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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
RWANDA: UN court to meet gov't on ultimatum over genocide suspects
ARUSHA, 15 Sep 2006 (IRIN) - Officials of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will "soon" meet Rwandan government officials to discuss a "misunderstanding" involving a lawyer wanted in Rwanda for genocide, the tribunal's spokesman said on Friday.
"There has been a misunderstanding," Everald O'Doneel, the spokesman for the tribunal said in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, its headquarters.
He was reacting to an ultimatum issued by the Rwandan government on Thursday, giving the tribunal a "last chance" to take action against members of its staff accused of participating in the 1994 genocide or risk all ties with the UN court being cut.
O'Doneel said the tribunal would decide soon on the issue of Callixte Gakwaya, a Rwandan lawyer defending one of the genocide suspects on trial before the court.
On Thursday, Rwanda's Attorney-General Martin Ngoga said the tribunal could not "continue to offer a safe haven to genocide perpetrators".
He added, "We are ready to enter serious talks with them aimed at resolving the problem within a set period."
The Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement on Thursday, cautioning: "The government finds it increasingly difficult to associate itself with the ICTR under the circumstances."
The Rwandan government claims the UN court has 13 genocide suspects on its payroll. However, the tribunal has denied this allegation, maintaining that it conducts background checks before hiring employees.
However, Ngoga said, "If they fail to act promptly, we will be left with no option but to cut all cooperation with the tribunal."
At least 80 percent of all witnesses who testify at the trials come from Rwanda. The country has in the past suspended cooperation with the tribunal, bringing the operations of the court to a near standstill at one stage.
Gakwaya, a lawyer and former businessman in the southern Rwandan district of Kamembe, is lead counsel for accused former militia leader Yusuf Munyakazi. The tribunal pays Gakwaya's legal fees under its legal aid programme for indigent detainees.
On 2 September, Tanzanian police arrested and detained Gakwaya as he returned to Arusha from Mozambique. Four days later, while Rwanda was preparing a formal extradition request, Tanzanian authorities released him.
The Rwandan government accused the tribunal of masterminding the release and requested it to terminate Gakwaya's contract immediately or jeopardise its cooperation with the court.
Thursday's announcement by Ngoga was not the first time Rwanda has accused the tribunal of employing genocide suspects. The tribunal's prosecutor in 2001 indicted and arrested Simeon Nshamihigo, who was an investigator for a defence team of another genocide suspect on trial before the court.
Another investigator escaped arrest and is still on the run.
The UN Security Council established the tribunal in 1994 to bring to trial the alleged perpetrators of the genocide, in which 937,000 people, mostly Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, were killed, according to government estimates.
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This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
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