APPREHENDING FUGITIVE ICTR INDICTEES

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000123 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KAWC KJUS CG RW ICTR SUBJECT: APPREHENDING FUGITIVE ICTR INDICTEES REF: STATE 11130 ¶1. (U) Information requested reftel follows. Status of Rewards for Justice Program -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Rewards for three informants involved in the May 2004 arrest of indictee Yusuf John Munyakazi are still pending Department action. (Comment: In 2004 local press wrote about delays in payout of Rewards-for-Justice rewards to informants. Those particular issues were resolved, but the publicity was unhelpful and post wishes to avoid a repeat. End Comment.) DRC Needs ICTR Resources, Attention -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Jallou has declared several times that most indicted Rwandan genocidaires who are still free are in the DRC. Over the past two years, five indictees have been arrested in the DRC and Congo-B and tipsters continue to report many sightings, including of some of those cited in para 5 of reftel. However, post has virtually no recent information on any of them. The ICTR has committed few investigative resources to tracking individuals in the two countries, and has broken up experienced tracking teams and reassigned their personnel. Jallou has yet to make an official visit to either the DRC or Congo-B to develop a working relationship. Also, the ICTR has not developed any operational protocols with MONUC, although MONUC has assisted with arrests and transport of indictees at post's request. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: In our assessment, if the level of professional, skilled attention in the area is not elevated, the ICTR will make little or no progress toward arresting those indictees still at large. END COMMENT. MEECE