BAGOSORA SAID PRIME MINISTER UWINGILIYIMANA WAS UNFIT TO RULE

Arusha, February 3, 2003 (FH) – The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Tuesday heard that the former director of cabinet in the Ministry of Defence, Colonel Theoneste Bagosora said that the Prime Minister Agathe Uwingiliyimana was “unfit to rule. ”The information was revealed in the testimony of the personal assistant to general Romeo Dallaire at the time of the genocide, Major Brent Beardsley.

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Major Beardsley said that during a meeting held after the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana on the 6th of April, 1994, Bagosora stated clearly that there was no government and the military should take over the control of security. “Without the president there is no government, The Prime Minister (Agathe Uwingiliyimana) is unfit to rule. She did not enjoy the confidence of the nation,” Bagosora allegedly said the next day. Major Beardsley's testimony is supposed to back up what the former commander of United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR), General Romeo Dallaire, said. Dallaire told the court the same about the prime minister. Major Beardsley pursued that Bagosora used swearwords each time the prime minister's name was mentioned. ”I sat next to Bagosora in the meeting. Every time Agathe's name was mentioned he swore in French and showed no respect for Agathe,” the witness explained. “General Dallaire raised his concerns about the government that was chosen by the people still being in place but the military did not want that chosen government. They wanted to take care of the situation,” Beardsley continued. Major Beardsley also told the court that soon after the death of president Habyarimana, the presidential guard became wild, “extremely aggressive, yelling at people, attacking even UNAMIR officials”. He added that after the meeting on April 7th, Bagosora acknowledged, “he was having problems with the presidential guard and he was trying to bring them under control”. In the so-called “Military I” trial Bagosora is jointly accused with the former chief of operations of the former Rwandan army. Brigadier Gratien Kabiligi, the former military commander of Gisenyi region, Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva, and Major Aloys Ntabakuze, who was the commander of the Para-commando battalion based In Kanombe (Kigali). All have pleaded not guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. The trial is in Trial Chamber One of the ICTR composed of Judge Erik Møse from Norway, Judge Serguei Aleckseievich Egorov from Russia, and Judge Jai Ram Reddy of Fiji. SV/CE/FH (ML'0203ee)