C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000340

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C
EUCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2016
TAGS: KPKO PREF PREL MONUC RW CG BY UG GE BE
SUBJECT: GOR RESPONSE TO ARREST OF FDLR PRESIDENT IN GERMANY

Classified By: Poloff GLearned, reasons 1.4 (b/d).


1. (SBU) On 11 April poloff met with German DCM to discuss
the recent arrest of the president of the Democratic Forces
for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), Ignace Murwanashyaka, by
German authorities in Mannheim, Germany. According to Hans
Von Schroeder, Murwanashyaka will be detained for
approximately three months while a judge rules on his asylum
status appeal. His asylum status and resident permit, granted
by Germany in 2000, were due to expire on 19 April. Von
Schroeder said that German immigration and refugee officials
denied Murwanashyaka,s renewal request and ordered the 7
April arrest because of his inclusion on the UNSC travel ban
list.


2. (C) Murwanashyaka lives, and has a child, with a German
woman in Mannheim. Von Schroeder said that Germany was
alerted to Murwanashyaka,s travel by Belgian authorities but
did not detain him until he contacted local German law
enforcement officials. Von Schroeder said that there would
probably be no decision on the issue for at least eight weeks
and opined that it was unlikely the appeal would be
successful. As yet, there is no indication as to what the GOG
will do if/when the appeal is denied. Germany and Rwanda do
not have a formal extradition treaty.


3. (U) Prior to the arrest, Murwanashyaka and the Government
of Uganda were the subjects of recent negative reporting in
Kigali. On 7 April, Rwandan press reported that Murwanashyaka
was in Kampala meeting with &top Ugandan military
officials8 prior to his departure for Germany via Belgium.
The pro-government &The New Times8 English language
tri-weekly paper also reported that Murwanashyaka carries a
Ugandan passport and travels between Kampala and eastern
Congo on a regular basis.


4. (U) The GOR disseminated the following press release
regarding the arrest to the local diplomatic community on 11
April:
BEGIN TEXT
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Press Release on the Arrest of Dr. Ignace Murwanashyaka,
President of FDLR
The Government of Rwanda welcomes the arrest and detention of
Dr. Ignace Murwanashyaka by the Police of Germany in Mannheim
on April 7, 2006 and wishes to congratulate the Government of
Germany for this action which will no doubt contribute to
peace, security and stability in the Great Lakes region of
Africa.

Dr. Ignace Murwanashyaka is, indeed, the leader of the most
notorious criminal armed group operating in Eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) calling itself FDLR/FOCA
(Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda / Forces
Combattantes Abacunguzi). FDLR is made of the forces which
committed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, i.e.
Ex-FAR/Interahamwe and have been changing names every time
the world identifies them as terrorists. They were once
known as PALIR/ALIR and changed their name to FDLR when they
were listed as terrorists by the US Government after they had
killed American and British tourists in the Bwindi forest in
DRC.

FDLR has wrecked havoc in the region causing untold suffering
in Eastern DRC and Rwanda. They are also known to work hand
in hand with PALIPEHUTU/FNL, the only Burundian rebel force
which has refused to stop war in Burundi and is responsible
for horrible crimes such as the massacre of more than 160
Banyamulenge refugees in Katumba, Burundi, in August 2004.

The Government of Rwanda wishes to recall that Dr. Ignace
Murwanashyaka and the criminal forces he leads have been
clearly identified by United Nations Security Council
Resolutions 1596 (2005) and 1649 (2005) to constitute
obstacles to peace and security in the Great Lakes region of
Africa. These resolutions imposed travel ban and financial
sanctions on leaders of armed groups operating in Eastern DRC
including Dr. Ignace Murwanashyaka.

It is worth noting that despite these UN Security Council
sanctions, on April 5, 2006, Dr. Ignace Murwanashyaka was
able to board a SN Brussels flight from Entebbe, Uganda to
Brussels, Belgium where he entered the Schengen space and
continued on to Mannheim, Germany.

The Government of Rwanda wishes to request the Government of
Germany to ensure that Dr. Ignace Murwanashyaka is brought to
justice whether in Rwanda, in DRC, in Germany or at the
International Crimes Court (ICC) to answer for the crimes
committed by the organization he leads.

Done in Kigali, April 10, 2006.

END TEXT
ARIETTI