Global Policy Forum

The prosecutor of the UN tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia, Carla del Ponte, on Monday made her strongest public statement yet lobbying for action against the Rwandan government for its "failure to co-operate" in investigations against alleged war crimes by some of its members.

Del Ponte was addressing the UK All party parliamentary group on the Great Lakes region and Genocide prevention on November 25th, 2002. "We are deeply concerned by the withdraw of co-operation by the Rwandan authorities. Their position has manifested itself in different forms in recent months.", she said in the address.

"Although it has been publicly stated that the reason for the suspension of co-operation is the way witnesses are treated, the true reason is to be found elsewhere. As I indicated to the Security council, we have good reasons to believe that powerful elements within Rwanda strongly oppose the investigation, in the execution of the ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) mandate, of crimes allegedly committed by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army in 1994", she added.

Rwanda's special envoy to the ICTR, Martin Ngoga told Hirondelle that he wasn't surprised by Del Ponte's position regarding RPA investigations but was "rather shocked" by her remarks that Rwanda had withdrawn co-operation with the ICTR. "There is co-operation and this was confirmed by the Tribunal's spokesperson recently", he said before adding that, "There are unresolved issues but witnesses are coming from Rwanda and she (Del Ponte) is aware of this. Trials involving these witnesses are going on"

A difficult year

In January 2002, two leading genocide survivors associations in Rwanda, IBUKA and AVEGA severed co-operation with the ICTR. The organisations, despite "relaxing" the embargo a few months later, accused the court of inefficiency, corruption and employing genocide perpetrators. Del Ponte says that the Rwandan government has effective control over the organisations and should compel them to co-operate. Rwanda says that it can't compel independent organisations to co-operate with the ICTR.

Tension between the ICTR and Rwanda escalated in June, 2002 when Rwanda extended what it called "regular travel" requirements to witnesses leaving the country but was regarded by the ICTR as delaying witness travel and dangerous to their (witnesses) security. ICTR president, Navanethem Pillay and Del Ponte both subsequently complained to the Security Council. Rwanda responded denying all allegations and accusing the ICTR of incompetence, inefficiency, corruption, and employing genocide suspects.

Regarding investigations into crimes allegedly committed by the RPA during its war to stop the 1994 genocide, Rwandan officials earlier this year promised co-operation with the prosecutor but later effectively withdrew it saying that its own courts had tried the soldiers and were still doing so. "The backbone is that trials involving RPA soldiers have been carried out and will continue as evidence emerges. This is not an area ripe for the ICTR prosecutor who seven years down the road has been able to prosecute only six genocide suspects.", Ngoga said. The ICTR has since its establishment in 1994 convicted eight persons and acquitted one. Three of the nine people pleaded guilty.

"While we view ICTR work as seriously needing prioritisation and objectivity, the prosecutor is deeply immersed in the ethnic arithmetics and negationist theories of "equal guilt". This remains unacceptable", said Ngoga. Rwanda has been insisting that the ICTR should first indict and try genocide suspects before it can think of indicting "individuals that committed crimes of revenge as they tried to stop the genocide."

"Consorting with genocidaires"

Del Ponte's statement to UK parliamentarians came a few days after her meeting with representatives of rebels opposed to the Rwandan government. The rebel groups, ALIR and FDLR, based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are listed by Rwanda and the US governments as terrorist organisations. Rwanda strongly denounced the meeting saying that; "by consorting with the very elements she should be investigating and prosecuting, Del Ponte has lost her moral authority to prosecute cases related to the Rwandan genocide". A statement from the Rwandan office of the President said that the "meeting with ALIR came as a shock not only to the Rwandan public, but also to those in the international community who are aware of ALIR's genocidal and criminal credentials. FDLR/ALIR/Interahamwe is a known terrorist organisation which regards genocide in Rwanda as unfinished business (?)"

In response to the statement, Del Ponte said ; "Only a few days ago, the Government of Rwanda released a statement accusing me of acting politically and also abusing my office, for having met with representatives of groups opposed to the Kigali government. Without commenting any further on my rights and duties as an independent prosecutor, I wish to record my disappointment. For me, a victim is a victim, a crime falling within my mandate as the prosecutor is a crime, irrespective of the identity or the ethnicity or the political ideas of the person who committed the said crime. Justice does not accommodate political opportunism. No one should remain immune from prosecutions for the worst crimes."

Del Ponte, Pillay and the ICTR registrar Adama Dieng are scheduled to hold talks early December with the Rwandan minister of justice, Jean de Dieu Mucyo, the Rwandan prosecutor General, Gerard Gahima and the president of the Rwandan supreme court Simeon Rwagasore. The talks will also be attended by the US ambassador at large for war crimes, Pierre Richard Prosper.

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