January 20, 1997

PRESS RELEASE Nº 115

While the attention of the international community is focussed on the ongoing genocide trials in Arusha-Tanzania and in Rwanda, life is becoming increasingly unbearable inside Rwanda.

Indeed, since the arrival of nearly one million returnees from Tanzania and Zaïre late last year, extra-judicial killings and arbitrary arrests by the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) have dramatically increased, in what look like a beginning of the long time dreamed RPF hardliners'policy of ethnic and political cleansing.

In the northern part of the country, under the pretext of stamping out a stage managed insurgency, RPA soldiers are on the rampage, killing and arresting anybody labelled by the ever present RPF political cadres as anti-government element.

The most hit areas are the communes of NKUMBA, KIDAHO, KINIGI and MUKINGO in the prefecture of RUHENGERI, and the entire sub-prefecture of KABAYA in the prefecture of GISENYI.

On January 16, 1997, the RPF prime minister, MR RWIGEMA CELESTIN, while on a tour of GISENYI prefecture, openly threatened to unleash the worst terror on the area if the population does not quickly embrace the RPF diktats. He warned that people should not cry if the government bring there so-called "criminals" for firing squads.

In the northern-Eastern, especially in the newly created tutsiland of MUTARA prefecture, new caseload returnees continue not only to be denied their properties, but are also subjected to untold humiliations by both government agents and squatters.

The entire commune of MURAMBI, where most of the atrocities are committed, is under a state of emergency and has been virtually out of bound for foreigners and independant journalists for the last two months.

As if to kill in the bud any protests, the RPF minister of transports and communications declared in BYUMBA on 16^th January 1997, the very day when a local member of the RPF self styled parliament, the late BURAKALI EVARISTE, was gunned down by an RPA officer, that his government would use all available means to deal with any threat to security, singling out public executions as one way of showing their determination.

This kind of language from RPF top brass is usually a prelude to cleansing operations by the army.

In the prefecture of KIBUNGO, there is a grave tension between Tutsi old caseload returnees and Hutu new caseload returnees, over the properties of the latter which have been grabbed by the former.

Instead of trying to diffuse the tension, the RPF government has come up with a controversial land reform program that aims at consolidating the position Tutsi squatters over all properties they currently occupy. This will be done through the grouped settlements schemes being mooted by RPF.

Returnees who dare challenge this dictatorial policies pay dearly, and the last week disappearance of over 50 people in RUSUMO commune was just a warning. The RPF government has ever since remained tight lipped over that incident.

Simultaneously, the RPF government is busy weeding out prisoners who have refused to succumb to its trap of forcing them to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. This is done in the mock trials for genocide suspects being hurriedly organized throughout the country. Amid numerous irregularities that cast grave doubts about the fairness of the whole RPF justice, all the cases so far heard have been sentenced to nothing short of death sentence by firing squads. And more are yet to come.

While the international community had been rightly pressing for justice to be administered in Rwanda in order to help heal wounds left by the 1994 massacres, very few people have so far voiced their concern over the grave trends of RPF "jungle justice", which presumes everybody guilty until proved innocent.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which had been entrusted with the task of throwing light on the responsibilities in those massacres, as per the United Nations Security Council resolution 955(1994), is so far sitting on the fence in Arusha, while RPF is handing out death sentences at will.

There seems to be a gentleman's agreement between the ICTR and the RPF government, giving RPF unlimited powers over all the cases in its hands. This was hinted on during the latest visit to KIGALI by the prosecutor of the ICTR, madam LOUISE ARBOUR.

Yet, under its own statute, especially article 9 of its Rules and Procedures, ICTR has a mandate and an obligation for that matter, to take over all cases pending before any local jurisdiction, whenever there is serious doubt of fairness, that can result in a miscarriage of justice.

The ongoing genocide trials by RPF having been marred by blatant irregularities, why is the ICTR still sitting on the fence? Is it waiting for the first firing squads before stepping in?

RDR sincerely welcomes all efforts to bring to justice anybody who really indulged in acts of genocide and other crimes against humanity. But the current trials in both Arusha and Rwanda should not provide to RPF a smoke screen to distract the attention of the international community from the ongoing ethnic and political cleansing. This would defeat the whole purpose of justice and reconciliation being looked for.