17.04.09 - RWANDA/GACACA - RWANDAN CABINET RESOLVES TO ENTRUST GACACA ARCHIVES TO COMMISSION

Arusha, 17 April 2009 (FH) - The archives of Gacacas , semi-traditional Rwandan courts charged with trying persons allegedly responsible for the 1994 genocide, will be entrusted to the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide, reports Hirondelle Agency.

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The semi-popular courts are expected to wrap up its work in June.

A report on the achievements of Gacacas was presented on Wednesday during a meeting of the Rwandan Council of Ministers, chaired by President Paul Kagame.

The cabinet resolved that the archives be entrusted to the national commission against genocide, according to Rwandan government statement.

The statement in Kinyarwanda and signed by the Minister for Government Affairs, Charles Murigande, said that the closing event of Gacaca cases will be held at national level and presided by President Kagame. The statement did not mention the place and date of the grand ceremony

The assessment of the gacaca courts will be presented during an international conference towards the end of the year in Rwanda.

Inspired by former village assemblies, in which wise men settled disagreements, seated on the grass (gacaca, in Kinyarwanda), these courts are presided not by professional magistrates but by people of high esteem in the community.

The Gacaca courts can hand down life imprisonment in isolation, the maximum sentence in Rwanda.

The Gacacas have tried more than one million people so far, according to the Rwandan ministry of justice.

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© Hirondelle News Agency