Dallaire recalls Rwandan death threat

[Slim]

Here‘s a bit of an eye opener.

Dallaire recalls Rwandan death threat
Canadian general tells of ‘coup‘ that followed president‘s death


SUKHDEV CHHATBAR
ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARUSHA, Tanzania â ” Retired Canadian Lt.-Gen Romeo Dallaire, the peacekeeping commander in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, told a UN tribunal today that he was threatened with death by the former Rwandan ministry of defence chief of staff who is now on trial for crimes against humanity.

Dallaire began testifying today against four senior Rwandan military officers, including then-chief of staff Col. Theoneste Bagosora. The Hutu officers have been charged with organizing the 100 days of massacres in 1994 that left more than 500,000 people dead, most of them Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.

"I was threatened with a pistol (by Bagosora) and was told that next time he will kill me," said Dallaire, 57.

Dallaire, dressed in a dark blue suit, recognized Bagosora in the courtroom when asked by the prosecution to point him out. Dallaire was in command of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda between October 1993 and August 1994. He retired in April 2000 because of post-traumatic stress and has complained of nightmares from his experiences in Rwanda.

Dallaire said he had met Bagosora and other senior Rwandan officials, seeking to stop the massacres, which began shortly after the Rwandan president‘s plane was shot down over the capital on April 6, 1994. With the minister of defence absent, Bagosora took control of the country, Dallaire said.

The prosecution alleges that Bagosora orchestrated the genocide after assuming control of the army and the political affairs of Rwanda.

Bagosora clearly looked in charge the night the plane was shot down, Dallaire said, and Bagosora rejected the authority of Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimina. Dallaire said he was surprised at Uwilingiyimina‘s absence from the crisis meeting and said the meeting was "something like planning a coup."

Rwandan troops raped Uwilingiyimina and killed her, as well as 10 Belgium peacekeepers the next day. The presidential guard started the killing in Kigali, Rwanda‘s capital, and even had a list of people to be killed and their addresses, Dallaire added.

Bagosora also chaired military meetings April 7 and 8, which led Dallaire to believe that Bagosora was behind the killings, he said.

Dallaire said he knew that genocide had been planned from a ``variety of sources" and had notified his superiors at UN headquarters in New York three months before the killing began. Instead of giving him the additional troops he requested, UN officials ordered the withdrawal of all but 270 of the peacekeepers.

Dallaire said he did not have enough troops to contain the violence and that even though the peacekeepers set up five sites to protect people, there were persistent incursions by the extremists.

Dallaire was scheduled to continue his testimony tomorrow.

Bagosora, Brig. Gen. Gratien Kabiligi, Col. Anatole Nsengiyumva and Maj. Aloys Ntabakuze have pleaded not guilty to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for their roles in the massacres, which only stopped when Tutsi-led rebels drove the Hutu extremists out of power in July 1994.

This is the second time Dallaire has testified before the UN Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. In 1998, he testified at the trial of Jean-Paul Akayesu, a former mayor who was convicted of genocide and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The tribunal was set up in November 1994 and has so far convicted 16 people and acquitted one.

 

[Sh0rtbUs]

Actually, the death toll was closer to 800,000 deaths, not 500,000. From Dallaire himself. His book is unbelievable, I‘d recommend it to anyone. Such political depth, and you get a real, realistic view of the situation in Rwanda.

Thats kinda interesting, because he published all this in his book, (including the death threats). its about time this has been finally addressed.

I just wish they‘d show Bogosora squirm as Dallaire points the finger directly at him.

 

[Yeoman]

I had an opportunity to meet the man, but my schedule couldn‘t work. I wish I could have met him and got him to sign my book I bought. it truly was disturbing situation in rwanada, but it also showed how the UN truly works. it‘s disgusting.
a must read book for sure.
I‘ve been attempting to follow this story ever since his book came out.
Greg

 

[hoganshero]

I have to admit after reading "Shake Hands with The Devil" I‘ve been waiting for thsi trial for some time. I‘ve often wondered if Dallaire had an email address which it would be possible to send some words of support to....anyone know??

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

I‘m sure he has one, but I doubt it‘s public. I think the best thing we can do is to post our support here and hope the word reaches him.

I remember seeing the messages regarding UNAMIR pass my desk in 94 and was shocked at the lack of humanity. Not just on the Rwnandan side, but on the part of all countries who failed to intercede. I‘ve been trying to follow the mission details ever since, and am currently reading Dallaire‘s book. It‘s an excellent read - expect a review soon.

 

[Slim]

Here is a bit more of todays court appearance.


Dallaire singles out genocide ‘kingpin‘
Campaign well planned, trial told
Kill list proved `ethnic war at hand‘


ALLAN THOMPSON
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

In a packed, sweltering courtroom, Gen. Roméo Dallaire â ” dressed in a navy-blue pin-striped suit with his Order of Canada prominent on the lapel â ” was asked by a prosecutor if he could identify the Rwandan army colonel alleged to be one of the architects of the genocide that took 800,000 lives.

Dallaire, who led the ill-fated 1994 United Nations peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, rose to his feet, glanced around, then fixed an icy glare on his former nemesis.

"He‘s on the extreme right, in the last row,‘‘ Dallaire said, pointing at Theoneste Bagosora.

The retired Canadian general told the Rwanda genocide tribunal here yesterday he believed Bagosora was the "kingpin‘‘ in orchestrating a carefully planned campaign to exterminate minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus during 100 days of bloodshed in 1994.

Bagosora and three other military commanders, Anatole Nsengiyumva, Aloys Ntabakuze and Gratien Kabiligi, have all pleaded not guilty to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Prosecutors regard Bagosora as one of the key players in the hours and days after the country was plunged into genocide after president Juvenal Habyarimana died in a fiery plane crash on April 6, 1994.

Dallaire yesterday recalled the last time he saw Bagosora, during a chance encounter in late June, 1994, near the end of the genocide, in the lobby of the Diplomates hotel in Kigali."Col. Bagosora threatened me with his pistol that the next time he saw me he would kill me,‘‘ he told the court.

From the witness box, Dallaire turned the tables yesterday, testifying for a total of six hours about his meetings with Bagosora and his assessment that the virulently anti-Tutsi commander put the genocide into motion.

"I had concluded that he was the kingpin,‘‘ said Dallaire, who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of his Rwanda experience.

While he showed little sign of emotion or distress during his testimony, Dallaire seemed distracted at times and kept stealing glances over to the left-hand corner of the courtroom, where Bagosora, whom he once compared with the devil, was seated. More than once, when a court clerk passed an exhibit to Dallaire for his perusal, the retired general glared at Bagosora.

Bagosora made notes in a large, blue hard-covered notebook. He also referred from time to time to a dog-eared copy of the French edition of Dallaire‘s memoir from Rwanda. Dallaire also recounted how on April 4, 1994 â ” only days before the slaughter began â ” Bagosora reportedly told a Belgian colonel at a diplomatic reception that the only way to solve Rwanda‘s problems was to get rid of the Tutsi.

Dallaire said Col. Luc Marchal told him a drunken Bagosora raged against Tutsis and indicated "that war was at hand and a final solution was going to happen ... clearly indicating an ethnic war was at hand.‘‘

Prosecutor Drew White, a Canadian lawyer, led off the questioning yesterday and is expected to continue all day today.

The Canadian general testified that Bagosora was in charge of a military "crisis committee‘‘ meeting that took place within hours of the Rwandan president‘s death.

Still in civilian clothes, Bagosora "was clearly in charge‘‘ and prevailed over the officers present, Dallaire said. Bagosora, he added, rejected outright the suggestion that prime minister Agathe Uwilingimana should take power.

"Col. Bagosora said that, in essence, she had no authority.‘‘

Dallaire said he spoke to the prime minister on the phone that night, trying to arrange for her to make a radio address first thing in the morning. But within hours, Belgian soldiers protecting her home had been taken away and massacred and the prime minister hunted down in a nearby compound and killed, along with her husband.

Dallaire told the court he visited the spot where she had been murdered the next day.

"She had been killed right there, I mean, there was blood,‘‘ he said. "Her children ... were in another house hiding in a closet with clothes over them. They had been saved.‘‘

Referring to pictures taken at the time, Dallaire said the day after the president was killed, Bagosora abruptly switched from his civilian clothes into crisp new military fatigues.

"He in fact reverted to a (army) uniform in the rank of colonel from the morning of the 7th of April,‘‘ Dallaire said.

When he burst in uninvited on a larger meeting of the military command, again chaired by Bagosora on the morning of April 7, "it was clear that Col. Bagosora was giving instructions and direction.‘‘

Dallaire said he tried to get Bagosora to intervene to help the Belgian soldiers, who had been taken to nearby Camp Kigali, where he learned later they had been butchered.

But Bagosora said "the camp was in absolute chaos and none of the officers could get control,‘‘ Dallaire recounted. "He categorically refused me to go to that camp.‘‘

The Canadian general said his own situation reports told him Presidential Guard units were already "wreaking havoc in the city ... and some of them even had a list and (were) killing the people therein.‘‘

But Bagosora told him the guards were hard to control because they were acting out of anger at the president‘s death and rumours the Belgians were somehow involved.

Dallaire testified he left the meeting convinced Bagosara was pulling the strings.

"What I found incredible was I had never found someone so calm and so at ease with what was going on," Dallaire said. "He shuffled some papers and signed some documents."

Dallaire said he could only conclude that Bagosora was either on "another planet," oblivious to the mounting chaos, or was so calm because the carefully laid plan to exterminate the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutu, who were willing to share power, was unfolding.

"It was surreal ... (I concluded) they were implementing a plan that we had heard so much of from a variety of sources.

"It dawned on me then that the plan was moving."

Dallaire was also asked about an anonymous letter he received on Dec. 3, 1993, apparently written by moderate Hutu officers, who warned of a "Machiavellian plan‘‘ to plunge the country into chaos and exterminate specific individuals. Many of the people identified in the letter as targets were killed in the first hours of the genocide.

Looking back, Dallaire said that letter now seems like "a rough draft of what happened after April 6.‘‘

Today Dallaire is expected to testify about the secret informant who warned in January, 1994, that death squads were compiling lists and training to kill thousands of people a day.

When Dallaire told U.N. headquarters in New York he planned to raid the arms caches of the death squads, he was told not to take any military action, that he had to remain neutral.

 

[Sh0rtbUs]

whoa..hey slim, could you continue to stay on top of this or post links where the tribunal is being summarized? Id love to see how far this goes

 

[Slim]

Originally posted by Sh0rtbUs:
[qb] whoa..hey slim, could you continue to stay on top of this or post links where the tribunal is being summarized? Id love to see how far this goes [/qb]

Hey
Thanks for the request. I‘ll do my best to keep the articles posted. Thanks for showing the interest.
Cheers Slim

 

[Sh0rtbUs]

great, thanx

 

[Slim]

This is the latest on the court proceedings.
Slim

Dallaire `holding up well‘ in court
Retired general trying to find closure on Rwanda nightmare

Keeps medication on hand but keeps his cool at genocide tribu


ALLAN THOMPSON
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

ARUSHA, Tanzaniaâ ”In a courtroom in this remote corner of Africa, Roméo Dallaire is in the witness box, testifying against one of the alleged masterminds of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

A defence lawyer in black robes is rambling on. The crimson-clad judges scrawl notes. And through the audio system, you can hear the sound of birds chirping on the window ledge outside.

Then the retired Canadian general leans down, reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a long plastic pill box.

The orange container has little compartments marked for different times and days of the week. Dallaire sets it down next to his glasses on the table where he is seated, front and centre in Trial Chamber One of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

It is mid-morning on Thursday and Dallaire is being cross-examined by the lawyer for Theoneste Bagosora, the former Rwandan army colonel indicted as one of the architects of the genocide and an old nemesis for Dallaire, who commanded the United Nations force that helplessly watched the slaughter of 800,000 people.

Dallaire nonchalantly picks up the case, pops open one of the compartments and dumps a handful of pills into his hand â ” two big orange ones, a small brown one and three little white ones.

One by one, he downs the pills.

The medication is part of Dallaire‘s daily regimen in his ongoing struggle against post-traumatic stress disorder, one measure to help him to deal with the anxiety, depression and nightmares that have plagued him since Rwanda.

But despite expectations that Dallaire might lose his composure on the stand, or even break down in tears as he did during a one-day appearance in 1998, in his first week of testimony he showed virtually no sign of emotion or distress.

In some ways, it seems as if Dallaire may finally be coming to terms with Rwanda, the cataclysm that changed his life, ruined his military career and has on several occasions, pushed him to attempt suicide.

In his first hours on the stand last Monday, Dallaire locked eyes with Bagosora for the first time in nearly a decade and seemed ill at ease being in the same room as the man he regards as the kingpin of the extermination campaign. But eventually, Dallaire seemed to be oblivious to Bagosora‘s presence, sometimes laughing and joking with the judges and lawyers, or in trademark fashion, cursing under his breath when he couldn‘t remember a name, or realized there was a gap in his testimony.

Clearly for Dallaire, being here is an important part of trying to find some closure on Rwanda, to realize it is in the past and not entirely on his shoulders.

"In some ways, he has even surprised himself," said one of those who has been cloistered with Dallaire each evening, when he leaves the tribunal. "Yes, from time to time he needs his medication ... but he has commented that he thinks he‘s holding up well."

 

[Spr.Earl]

To all I feel for Gen. Dallaire!!!

That poor man was left out in the cold by the U.N. and by our own and our Gov.

I have seen some snippet‘s from the BBC about the on going War Crime‘s Trial‘s in Africa.

That man deserve‘s all the sympthey we can give him as Member‘s in Arm‘s!!!


Gen Dellaire,Sir I salute you because you have up held the standerd‘s we all wish to attain and keep as Soldier‘s

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

I think respect and support may be more useful than sympathy...

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Sorry, on second read that sounded a bit harsh... We‘re on the same page, Dallaire sacrificed a lot for a mission that the rest of the world essentially abandoned.

He may feel he failed in his mission, but I don‘t. The way I see it, his mission was not to stop the genocide (there was no way he could have given the resources and limitations he had). He was there to be witness to it all so the architects of the disaster could be brought to justice.

Which is exactly what he‘s doing right now.

Hopefully this will provide some closure, not just for the Rwandan story but for Dallaire as well.

 

[OLD SCHOOL]

The man was thrown in the middle of an ocean and when he requested flotation...he was thrown an anchor...over and over and over.

How he continued on in those conditions is beyond me. That is not the same situation as a tough course or reg. mission as there was NO support. Constantly being ****ed by his own side he and the rest of UNAMIR soldiered on through atrocious conditions. I would serve beside him anytime or place.

Look at his efforts since...still trying to help and improve peoples lives.

How many UNAMIR soldiers were casualties of this mission. All?

 

[Pikache]

Well, in terms of effecting their mind, I‘d say yes.

 

[tmbluesbflat]

What happened to Dellaire is typical of how the Civil administration deals with the military, set an impossible task, take enormous credit if for sum ungodly reason it is successful. If it fails however they sit back and smirk a do the "it‘s not my fault" excuses snivelling and cowardice are the hallmarks of Canadian politicians, very much part of the reason the U.N. cannot fill it‘s mandates, and the exact reason such massacres take place, they are as much at fault as the perpetrators, they are the enablers! They should be tried as well!

 

[Slim]

Here is the latest in the Rwanda court battles.


Jan. 26, 2004. 06:27 AM

Canada may try Rwanda leaders

ALLAN THOMPSON
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Canada could be asked to take over prosecution of some of the accused ringleaders of the 1994 Rwanda genocide if the war crimes tribunal based in Tanzania can‘t complete its work, senior tribunal sources say.

The tribunal‘s chief prosecutor, Hassan Bubacar Jallow of Gambia, said it is not realistic to think the court can complete the full roster of cases before the court and those still under investigation, before the 2008 deadline for trials imposed by the United Nations Security Council.

"We have decided to review the cases and decide in a realistic way what really can be handled,‘‘ Jallow told reporters.

And a senior tribunal source said Canada could be one of the countries asked to take on some of the cases.

"All that is necessary is the political will to do this,‘‘ the source said.

As many as 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were massacred in a three-month killing spree in Rwanda beginning in April, 1994. Before the genocide, Tutsis made up about 20 per cent of the central African country‘s population.

The tribunal‘s chief prosecutor addressed a news conference here on Friday to attract the attention of the international media covering the testimony of retired Canadian Gen. Roméo Dallaire.

Dallaire, who commanded the ill-fated U.N. force in Rwanda during the 1994 slaughter, is scheduled to take the stand again today to continue testifying against Theoneste Bagosora, one of the alleged architects of the genocide.

Jallow said the court‘s "focus should be always on those who bear the greatest responsibility for what happened.

"We‘ll decide on a core group of cases and say this is what we‘ll continue to do," he said.

"The rest, if the evidence is not strong, we will discontinue or if another country is willing to take on those cases and have them prosecuted at the national level, then we can pass them to that particular country,‘‘ he said.

Jallow was echoed by the court‘s chief judge, Erik Mose of Norway, who said criminal justice could take place at the international and the national level.

"It is clear that people should not go unpunished. But the tribunal cannot deal with everyone. In other words, we are focusing on the alleged leaders,‘‘ Mose said in an interview.

"There is a need to find the right division of work between international and national criminal justice in order to avoid impunity,‘‘ the judge said.

"The question of transfer of cases is on the table ... (but) our aim is not transfer, our aim is to do the job. We are not delegating our work to the national jurisdiction," Mose said.

"We are here to complete the task.‘‘

The court was established in 1994 and began hearing cases in 1997. It operates on a budget of $177 million (U.S.) per year and so far, 18 of the accused have been convicted, two have pleaded guilty and one has been acquitted.

Among the most notable convictions was that of former Rwandan prime minister Jean Kambanda, who was sentenced to life in prison.

Last month the tribunal sentenced two Rwandan media bosses to life in prison after finding them guilty of using a radio station and a publication to help incite the massacre.

The tribunal is currently hearing testimony against cases involving another 20 detainees are now in progress. And another 22 accused have been indicted and are still being held at the tribunal‘s detention centre, awaiting trial proceedings.

Jallow said there are another 16 indicted, who remain at large. And there is yet another group of 40 suspects who have been targeted for investigation.

It is those 40 cases have been earmarked to be transferred to other jurisdictions.

Jallow said it is not yet clear how the transfer would work, whether states would be empowered to try suspects that are already within their territory, or if states could volunteer to prosecute some of the cases.

Another option is to transfer the remaining cases to the new International Criminal Court in The Hague.

"All these options could be looked at ... some reflection has to start on that particular problem,‘‘ Jallow said.

The Rwanda tribunal has been harshly criticized for the slow pace of its proceedings and the fact it has achieved only 18 convictions since 1997.

But Mose insists that while the tribunal clearly had administrative and procedural problems in the first years, those problems have been addressed and real progress is now being made.

Because the perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide did not create the kind of detailed records left behind by the Nazis, for example, this tribunal has had to rely almost entirely on oral testimony.

As well, the tribunal has had to translate all proceedings, rulings and transcripts into three languages â ” English, French and Kinyarwanda.

 

[Sh0rtbUs]

thanx again slim.

 

[Slim]

Originally posted by Sh0rtbUs:
[qb] thanx again slim. [/qb]

You‘re welcome.

Slim

 

[Slim]

Yet another article...


Dallaire returning to Rwanda ‘to mourn‘

Agence France-Presse with a report from Associated Press
Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - Page A12

ARUSHA, TANZANIA -- Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian commander of UN troops during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, said yesterday he intends to travel to the central African country "to mourn."

The 57-year-old retired general has been testifying before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda since Jan. 19 as a witness for the prosecution in the case of four former senior Rwandan army officers charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"I would love to spend some years in the Land of the Thousand Hills [Rwanda] to mourn," General Dallaire said after ending his testimony at the tribunal in Arusha.

Gen. Dallaire has said he was traumatized by the massacres in Rwanda in 1994, which he said his forces were unable to stop because they were few and had insufficient means.

But he said he is ready to return to Arusha if the tribunal so desires. "My mission will end when the tribunal no longer needs me."

In his testimony, Gen. Dallaire accused his superiors in the United Nations of denying him permission to carry out raids that could have prevented the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people during the genocide that began in April, 1994, after the death of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana in a plane crash.

Gen. Dallaire described how he tried to persuade both the Hutu extremist government and the Tutsi rebels to stop violating peace accords they had signed only a year earlier.

Later, an estimated 800,000 people -- mostly Tutsis -- were killed in government-orchestrated massacres.

The inaction of the UN and international community before and during the genocide has been widely criticized since 1994 and has formed the subject of several books, including one Gen. Dallaire published last year entitled Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.

Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, Brigadier-General Gratien Kabiligi, Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva and Major Aloys Ntabakuze, former officers in the Rwandan army, have pleaded not guilty to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in the 100-day slaughter.

Defence lawyers tried to discredit Gen. Dallaire‘s testimony because he has suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of his experiences in Rwanda. Col. Bagosora‘s lawyer, Raphael Constant, pressed Gen. Dallaire about why some events he described in testimony were not in his book, or were not in UN situation reports he filed during the genocide.

At one point, Gen. Dallaire retracted a statement in which he said Col. Bagosora led a May 1, 1994, meeting of militiamen who were killing civilians. "I have before me a situation report that I sent to New York on the first of May, 1994, which clearly states that Bagosora was not at the event," Gen. Dallaire said.

He added, however, that he believed Col. Bagosora had arranged the meeting.