22.10.10 - RWANDA/ICTR - RWANDAN HOPEFUL OF RECEIVING GENOCIDE CASES FROM ICTR

Arusha, October 22, 2010 (FH) - Rwandan Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga Thursday said his country now hoped that the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) would accept the transfer of genocide cases to Rwanda as most stumbling blocks were ironed out.

1 min 19Approximate reading time

‘'I am very confident now that we are most likely going to succeed because we are better prepared than before,'' Ngoga told a press conference in Arusha.

ICTR had previously rejected five applications of transferring cases to Rwanda on the ground that the accused might not receive fair trial.

Ngoga explained that his country jointly worked with the ICTR to tackle the obstacles to that effect including issues of witness protection and movement of the defence teams which were the course of concern for the judges not to transfer cases.

He also said that his country had voted the required legal amendments.

‘'I am now glad to report to you that myself and the Prosecutor Jallow are in agreement that what we have  done so far is enough for the prosecution to file ( ...) the applications,'' he revealed.

He stressed that Rwanda has already handled many genocide cases and that it has ‘'an enormous experience'' now to host cases from the Tribunal.

‘'The presumption that African countries don't have capacity and don't have good faith and European jurisdictions could be trusted on face value is something we should break away with,'' he advised.

Giving example, he said ‘' around the same time when transfers to Rwanda were rejected, there were transfers done to France of two cases of  (Laurent) Bucyibaruta and  (Wenceslas) Munyeshyaka but they have not done anything on those cases.''

‘'This is a judicial matter, I am not attempting to politicize it but that is the reality. You could ask the Prosecutor what France has done ever since the cases were transferred there?'' Ngoga told the press.

He gave the assurance of his country saying 'We will not let down the Tribunal when it decides to transfer cases to Rwanda.''

NI/FK-ER/GF

© Hirondelle News Agency