It begins...

14.07.11 - ICTR/DETAINEES - ICTR DETAINEES ANNOUNCE HUNGER STRIKE

Arusha, July 14, 2011 (FH) - Thirty one detainees out of 36 at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) announced commencing hunger strike in support of their inmate, Jean Uwinkindi who appealed against decision made by the Tribunal to transfer his case to Rwanda for prosecution. On June 28, the Tribunal referred for the first time the case of Uwinkindi, Pentecostal Church Pastor in the eastern part of the country to the Rwandan judiciary for prosecution. According to the communiqué signed by the detainees, their colleague appealed against the decision on July 12, 2011. The communiqué further states that Uwinkindi informed the United Nations Detention Facility Commanding Officer on July 12, of his intention to start hunger strike to support his appeal. ‘'By way of this communiqué, the signing detainees draw the attention of ICTR authorities and of public opinion on this arbitrary and highly preoccupying situation and our co-detainee, Jean Uwinkindi (being isolated). [Detainees] have also decided to start a hunger strike on 13 July, 2011 at 18.00 hours,'' reads part of the communiqué. The detainees have also written a letter to the President of the Tribunal raising their concerns on the matter. "We have noted with surprise that the decision is rendered at a time when Rwanda is the subject of numerous damning reports denouncing the most serious violations of human rights and at the time when the RPF regime is launching terrorist acts against Rwandans suspected to be political opponents,'' the letter addressed to the ICTR President states. ‘'This situation is comparable to that of Hissene Habre, former President of Chad. It caught the attention of the former ICTR President and current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, who expressed her worry fearing that Habre may face death if sent back to Chad. Her intervention led the Senegalese President to review his decision to hand over Habre to Chadian government,'' the letter explains. It adds that ‘'justice and human rights situation in Paul Kagame's Rwanda is worse than that prevailing in Idriss Deby's Chad.'' In the decision to transfer Uwinikind's case, the Chamber stated that 'it was satisfied that the government of Rwanda was prepared to receive its first referral from the ICTR.'' ‘'Given that the accused ...Uwinkindi has appealed the decision rendered on 28 June 2011, we hope that in the interest and credibility of the ICTR, the Appeal Chamber will courageously and fairly take control of the situation and, as it was done previously , rule that the conditions of transfer of an accused to Rwanda by the ICTR have not been met at all,'' the letter states as it concludes its arguments. NI/FK/GF © Hirondelle News Agency

This is not the end of an era.

A month of my life dedicated to this case. You can read the decision here.
Press release below.

Thoughts? Censored for now... I'll get back on my writing saddle now that my work hours will become regular again. But perhaps it would be more interesting to the reader to read about the camel saddles we rode two weekends ago instead.


My heart is heavy. The Tribunal's work is intoxicating. The Accused? Often a pawn to the slow establishment of a body of international law (or an international order?). Some thoughts slip out.
Emotions, would say the Nigerian attorney.


=====Case of Jean Uwinkindi Referred for Trial to the Republic of Rwanda=====

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda today referred the case of Jean Uwinkindi to the Republic of Rwanda to be tried in the Rwandan national court system under Rule 11 bis, marking the first time in the Tribunal’s history it has done so.

A specially designated Referral Chamber composed of Judges Florence Rita Arrey, Presiding, Emile Francis Short and Robert Fremr decided upon assessment of the submissions of the Defence and amici curiae (including the Government of Rwanda, Human Rights Watch, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, the International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association, and the Kigali Bar Association) that it was satisfied that the Government of Rwanda was prepared to receive its first referral from the ICTR.
(Judge Arrey - second from the top left, Judge Short - third from the top right, Judge Fremr - fourth from the middle row)

While previous Referral Chambers were not inclined to grant similar applications that had been placed before them, this Chamber was convinced based on the evidence that Rwanda possesses the ability to accept and prosecute Uwinkindi’s case. The Chamber expressed its solemn hope that the Republic of Rwanda would actualize in practice the commitments it made in its filings about its good faith, capacity and willingness to enforce the highest standards of international justice.

In reaching its decision, the Chamber noted that Rwanda had made material changes in its laws and had indicated its capacity and willingness to prosecute cases referred by the ICTR adhering to internationally recognised fair trial standards enshrined in the ICTR Statute and other human rights instruments. In particular, the Chamber found that the issues which concerned previous Referral Chambers, namely the availability of witnesses and their protection, had been addressed to some degree in the intervening period.

The Referral Chamber also requested that the Registrar appoint the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to monitor Uwinkindi’s trial in Rwanda and determined that the ACHPR would bring to the attention of the ICTR President any potential issues that may arise throughout the course of the proceedings. The Chamber emphasised its authority under Rule 11 bis to revoke the case from Rwanda as a last resort if necessary.

Uwinkindi was born in 1951 in Rutsiro commune, Kibuye prefecture, Rwanda. He was a former Pastor of the Pentecostal Church of Kayenzi, located at Nyamata sector, Kanzenze commune, Kigali-Rural prefecture. He is accused of being responsible for attacks against Tutsi at Kayenzi Church, at Biyimana and Rwankeri cellules, and in Cyugaro’s swamps.

His indictment included counts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and extermination as a crime against humanity. He was arrested in Uganda on 30 June 2010 and transferred to the United Nations Detention Facility in Arusha, Tanzania on 2 July 2010.

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Junko is very happy to learn that the Chambers' style guide uses logical punctuation. #coffee_is_great

Butare

One of the largest trials ever conducted by an international tribunal since
Nuremberg and Tokyo delivered its judgement yesterday.

NY Times Article: Life Sentences in Rwanda Genocide Case

We sat in the gallery that Friday morning, facing the six Accused, separated by the tinted glass adorned by the cerulean blue UN curtains. Once in a while we looked up at the TV monitors that captured the defendants' every gaze and I caught a glimpse of one mouthing the word: Tutsi.
During that hour, our worlds were confined to our auditory headsets which transmitted the sentence delivered by Presiding Judge Sekule or his interpreter, painstaking line by line, Count after Count, paper shuffles comprised to the biased record of our times...

Be Free

Here, you can be free. Hakuna matata. Have no worries.

It is surprising how often you hear those words from complete strangers who welcome you into their homes or approach you at the market on a busy afternoon. Their names are not Timon and Pumba but Pili-Pili and Patrick, and other friendly business-seekers who understand that the fastest way to gain customers is through the Elmer glues of reciprocity (fast and non-toxic). For a small tip or at the purchase price of some artcrafts, they will guide you around town and offer you food samples and protection from other heckling vendors. The exchange is somewhat forced but welcome when you are seeking a bit of direction through the maze of ogling crowds or would like to practice your muzungu Kiswahili to a more mature audience other than the captivated kids next door.

Every once in a while a familiar face will pop up in the bustling streets by the market. The Masai man I saw at night wore his traditional gown and played pool at the bar with his brother. Their sabres hang from their purplish-red robes and large gaping holes adorn their sagging ears. He is unrecognizable by day, in his checkered shirt and western carpenter pants. The gap-toothed smile is the same.

He is trying to sell me a CD today, while the night before he sang along to "Happy Birthday" with the musical accompaniment of yours truly (a story that shall be confined to the curvy comfort lines of parentheses: in the memory vignette-clouds of stage fright, I strummed away at an electric guitar, looking awkwardly up at the audience, and managed to croak a few raspy sinusy/jazzy lines of a well-known children's song). Off the bucket list: singing on-stage at a bar minus the karaoke machine. Chocolate cake: the most adequate reward.

I have been here long enough that some will recognize
that I am not china or korea, but just kesho! -- a nickname that seems to stick from our adventures at Meru. But my real goal is to become familiar enough so the vendors know just how I like my passion fruit, like the wordless exchange that exists between the coffee shop regular and the barista. I like it sweet. I like it juicy and not too seedy... like Doug's ex-wives used to say.

Outside of the market setting, having no worries about what the next day has to bring is an attitude that seems to affect many young men. They are interested in making a quick buck. They're excited about the catch of the day, and they would blow off long-term contractual commitments to accept a one-time gig. Not my observations, but our friend Malise's, who has been living here for over two years in a town where everyone knows everybody else and the directions to our house are communicated through neighborhood nicknames (the UN mama, as they all call our host mother).

Be free.

We poked our heads through the gates to look up at a secret mansion on top of a hill off the dirt road behind our house. Would you like to come in? says the brother at the gate. We nod, and step inside to admire the beautiful mosaic tile floors that lead up to the manicured front porch. A mtoto/boy comes home, and we agree he is the chubbiest little Tanzanian we have ever seen. We are sent home with brochures for safaris in the Serengeti.

Be free.
Pili-Pili, in his Christmas toe-socks and sandals, tells me those words as he opens another beer for himself. We sit in silence for a moment, enjoying the refreshing taste of an afternoon beer the day after I landed in Arusha. I shuffled my feet behind the plastic chair so the hen and her chicks could pass through, and breathed in the smoky scent of meat on the grill. The sun beamed down on the tin roof tiles but our corner remained cool.

Pride and Prejudice

Working in two languages has led me to some interesting discoveries:

In English, a trial in absentia or "in absence" is a trial conducted without the presence of the defendant.
In French, such a trial is called a condamnation par contumace from the latin "contumacia", which means "pride".

Both forms are usually prohibited in the criminal proceedings of both countries.

Settling

The following housing briefing is gonna read like the educational tune from the dazzling YouTube sensation that Kei loves so much:

On Thursday, we learned that our landlord in Dubai was evicting us to make renovations in July.
On Friday, I checked out a house my friends had moved into.
On Saturday, I moved into said house, owned by a Tanzanian woman who works for the Tribunal. The fact that she cooks us dinner won me over (Aleksey take note: 'tis the quickest way to my gut heart).
On Sunday, we hiked up to the road behind our house, leading us to magnificent views of the city of Arusha and Masai villages.
Which takes me to Monday night. You can find me sitting at the dinner table after a warm meal prepared by our host mama, sipping coffee, decongesting my nose with pili pili (hot-hot sauce), and being lulled by the gentle whir of the generator.

The breakfast table is already set up. Fresh bananas are hanging off a plate and the peanut butter sits in the jar with the oily film that you'd have to pay in organic dollars in the States. Street vendors sell large avocados and mangoes the size of coconuts. Have I mentioned their enviable position at the top of my food pyramid? My diet will hereby consist of avocado shakes, mango juices and other hedonistic indulgences.

Caught a cold from a housemate who caught it from another housemate which I am now giving to a new housemate. Battling another housemate's possible flea infestation from said person's previous dwelling place. Fighting off phantom bug menaces at night with my Kalashnikov DEET spray and tackling more Tribunal work in my feverish dreams...