GOR RESPONSE TO ARREST OF FDLR PRESIDENT IN GERMANY

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