Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIGALI1110
2006-11-17 12:54:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kigali
Cable title:
PAUL RUSESABAGINA LETTER TO THE INTERNATIONAL
how-toVZCZCXYZ0006 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHLGB #1110 3211254 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 171254Z NOV 06 FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3473 INFO RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 1578 RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0780 RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1484 RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0144 RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0668 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0170
C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 001110
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM RW
SUBJECT: PAUL RUSESABAGINA LETTER TO THE INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA
REF: A. KIGALI 11/17 E-MAIL OF RUSESABAGINA MATERIALS TO
DEPARTMENT
B. KIGALI 1074
C. KIGALI 0228
Classified By: Ambassador Michael R. Arietti, reason 1.4 (B/D)
(C) Summary. Paul Rusesabagina, principal character of the
film Hotel Rwanda and present political opponent of the
Kagame government, has written from Brussels to the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) prosecutor,
calling upon him to pursue Kagame and other GOR officials for
war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide (Ref A).
Given the ICTR's focused attention upon its completion
strategy (Ref B),the potential for the filing of new cases
against seems unlikely. This call for action appears to be
an attempt to embarrass Kagame, now visiting Brussels, and to
raise Rusesabagina's political profile as a determined
adversary of the Rwandan government. End summary.
2. (SBU) In a letter dated October 15, 2006, Paul
Rusesabagina called upon ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Jallow to
bring charges against President Kagame and other "high
ranking military officers" for war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide committed against his own family. He
also called upon the ICTR to investigate and prosecute other
alleged crimes detailed in a 20 page "Compendium of Crimes"
attached to his letter. (Note: This letter and compendium
were downloaded by embassy staff from a website frequented by
external political opponents of the Rwandan government).
Rusesabagina also called upon the ICTR to request a UN
Security Council extension of the court's mandate (now
limited to events between January 1 and December 31, 1994) to
cover alleged crimes committed both before and after those
dates, and he denounced the present human rights situation in
Rwanda.
3. (C) ICTR senior legal advisor Mohammed Ayat, when asked
for a reaction by polchief on November 17, commented that
President Kagame enjoyed head-of-state immunity as a serving
president, and as such was beyond the reach of the ICTR.
Ayat agreed that the likelihood of the Security Council
extending the ICTR's mandate beyond 1994 was "very small."
In previous discussions with polchief, Ayat has indicated
that ICTR action on alleged Rwanda Patriotic Army/Rwanda
Defense Force crimes was increasingly unlikely as the court
pursued its completion strategy, although a "cell" of
investigators formally continued its work in Arusha on that
topic. Ayat reaffirmed that point once again, saying "you
know our approach on the RPA."
4. (C) Comment. The timing of this call for action
suggests it is a political stunt, meant to embarrass
President Kagame during his trip to Brussels, rather than a
heart-felt plea for action by the ICTR. The court will not
address events occurring before or after its mandate, it
cannot act against President Kagame, and it is less and less
likely to bring new cases against anyone, including alleged
RPA/RDF perpetrators. This letter does demonstrate
Rusesabagina's continued transformation from apolitical and
self-described "non-hero" of the genocide, to a determined
political foe of the Kagame regime. For example, his
denunciation of the present human rights situation in Rwanda
strikes us as extreme and unfair in many ways (i.e., his
description of the gacaca genocide courts as "a state
sponsored crime against Hutus."). Rusesabagina's increasing
participation in the fractured world of expatriate Rwandan
politics appears to be as great a motivator for action as any
wish he may have to see justice done in Rwanda. End Comment.
ARIETTI
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM RW
SUBJECT: PAUL RUSESABAGINA LETTER TO THE INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA
REF: A. KIGALI 11/17 E-MAIL OF RUSESABAGINA MATERIALS TO
DEPARTMENT
B. KIGALI 1074
C. KIGALI 0228
Classified By: Ambassador Michael R. Arietti, reason 1.4 (B/D)
(C) Summary. Paul Rusesabagina, principal character of the
film Hotel Rwanda and present political opponent of the
Kagame government, has written from Brussels to the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) prosecutor,
calling upon him to pursue Kagame and other GOR officials for
war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide (Ref A).
Given the ICTR's focused attention upon its completion
strategy (Ref B),the potential for the filing of new cases
against seems unlikely. This call for action appears to be
an attempt to embarrass Kagame, now visiting Brussels, and to
raise Rusesabagina's political profile as a determined
adversary of the Rwandan government. End summary.
2. (SBU) In a letter dated October 15, 2006, Paul
Rusesabagina called upon ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Jallow to
bring charges against President Kagame and other "high
ranking military officers" for war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide committed against his own family. He
also called upon the ICTR to investigate and prosecute other
alleged crimes detailed in a 20 page "Compendium of Crimes"
attached to his letter. (Note: This letter and compendium
were downloaded by embassy staff from a website frequented by
external political opponents of the Rwandan government).
Rusesabagina also called upon the ICTR to request a UN
Security Council extension of the court's mandate (now
limited to events between January 1 and December 31, 1994) to
cover alleged crimes committed both before and after those
dates, and he denounced the present human rights situation in
Rwanda.
3. (C) ICTR senior legal advisor Mohammed Ayat, when asked
for a reaction by polchief on November 17, commented that
President Kagame enjoyed head-of-state immunity as a serving
president, and as such was beyond the reach of the ICTR.
Ayat agreed that the likelihood of the Security Council
extending the ICTR's mandate beyond 1994 was "very small."
In previous discussions with polchief, Ayat has indicated
that ICTR action on alleged Rwanda Patriotic Army/Rwanda
Defense Force crimes was increasingly unlikely as the court
pursued its completion strategy, although a "cell" of
investigators formally continued its work in Arusha on that
topic. Ayat reaffirmed that point once again, saying "you
know our approach on the RPA."
4. (C) Comment. The timing of this call for action
suggests it is a political stunt, meant to embarrass
President Kagame during his trip to Brussels, rather than a
heart-felt plea for action by the ICTR. The court will not
address events occurring before or after its mandate, it
cannot act against President Kagame, and it is less and less
likely to bring new cases against anyone, including alleged
RPA/RDF perpetrators. This letter does demonstrate
Rusesabagina's continued transformation from apolitical and
self-described "non-hero" of the genocide, to a determined
political foe of the Kagame regime. For example, his
denunciation of the present human rights situation in Rwanda
strikes us as extreme and unfair in many ways (i.e., his
description of the gacaca genocide courts as "a state
sponsored crime against Hutus."). Rusesabagina's increasing
participation in the fractured world of expatriate Rwandan
politics appears to be as great a motivator for action as any
wish he may have to see justice done in Rwanda. End Comment.
ARIETTI