The Kingdom of The Netherlands again fulfilled its international obligations when it extradited two notorious Genocide suspects; Jean-Claude Iyamuremye and Jean-Baptiste Mugimba. The Netherlands has been one of the most consistent countries to have firmly dealt with Genocide cases. The same cannot be said for other countries, even in Africa. It beats understanding that someone accused of one of the most heinous crimes is left alone. Some do so for political reasons, for others it is just due to sheer I-don’t-care attitude. Countries like France have decided to look the other way all together. It is playing a political card game that it might one day live to regret. But it took that path willingly and will hardly change its stance. As the saying goes; “Better the devil you know than the angel you don’t”, so at least France’s position is crystal clear. But what about other countries – African countries to be precise? In normal circumstances, they should have been at the forefront of tracking genocidaires, but mysteriously, their silence is very conspicuous. With many African countries’ destinies hinged on tribal politics, the danger of ethnic unrest – or even genocide – is very real and they should have learnt a lesson from Rwanda by now. By the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda opting to target the so-called “big fish”, it set the tone: a few high level indictments (93) and a few condemnations (62) was enough to quell the calls for justice. But one thing is for sure: Rwanda will not relent in its hunt for genocidaires. As Iyamuremye and Mugimba have found out, they can run but they cannot hide.
