Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne)
19 June 2008
Arusha — President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has made a scathing attack on the recent remarks by the Head of the Catholic Church in Rwanda, Archbishop Thadee Ntihinyurwa, who opted that the trial of the four Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) soldiers alleged to have killed members of the Catholic clergy during the 1994 genocide, was best to have it conducted outside Rwanda in the interest of justice.
The Archbishop had told foreign media in an interview last week that he was not convinced that the church's lost clergy would get justice, citing possible interference from government authorities.
"Justice can only be rendered by foreigners not Rwandans that are most likely to be compromised by the establishment" claimed Ntihinyurwa.
According to the Rwanda's pro-government newspaper, New Times, President Kagame instead reminded the Church that it failed the people of Rwanda in 1994 and that he was surprised that opposition was coming from someone who, in the past, had been subject to investigations into his personal role in the genocide.
Ntihinyurwa was then Bishop of Cyangugu at the time of genocide until 1996, when he was named to succeed Archbishop Vincent Nsengiyumva, who was among 13 clergymen allegedly killed by the RPF soldiers on 5 June 1994 in Kabgayi, Muhanga District., central Rwanda.
The four soldiers have already appeared this week before the Rwandan Military Court and two of them have pleaded guilty. However, all four are held in detention because investigations have not been completed.
According to ICTR Prosecutor, Justice Hassan Jallow, Rwanda shared concurrent jurisdiction with the tribunal over such offences and that the UN Court would monitor the trial. However, he has warned that the trial can be retracted if it lacked transparency.
"The other day the Pope apologized to Americans for crimes by members of the clergy. I am waiting for the day when they will do the same for the people of Rwanda," President Kagame remarked during his monthly press briefing in Kigali on Wednesday.
He also reiterated his anguish over issue of indictments by Spanish and French judges over members of RPF for the 1994 genocide. "They use the law when it suits their purposes," Kagame said, adding that he would raise the issue of indicting foreigners for 1994 genocide at the African Union Summit scheduled for Egypt later this month.
The Rwandan government in the past has been furious over the RPF investigations and even reached a boiling point by refusing to co-operate with the UN tribunal and once even denied entry visa to then ICTR Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 Hirondelle News Agency. 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.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
I understand the wish to get military tried by foreigners, for the sake of transparency. What I don't understand is the allegation that there was a genocide against the Hutu. Were there lists drawn up? Did the media call for "work" on them? Did the army, police, distribute weapons and send civilians on the hunt? Are school manuals labelled in such a way as to make them look like evil people? I don't think so. This is what happened to the Tutsi. And life conditions, lack of proper care are bad for every detainee. Have you thought of life conditions… [Read Full Text]
A stubborn paul kagame attacks the catholic church but he doesn`t know that the church is built on the rock Jesus Christ.The blood of bishops,priests and millions of innocent people killed by his army under his orders is crying retaliation before God.Attacking the head of the catholic church is another sign of despair and anxiety that dwell in his mind.Rwandans need true justice for all evildoers. How can a criminel judge his fellow criminel ? This is called a masquerade and unfair trial just to hide the truth and give place to impunity.What archbishop Thadee said is 100% true,why… [Read Full Text]
Why would trying priests be an attack on the Church? I also believe that the Catholic Church is vested in Christ. Does that mean its clergy must not be made to account for their acts here on Earth? Obviously we all must confess our sins to God and repent. But also we must do so in our community, not just in private. And could there be a bigger attack on God's Church than having priests,nuns and lay people, who are meant to have consecrated their lives to the service of God, turn against the faithful? By their behaviour they did… [Read Full Text]
Dear friend,what you say about religious people who are unfaithful to their vocation is true when you consider some nuns,priests who put aside the teaching of CHRIST to embrace politics of lies,hatred,injustice,evil,etc...and some of those extremists don`t hesitate to charge faulsely their colleagues even their bishops. Bad priests are not found on the side of hutus only,we have them on the side of tutsis as well.I know plenty of them who are just evil .You are tutsi I guess,try to be christian and blame your colleagues tutsis for their evil acts against charity and the respect of life.
Why should he attack the archbishop who is requesting a fair trial. Definitely there is a big issue. The courts might be biased against the accused, and Kagame himself is accused of genocide. He should be arrested instead of accusing scapegoats of masterminding the genocide against Hutus. Only the Truth will save Rwanda. How many people did he kill in Congo DR/Zaire? How many people died in jail for lack of proper care. Definitely so many people died during the genocide. It is horrendous and the perpetrators should be judged. But the masterminders like Kagame should face justice here on… [Read Full Text]