HOLY SEE RAISES OBJECTIONS TO RWANDA'S GACACA TRIBUNALS

UNCLAS VATICAN 000059

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM SOCI VT RW
SUBJECT: HOLY SEE RAISES OBJECTIONS TO RWANDA'S GACACA TRIBUNALS



1. (SBU) Summary. Holy See deputy foreign minister Parolin
asked ambassador to transmit to Washington a note verbale and
accompanying text on the gacaca tribunals in Rwanda. The Holy
See believes that the tribunals are politically manipulated and
procedurally flawed and are not serving their intended purpose.
Embassy will fax these documents to desk. End summary.


2. (SBU) Ambassador and DCM called on Monsignor Pietro Parolin,
Undersecretary for Relations with States (equivalent to deputy
foreign minister) April 3 at Parolin's request. Parolin gave
ambassador a note verbale requesting that it be brought to the
attention of the USG along with an accompanying note entitled
"The Gacaca Traditional Tribunals in Rwanda". This document
describes the time and effort required to establish the gacaca
tribunals, their organization and authorities, and their stated
purpose. It goes on to say that the gacaca structure is not
serving its intended purpose because the innocent are wrongly
imprisoned while the guilty are freed. The document ascribes
this failure to political considerations and procedural
shortcomings, concluding that "the whole process seems to be a
set-up".


3. (SBU) Parolin said the Holy See has also raised the matter
with several EU governments but has not yet received any
responses. Parolin said the Holy See is well aware of the
sensitivity of the subject, and does not have an alternative
proposal at the moment, but believes it has reliable information
from first-hand witnesses (including some priests). He noted
that relations between the Rwandan government and the Church are
not good. Parolin cited the example of Father Guy Theunis -- a
Belgian priest arrested in Kigali in September 2005 on genocide
charges, but now back in Belgium -- to illustrate the
politicized nature of the gacaca. He also noted that numbers of
Catholics have been killed in recent years in Rwanda but no one
seems to respond.


4. (U) Embassy will fax copies of the note verbale and
accompanying note to Vatican desk in EUR/WE, and would
appreciate guidance on how to respond.

ROONEY