|
|
Uganda: Rwanda MPs Reject Generals' Indictment
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Weekly Observer (Kampala)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Sulah Nuwamanya
Kigali
Rwandan lawmakers have strongly attacked a Spanish judge for indicting 40 top Rwanda military officers, describing him as an agent of Rwanda's enemies.
Last month, Judge Fernando Andreu of Spain's National Court issued indictments targeting 40 high-ranking Rwandan military officers on charges of "Genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism". President Paul Kagame is also subject in the case but cannot be tried owing to presidential immunity.
In a stormy session early this month, the lawmakers called on the international community to disregard the Spanish indictments, describing them as politically motivated and the work of genocide deniers.
In their statement signed on by the deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Polis Denis, the MPs unanimously backed a resolution condemning the indictments. They instead called on the international community to step up efforts to round up all genocide suspects still at large in many countries around the world.
"The Chamber of Deputies strongly condemns the action of the Spanish judge and his accomplices because what is contained in his dossier have no basis," the statement reads in part.
The lawmakers also said the indictments should not affect relations with Spain.
"We are also of the hope that the bad actions of the Spanish judge will not damage the already existing cordial relationship between Rwanda and Spain."
According to the Rwandan Government, the Spanish government has already distanced itself from the judge, ending speculation that Rwanda would retaliate by ending relations with Spain.
The 80-member chamber is dominated by the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) of President Paul Kagame. It, however, has a host of other smaller parties that backed it during the 2003 elections.
The resolution comes after lawmakers summoned Justice Minister and Attorney General, Tharcise Karugarama, to officially state his position on the indictments.
Appearing before the MPs, Karugarama, a former judge and president of the Rwandan High Court, referred to the indictments as bogus and lacking in legal basis.
"It's not a judicial file and the judge is combining a lot of things. He is being used by Rwandan negative forces some of whom committed genocide in this country and others are simply denying the genocide," Justice Karugarama told the lawmakers.
He said the judge had not made any investigations in Rwanda or DR Congo but only relied on testimonies from Rwanda's enemies in Europe.
|
The Spanish judge reached his decision after investigating the killing of nine Spanish citizens who worked in refugee camps in Rwanda following the 1994 Genocide.
The judge began considering the case in 2005 after a complaint was filed by an African human rights group. During the course of the investigation, he took testimony from 22 people, including several Rwandans.
The indicted 40 include General James Kabarebe, currently chief of the Rwandan armed forces, Maj. Gen. Karenzi Karake, serving in the joint UN-African Peacekeeping Force in Darfur, Lt. Gen. Nyamwasa-Kayumba, Rwanda's Ambassador to India, Brig. Jack Nziza, and Maj. Gen. Fred Ibingira.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Weekly Observer. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
