02.12.06 - RWANDA/KAGAME - VISIT OF THE RWANDAN PRESIDENT NEAR THE ICTR

RWANDA/KAGAME - VISIT OF THE RWANDAN PRESIDENT NEAR THE ICTR Arusha, November 30 2006 (FH) –The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has spent the whole day on Thursday at the International Conference Center in Arusha where the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has its headquarters. His visit aimed at concluding the process of admission of Rwanda in the East-African Community, a regional economical organization located in Arusha as well. President Kagame was attending the summit of heads of states of this organization which, after Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, has admitted Rwanda and Burundi. A French legal investigation published last week recommended that charges be brought against President Kagame, suspected of having instigated the attack in which his predecessor Juvénal Habyarimana died, and that he be tried before the ICTR. In turn, the Rwandan president accused the French magistrate who conducted the incriminating investigation, Mr. Jean-Louis Bruguière, of being an « impostor ». Rwanda has cut off its diplomatic relations with France since then. Besides the recommendation of indicting Mr. Kagame, the French judge has asked and obtained that international arrest warrants be issued against nine persons close to the Rwandan president and suspected of having participated in the organization of the attack. One of the nine suspects, Mrs. Rose Kabuye, Director General of the State protocol, arrived in Arusha before Paul Kagame and organized its visit. President Kagame, unsmiling as usual, arrived in the morning. A dance performance had been organized to welcome him and he was greeted by school children on his way out of the Conference Center. His escort was no larger than that of the other attending presidents alongside whom he posed for the traditional photography before he left in the afternoon. During the meeting, which consisted in a series of speeches from the presidents, Kagame has mentioned neither the ICTR nor the ongoing proceedings. MG/PB © Hirondelle News Agency