Arusha is where the U.N. conducts the criminal tribunals on Rwanda. On Weds and Friday of this week we got an opportunity to listen in and watch one of the trials. To get in, you have to show your passport and go through something similar to airport security. When you get to the trial room you are given a headset and device that translates the comments to English for you. Just that process alone is very interesting to observe and listen to how quickly translators translate both testimony and questions. The languages spoken were French and English in the courtroom.
In the courtroom there are about 8 lawyers on the defense and 8 lawyers on the prosecution. There are 3 judges presiding over the trial.
Today the prosecution was questioning the witness whose name we were not given. He was a administrator for one of the prefectures (regions). He was serving time in prison but we didn't hear what for. He described to the court that he was one of the resisters of the killing of Tutsis. This trial was for a higher up official that this witness had experienced as being complicit in the killings. The fascinating part today was hearing about how this official survived the war. He also described how different parts of the government worked together. I got lost on that part..the interamwhe (interim government), the civil defense, the RPF..all these terms were talked about and makes me want to study beyond what I learned from the movie Hotel Rwanda. Much of this trial was spent discussing the content of a meeting on April 18, 1994 at which the witness claimed gov't officials were suggesting escalating the killings without saying it directly...and after that date killings did escalate.
At noon, the adjourned for the weekend. The U.N. is a powerful force in the Arusha economy. Arusha has for decades been a launching point for safaris and Kili summits but having the UN here adds a whole other element making it a small cosmopolitan city where you can eat many types of food, get western amenities, etc. We got to have dinner with a UN lawyer who we met through Terra Watu and he was a great host to us and even treated us to a couple meals.
On Sunday we head to Kigoma in western Tanzania- the jumping off point for Gombe National Park where we hope to see both chimps and gorillas! There are more stories to tell..and maybe we will get to those tomorrow.
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2 comments:
This is fascinating. I got to tour the UN in Geneva on a People to People trip, but we didn't get to observe any proceedings or anything.
I'm finally catching up again on your stories - sooo great! When you get home, I will give you a copy of "Ordinary Man", the autobiography of the 'Hotel Rwanda man'. It gives a GREAT and SOUL CRUSHING account of the lead up to the war, as well as a good Rwandan history that explains the factions, parties & ethnic divisions there. I highly recommend it to all.
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