Witnesses to Rwanda’s genocide are being intimidated and killed to stop them testifying in court against those who took part in the 1994 slaughter of up to one million people, it was claimed on Wednesday.
Genocide suspects who fear prosecution are behind a spate of recent murders intended to deter people from cooperating with the courts, according to Ibuka, an umbrella organisation for genocide survivors.
One or two survivors are being killed on average each month, but recently three were killed in the south-western province of Gikongoro, it said. All were potential witnesses.
In the most recent case a man was killed and dismembered in front of his family as a warning to other potential witnesses, the group said in a statement.
”The ultimate reason behind the killings is to scare away genocide survivors from testifying in gacaca courts.
”These killings are well planned and are targeting one section of people with an intention of keeping their lips shut.”
Gacaca is a justice system based on traditional village courts which was revived in 2001 to help clear a backlog of genocide cases which has kept 85 000 suspects in prison, with some detained for up to a decade. The overcrowding was so bad that many other suspects have remained at liberty while awaiting trial.
The UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Arusha, in neighbouring Tanzania, has convicted just a handful of people and Rwanda’s conventional courts, often poorly resourced and understaffed, were unable to handle the vast criminal enterprise which engulfed the tiny central African country for 100 days in 1994.
Extremists from the Hutu majority mobilised and armed entire communities with machetes, guns and grenades in an effort to wipe out Tutsis and Hutu moderates.
They nearly succeeded but enough people survived to bear witness against those friends, relatives and neighbours who participated in the slaughter.
According to Ibuka some of those suspects who remained free now feel threatened by the growing number of gacaca courts, which are supposed to be swift and inexpensive, and want to kill or intimidate potential witnesses before being tried.
The group said several members had been harassed and some had been forced to flee ancestral homes. ”We condemn this and call upon relevant authorities to take action.”
A police spokesperson confirmed reports of killings and harassment and said the murders in Gikongoro were being investigated. ”We have arrested a few culprits and investigations on many others are still going on.”
However the spokesman said these were isolated cases and denied that there was a link to the spread of gacaca trials.
Last month, four former senior Rwandan officials went on trial accused of playing important roles in the genocide, including training militias and drawing up lists of people to be killed.
Automatic weapons-fire and rocket explosions rang out across Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, last night in an outbreak of fighting between rival factions.
Rebel fighters, who call themselves Ninjas after ancient Japanese warriors, were thought to be involved in the clashes, which came after months of relative peace in the west African republic following a peace deal in March. – Guardian Unlimited Â