Govt welcomes DRC stand on 1994 Genocide suspects

The Government has expressed optimism over recent comments by the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, that his country was analysing the list of over 6,900 individuals suspected to have taken part in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis. Under the Tripartite Plus agreement, Rwanda provided DRC with a list of 6,945 names of people responsible for the 1994 Genocide who are currently in the vast central African country. Speaking to The New Times yesterday, the head of the National Public Prosecutions Authority (NPPA), Martin Ngoga, said that the development was a clear indication that the ongoing bilateral talks between the two countries were paying off. “There has been progress in the general framework of the Tripartite Plus in terms of normalising the relations between the two countries, however, there has never been any particular development on the list Rwanda sent to DRC of FDLR rebels and Genocidaires before,” said Ngoga. The FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), are remnants of those who carried out the Genocide in Rwanda and are behind atrocities that have rocked the Eastern part of the DR Congo. Ngoga said that the list was submitted to DRC authorities early last year and its compilation was done in collaboration with the Gacaca jurisdiction. “Let us wait for them (DRC) to finalise with the process of analysing the list and we hope that the end results will be impressive,” Ngoga said by telephone. Mwamba was recently quoted as saying that his government was analysing the list in detail, and that it would be discussed within the ongoing bilateral talks between the two governments. Both the Kigali and Kinshasa governments have lately been holding intensive bilateral talks to rebuild the long shattered relations mostly caused by the existence of the FDLR rebels in the DRC. The two countries have already agreed to a joint military operation expected to begin sometime this month and pundits predict that it would lead to the militias’ surrender and return to Rwanda. Congo is believed to harbour the biggest number of Genocide fugitives most of whom have been indicted by the NPPA while others are wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Other suspects of the Genocide that left over one million people dead are said to be in Southern African countries from where they have been running lucrative businesses. Despite some minimal arrests that were made in some European countries and the establishment of the Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit in the NPPA, very few suspects have been arrested in Africa. Ends