Dear Mr. Prosecutor,
I have had the opportunity to listen to some of your recent interventions concerning the massacres against the Tutsi, which started in Rwanda right after the assassination by the RPF of the two sitting presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, on 6 th april The responsibility for this unprecedented act, whose wanted and immediate consequences were the explosion of violence against the Tutsi population, has been established by your own Bureau. Yet have you prosecuted none of the known perpetrators, members of the RPF. The concerned file, better known as the “Hourigan file” had been ‘buried’ by your predecessor, Madame Louise ARBOUR. The as “top secret” classified report of 1 october 2003 of the special investigations unit of your Office mentions :
“It is confirmed today that this team1did exist on the level of the unit of the high command based in Mulindi. The team was trained in Uganda and became able to use SAM missiles. Captain KAYUMBA Joseph was the head of the team (030,033,034,035,041).” The report also mentions that the attack on the presidential plane was planned and decided upon in course of 3 preparatory meetings attended by Gen. KAGAME, Col. KAYUMBA NYAMWASA, Col. NDUGUTE, Col. SAM KAKA, Lt. Col. James KABARERE, Major Jacques NZIZA ( 034,035 ). Art. 7 of the ICTR Statute provides :
“The territorial jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda shall extend to the territory of Rwanda including its land and airspace as well as to the territory of the neighbouring States in respect of serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by Rwandan citizens. The temporal jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda shall extend to a period beginning on 1 january 1994 and ending on 31 december 1994.”
In other words do you have the obligation to prosecute any person having violated international humanitarian law in Rwanda, in course of the year 1994. Recently the “top secret” report of your Office was revealed to the One of the items also investigated by your people has been the responsibility of the INTERAHAMWE. As it appears these INTERAHAMWE were not only founded, infiltrated and commanded by RPF officers, but also is it specified that the INTERAHAMWE at the infamous roadblocks were commanded by RPF officers, qualified as “technicians”. The file ( p.24-25 ) mentions many of their names.
Yet you have not prosecuted one of them. This file, as the UN “Gersony report” does, mentions the continuation of extended and massive massacres of Rwandan civilians, systematically perpetrated by the RPF in course of the year. Yet you have not prosecuted a single one of the known perpetrators. In view of all of this one can only come to one conclusion :
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has, obviously, only prosecuted one side of the parties in conflict, this notwithstanding the much larger scope of his competence and has, consequently, violated his duty of objectivity and non discrimination. This is not acceptable. The sole question which has to be asked is : “Why ?”. The answer is shocking and constitutes a mockery of what “justice” means.
Brussels, 16 th june 2021.
Jean FLAMME,
Attorney-at-Law,
Defence Counsel at the ICC, the ICTR and the STL,
Former Secretary-General of International Criminal Bar ( ICB ) and of “Avocats sans Frontières” (AsF), Former deputy Judge at the Court of Commerce in Gent ( Belgium ).
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