After having conducted additional research regarding Rwanda, I stumbled upon an interesting article that I felt was relevant to our discussion about a post-genocidal state and the bureaucratic nature of Rwanda. The article focuses on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the failures this justice system has demonstrated in a post-genocidal era in Rwanda. One statement that truly stood out to me suggested, “The tribunal has been slow and costly. Some have also questioned its focus solely on the Hutus who led the genocide against minority Tutsis and not on any war crimes that might have been committed by the other side”. Moreover, the article explicated that the court will be shutting down in 2014 because costs have surpassed one billion dollars. After reading both of these statements explained within the article, I found myself wondering whether or not Kagame’s regime has its hands in the systematic processes of the tribunal. We have discussed on numerous occasions the bureaucracy that is prevalent within Rwanda politics, and I wonder whether or not the current regime has had any role to play with respect to the claim that Hutus have been the sole focus of the tribunal while the Tutsi have not. Has Kagame influenced these trials so that Tutsis are not tried for war crimes? Furthermore, the fact that these trials have cost in excess of one billion dollars truly raises some red flags about the functionality the trials as well as the layers of bureaucracy that are tied up in the tribunal.
For any one who is interested in the article here is the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/08/us-rwanda-genocide-idUSBRE9170OL20130208
Wonderfully insightful post, Kurt. Looking out to the ICTR is an important aspect of the exporting of Rwanda’s domestic politics that we will consider later in the semester.
You are correct to wonder if the government has had a hand in the outcomes at the ICTR. It most certainly has and this is something you could follow up in your IRB assignment. Look at Peskin’s chapter in our Straus and Waldorf book, and the biography of ICTR prosecutor Carla Del Ponte. She alleges that her UN contract was not renewed because she actively tried to bring RPF war criminals before the court in Tanzania. I have a copy of her book and can share it with you if you decide that you wish to “interview” ICTR lawyers and prosecutors.