Since the launching of the war that the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) imposed on the country in 1990, Rwanda and Humanity have lost more than 3,000,000 people. Enough is enough! The Rwandan people genocide must stop.
This policy of extermination of the Rwandan people is still going on with the silent complicity of the international community, silence which runs against the Convention for the Prevention and the Repression of the crime of genocide of December 9, 1948. And yet, in the UN Secretary General, Boutros-Ghali's letter dated October 1st, 1994 addressed to the Security Council and citing the conclusions of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Commission on Rwanda, it is explicitly stated that people belonging to both sides of the armed conflict have perpetrated crimes against humanity. Paragraphs 44 to 78 of the annex of that letter detail the facts reproached on hutu elements and paragraphs 79 to 83 give details on the facts reproached on RPF. In particular, paragraph 82 stipulates that there must be a detailed inquiry into RPF crimes, because the Commission apparently did not have enough time to investigate the RPF side. It is on the basis of this same report that the Security Council set up the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Articles 3 and 4 of the ICTR statutes give mandate to the Tribunal to prosecute people presumed guilty of such crimes.
The Rwandan people is amazed of the fact that 6 years after these horrible acts, the ICTR Prosecutor contents himself with prosecuting only one side to the conflict and absolutely nothing is done to bring to book RPF elements presumed guilty. On the contrary, RPF carries out acts of intimidation on the Tribunal and the trick seems to be working marvellously. RPF viciously takes advantage on the international community's apathy. The international community is haunted by feeling of guilt because it did nothing to help people in danger during the 1994 genocide. RPF shamelessly exploits this situation to justify its past abominations (large scale massacres in BYUMBA, KIDAHO, GITARAMA, KIBEHO...) and the ones still going on right now (KANAMA, GICIYE, NYAMUTERA, CYABINGO...) to which it bears full criminal and political responsibility. The international community's double standards under the RPF regime sponsors influence, are scandalous and unacceptable, and can not eradicate impunity entrenched in Rwanda.
It is this very attitude which encouraged RPF to export its murderous madness into former Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC -) where various international and Congolese human rights organisations have gathered ample evidence of crimes already qualified as "acts of genocide". Already in his report of April 2nd 1997 (E/CN. 4/1997/6/add. 2), the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights High Commissioner, Roberto Garreton, pointed to crimes of "collective suppressions of life". Mr Garreton indicates in this report more than fifty particular locations and enumerates the facts of this genocide which was characterised by "premeditated massacres, scattering of refuges towards inhospitable areas, systematic blockade of humanitarian aid", etc.
In July 1997, UN mission composed among others by Mr Roberto Garreton of Chile, Mrs Bacré Wanly Ndiaye of Senegal and Jonas Foli of Ghana, Rapporteur on summary executions and forced disappearances respectively, examined more than one hundred cases of massacres, torture, rape, looting and grave violations of human rights. All these violations bore, in the view of these experts, "a systematic character, a result of beforehand planning"
The International community must bring to an end its conniving silence that continues to give a blank cheque to RPF regime, which has transformed the 1994 genocide of the Rwandan people into a shameful business, despite its own overwhelming responsibility into the tragedy. The truth on the Rwandan tragedy must be established in the interest of justice, for the reconciliation of the Rwandan people and the credibility of the United Nations, because there can not be peace without justice, no reconciliation can take place without a fair justice.
The ICTR must look for the truth into the Rwandan tragedy in view to help justice to establish responsibilities and punish the true guilty persons of all the crimes committed against the Rwandan people, without distinction neither for the author nor for the victim. All the criminals, irrespective of their positions or ethnic affiliation, must be identified, in order to account for their acts, each one personally, before ICTR, the unique appropriate framework for judging those responsible for these crimes.
The Rwandan people reiterates once more its demand for an International Independent Commission of Enquiry into the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira on April 6, 1994, assassination which triggered off the 1994 genocide.
We are inviting you to come and say
* NO to Impunity, NO to Globalisation, NO to Prejudices, NO to Demonisation of opponents;
* YES to Justice for all, YES to an Impartial and Fair Justice
Please help the Rwandan people to reconcile.
Thank you for your participation.
For UFDR1- Netherlands Section
Victoire Umuhoza Ingabire
Postbus 3124
2280 GC
Rijswijk
Tel/fax : (31)-(0)-180633822
1 The Union of Rwandese Democratic Forces (UFDR), is a Coalition formed by the Democratic Forces for Resistance (FRD), the Initiative Group for Reconciliation (GID) and the Rally for the Return of the Refugees and Democracy in Rwanda (RDR).