Opinion
Open Letter to The Netherlands’ Minister of Justice
Dear
Madam,
I am
writing this letter to you in regard to the case of a Rwandan genocide suspect,
Maj Pierre Claver Karangwa, who is detained in your country, The Netherlands.
Despite all the incriminating evidence of his role in the Genocide against the
Tutsi in 1994, I learnt, with shock, of your court's decision declining to
extradite him to Rwanda to face his genocide related charges.
The
reasons given for not sending him to Rwanda, especially claiming that he will
not have a fair trial here, are not only unrealistic but contradictory and
absurd. The Netherlands previously extradited Jean Baptiste Mugimba, Venant
Rutunga and Jean Claude Iyamuremye, who were all genocide suspects. It is not
clear why the issue of lack of fair trial is now raised against the case of Maj
Karangwa.
The
argument that Karangwa belongs to an ‘opposition political party’ called
FDU-Inkingi and that the extradition request was sent ‘only after’ the claimed
person had become active in FDU-Inkingi, is bizarre, and unthinkable.
How
can the extradition case be based on “political affiliation” rather than on the
gravity or seriousness of the crimes he is suspected to have committed or his
role in Genocide as was in the previous cases?
Those
who committed the Genocide against the Tutsi were in their hundreds of
thousands. And you, being in charge of the Ministry of Justice, you surely very
well know that it takes time to gather evidence and find witnesses.
This
is what determined the timing of the extraction request rather than your
assumption of the suspect being active in FDU-Inkingi as being the basis.
FDU-Inkingi
is not an opposition political party in Rwanda or outside Rwanda. It is an
association of genocide suspects, genocide deniers and double genocide
proponents. They know that in European countries when they hide behind the name
of “opposition party” they get heard. And, indeed, they succeeded in their plot
when you gave them recognition as a political organization.
Maj
Karangwa was charged for genocide; conspiracy to commit genocide; complicity in
genocide; murder as a crime against humanity; extermination as a crime against
humanity; violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions;
establishing, membership in, directing and participating in a criminal
organization whose purpose is to cause harm to individuals and their property.
These
genocide crimes and belonging to an ‘opposition political party’ cannot be
compared. Genocide is a crime against humanity.
I
would also like to bring to your attention the fact that the testimonies and
witnesses you relied on, are of people or organizations like Human Rights watch
(HRW) known to be biased against the government of Rwanda.
Take
the case of Prof Filip Reyntjens, a man who worked with the genocidal
government of former President Juvénal Habyarimana, as one of the architects of
the discriminatory constitution that paved way for the 1994 Genocide. What good
can he really say about the Rwandan government?
Human
Rights Watch’s reports on intimidation, arbitrary deprivation of liberty and
mistreatment of members of FDU-Inkingi in Rwanda are not based on facts but
distortions and lies to tarnish the image of Rwanda. For more insight into the
real agenda of HRW on Rwanda, I refer you to the research: “The Travesty of
Human Rights Watch on Rwanda,” conducted by Richard Johnson and published on
March 19, 2013.
The
retired American diplomat reveals that: “What Human Rights Watch (HRW) does on
Rwanda is not human rights advocacy. It is political advocacy which has become
profoundly unscrupulous in both its means and its ends.”
Why
does HRW do that? “HRW’s discourse on Rwanda is a threat to that country and to
peace and stability in Central Africa. It discourages Western governments from
doing what they should to support Rwanda’s recovery from the 1994 genocide. It
perpetuates impunity for important genocide perpetrators,” says Johnson.
What
is the evidence of Maj Karangwa's involvement in Genocide? Witnesses recount
that on April 24, 1994, there was a major attack at Mugina in Mbati Cell,
Mugina Sector, Kamonyi District that killed hundreds of Tutsi refugees who had
taken refuge in Mugina parish. A few who had managed to get inside the church
were able to survive until killers ordered them to get out. They were instantly
killed.
During
the attack, the killers said that they would not kill women and children and
decided to take them to Kabgayi. Very many women and children had been wounded.
When they arrived at a place called Bibungo, they met Maj Karangwa, who was
then head of the National Gendarmerie Investigation Service. He asked where
they were taking the Tutsi. The killers
told him that they were taking them to Kabgayi. Karangwa ordered the Tutsi to
be killed on the spot. They were taken to a nearby house of a Tutsi called Moko
and others were thrown alive into a pit latrine. Karangwa is the one who provided
petrol to burn them in the house as well as those in the pit latrine. They were
all burnt alive and no one survived.
This
is the true account of Maj Karangwa whom you are giving protection as a
“political opponent” of the Rwandan government rather than a genocide suspect
whose hands are dripping with blood of countless victims.
It
is a shame that The Netherlands is now his safe haven, shielded him from facing
justice for genocide crimes. You may
decline to send him to Rwanda, which is your choice.
However,
as a survivor of the Genocide and someone who lost family members and friends
on the orders of Maj Karangwa, with all the available incriminating evidence, I
plead that he should not be released. Instead, he should be tried in the
Netherlands’ courts for the crimes of genocide.
The
Netherlands should not condone impunity on a serious crime of genocide.
Genocide suspects on the run have turned to “political opposition” and “human
rights activist” as cover ups for their crimes. And your decision to stop the
extradition of Maj Karangwa makes your country fall into their trap.
Sincerely,
Matilda
Muberarugo
Mugina
sector, Kamonyi district
CC:
The Netherlands
Parliament
Embassy
of The Netherlands- Rwanda
Embassy
of Rwanda in The Netherlands