17.04.07 - ICTR/MILITARY II - THE RWANDAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF DENIES ANY RESPONSABILITY ...

THE RWANDAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF DENIES ANY RESPONSABILITY IN THE GENOCIDE Arusha, April 17, 2007 (FH) – General Augustin Bizimungu, aged 55 years, former Chief of the General Staff of the former Rwandan Armed Forces (RAF) during the genocide opened his defense Monday before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) denying any responsibility in this tragedy.   “The weight of these horrors that others have committed should not rest on Bizimungu,” his defense lawyer, Mr. Ronnie MacDonald said.  “General Bizimungu asks you for justice,” his Canadian lawyer continued, introducing defense witnesses.  According to him, his client who was Chief of the General Staff from April to July 1994 acted like “a soldier who did nothing but defend his country.”   Co-accused with three other officers in a trial called “Military II,” Bizimungu is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.  He has pleaded not guilty.  This trial started in September 2004.  The prosecution has presented 71 witnesses.   Mr. MacDonald declared that Bizimungu should not logically defend himself considering the “mediocrity” and the “unbelievable nature” of the prosecution evidence but that he had decided to do it “because of the nature of the historic trial into which he has been thrust.”   The lawyer indicated that the only worry of the accused was to bring out the truth.  “Until very recently, only the complacent and simplistic version of the Rwandan tragedy used by the victors“ endorsed by a part of the international community appears to have held interest, he regretted.   Mr. MacDonald specifically praised “the meticulous investigation” by the French  Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere who accuses the former Rwandan rebel group of having taken down the President’s plane, setting off the genocide.   Bizimungu’s defense has promised to call “objective” witnesses, suggesting that those of the prosecutor came from “laboratories where depositions are systematically made,” in Rwanda.   Mr. MacDonald ridiculed the prosecution’s preliminary brief at the beginning of the process in September 2004, stating that it had never served the “gastronomic menu”promised.   “The prosecution promised you caviar, but all you were left with were dry sardines.  He promised you champagne, but all you got was hot lemonade,” the lawyer joked.   Brushing aside with one stroke all the allegations, Mr. MacDonald presented his client as a “man of heart,” and a respected officer “whom all armies of the world would love to have in their ranks.”   Bizimungu was arrested in Angola in 2002, officially in a rebel camp which was waiting for their integration in the country’s army.   His lawyer declared that as the Chief of the General Staff, Bizimungu inherited a difficult situation and that he spent his time trying to contain the advance of the rebels.  The latter, he said, refused numerous offers for a cease-fire, “because they were behind this cynical situation.”   Bizimnugu’s lawyer affirmed that the rebel’s strategy was to “create chaos in Rwanda, to disrupt the ethnic order and to prevent any remedy to the crisis situation.”  The Rwandan general stated that “it was impossible in the Rwandan army and police units engaged in combats to turn their backs on the enemy to fulfil another mission,” like civil protection.   The first defense witness was Silas Gatambiye, a former RAF solder who escaped to Brazaville.   AT/PB/CV   © Hirondelle News Agency