Genocide: The Dutch gov’t has a legal obligation to bring Ndereyehe to book

Editor, RE: “Survivors tell Dutch govt to extradite fugitive Ndereyehe” (The New Times, March 13). Charles Ndereyehe and other Genocide fugitives roaming freely all over the world should be arrested and brought to book. It is beyond comprehension that a notorious fugitive like Charles Ndereyehe Ntahontuye whose role in the Genocide against the Tutsi is well known in the former Butare prefecture, now Southern Province, especially at the former Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR) Rubona, currently, Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB), Rubona Station. Despite the fact that since April 20, 2010, Ndereyehe has been subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the Rwandan courts in addition to being on the list of people wanted by Interpol, Ndereyehe continues to freely spread genocide ideology, through his activities with FDU-Inkingi, a terror group. He was tried and sentenced in absentia by the Gacaca Court of Gikirambwa. Why wasn’t he arrested while international and domestic legal instruments oblige the host country to arrest and try him? For instance, the Resolution 2150 (April 16, 2014) of the UN Security Council requires States “to investigate, arrest, prosecute or extradite, in fulfillment of their international obligations to all other fugitives accused of genocide residing on their territory, including FDLR leaders”. Undoubtedly, this Resolution obliges to the Netherlands to arrest, try or extradite Ndereyehe and other Genocide fugitives on its territory. In the Netherlands the law punishes discriminatory language against a particular group. Ndereyehe did not only use discriminatory language against the Tutsi, [the group for which he planned for total extermination] but also went as far as funding their extermination. Did he escape the Netherlands’ branch of Interpol? I guess no. If no, then why not arrested? Does he live in a hideout? Again, I guess no, since he is always active on social media, especially Twitter. Then, how can a social media user hide if the Interpol makes efforts to arrest him? What does tracking serve for? Besides, Ndereyehe coordinates the activities of other extremist groups of radical Rwandan exiles, nostalgic for an ethnic ideology that led to the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. Among these groups are the FEDERMO (Federation of Rwandan Organizations in the Netherlands), CARP (Collective of Rwandan Associations in the Netherlands), RIFDP-NL (International Network of Women for Democracy and Peace), DEN HAAG, Pro Justitia, FFDR (Foundation for Freedom and Democracy in Rwanda). How can such a man hide whereas these groups always organise colloquia in which he participates and deliver speeches? Let’s believe that the details released by the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) will enable the Dutch justice to realise how criminal the man who masquerades as an agricultural specialist, consultant, political analyst, human rights activist, and act accordingly. Still, kudos to the Dutch justice for giving justice to victims and survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tusi by trying different Genocide suspects, including Joseph Mpambara who, in July 2011, was sentenced to life for crimes he committed in Mugonero, in Western Rwanda, during the Genocide, and Yvonne Basebya Ntacyobatabara, who was tried in the European country and sentenced to 6 years and 8 months following her conviction for crimes committed in Gikondo, a Kigali city suburb, during the Genocide. Bemba

Opinions

Genocide: The Dutch gov’t has a legal obligation to bring Ndereyehe to book