RALLY FOR THE RETURN OF

REFUGEES AND DEMOCRACY IN

RWANDA

R.D.R

4, RUE A. CLUYSENAAR

1060 BRUXELLES

BELGIQUE

Tél: 32-2-5348035 Fax: 32-2-5348053

7, RESIDENCE MONTESQUIEU

49000 ANGERS

FRANCE

Tél/Fax: 33-41489987

March 19, 1996

 

PRESS RELEASE Nº 58

 

THE TUNIS SUMMIT ON SECURITY IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION MISSED THE POINT ONCE AGAIN.

 

The TUNIS summit has ended with no realistic and convincing commitments geared towards resolving the refugee problem in the Great Lakes Regions. It is nothing more that a repeat of good intentions expressed in previous meetings and fora and which were never implemented due to RPF stubbornness.

The only innovation is the introduction of a video cassette to lure refugees back home.

But everybody should have realised by now that the biggest obstacle to the return of refugees is not so the lack of good intentions on the part of the international community but bad governance in Rwanda manifested in the lack of the rule of law, gross violations of human rights and lack of political participation by the people.

Regarding possible contacts between rwandese refugees and one of the facilitators, RDR thinks that it would be a good step in the right direction if it constituted a first step towards bringing together the real parties to the crisis, that is the RPF military regime in Kigali and representatives of refugees, in order to discuss conditions of return of refugees.

But it would be upon refugees themselves to delegate their representatives to the meeting and not to the facilitator to select himself those to be met, according to obscure criteria.

As for the appointment of monitors to oversee the repatriation exercise, RDR would like to restate that the presence of over a battalion of UNAMIR blue helmets at Kibeho camp in April 1995, did not deter RPF soldiers, from butchering nearly 8000 helpless refugees.

If RPF is serious on transparency, why did it so vehemently oppose the extension of the UNAMIR mandate and then turn around to request for other monitors ?

Rwandese people need a government of national consensus, more than monitors who are selected and kicked out according to the whims of RPF.

 

Pour le RDR

NZABANDORA Chris

Director of Information