Del Ponte Says UN Caved to Rwandan Pressure
By Steven Edwards
National Post
September 17, 2003
Carla Del Ponte has spoken out about her forced exit as chief United Nations prosecutor for the Rwanda genocide court, saying the world body gave in to pressure from Paul Kagame, the country's President, who objected to her investigations of members of his political organization. "It is true politics played a big role," Ms. Del Ponte said in an interview published yesterday marking her last visit to Arusha, seat of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
In another interview, she said Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, had been "inflexible" when she appealed for his help in plugging leaks that had begun to undermine her authority. Mr. Annan, who is from the West African country of Ghana, had been under pressure to recommend an African to replace Ms. Del Ponte, a Swiss national, who made her name prosecuting the Italian Mafia.
For some observers, Ms. Del Ponte's comments will cast a shadow over the aims of the tribunal, which is mandated to probe all war crimes in Rwanda in 1994, which left at least 500,000 people dead, mostly Tutsis. Ms. Del Ponte succeeded Canada's Louise Arbour as chief prosecutor for its ad hoc war crimes tribunals in 1999, and secretly launched what she called "Special Investigations" against the 1994 activities of the mainly Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) as it fought to overthrow the Hutu-led government that carried out the genocide. Led by Mr. Kagame, then a rebel, the RPF is suspected of having killed at least 45,000 Rwandan civilians as it made its way to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, and end the genocide by snatching power. Although the number of deaths is just a fraction of the number killed on behalf of the Hutu-extremist government, international rights activists say all atrocities should receive attention from a court established to dispense justice fairly. It is unclear to what extent Ms. Del Ponte's successor, who is from the West African country of Gambia, will pursue the Special Investigations.
The UN Security Council named Hassan Bubacar Jallow, of the Gambian Supreme Court, chief ICTR prosecutor after deciding last month Ms. Del Ponte's four-year contract as ICTR prosecutor would not be renewed when it expired on Sept. 15. The council renewed Ms. Del Ponte's appointment to the UN's other ad hoc court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is probing atrocities in the Balkans in the 1990s, and currently has Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav leader, on trial.
In speaking out, Ms. Del Ponte revealed for the first time the extent of her commitment to completing her investigations against the RPF. "When I was told [by Mr. Annan] that each tribunal would have its own prosecutor, I personally requested whether I could choose," she said according to comments released yesterday by Hirondelle, an Arusha-based agency that monitors the ICTR. "I believe I would have opted for the ICTR because I still remain with one challenge -- Special Investigations. Unfortunately, I was not given the luxury of choosing."
Ms. Del Ponte said she had no doubt Mr. Kagame's calls for her resignation were made as a result of her investigations into possible RPF atrocities. "It is clear that it all started when we embarked on these Special Investigations," she said. "Therefore, yes, pressure from Rwanda contributed to the non-renewal of my mandate."
In another interview, Ms. Del Ponte told how she flew to New York in July to speak personally with Mr. Annan and seek his backing in standing up to Rwanda. "I had grasped what the Rwandans were up to," she told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. "But I wanted to explain to the Secretary-General that it was not the right moment to split the two tribunals. "I had no doubt that Kofi Annan would back me as he had done on other occasions. Instead, everything had already been decided." She said Mr. Annan refused point blank to allow her to choose the ICTR over the ICTY. "No. The trial against Milosevic is too important to be left in the hands of someone else," she quoted him as saying.
Though the Rwandan government has prevented ICTR investigators from interviewing anyone inside Rwanda about possible RPF atrocities, Ms. Del Ponte is believed to have had four cases ready to go. They have not been mentioned, however, by the new prosecutor.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/163/29047.html
The dictator Kagame at UN
Dictators like Kagame who have changed their national constitutions to remain indefinitely on power should not be involved in UN high level and global activities including chairing UN meetings
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Thousands of Hutu murdered by Kagame inside Rwanda, e.g. Kibeho massacres
Kagame killed 200,000 Hutus from all regions of the country, the elderly and children who were left by their relatives, the disabled were burned alive. Other thousands of people were killed in several camps of displaced persons including Kibeho camp. All these war crimes remain unpunished.The British news reporters were accompanying Kagame’s fighters on day-by-day basis and witnessed these massacres, but they never reported on this.
25,000 Hutu bodies floated down River Akagera into Lake Victoria in Uganda.
The British irrational, extremist, partisan,biased, one-sided media and politicians have disregarded Kagame war crimes e.g. the Kibeho camp massacres, massacres of innocents Hutu refugees in DR. Congo. The British media have been supporting Kagame since he invaded Rwanda by organising the propaganda against the French over the Rwandan genocide, suppressing the truth about the genocide and promoting the impunity of Kagame and his cronies in the African Great Lakes Region. For the British, Rwanda does not need democracy, Rwanda is the African Israel; and Kagame and his guerilla fighters are heroes.The extremist British news reporters including Fergal Keane, Chris Simpson, Chris McGreal, Mark Doyle, etc. continue to hate the Hutus communities and to polarise the Rwandan society.
Kagame political ambitions triggered the genocide.
Kagame’s guerrilla war was aimed at accessing to power at any cost. He rejected all attempts and advice that could stop his military adventures including the cease-fire, political negotiations and cohabitation, and UN peacekeeping interventions. He ignored all warnings that could have helped him to manage the war without tragic consequences. Either you supported Kagame’ s wars and you are now his friend, or you were against his wars and you are his enemy. Therefore, Kagame as the Rwandan strong man now, you have to apologise to him for having been against his war and condemned his war crimes, or accept to be labelled as having been involved in the genocide. All key Kagame’s fighters who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity are the ones who hold key positions in Rwandan army and government for the last 15 years. They continue to be supported and advised by the British including Tony Blair, Andrew Mitchell MP, and the British army senior officials.
Aid that kills: The British Budget Support financed Museveni and Kagame’s wars in Rwanda and DRC.
Genocide propaganda and fabrications are used by the so-called British scholars, news reporters and investigative journalists to promote their CVs and to get income out of the genocide through the selling of their books, providing testimonies against the French, access to consultancy contracts from the UN and Kagame, and participation in conferences and lectures in Rwanda, UK and internationally about genocide. Genocide propaganda has become a lucrative business for Kagame and the British. Anyone who condemned or did not support Kagame’s war is now in jail in Rwanda under the gacaca courts system suuported by British tax payer's money, or his/she is on arrest warrant if he/she managed to flee the Kagame’s regime. Others have fled the country and are still fleeing now. Many others Rwandans are being persecuted in their own country. Kagame is waiting indefinitely for the apologies from other players who warn him or who wanted to help to ensure that political negotiations take place between Kagame and the former government he was fighting against. Britain continues to supply foreign aid to Kagame and his cronies with media reports highlighting economic successes of Rwanda. Such reports are flawed and are aimed at misleading the British public to justify the use of British taxpayers’ money. Kagame and his cronies continue to milk British taxpayers’ money under the British budget support. This started from 1986 through the British budget support to Uganda until now.
Dictator Kagame: No remorse for his unwise actions and ambitions that led to the Rwandan genocide.
No apologies yet to the Rwandan people. The assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana by Kagame was the only gateway for Kagame to access power in Rwanda. The British media, politicians, and the so-called British scholars took the role of obstructing the search for the truth and justice; and of denying this assassination on behalf of General Kagame. General Paul Kagame has been obliging the whole world to apologise for his mistakes and war crimes. The UK’s way to apologise has been pumping massive aid into Rwanda's crony government and parliement; and supporting Kagame though media campaigns.
Fanatical, partisan, suspicious, childish and fawning relations between UK and Kagame
Kagame receives the British massive aid through the budget support, British excessive consultancy, sector wide programmes, the Tutsi-dominated parliament, British and Tutsi-owned NGOs; for political, economic and English language expansion to Rwanda. The British aid to Rwanda is not for all Rwandans. It is for Kagame himself and his Tutsi cronies.
Paul Kagame' actvities as former rebel
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