The Government has reiterated appeal to the United Nations that hundreds of transcripts, as well as hours of video and audio recordings that make up International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) archives be handed over to the country.

The archives, massive amounts of information on what happened in Rwanda before, during and right after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, were made property of the UN against Rwanda’s will.

The government continued the push for the return of the archives to Rwanda, yesterday, at a UN ceremony in Arusha, Tanzania, to mark the end of ICTR era in international justice.

At the occasion, the Minister for Justice Johnston Busingye told top UN officials, including Miguel de Serpa Soares, the UN under-secretary-general for legal affairs and UN legal counsel; and Adama Dieng, UN secretary-general’s special adviser for the prevention of genocide, that the people of Rwanda will not stop demanding that the archives be brought home.

Later, after he arrived back home, Busingye told The New Times that he was optimistic because, among others, the archives "are obviously Rwanda’s.”

"Remember no plausible reason has been advanced to-date to justify why it shouldn’t be Rwanda (to host them),” the minister said. "No fair opportunity for a candid conversation on the issue has been availed to date. We believe the Security Council cannot be oblivious of the overwhelming justification.”

In Arusha, Busingye particularly requested to address Judge Vagn Joensen, the president of ICTR on two issues to "run important errands for Rwanda” on the same.

"Part of your records are many government documents, whose origin is the Government of Rwanda but whose mode of acquisition and ownership we shall need to have a candid conversation about,” Busingye told Joensen.

What they have in the ICTR archives, he said, is perhaps one of the most comprehensive accounts of the 1994 Genocide.

"We are aware that archives are now property of the UN. However, let me say that the people of Rwanda will not stop demanding that Rwanda’s history belongs in Rwanda. The archives need to be hosted in Rwanda which is a member of the United Nations family,” the minister said.

"It is our painful history. The presence of ICTR archives in Rwanda would continue to be a reminder to Rwandans of what happened in our country. It would, together with the memorial sites spread across Rwanda, strengthen our resolve to never again allow a situation to get out of hand.”

Time will not deter Rwanda from demanding for the archives, the minister stressed, because the "we wholeheartedly believe” that they belong in Rwanda and that it is an obvious matter.

Busingye said Kigali continues to count on the support of Tanzania, where the archives are located, the East African Community (EAC), the African Union and indeed the UN Security Council.

"The pending decision of the final repository of these archives has been long and worrying. A specific and formal debate and resolution on this issue is getting overdue,” Busingye said in Arusha.

Genocide convicts’ media access

One other critical matter that Busingye again brought to the attention of the UN officials was the government’s concern as to how and why Genocide convicts repeatedly gain media access so as to negate, deny and trivialise the 1994 Genocide, a Genocide they particularly orchestrated.

Rwanda has previously engaged the ICTR and the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (the MICT) established by the Security Council in 2010 to carry out essential functions of the ICTR after the completion of its mandate, on two occasions on this issue.

"The first time we were promised that it would not happen again. The second time we received differing responses from MICT and ICTR. We all seem to be in agreement that it is wrong, unethical and contrary to policy,” Busingye said.

Mid this year, Genocide convict Jean Kambanda had an exclusive interview with a British broadcaster, ITV News, from prison in Bamako, Mali.

The Tribunal looked away.

In 2004, the Tribunal looked away again when a BBC journalist was given access to Genocide convicts, again in Mali, to air hateful ideologies.

All nations, institutions and individuals who want to genuinely stand up and be counted in the fight against the ideology of genocide, Busingye told UN officials, need to take extra caution before granting media access to genocide convicts because they cannot prevent themselves from marketing their genocidal views.

"We understand the thin line between hate speech and freedom of speech. We believe, however, that the story of Kangura and RTLM in Rwanda, and findings in other media cases handled by this and other Tribunals/Courts, should remind us sufficiently that media can be a lethal tool in the propagation of hatred which is a precursor to genocide.”

Nine suspects at large

Meanwhile, as the ICTR closes its doors, the search for justice for the 1994 Genocide does not end as there are nine suspects the ICTR has not apprehended to date.

The duty is now passed on to the MICT.

In addition to the nine, there are about 410 individuals Rwanda has indicted and are still at large.

The nine are Felicien Kabuga, Augustin Bizimana, Protais Mpiranya, Fulgence Kayishema, Charles Sikubwabo, Ladislas Ntaganzwa, Pheneas Munyarugarama, Aloys Ndimbati and another only known as Ryandikayo.

"Let us remember that these are full size human beings, not pins or grains of salt which disappear or melt. Some are hidden in plain sight, preaching the word of God to the faithful, treating patients in hospitals or engaged in other activities in various countries,” Busingye said.

The minister emphasised that these suspects are in some country with the knowledge of that country or some individual there. The country, he said, is most likely a UN member state and is aware of the resolutions on the subject.

"We all should be focused on ensuring that every suspect has their day in court at the MICT, in the countries where they are or extradited and tried or in Rwanda’s specialised International Crimes Chamber of the High Court. Rwanda will not rest until each one of them has been tried,” Busingye said.

"We owe that to the million victims and countless survivors. The hurdles in the way of this cause, whether legitimate or illegitimate, only add to our resolve and resilience.”

editorial@newtimes.co.rw