No Justice! No Peace! The Rwanda Tribunal

On Thursday we made a trip out to Arusha to try to sit in on a session of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The tribunal is based out of the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) and was set up by the United Nations (UN) in November 1994 following the horrific genocide that took place that same year and claimed the lives of more than 800 000 people. The tribunal delivered the world's first condemnation for genocide in September 1998, when former Rwandan Prime Minister, Jean Kambanda, was found guilty.

To enter into the complex housing the tribunal you need to sign in, surrender your passport and camera, your bags screened and cross through a metal detector. You then take an elevator up to the second floor of the complex, surrender all of your bags to a security guard, and are given a headset in which to hear a translation of the proceedings. The proceedings are divided into two main courtrooms enclosed by soundproof, but not "sightproof" glass. (This was a little disconcerting as we -Jen, Adam, Pat, and I- walked into the observation area everyone seemed to stop and watch us) Although the defendants back was towards us, we were able to see his lawyer, the UN's lawyer (decked out in a strange blond wig-yes like the types you see in photos of British lawyers...but not white...blond), note-keepers, translators, and other various important research and law type people. Many of whom looked like they had had enough genocide for one day.

In this case the defendant, who's image (and the image of the prosecutor) was projected into the observation room via close-circuit television spoke entirely in French, while the prosecutor spoke entirely in English. One of the English translators (there is a team of at least two at any given time) had a very BBC documentary air about him...however he also seemed to be of quite and advanced age and at least once during the proceeding seemed to haven fallen asleep. This caused a bit of embarrassment as the defendant has just finished answering the prosecutor's question in French, and the prosecutor was standing there unable to proceed as he was still waiting for the English translation to come through his headphones.

We we able to witness, the cross examination of Major General Augusti Ndindiliyimana who is being tried for conspiracy to commit genocide. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) issued an indictment against Ndindiliyimana and three other former FAR officers, charging them with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and related crimes.
On January 20, 2000 he was arrested in Belgium and handed over to the custody of the ICTR in Arusha.

From a news report:

The former chief-of-staff of the Rwandan gendarmerie, Augustin Ndindiliyimana, has demanded that the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) order his release and drop all charges brought against him, because of what he calls “policy of selective prosecution” by Carla el Ponte, the ICTR prosecutor.

General Ndindiliyimana, 60, was arrested in Belgium on January 29, 2000 and jointly charged with three other officers of the former Rwanda Armed Forces (FAR) in what is known as the “military 2” case. They are charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. They have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

From late 1990 until April 1994, Ndindiliyimana is alleged to have conspired with other high-level Rwandan Armed Forces officers to plan the logistics of the Rwandan Genocide. In early April of 1994, he allegedly informed interahamwe leaders of a plan by UNAMIR force commander Roméo Dallaire to search for a cache of weapons, later used in the genocide.

Many of you have seen the movie "Hotel Rwanda" or read the book/seen the movie based on "Shake Hands with the Devil"written by Romeo Dallaire (Dallaire served as Force Commander of UNAMIR, the ill-fated UN Peacekeeping force for Rwanda between 1993 and 1994). Ndindiliyimana's character is mentioned in both movies and in Dallaire's book.. Dallaire writes that he "had always found his [Ndindiliyimana's] loyalties an enigma" and initially assumed he represented a moderate voice in the crisis committee. In his autobiography, Paul Rusesabagina (Hotel Rwanda hero) says that Ndindiliyimana was more of a moderate who did not seem to entirely approve of the genocide. He also notes that Ndindiliyimana was responsible for dismantling a potentially disastrous roadblock in front of the Hôtel des Mille Collines.

The cross-examination seemed to focus on why Ndindiliyimana managed to recieve a high-level promotion within the armed forces just prior to the course of the genocide, seemingly without having the seniority or life experience of others given his rank. Once the cross-examination was wrapped up, the defendant's lawyer decided to adjourn for the day and continue begin his rebuttal to the prosecution's examination of his client the following day. I couldn't help but feel that witnessing a short hour of such an important event was my small and insignificant way of taking part in the condemnation of the Rwandan genocide.

The tribunal has been plagued by controversy, most notably for the UN's reputation for lavish spending and ineffectual bureaucracy. By the time the tribunal wraps up in 2010, one and a half billion dollars will have funded the trials of just barely 70 suspects. In other economic news, just having a UN tribunal in the area, accompanied by hundreds of overpaid UN staff members, has driven up the cost of almost everything in Arusha, from hotel rooms, restaurant meals, and rent. It has also seemed to span the creation of a market for $12 boxes of imported cereal and $10 hunks of cheddar cheese.

Is justice for Rwanda to be had at any cost? You do the math...