News
Rwanda to Set Up Unit for Tracking Down Genocide Suspects2006-08-14BBC Monitoring AfricaExcerpt from report in English by Rwandan news agency RNA on 13 August; subheadings inserted editorially Kigali, 13 August: The government of Rwanda plans to establish a unit within the Ministry of Justice for specifically tracking down fugitive genocide suspects still at-large. And this according to information available to RNA would be a policy alternative to the phasing out of the Arusha (Tanzania) based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda due 2008. According to the prosecutor-general, Martin Ngoga, who confirmed the development to RNA said efforts are underway to establish an office to be called the Genocide Suspects Tracking Unit (GSTU). Ngoga said the officials that will be attached to the unit will be charged with developing documentation and doing the actual investigation to track down all genocide fugitives "anywhere" in the world. Media exposes genocide suspects Ngoga was reacting to a report put to him by RNA that genocide suspect Emmanuel Nteziryayo, 52 and number 71 on the "Red Notice" had been uncovered by a British newspaper in the UK. The Sunday Times discovered he had changed names to Ndikumana and his nationality from Rwandan to Burundian and claiming that he was fleeing persecution in Burundi. Asked why the tracking of genocide suspect fugitives had been happening of recent (2006) contrary to the past 12 years, Ngoga said "the method of tracking" them changed in addition to other policy alternatives adopted by Rwanda. "We made the warrants (international arrest warrants) public and more specific with detailed information on all people we believe orchestrated the killings in this country", he explained. He however declined to divulge more information for this evening preferring a scheduled interview. Responding to ongoing British media exposures of genocide suspects living in the UK, the prosecutor general said, "they (British investigative journalists) have been coming here (Rwanda) equipped with information about various people living in the UK." "We avail them with any information they need and lead them to whoever they want (witnesses) because we believe civil society can be very instrumental in helping us track down these people (genocide suspects)", Ngoga added. Ngoga also said the establishment of the coming new unit would be a response policy alternative to the closing of the ICTR. The Security Council resolved that the extravagant UN Tribunal should come to an end by 2010, within which period is actually impossible to have brought all genocide planner and executors to book considering the shaky functional methods of the tribunal. "Not only so, but we also feel it is the responsibility of Rwanda to search for ways of how all these people (suspects) can be arrested and brought to justice", Ngoga said. [Passage omitted] (c) 2006 BBC Monitoring Africa. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Channel: USHMM: International Law
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