WITNESS SAYS BAGILISHEMA INCITED KILLING OF TUTSIS

Arusha, January 24, 2000 (FH) - Former Rwandan mayor Ignace Bagilishema incited the Hutu population to kill Tutsis, a prosecution witness on Monday told the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). A 47-year-old Tutsi woman, dubbed Witness B to protect her identity, said that on April 13th, 1994, she had seen and heard Bagilishema telling Hutus in his commune to "rise up, take arms and pursue the enemy".

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She said Bagilishema, referring to the Tutsis, had said: "the enemy is at hand, he can be your neighbour, and you must act before he does, or he may also kill you". Witness B said the defendant had used a megaphone to transmit his message. He was travelling around in a vehicle, accompanied by military police, she told the court. "Bagilishema did nothing to protect Tutsis," she said, in response to a question from one of the judges. "On the contrary, he delivered them to the killers. "Judges Eric Mose (Norway), Asoka de Zoysa Gunawardena (Sri Lanka) and Mehmet Guney (Turkey) of Trial Chamber One on Monday resumed hearing the Bagilishema trial after the ICTR's end-of year break. Witness B was the ninth prosecution witness. Bagilishema was mayor of Mabanza in the Kibuye prefecture of western Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. He is accused of genocide, incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity, including war crimes. His trial began on September 27th, 1999. The prosecution intends to call 27 witnesses, of whom nine have now been heard. These include two prosecution investigators, who testified as expert witnesses. The prosecution also wants to present a number of additional witnesses whose written testimonies were not, however, submitted within the time limits specified by Tribunal rules. The defence on Monday submitted a motion protesting this move. The judges are due to deliver a decision on the matter on Tuesday. During cross-examination, Bagilishema's French lawyer François Roux sought to show that much of Witness B's testimony was based on second-hand information. The three judges of Trial Chamber One in November paid the ICTR's first ever judicial visit to Rwanda, to visit sites linked to the Bagilishema trial. CR/JC/FH (BS%0124e)