ICTR SEES "NO VALUE" IN COMMUNICATIONS FROM PAUL

UNCLAS KIGALI 000645 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM RW SUBJECT: ICTR SEES "NO VALUE" IN COMMUNICATIONS FROM PAUL RUSESABAGINA REF: 06 KIGALI 1110 ¶1. (U) Embassy transmits for Department the following statement issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda regarding communications with Paul Rusesabagina. ¶2. (U) Begin text: Statement Office of the Prosecutor 29 June 2007 Mr. Paul Rusesabagina did write to the ICTR Prosecutor in November 2006 with copies to many individuals, including the UN Secretary General. As a matter of routine, the Office of the Prosecutor acknowledges all communications, including those from individuals, offering information that might be useful in the prosecution of cases before the Tribunal. Our response to Mr. Rusesabagina, asked him to submit whatever information he possessed concerning crimes allegedly committed in Rwanda falling under the statutory mandate of the ICTR. The OTP took the further step of sending a team of investigators to meet with Mr. Rusesabagina to receive his information. He offered nothing more than "hearsay" information that is of no value in our work. This is the extent of the contact and communication between the Office of the Prosecutor and Mr. Rusesabagina. To clarify, the Office of the Prosecutor has made no promises whatsoever to Mr. Rusesabagina. The Prosecutor has reported to the Security Council on numerous occasions that we are conducting investigations into crimes allegedly committed by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army in 1994. In due course, a decision will be taken based on the results of those investigations. If the results of the investigations have any impact on the Tribunal's Completion Strategy, we will address that issue at the appropriate time as the need may warrant. End text. ¶3. (SBU) Comment. As noted in reftel, Rusesabagina has taken upon himself the task of communicating with the ICTR (and the Queen of England, among others) regarding alleged offenses by Rwanda's current government, during the 1994 genocide and at other times. He does so with great fervor and less than perfect accuracy; the above communication from the ICTR shows that the Tribunal is tiring of his claims to be conveying useful information of any sort. End comment. ARIETTI