitutionally required to join the Forum for Political Organizations, which continued to limit competitive political pluralism, according to the 2006 APRM report. Despite a June 2007 law...