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Archbishop accused in Rwanda genocide trial

-25/07/05

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Rwanda, Archbishop Thaddee Ntihinyurwa, appeared in court in the southern Province of Cyangugu last week, to answer questions about his actions during the terrible 1994 genocide, which claimed over 900,000 lives.

Archbishop Ntihinyurwa has been accused of turning away threatened Tutsis who sought to take refuge in his Cathedral and of collaborating with security meetings and personnel implicated in atrocities when he was bishop of Cyangugu Diocese.

ìI attended these meetings in my capacity as a Bishop of the province but I can assure you that [they] were purely for planning the restoration of peace to the area,î Archbishop Ntihinyurwa told the court.

But a former Mayor of the area who has already confessed to crimes of genocide said that the purpose of the meetings was to orchestrate more slaughter.

Several thousand refugees were massacred in the Parish of Nyamasheke between 15 and 17 April 1994. The killings were sanctioned by Mayor Bagambiki the day after Bishop Ntihinyurwa visited them with well-armed militiamen and villagers, it is alleged.

Throughout April, May and June 1994, Tutsis sheltered in Catholic churches in the bishop’s diocese, but they were still killed by mainly Hutu operatives. The now Archbishop is accused of remaining silent and of continuing to cooperate with the authorities he knew to be responsible.

Genocide survivors have also accused Ntihinyurwa of having ordered at least 600 people who had sought refuge in the Nyamasheke Cathedral out of the church into a stadium, where former government soldiers and Hutu militia killed them. An estimated 46,000 people were hacked to death across the district.

The court will examine the Archbishop’s testimony before deciding whether or he is a potential suspect, says the New Times in Kigali.

In 2001 a Belgian court convicted two Catholic nuns for aiding a mass murder of Tutsis. A Catholic priest is also on trial before a Tanzania based United Nations tribunal. He is accused of ordering the slaughter of 2000 people who sought refuge in his church.

Roman Catholics have faced many accusations of playing a significant role in the genocide. Between April and June 1994, an estimated 900,000 Rwandans were killed. Most who died were Tutsis and most who carried out the violence were Hutus. It ended with the overthrow of the government.

The slaughter was sparked by the death of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, when his plane was shot down above Kigali airport on 6 April that year. But commentators say that it was planned as part of an ongoing civil war. Western governments and the United Nations failed to intervene despite warnings.

Rwanda was one of the centres of the East African Revival. Statistically it has one of the largest Christian populations, Catholic and Protestant, of any country.


Find books now:

Archbishop accused in Rwanda genocide trial

-25/07/05

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Rwanda, Archbishop Thaddee Ntihinyurwa, appeared in court in the southern Province of Cyangugu last week, to answer questions about his actions during the terrible 1994 genocide, which claimed over 900,000 lives.

Archbishop Ntihinyurwa has been accused of turning away threatened Tutsis who sought to take refuge in his Cathedral and of collaborating with security meetings and personnel implicated in atrocities when he was bishop of Cyangugu Diocese.

‘I attended these meetings in my capacity as a Bishop of the province but I can assure you that [they] were purely for planning the restoration of peace to the area,’ Archbishop Ntihinyurwa told the court.

But a former Mayor of the area who has already confessed to crimes of genocide said that the purpose of the meetings was to orchestrate more slaughter.

Several thousand refugees were massacred in the Parish of Nyamasheke between 15 and 17 April 1994. The killings were sanctioned by Mayor Bagambiki the day after Bishop Ntihinyurwa visited them with well-armed militiamen and villagers, it is alleged.

Throughout April, May and June 1994, Tutsis sheltered in Catholic churches in the bishop’s diocese, but they were still killed by mainly Hutu operatives. The now Archbishop is accused of remaining silent and of continuing to cooperate with the authorities he knew to be responsible.

Genocide survivors have also accused Ntihinyurwa of having ordered at least 600 people who had sought refuge in the Nyamasheke Cathedral out of the church into a stadium, where former government soldiers and Hutu militia killed them. An estimated 46,000 people were hacked to death across the district.

The court will examine the Archbishop’s testimony before deciding whether or he is a potential suspect, says the New Times in Kigali.

In 2001 a Belgian court convicted two Catholic nuns for aiding a mass murder of Tutsis. A Catholic priest is also on trial before a Tanzania based United Nations tribunal. He is accused of ordering the slaughter of 2000 people who sought refuge in his church.

Roman Catholics have faced many accusations of playing a significant role in the genocide. Between April and June 1994, an estimated 900,000 Rwandans were killed. Most who died were Tutsis and most who carried out the violence were Hutus. It ended with the overthrow of the government.

The slaughter was sparked by the death of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, when his plane was shot down above Kigali airport on 6 April that year. But commentators say that it was planned as part of an ongoing civil war. Western governments and the United Nations failed to intervene despite warnings.

Rwanda was one of the centres of the East African Revival. Statistically it has one of the largest Christian populations, Catholic and Protestant, of any country.