France Calls For Kagame’s Trial

French Judge: Rwandan President Paul Kagame should stand trial over the killing of a former Rwandan leader, an act that led to genocide.

 

(Kagame lauded as having halted genocide. French judge says he actually instigated it)

A French judge says Rwandan President Paul Kagame should stand trial over the killing of a former Rwandan leader, an act that led to genocide.

Jean-Louis Bruguiere, who is investigating the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana, also said nine of Mr. Kagame’s aides should be arrested. Habyarimana’s plane was shot down in 1994, igniting fighting in which some 800,000 people were killed.

An international criminal court is trying suspects in the killings. French legal authorities are investigating the case because the aircraft had a French crew. Judge Bruguiere is expected to sign international arrest warrants in the coming days, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Under French law, a warrant cannot be issued for Mr. Kagame because he has immunity as a head of state, AP said.
Rwanda’s two most senior generals – armed forces chief James Kabarebe and army chief-of-staff Charles Kayonga – are among the nine aides suspected of involvement in the downing of Habyarimana’s plane.

Some 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered when Hutu extremists went on the rampage following Habyarimana’s death. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania has tried 31 suspects since it began in 1997. Twenty-six people have been convicted and five acquitted. The court is due to be disbanded in 2008.

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